HUITZILOPOCHTLI

Real Name: Huitzilopochtli

Identity/Class: Aztec god

Occupation: God of the sun and war

Group Membership: Teteoh (Chalchiuhtlique, Coatlique, Mictlantecuhtli, Omecihuatl, Ometecuhtli, Ozomatli, Quetzacoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc, Tlazolteotl, Xipe Totec, Xochiquetzal, Xolotl, others)

Affiliations: Ajak, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Amadeus Cho, Council of Godheads (Altjira, Kwaku Anansi, Athena/Athena Panhellenios, Bathala, Hodiak, Horus/Horus-Aton, Hwanin, Inti, Izanagi-No-Mikoto, Shou-Hsing/Zhao Yen, Tezcatlipoca, Ukko, others), Demogorge (Atum), Hercules (Heracles), Hummingbird (Maria Aracely Penalba), "Kirby" (unidentified Skrull), Snowbird (Narya), the Teteoh

Enemies: Blindfold (Ruth Aldine), the Dwarf, Kid Omega (Quentin Quire), time-displaced Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Marvel Girl (Rachel Grey of Earth-811) (indirectly through his possession of Hummingbird);
    formerly the Centzon Huitznaua, Coyolxauhqui

Known Relatives: Gaea (Coatlique/Cihuacoatl, mother), the Centzon Huitznaua (brothers, deceased), Coyolxauhqui (sister, deceased)

Aliases: "Blue Hummingbird on the Left," "Resuscitated Warrior of the South" (English translations of name), Totec, Uitzilopochtli, Xiuhpilli

Base of Operations: Topan, the Floating World

First Appearance: (mentioned as a name usurped by Apocalypse) X-Factor I#24 (January, 1988);
    (true Huitzilopochtli mentioned): Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#1 (July, 1989);
    (fully seen) Incredible Hercules I#117 (July, 2008)

Powers/Abilities: Huitzilpochtli has all of the conventional abilities of other Aztec gods including superhuman durability (with tissue three times as dense as a normal human), superhuman strength (lifting at least 25 tons) and superhuman endurance preventing him from physically tiring.

As a true immortal, Huitzilopochtli does not age, is immune to all terrestrial diseases and is superhumanly resistant to injury. Huitzilopochtli also possesses a superhuman recovery rate, allowing him to utilize his own godly life force to heal injuries near instantly. He cannot die by conventional means and only an injury strong enough to completely incinerate or disperse a large portion of his bodily molecules would cause death and even at that point, he could be revived by a god or gods of equal or greater power to his own.

Huitzilopochtli can also seemingly take possession of human beings (or at least, Hummingbird/Aracely Penalba), speaking through and channeling divine fire through them. The divine fire projected is capable of incinerating even mystical beings.

According to myth, Huitzilopochtli is also capable of shapeshifting, ranging from simple feats such as turning his skin blue to completely transforming himself into a hummingbird or eagle.

Height: Variable
Weight: Variable
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Unrevealed (see comments)

History: (myth) - Coatlique (an aspect of the primordial Earth Mother Gaea) became pregnant with her son Huitzilopochtli when a ball of feathers fell from the heavens into the temple where Coatlique was sweeping and touched her. Huitzilopochtli's siblings felt as if Coatlique had dishonored them with her mysterious unexplained pregnancy and Coatlique's daughter Coyolxauhqui encouraged her four hundred siblings to kill the supposedly dishonored Coatlique.

(Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica - The Teteoh entry - BTS) - Gaea (known to the Teteoh as Coatlique or Cihuacoatl) gave birth to the sun god Huitzilopochtli.

(myth) - During his birth on Coatepec Mountain (near the modern day city of Tula, Mexico), the full sized adult Huitzilopochtli sprang forth from Coatlique, armed and ready to save her from her children. Huitzilopochtli then exterminated his own brothers, the Centzon Huitznaua and attacked his sister Coyolxauhqui. After Huitzilopochtli severed the head of Coyolxauhqui, Coatlique regretted the violence she had inadvertently caused so Huitzilopochtli hurled Coyolxauhqui's head into the sky, where it apparently became the moon. Over time, Huitzilopochtli's Aztec worshipers began to offer human sacrifices to him as what they considered daily nourishment, usually in the form of a captured enemy's heart, in hopeful exchange for rain, better harvests and success in war against their neighboring enemies. Huitzilopochtli, represented by either a hummingbird or eagle, also guided his Aztec worshipers with his voice by night on their trek from their traditional home of Aztlan to the Valley of Mexico, with many of the worshiping priests carrying images of hummingbirds on their shoulders. Upon his followers arriving in the Valley of Mexico, Huitzilopochtli commanded in 1325 that they found the new capital of Tenochtitlan on a small island in a Valley of Mexico lake.

