Anubis (Stargate)
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| Stargate character | |
|---|---|
 Anubis in Full Circle |
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| Anubis | |
| Race | Ascended Goa'uld |
| Gender | Male |
| Rank | System Lord |
| Birthplace | Unknown |
| Portrayer | David Palffy Dean Aylesworth Rik Kiviaho George Dzundza |
| First episode | "Revelations" |
In the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, Anubis was an extremely powerful Goa'uld, the dominant evil alien race in the galaxy. Anubis replaced Apophis as the show's main villain after the latter's ultimate demise in the episode "Enemies", and was quite unlike any Goa'uld previously encountered. He was first mentioned (Although he wasn't named at the time) in the episode "Between Two Fires", although he was not seen in person until "Revelations".
Like most powerful Goa'uld, he had assumed (and, possibly, was the origin of) a deific persona from early Earth mythologies, in his case the Anubis of Egyptian mythology. However, Anubis was far more dangerous then the rest of his race, as he was partly ascended and thus invulnerable to being killed by conventional means.
Due to his semi-ethereal existence, depriving him of an actual corporeal body, Anubis was seen only through character, and never truly through appearance. As such, he has been played by several different actors including David Palffy, Dean Aylesworth, Rik Kiviaho and George Dzundza (Palffy previously played Sokar in the series, a similar extremely powerful Goa'uld, who was also considered far worse than the majority of his race).
While all Goa'uld were megalomanic, egotistical and arrogant, Anubis was more clever than most, and had a sound mind for complexity and convoluted schemes. Notably, he was also infamous for being even more melodramatic than the rest of the Goa'uld. Therefore, he has often been compared by fans to Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars, causing Colonel O'Neill to remark at one point, "Oh, come on. Who talks like that?" [1]
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[edit] Overview
Commanding vast legions of Jaffa warriors and space-faring attack vessels (Ha'taks), Anubis was regarded as a System Lord, one of the few most powerful Goa'uld. After spending centuries away, his main contender upon returning was the System Lord Yu, the other System Lords having agreed to his reacceptance into their ranks. As most of the System Lords, Anubis posed as a god to his underlings, ensuring supreme loyalty.
Unlike other Goa'uld, who are merely a parasite living inside a human host, Anubis was a half-ascended being, meaning that he is partially ethereal, having almost converted his body to energy and risen to a higher plane of existence. This transformation was first discovered by the Ancients, perhaps the most advanced race ever to exist in the galaxy, that have long since all Ascended. Apparently, Anubis discovered the fate of the Ancients, and ascended through a combination of their knowledge and the unwilling help of Oma Desala, whom he tricked into believing that he was spiritually worthy of ascension.
Refusing to allow Anubis amongst their ranks, the Ancients somehow managed to "descend" Anubis and partially force him back to this plane of existence, stopping short of completely returning him to physical existence to 'punish' Oma Desala for her interference in the lower planes. Being partially Ascended allowed Anubis to gain much of the knowledge of the Ancients, which enabled him to use much of their technology, giving him a significant advantage over the other Goa'uld. Effectively, he became the most dangerous of all System Lords, possessing vast armies, advanced technology, and being practically impossible to destroy.
Although he could theoretically use his godlike powers against lower, mortal beings, the Ancients prevented him from doing so, as according to their rules, ascended beings are forbidden to interfere with the lower planes of existence. However, as the Ancients themselves would not interfere with mortal affairs, Anubis was allowed to do anything he could have done as regular Goa'uld. [2]
Without a physical form, Anubis was forced to rely on an energy shield to keep his essence together. He appeared as a shadowy hooded figure wearing a large black cloak. Instead of a human face, all that could be seen under the hood was a shifting energy field. [3] After his defeat by SG-1 during his attempted invasion of Earth [4], Anubis was forced to abandon the use of the hooded force field, and began to possess other bodies for his shape, somewhat returning to the parasitical nature of his fellow Goa'uld. However, unlike other Goa'uld, he was unable to remain in the same host body for an extended period of time, as his essence was somehow 'toxic' to humans, causing his hosts to die after a prolonged period of holding him. [2]
[edit] History
[edit] Disappearance and rise to power
Originally a regular member of the System Lords, Anubis was exiled over a millennium ago from the System Lords collective, apparently for "crimes unspeakable, even to the Goa'uld". Yu and the other System Lords of the time sent assassins after him, and assumed him to be dead. [5] However, Anubis used Ancient information on ascension he had discovered earlier to trick Oma Desala into helping him to ascend.
