First Appearance: Thor
#240Origin Issue: not yet revealed
SETH
First Appearance: Thor
#240
Origin Issue: not yet revealed
Real Name: Seth
Aliases:
Set, Serpent God of Death,
Typhon, Lord of the Unliving, Setesh, Setekh, Suty, Sutekh, Set-Nubti, Great
Enemy
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 395 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Red
Distinguishing Features: Seth's right hand is missing.
He usually wears a metal cup over it.
Occupation: Egyptian god of evil
and death
Citizenship: Celestial Heliopolis
Place of Creation/Birth: Unrevealed
Known Relatives:
Nephthys (wife, separated),
Osiris (brother), Isis (sister), Horus, Anubis (nephews), Geb (father), Nut
(mother), Ammon-Ra (Atum, great-grandfather), Neith (Gaea,
great-great-grandmother), Nun (Demiurge, great-great-grandfather), Thoth
(great-grand uncle); Shu, Bast (Panther God), Sekhmet (Lion God) (granduncles);
Tegnut (great aunt); others
Known Allies: The Devourer, Cheops, (former) Earth
Force
Known Enemies: Thor, Odin, Gods of Heliopolis
Group Affiliation: Ennead (Gods of Egypt), leader
of Serpent’s Teeth and his own warriors
Intelligence: Above Normal
(5/10)
Strength: Superhuman Class 75 (9/12)
Speed: Enhanced Human (5/10)
Stamina: Metahuman (7/10)
Durability: Superhuman Regenerative (8/14)
Agility: Superhuman (6/7)
Reflexes: Superhuman (6/7)
Fighting Skills: Unrevealed
Special Skills/Abilities: Extensive knowledge of
necromancy
Superhuman physical powers: In addition to the above
listed physical abilities, Seth possesses the power to project destructive force from his
hand, to mesmerize others with a glance, and to cast various mystical spells for a variety
of effects
Superhuman Mental Powers: Unrevealed
Special Limitations: None
Source of Superhuman Powers: Seth is a member of the
race of superhumans known as the Egyptian gods of Heliopolis. His power is augmented
by manipulation of the forces of magic.
Personal Weaponry: none
Other Accessories: None
Abilities/Accessories: More powerful than most
Ennead, the immortal Seth has tremendously enhanced strength, durability and
metabolism. He can kill others with a touch, fire powerful concussive blasts
from his hands, speed the aging of others, hypnotize people, and transform into
a large serpentine form (and perhaps other shapes). Seth can drain other gods’
powers and open portals to other dimensions. He sometimes marks his enemies
with a brand, signifying that he plans a fight to the death with that person in
their next meeting. Seth commands the denizens of the underworld, including
displaced spirits, harpies, demons and various types of vermin, notably rats.
Mystics and believers in Seth have invoked his name on occasion for specific
purposes, the extant of which remains unknown. He has developed unique
offensive weaponry and employs genetic manipulation techniques. Seth can exit
his body in his astral form. Unable to experience death himself, Seth sometimes
transfers his consciousness to newly prepared bodies. Seth can manipulate
organics (such as turning flesh into wood), cause constructs to explode, and
cause objects to grow in size.
History: Seth is part of the Ennead pantheon, who were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and many of whom dwell in Celestial Heliopolis; he rules over Duat, Heliopolis’ dimension of death, representing evil and death. A powerful being constantly seeking more power and the death of others, Seth allegedly tore himself free from his mother’s womb at birth; he later found followers on Earth after the end of the Hyborian era (circa 8000 BC) by posing as the Elder God Set. Correcting a supposed mispronunciation of his name, Seth convinced many of Set’s remaining followers to worship him. Seth occasionally singled out certain followers for attention, such as when he prophesied the greatness the young En Sabah Nur would achieve; Nur later became the mutant menace Apocalypse, also posing as Seth for a time. Seth has dabbled in mortal affairs, even creating demons such as Gog and Magog to beset humanity. Seth’s brother Osiris and his wife Isis once ruled Egypt for a time, eventually installing pharaohs to rule in their place. Seeking to rule Earth and wanting revenge on Osiris for impregnating Seth’s wife Nephthys (a union which produced the god Anubis), Seth locked Osiris in a coffin and later scattered pieces of Osiris throughout all of Egypt, but Osiris’ sons, Anubis and Horus, resurrected their father with magic, and Horus spent the following centuries battling with Seth over this atrocity. Seth eventually defeated Horus and locked the god with both his parents in a giant pyramid, even as Egypt itself fell to Rome. With his brother out of the way, Seth ruled all of Heliopolis.
Centuries ago, Seth resolved to destroy Asgardian landmark Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, the death of which would end all life. He once sent hundreds of rats to gnaw on the tree’s roots, with a Demon of Death standing guard over them. The Asgardians Sif and Balder foiled this plot, but the tree was still greatly damaged. In Recent years, Osiris, Isis, and Horus manipulated the Asgardian pantheon of gods into battling Seth by causing a then-amnesiac Odin to believe he was Atum-Re (another name for Ammon Ra, the Ennead progenitor), who had been prophesied as the only being capable of freeing them from the pyramid. Odin and his son Thor accompanied Osiris and the others to Heliopolis and the gods battled Seth’s legions of the dead while Seth, aboard a massive death-ship, began aging Osiris and Isis with a blast. When Seth planned to kill Thor with a touch, Odin severed Seth’s right hand with a blast of energy and cast Seth from the Golden Bridge of the Gods, the pathway linking the dimensions of Heliopolis and Earth, removing Seth from power and turning rule of Heliopolis back to Osiris.
