Maha Yogi (Earth-616)

Merlin
Name	Unrevealed
Current Alias	Merlin
Aliases	Mad Merlin, Warlock, Maha Yogi, Merlin Demonspawn
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Merlin Industries
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6′2″ (1.88 m)
Weight	245 lbs (111.13 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human with mutation induced by the Caretakers of Arcturus, immortality due to possession of a fragment of the Bloodstone
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	An unrevealed location in central Europe of 10,000 years ago
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Nordheimr Vanir
Occupation	Would-be conqueror, former professional criminal, mentalist, chairman of the board of Merlin Industries
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Stan Lee, Joe Sinnott
First	Journey Into Mystery #96 (July, 1963)
First	Journey Into Mystery #96 (July, 1963)

History

Distant Past

Towards the end of the Hyborian Age, civilizations broke apart and great migrations took place. The Cimmerians (ancestors of the Gaels) and the Vanir (a people who resided in what now is Scandinavia, and even worshiped earlier incarnations of the Asgardian gods, as well as Ymir and his daughter) migrated to the Vilayet Sea (later the Caspian Sea). Those people who settled there in time became the Aryans.

Also during this time many extraterrestrials came to Earth. Among these were the Caretakers of Arcturus. The Caretakers claimed to have created the first werewolf and also mutated humans to create special specimens. One human that they mutated rebelled against them. Later, he witnessed as another alien, Ulluxy'l Kwan Tae Syn, battled a Vanir tribesman (Ulysses Bloodstone). This battled shattered the magical Bloodgem, which broke into fragments granting the wearer immortality. Taking one of these fragments, the man who would become known as Maha Yogi gained elongated life.

Mad Merlin

"Maha Yogi" later traveled to Egypt to see the erection of the pyramid, stood by unfazed as "Julius Caesar" died, and most notoriously, impersonated Merlin when he went with the Black Knight to face Morgan Le Fay in the Fifth Century A.D. He was attacked by Kang during this time. "Maha Yogi" then demanded that a young sorcerer named Modred serve him as an apprentice, an act with dire consequences for Modred, who foolishly sought the Darkhold against Maha Yogi, whose odd behavior did not go unnoticed. Modred was placed in suspended animation due to his abuse of the Darkhold, while Maha Yogi placed elementals at Stonehenge to retrieve him when he awoke. In time, the Eternal Sersi and the returning true Merlin defeated Maha Yogi, placing him in suspended animation.

Modern Times

Over a thousand years later, Maha Yogi's crypt was discovered in England, mistakenly believed to be the tomb of the one true Merlin. Maha Yogi came out of suspended animation and tried to take over the world. His plans were halted by Thor, who convinced him to return to his crypt, where he went back to his sleep.

As it turned out, however, Maha Yogi had only pretended to go back to sleep. He returned again, now calling himself Warlock, taking mental control of Marvel Girl and removing Professor X's psi-powers. He was defeated by the X-Men. He then reappeared as a successful stage mentalist, the Maha Yogi, only to be defeated by the Beast and Iceman, and apparently sent to jail. He has since clashed with the Hulk and Dr Druid, amongst others.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

• Illusion Casting: The Maha Yogi is able to cast realistic illusions.
• Mind Control: The Maha Yogi can control minds.
• Energy Projection: The Maha Yogi can project bolts of psionic energy.
• Force Fields: The Maha Yogi can create force fields.
• Teleportation: The Maha Yogi can teleport himself and others.
• Magic: While he initially only pretended to be a magician he recently displayed actual magical powers.
  • Transformation: He can physically transform others.
  • Energy Projection: He can project bolts of magical energy.
  • Immortality: The Maha Yogi is unaging, while this was originally thanks to his fragment of the Bloodgem he regained his immortality through magic.

Weaknesses

• Limited Range: The Maha Yogi's psionic powers have a limited range.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Bloodgem: Formerly possessed a fragment of the Bloodstone which granted him immortality.

Notes

• He was stated to be a mutant in Journey Into Mystery #96, X-Men #30 and Incredible Hulk #210, and he himself believed it to be the case, but All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #7 confirmed it to be an erroneous statement.

See Also

• 13 appearance(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 6 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 3 minor appearance(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 5 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 23 image(s) of Maha Yogi (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about Maha Yogi (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Maha Yogi on Marvel.com
• Maha Yogi on Wikipedia.org