Normally, the Ancients will allow newly ascended beings to join their ranks if one is "pure of heart". However, because of his evil nature, the other Ascended beings partially cast him down to a lower plane, stopping short of completely returning him to physical existence to 'punish' Oma for her interference. Being partially ascended allowed Anubis to gain much of the knowledge of the Ancients, and made him effectively invincible.
Although he could theoretically use his godlike powers against lower, mortal beings, the Ancients prevented him from doing so, as according to their rules, ascended beings are forbidden to interfere with the lower planes of existence. However, as the Ancients themselves would not interfere with mortal affairs, Anubis was allowed to do anything he could have done as a regular Goa'uld. [2]
Eventually, Anubis returned in the wake of the deaths of Apophis and Cronus by SG-1, and began to dominate the galaxy using advanced technology, based on the Ancient knowledge gained through his ascension. This technology was superior to that of all the other Goa'uld, giving him an enormous advantage over his peers. He recruited other exiled Goa'uld such as Tanith [6], Osiris, and Zipacna to aid him in conquering the galaxy. [7] Also, he conducted many raids against the other System Lords, without ever revealing his identity to them. [5]
Also, one of the civilizations he destroyed during his rise to power were the Tollan. It originally was Anubis' intention to force the Tollan into attacking the Tau'ri, who were protected by the Asgard through the Protected Planets Treaty, and could therefore not be attacked without igniting a war between the System Lords and the extremely powerful race.
After having developed shields capable of withstanding the Tollan Ion cannons, their only measure of defense, Anubis, through his minion Tanith, forced the Tollan to build phase-shifting warheads, capable of penetrating the SGC's Iris protecting their Stargate. However, when SG-1 discovered what the Tollan were about to do, they were able to convince the Tollan Narim to destroy the already completed weapons. In retribution, Anubis ordered Tanith to destroy the defenseless Tollan. [6]
During a System Lord summit to discuss the possibility of creating a new order, as much of their peers had recently fallen, Anubis sent Osiris as his proxy, hoping to be accepted back into their ranks. [7] In exchange, he proposed to destroy the Tau'ri, something the System Lords could not do without suffering Asgard retribution. Six of the seven System Lords present voted to accept Anubis as a System Lord, the only dissenter being Yu, the only System Lord still alive from the time of Anubis' original banishment. While the summit was taking place, Anubis ordered Zipacna to attack the Tok'ra base on Revanna, causing their near-destruction. [5]
In an attempt to destroy Earth, he sent an asteroid containing explosive naqahdah on a collision course with Earth, hoping that either the impact would destroy the planet, or that if the SGC was successful in destroying the asteroid, the naqahdah inside would create a big enough explosion to take Earth with it. This plan eventually also proved to be unsuccessful, as Samantha Carter discovered the naqahdah and decided to fly the asteroid through Earth via a hyperspace window. [8]
Several months later, Anubis, through his minion Osiris, attacked a planet protected by the Protected Planets Treaty. The sole Asgard ship sent, a Beliskner class cruiser commanded by Thor, was no match for Anubis' improved Ha'taks, and was easily destroyed. He subsequently took Thor captive, and probed his mind to learn more about Asgard technology. However, he was eventually rescued by SG-1, and reinforcements of three O'Neill class battleships commanded by Freyr. Anubis was forced to flee. [9]
Possibly in retribution, Anubis tried to destroy the Tau'ri several months later by using an Ancient weapon capable of sending immense energy through a Stargate. This energy would build up in Earth's Stargate, until it would overload and explode, wiping out all life on the planet. His plan was foiled when Jack O'Neill sent the gate millions of kilometers from Earth through hyperspace, by attaching it to a prototype F-302. The weapon itself was later destroyed by Rya'c, Teal'c's son. [1]
[edit] War against the System Lords
After Anubis had been successful in collecting five of the six "Eyes", devices capable of being assembled into a devastating, planet-killing weapon, and had recently located the last remaining eye on the planet Abydos, the ascended Daniel Jackson informed the System Lords about Anubis' plans. In response, they eventually joined forces to oppose him, first under Yu, and then Ba'al. Jackson also notified the SGC about Anubis' plans, hoping that they would both protect the Abydonian people and keep Anubis from obtaining the Eye.
