Mongul

Revision as of 15:32, 2 May 2005

DC Comics Presents No. 27. Art by Jim Starlin.

Powers: Mongul possesses an extraordinary level of super-strength that seems to be equal to that of Superman, witnessed by the fact that he has repeatedly fought the Man of Steel to a standstill. In addition, Mongul is invulnerable to nearly all forms of physical harm, and is able to project extremely potent energy bolts from his hands that are powerful enough to stagger the Man of Might. Mongul also seems to possess a limited capacity for telepathy, and the ability to teleport himself across even interplanetary distances. Mongul seemingly has the capacity to create dimensional-inversion cubes, designed to prevent escape by warping their interior reality and absorbing any power used against them from within. Whether this is an actual power or merely a sophisticated technological device is unclear.

Biography: The only known fact about Mongul's early life is that he was once the merciless dictator of an entire world until an ancient holy man called the Arkymandyte appeared and incited the general population to revolt against his rule. The revolution proved successful, and Mongul was forced to abandon his world and flee into space in order to save his own life. Because of this, it is generally assumed that Mongul aquired his vast powers at some point after his exile and before his first encounter with Superman, otherwise he would have been able to use them to put down the revolt against his dictatorship. The origin of Mongul's powers is also a complete unknown.

Sometime after he had gained his fantastic power, Mongul learned of an ancient crystal key created by a deceased alien race that could give him control of the immensely powerful battle station called Warworld. This key was secreted within a crypt on the fourth planet in the Cygnus star-system, a world commonly known as Mars II and the second home of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter (who had, at the time, been charged with the key's protection), and his race. Apparently, J'onn had encountered Mongul before and thwarted and attempt by the rogue warlord to gain possession of the key. Seeking a pawn who was powerful enough to defeat the Manhunter and retrieve the key, Mongul journeyed to Earth and kidnapped Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Steve Lombard in order to coerce Superman into serving him in this capacity, threatening to murder them if the Metropolis Marvel failed to cooperate. Superman did indeed obtain the key, but naturally refused to hand it over to the alien would-be conqueror. When Mongul engaged Superman in personal combat for possession of the key, the villain proved himself to be one of the Man of Tomorrow's most dangerous opponents, nearly besting him before finally escaping with the key (DCCP No. 27/1, Nov. 1980: "The Key That Unlocked Chaos"). Eventually discovering the location of Warworld, Mongul used the key to lay claim to the war machine and began preparations to use it to reconquer his lost world and then spread his rule across the universe. Before he could put his plans into motion, Mongul encountered resistance when he was tracked down by both Superman and Supergirl. Cybernetically linked to Warworld's vast array of extraordinarily deadly weaponry, Mongul launched a devastating attack on the two heroes using the station's arsenal of ultra-powerful missiles that were capable of killing even them. However, the Super-Cousins used Mongul's cybernetic interface with Warworld's systems against him, causing him to pass out from the tremendous mental strain of controlling all of Warworld's weaponry in his continued assault. Despite his defeat, Mongul managed to recover in time to escape after Warworld was disabled when Supergirl destroyed its central computer core (DCCP No. 28/1, Dec. 1980: "Warworld").

Mongul next appeared on the Throneworld of the interstellar empire known as the Infinite Realm, the ancestral home of Starman. Mongul murdered Empress Clryssa, Starman's sister, and forced Starman's love Merria to marry him in order to usurp the throne of the Infinite Realm for himself with the plan to use it as a staging ground for yet another attempt to retake the world of his first rule and build his intergalactic empire. To prevent Starman from interfering with his rule, Mongul imprisoned the cosmic hero in a dimensional-inversion cube. In addition, the alien warlord took control of Throneworld's doomsday device, which was located within Throneworld's sun and would turn the star into a supernova if triggered, destroying the worlds of the Infinite Realm in the process. Superman arrived in the Infinte Realm and freed Starman from his cube-like prison by shattering it with his heat vision. Starman then joined the Action Ace in opposing Mongul and freeing the empire from his rule. While Starman disabled Throneworld's doomsday device, Superman engaged Mongul in one-on-one combat for the second time, a battle which turned out to be inconclusive when Starman arrived on the scene and Mongul was forced to retreat instead of facing both heroes and the empire's forces (DCCP No. 36, Aug. 1981: "Whatever Happened to Starman?").

By this time, Mongul had developed a deep hatred for Superman and a burning desire to see the Man of Steel suffer greatly for his repeated interference in the alien conqueror's plans. To that end, Mongul journeyed to the outer reaches of the universe and encountered one of the extradimensional Controllers, who had in his charge an incredibly dangerous Sun-Eater (it should be noted that this was not the Sun-Eater that nearly destroyed Earth in the 30th century, but an equally deadly twin). Mongul murdered the Controller in question and assumed command of the Sun-Eater using specialized control devices that he built into his uniform, and then sent the monster on a direct course for Earth's sun as part of his planned vengeance against Superman. When the Man of Tomorrow attempted to put a hault to Mongul's machinations, the extraterrestrial warlord trapped him in a specialized dimensional-inversion cube that was fueled by red solar radiaiton and thus began to rob Superman of his super-powers. The plan was to have Superman watch helplessly as Mongul directed the Sun-Eater to consume Earth's sun, thereby extinguishing all life on the planet, before Superman himself was to be finally killed. Although Mongul came under attack by Supergirl and several members of the Justice League of America, Mongul was able to draw upon the Sun-Eater's virtually limitless destructive power to defeat them all. In a final desperate gamble, Jimmy Olsen (while watching the entire drama unfold from an observatory on Earth) used his Legion flight ring to summon members of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 30th century to aid Superman in saving Earth and subduing Mongul. The Legionnaires succeeded in freeing Superman from imprisonment and, while they managed to discover a means of destroying the Sun-Eater, Superman (driven by determination to protect his adopted home at any cost) finally bested Mongul in single combat (DCCP No. 43, Mar. 1982: "In Final Battle").

Mongul was last seen when he launched one of the most insidious plan of revenge to date against Superman, attacking the Caped Kryptonian in his own Fortress of Solitude on his birthday. Mongul had managed to maneuver Superman into exposing himself to a plant-like entity called a Black Mercy by disguising it as an anonymous birthday gift. The plant promptly attached itself to the Action Ace's chest and began feeding on his bio-aura while keeping him in a trance-like state by providing him with a mental illusion of his heart's desire. In Superman's case, the entity made him believe that Krypton has not exploded, and that he was happily married and had a family on his home world. Although Mongul met resistance when Batman, Robin (Jason Todd) and Wonder Woman arrived at the Fortress and discovered the unfolding drama, Superman remained in his catatonic state, his "heart's desire" gradually degenerating into a twisted nightmare. While Wonder Woman valiantly (but vainly) engaged the hulking alien in combat, Superman's increasingly nightmarish experience weakened the Black Mercy just enough for Batman to succeed in removing it from his chest. Enraged at having been so violated, the Man of Tomorrow ferociously attacked Mongul, the battle being akin to an irresistable force colliding with an immovable object. However, fueled by intense feelings of grief and anger, Superman managed to gain the upper hand and was about to kill the alien warlord when the memories of his "dream" caused him to hesitate. This allowed Mongul to gain the upper hand for a moment, but the conqueror met his final defeat when Robin used the special gauntlets that Mongul had employed in handling the Black Mercy to attach the plant to Mongul's own chest. As far as is known, Mongul remains in the thrall of the Black Mercy, having been rendered completely immobile while dreaming dreams of endless bloody conquest (SA No. 11, 1985: "For The Man Who Has Everything").