AQIRIA
Official
Name: Kingdom
of Aqiria
(Mamlakat
al-'Aqiriyya)
Continent: Asia
Population: 7,493,000
Capital
City: Makazan;
formerly Burbok
Government: Absolute monarchy
Environment: Desert
Languages: Arabic
National
Defense: Air
Defense Force,
Air Force, Land
Forces (Army), Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary), National
Guard,
Royal Guard
Places
of Interest:
(Burbok): al-Kafir
Palace, Aqiria
International Airport; (Hamraa): al-Fasaud Palace;
(Makazan): Alambia
Market
Domestic
Super Humans:
Al-Thahab Al-Aswad, Fasaud
(Farouk
al-Fasaud)
Non
Human Population:
None
Prominent
Citizens:
President Abdi, King
Kahil
al-Kafir;
formerly Sheikh Muhammed al-Kafir,
Fasaud, Emperor
Trajan (Marcus Ulpius
Nerva Traianus)
Superhuman
Residents: None
First
Appearance:
Fantastic Four
I#308 (November, 1987)
History:
(Marvel
Atlas#2 (fb) -
BTS) - The first
inhabitants of Aqiria were Nabataean traders who used the area's desert
oases
while traveling between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. In 110 A.D.,
the
Roman Emperor Trajan conquered Aqiria and made it part of the Roman
Empire
until, in the 7th Century, Aqiria was conquered
by the Arabs during
the Byzantine-Arab Wars. After escaping Ottoman conquest in 1560, the
modern
Kingdom of Aqiria was established by Sheikh Muhammed al-Kafir to
promote a more
purified version of Islam. Becoming a close ally to the USA
in the
mid-20th Century Cold War against Soviet Russia,
Aqiria became one
of the wealthiest nations when oil reserves were discovered there in
May 1940.
(Fantastic
Four I#309 (fb) - BTS) - In recent years, after gaining power and
wealth from oil, Sheikh
Farouk
al-Fasaud befriended Aqirian King Kahil al-Kafir and was appointed
Aqiria's oil
minister.
(Fantastic
Four I#308 (fb))
- The oil minister of Aqiria, Sheikh
Farouk al-Fasaud, met with the delegates of OPEC, using his wealth and
power to
force the west to accept OPEC's decisions whenever it suited Fasaud's
portfolio
to do so. He also used his influence to reject OPEC whenever it was
monetarily
beneficial to do so. CBS reporter Gregory Dunbar soon began an
investigation
into Fasaud's activities, causing news reporters to hound Fasaud and
eventually
launching a full-scale investigation into Fasaud's activities. Blaming
Gregory
Dunbar for his problems, Fasaud learned that Dunbar was in Aqiria
preparing a
news report and attacked the reporter personally in the studio.
Striking
the
camera with his knife, Fasaud's body was transformed into
electromagnetic
energy, causing his physical body to flicker away, replaced with an
energy
form. Dunbar quickly fled.
(Fantastic
Four I#310 (fb) - BTS) - Combining Aqiria's oil money with foreign aid
and Fasaud's access to
international data banks, Aqiria created an advanced riot control force
equipped with advanced technology such as mechanical battle suits.
(Fantastic
Four I#308 - BTS) -
Fasaud attacked Gregory Dunbar at the New York CBS studio and was
dissipated by
the Fantastic Four. The Thing and Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) prepared
to
travel to Aqiria to stop Fasaud once and for all.
(Fantastic
Four I#309) - The Thing
and Ms. Marvel arrived in Aqiria via the Fantastic Four's Pogo Plane
and met
with King al-Kafir to discuss Fasaud's history with the country. During
their
conversation, King al-Kafir confessed to being somewhat envious of
America and
its superhuman population, but announced that he had never considered
inviting
America's heroes to Aqiria. Toward the end of the discussion, American
ambassador Windsor Raynes
explained that the only thing Aqiria asked in
return
for the heroes' aid against Fasaud was for Ms. Marvel to
respect
for Aqiria's local traditions and cover her exposed legs and face.
King
al-Kafir then led the Thing and Ms. Marvel to the satellite uplink
station
where
Fasaud had been transformed. Not knowing much about television
equipment, the
Thing shortly thereafter asked to visit Fasaud's palace and along the
way, the
Thing noticed a tanker full of liquid oxygen. Familiar with liquid
oxygen, the
Thing asked King al-Kafir to see where the tanker was heading but
Ambassador
Raynes politely stated that, while Aqiria wished to work with the Thing
and Ms.
