SEMIJAN
There are no images of Semijan's true form.
Images shown are its hosts

Real Name: Semijan

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial energy constructs (Undying)

Occupation: Predator, killer;
    would-be world-conquerer

Group Membership: Undying (Aentaros, Lothan, Tiamet, Vaudois)

Affiliations: Azazel;
    formerly the Serayn;
    his hosts (which are currently cockroaches) are his unwilling servants (formerly Randall Shire, numerous others unidentified (but all others presumably deceased));
    while he possessed Randall Shire, those who heard Randall Shire's voice were forced to obey his will (including G.W. Bridge and his unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. associate, Jason Cross, Karen Gleason, Key (Lachlan Patterson), Wall (Mick Patterson), and tens of thousands of others)
    presumably the Cockroach Conspiracy

Enemies: Professor Berger, Blaquesmith, Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Beast (Hank McCoy), Clarity (and his agents Greg and Lea), Jean Grey, Sheik Hamid, Key, the Serayn, Wall;
    Blockade/Dexter Parrish, Andy Carmody, Domino/Neena Thurman, Irene Merryweather - all only while under the the control of Aentaros;
    countless victims of its hosts on Earth and on various worlds (including whole races presumably exterminated by them, notably the races from which they chose their favored hosts, specifically the hosts of Aentaros, Lothan, Semijan, Tiamet, and Vaudois);
    indirectly friends and families of its hosts and other victims;
    for the purposes of their competition, the other Undying (Lothan, Semijan, Tiamet, Vaudois) are its enemies

Known Relatives: Aentaros, Lothan, Tiamet, Vaudois ("siblings")

Base of Operations: Unspecified various locations throughout Earth;
    formerly Randall Shire, mobile from Australia to the USA (specifically at a residence in Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York;
    body/former host contained within Azazel in the Sinai desert;
    formerly mobile throughout the universe and across multiple planets via the ship Azazel;
    originally created on the world of the Serayn

First Appearance: (Unidentified, within host Randall Shire) Cable II#79 (May, 2000);
    (identified) Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Like the rest of the Undying, Semijan is an artificial, asexual creature of pure intellect and energy that melds its energy fields with the minds of other living creatures, possessing and controlling them. 

    Such hosts, even ones with pre-existing psychic powers, such as Randall Shire, were unable to resist his control or exert their own wills.

    Once possessing a host, Semijan could only transfer to another via the host's physical death or via Azazel -- the artificial intelligence of the Undying's starship/base -- specifically transferring them. Once a host perished, Azazel placed Semijan into a new host.

    Full cardiopulmonary arrest was presumably sufficient to expel Semijan (it proved to be the case for Aentaros, at least), and a host could be liberated at great risk via inducing this and then recovering via cardiopulmonary resuscitation (see comments).
    Surviving such a resuscitation, a former host will remember only a small amount of what he or she had experienced while possessed. The thoughts of the Undying are alien and difficult to understand.
    Following reprogramming by Key, Azazel is only able to transfer Aentaros and the rest of the Undying into cockroaches at least until the death of the last cockroach on Earth.

    Like the rest of the Undying, Aentaros feeds and thrives on blood and death, both those slain by hosts and by the deaths of the hosts themselves. Considering other living beings to be no more than food and sport, Aentaros drives hosts to kill, growing in more the more beings its host slays.

    As an energy being,  Aentaros' true form has not been revealed. Hosts can be recognized by a glowing circle-within-a-circle pattern on their foreheads, although these do not apparently always show. Perhaps Aentaros can sometimes make these invisible.

    At least some of Aentaros' hosts gain superhuman powers while possessed. For example, Andy Carmody had powerful claws for hands and could bend Cable's telekinetic force field; the already superhumanly strong and durable Blockade was reportedly ten-times stronger while possessed by Aentaros.

    Like the rest of the Undying, Aentaros maintained a favored alien lifeform in stasis on Azazel to which he could be called back to defend their ship. Although a powerful warrior, after an extensive time in stasis, this form rapidly decayed within a few minutes after being exposed to Earth's atmosphere, at least.

    The Undying compete in a game/competition, aided and judged by Azazel: Whichever killed the most lifeforms won. Each match lasted 10,000 years or until all life on the planet was destroyed. To keep the game fair, the Undying gave Azazel the power to transfer their energy matrix from one specific host to another at the moment of death. This insured that none of the Undying gained an "unfair advantage." When circumstances unbalanced the competition, Azazel stabilized the situation by using another member of the Undying as its executioner.

    The Undying's desires and abilities are currently limited by Azazel's programming to only transfer them into cockroaches.

History:
(Cable II#84 (fb)) - Several million years ago, the Serayn -- who were driven by scientific curiosity and sought the secrets of creation but whose bodies could not survive leaving their world -- built a virtually indestructible spaceship to explore the universe for them. Desiring a crew that would be immortal (for all practical purposes), the Serayn created five artificial energy beings of pure intellect that they dubbed the Undying.

