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Flag of Canaan (Africa) from Marvel Atlas Vol 1 2 001

Canaan, officially Kingdom of Canaan, is a small country in Africa, bordering Wakanda and other countries.[1] Superhuman criminal and weapon manufacturer Moses Magnum took over the country with his army, usurping the power of its king, Baru and acquiring diplomatic immunity. Magnum broadened Canaan's industrial base and offered citizenship to African-Americans. So as to ensure Canaan's economic independence, Magnum tried to obtain Wakanda's Vibranium Mound, first sending Canaan-nationalized spies and assassins, then with an overt military attack using Terrordome weapon platforms. The Wakandan military forces defeated the invading Canaanites, especially thanks to the help of Deathlok, a computer consultant King T'Challa of Wakanda had hired temporarily, and who had refused Magnum's offer to join him.[6] However, after his failed attack, Magnum remained the ruler of Canaan,[1] as Baru was rejected by the Canaanites.[7] Magnum was eventually ousted[5] and Canaan became a protectorate of Wakanda.[8]

History

Canaan began its existence as an alliance of African tribes who lived close to each other. The territory borders with Kenya, Narobia, Niganda, Uganda and Wakanda, and it includes a part of Lake Victoria.[1]

Canaan Military Force (Earth-616) from Deathlok Vol 2 25 002

Canaan Military Force.

In the later 19th century, however, France took over the country, renaming it Kingdom of Canaan in English, or Royaume du Canan in its other majoritary language, French, and he remained in control of it until Canaan regained independence in the mid-20th century. At that point, King Baru claimed the throne of Canaan as head of state, establishing his official residence in the unsuitably-named Presidential Palace in the capital city of Canaan, and starting a reign of decades of peace under the protection of the Canaan Military Force led by General Umbaja, with no relevant internal crime. The country's economy is based in mining of uranium, cultivation of cotton, peanuts, and textiles, and raising of camels, cattle, goats, and sheep, which is enough to sustain its currency, the CFA Franc, and its 5-million-short population,[1] thou its resources were limited and the country was not totally independent from an economical point of view.[1][5] Canaan joined international organisations including the African Union, the United Nations, UNESCO, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization. Under Baru, Canaan maintaned peaceful relations with the bordering nations, especially with Wakanda;[1] Wakanda's king T'Challa, also known as the superhero Black Panther, had known King Baru for years and respected Baru's integrity.[4] A more aggressive country, Narobia also had an uneasy alliance with Canaan.[9]

Moses Magnum[]

Moses Magnum (Earth-616) from Marvel Universe Cards Series IV 0001

Moses Magnum as ruler of Canaan.

In recent times, Ethiopian weapon manufacturer and superhuman criminal Moses Magnum conquerered Canaan[1] with an army outfitted with state-of-the-art technology,[5] forcefully[10] deposing Baru[1] (thou Magnum allowed Baru to remain in the Palace). Wanted in several continents, Magnum obtained diplomatic immunity as head of a state recognised by the United Nations and the United States[4] (thou Magnum dared not step on American soil, lest he'd be arrested there).[11] Magnum's coup was considerably discreet: Many people believed Magnum to have died in a previous conflict, because he had purposedly failed to open diplomatic relations with other countries, keeping himself busy with[4] the industrialization of the country and the nationalization of what he considered to be the elite of African-American communities.[4][1] Magnum intended to turn Canaan into a homeland for all African-Americans,[5] giving citizenship to any African-American who migrated to Canaan,[1] including disenfranchised people.[3] He also recruited superpowered agents including mercenary weapons master Killjoy,[1] a black man devoted to improve his people's lifestyle even using immoral means,[12] and Phreak, an intelligent data base.[1] Wakanda's intelligence service noticed the increasing industrial activity and political changes for three months, but failed to give those any real importance.[4]