Marvel to stop Fasaud, Aqiria was still a sovereign country and the
tankers
were off-limits to foreigners. King al-Kafir then announced that
Fasaud's
palace should keep the heroes busy for the remainder of the day. Once
night had
fallen, the Thing and Ms. Marvel snuck into the location housing the
tankers,
only to find a space shuttle. Curious about whether the shuttle had
anything to
do with Fasaud, the Thing's questions were answered when Fasaud
appeared and
attacked the two heroes. After felling the heroes, Fasaud was
congratulated by
King al-Kafir and Ambassador Raynes, who had been working with Fasaud
the
entire time.
(Fantastic
Four I#310) - Still in
Aqiria, the Thing and Ms. Marvel were imprisoned while Fasaud, King
al-Kafir
and Ambassador Raynes gloated about their victory over the heroes.
Ambassador
Raynes then revealed that he had been using America's alliance with
Aqiria to
test older space shuttles to launch military payloads. He also
explained that
the Thing and Ms. Marvel's prison was directly below the blast from the
shuttle, warning that the next shuttle to be launched would destroy
them. King
al-Kafir, Fasaud and Raynes soon left the heroes to their fate, at
which point
the Thing broke free of his energy-sapping shackles and then freed Ms.
Marvel.
The two then made their way out but were stopped by Aqiria's advanced
riot
control forces. After defeating the riot control force, the Thing and
Ms.
Marvel made their way out onto the space shuttle's launch site, where
they
noticed Fasaud present in a motorcade. Determining that Fasaud could
only
appear in both New York and Aqiria by bouncing off satellites, the
Thing and
Ms. Marvel boarded the space shuttle and flew into space, where they
battled
Fasaud and eventually destroyed the satellite that allowed Fasaud to
move
near-instantaneously. Fasaud, his signal very weak, transported himself
back
onto the space shuttle, where he attempted to override the shuttle's
controls,
forcing the Thing and Ms. Marvel to crash back to Earth, passing
through cosmic
rays as they fell.
(Fantastic
Four I#311) - Curious
why the Thing and Ms. Marvel had not returned to New York, the Human
Torch flew
to Aqiria and confronted King al-Kafir and Ambassador Raynes, both of
whom
feigned ignorance at the missing FF members' locations. Ambassador
Raynes
deliberately misinformed the Torch, explaining that it was easy to get
lost in
Aqiria's empty deserts.
(War
Machine II#1 (fb)) - Aqiria
entered a state of civil war when desert tribes formed an insurgency to
fight
against the monarchy. The United Nations and NATO supported an
international
coalition force that intervened with a mission to support the monarchy.
During
the civil war, at least 30,000 were killed, 240,000 were displaced,
and 15,000 went missing.
(War
Machine II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Seven months
later, while on a personal mission against terrorism, War Machine (Jim
Rhodes) began
hacking into the databases of every government, news service and
private security
firm, looking for information regarding the missing Glenda Sandoval.
While in
the country of Santo Marco, War Machine picked up a chip containing
information
that allowed him to track Glenda's recent locations. Working with
Glenda's
husband Parnell Jacobs, War Machine explained that he had tracked
Glenda from
getting her contractor's license in Hawaii, to taking an Eaglestar
charter
plane to Paris, to flying into occupied Aqiria. War Machine then showed
Parnell
video footage of Glenda being taken captive by the Eaglestar security
force in
Aqiria.
(War
Machine II#2) - Glenda remained
captured in Aqiria, where Parnell and War Machine's friend Bethany Cabe
sent a
mechanical spy bug into Glenda's cell. The bug found Glenda to
be critically hurt. Parnell
spoke to
Glenda through the bug, promising her that they would get her out of
there and
punish those responsible for her capture. War Machine soon arrived in
Aqiria,
destroying the
Eaglestar camp and
speaking directly to Eaglestar CEO Davis Harmon. Warning Harmon to have
his men
stand down and no one would get hurt, War Machine was quickly attacked
by daisy
cutter missiles sent out by Harmon. War Machine reversed the missiles
to attack
the tanks also sent against him. He then made his way to Glenda's cell,
where he
met with former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jake Oh, whom he ordered to have
medicine
ready
for Glenda after he freed her. War Machine then prepared to kill the
Aqirian
men who had escaped but Glenda told War Machine not to kill them, so
they could
be prosecuted along with the Eaglestar corporation as a whole.
(War
Machine II#3) - War Machine
continued to battle the Eaglestar forces in Aqiria, confronting Davis
Harmon
personally upon learning of his involvement in Glenda's capture and
rape. Norman
Osborn's agent, Ares, soon entered the fight against Osborn's orders,
and a massive battle between Ares and War Machine began. Davis Harmon
escaped while War Machine defeated Ares. War Machine then tracked down
Davis Harmon, who claimed War Machine
could
do nothing to him for his crimes, as Eaglestar was a multinational
business and
not under the US government's jurisdiction, nor Aqirian
jurisdiction. Davis
then tried to make a deal with War Machine, offering him an alien viral
weapon
in exchange for Davis' freedom. Jake Oh and the rescued Glenda Sandoval
arrived
behind War Machine and, having overheard Davis' claims, Glenda shot
Davis
herself, reminding him that she was still technically an employee of
Eaglestar
herself. Ares, having regained conscious, arrived and commended War
Machine on
a job well done upon seeing the deceased Davis Harmon. Ares
then opened
the containment cell of the alien virus, contaminating Glenda Sandoval
and others nearby with an Ultimo Contagion.