Seth returned to ruling the underworld and, before long, sought to slay Horus by sacrificing him to the monster Siapep the Devourer, who soon proved too mighty for Seth to control; Osiris stopped the Devourer with the aid of Thor and the Thing. Seth later joined with many other rulers of various lands of the dead, including Mephisto, Hela, and Pluto, and they combined their realms, seeking to increase their power; this unintentionally released the God-Eater, Demogorge, who consumed Seth and the others, leaving them to be rescued by Thor. The various death lords, humiliated by the experience, abandoned this plot. Seth soon surprised the other Ennead, drained all of their power, increasing his own, and took command of Heliopolis once again. Seeking to destroy all life in the multiverse, Seth secretly took Odin captive as the god battled the fire demon Surtur, tricking all of Asgard into believing Odin had died during the fight. Manipulating the god of luck, Bes, into increasing his chances of victory, Seth organized a large army, placed under the command of fellow god Grog the God-Slayer. With his increased powers, he began opening small dimensional rifts and attacking portions of Asgard with hit-and-run tactics, winning small victories and then recalling his forces. When Seth learned Thor was on Earth, he sent Grog and many of his mightiest warriors to kill Thor, leading to Seth’s forces being defeated by Thor and his allies the Avengers. The Asgardian Hogun the Grim rushed to Earth to warn Thor of Seth’s attacks on Asgard, and was badly injured during a mistaken clash with Daredevil. Determined to stop Hogun from reporting to Thor, Seth healed three mortal hospital patients, transformed them into the superhuman Earth Force and sent them to kill Hogun, supposedly for the good of the Earth; however, Earth Force quickly turned against Seth sparing Hogun and joining forces with Thor. Seth offered the gravely wounded Hogun a quick death, but was rejected. Seth marked Hogun, vowing to make him pay.
After Hogun informed Thor of Seth’s plans, Seth turned his entire forces against Asgard through a rift and monitored their progress, not realizing that Thor, Hogun, Earth Force and the mortal Black Knight (Dane Whitman) had followed Grog into Asgard. When Asgard’s then-ruler Balder siphoned Thor’s power to aid himself in battle, Grog was able to defeat Thor and his allies and imprisoned them in Seth’s Black Pyramid, where Bes was being kept. Seth’s forces continued advancing while Seth himself entered the fray, briefly trading threats with Loki, who realized Seth’s power was greater than ever before. Seth released the Harpies of Death on the Asgardians and their gathered allies, including the Celtic gods; some of the most powerful gods fell dead, including Lorelei, while others such as the Enchantress were imprisoned. In the Pyramid, meanwhile, Thor broke free and forced Grog to reveal Bes’ presence. Thor then released Odin and took the Odin-power upon himself, needing it to battle the now attacking Surtur, a battle that led to Seth’s Pyramid being destroyed. In Asgard, Seth triumphed in single combat with Balder; however, as he prepared to take the throne, Thor, Hogun, Odin, Earth Force and their allies attacked in a last-ditch effort to save Asgard. After killing Earth Force, Seth transformed himself into his giant serpent form and battled Odin until Hogun ruptured Seth’s skull with the thrown form of the Black Knight (who had taken on the physical properties of his own Ebony Blade). In a mystical energy rupture, Seth’s powers returned to the Ennead and he shrank away, seemingly dead. The gods resurrected the Earth Force and returned them to Earth.
Seth later returned, hiding in his Armageddon complex on Earth. Still seeking the death of all, he hired human super-villains Mongoose, Quicksand and Bison (whom Seth’s operatives the Geneti-troops had mutated) and sent them to steal the super-destructive weapon Inferno-42, but the heroes Thunderstrike and Luke Cage defeated the villains. More of Seth’s operatives, the Serpent’s Teeth, began stealing different technology sources. They were infiltrated by the vigilante Bloodaxe, who confronted Seth. Bloodaxe attacked Seth alongside Thunderstrike and Stellaris, and Seth marked Thunderstrike for death, though the hero destroyed the Complex in return. Seth and many of his Geneti-troops escaped. While in his astral form, Seth allied with the disembodied Loki of Asgard, genetically creating Loki a new body. Thunderstrike, now possessed by the Bloodaxe himself, returned and savagely attacked Seth, killing Seth’s body and freeing Seth’s astral self again.
Soon restored, Seth again targeted Yggdrasil, but Odin protected it by using his power to make Yggdrasil think that Ragnarok, the end of the gods, had already occurred. Many of the Asgardian gods were cast down to Earth in mortal forms and with no memories of their godhood. While sending his demonic Men in Black to revert the Asgardians to their godly forms so that he could destroy them properly, Seth set up a lab at Yggdrasil, savagely beating the Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) when the villain stumbled across the base. The gods defied the Men in Black and even briefly battled Seth, who resurrected Lorelei and Red Norvell (a mortal how had held Thor’s power) to aid him in rousing the gods. Loki feigned alliance with Seth, but Seth realized the ruse and turned Loki to wood. Ultimately restored to their true forms, the gods defeated Seth and saved Yggdrasil.
When an ancient statue of Seth was unearthed, it was used in a power play by villains Morpheus, Bushman and Black Spectre, opposed by their old foe Moon Knight (the mortal champion of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon). Seth seemingly manipulated the villains from afar, even enhancing the powers of some, in an ultimate plot to drive the world to war. In the end, Seth’s statue came to life only to be quickly destroyed, and the villains were apprehended. Seth was later among the dozens of villains pitted against the Avengers and the heroes of another universe by a mad cosmic scholar.
Significant Issues:
