- —Disciple of Dagon during the Hyborian Age[src]
R'lyeh (also written R'Lyeh) was a city created by the Great Old Ones, extradimensional near-gods.[3]
History
Origin[]
R'lyeh was one of the ancient underwater cities founded by the Great Old Ones long before the establishment of Atlantis. The Great Old Ones also spawned terrible creatures, such as the Aqueos.[3]
Hyborian Age[]
During the Hyborian Age, circa 10,000 BC, the Great Old One Cthulhu allegedly slumbered there, according to the eldritch language chant of the men of the sea worshiping Dagon: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Ctulhu R'lyeh wgah-ngal fhtaga!"[2]
To avenge himself from Captain Dalvalte who tortured him, left him for dead and stole his daughters, Reimos allegedly entered in contact with many Old Ones, the Black Gods of R'Lyeh, who offered him his spider-infested castle.[4]
R'lyeh's name was also invoked in incantations by the likes of priests of Set along with those of Set and Yuggoth,[5] or Thulandra Thuu, along Tsathoggua's and Nyarlethotep's names.[6]
War with Atlantis[]
When the Atlanteans came to the seas, they fought the Great Old Ones for millenia, eventually killing or imprisoning them, though their spawns persisted into the Modern Age.[3]
200 A.D.[]
- —Atla, the witch-woman of Dagon-Moor[src]
Circa 200 A.D., the names of R'lyeh[7] and its Black Gods were still invoked.[8]
Modern Age[]
When Doctor Strange weakened the barriers containing the Old Ones, a "thing from R'lyeh" was let loose and harassed Jacob Roark in his cabin where he had retired himself to meditate for five years, and whose greater magical potential had been awakened by the same event, and whose energies was the only thing holding the thing's shape. Roark eventually relinquished his magical potential on Strange's counsel, and the thing departed.[9]
Alternate realities[]
Earth-TRN566[]
The Book of R'lyeh (or R'lyeh Texts) were ancient and dreaded writings foretelling the awakening of the Dweller in Darkness (who laid sleeping beneath the ground of Salem Center for centuries).[10]
Earth-17698[]
During the Hyborian Age, Cthulu allegedly slumbered there, according to the eldritch language chant of the men of the sea worshiping Dagon: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Ctulhu R'lyeh wgah-ngal fhtaga!"[2]Residents
Notes
- R'lyeh is a fictional lost city that first appeared in the H.P. Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu" (Weird Tales; June, 1928).
- It is hypothesized that both Cthulhu and R'lyeh appeared, unnamed, in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #1 (November, 1988),[11] written by Peter Gillis (the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe rejects the assertion regarding the entity, and believe it to be more likely the Thing from R'lyeh, also created by Peter Gillis).[12]
- R'lyeh has inspired a few Marvel Comics locations, including:
- Magneto's island-base in the Bermuda Triangle, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #147 (July, 1981), is believed to be (or to be based on) R'lyeh. Though the architecture on the island included octopus-headed statues and the inspiration for its design was clear, the island was never explicitly referred to as R'lyeh. It was possibly due to the uncertainty surrounding public domain status of some of Lovecraft's work.[13][14][15][16][17]
- Although, in Wolverine: First Class #12, set on Magneto's island, the island is connected to the Marvel Comics' version of the Cthulhu Mythos with a story involving Quoggoth, the rebellious servant and creation of the Old One Shuma-Gorath, obviously inspired by the Shoggoths of the Old Ones at the Mountains of Madness.
- R'llyeh, in the Black Smokers' Trench of the Pacific Ocean, is obviously patterned after R'lyeh, and many matter related to R'llyeh are references to 'The Call of Cthulhu". The Logomancer stated that the Necronomicon, the Oracles of Zoroaster, the Darkhold and other mystic scrolls and books were in fact just imperfect copies of the ancient writings etched on the walls of R'llyeh produced by ancient beings.[18]
- In King in Black: Namor #2 (December 30, 2020), R'lyeh was first depicted, and tied to the Great Old Ones and the Aqueos. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether or not R'lyeh and R'llyeh are the same.
- Carnage (Vol. 2) features two locations analogous to R'lyeh, yet related to Chthon (an evil Elder God somewhat inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos and sometimes mentioned as one of the Great Old Ones):
- The Chthonic Island in the Timor Sea.
- K'lay was mentioned in the verse of the Darkhold "Ph'nglui mglw'naft Chthon K'lay wgah'nagl fhtagn", a revamping of the famous sentence "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", a sentence from "The Call of Cthulhu", replacing Cthulhu and R'lyeh by Chthon and K'lay. Translated into English, the sentence reads "In his house at K'lay dead Chthon waits dreaming.
- In "The Chosen", written by Fred Van Lente in Fear Itself: The Home Front #5 to Fear Itself: The Home Front #7 (October to December, 2011), the coordinates where the heroes are stranded, 47°9′S 126°43′W, are those of R'lyeh as given by H.P. Lovecraft in "The Call of Cthulhu".
- Magneto's island-base in the Bermuda Triangle, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #147 (July, 1981), is believed to be (or to be based on) R'lyeh. Though the architecture on the island included octopus-headed statues and the inspiration for its design was clear, the island was never explicitly referred to as R'lyeh. It was possibly due to the uncertainty surrounding public domain status of some of Lovecraft's work.[13][14][15][16][17]
- In Doctor Who Magazine, then published by Marvel Comics, the story The Flesh Unbound (Doctor Who Magazine #221-223; December, 1994-February, 1995; written by Alan Barnes and penciled by Adrian Salmon) of the umbrella title The Cybermen introduced a character named "R'lyeh", living on the planet Mondas.
Trivia
- R'lyeh was originally written with a "l" minuscule letter. In comics, it is unknown how it is written (due to bubble texts being written exclusively in capital letters), but in the Demons' profile of the Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1, while mentioning the Black Gods of R'Lyeh, it is written "R'Lyeh", with a capital "L".
See Also
- 1 appearance(s) of R'lyeh (City)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of R'lyeh (City)
- 4 mention(s) of R'lyeh (City)
- 6 invocation(s) of R'lyeh (City)
- 1 image(s) of R'lyeh (City)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 ; Demons' profile
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Savage Sword of Conan #176 : The chant of a disciple of Dagon, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Ctulhu R'lyeh wgah-ngal fhtaga!", can be translated by "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 King in Black: Namor #2
- ↑ Conan the Barbarian #141 ; The Web Tightens
- ↑ Marvel Feature (Vol. 2) #7 ; The Battle of the Barbarians!
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #52 ; Conan the Liberator
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #17 ; Worms of the Earth Part 2: Curse of the Black Stone
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #16 ; Worms of the Earth
- ↑ Strange Tales (Vol. 2) #19 ; Servants of the Secret Fire!
- ↑ Adventures of the X-Men #4 ; When the Dweller Awakes
- ↑ Cthulhu Mythos Trivia at Tv Tropes
- ↑ Cthulhu at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- ↑ X-Men: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Magneto - 14. Magneto and the city of R'lyeh on ScreenRant
- ↑ The Uncanny X-Men #150 - Indexer Notes on GCD
- ↑ Claremont's "Tempest": X-Men 147-150 on Doctor Comics
- ↑ Entry 005 – Magik on XavierFiles
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #148 - Comment posted by Luke Blanchard (on April 4, 2016) on SuperMegaMonkey's Marvel Comics Chronology
- ↑ Namor: The First Mutant #3