(War
Machine II#4) - Still inside
the Eaglestar HQ in Aqiria, War Machine and Ares were swarmed with
Ultimo
Contagion-infected civilians, including Glenda Sandoval. Ares made
quick work
of the infected, happily slaughtering seven of them. Once the area was
secure,
War Machine flew Ares outside and the two briefly fought once more
before War
Machine stopped fighting and contacted Bethany Cabe, asking her to
contact Suzi
Endo for her techno-expertise. While Endo attempted to
reverse the
Ultimo
Contagion, the seven slain civilians returned to life, infected Jake
Oh's agents, and attacked Ares and War
Machine.
As he battled the infected, War Machine was informed by Endo
that
the
infected had to be destroyed before they could infect others, but War
Machine
hesitated, believing the infected to still be innocent. Eaglestar
eventually
bombed the entire area, heavily damaging War Machine. When War Machine
came to,
he demanded to know where Ares had gone, not realizing that Ares had
become
infected and led the remaining infected civilians into the Aqirian
capital city
of Makazan.
(War
Machine II#5) - War Machine
and Jake Oh arrived in Makazan to find Ares and the others spreading
the Ultimo
Contagion throughout the city. Battling Ares and Glenda, War Machine
began
absorbing the tech-based Ultimo Contagion into himself, curing those he
drained. Soon, the infected War Machine began rampaging, claiming to be
Ultimo,
but Endo came up with a countermeasure to the virus, which
Parnell
Jacobs
released via electromagnetic pulse generator, restoring War Machine to
normal
and destroying the contagion. Ares left
peacefully, calling War Machine his champion before departing. The
then-head of
H.A.M.M.E.R., Norman Osborn, commended War Machine, Jake Oh, Glenda
Sandoval,
Suzi
Endo and Bethany Cabe by rewarding them with the things they wanted
most.
Despite being offered a cloned body instead of his then-current
cybernetic one,
War Machine declined Osborn's rewards, gathered together his allies,
and
announced that while no one seemed to care what happened in Aqiria, his
anti-terrorist mission would hit the USA next.
(Silver Surfer V#4) - Soldiers in Aqiria witnessed from afar Earth's Moon changing (due to High Evolutionary's herald Seeker terraforming it).
(X-Men Legacy II#13) - President Abdi of Aqiria visited London and met protests due to Aqiria's many human right violations. He discussed with English politicians Aqiria's oil prices and the creation of Aqiria's own hero force, introducing Aqiria's first recruit Al-Thahab Al-Aswad ("Black Gold" in English). On Abdi's wish Mutants were excluded from his meeting with MI13 agents.
(X-Men Legacy II#14) - After the meetings had ended Pete Wisdom saved Abdi from an Aqirian assassin, who had been oppressed for being gay and attempted to shoot Abdi with a sniper rifle. To Pete's surprise Legion provided the gun Pete used to save the Aqirian president. Abdi himself was only dissapointed that Wisdom and not his personal guard Al-Thahab Al-Aswad had saved him.
(X-Men Legacy II#14 - BTS) - In Abdi's absence, the people of Aqiria, inspired by Lila Cheney's pro-mutant campaign in Great Britian, overthrew the anti-mutant government. When Abdi learned about this, he stayed in his hotel room in London without a country to return to. The new regime immediately signed the oil deal with Great Britain that Abdi didn't want to sign.
Comments: Created by Steve
Englehart, John Buscema
and Joe Sinnott.
While
Marvel Atlas#2 (2008) stated
that the capital city of Aqiria was Burbok, War Machine II#4 (2009)
stated it
as Makazan. Given that Aqiria was in a state of civil war during the
War
Machine issues, perhaps the capital city was once Burbok but, during
the course
of the civil war, the capital city was changed to Makazan. Either that,
or
perhaps the city once known as Burbok was changed to Makazan during the
war and
they are the same city.
In X-Men Legacy II#13, it seems like Aqiria changed its form from government from monarchy to democracy or at least something similar with a president in charge.
Some online sources list Aqiria as appearing in a
flashback in Weapon X III#9. One flashback is specifically listed as
occurring in Ujanka but the other flashback just mentions Eaglestar the
company and not specifically Aqiria.
