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Ethiopia

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Flag of Ethiopia

Flag of Ethiopia.

A country in the Horn of Africa that hid a lost colony of the Roman Empire and perhaps the territory ruled by Prester John in ancient times. Italy unsuccessfully attempted to invade Ethiopia in the 20th century, then successfully invaded Ethiopia in the early 20th century, briefly placing it under the rule of Mussolini's fascists. Ethiopian Moses Magnum collaborated with the invaders, and later became a supervillain. During World War II, the Englishman Ka-Zar the Great confronted the fascists with his armies of animals, and American sergeant Nick Fury and Wakanda also helped liberate the Ethiopians. After the wars, Ethiopia was still a country with plenty of nature and Kraven the Hunter asked for citizenship; but Ethiopia was also plagued by famine, extreme poverty, and multiple problems, including terrorist attacks by mutants who committed massacres there. Wakanda fueled the Oromo Conflict in Ethiopia, causing havoc that made many Ethiopians, including children, lose their homes. There have been attempts at famine relief, including airlifting food, by people like Imayan activist Vincent Cetewayo and American pilot Montana. Doctor Doom and Thor have attempted to make radical changes to the territory in favor of the population, but these were short-lived. Some Ethiopians, such as Chandi the Invisible Stalker and Adina Malcolm's family, have emigrated elsewhere. Beyond that, the United States military has used Ethiopia for testing military technology; Orchis set up a laboratory in the Danakil Depression as a trap for X-Force; and the Eternal Zuras used Ethiopia as a meeting place to recruit some agents.

History

Ethiopia, Danakil Depression, Erta Ale, X-Force Blackbird from X-Force Annual Vol 3 1 001

Erta Ale volcano in the Danakil Depression.

Ethiopia,[4] formerly known as Abyssinia,[3] was a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa.[4] Ethiopia was bordered to the north by Eritrea; to the northeast by Djibouti; to the east and southeast by Somalia; to the west by Sudan; and to the south by Ghudaza, Mohannda, Rudyarda, Ujanka, and Zwartheid.[2] By the late 19th century[5] and until relatively recent times, when borders were different, Ethiopia was a neighbor of Wakanda.[6][note 1] Later, the Migoda Desert was close to the Ethiopian borders.[7]

Ethiopian territory included cities such as its capital city Addis Ababa[8][9] and also lush jungles[1][10] of highly flammable vegetation, inhabited by a variety of wildlife, including apes, elephants, leopards, lions, monkeys, snakes, and zebras.[1] Adapted vehicles such as tanks and other fighting vehicles could advance through the jungle relatively unobtrusively,[10] but other forms of transportation required specific paths such as railroad tracks to cross cliffs and traverse steep mountain ranges.[1] Although there were water sources such as the Unguda River Valley,[10] the local temperature was uncomfortably high even at night in inhabited areas,[11] and the country had some of the most inhospitable places in the world, including the Danakil Desert, described as the hottest place on Earth;[12] The Danakil Desert, which contained the Erta Ale volcano, was in an area of Ethiopia known as the Danakil Depression.[13] During the rainy season, rivers, including the River Nile, became swollen and dangerous to sail through.[3]

Moses Magnum (Earth-616) from Shuri Vol 1 5 002

Moses Magnum, an Ethiopian, spoke Amharic.

Ethiopia from Marvel Mystery Comics Vol 1 20 001

Railroad tracks in Ethiopia used by the Italian fascist in 1941.

The local population used the Amharic language to communicate,[14][note 2] although some Ethiopians learned other languages ​​such as English. This allowed Ethiopians to emigrate to other countries to find work there. These jobs had historically been unflattering, such as servant,[15] and some Ethiopians considered leaving Ethiopia, rather than staying to further the country's progress, to be a betrayal of their roots.[16] In recent history, Ethiopia's technical progress included the use of railways in the 20th century to transport goods and people,[1] and more recently the use of the Internet: The Ethiopian Daily newspaper had a prominent online version which covered, among other things, international news related to prominent Ethiopians.[14] That did not mean that Ethiopian culture was without its problems: Drought, epidemics, poverty, wars[17] (including the Oromo Conflict),[6] influx of refugees, extinction and near extinction of local ways of life, were not only sadly common, but evident when someone visited the country in recent times.[17] Ethiopians, like the inhabitants of other African countries with similar problems (notably Kenya and Sudan), indulged in alcoholism and licentiousness as a way of forgetting their troubles.[18] Facing an arduous existence,[19][18][20][21][17] some natives of Ethiopia emigrated to wealthier countries. By the 20th century, they were often limited to low-skilled positions as servants to wealthy Europeans, as was the case of Chandi, who also had to agree to commit crimes for the benefit of his British master Basil Drake.[15] In more recent times, prejudices had been reduced or vanished, and emigration could be seen as a way to make a better life for one's family, as Adina Malcolm's father had decided.[16]

