- —The Forgotten One[src]
The one known frequently as both Gilgamesh and The Forgotten One is a member of the Eternals, a genetically superior offshoot race of humanity who possess abilities such as levitation and immortality. Gilgamesh's brute strength causes him to be recognized as one of the physically strongest Eternals, but he is also often seen as a pariah among other members of his species and prefers to spend time in human society instead.
Gilgamesh spent many centuries adventuring around with Hercules and other famous figures of history. For a time afterwards he was banished in a part of the Eternal city of Olympia for unclear reasons by the head Eternal Zuras. Gilgamesh was eventually released and used his fighting prowess to help the rest of the Eternals in a number of adventures. He recently returned to spending more time with his friend Hercules again in the modern world.
History
Origins[]
This Eternal, like every other, was created by the Celestials one million years ago.[14][15]
Around 3000 BC, he became Gilgamesh, king of Uruk in Sumeria[12] (modern-day Iraq).[16]
In ancient times, the mighty Eternal roamed the Earth aiding ordinary human beings by overthrowing tyrants and slaying dangerous beasts.[4] Somehow unaware of his membership to the Eternals, he quested for eternal life.[6] He was often mistaken with (and consequently known as) Samson and Hercules.[12]
Hercules[]
In 1271 BC, he cleaned the Augean Stables for Hercules on his behalf (but unknown to Hercules) by diverting two rivers through the Stables.
Apparently, like Hercules, he took Atlas's burden on his own shoulders.[17]
At undisclosed times, he and Hercules fought side by side on the walls at Ertatha, and bested the Demon-Dragon Zu.[18]
At some point, he befriended Achilles.[12]
He befriended Aeneas and helped him conquer the Latium, laying the foundations of the Roman Empire.[19]
He also befriended King David.[12]
He fought for the Roman Empire as a Centurion, slaying many any tribes in their name.[7]
During the 19th century, he aided in its translation of the Rosetta Stone.[20] He also joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show picking up a few tricks along the way.[3]
The Forgotten One[]
Eventually, he learned of his true heritage,[12] and Zuras, leader of the Eternals, confined the Forgotten One to a sector of the Eternal city of Olympia. It is said that Zuras' reason for this action was the Forgotten One's pride, and his insistence on intervening in human affairs. As yet, no details of these charges have been revealed. The Forgotten One remained banished to this sector, which the other Eternals shunned, for centuries.[4]
Return[]
While virtually all of the Eternals were meeting in the form of the Uni-Mind, the Deviants (natural enemies of the Eternals) launched a spacecraft containing a powerful energy bomb, in the hope of destroying the mother ship of the Fourth Host of the Celestials. Sprite, an Eternal left behind to monitor Earth, learned of the Deviants' plan and feared that the Celestials would retaliate by wreaking havoc on Earth. Sprite sought out the Forgotten One and equipped him with an armored costume and a spaceship. The Forgotten One traveled into space, and the Fourth Host's leader, the One Above All, teleported him into the Deviants' spacecraft. The Forgotten One wrecked the energy bomb and its spacecraft just before the moment of detonation. Then, floating stunned in space, the Forgotten One was drawn into the mothership of the Fourth Host.[4]
Some time later, the Forgotten One reappeared on Earth and was temporarily blind (the cause of this blindness remains a mystery since Eternals cannot be injured by conventional means). Possibly the power released by the energy bomb as he wrecked it was sufficient to blind him. He delivered what he said was a message from the Celestials to the Eternals, which was to not interfere with the Celestials' plans.[9]
In recognition of the Forgotten One's bravery, Zuras restored his freedom to him and renamed him Hero, a name that the Forgotten One has abandoned.[21]
But the mission that the Celestials gave the Forgotten One went far beyond delivering that simple message. Exactly what that mission is remains unrevealed. However, in order to carry that mission out, the Forgotten One went to the city of the Deviants in undersea Lemuria some months later. Disguised in a hood and robes, the Forgotten One accompanied Kro, the new ruler of the Deviants, on his mission to the Pyramid of the Winds. Also, in the interim, the Forgotten One regained his sight.[22]
Avenger[]