    Wishing to learn everything about other races, the Serayn gave the Undying the power to meld their energy field with the mind of any creature and thus observe alien life directly. Once one of the Undying gained control of a host body, it could only be released by the host's death.

    However, the Undying fed on the energy released during death. Lacking any sense of right or wrong, the Undying turned on their creators to feed their unquenchable thirst for death.

    After a thousand years, the Serayn were no more.

(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) - The Undying spent the next several million years traveling from world to world aboard the Serayn ship, the artificial intelligence of which became known as Azazel, devouring the death energies of a multitude of lifeforms.

    Eventually, they grew bored, so they started a game/competition, aided and judged by Azazel: Whoever killed the most lifeforms won. Each match lasted 10,000 years or until all life on the planet was destroyed. To keep the game fair, the Undying gave Azazel the power to transfer their energy matrix from one specific host to another at the moment of death. This insured that none of the Undying gained an "unfair advantage." When circumstances unbalanced the competition, Azazel stabilized the situation by using another member of the Undying as its executioner.

    Each of the Undying kept a favored alien lifeform in stasis aboard Azazel.

(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) <7000 years ago> - Azazel established a base on Earth in the deserts around Mt. Sinai.

(Cable II#81 (fb) - BTS) - The Undying possessed various humans throughout the world and across time, sending them on killing sprees, and the Undying grew more powerful the more their hosts murdered.

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) -The Undying led various peoples to war.

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Semijan possessed low-level psychomorph, Randall Shire, who ran a small traveling carnival in Australia. Semijan's presence boosted Shire's powers to astonishing heights.

    Whenever Shire spoke, he bound people to him by the sound of his voice. Anyone who heard him became his slave, starting with Shire's allies, Key and Wall. Semijan led Shire to America, from which he intended to conquer the world while preaching a message of harmony.

(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) - In this unbalanced situation, Azazel chose Aentaros to execute Shire.

(Cable II#79 (fb) - BTS) - The Semijan-possessed Randall Shire prepared to speak at Madison Square Garden

(Cable II#79 (fb) - BTS) - Aentaros possessed family man Andy Carmody

(Cable II#79 - BTS) - Forewarned of this threat by the Fates, Cable rushed to Madison Square Garden and contained Andy in a force field. After ranting about killing Shire, Aentaros caused Andy to activate a pair of hand grenades, killing Andy and allowing Aentaros to escape his form.

(Cable II#79) - At Semijan/Shire's request, Key noted that there were 18,975 attending his lecture, which brought his monthly total to 74,327 slaves. Shire countered that he preferred to think of them as his Harmonious Family, but Key again noted them to be slaves. Key subsequently informed Shire/Semijan of the man who had killed himself at the building's northeast entrance eight minutes before, as well as noting apparent mutant involvement due to the presence of the force field and that the man had said "Aentaros" right before he had committed suicide.

    Shire/Semijan correctly realized that Azazel had acted to prevent Semijan from accumulating too much power, and he noted that Aentaros would be back in one body or another as he was very determined. When Wall assured Shire that Aentaros would not get past him, Shire/Semijan expressed confidence in him but instructed him not to kill Aentaros, as they needed him alive. 

(Cable II#79 - BTS) - Aentaros subsequently possessed Blockade and resolved to kill Cable first and then Shire.

(Cable II#80) - Randall Shire/Semijan spoke at Madison Square Garden, apparently bringing another approximately 18,975 people under his control with his message of harmony.

(Cable II#81) - After some struggle, Cable subdued Blockade, after which Aentaros forced Blockade to break his own neck, killing Blockade and liberating Aentaros to possess another.

(Cable II#81) - S.H.I.E.L.D. agent G.W. Bridge and his assistant met with Shire, intending to warn him of the threat to his life and learn what he might know about Blockade's recovery. However, as soon as they met Shire, they fell under Semijan's influence and agreed to his instructions to station twenty agents to watch over him each night, changing the guards each night so he could take control of them as well. They further agreed to bring some of their colleagues from the Defense Department.

    After they left, Semijan considered that Aentaros' attempt to stop him had delivered federal law enforcement into his hands and that within a week he would control the entire US government. With his accelerated schedule, Key projected that Shire would conquer the world in 23 days, and Shire noted that thereafter, the killing would begin.

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Cable subsequently enlisted his ally Blaquesmith to create a portable immobilizing trap he could use to keep the Undying paralyzed for hours, no matter what it's strength.

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Cable met with Bridge and discussed Blockade, after which Bridge tried to convince Cable to come see Shire speak.

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Blaquesmith worked on a device to prevent the Undying from escaping a host.

(Cable II#82) - Randall Shire/Semijan told Key and Wall that everything was going so well, and that it was too bad that they all must die. Key suggested that Shire might rule the world instead of destroying it. As Semijan considered that it would be amusing, and that if he ruled the world, he could change the rules, Key secretly sent information to Cable's associate Clarity without directly defying his master's wishes.