Among Ethiopian traditions and beliefs was the Vandella, a Succubus-like creature described as a vampiric demon spirit and dream stalker (although a Vandella considered itself the personal deity of its victim), a belief Ethiopia shared with other North African countries. A Vandella would be drawn to the dreams of a highly distressed person from Ethiopia, and would then affect its victim from within his or her unconscious mind, manipulating him or her to strengthen negative thoughts and thus parasitizing their psyche. The Vandella would then possess the victim to the point of controlling his or her body so that the victim would commit murders based on the victim's negative thoughts; the Vandella would give the victim superhuman powers, and the victim would have no memory of his or her actions during the possession. Vandella, and apparently other mythical creatures, were not restricted to the borders of Ethiopia, and could continue to affect people of Ethiopian descent who had emigrated to other continents. It was possible to exorcise a Vandella with magic, even with non-Ethiopian magic.[16]

Ancient History[]

Ethiopia was inhabited for millennia. Over three thousand years ago, the Olympian god Poseidon chose to idle for a time in Ethiopia a decade after the end of the Trojan War. Poseidon's brother Zeus Panhellenios took this chance to help Odysseus return Ithaca from Calypso's island, without Poseidon's interference.[22]

A lost colony of the Roman Empire existed in Ethiopia and lasted until at least the interwar period in the 20th century.[3][23][24] On a plain near a small lake, the inhabitants of the colony maintained ancient customs, including wearing togas, speaking Latin, paying strict homage to the Mayor of the city, and punishing enemies of the state with public executions in the gladiator arena.[3]

Prester John, first seen in the 12th century,[25] used the title of High Pope and Emperor of India and Ethiopia.[26][27] He was believed to have ruled a prosperous society of Nestorian Christians either in India and/or in Ethiopia; but it is unclear whether his kingdom, if it even existed, was in the same territory currently known as Ethiopia; instead, it's likely that it was in Asia.[25]

Ethiopia, Iyoba (Earth-616) from Marvel's Voices Wakanda Forever Vol 1 1 002

In 1895, Wakandan Iyoba helped protect Ethiopia from an Italian invasion.

In 1895, Italy, in an attempt to establish itself as a colonial power in the Horn of Africa, prepared to invade Ethiopia. Iyoba (also known as Ncharli Selimma), a woman strategist from the country of Wakanda (which bordered Ethiopia at that point), spied in Ethiopia and learned of the Italian plans, informing her government. At the time, however, Wakanda chose not to interfere in the sovereign affairs of other countries, instead keeping its own capabilities secret. Dissatisfied with that decision, Iyoba defied the Wakandan throne's decision, and when Italy invaded Ethiopia that same year, Iyoba joined the Ethiopians, fighting the Italian soldiers with her martial arts and traditional weapons such as the staff; Iyoba also convinced several Wakandan "war dogs" (Hatut Zeraze) to join her as radicals. With that help, the Ethiopians drove out the Italian army: Wakanda's last neighboring country was prevented from being colonized when Italy capitulated, recognizing Ethiopia's sovereignty.[5] A treaty of friendship was signed between Italy and Ethiopia.[28] Afterwards, Iyoba and her allies returned to Wakanda voluntarily to be tried for their disobedience. They were allowed to stay in Wakanda, as their crimes did not merit exile, but King M'Teli of Wakanda decided to keep Iyoba's actions in Ethiopia secret, because they might undermine the community's faith in Wakanda's isolationism.[5]

Sometime between the late 1920s and 1941, law student Bill Waring,[23][24] determined to learn martial arts and other skills to start a one-man war against crime,[3][23][24] traveled through Central Africa to familiarize himself with the many traditional weapons used there. After a rainy season, Waring sailed down the River Nile in a native man's boat, with the boat owner as his first mate, through a tributary in the Ethiopian highlands. Having passed the supposedly most dangerous area in the gorges, the river widened, but they encountered a whirlpool that drew them in, destroying the boat. Losing consciousness, Waring awoke on a sandy beach next to a lake, in a vast plateau surrounded by towering cliffs, the boat owner nowhere to be found. He was found by two large, robust men wearing togas and speaking Latin, who brought him[3] to the lost Roman colony.[3][23][24] There, the Major accused him of being an enemy of the state[3] and sentenced him to fight in a gladiator arena.[3][23][24] Waring survived and returned to the U.S. in 1941, eventually becoming the vigilante called the Challenger;[23][24] his discovery of the lost colony was chronicled in a biography written by Ray Gill.[3]

Italian Invasion[]

In 1934, Italy was againg preparing to invade Ethiopia,[5] which was by then ruled by Emperor Haile Selassie[28] (also described as King of Ethiopia). Again, Iyoba, by then a teacher at Birnin Zana University in Wakanda, challenged the orders of the Wakandan King M'Teli: She believed that the whole African continent was facing a great threat with the fascist invasion, and that the Ethiopeans would be unable to defend themselves from the superior weaponry of Italians; she also thought that Wakanda, protected by their superior technology and power, should be helping their neighbors, while she perceived that the Wakandan government was laughing at the less developed Ethiopeans while refusing to give them the means to defend themselves. This time, instead of just travelling herself to Ethiopia, Iyoba tried to smuggle Vibranium weapons there, a crime that was punished with a death sentence.

