Amaterasu (Earth-616)

Amaterasu
Name	Amaterasu
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Amatsu-Kami, Council of Godheads
Relatives	Parents: Izanagi (father) Izanami (mother) Siblings: Susanoo, Tsukuyomi (brothers) Spouses: Takamimusubi (husband)
Marital Status	Married
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	6′ (1.83 m)
Weight	310 lbs (140.61 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Amatsu-Kami
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Onogoro, Japan
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Ama
Occupation	Ruler of the Japanese Gods, Goddess of the Sun
Base of Operations	Ise Palace in Ama
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Larry Hama, Marc Silverstri, Mario Gully
First	Wolverine (Vol. 2) #32 (August, 1990) (Referenced) Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 (July, 2009) (First appearance)
First	Wolverine (Vol. 2) #32 (August, 1990) (Referenced) Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 (July, 2009) (First appearance)

History

Origins

Amaterasu is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Amatsu-Kami ("Heavenly Ones") who were worshipped as gods by the Ancient Ainu and Japanese people in Eastern Asia. She is one of a trinity of gods at a large hierarchy of deities along with Susanoo, the storm-god, and Tsukuyomi, the moon-god.

Amaterasu

Third Host

In 1000 AD, the Third Host of the Celestials occurred, during which the aliens informed they would return 1,000 years later to judge Earth's right to continue existing. While the pantheons prepared for war, Gaea planned a peaceful solution to the problem with many goddesses, among them Amaterasu.

For the next thousand years, they searched for humans representing mankind's highest ideals, to be offered to the Celestials as an offering. The goddesses placed the candidates in suspended animation, with their superhuman potential, the legacy of the First Host, awakened.

Modern Times

In modern times, the mutant adventurer Wolverine referred to Japan as “the Land of Amaterasu.”

Chaos War

Amaterasu vs. Mikaboshi

Amaterasu represented the Amatsu-Kami in the Council of Godheads after Mikaboshi and his army of enslaved alien deities attacked Earth. Although the Asgardian representative Balder wanted to rush into battle against Mikaboshi in order assist the Earth realm, Amaterasu instead sealed off the Council’s throne room in order to safeguard the various pantheons and their respective divine realms from an attack by Mikaboshi. However, the Olympian god Hercules inadvertently enabled Mikaboshi to enter the throne room when he brought the body of his fallen father Zeus (then under Mikaboshi’s influence) to the Council of Godheads’ hidden extradimensional realm, allowing Mikaboshi’s army to attack all of the god realms in rapid succession. When Mikaboshi attacked the Amatsu-Kami’s home realm of Ama, Amaterasu led her fellow Shinto gods (including Inari, Ame-No-Mi-Kumari, Bishamon, Kaminari, and Hotei) in a valiant counterattack which ultimately failed. A triumphant Mikaboshi killed most of the Amatsu-Kami and brought their bodies under his control.

Amaterasu under Mikaboshi's control

Now under the control of Mikaboshi, Amaterasu and her fellow Amastu-Kami (including Inari, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi) lured the "God Squad" (an alliance consisting of Silver Surfer, Venus, Sersi, Daimon Hellstrom, and Bast) to their home of Takamagahara (the Plain of High Heaven) within the realm of Ama and presented them with a plan to defeat Mikaboshi by imprisoning him within Yomi. However, once the God Squad were led to the temple within Takamagahara that contained the sealed gateway to Yomi, Amaterasu and the Amatsu-Kami revealed that they were under Mikaboshi’s control and turned on the God Squad, although they were eventually defeated.

Attributes

Powers

• Amatsu-Kami Physiology: Amaterasu possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Amatsu-Kami.
  • Pyrokinesis: Amaterasu also possesses extraordinary powers to tap into and manipulate mystical energies for a number of effects, mostly in conjuring great heat and light on the level of a small sun.

See Also

• 2 appearance(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 2 invocation(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 5 image(s) of Amaterasu (Earth-616)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Amaterasu (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Amaterasu at the Guide to the Mythological Universe