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Before all was, I was. Before time was, I waited. I fed on the screaming souls of the universes. I drank the spoiled milk of dead stars. I am the emptiness outside all understanding. I am Shuma-Gorath.
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~ Shuma-Gorath
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All shall know the power and pain that is Shuma-Gorath!
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~ Shuma-Gorath in Marvel vs. Capcom.
Shuma-Gorath is one of the overarching antagonists of the Marvel Universe.
He is an ancient and powerful cosmic entity who demands blood sacrifice. He frequently finds himself in opposition to Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, serving as their formidable adversary. His ultimate ambition is to reign supreme over every dimension, leaving no realm untouched by his dominion. It is worth noting that he belongs to a group known as the Many-Angled Ones, a collection of similarly ancient and enigmatic beings.
In the Marvel vs. Capcom series, he was voiced by the late Frank Perry between Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (in which the PlayStation 3 edition of the latter game was released a month before he passed away), and currently by Paul Dobson who also voiced Doctor Doom since Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Shuma-Gorath is an immense being, towering over any mortal being, with a grotesque and otherworldly form that is both terrifying and mesmerizing. His physical manifestation is a grotesque amalgamation of various grotesque and eldritch features, defying any attempt at categorization or understanding. Shuma-Gorath's body is covered in slimy, writhing tentacles that seem to pulsate with an eerie and malevolent energy. His multiple eyes, scattered across its monstrous visage, are abnormally large and seem to glow with an otherworldly light, piercing through the darkness with an unsettling intensity. The entity's skin is a sickly shade of green, oozing with a vile and viscous substance that drips from his body, leaving a trail of corruption in its wake. Shuma-Gorath's overall presence is so overwhelming that it instills a deep sense of fear and dread in anyone unfortunate enough to witness it.
Personality[]
Shuma-Gorath can be described as a malevolent and ancient entity of immense power and cosmic origin. This eldritch being, often portrayed as a massive tentacled creature, is said to hail from a dimension beyond human comprehension. Its appearance is grotesque and unsettling, with multiple eyes that seem to possess a malevolent intelligence. Shuma-Gorath's immense power is matched only by its insatiable hunger for cosmic energies. He feeds on the life force of entire dimensions, draining them of their vitality and reducing them to barren wastelands. This insidious appetite drives it to constantly seek out new realms to conquer and consume, leaving a trail of devastation and despair in its wake.
He is also maleficent and sadistic entity, reveling in chaos and destruction. His motivations are rooted in a thirst for power and domination, seeking to subjugate and corrupt anything it comes into contact with. He is a being of pure darkness and malevolence, devoid of any semblance of empathy or compassion.
Despite his malevolent nature, Shuma-Gorath is not without his weaknesses. His power is reliant on the cosmic energies it absorbs, making it susceptible to attacks that disrupt or drain these energies. However, defeating or even containing Shuma-Gorath is an immense challenge, as he possesses a resilience and regenerative ability that allows it to recover from even the most devastating of blows.
Biography[]
Shuma-Gorath's origins are unknown. In ages past, he ruled Earth and commanded human sacrifices, until a time-traveling sorcerer called Sise-Neg banished him. Centuries later, Shuma-Gorath returned to our world, ruling it once again and feasting on humans. After another age, a newly risen god called Crom used the Iron-bound books of Shuma-Gorath to imprison the demon on a mountain. Over a century later, still trapped in the mountain, he uses his mental powers to communicate with the sorcerer Kulan Gath, who decides to free the demon by using the Iron-bound books. The barbarian Conan, after having a nightmare with Shuma-Gorath, senses the danger and, with the aid of Crom, uses the books to banish Shuma-Gorath back to his own dimension.
Ages passed, and now in the modern age, Shuma-Gorath once again tried to enter our dimension. He possesses the mind of the Ancient One, a powerful sorcerer who was the mentor of Doctor Strange. He is unable to stop the demon, so he is forced to kill his master to prevent Shuma-Gorath from entering Earth. Years later, when fighting the sorcerer Urthona, his talismans are almost all destructed, which collapses the barriers imprisoning the Old Ones, allowing Shuma-Gorath to enter our world again. With no options left, Strange decides to travel to Shuma-Gorath's dimension and fight the demon there to prevent him from invading our world. Strange starts absorbing the chaos power, which makes him merge with Shuma-Gorath. He then kills himself, which kills Shuma-Gorath too. Shuma-Gorath resurrected from what remained of the chaos power, as Strange's soul was purified and resurrected as well. Sometime later, he once again enters our world, with the help of Nicholas Scratch, but is once again banished by the combined efforts of Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four and Diablo.
Since then, he has made other attempts to enter the prime Marvel reality, all of them during the early 21st century. First, an invasion of the Earth-616 universe executed by the Cancerverse via the Fault (a tear in the universe that opened a pathway from other realities). The Cancerverse was a dimension where Shuma-Gorath had manipulated the heroes of Earth into slaying the aspect Death, resulting that life did not die in that universe and grew like a cancer. It was a universe in service to the Many-Angled Ones, which attempted to conquer the prime reality. The Guardians of the Galaxy managed to stop the invasion by bringing Earth-616's Lady Death into the Cancerverse weakening the Many-Angled Ones and ending the invasion.
A few months afterwards, the Neo-Nazi supervillain team (Uberkommandos) via a ritual in a European village attempted to bring Shuma-Gorath (a fragment of his essence) into Earth to consume the world, and were stopped by the Invaders. Within two years, again a fragment of Shuma-Gorath was summoned to Earth this time in New York City by Doctor Strange who was forced to do so by one of Thanos' agents during his invasion of our world. Spider Hero and a group of the Avengers disrupted his astral being thereby preventing him from physically manifesting. Several years later, Shuma-Gorath was one of the demonic entities that battled Doctor Strange and the Avengers in a Hell dimension.