Profile
by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Aqiria has no known connections to:
- Aquion, planet containing race of fish
people @ Fantastic Four III#521
- any other "Aqui-" city, country or
name.
Kahil
al-Kafir was the king of
Aqiria and had appointed Farouk al-Fasaud as oil minister, a man he
trusted.
When Fasaud's criminal activities came to light, King al-Kafir invited
the
Thing and Ms. Marvel to Aqiria under the guise of stopping Fasaud.
While
discussing the Fasaud situation with the Thing and Ms. Marvel, King
al-Kafir
confessed that he had always been somewhat envious of America and its
superhumans but have never considered inviting them to Aqiria. After
showing
the two heroes the satellite uplink station where Fasaud had been
transformed,
as well as Fasaud's palace, King al-Kafir later congratulated Fasaud
when
Fasaud appeared and felled Thing and Ms. Marvel, having been working
with
Fasaud the entire time. After gloating over the captured heroes, King
al-Kafir
later chided Fasaud for not properly restraining the heroes but Fasaud
told al-Kafir not to worry. Later, the Human Torch visited
Aqiria looking
for the
missing Thing and Ms. Marvel, prompting King al-Kafir to feign
ignorance of
their location and claim disappointment at their disappearance.
--Fantastic
Four I#309 (310-311
Having
adopted an anti-superhuman
stance, Windsor Raynes was the American ambassador to Aqiria and worked
closely
with Aqiria's King Kahil al-Kafir. Knowing that America needed to get
its
military payloads into space, Raynes used America's alliance with
Aqiria to
test out older space shuttles for payload transport, He worked with
King
al-Kafir to invite the Thing and Ms. Marvel to Aqiria under the guise
of
stopping Fasaud. As part of the agreement with Aqiria, Raynes informed
Ms.
Marvel that she would need to adopt local Aqirian traditional garb and
cover her exposed legs and face. He continued to accompany
King al-Kafir,
the Thing and Ms.
Marvel as they toured the satellite uplink station where Fasaud had
been
transformed into an energy being, as well as Fasaud's palace, and later
congratulated Fasaud after Fasaud had felled the two heroes, revealing
that he
had been working with King al-Kafir and Fasaud the entire time. Raynes
later
gloated over the captured heroes, explaining how he used Aqiria's
resources to
test older American space shuttles to house military payloads. Later,
when the
Human Torch visited Aqiria looking for the missing Thing and Ms.
Marvel, Raynes
and King al-Kafir feigned ignorance at the heroes' location.
--Fantastic Four I#309 (310-311
images:
(without ads)
War Machine II#2, p1, pan1 (Aqiria, main image)
Marvel Atlas#2 (national flag)
War Machine II#4, p21, pan1 (Aqiria, Makazan (capital city))
Fantastic Four I#309, p3, pan5 (King Kahil al-Kafir)
Fantastic Four I#309, p3, pan5 (Windsor
Raynes)
Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#308 (November, 1987) - Steve Englehart (writer), John
Buscema
(breakdowns), Joe Sinnott (finishes), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#309 (December, 1987) - Steve Englehart (writer), John
Buscema,
Joe Sinnott (art), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#310 (January, 1988) - Steve Englehart (writer), Keith
Pollard
(pencils), Joe Sinnott (finishes), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#311 (February, 1988) - Steve Englehart (writer), Keith
Pollard
(pencils), Joe Sinnott (finishes), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel Atlas#2 (2008) - Michael Hoskin (head writer, coordinator),
Anthony
Flamini, Stuart Vandal, Eric J. Moreels (writers), Mike Fichera (art
coordinator), Eliot R. Brown (cartographer), Jeff Youngquist, John
Denning
(editors)
War Machine II#1 (February, 2009) - Greg Pak (writer), Leonardo Manco
(art),
Bill Rosemann (editor)
War Machine II#2 (March, 2009) - Greg Pak (writer), Leonardo Manco
(art), Bill
Rosemann (editor)
War Machine II#3 (April, 2009) - Greg Pak (writer), Leonardo Manco
(art), Bill
Rosemann (editor)
War Machine II#4 (May, 2009) - Greg Pak (writer), Leonardo Manco (art),
Bill
Rosemann (editor)
War Machine II#5 (June, 2009) - Greg Pak (writer), Leonardo Manco
(art), Bill
Rosemann (editor)
Silver Surfer V#4 (July, 2011) - Greg Pak (writer), Iban Coello Soria
& Harvey Tolibao (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Mark Paniccia
(editor)
X-Men: Legacy II#13-14 (September-October, 2013) - Simon Spurrier
(writer), Tan Eng Huat (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks), Daniel Ketchum
(editor)
First
posted: 01/05/2014
Last
updated: 03/09/2021
Any
Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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