NEMESIS

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial entity

Occupation: Creator

Group Membership: Sum total of the Infinity Gems

Affiliations: Sersi (former pawn/host);
    unknown connection to the Grandmaster

Enemies: Avengers, Loki;
    Ultraforce of Earth-Ultraverse

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: the Infinity Gems

Base of Operations: Formerly the Earth-616 dimension and later Earth-Ultraverse dimension

First Appearance: (Mentioned) Ultraforce I#10 (July, 1995),
    (seen and named) Avengers/Ultraforce#1 (October, 1995)

 

 

Powers/Abilities: Nemesis has vast power to alter reality on a universal scale, possessing the combined power of all Infinity Gems. It thus had total control over the Mind, Power,  Reality, Space, the Soul, and Time, combined with the Ego Gem, which granted it its own will and intelligence.

History:
(Thanos Quest#2 (fb) - BTS) - As told by Thanos to the Runner, allegedly per information gleaned from the Infinity Well: "Over a thousand billion years ago, before all recorded time, there existed a single solitary entity, a sentient being of limitless power. At the time, this entity was the only living thing that existed within any and all realities; it was all there was, and all there was was it...it was infinity and forever. It was more alone than any being has ever been, and it eventually chose to put an end to itself. But such power does not give up the ghost easily. From its ashes arose all that is currently reality in all its many forms. The core of this being's might was reincarnated in the form of the Infinity Gems."
(Silver Surfer III#45 (fb)) - As told by Mephisto to Thanos: "To alleviate its solitude, the entity -- who had no concept of good or evil -- took a part of itself and gave it independent life; and because it didn't will its creations to be good, they turned out evil. These demonic beings displeased their creator who destroyed them rather than bother with modest modifications. When the entity committed suicide, these demonic brethren were reborn.
(Ultraforce I#10 (fb)) - As told by Diana of the Dark Shoppe to the Black Knight: "Many millennia ago in your universe, there was a god with the power of infinity. Even with control of all that is, the god's loneliness could not be soothed. By his own hand he died. His body shattered into gems, each representing a gift he possessed: Power, Time, Reality, Space, Mind, and Soul. Any person who becomes a gem host gains the infinite power of that gem."

 

(Rune/Silver Surfer#1) - Rune usurped the Infinity Gems from the Infinity Watch. During a battle between he and the Silver Surfer, the Gems were brought across the void to the Ultraverse dimension.

(Godwheel#3, Lord Pumpkin#1, Hardcase#23, Necromantra/Lord Pumpkin#4, Night Man I#22,23, Curse of Rune#3, Ultraforce I#10,  Hardcase#26) - Loki of Earth-616 located and claimed each of the six Infinity Gems.

(Ultraforce/Avengers prelude, aka Ultraforce I#11) - Loki taunted Ultraforce with the Infinity Gems. Unbeknownst to them all, a seventh Infinity Gem, the Ego Gem--representing the psyche of the being from which the Gems were created--made contact with Sersi, also of Earth-616, taking her as its temporary host.

(Avengers/Ultraforce#1) - Seeking the Mind Gem he had previously possessed, the Grandmaster (also Earth-616) traveled to the Ultraverse, and confronted Loki, offering a gamble, with reward the heretofore unknown 7th Infinity Gem, the Ego Gem. The Grandmaster picked the Avengers as his warriors and the Ultraforce as Loki's. Although the various struggles had mixed results ending in a draw, Loki's trickery won the day as he had named his goal as not to lose, which he did not. The Grandmaster conceded, awarding him the 7th Gem, which was linked to Sersi, who merged with Loki, uniting the 7th Gem with its long-lost six brethren, and recreating Nemesis, the being from which the Infinity Gems had originally been spawned. Nemesis then unleashed a reality warp across both the Ultraverse and Earth-616.

(Ultraforce/Avengers) - Nemesis created a new pocket world, combining various aspects of Earth-Ultraverse and Earth-616. However, the small sentiences within the six other Infinity Gems each plucked at her with advice and curses, manipulating her mood and disturbing her art.
    A struggle between that New World's Avengers and Loki opened a portal into the true Ultraverse and destroyed the mysterious Godwheel. Ultraforce, the Avengers, and the Avengers of Earth-Ultraverse-New World (and alternate or merged versions from numerous realms) joined together and attacked Nemesis to prevent her from destroying their timelines. The distraction caused by the voices of the other Infinity Gems prevented Nemesis from detecting the en masse attack before it occurred. However, once she regained her composure, she began to easily obliterate her attackers. Somehow, the "true" Avengers and Ultraforce survived this onslaught and regrouped. Finally under direction of the Black Knight of Earth-616, the others kept Nemesis off balance long enough for him to use an alternate dimensional counterpart of the Ebony Blade to cut Nemesis in half, just as she prepared to erase the entire Ultraverse.