(All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z I#3 - Council of Godheads entry - BTS) - Also known as the god of war, Huitzilopochtli was at some point impersonated by the immortal mutant Apocalypse.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#1 - Apocalypse entry - BTS) - The Aztecs believed Apocalypse was the true Huitzilopochtli.

(X-Factor I#24 (fb) - BTS) - Still posing as Huitzilpochtli, Apocalypse was worshiped by the Aztecs as not only the god of war but also bloody sacrifice.

(Incredible Hercules I#116 - BTS) - Huitzilopochtli attended the Council of Godheads gathered by the Olympian Athena, who hoped the pantheons might assist against the threat of the extraterrestrial Skrulls.

(Incredible Hercules I#117) - Huitzilopochtli listened with the Council of Godheads as Athena expressed interest in the various pantheons providing champions to assist Hercules against the Skrulls. When Hercules attacked Izanagi-No-Mikoto's proposed champion, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Huitzilopochtli and other Council members backed away during the savage attack.

(Scarlet Spider II#15 (fb) - BTS) - When the young Maria Aracely Penalba's parents were killed and she was placed into a truck full of illegal migrants, Huitzilopochtli reached out to her as a voice and assured Aracely that she would survive to help make the world bleed.

(Scarlet Spider II#14 - BTS) - While being chased by the lycanthropic Lobo Cartel, Aracely Penalba was confronted by Esme Lobo, who suggested the opinionated possibility that Maria was a reincarnated Huitzilopochtli.

(Scarlet Spider II#15 - BTS) - Following the mortal wounding of Carlos Lobo and the defeat of the Lobo Cartel at Scarlet Spider (Kaine)'s hands, Aracely dreamed about the rise of Mictlan and the coming of the "Sixth Creation." While Aracely slept, Huitzilpochtli took possession of Aracely's body and levitated into the air, claiming the Sixth Creation required blood and that they would make the world bleed. Meanwhile, the criminal Mr. Moctezuma visited and attacked Esme Lobo, proclaiming that he needed Aracely dead to begin the Sixth Creation and that he sensed the awakening of Huitzilopochtli. Tossing Esme aside, Moctezuma remarked that Huitzilopochtli would kill him for things he had done.

(Scarlet Spider II#17 - BTS) - Huitzilopochtli briefly took possession of Maria Aracely Penabla (now the costumed Hummingbird)'s body when she was discovered while aiding her ally Scarlet Spider (Kaine) in infiltrating the Jean School for Higher Learning as part of a complex plot to trick the Assassins Guild into thinking they were assassinating Wolverine. Speaking through Hummingbird and causing a psychic backlash that disrupted the mutant psychics within the Jean Grey School, Huitzilopochtli exclaimed that he would bring fire to destroy the dark and that he required blood. Hummingbird quickly regained her senses and realized she had inadvertently hurt others.

(Scarlet Spider II#18 - BTS) - Following the revelation of the trick on the Assassins Guild, Beast and Dr. Cecilia Reyes analyzed Hummingbird to see if she was a mutant but when the tests showed she was human, Hummingbird suggested her powers may be due to the voice in her head, unaware it was Huitzilopochtli. When Hummingbird asked if she were evil, Beast replied that he didn't think she was evil but he did think Aracely was not the only consciousness inhabiting her body.

(New Warriors V#6 - BTS) - During a battle between the New Warriors and the Darkhold Dwarf, the Dwarf attempted to possess Thor, who was guarding the New Warriors, and Huitzilopochtli again took possession of Hummingbird's body. Proclaiming his affront due to an agent of Chthon attacking a god, Huitzilopochtli channeled divine fire through Hummingbird, preventing the Dwarf's possession of Thor and seemingly incinerating the demonic Dwarf.

(New Warriors V#9 - BTS) - While Aracely was dancing with her teammate Speedball at a rave club, Huitzilpochtli briefly took possession of Aracely's body, muttering "Mictlan rises. I'm going to die soon." before the unaware Aracely regained control of her faculties.

Comments: Adapted fully into Marvel Comics by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Rafa Sandoval and Roger Bonet.

