VENTRIVENTRI
Real Name: Ventri
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Cotati) magic user
Occupation: Magic caster
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: The Cotati;
briefly mind-controlled Man-Thing (Ted Sallis) and
Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara Plunder)
Enemies: Black Knight (Dane
Whitman), Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder),
Man-Thing (Ted Sallis), Matt Plunder, Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff),
Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara Plunder), Zabu
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed, possibly
mobile or the planet Tamal
First Appearance: Empyre: Avengers#1
(September, 2020)
Powers/Abilities: Ventri is a mage, well-versed in Cotati magic, which he uses for various effects including incapacitating the physical bodies of non-plant life forms and connecting their minds to nature and/or Cotati influence.
He always carries a wooden staff and small Cotati
pollen capsules that, when breathed, can leave a victim in a
susceptible state, near-mindless and willing to follow his orders.
Height: 7'3" (by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 475 lbs.)
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: None (see comments)
History: (Empyre: Avengers#2
(fb) - BTS) - During the extraterrestrial Cotati's attempt to
annihilate all non-plant life, Ventri and several other Cotati invaded
Earth's Savage Land and awakened Shanna the She-Devil's natural
connection to the Land, bringing her under their thrall.
(Empyre: Avengers#1) - When
Avengers Black Knight, Brother Voodoo and Scarlet Witch arrived in the
Savage Land with Ka-Zar and his sabertooth tiger, Zabu, Ventri unleashed
a Cotati-controlled Man-Thing against the heroes. He then sided with a
similarly mind-controlled Shanna the She-Devil as the heroes fell
to Man-Thing.
(Empyre: Avengers#2) - Ventri watched as Ka-Zar regained consciousness and the Cotati-controlled Shanna monologued about her connection to nature within the Savage Land. Ventri further commented on Shanna, explaining how the Cotati were also connected to nature and that by extension, Shanna was now connected to the Cotati as well. When Shanna and Ka-Zar's son, Matt, pleaded with Shanna to regain her senses, Ventri accused humanity of squandering and using plants for millennia.
Ventri then explained to Matt that Shanna had now seen the truth
for the first time and understood her role in nature's plan. Ventri
then suggested that Shanna's power would grow with the Cotati's and
theorized that she may become the next Celestial Madonna. Tired of
Shanna's attempts to recruit Ka-Zar to the Cotati's side, one of the
Cotati suggested to Ventri that they simply kill and be done with the
humans, but Ventri reminded the other Cotati that their leader Sequoia
had come from a union between human and Cotati. A short time later,
Ventri noticed the incapacitated Scarlet Witch writhing in pain and
questioned what was happening. Before he could act, however, Brother
Voodoo's astral form took possession of the Man-Thing and began
attacking the Cotati. Ventri fought back hurling capsules containing
Cotati pollen in an effort to bring Man-Thing back under his thrall, but
Man-Thing simply absorbed the pollen due to the influence of Brother
Voodoo's astral form and pounded Ventri into the ground.
(Empyre: Avengers#3) - Ventri continued battling the
Brother Voodoo-controlled Man-Thing while Black Knight and Zabu also
fought the Cotati. When Shanna regained her own senses, the Cotati who
earlier wished to kill the humans prepared to kill Shanna, but Ventri
called his fellow Cotati a fool and reminded him that Shanna had joined
their cause. Shanna then turned the Cotati power back on the Cotati,
killing the one who wished to kill her while Scarlet Witch blasted
Ventri. Shanna and Ka-Zar soon turned the entire Savage Land and its
creatures against the Cotati, and Ventri was imprisoned in a mystic cage
along with the other Cotati by Brother Voodoo. Voodoo then freed the
Man-Thing, and Ventri exclaimed that the heroes had only captured one
Cotati strike team, a minor victory in a war they couldn't win, but
Voodoo remarked that every battle counted in its own way. Ventri then
revealed that what they had learned in the Savage Land had already sent
back to their leader Sequoia to help further fuel the Cotati invasion
of Earth.
Comments: Created by Jim Zub and Carlos Magno.
As a plant-based lifeform, Ventri did not have hair, per se. He DID have red plant life growing where his eyebrows would be and had grayish-brown leaves on his head, though these leaves could have been part of his outfit rather than naturally growing on his body.
Despite some online sources listing this character as "Veltri," I don't see any point within his appearances where he's called that. He's not mentioned by name in Empyre: Avengers#3 but in #1-2, he is consistently referred to as "Ventri."
This profile was completed 03/30/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Ventri has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Empyre: Avengers#2, p12, pan2 (Ventri, main image)
Empyre: Avengers#1, p17, pan5 (Ventri, headshot)
Empyre: Avengers#1, p20, splash page (Ventri standing around rocks)
Appearances:
Empyre: Avengers#1 (September, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Carlos Magno
(art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Empyre: Avengers#2 (October, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Carlos Magno
(art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Empyre: Avengers#3 (October, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Carlos Magno
(art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 09/05/2021
Last updated: 09/01/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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