Later, the Forgotten One traveled to New York, during a time of demon invasion. He joined other heroes in saving the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, and remained with them to reform the hero team Avengers, whose ranks were depleted. He readopted the name Gilgamesh, at the prompting of Mr. Fantastic. After several adventures with the Avengers, he sustained grave injuries in battle versus the Lava Men and the extradimensional Blastaar. He was returned by the Avengers to Olympia to recuperate.[23]
Gilgamesh was later kidnapped by the Avengers' archenemy Immortus, posing as the time-traveling villain Kang. As part of Immortus' ruse as Kang, he allowed Gilgamesh to be killed by his underling Neut.[24]
Mental Manipulations[]
Seemingly killed, Gilgamesh was actually reborn in a new body. Soon after, fellow Eternal, Sprite, angered after millennia stuck in the form of a child, tapped into the power of the Dreaming Celestial to make all Eternals forget their heritage and placed them into human guises. After Sprite's death, separate factions of Eternals worked to find and reawaken the lost Eternals. Ajak, working on his own, discovered the Forgotten One in Brazil, working as a circus strongman named O Guerreiro, or "The Warrior." Ajak then "reminded" the Forgotten One of the other Eternals, showing him warped images of them, and reawakening him to his true power.[25] He attacked fellow Eternal Druig, and told him to warn the others that he was coming for them as revenge for their perceived betrayal that Ajak had shown him. He then arrived at Olympia in Antarctica and attacked Makkari.[26] He went so far as to destroy Makkari's reforming body and the whole Activation Chamber. He was eventually stopped by Thena and seemingly regained his true memories before she slew him.[27]
Claiming to have been endowed with a gift of awareness by the Dreaming Celestial and the idea that he was part of a greater pattern, he went to Lemuria as the Forgotten One (while no longer using the name of Gilgamesh). There he met Thor who had came to liberate Phastos, kidnapped along with the Activation Chamber by the Deviants who needed them to save their dying species.[13]
Guiding Thor to attack the Deviant Throne Room where Ghaur was torturing his allies, he left Thor to battle, stating he was needed elsewhere and that Thor would barely recall meeting him.[13]
Suspected of Treachery[]
When Thanos was unexpectedly resurrected and began killing Eternals as well as sabotage the machine of resurrection, a traitor was suspected among the Eternals. The Eternals narrowed their field of suspects down to Gilgamesh. To confront him, Sersi pretended to attack Tony Stark to lure Gilgamesh out of his extradimensional home. After Gilgamesh was restrained and interrogated, he forced his accusers to let him prove his innocence with gunmen that worked for him. They went to the Exclusion where the machines of resurrection were located and Gilgamesh showed how he would sabotage the machines but also revealed that Phastos knew this as well, revealing that Phastos was the traitor. As Gilgamesh and the Eternals went to confront Phastos, Thanos was preparing to ambush them.[28]
Gilgamesh and his fellow Eternals were able to overwhelm Thanos, but then Phastos accidentally teleported him and the others all over Earth while trying to teleport them to the Exclusion to help him fix the resurrection machine he broke. Ikaris gave his life to use his matter manipulation power to repair the machine. Gilgamesh and the others later learned the reason for Phastos' actions: Eternals were resurrected at the cost of human lives and that the resurrection machines couldn't be turned off without endangering Earth. Gilgamesh was devastated after learning this as every time he killed an Eternal as punishment and they were resurrected, human lives were taken.[29]Attributes
Powers
Earth-Eternal Physiology: Gilgamesh possesses many of the conventional superhuman powers of the Eternals, though some are vastly more developed than the majority of his race. Gilgamesh is stated to be one of the most powerful Earth Eternals. Those powers includes:
- Superhuman Strength: Gilgamesh is among the physically strongest of the Eternals. While the limit of Gilgamesh's strength was unknown, he was capable of lifting well in excess of 100 tons.[30]
- Superhuman Speed: Gilgamesh could run and move at speeds superior to that of the finest human athlete.[30]
- Superhuman Stamina: Gilgamesh's highly advanced musculature generated considerably less fatigue toxins than the musculature of ordinary humans, and most other Eternals for that matter. Gilgamesh could physically exert himself at peak capacity for several days before fatigue began to impair him.[30]
- Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Gilgamesh's body were much harder and more resistant to physical injury than those of an ordinary human, and most other Eternals. He could withstand powerful energy blasts, great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, and falls from great heights without injury.[30]
- Superhuman Agility: Gilgamesh's agility, balance, and bodily coordination were all enhanced to levels beyond the natural limits of even the finest human athlete.[30]
- Superhuman Reflexes: Gilgamesh's reflexes were similarly enhanced and were superior to those of the finest human athlete.[30]
- Cosmic Energy Manipulation: Gilgamesh could project powerful beams of cosmic energy from his hands for a variety of uses including blasts of concussive force, beams of concentrated heat, and blasts that could rearrange most objects and materials on a molecular level.[30]
- Telekinetic Levitation/Flight: Gilgamesh possessed highly developed telekinetic powers that he could use to levitate himself or fly through the air. Gilgamesh could reach the Speed of Sound, roughly 770 miles per hour.[30]
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his resistance to injury, it was possible to injure Gilgamesh. However, if Gilgamesh retained psionic control over his body, he could, eventually, regenerate any damaged or destroyed bodily tissue.[30]
- Immortality: Gilgamesh was functionally immortal. He was immune to the effects of aging and hadn't aged since reaching adulthood. He was also immune to the effects of all known Earthly diseases and infections, though this didn't mean that he couldn't be killed.[30]
Abilities
Weaknesses
Gilgamesh's seeming immortality, like that of other Earth born Eternals, depended upon the mental control he maintained over his bodily molecules. If an Eternal's control is broken and they suffer a fatal injury during that time, he or she will not be able to heal from it.
Gilgamesh was blind for some time, although he developed radar-like senses to compensate for his handicap.[31]Paraphernalia
Transportation
Notes
Trivia
- He is sometimes presented as a god.[33]
See Also
- 73 appearance(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 18 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 2 minor appearance(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 20 mention(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 9 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 43 image(s) of Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
- 5 quotation(s) by or about Gilgamesh (Earth-616)
Links and References
- Unofficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Marvel Universe Appendix profile on Gilgamesh, the Forgotten One
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eternals (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Hercules (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Avengers Spotlight #35
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Eternals #13
- ↑ Thor #287
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Captain America Annual #11
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 All-New Invaders #13
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Thor #288
- ↑ X-Factor Annual #4
- ↑ Thor #291
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 ; The Forgotten One's entry
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Thor: The Deviants Saga #3
- ↑ Richards, Dave (6 October 2020) INTERVIEW: Eternals' Kieron Gillen Hypes the Return of Marvel's Cosmic Angels CBR. Retrieved on 25 May 2021.
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 5) #1
- ↑ Marvel Atlas #2 ; Iraq's entry
- ↑ Incredible Hercules #116
- ↑ Hercules (Vol. 4) #5
- ↑ Marvel Atlas #1 ; Italy's entry
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 5) #5
- ↑ Thor #301
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 2) #6–12
- ↑ Avengers #299–309
- ↑ Avengers #391
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #4–5
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 4) #6
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 5) #1–5
- ↑ Eternals (Vol. 5) #6
- ↑ 30.00 30.01 30.02 30.03 30.04 30.05 30.06 30.07 30.08 30.09 30.10 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #11
- ↑ Avengers: West Coast #81
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #8
- ↑ Civil War II: Gods of War #1 's recap
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #4
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Book of the Dead 2004 Vol 1 1