Iyoba was captured by the Wakandans before she could carry out her plan, and put on trial by the King and his court. Two of Iyoba's students, Prince Azzuri and his friend Changamire, observed that Iyoba did not fight back. They had discovered Iyoba's secret operation in Ethiopia in 1895, and asked Iyoba on the way to the gallows why she did not use that secret to bargain for her life; Iyoba replied that Wakkanda must change by choice, not blackmail. However, even though Iyoba had been sentenced to death, M'Teli commuted her execution to exile in Ethiopia, where she quickly joined the nascent resistance against the Italians, even before the invasion.[5]

Ethiopia, Iyoba (Earth-616) from Marvel's Voices Wakanda Forever Vol 1 1 004

In 1935, Mussolini's forces invaded Ethiopia.

Ethiopia from Battlefield Vol 1 8 001

1935: The Ethiopians were no match for Mussolini's Italian fascist forces.

On October 2nd, 1935, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, called "Il Duce", declared war on Italy, accusing Ethiopia of acts of war against Italy and giving a speech to his black-shirted followers on how Italy had been patient with Ethiopia for 40 years, and on how the friendship treaty with Ethiopia was of no importance and was going to be broken. Mussolini even got Italian mothers to donate their wedding rings to fund the war against Ethiopia (though Mussolini actually kept those rings for his personal fortune).[28] Italian forces crossed the Ethiopian border[28][5] with advanced weaponry, including planes, motorcycles, tanks, and soldiers with modern weapons, while the Ethiopians relied primarily on spears, swords, and stones.[28] Although King Haile Salessie encouraged his people to fight to the death,[5] the Ethiopian military was outnumbered and mowed down,[28] even with the help of Iyoba (who encouraged the Ethiopians to rely on their own strength and not the support of their monarch).[5] The Italians were brutal: Vittorio Mussolini, son of the Italian Prime Minister, led the Italian Air Force and often narrated without remorse how he had dropped a bomb on "a small group of Galla tribesmen, massed around a man in black clothes", apparently non-combatants.[28] During this invasion, the young Ethiopian[8][9][29][2][30] Moses Magnum, a native of Addis Ababa fascinated by weapons, joined the invaders to confront the other Ethiopians;[8][9] years later Magnum would become a successful weapons manufacturer naturalized in the U.S., and eventually a supervillain.[8][9][30]

Although Iyoba joined the defenders of Ethiopia against the Italians,[5] the Italian military campaign soon ended with victory for the invaders.[28] This and other victories of the fascists convinced military personnel from other countries, such as Sergeant Nick Fury of the USA, that the fascists posed a real danger. However, Ethiopia's then-neighboring country, Wakanda, maintained its isolationism, convinced that they could not be invaded as had happened with Ethiopia.[31]

Ethiopia from Marvel Mystery Comics Vol 1 20 002

Ka-Zar the Great sabotaged a fascist train in Ethiopia during World War II.

In June 1940, Adolf Hitler's Nazis invaded France, and Mussolini soon allied himself with the Nazis in the Axis Powers,[28] offering them support in occupied Ethiopia. The Italians built a powerful military garrison in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, a fort filled with barracks and ammunition sheds, which was supplied with weapons and troops by freight train into Ethiopian territory; and they also secretly allowed the Nazis to build a hidden military airfield in the Ethiopian jungle, from where the Nazis made reconnaissance flights over the Red Sea. Two English pilots assigned to a British aircraft carrier on the Red Sea accidentally discovered the Nazi airfield by flying over it, and were shot down, taken prisoner, and forced to reveal about their warship to the Nazis; The Nazis began a plan to destroy the British ship by bombing it, then bomb the Suez Canal. However, British jungle adventurer Ka-Zar the Great[1] (who had just had an encounter with giants and lizard-people in the Black River Region)[32][33][34] learned about the airport (though not about the British prisoners)[1] and, wanting to support British interests in the war, decided to attack the Nazi base[32][33][34] with a herd of wild elephants gathered and led by his own faithful elephant Trajah. Ka-Zar infiltrated the camp and freed the pilots, who escaped by flying German planes; but Ka-Zar was captured in turn and strapped to a 5-ton bomb that would be dropped in the operation. The Nazis attempted to speed up their operation so that the English pilots would not thwart the plan by alerting their warship; however, Trajah and his elephants attacked the airport, ramming the planes and in the process freeing Ka-Zar by shooting down the bomber he was tied to. Although many elephants were killed in the attack, they achieved their objective by destroying the airdrome.[1]

