| Atlantis | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | (Unpublished)Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April 1939); (Published)Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939) |
| Created by | Bill Everett |
| Race | Homo mermanus |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Atlantis is afictional location appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. It is based on the mythical island ofAtlantis first mentioned inPlato's initial dialogue theTimaeus, written c. 360 BC. In theMarvel Universe, Atlantis was a smallcontinent (about the same size as modernAustralia) with many human settlements. Over 21,000 years ago, an event called the "Great Cataclysm" caused it to be submerged into the sea.
The inhabitants of ancient Atlantis built an enormous glass-like dome over the capital city, also known as Atlantis. Whenbarbarians sent by theDeviantLemuria empire attacked Atlantis, KingKamuu opened the magma-pits which were the city's means of heating. This caused the continent to sink.[1] Kamuu was warned of the Great Cataclysm by the seer, Zhered-Na. When she refused to recant, he had her exiled to the mainland, where she was later stabbed to death by survivors of the submersion.[2][3]
The priests and intellectuals of the city Netheria foresaw the Lemurian attack and fortified their city, and thus it sank intact. Netheria still exists today, ruled by QueenKala.[4] Other ancient Atlanteans survived the sinking of the continent by various methods, includingDakimh the Enchanter,Varnae, andStygyro.
About 8,000 years ago, a group ofHomo mermanus nomads discovered the ruins of the city of Atlantis. They made the ruins of the human settlements in Atlantis their home and went on to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could salvage from the wreckage. These people are thus often referred to as "Atlanteans", as it is in the city of Atlantis that their first complex society emerged.[volume & issue needed]
Five hundred years after the settlement of Atlantis, another group ofHomo mermanus leave Atlantis to find their own city; this time in a part of the ruins of Lemuria, another continent submerged during the Great Cataclysm. These "Lemurians", as they now call themselves, discover theSerpent Crown in the ruins of their city. The Serpent Crown had been crafted by ancient Atlantean alchemists as a vessel empowered by the demonic Elder GodSet. Through their leaderNaga's exposure and extensive use of the ancient mystical device, they become more serpent-like in appearance than their Atlantean cousins.[volume & issue needed]
Atlanteans have little or no contact with their human cousins for millennia. However, the two races come into sustained contact, often hostile, beginning in the 20th century. On occasions, Atlanteans invade the surface world.[volume & issue needed] The current Prince,Namor the Sub-Mariner, is initially hostile to the surface world, but fights in alliance with theAllied Powers against theAxis powers duringWorld War II.[volume & issue needed] Namor defends Atlantis against villains likeAttuma andWarlord Krang, who plot to overthrow him and take over Atlantis.[volume & issue needed]
The city of Atlantis is damaged when the super-villainNitro explodes, taking with him Namor's traitorous son, Kamar.[5]
Following Namor's attack onWakanda duringAvengers vs. X-Men, the two nations engage in a violent conflict. After much bloodshed, Namor reaches out toBlack Panther and extends a peace offering toQueen Shuri.[6] Despite this, Wakanda launches an all out strike on Atlantis, destroying the city and killing a number of Namor's soldiers in the process.[7]
TheExiles visited other realities that had their own version of Atlantis:
In theMarvel Noir reality, Atlantis matched the descriptions ofPlato with it being near the Pillars of Heracles, being highly-advanced, and powered byOrichalcum. As Orichalcum proved to be too powerful to be the Atlantean's superconductor, it created a vortex that sunk Atlantis beneath the ocean.[12]
The ruins of theUltimate Marvel version of Atlantis are discovered by theFantastic Four during an expedition. Unlike itsEarth-616 counterpart, this version of Atlantis is shown to have been devoid of any life for thousands of years.[13] Upon being found by the Four, Namor suggests that the continent had been destroyed by Lemuria at some point during his time in stasis.[14] During theUltimatum storyline, it is revealed that the ruins of Atlantis contain a small pocket of survivors led byNamora.[15]
Atlantis appears as a level inMarvel: Ultimate Alliance.[citation needed] With sonic emitters supplied to them byDoctor Doom and hisMasters of Evil, Attuma takes over Atlantis with the help ofTiger Shark, Warlord Krang, andByrrah. The player relies on a special nanite injection to breathe underwater during the level.