QUETZALCOATL
Real Name: Quetzalcoatl
Identity/Class: Mexican god
Occupation: God of sun, wind, and wisdom
Group Membership: The Mexican Gods
Affiliations: The Apaco, Apollo, Horus, Indra, Shango, Tawa, and Thor (allies) ; El Tigre (former ally/pawn)
Enemies: Demogorge, Tezcatlipoca, X-Men (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman)
Known Relatives: Mixcoatl
(father),
Hurakan (foster father),
Gaea (mother, alias
Coatlique),
Xolotl (twin-brother), Quetzalpetlatl (twin-sister), Nanauatzin
(son),
Thor, Huitzilopochtli
(half-brothers), Coyoxauhqui (half-sister),
The Adityas and the Titans (half-brothers and half-sisters),
Tezcatlipoca, Xipe Totec, Camaxtli (uncles),
Ahpuch (cousin)
Aliases: Ehecatl (the god of wind), the Feathered Serpent, Kukulcan (Mayan name), the Plumed Serpent
Base of Operations: Celestial Teotihuacan ("City of the Gods")
First Appearance: (BTS) Namora#1 (August, 1948);
(as
Kukulcan) X-Men I#25 (October 1966);
(as Quetzalcoatl) Thor Annual#10 (1982)

Powers/Abilities:
Quetzalcoatl possesses
the conventional powers of the Mexican Gods. He has superhuman
strength (Class 50 perhaps) and endurance plus mystical abilities
enabling him to fly and command ambient elemental energies, such as having
control over the air and wind. He
can also teleport under certain conditions.
Using certain mystic totems, he has attained additional powers.
Using the Sacred Pendant of Kukulcan, he has possessed people and
transformed them into a form similar to his own. Using the Solar
Stone with the Feathered Serpent idol, he
could control the wills of those of Mayan descent and
restructure matter at will.
History: (myth) - As Kukulcan, Quetzacoatl was one of the Mayan gods of Ancient Mexico until around 800 AD when the Aztec Empire first began to grow in importance and began assimilating all the smaller races of the Yucatan. Tezcatlipoca took the head of the newer pantheon out of the ashes of the Mayan race and many of the Mayan gods served roles in both cultures.
Quetzalcoatl, however, supported Itzamna, as Tezcatlipoca demanded
blood sacrifices from the Aztecs. Tezcatlipoca hated the young
god for his loyalties to older heritage. The two warred for
centuries. Quetzalcoatl was actually able to depose Tezcatlipoca and, after
changing him into a jaguar, dumped Tezcatlipoca into the ocean. Quetzalcoatl was then, in turn, deposed by Tlaloc, the water-god,
working for Tezcatlipoca.
Returning to take control, Tezcatlipoca impersonated a god named Titlacauepan in order to shame Quetzalcoatl into getting drunk enough to rape his sister, Quetzalpetlatl. He then showed Quetzalcoatl's true image as a feathered serpent in his "smoking mirror" and shamed him into fleeing Teotihuacan. Promising to return, Quetzalcoatl went into exile with the Mayan Gods in the underworld. In his final act of revenge to undo the good Quetzalcoatl had created, Tezcatlipoca took mortal form and convinced the Aztecs to accept the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez as the returning Quetzalcoatl (See Comments regarding this). The Aztecs belief that Cortez was their returning god made it that much more easier for the Spanish Conquistadors to conquer the Aztecs.

(Namora#1 - BTS) - As Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl was worshipped by the tribesmen of the
Apaco, but they were tricked by the American Jim Derry into obeying a phony statue of Kukulcan given voice
by Derry's men so that he could steal their treasures. Namora revealed the trick to the Apaco.
(X-Men I#25, 26-BTS [sort of, See Clarifications]) - Treasure hunter El Tigre
found and located the
two halves of the Sacred Pendant of Kukulcan (one in the Pyramid of
Kukulcan in the Central American jungle, the other at the City
Museum in New York). When he joined the two halves together, El
Tigre was possessed by and transformed into a reincarnation of
Kukulcan.
Despite the efforts of the X-Men, Kukulcan returned to San Rico,
where he activated the Solar Stone (a large gem set in the
Feathered Serpent idol), which increased his powers. He then set
about restoring the Mayan pyramids to their former glory and and
placing all those of Mayan descent under his control. The X-Men
traveled to San Rico and again confronted him. In the course of
the battle, Kukulcan inadvertently knockED the Feathered Serpent
idol into a large chasm, causing his powers and essence to fade,
leaving only El Tigre. (Thor Annual#10) - Quetzalcoatl was sent
to aid Thor and many other gods against the menace of Demogorge
the God Eater, who had been raised from the dawn of time by Ahpuch and the
death-gods of other pantheons. Unable to affect the entity in
battle, he was consumed with the death-gods as well as his allies
but was freed when Thor caused a shift in the creature's palate.