Emboldened by this victory, Ka-Zar planned to attack the Addis Ababa garrison, for which he assembled an army of apes, leopards, lions, monkeys, snakes, and zebras, in addition to the elephants. On the way, they encountered a heavy-loaded troop train heading toward the capital along a steep mountain grade. Ka-Zar had his apes attack the train from cliffs as it passed through a narrow pass at the summit of the mountain range. Unable to move forward, the train backed into its valley; but Ka-Zar rode a zebra up to the locomotive, dodging bullets from its troops, knocked out two engineers in the locomotive, and threw them off the train. Ka-Zar then operated the brakes and throttle to send the train careening uncontrollably downhill toward a curved bridge over a gorge that would then be incapable of being crossed again. Ka-Zar jumped off the train, as did several soldiers, but unable to negotiate a curve, the train plunged over the cliff, taking hundreds of Nazi troops with it and breaking the bridge, thus cutting off Addis Ababa's supply line.[1]

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Marvel Mystery Comics Vol 1 20 002

In 1940-1941, Ka-Zar's attack blew up the Italian garrison in Addis Abbaba.

On the way to Addis Ababa, Ka-Zar prepared many small bundles of grass wrapped with strong vines to use as torches, in order to set fire to the Italian fort. In the city, Ka-Zar assigned Chaka, alpha male of a tribe of monkeys, to lead the first attack, climbing the garrison walls with great pythons to eliminate the sentries before they could warn the base. Ka-Zar then had elephants charge the walls to breach them, and then led a panther attack that terrorized the surprised fascists. Taking advantage of the chaos, Ka-Zar lit a torch in a barracks and used it to light the other torches. He had the monkeys ride on elephants as torchbearers, and throw the incendiaries into the flammable buildings, setting the garrison ablaze. When Ka-Zar saw the flames spreading towards the ammunition sheds, he ordered his animals to withdraw, and they watched from a safe distance the destruction of the Italian fortress of Addis Ababa.[1] After that, Ka-Zar allowed his animal army to disband and return to their home points, leaving only the apes and elephants. However, Ka-Zar then came across a column of fascist tanks advancing through the jungle and setting up camp; their plan was to wipe out a British force advancing through Italian East Africa from Kenya, which could prevent East Africa from contacting Italian Somaliland. Ka-Zar saw that the Italians, hidden in the Unguda River Valley, could easily ambush and finish off the British; but Ka-Zar's reduced animal army, though eager to attack, was outnumbered. Ka-Zar ordered his animals to await his orders under Trajah's command, and he attempted to infiltrate the camp, but was discovered and captured. The fascist commander, offended by Ka-Zar's arrogance, tied Ka-Zar to a tree to be riddled with bullets during the battle's crossfire; but the fascist was unaware of Ka-Zar's animals. Through Pindar the eagle, Ka-Zar sent a message to Chaka, requesting that the ape release him by nightfall while Pindar found out exactly where the English were. After being released and discovering that the British were still a day's march away, Ka-Zar stole explosives from the camp to place at the base of a natural dam, and detonated them, flooding the barracks.[10] After that, Ka-Zar continued his campaigns against the Axis in Somaliland and elsewhere in Africa.[32][33][34]

During the Italian occupation, still in 1941, some Ethiopians had emigrated from their country to Europe to work as servants for wealthy Europeans, as was the case of Chandi, a burly Ethiopian who worked in United Kingdom for Basil Drake; Drake sent him to assassinate his enemies, coating him in a chemical that made him invisible except for his hands.[15] Meanwhile, in Africa, the Ethiopians were gaining other allies against the Italians, including the United States through the intervention of Sergeant Fury and Captain America,[31] who managed[35] to convince then-King of Wakanda, T'Chandi[31] (formerly Iyoba's student Azzuri)[5] to help drive the fascists out of Ethiopia in his identity as the Black Panther.[35] Eventually, during World War II, the fascists were driven out of Ethiopia.[28][note 3] the monarchy was restored,[36][note 4] and when Mussolini tried to escape, it was discovered that he had not used the donations of the Italian people to finance the war, but had kept them with him during his escape.[28]

After the War[]

After the war in the 1950s, Mr. Hubert Shaw funded an expedition to the Migoda Desert, near the borders of Ethiopia, to find the tomb of Pharaoh Rameses, supposedly protected by the Curse of Pharaoh's Finger. The entire expedition was lost.[7]

Ethiopia, Ororo Munroe (Earth-616) from Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 100 001