When Anubis' Jaffa arrived on the planet, they were fought by both SG-1 and the Abydonian people. However, knowing that they would be unable to hold off the Goa'uld forced for long, Daniel Jackson made a deal with the System Lord. In exchange for the Eye, Anubis promised to leave Abydos alone. Jackson was able to convince Jack O'Neill to hand over the Eye to Anubis' Jaffa by both claiming that the Abydonian people would remain unharmed and that the mistrust created between the System Lords by the completion of the weapon would probably do them more harm then good.
However, Anubis did not keep his end of the bargain. When the Eye was delivered to him, he used it to destroy the System Lord Alliance fleet, and was about to turn it on Abydos. When Daniel tried to use his ascended powers to stop him, he was pulled away by Oma Desala, and was subsequently descended for breaking the Ancients' rules regarding non-interference. With nothing in his way, Anubis used his superweapon to destroy Abydos and its Stargate. However, the Abydonian people were collectively ascended by Oma Desala. [3]
During the next few months, the System Lords continued to battle Anubis, although they had little success against his newly developed superweapon. Eventually, the United System Lord Alliance was forced to cooperate with Earth and SG-1 (now reunited with the descended Daniel Jackson). This uneasy alliance was successful in destroying Anubis' superweapon by sabotaging the cooling vents with an F-302 missile. [10]
One of the members of SG-1, Jonas Quinn, was captured during this mission. After Anubis had probed his mind and discovered the information about naqahdriah, a powerful naqahdah variant naturally occurring on Quinn's home planet Langara, his mothership arrived on the planet and enslaved the populace. However, his attempts to learn more about the naqahdriah failed, and when the System Lord Alliance, lead by Ba'al, discovered his location, they sent a fleet to destroy his mothership. Still, Anubis was able to escape the demise of his ship in an escape pod. [11]
Realizing how unreliable the Jaffa had become because of the successful Jaffa Rebellion, Anubis created a new, almost indestructible ground trooper, which would later become known as Kull Warriors to the Goa'uld and 'Supersoldiers' to the Tau'ri. Produced on the planet Tartarus, these warriors were genetically engineered hosts, infested by modified Goa'uld symbiotes. They were protected from enemy fire by an almost indestructible armor suit and possessed a powerful energy weapon. Using these warriors, Anubis killed several minor Goa'uld, usurping their armies into his own in preparation for an all-out assault on the remaining System Lords.
However, when SG-1 discovered the location of the warrior's production facilities, they destroyed the Goa'uld queen producing the modified symbiotes and killed Anubis' chief scientist Thoth, at least temporarily preventing Anubis from creating more warriors. [12] Also, the Tau'ri and Tok'ra were able to devise a weapon that could effectively be used against them. [13]
[edit] Defeat by SG-1
Anubis finally launched an all-out attack against Earth, using more than thirty Ha'tak motherships. His initial assault resulted in the destruction of an American aircraft carrier and battle cruiser, but he and his fleet were ultimately destroyed when Colonel O'Neill (who possesses the ATA Gene) used the recently discovered planetary defense weapon of the Ancient Outpost in Antarctica to defend the planet. [4]
Because of his immaterial, half-ascended nature, Anubis survived the destruction of his fleet. Unable to simply use his ascended powers to return without bringing the wrath of the Ancients upon him, he was forced to float around in space, existing as pure energy as the shield holding his form intact had been destroyed along with his fleet. When several pieces of debris left over from the attacking fleet were about to collide with the International Space Station, Anubis came on board, where he possessed one of the Russian cosmonauts on board.
After switching hosts several times, who all died shortly after Anubis had left their bodies, he infested a Russian military officer named Alexi Vaselov. As the Russians had an agreement with the American government to allow their military access to the Stargate, Anubis, still in the body of Vaselov travelled to the SGC under the pretense of joining an SG team.