Magnum's strategy of increasing the population and broadening the country's industrial base, was overstretching Canaan's possibilities, even if he won a multibillion-dollar contract soon before this operation[2][1] (and had invested a part of it in outfitting his army to conquer Canaan).[1] To sustain his plan, Magnum planned to invade neighboring Wakanda[1][5][3] to obtain the valuable Vibranium Mound there.[1][3] No foreign power had tried something like that before, because Wakanda was defended by the Wakandan Air Guard and a powerful army; yet Magnum trusted his own military resources.[3] Still, Magnum tried to weaken Wakanda before an open attack: He first dispatched Phreak to infiltrate the Wakandan computers and steal military secrets.[2][1] Detecting the infiltration,[2] Wakanda's King T'Challa recruited African-American computer consultant and cyborg superhero Deathlok for a temporary computer security position,[2][10][1] which he accepted as long as he could take his wife and son to Wakanda on vacation.[2] Simultaneously, Magnum sent a human spy to infiltrate the Royal Palace of Wakanda to steal physical copies of the files, from where he was to escape riding a Terrordome riding platform, but this person was found and intercepted by Wakandan security Chief W'Kabi and by King T'Challa himself. Simultaneously, Deathlok found Phreak[2][4] and stopped her[1] from stealing the documents, but not from escaping to Canaan. He noticed her escape route and reported it to T'Challa. T'Challa decided to visit Canaan and ask fair Baru for an explanation, doubting Baru would have agreed to such an action; Deathlok, who had also fought a Terrordome in the past, joined him in the trip due to his experience against such weapon.[4]

Presidential Palace (Canaan) from Deathlok Vol 2 23 001

The Presidential Palace of Canaan, during T'Challa's visit.

In an official visit to the Presidential Palace, Magnum met with T'Challa and Deathlok to inform he was governing Canaan. About the spy T'Challa had captured, Magnum claimed that he was a Canaanite operating on his own, so Magnum executed him using his powers. Deathlok tried to attack Magnum for this murder, but T'Challa stopped him, as Magnum's law was in effect - yet T'Challa also threatened Magnum lest he caught him in Wakanda. As a result of this encounter,[4] Magnum sent Killjoy to assassinate T'Challa[4][1] in Wakanda's capital Birnin Zana, while simultaneously Magnum made a public appearance in CNN to declare Canaan the replacement home to every African-American, as their original homes had been lost to history, where they would thrive without oppression.[4]

Killjoy was also defeated by Deathlok in Wakanda,[1][12] thou Deathlok lost one arm which was promptly restored by the Wakanda Cybernetics Unit,[10][12] yet somehow Canaan managed to move a huge number of troops and military equipment close to Birnin Zana and install a building-sized communication center in the area without being detected.[3] Impressed at Deathlok Magnum communicated via hologram with him to offer him a position in Canaan, but Deathlok was not interested in a new homeland. Immediately after cutting communication, Magnum launched an attack against Birnin Zana, with Terrordomes hovering over the city[12] and destroying buildings. Immediately the Wakandan Air Guard, by then called Wakanda Defense Force, flew to counter the attack, their cannons able to destroy Terrordomes. The streets of the capital witnessed skirmishes between the invading army troops and vehicles, and the defenders, who were inferior in number and commanded by W'Kabi. Although T'Challa personally led the defense, civilian casualties abounded. Deathlok initially refused to join an open conflict, with T'Challa's blessing; then changed his mind when he discovered his son Nick was in danger, but once he found the child, Nick convinced Deathlok to fight without killing. Deathlok used his own onboard computer to guide his actions in combat, priorizing taking over enemy weapons, then destroying the communication center, with a final objective of entering occupied territory and neutralizing Moses Magnum himself. Deathlok's plan succeeded, and as soon as the communication center was destroyed, the troops became uncoordinated and were captured by the Wakandan Army.[3] After dismantling the rest of Canaan's military capabilities,[10] Deathlok also enter Magnum's war room and personally defeated Magnum in combat.[3]

Terrordome (Earth-616) from Deathlok Vol 2 25 001

Canaanite Terrordomes attacking Wakanda.

The invasion attempt clearly ended with the defeat of Canaan[1] thanks to T'Challa[10][5] and Deathlok.[10][5][1] Wakanda then gave Deathlok the greatest condecoration possible for a non-native.[3] Still, Moses Magnum retained the government of Canaan,[1] thou admittedly the country's international relationships with Wakanda became more stressed.[13][14]

Former King Baru tried to reclaim his throne, but the Canaanites rejected him, and he fled to Wakanda,[1] where he eventualyl was transformed into a being of Vibranium[1][7] who settled in the jungles of Wakanda[7] trying to use his newfound powers to help Canaan in some way.[7]