A young Ororo Munroe traveling through Ethiopia

In later times, following the death of King T'Chaka of Wakanda, his son and heir T'Challa wandered through various African countries while T'Challa's adopted brother, Hunter, served as head of the special forces to keep the peace. Believing that Wakanda would be strengthened if other countries in its vicinity were weakened, Hunter used the Hatut Zeraze to cause unrest in neighboring countries, including Ethiopia. The Oromo Conflict, apparently fuelled by Hunter, wreaked havoc on Ethiopia and, among many other calamities, caused many young Ethiopians to lose their homes and be forced to migrate on foot to nearby countries; all of Ethiopia's neighbouring countries accepted refugees from the Oromo Conflict, except Wakanda, that insisted on its pledge not to intervene in the affairs of other nations. A group of war orphans, children or pre-teens, initially guided by Negasi, attempted to subsist[6] in Kenya.[19][17] There they encountered Ororo Munroe,[6] also an orphan girl who was traveling south from Cairo, having passed through Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, guided by visions,[19] and visiting villages and towns in these countries.[17] Ororo replaced Negasi as the unofficial leader of the Ethiopian Urchin Band.[6] The group met T'Challa while traveling;[6] T'Challa and Ororo began a romantic relationship and confronted the white supremacist Andreas de Ruyter,[19][17] but then T'Challa's sister, Shuri, managed to contact him to inform him of Hunter's immoral deeds. Concluding that Hunter had caused the Oromo Conflict, T'challa decided to return to Wakanda to confront him, ending his relationship with Ororo and her group.[6] Ororo continued on her way south through other countries, observing that not only in Ethiopia were there serious problems of poverty, disease, droughts, famines, war and refugees, but that it was also happening in many other African countries,[17] leading the population to despair and abuse of alcohol and other bad practices.[18][note 5]

Ethiopia from Marvel Graphic Novel Emperor Doom Starring the Mighty Avengers Vol 1 1 001

Victor von Doom, Emperor of Earth, ended the famine in Ethiopia.

Starvation in Ethiopia became a serious and hard-to-solve problem[20] whose symptoms were treated by private, non-governmental interests;[21][37] Imayan activist Vincent Cetewayo famously paid for airlifts of food to Ethiopia out of his own pocket, among other career achievements.[5] However, the situation was tense and not without difficulties: In some cases, attempts to deliver food led to riots because the population was desperate.[17] American pilot Montana flew famine relief in Ethiopia, until his plane was shot down by unknown persons, leaving him stranded, after which Montana ended up joining the resistance against the dictator of Burunda, another African country.[21][note 6] There were attempts to end this famine: When Doctor Doom conquered the world as emperor, he ended the wars and brought about an influx of technologies from countries that had been enemies of Ethiopia to gain arable land, which he redistributed optimally, giving jobs in agriculture to Ethiopians of both sexes.[36] It is undeniable that Doom had ended famine in Ethiopia, among many other problems that he solved;[20] however, the solutions provided by Doom were reversed as soon as he left power.[36][20] In more recent times, the god Thor started a religious cult that attempted to give mortals what they needed, so he commissioned his servant Thialfi to bring food to Ethiopia; Thialfi did so successfully, but was faced with a riot of desperate people and opposition from a local religious cult that opposed the worship of Thor. Thialfi returned to Asgard and reported what had happened; another of Thor's advisors, Balder, explained to Thor that mortals had become more independent of the gods, and that Thor's predecessor as ruler of Asgard, Odin, had avoided such behavior for precisely that reason.[17]

Ethiopia was not particularly popular among outsiders: A group of American soldiers on duty there complained of the intense heat even at night, arguing that no one wanted to control such a land.[11] However, there was no shame in being Ethiopian, even if one emigrated to another country:[16] Ethiopian technosmith Moses Magnum had never hidden his Ethiopian origins, although he became a naturalized American citizen[30] and rarely if ever went back to his home country.[8][9] In contrast, Russian big-game hunter Kraven applied for Ethiopian citizenship at one point in his career (he ended up having an international criminal record).[38][39]

Ethiopia, Ogaden from Iron Man Vol 3 73 001

The Ogaden during the Pentagon operation to test the Peregrine combat helicopter there.