Becoming Atum once more, his true being, Demogorge released
Quetzalcoatl as well as all of the other swallowed immortals. (Marvel Universe: The End#5) - Alongside various Earth
heroes, Abstractions, and other gods, Quetzalcoatl was summoned by the Living
Tribunal to oppose the mad Titan Thanos, who had usurped true omnipotence in the
Marvel Universe. COMMENTS: Created by Alan
Zelenetz and Bob Hall The Aztecs Gods and the Mayan Gods are
considered to be the same race, and are titled under the Mexican
Gods. They are, however, distinct from the Incan Gods. In the myth section of Quetzalcoatl's history, it is stated
that a vengeful Tezcatlipoca "convinced the Aztecs to accept the Spanish Conquistador
Hernando Cortez as the returning Quetzalcoatl." This, of course, does
not come from any historical documentation or scholarly reference; it is merely another
of Will's wild suppositions. Although an imaginative concept, in reality
no divine intervention instigated what would become a systematic slaughter of
millions of American Natives by European invaders. Instead, the Aztec
people made a grave mistake by believing that Cortez was Quetzalcoatl returned,
which, as the myth history illustrates, was supposed to occur at some point.--Kyle Gaea admitted in Thor I#301 that she
had been Coatlique as well as Jord to the Asgardians and Aditi to
the Hindus. This makes Quetzalcoatl siblings with Thor (of the Scandinavian/Norse
Gods), the
Titans (of the Greco-Roman pantheon), and the Adityas (ancestors of the Hindu Gods). In Aztec Myth, Quetzalcoatl was often referred
to as The Feathered Serpent. Makes me think he'd have an
archaeopteryx as a pet. Appropriately enough, there is a giant
pteradactyl named for him. It is called Quetzalcoatlus. In Conan the Barbarian I#65, Conan and Belit encountered a
sorcerer known as Tezcatlipoca, who used a feathered serpent as a familiar.
This
feathered serpent attacked Conan, who cut off its head. I also vaguely remember some adventure with Doc Savage and the
"Feathered Serpent." I'm not sure whether these should be considered
in-continuity, even though Doc Savage has crossed over with the MU at a few
points. Per Degaton points out, "Young Allies Comics
#20 has a story entitled, 'The Crown of Quetzalcoatl!'"
As this story took place in 10,000 BC, it is uncertain what, if any, connection
exists between these two beings and the Mexican Gods of later millennia, or if
it is meant to refer to some other predecessor. (See the discussion under
Gods of
the Hyborian era for further discussion.)
In addition, in Conan of the Isles, Metemhoc, a native of Antilla (settled by
some of the survivors of ancient Atlantis), referred to Conan by the name,
Kukulcan, as a form of praise.
The Doc Savage story involving the Feathered Serpent
occurred in the early issues, in an adaptation of the novel "The Man of Bronze".
In the original novel, the real Quetzacoatl was not involved....it was just a
criminal posing as his son (using advanced science) to mislead the
superstitious. The Son of the Feathered Serpent was actually Don Rubio Gorro,
your garden variety corrupt Latin America government figure
--Per Degaton.
In What If II#38, Quetzalcoatl is garbed exactly
like previous depictions of Tezcatlipoca and even recalling his
encounter with Thor against Demogorge. The only sense to be made
of this is that Quetzalcoatl has replaced Tezcatlipoca in this
reality. (Or he really dug Tezcatlipoca's threads --Prime
Ed-ternal)
Profile by William Uchtman and Snood.
Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims
CLARIFICATIONS: If you want to get really technical, although Kukulcan possesses, transforms, and controls el Tigre in X-Men I#25, 26; Kukulcan himself is actually physically behind the scenes. The transformed version of El Tigre is not the physical form of the god Kukulcan, but I think this gets down to splitting hairs. Technically, by that standard, his first actual physical appearance is not until he appears as Quetzalcoatl in Thor I Annual#10.
Other Gods and Eternals have been mistaken for
Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl in the past, these include:
--by the way, for all things Eternal, check out Encyclopaedia Olympianna
(What If II#38) - In an alternate reality, Tezcatlipoca was again usurped by Quetzalcoatl who even took his arraignments of leadership. In this timeline, Quetzalcoatl, possibly representing Itzamna, met with the godheads to discuss Seth, who had conquered Asgard in this reality.
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Appearances:
Namora#1 (August, 1948)
X-Men I#25-26 (October-November, 1966) - Roy Thomas (writer), Werner Roth (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Thor Annual#10 (1982) - Mark Gruenwald & Alan Zelenetz (writers), Bob Hall (pencils), Rick Bryant, Andy Myshynsky, Al Gordon & Kevin Dzuban (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
What If? II#38 (June, 1992) - Roy Thomas, Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier (writers), Marshall Rogers & M.C. Wyman (pencils), Sam De La Rosa & Rod Ramos (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
Marvel Universe: The End#5 (July, 2005) - Jim Starlin (writer/pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Last updated: 08/23/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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