(Black September Infinity - BTS) - As Nemesis was disrupted, the Time and Reality Gems rebelled against their brethren, leading to their complete split up. The essence of the Ego Gem was dispersed between the Mind, Power, Soul, and Space Gems, each of which morphed into sentient forms and departed for parts unknown.
    The Time and Reality Gems were rendered virtually powerless in this transfer. Without the time energy to affect the energies released by Nemesis, time had no meaning: seconds might take years or years could pass in seconds. Reality also became whimsy. Wave upon wave of Nemesis energy fell upon the continuum, each wave creating a new reality. In one of these realities (Earth-Ultraverse-Time Gem), the Reality Gem located Amber Hunt and took her as a host. Under the Reality Gem's guidance, Amber located the Time Gem, within Jamie, the daughter of that reality's Warstrike. After obtaining it, Amber took both gems to the site of Nemesis' battle with Ultraforce and the  Avengers. Regaining their strength, the two gems allowed Amber to return to the proper reality and stop the Nemesis waves.
    Though all further waves were stopped, the first wave which had been released resulted in permanent changes to the Ultraverse, altering it on certain levels (kind of like the Crisis on Infinite Earths). The Time and Reality Gems vanished to parts unknown.

Comments: Created by Hank Kanalz, and Glenn Herdling and Angel Medina.

This profile is not intended to cover in detail the Infinity Gems, but only the composite being made of all seven of them.

Marvel has not even mentioned the Ultraverse since it's demise, short of a cameo during glimpses of alternate realities. A resolution to the fate of the other Infinity Gems is possible, but I really doubt they ever mention the Ultraverse. Nonetheless, Adam Warlock has since regained the Soul Gem, which has returned to its original form.
As seen to the right, from top to bottom:
    Power, Mind, Soul, and Space Gems.

Thanks to Per Degaton for providing the details (since I haven't moved all of my comics yet) on a slightly different version of the origin of the Infinity Gems is given in Thanos Quest#2: Thanos is being attacked by the Runner, who demands to know why Thanos is out collecting the soul gems/Infinity Gems. Thanos explains that purely by chance, while looking in Death's scrying pool, he saw the origin of the Infinity Gems:
    In the beginning there was only one being who encompassed everything-as Thanos says, "you might call him [it ?] God". This being was lonely as he/it was the only entity in existence. So, it allowed itself to be destroyed, and the result was the creation of the universe.
I guess this is where Mephisto's story from Silver Surfer III#45 comes in.......
    But wait; how does this "God" tie-in with the origin of Galactus?
    Was the universe that was formed by "God"'s self-destruction Galan of Taa's universe?
    For that matter, how does this "God" tie-in with the Brothers from the DC vs. Marvel mini-series?
    And how does "God" tie-in with the Living Tribunal's unseen master?
(Oh, by the way, since Thanos was probably not speaking in English with the Runner, and since even the word "God" comes from the Germanic languages, not the Hebrew which the Hebrew Bible was written in or the Arabic which the Koran was written in, and since I strongly doubt Thanos or the Runner have ever been exposed to any Earthly religion, I seriously doubt Thanos had the Christian God in mind.)
Right, they just mean some supreme being/creator of the Universe.
    Anyway, the only difference is that in the Thanos Quest origin, the being created the Universe. The two are very easily compatible, I would just say that the death of the Infinity Gem entity just unleashed a wave of energy that may have altered reality somewhat, creating the Universe as we know it. That explanation fits in with all of the above. However, the origins of this being (I'll call it Nemesis, rather than "God"), are uncertain. Perhaps it was a sibling of Eternity, or perhaps it just grew to power from humble origins. Nobody knows!
--Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

The Ego Gem has no known connection to:

EGO GEM

The seldom seen 7th Infinity Gem, it serves as the operating system that linked the other six into the sentient and virtually all-powerful being from which the Gems originated. However, as each of the Gems had developed some degree of intellect, the combined form of Nemesis was plagued by voices from its multiple personalities, which prevented it from functioning at peak power and efficiency. This distraction allowed it to be disrupted by the Black Knight, and the gems then turned on each other, making the disruption permanent. In order to maintain their identities, the Mind, Power, Soul, and Space Gems absorbed and split the essence of the Ego Gem into themselves, transforming into independent, life-like forms, and vanishing for parts unknown. The Soul Gem had since returned to Earth-616, and is back in the possession of Adam Warlock.

--Avengers/Ultraforce#1 (Black September Infinity

Appearances:
Rune/Silver Surfer#1 (April, 1995) - Chris Ulm & Dan Danko (writer), Henry Flint (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Dan Danko & Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Godwheel#3 (February, 1995)
Lord Pumpkin#1
Hardcase#23 (May, 1995) - James D. Hudnall (writer), Tim Hamilton (pencils), Philip Moy (inks)
Necromantra/Lord Pumpkin#4 (July, 1995)
Night Man I#22-23 (July-August, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dean Zachary (#22) & John Statema (#23) (pencils), Bruce McCorkindale (#22) & Philip Moy (#23) (inks)
Curse of Rune#3 (July, 1995) - Chris Ulm (writer), Kyle Hotz (pencils/inks)
Hardcase#26 (August, 1995) - James D. Hudnall (writer), Hugh Haynes (pencils), Aubrey Bradford (inks)
Ultraforce/Avengers Prelude (July, 1995)
Ultraforce/Avengers (Fall, 1995)

Last updated: 05/23/08

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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