In more recent times, the Pentagon used the Ogaden region in Ethiopia to test its new "Peregrine" combat helicopter, carrying U.S. Army troops with new armor. Having failed to notify the locals, the operation drove off a goatherd on the local mountain. However, within minutes there was disaster: A new microwave-based weapon affected several systems, the infrared sensor warned the pilot without need, and the Friend-or-Foe ID gave a false reading allowing an enemy to pass unnoticed and destroy the helicopter with a bazooka, killing the servicemen. Whether this fiasco resulted in any international incident has not been disclosed. It is known that the Pentagon, however, restructured its operations and turned to industrialist Anthony Stark, who had not been involved in this project, for advice.[11]

Adina Malcolm was born in Ethiopia, but her father decided to emigrate with his wife and daughter to New York City, hoping to offer them a better life. Adina's mother died when Adina was only five years old; and although her father thrived, Adina felt anger towards him for what she perceived as a betrayal of the Ethiopian culture that had spawned them. Adina's negative feelings, unbeknownst to her, summoned a Vandella, a vampiric dream spirit that fed on Adina's bitterness to grow stronger. The Vandella took control of Adina's body to get her to kill her father, and then convinced Adina that her father's new wife was the murderer. Adina contacted X-Factor Investigations to find evidence; researcher Layla Miller discovered what had happened and successfully exorcised Adina's Vandella using magic.[16]

At some point, agents of the mutant terrorist Magneto destroyed an Ethiopian village, killing nearly all of its inhabitants, except for a man who, hiding in an oil drum, witnessed the events.[40] Particularly horrified by the loss of his family,[40][41] as well as everyone else he had ever known,[40] this man felt great resentment towards mutants. Eventually gaining the powers of the African deity Mzee, the man adopted the alias Mzee and set out to hunt down the mutants who had killed his family,[41] teaming up with the Red Skull's S-Men to do so.[40]

Afar Depression, Ethiopia, Evolutionary (Earth-616), Herbert Wyndham (Earth-616), Zuras (Earth-616) from New Warriors Vol 3 5 002

Zuras (possibly) meets with his new two agents, the Evolutionary and the High Evolutionary

Two separate individuals, the High Evolutionary and the Evolutionary, felt an uncontrollable urge to go to the Afar Depression, possibly drawn there by[42] the Eternal Zuras,[43] who intended to recruit them for his plan. Upon arriving, the Evolutionary believed the High Evolutionary was responsible of the Evolutionary's need to go there, and he attacked the High Evolutionary; but Zuras interrupted the fight and explained that the Celestials were coming to Earth to judge humanity and that, in order to save mankind, the Evolutionary and the High Evolutionary should eliminate all super-powered beings. The Evolutionary and the High Evolutionary worked together on a plan to that end,[42] but they failed, and it was also discovered that the Celestials were not on their way to Earth.[43]

Danakil Desert, Emma Frost (Earth-616) from Avengers vs. X-Men Vol 1 9 001

Emma Frost, endowed with the Phoenix Force, retreated to the Danakil Desert, Ethiopia, to meditate.

When the Phoenix Force possessed Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik, and Sub-Mariner at once (The Phoenix Five),[44] they began a world-altering campaign, during which Magik used her powers to reforest the Horn of Africa, among other activities that benefited Ethiopia and other African countries. Wakanda's then-King T'Challa noted that for the first time in decades, refugees from Ethiopia and Sudan were returning to their homelands rather than fleeing conflict and famine.[45] Even so, the Phoenix Five's enemies stood against them, and when the Sub-Mariner was defeated, the Phoenix power within him was shared among the other four Phoenixes.[46] The Phoenix Force threatened to corrupt its users, causing Cyclops to lash out at his enemies in brutal fashion. Haunted by her own genocidal impulses and a telepathy that had access to nearly every mind in the world, Emma Frost retreated to the Danakil Desert, one of the most inhospitable spots on the planet due to its scorching heat, to be as far away from other minds as possible and meditate in isolation. Cyclops, her lover, came to see her, urging her to return with the group to their base on Utopia; she did not, but revealed to him that she had found Hope Summers, the intended Phoenix host, who was fighting their enemies, and told him that she was on K'un-Lun; Cyclops quickly left, offering no support to Frost, who pleaded for someone to stop her.[12] Soon after, the Phoenix Force corrupted Frost, and she left Ethiopia for Utopia.[47]

When Ethiopian supervillain Moses Magnum attacked Mali and was stopped by Iron Man (Anthony Stark) and Shuri, the online newspaper Ethiopian Daily covered the story, as did newspapers in several African countries such as Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria.[14]

Erta Ale, James Howlett (Earth-616), Neena Thurman (Earth-616), Quintavius Quire (Earth-616), X-Force (Intelligence Agency) (Earth-616) from X-Force Annual Vol 3 1 001