(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Having survived possession by Aentaros after Cable induced cardiac arrest and then resuscitated her, Irene Merryweather noted that Randall Shire was also possessed by one of the Undying.

    After Clarity had located Azazel, his associate Greg further detailed information sent from Key regarding Shire.

(Cable II#82) - Bridge informed Shire/Semijan of Blockade's death but warned that another, more deadly mercenary was now after him. As Bridge had men stationed at the airports, highways, and train stations, Semijan/Shire refused to cancel his lecture, and he instructed Bridge to triple his security agents and kill anyone who tried to stop him.

(Cable II#83 (fb) - BTS) - Aentaros possessed Domino (Neena Thurman).

(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Meanwhile, Cable communicated with representatives of both Reality-2775, who told him that if Cable saved Shire from an assassin that night that Shire would establish the Ranshi Empire, ruling Earth and the the Milky Way Galaxy; and of Reality-22073, in which the assassin slew Shire, but he was martyred, leading his religion, Harmony, to prosper, although mutants were prevented/outlawed. Regardless, he learned that Domino (Neena Thurman) was to be the assassin. 

(Cable II#83) - Blaquesmith supplied Cable with the weapon he sought, after which Cable met with the Shire/Semijan-controlled G.W. Bridge, who had snipers prepared to kill Domino or anyone who approached Shire.

    When Domino attacked, Cable stopped Bridge and then ultimately used Blaquesmith's weapon to immobilize/incapacitate Domino, with Aentaros trapped within her.

    Cable listened as Semijan taunted Aentaros, and then he shared Semijan's words with the crowd listening to Shire, and his message of hatred amplified by his own powers led the crowd to both hate him and to be freed from his influence. This resulted in diverging both the Ranshi and Harmonist futures.

    Cable then instructed Bridge to gag Shire and put him in solitary confinement, and to place Domino in maximum security. He subsequently met with Wall and Key, and they agreed to help him against the Undying.

(Cable II#84 - BTS) - Cable -- joined by Key, Wall, and X-Men Beast (Hank McCoy) and Jean Grey -- traveled to the door of Azazel.

    As Key determined the code and unlocked the door, Azazel sent a distress signal, summoning the Undying back to their host bodies in stasis.

(Cable II#84 - BTS) - As the Undying were recalled, Randall Shire, Domino, and other hosts were freed from the Undying's influence.

(Cable II#84) - Released from stasis, Semijan and the rest of the Undying attacked the invaders.

    Key took control of Azazel and adjusted its settings, so that Azazel would now only be able to transfer the Undying into cockroaches; and not just for 10,000 years but until the last cockroach on Earth died. Cable and Jean Grey formed a telekinetic S.H.I.E.L.D. to hold the Undying off until the transfer took effect.

Comments: Created by Robert Weinberg, Michael Ryan, and Andrew Pepoy.

    And this is why you should not kill a cockroach. If it is the last cockroach on Earth, the Undying will be free to possess humanity again!

    Semijan's true form is energy and has not been seen on panel. The forms shown in the profile are its hosts.

Three futures associated with Randall Shire:

• On Earth-2775, Randall Shire/Semijan defeated Cable and formed the Ranshi Empire; circa 4004 AD warred with Harmonists of divergent Earth-22073
• On Earth-22073, Cable killed Randall Shire, martyring him and causing his religion, Harmony, to prosper; the world was technically advanced with worldwide peace; however, they used in utero screening technique to eliminate mutation
• Both realities were diverged from Reality-616 when Cable defeated Shire without killing him and made his followers hate him.
  
• Interestingly, both of the first two realities were somewhat Utopian (with certain flaws)...not at all what one would expect if  Semijan was controlling Shire and ruled the world, or if Shire was slain and Semijan possessed a new host while the Undying continued their plots...
• Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

    The names of Lothan, Tiamet, and Vaudois, as well as the identification of the favored forms (from Cable II#84) of Aentaros, Semijan, Tiamet, and Vaudois were provided and/or approved by Robert Weinberg, as he received a special thanks in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Semijan should be distinguished from:

• SEMIHAZAH - see AZAZE (mutant, father of Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner)--Uncanny X-Men#432
• other "semi" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

Appearances:
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#83 (September, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#84 (October, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Nathan Massengil & Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)

All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12 (December, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Al Sjoerdsma, Eric J. Moreels, Sean McQuaid, Chad Anderson, Mark O'English, Anthony Flamini, Ronald Byrd, Jacob Rougemont, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12 (March, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike O'Sullivan, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Rob London, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, David Wiltfong, Jacob Rougemont, Chris Biggs, Rich Green, Kevin Garcia, Jeph York, & Mark O'English (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

First posted: 07/02/2023
Last updated: 07/23/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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