Powers and Abilities[]
Shuma-Gorath possesses an immense level of power that surpasses human understanding. His strength is so great that he is nearly indestructible, capable of fully regenerating himself and even altering his own physical form. Within his being, he generates and absorbs energy effortlessly, which he expertly harnesses to unleash a multitude of devastating attacks. Additionally, Shuma-Gorath is skilled in teleportation, levitation, and phasing, granting him the ability to travel between dimensions at his own discretion.
Shuma-Gorath possesses incredible supernatural abilities that surpass the boundaries of space and time. He has the extraordinary power to communicate through telepathy and manipulate the minds of others, not only within his own dimension but also across various realms. The sheer intensity of his energy can cause the annihilation of countless galaxies, and he possesses the remarkable capability to generate a sphere of pure energy that can obliterate the very fabric of reality within any given dimension or universe. Furthermore, within his own realm, Shuma-Gorath reigns as an all-powerful being, possessing unlimited authority and control.
Shuma-Gorath, the formidable conqueror, has dominion over countless alternate dimensions and holds the esteemed title of ruler among the Lovecraftian Eldritch gods/entities, commonly referred to as the "Many-Angled Ones." As disclosed by the Marvel Fact Files, these entities are also recognized as the "Old Ones." They embody a mysterious race that resides within the intricate fabric of existence, occupying the gaps between realities. Remarkably, Shuma-Gorath manifests his presence across numerous planes of existence, existing simultaneously in multiple realms.
Gallery[]
Shuma-Gorath in Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
Shuma-Gorath in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Shuma-Gorath in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
Shuma-Gorath as a LEGO set.
Trivia[]
Shuma Gorath and the books that were tightly bound in iron were initially referenced in a Kull short story called "The Curse of the Golden Skull" by the renowned author Robert E. Howard. These books were thought to be associated with either a divine being or a secretive group devoted to a particular belief system. The origin of the name Shuma Gorath might have been influenced by H.P. Lovecraft's Shub-Niggurath, and it is believed to have connections to the expansive and intricate mythological universe known as the Cthulhu Mythos.
The mention of the name Shuma-Gorath made its debut in Marvel Comics through the adaptation of "Dig Me No Grave" in the February 1937 edition of Journey Into Mystery (Vol. 2) #1. The credited writer for this adaptation is Roy Thomas. Notably, the adaptation deviates from the original story by replacing the references to Yog-Sothoth and Kathulos with the inclusion of Shuma-Gorath, and substituting Yuggoth with Acheron.
Robert E. Howard birthed a character, initially only existing as a mere name. However, this character was later transformed and brought to life through a captivating adaptation, as mentioned in the enthralling pages of Marvel Premiere #5, skillfully penned by the talented Gardner Fox. Finally, this captivating character made its grand entrance, fully realized readers' imaginations, in the tenth issue of this remarkable series.
In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, there is an error regarding the first appearance of the character Shuma-Gorath. According to the handbook, Shuma-Gorath is said to have first appeared in Marvel Premiere #5 (November, 1972) in the adventures of Doctor Strange. However, this overlooks the fact that Shuma-Gorath was actually mentioned earlier in "Dig Me No Grave" (Journey Into Mystery (Vol. 2) #1; October, 1972). This discrepancy in the handbook's information results in a misrepresentation of the character's true debut in the Marvel Universe.
Shuma-Gorath is often compared to Cthulhu, a well-known entity in the realm of horror literature and mythos. This parallel is drawn due to the similar cosmic and otherworldly nature of both characters, as well as their immense power and influence in their respective fictional universes. Shuma-Gorath's reputation as the "Cthulhu of Marvel Comics" stems from the fact that, like Cthulhu, he is a formidable and ancient being capable of bending reality to his will. While this comparison may not be universally accepted, it serves as a testament to the dark and enigmatic nature of Shuma-Gorath and the impact he has had within the Marvel Comics lore.
In terms of gender, Death has chosen to address Shuma-Gorath using pronouns that are inclusive and do not specify a particular gender.
In the mystical realm of an extraterrestrial dimension, a powerful sorcerer named Shagreen called upon a formidable being known as "Cthuma-Gurath", potentially an alternate moniker for the notorious entity Shuma-Gorath.
In the game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, there appears to be an intriguing dynamic between Shuma-Gorath and Hsien-Ko. Shuma-Gorath's fascination with Hsien-Ko is peculiar, as if there is some sort of inexplicable connection between them. On the other hand, Morrigan, another character in the game, seems to be strangely drawn to Shuma-Gorath's tentacles, finding them to be powerful and appealing. She even expresses her anticipation, hoping that this encounter is only the beginning of an exciting adventure or event.
The quote from Morrigan mentioned above alludes to the widely known and somewhat controversial tentacle fetish that has its roots in Japan. This peculiar fascination has become a topic of amusement and speculation among fans of the Marvel vs. Capcom (MvC) series, especially when it comes to the inclusion of Shuma-Gorath, a character who rarely makes appearances in the comics. The fact that Capcom, the game's developer, is a Japanese company adds an interesting layer to the humor and potential reasoning behind this decision.
During the discussions to finalize the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roster, Capcom showed a willingness to comply with Marvel's decisions regarding certain characters, like Venom, even if they were refused. However, when Marvel refused to include Shuma-Gorath, Capcom took a strong stance and vehemently protested, insisting that Shuma-Gorath should be part of the roster. This demand from Capcom was persistent and unusually intense, which eventually led Marvel to give in and allow Shuma-Gorath to be included, but only as downloadable content (DLC).