X-Force is misled to investigate an Orchis base in Erta Ale, Ethiopia

Albert Cary, associated with Orchis, built an elaborate base on the Erta Ale volcano in the Danakil Depression, in order to test the powers of his mutant enemies so as to find ways to defeat them. Mutant and X-Force leader Beast learned of Cary's plan, and decided that the results of such tests, which would put his agents and friends in mortal danger, would be invaluable. The Beast convinced X-Force that Orchis had stolen a shipment of Flowers of Krakoa, and sent them to recover the supposed loot; the Beast did not inform other allies such as the Quiet Council of Krakoa, but Emma Frost and Sage discovered the mission and interrogated the Beast after X-Force had already departed, uncovering his ruse. On Erta Ale, X-Force realized that there was nothing organic on the base, only Sentinels and traps designed for their powers: Kid Omega was trapped with teleporting devices and subjected to psychic sonic cannon devices; Wolverine was immobilized with magnets that affected his metallic skeleton; and Domino fell into a trap that tested her luck. However, Domino's luck caused a brief eruption of the volcano that generated an electromagnetic signal that nullified the magnetic field immobilizing Wolverine, allowing them to break free and flee with a machine core with results, unaware that the Beast had used them.[13]

Alternate Realities[]

Earth-1136 (Genesis Universe)[]

In the Genesis Universe, during World War II, Nazi Colonel Wilhelm Leermeister tried to intimidate his prisoner Tom Cory, the Rocket Ranger, by claiming that the Axis forces had just captured Ethiopia and were soon to take over all of Africa, hoping to make him reveal important information. The Ranger did give Leermeister information, but it was false information to earn time.[48][note 7]

Earth-1218 (Our Reality)[]

Artist Anders Nilsen's parents had been in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia in the 1970s, just before the beginning of the revolution (the Ethiopian Civil War of 1974-1991); they migrated to the U.S. and Nilsen was born in New Hampshire.[49]

After leaving Marvel, writer and anthropologist Michael Fleisher (1942-2018)[50][51] worked for the International Livestock Research Institute in Ethiopia.[51] He also met Chaltu Lina Ruda, an Ethiopian native. They married[50][51] on June 24, 2001 in Ethiopia, [51] and had two children, Thomas and Noelle.[50] After 2002, Fleisher became a freelance anthropological consultant on research assignment for humanitarian organizations all over the world. Among his activities, he located, mapped and disabled land mines in Ethiopia and other countries.[50][51]

Earth-11127 (Defenders found the Concordance Engines)[]

On Earth-11127, Prester John was said to have ruled over a paradisiac territory called Avalon where the human Nestorian Christians lived peacefully with monsters, somewhere in India, but others believed it had been in Ethiopia.[25]

Earth-TRN1189 (Unnamed reality)[]

On an unnamed reality, an elderly T'Challa narrated his youthful adventures to his grandchildren, T'Fuma and Zalika, including the tale of his early roaming through several African countries and his first encounter with Ororo Munroe, who became his wife in that reality.[52]

Points of Interest

Afar Depression, Ethiopia from New Warriors Vol 3 5 001

Afar Depression, Ethiopia.

The Migoda Desert was described as being near the borders of Ethiopia; it is unrevealed whether it is within Ethiopia's borders, or in a neighboring country.[7]

Residents

Moses Magnum (Earth-616) from Shuri Vol 1 5 001

Moses Magnum, a prominent Ethiopian supervillain.

