KING KAMUU

Real Name: Kamuu

Identity/Class: Human (Pre-Cataclsym era)

Occupation: King of Atlantis

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Kamuu, Ocar, Sub-Mariner, Zapal, Queen Zartra
worshipped Bishru, Luma, Sumarr, and Valka

Enemies: Deviants, Byron Hyatt, Lemurians, Muvians, Nolem, Katherine Reynolds, Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom), Tsobor, Zhered-Na

Known Relatives: Queen Zartra (wife, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Atlantis, 18,000 B.C.

First Appearance: Sub-Mariner#62 (June, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: As a human, Kamuu was a powerful warrior. As a spirit, he has demonstrated the ability to see in the past or future, and interact with others in his astral form. He once mystically healed the wounds of the Sub-Mariner.

The Sword of Kamuu was an ordinary blade when Kamuu wielded it, but it later attained mystical properties.

History: (Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23/7 (fb) - BTS) - As the Deviant Empire conquered humanity, King Kamuu's Atlantis was soon the only human outpost still resisting them. Zartra, the exiled queen of Lemuria, came to Atlantis after her nation collapsed, and Kamuu fell in love with her, and made her his queen.

(Adventure Into Fear#15 (fb)) - King Kamuu exiled the sorceress Zhered-Na from Atlantis for her prophecies of a coming doom.

(Marvel Spotlight I#17) - When the time-traveling Son of Satan, Katherine Reynolds and Byron Hyatt came to Atlantis in search of Zhered-Na, they were captured by Atlantean soldiers and brought before Kamuu and Zartra. When the Son of Satan asked to see Zhered-Na, he learned that she had already been exiled from Atlantis. As Kamuu inspected the Son of Satan's trident, he ordered the three travelers to be set adrift without provisions, but the Son of Satan reclaimed his trident from Kamuu, and used it to create a wall of flame, allowing him and his friends to escape Kamuu and his guards, departing Atlantis.

(Sub-Mariner#62/2) - As Atlantis faced siege from the air force of the Lemurians and the naval force of the Muvians, Kamuu prepared Atlantis for combat. A band of Lemurian mercenaries broke into Atlantis, and confronted Kamuu and Zartra. The king and queen swiftly defeated their attackers, but other Lemurians had begun to drill into Atlantis' dome with machinery. Believing he had no other choice, Kamuu opened the Serpents' Heads, which heated Atlantis with magma. The lava which flowed from the serpents slew all of the Lemurians, and Kamuu had the remaining mercenaries thrown to the sharks, but his scientist Zapal informed him that Atlantis had begun to sink.

(Sub-Mariner#63/2) - With Atlantis doomed to destruction, Kamuu told the members of his court to spend their final moments with the people they cherished, then sealed himself and Zartra within their palace. Kamuu and Zartra intended to spend their final moments dwelling on their love for each other, but Nolem, a mercenary who had hidden during the fight, emerged from his hiding place and stabbed Zartra in the back. Kamuu killed Nolem, then turned to Zartra, who gave him a jewel she had hidden in her eye socket, and placed on his sword's hilt, making "the Eye of Zartra...evermore one with Kamuu..." Zartra died from her injury, and Kamuu went to his throne, where he sheathed his sword by his side, and chained himself to his seat. As Atlantis was blasted apart by magma, he cried out, "Valka! Bishru! Sumarr! Luma! I am yours!!" Atlantis sank beneath the waves, taking Kamuu's chained-up body with it.

(Sub-Mariner#66/2) - In 6,000 B.C., the spirits of Kamuu and Zartra appeared to a young Homo Mermani also named Kamuu, who had taken up the Sword of Kamuu after finding it in the ruins of Atlantis. Kamuu and Zartra used the Sphere of the Ages to show the young Kamuu the history of Atlantis, and its future, informing him that he would help his people achieve this destiny. After they departed, young Kamuu decided that his people should make Atlantis their new home.

(Namor I#62) - The spirit of Kamuu visited Namor, the Sub-Mariner, modern-day heir to the throne of Atlantis. As Namor was recovering from a clash with the sorceress Morgan Le Fay, Kamuu appeared to him in his dreams, and revealed how Morgan Le Fay was descended from people whose islands had survived the Great Cataclysm. He warned Namor that Morgan Le Fay sought to raise Atlantis, and would need to sacrifice a noble soul to do so. When Namor awoke from the vision, he found that his injuries had completely healed.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Howard Chaykin and Joe Sinnott.

Sub-Mariner#62, 63 and 66 colored all of the human Atlanteans and Lemurians with blue skin, but this was corrected in their other appearances.

The Great Cataclysm happened in 18000 B.C. Read it. Learn it. Live it.
Sub-Mariner I#64/2 states that Kamuu found the sword of his predecessor 5000 years after the Great Cataclysm, which would put it at 13,000 BC.
In Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1, Namor says that the Homo Mermani appeared about 10000 years after the sunk of Atlantis, which would put it at 8,000 BC.
In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#1: Atlantis, the appearance of Homo mermani is dated as ten thousand years ago, or 8,000 B.C. Further, it states that they wandered as nomads for millennia, until 8,000 year ago, or 6,000 BC. It also correctly states this as being 12,000 years since the Great Cataclysm. Kamuu's founding of the undersea city of Atlantis occurred at this time.
In this case, we have to go with fact repeated fairly consistently over decades over the original story. Earlier on, the timing of the Great Cataclysm and the founding of undersea Atlantis was less well defined, so I'm going with it being founded @ 6,000 BC. --Snood

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kamuu should not be confused with:

The Muvians who opposed Atlantis are probably not related to:


OCAR

Ocar was the philosopher of King Kamuu's court. He was slain when Atlantis was destroyed.

--Sub-Mariner#62/2, 63/2
















ZAPAL

Zapal was the scientist of King Kamuu's court. He had the sad duty of informing Kamuu that the Serpents' Heads' magma would destroy Atlantis. He was slain when Atlantis was destroyed.

--Sub-Mariner#62/2, 63/2















TSOBOR

Tsobor was one of the human Lemurian mercenaries sent by the Deviants to assault King Kamuu at Atlantis. He was considered to be one of the greatest warriors amongst the mercenaries, but King Kamuu dispatched him in combat, then flung him off his palace.

--Sub-Mariner#62/2














Images taken from:
Sub-Mariner#62, page 22, panel 1
Sub-Mariner#63/2, page 4, panel 8
Ocar- Sub-Mariner#62, page 26, panel 5
Zapal- Sub-Mariner#62, page 28, panel 4
Tsobor- Sub-Mariner#62, page 23, panel 2


Appearances:
Sub-Mariner#62/2-63/2 (June-July, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Howard Chaykin (plot/pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Adventure Into Fear#15 (August, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Frank McLaughlin (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Sub-Mariner#66/2 (October, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Marvel Spotlight I#17 (September, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), Sal Trapani (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual#22/7 (1989) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Namor, the Sub-Mariner I#62 (May, 1995) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Geof Isherwood (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)


First Posted: 07/06/2005
Last updated: 07/06/2005

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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