Shango (DC Comics)
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Shango is a fictional comic book deity in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Firestorm, The Nuclear Man #95, March 1990. Created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Down the Chain
In his first appearance Shango the Thunderer repairs the Golden Chain linking Ifé the land of the gods with Earth. The chain had been broken centuries ago by Ogun at Shango's request after his brother Obatala was betrayed and murdered by humans while in his mortal form. Obatala had confronted the King of Benin in an attempt to halt the slave trade and was punished for it. Due to problems with the Orish-Nla, Shango returns to earth because Obatala had been re-incarnated in mortal form as doctor Efraim Ngai and the Orishas needed him to help fight the ongoing war with the Orish-Nla.
[edit] Firestorm
Shango arrives in East Africa and gets into an altercation with Firestorm who underestimates what he is facing, assuming that Shango is just another rogue meta and then once he realizes who Shango is, he takes him and the other Black Gods to task over the state of Africa and their abandonment of it. They fight for a few panels, and then Shango sheds his human form growing to titanic dimensions and smashes Firestorm with his war axe. Shango defeats him and sends him across to Ifé to "learn patience". It is here that the Orish-Nla attack Firestorm and Shadowstorm is created.
[edit] Obatala Reborn
Shango then gets into a conflict with a truck driver and a policeman in Nigeria while searching for Obatala. Shango eventually convinces Doctor Ngai of his true identity and after taking Shango's hand, Ngai instantly regains his immortal form as Obatala, Lord of the White Cloth. They both return to Ifé and due to his experiences in mortal form Obatala mediates a peace with the Orish-Nla, explaining that they and the Orishas must remain in balance, and that the Orishas must accept their shadow sides. Shadowstorm refused to reconcile with Firestorm and flew off leaving Ifé for parts unknown.
[edit] Mortal Form
After Firestorm's adventures with the Orishas, and the reconciliation with the Orish-Nla, Shango returns him to the place on Earth where they met. Obatala in the form of Doctor Efraim Ngai suggests that Shango needs to learn humility, and that Shango needs to learn what it is like to be mortal, he tells him that he wants him eating human food, and wearing human clothes a prospect that seemingly makes Shango very unhappy.
[edit] Later Appearances
Shango later shows up in the Spectre #58 alongside the Greek Gods, Darkseid, the Source and the New Gods. And then in a single panel during DC Comic's War of the Gods crossover in War of the Gods #2.
[edit] Current Status
Shango's current status, and the status of the other "Black Gods" is unknown. Whether or not they abandoned the Earth alongside the Greek, Roman and Egyptian pantheons has yet to be determined, especially since both Firestorm and Obatala took Shango to task over the Orishas earlier abandonment of Africa. Whether their elemental natures and link to Ifé would allow them to do so is also not known.
[edit] Trivia
- It is not known how the Tenth Age of Magic affected Shango or the other Orishas.
- Shango has his own shadow duplicate among the Orish-Nla.
[edit] Powers
- Shango is the god of Thunder, and like the other Orishas he is an elemental being and the personification of the storm.
- Like the other Orishas, Shango can pass between Earth and the dimension known as Ifé at will.
- Shango wields a magic hammer that always returns to his hands once thrown. He can seemingly grow to gigantic proportions without effort.
