Moridun was the Sorcerer Supreme of the Fifth Cosmos, the iteration of the Multiverse where magic and sorcery were first formed. When the Fifth Cosmos ended, Moridun passed on to the Sixth Cosmos and became Omnimax, the Devourer of Worlds.[8][9] Moridun's spirit also made its way to the Eighth Cosmos thanks to the Maker, who was curious about past cycles in wake of the most recent renewal.[4]
History
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Sorcerer Supreme of the Fifth Cosmos
Fifth Cosmos[]
At some point in his tenure as Sorcerer Supreme, Moridun found the time-displaced Carlo Zota of the Eighth Cosmos and turned him into his slave, teaching him a variety of things, including magic.[10] Later, he witnessed the arrival of the Defenders, who also hailed from the Eighth Cosmos. They accidentally ended up in the Fifth Cosmos after going back in time to defeat Zota in the Sixth.[6]
Fearing the potential of the Defenders as a living spell, Moridun tried to enslave them. However, Doctor Strange redirected all of his magic to Harpy, causing her to summon a Green Door on top of Moridun, thus banishing him from there and thwarting his plan. He eventually made his way back.[10]
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As Omnimax, the Devourer of Worlds of the Sixth Cosmos
Sixth Cosmos[]
After the Fifth Cosmos ceased to be, Moridun became Omnimax and entered the Sixth Cosmos as prophesied. He attacked Taa alongside his herald, Carlo Zota, but his attempt to devour the planet failed due to the Defenders' interference, forcing him to retreat. He also lost his herald in the process, as Zota fell into the timestream and ended up in the Fifth Cosmos, where Moridun's past self found him.[6]
While Omnimax met his fate under unknown circumstances, it is possibly that his death was caused as a result of the Sixth Cosmos coming to an end at the hands of the Black Winter.
Eighth Cosmos[]
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Moridun's spirit being summoned by the Maker
Following the destruction and rebirth of the Multiverse from the Seventh Cosmos to the Eighth, Moridun's spirit was summoned by the Maker (Reed Richards), who was investigating the previous iterations of reality. Moridun vanished when the New Avengers disrupted the ritual being used to summon him, but the dark wizard remained on Prime Earth, unbeknownst to Richards.[4]
As part of his plan to possess the powerful young hero Wiccan, Moridun used some information he had acquired from the Maker's mind about a prophecy followed by the Knights of the Infinite.[5] The evil wizard killed the elder Knight M'ryn,[11] and used his corpse as a vessel, attacking and absorbing the souls of other Knights.[5]
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Sacrificing M'ryn to manifest in the Eighth Cosmos
Meanwhile, the rest of the Knights had kidnapped the Avenger Hulkling, and inadvertently Wiccan himself.[11] When the Knights arrived back to their base in the Forbidden Asteroids, they were confronted by Moridun. During the ensuing fight, Moridun managed to grasp Wiccan in his tentacles. After absorbing enough power, the evil wizard grew in size, destroying Castle Tarnala from the inside out. Hulkling and Wiccan's teammates, the New Avengers, joined the brawl against Moridun, to no avail. After accidentally absorbing an energy blast from Moridun with the ancient sword Excelsior, Hulkling realized he could use it against Moridun. The New Avengers distracted Moridun long enough to allow Hulkling to stab him in the face, seemingly killing the creature.
Possessing Wiccan/Demiurge
In reality, Moridun had already infected Wiccan and remained inside his mind as a sort of subconsciousness.[5] The evil wizard's control over Wiccan, who began to go by the codename Demiurge under his influence, eventually grew stronger.[3]
During a mission in Tokyo, Moridun sensed the arrival of a team of Avengers from the future on Avengers Island, the New Avengers' headquarters. This prompted Moridun to make Demiurge teleport himself and his teammates back to the island so he could fight the future Avengers, as the time-displaced team was there to kill Demiurge before Moridun was able to completely take over his body, and thus prevent their future from ever happening. Learning of Moridun's possession of Demiurge, the New Avengers attacked the future Avengers for not agreeing with the solution they found for the situation. As the two Avengers teams fought over Demiurge's fate, Hulkling talked with Demiurge, giving him the strength he needed to fight back against Moridun's possession. Moridun was then casted out of Demiurge's body in the form of a small squid.[12]
Having been banished to the Land of the Dead by Wiccan where he sustained himself from the scarce scraps falling down there from the Splinter Realms, Moridun tried to escape his predicament by possessing the Scarlet Witch, who was making her way back to the world of the living after dying at the hands of the Griever at the End of All Things. Wanda, however, was able to quickly break free of his possession, tearing Moridun to pieces and leaving him to reform.[13]Attributes
Powers
Magic: Moridun is an ancient wizard from the Fifth Cosmos and has used his control over magical forces for different results.[5]
- Energy Projection and Absorption: Moridun has been able to absorb photon blasts with ease, and use this energy to empower himself.[5]
- Pyrokinesis: Moridun has also shot fire from the ends of his tentacles.[5]
- Size Alteration: Moridun can use his powers to increase his size, to the point of being able to destroy a castle from the inside out.[5]
- Superhuman Durability: Moridun can resist physical attacks from powerful beings like Pod without suffering any damage.[5]
Abilities
Weaknesses
Magic: Moridun appears to be vulnerable to certain types of magic, including the ancient sword Excelsior, which managed to destroy his corporeal manifestation.[5]
Host Dependence: As an astral creature with no physical form, Moridun has to possess living beings, either by draining their power or implanting his essence in their minds.[14]Notes
- Omnimax was the equivalent of Galactus for the Sixth Cosmos. Like Galactus, Omnimax also appointed heralds and he had bestowed them with more Power Cosmic than Galactus' Silver Surfer.[6]
Trivia
- When speaking, Moridun elongates his own name as "Mor-i-dun."[15][8][13]
- Moridun is inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos, with Al Ewing stating he's "got some very Cthulhu-y touches to him" and considering him "the definition of a 'great old one'" for being from a ghost of a previous incarnation of the universe.[16]
- When asked if Moridun had any connection to the Cancerverse (a reality bent on the worship of the Many-Angled Ones, another name for the Great Old Ones), New Avengers (Vol. 4) writer Al Ewing stated he had not considered one, but didn't discard the idea that Moridun could have created it as "it seems to fit in with his worldview," and he would have no objection to subsequent writers making that connection.[16]
See Also
- 11 appearance(s) of Moridun (Earth-616)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Moridun (Earth-616)
- 2 mention(s) of Moridun (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Moridun (Earth-616)
- 19 image(s) of Moridun (Earth-616)
- 2 quotation(s) by or about Moridun (Earth-616)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Moridun (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Defenders (Vol. 6) #1–3
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 4) #3–4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #4
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Defenders (Vol. 6) #2
- ↑ Scarlet Witch (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Defenders (Vol. 6) #2–3
- ↑ Scarlet Witch (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Defenders (Vol. 6) #3
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 4) #5–6
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Scarlet Witch (Vol. 4) #2–3
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 New Avengers (Vol. 4) #3–5
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 4) #2–6
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Richards, Dave (January 19, 2016) Ewing's "New Avengers" Are Headed Towards An Explosive "Standoff" CBR. Retrieved on January 4, 2020.