  • Chandi, the Invisible Slayer (migrated to United Kingdom, deceased)[15]
  • Galla tribesmen[28]
  • Prester John, High Pope and Emperor of India and Ethiopia (possibly)[26][27]
  • Ka-Zar the Great's army of jungle beasts (including lions, leopards, apes, monkeys, snakes, zebras)[1]
  • Kraven the Hunter (at some point)[38][39]
  • Adina Malcolm (migrated to the United States)[16]
    • Adina Malcolm's unnamed father (migrated to the United States, deceased)[16]
    • Adina Malcolm's unnamed mother (migrated to the United States, deceased)[16]
  • Mzee (migrated elsewhere)[40]
    • Mzee's family and neighbors (deceased)[40]
  • Poseidon (temporarily)[22]
  • Orchis Sentinels controlled by Albert Cary[13]
  • Emperor Haile Selassie,[28] King of Ethiopia[5]
  • unnamed German Nazi and Italian fascist troops, officers and engineers, several of them deceased[1]
  • unnamed goat shepherd in the Ogaden[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Maps in Marvel Atlas #2 show that Ethiopia does not border Wakanda. In the stories in Marvel's Voices: Wakanda Forever #1 and Black Panther Legends #2, Ethiopia is described as a neighboring country of Wakanda. However, those stories take place in ancient times (most recently during World War II), and it is conceivable that the borders have since changed, so that Ethiopia was Wakanda's neighbor until World War II but no longer.
  2. ↑ In the real world, the official languages ​​in Ethiopia include Amharic, Afar, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya, and it is estimated that around 100 languages are ​​widely spoken in the country. (See Glottolog's list on the languages of Ethiopia). The Amharic language, spoken by the ethnicity Amhara and used as lingua franca by every ethnicity in the main cities and towns (Meyer, Ronny (2011). "The Role of Amharic as a National Language and an African lingua franca". In Stefan Weninger (ed.). The Semitic Languages. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1212–1220), was explicitly used by Ethiopian native Moses Magnum in Shuri #5. The language spoken by the unnamed guide in Daring Mystery Comics #7, in which "Kam ga!" means "Whirpool!", has not been identified.
  3. ↑ In reality, Ethiopia was liberated by the British in 1941, and held under British military administration until 1944, when Ethiopian sovereignty was restored. In Battlefield #8, it is implied that it was not until 1943, when the Americans arrived in Italy, that Ethiopia was fred when Mussolini resigned and surrendered.
  4. ↑ Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom — Starring the Mighty Avengers #1 (published in 1987) describes Ethiopia as a Kingdom. In 1987, in the real world, Ethiopia was ruled by the Provisional Military Administrative Council, called Dergue, a Marxist-Leninist military dictatorship. See: Temesgen Gebreyehu (2010). "The Genesis and Evolution of the Ethiopian Revolution and the Derg: A Note on Publications by Participants in Events". History in Africa. 37: 321–327. doi:10.1353/hia.2010.0035. JSTOR 40864628. S2CID 144500147. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Black Panther Legends #2 mentions that when T'Challa met Ororo Munroe, the Oromo Conflict had already begun, implying that it had not started long before. The Oromo conflict is a real event that has affected Ethiopia since 1973, and continues as of 2024.
  6. ↑ As told in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #13, Montana was shot down in the middle of nowhere while flying famine relief in Ethiopia, after which he ended up merging with B'kosa's resistance against the dictatorship of Burunda. The distance between Ethiopia and Burunda is possibly about 3,800 kms, crossing at least Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. However, no one says that Montana was shot down in Ethiopia: Burunda or another nearby country could have been Montana's source of supplies, or a necessary stopover. Alternatively, Montana could have been shot down in Ethiopia and met the people of B'kosa there, and only later traveled to Burunda.
  7. ↑ In other realities, the Nazis never took Ethiopia: It was captured by their allies the Italian fascists before the beginning of the War, and then lost to Great Britain. Apparently, the history was different on Earth-1136 (even thou the Axis still lost World War II), or maybe Leermeister was lying to Cory.

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Marvel Mystery Comics #20 ; Action in Ethiopia
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Marvel Atlas #2 ; Canaan's profile
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Daring Mystery Comics #7 ; The Valley of Time
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marvel Atlas #2 ; maps
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Marvel's Voices: Wakanda Forever #1 ; The Education of Changamire
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Black Panther Legends #2
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Strange Tales #12 ; Pharaoh's Fingers
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 ; Moses Magnum's profile
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #7 ; Moses Magnum's profile
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Marvel Mystery Comics #21 ; Fight against the Fascists
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Iron Man (Vol. 3) #73
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Avengers vs. X-Men #9
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 X-Force Annual (Vol. 3) #1
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Shuri #5
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Marvel Mystery Comics #19
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 X-Factor #215
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.8 Uncanny Origins #9
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Storm (Vol. 2) #6
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Marvel Team-Up #100 ; Cry -- Vengeance!
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Domains of Doom #1
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Marc Spector: Moon Knight #13
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Marvel Illustrated: The Odyssey #1
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #2 ; Challenger's profile
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #2 ; Challenger's profile
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Defenders (Vol. 4) #2
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 ; Prester John's profile
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #9 ; Prester John's profile
  28. ↑ 28.00 28.01 28.02 28.03 28.04 28.05 28.06 28.07 28.08 28.09 28.10 28.11 28.12 Battlefield #8 ; Il Duce, the Leader
  29. ↑ Heroic Age: Villains #1 ; Moses Magnum's profile
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Deathlok (Vol. 2) #23
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Black Panther/Captain America: Flags of Our Fathers #2
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 ; Ka-Zar the Great's profile
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 ; Ka-Zar the Great's profile
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1 ; Ka-Zar's profile
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Avengers 1959 #2
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom — Starring the Mighty Avengers #1
  37. ↑ War Machine #1
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Spider-Man: Back in Black Handbook #1 ; Kraven the Hunter's profile
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 ; Kraven the Hunter's profile
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 40.4 40.5 Uncanny Avengers #2
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Uncanny Avengers #3
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 New Warriors (Vol. 5) #4
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 New Warriors (Vol. 5) #12
  44. ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #5
  45. ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #6
  46. ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #8
  47. ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #10
  48. ↑ Rocket Ranger #3
  49. ↑ An interview with Anders Nilsen (2015). Retrieved on 27 August 2024.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 Michael Fleisher's profile at universomarvel.com. Retrieved on 27 August 2024.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 51.4 Michael Fleisher: Comic Book Writer, 1942-2018. Retrieved on 27 August 2024.
  52. ↑ Marvel's Voices: Legends #1 ; The World Is Not Ready
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