After the United States passed its Superhuman Registration Act and the Civil War between superheroes there, T'Challa summoned several African mandataries for the Pan-African Congress on the Treatment of Superhumans, on how they should react to this. Moses Magnum attended[15] in representation of Canaan, along with several others; thou they failed to reach a relevant agreement before the end of the Congress.[15][1]

Post-Moses Magnum[]

Eventually, Magnum stopped being the ruler of Canaan and returned to his previous criminal career,[5][note 1] also losing his Caananite citizenship.[5] Canaan, turned from monarchy to totalitarian republic,[1] eventually became one of Wakanda's economic protectorates, along with Azania and Kenya.[8] Wakanda still considered Canaan to be an independent country, as their maps showed Canaan in the periphery of Wakanda, frequently without all of the territory of Canaan.[16][17][18][19][20][21] With Wakanda making the relevant decisions, when the nation Krakoa was created, Wakanda and its protectorates refused to accept it and make business with it, even if they offered advanced medicines.[8]

Later, the evil god Knull launched a symbiote-based attack infecting all of Africa, including Birnin Bashenga, a Wakandan city that was very close to the Canaan border, prompting the Wakandans to take measures.[22]

Alternate Realities[]

Earth-94064 (Michael Collins never became Deathlok)[]

During the Infinity Crusade, Deathlok (Michael Collins of Earth-616) had an encounter with the Goddess, and had a vision of an alternate world where Michael Collins had never become Deathlok. In this vision (unlike Earth-616), Deathlok had never protected Wakanda against Moses Magnum's Terrordomes, causing Magnum to lay waste to the country and kill the Black Panther and Monica Lynne, his wife in that universe, apparently allowing Canaan to control Wakanda's Vibranium reserves. Understanding the vision as a possibility, Deathlok argued that, if he had not been there, maybe some other protector would have made even a better job than Deathlok had done.[23]

Points of Interest

Residents

Former residents[]

Notes

  • Wakanda from Black Panther Vol 6 4 0001

    In this map, the borders of Canaan are different than in the main image.

    The map shown in Marvel Atlas #2 is not coherent with a more recent map seen in Black Panther (Vol. 6) #10, which is centered on Wakanda. In the first map, Canaan limites with Kenya, Niganda, and Lake Victoria, but not with Azania, which is to the other side of the Lake. In the second map, Canaan limits with Azania and it'd be very difficult for it to reach Lake Victoria. The second map also shows that Canaan's border is very close to Mena Ngai, and far from the capital of Wakanda, Birnin Zana. That makes the invasion strategy more difficult to understand, as Canaan's goal was to take over the Mena Ngai and then defend it, which probably could have been achieved more easily than trying to take over the capital city. How Canaan managed to move his army so far undetected, is not explained either.
  • Canaan's currency is named CFA Franc in Marvel Atlas #2. In the real world, the CFA franc (lowercase "franc"), or Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, is the name of two different currencies at parity used in fourteen African countries altogether, including twelve countries formerly ruled by France. While these countries do form a geographical unity, none of these countries borders Canaan or its approximate area in the map.

Trivia

  • Marvel Atlas #2 says that there are no known non-humans from or in Canaan, nor the country has ever had known contact with extraterrestrials; describing the superhumans in Canaan, it mentions foreign superhuman usurper Moses Magnum, that Killjoy and Phreak were naturalised Canaanites, and that Baru obtained superpowers after being exiled from Canaan.
  • The encounter in the Presidential Palace confirms that Moses Magnum ruled Canaan as King - as T'Challa was taken to the King of Canaan, and then they say that Baru was King, no longer being it, thus Magnum used the title of King.[4]

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. Magnum takes over Canaan in Deathlok (Vol. 2) #25 (1993); in his following encounter with the Avengers in Martinique, in Avengers (Vol. 3) #8 (1998), it is unclear whether he is still ruling the country (He's using a different base of operations, but that can be plot-related as he'd cause earthquakes in Canaan). All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 (2006) lists Magnum as "former ruler of Canaan"; but Magnum explicitly represents Canaan in the Pan-African Congress on the Treatment of Superhumans in Civil War Battle Damage Report (2007) and is listed as still Canaan's ruler in Marvel Atlas #2 (2008). In his further appearances in Amazing Spider-Man #577 (2008) and later he's a common criminal, and he is even in jail Dark Wolverine #78 (2008). The post-Magnum government of Canaan has been unrevealed.
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