It wasn't clear what exactly Huitzilopochtli's connection to Hummingbird was. In Scarlet Spider II#14, Esme Lobo suggests that Hummingbird is a reincarnated Huitzilopochtli. However, in Scarlet Spider II#17, Huitzilopochtli appears to speak through Hummingbird directly as if she is his mortal vessel and Beast mentions in Scarlet Spider II#18 that there appeared to be another entity within Hummingbird's mind, suggesting Huitzilopochtli was actually inhabiting Hummingbird's body. Occasionally, Hummingbird's body seems to be completely taken over by Huitzilopochtli while Hummingbird's consciousness seems to black out (such as in Scarlet Spider II#17 & New Warriors V#6), further suggesting that Huitzilopochtli was taking possession of Hummingbird's body. It has also been suggested in-story that Hummingbird could just be partially insane so we don't really have definite confirmation that it is the true Huitzilopochtli within Hummingbird's mind or if it some sort of splinter personality of hers that uses that name. For the purposes of this profile, I am treating it as the true Huitzilopochtli possessing Hummingbird and those appearances where it seems he is acting directly through her are listed here in the History section. If something later comes along to discredit this hypothesis, I will adjust the profile to reflect the changes/clarifications.

Additionally, it was sometimes unclear if Hummingbird was using her inherent superhuman powers or if the powers were a result of her connection to Huitzilopochtli. The only times we definitely know of Huitzilopochtli's influence by name is Scarlet Spider II#17 & New Warriors V#6.

Mythology information was paraphrased from entries on Brittanica.com and other online sources so please forgive any inaccuracies. Feel free to email for any corrections/additions that may need to be made with the mythology.

Huitzilopochtli was never seen within the Marvel Universe without a feathered headdress on so his hair color within the Marvel Universe was impossible to determine.

The name Huitzilopochtli is mentioned in Age of X-Man: Apocalypse & the X-Tracts#5 but it is in reference to Apocalypse's alias and not the true Huitzilopochtli. I'm aware that Apocalypse's using the name is listed above in the History (& even in the First Appearance section) but that is to reference Apocalypse usurping the name in the first place from the true Huitzilopochtli whereas the X-Tracts#5 mention is for Apocalypse only.

While re-reading Incredible Hercules I#116-117 for this profile, I had assumed a certain character was Huitzilopochtli but upon further investigation, the character I thought was Huitzilopochtli was identified as Tezcatlipoca in the modern Council of Godheads OHotMU profile in the hardcover series. The other one that could be Huitzilopochtli was identified as Manitou. Therefore, I did not see Huitzilopochtli in Incredible Hercules I#116 but there is a character resembling him that did not have exactly the same headdress as Tezcatlipoca or Manitou in Incredible Hercules I#117. Therefore, I believe that character to now be Huitzilopochtli, based on his appearance in Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica and online sources mentioning Huitzilopochtli being at that particular Council of Godheads meeting. The second image in this profile is of the character I now believe to be Huitzilopochtli. If anything comes up to discredit that, I will update this profile to correct that. The main image here, however, is definitely Huitzilopochtli.

This profile was completed 4/23/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Huitzilopochtli has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica, p47, Teteoth entry main image (Huitzilopochtli, main image)
Incredible Hercules I#117, p13, pan4 (Huitzilopochtli backing away from Hercules' attack on Amatsu-Mikaboshi)

Appearances:
X-Factor I#24 (January, 1988) - Louise Simonson (writer), Walter Simonson (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89#1 (July, 1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer, researcher), Walt Simonson, Rob Liefeld (Apocalypse entry pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Gregory Wright (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z I#3 (2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Mark O'English, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Stuart Vandal, Bill Lentz, Richard Green, Anthony Flamini, Barry Reese, Mike Fichera, Chris Biggs (writers), Keith Pollard (Council of Godheads entry art), Jeff Youngquist, Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Incredible Hercules I#116 (June, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Roger Benet (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules I#117 (July, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Roger Benet (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica (2009) - Anthony Flamini (head writer, coordinator), Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Paul Cornell (consulting writers), Kevin Sharpe (The Teteoh entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#14 (April, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Khoi Pham (pencils), Tom Palmer, Terry Pallot, Bit, Walden Wong, Karl Kesel (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#15 (May, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Khoi Pham, Paulo Siqueira (pencils, inks), Neil Edwards (pencils), Terry Pallot, Bit, Victor Olazaba (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#17 (July, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Carlo Barberi (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#18 (August, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Carlo Barberi, Ale Garza (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
New Warriors V#6 (August, 2014) - Chris Yost (writer), Nick Roche (pencils, inks), David Baldeon (pencils), Jordi Tarragona (inks), Sana Amanat (editor)
New Warriors V#9 (November, 2014) - Christ Yost (writer), Tana Ford (art), Devin Lewis (editor)

First Posted: 09/12/2021
Last updated: 09/10/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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