However, Anubis' presence was eventually discovered. Unable to kill him, he continued to float around the base, manifesting himself as an almost invisible energy field. He possessed various members of the SGC including Carter, Jackson and O'Neill, until he managed to escape through the Stargate in the body of Russian military officer Alexi Vaselov who voluteered to sacrifice his life, only to find himself stranded and frozen on a remote ice planet after Samantha Carter changed his destination at the last moment. [14]
[edit] Escape and attempted return to power
Almost a year after being stranded on the ice planet, Anubis somehow escaped, and he reclaimed his fleet and Kull Warrior army that the System Lord Ba'al had subsumed. It is not clear for how long Ba'al enjoyed a galaxy without Anubis, but when Anubis did return, he secretly made himself master over Ba'al, and became in effect the most powerful System Lord once again.
During the climactic Replicator invasion of the Milky Way galaxy, Anubis learned of an Ancient Superweapon that could be used to not only defeat the Replicators but also wipe out all life in the galaxy; due to him lacking a body, only he would survive the use of the weapon, and he could thus recreate life in the galaxy based on his own design. Unwilling to sacrifice his own life, Ba'al contacted the SGC and admitted that he had been controlled by Anubis for some time. He asked them to destroy the device before his fleet could arrive over Dakara, the location of the weapon, so that the weapon would never be used.
However, the combined efforts of SG-1, Ba'al, the Rebel Jaffa, and Daniel Jackson were successful in adapting the weapon to destroy the Replicator threat once and for all. Still, even after the Replicators were ultimately defeated, Anubis continued to plan to activate the weapon and destroy all galactic life. [15]
He was only stopped when Daniel Jackson, who was deciding whether to ascend for a second time after his death at the hands of RepliCarter, realised that both Anubis and Oma Desala were in his presence, all existing on the low ascended plane he was occupying at the time. Jackson convinced Oma, who was responsible for the System Lords' ascension in the first place, to fight Anubis, which prevented him from continuing his plan in the non-ascended world. Although neither Oma nor Anubis could triumph over the other, as long as Oma continues to battle Anubis on the ascended plane of existence, all his concentration must be spent on battling her, effectively preventing his return to the mortal world for the rest of eternity. As a result, his Kull warriors became disorganized and confused, after which they were easily overpowered. [2]
[edit] The Legacy of Anubis
Even after his disappearance, Anubis' legacy kept menacing the SGC. Knowing he would never reach his true potential as an ascended being because of the Ancients, Anubis had attempted to create a new kind of soldier, essentially ascended warriors, to fight them. In an attempt to recreate his pre-ascended DNA, he created a genetically-engineered hybrid human, later named Khalek, with all his memories and various Ascended powers such as telekinesis, and later subjected him to DNA treatments with an Ancient DNA Resenquencer, afterwards placing him in a stasis chamber.
When SG-1 found the chamber on planet P3X-584, he was awoken by the arriving team and convinced them he was an unwilling subject, abducted from his home by Anubis and left in stasis after the System Lords' disappearance. However, eventually Daniel Jackson saw through the ruse after reading the notes in the lab written in the Ancient language. Discovered, Khalek worked to an end of returning to the planet and complete the treatments that would allow his full ascension. Although captured, he used his advanced state to attempt escape, killing several SGC troops in the process. However, he was finally shot by Daniel as he attempted to escape back to his planet and complete his last steps to ascension. [16]
[edit] Notes
- An early script of the plot for the episode "Prototype" appeared on Gateworld which stated that Khalek was part of Anubis's attempts at creating an army known as the "Mashur". The name Mashur is derived from the Goa'uld world "Mashur-nat" which meant "mutation". His plans for this army was to train them to ascend in order for them to do battle with the Ascended Ancients and destroy them. However, this was cut from the episode.
- Anubis appears in his stargate form in the popular webcomic "Lil-Fas" (Flip and Splog).
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Redemption" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c d "Threads" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Full Circle" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Lost City" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c "Last Stand" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Between Two Fires" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Summit" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Fail Safe" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Revelations" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Fallen" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Homecoming" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Evolution" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Death Knell" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Lockdown" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Reckoning" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "Prototype" (Stargate SG-1)
[edit] External Links
| Recurring characters on Stargate SG-1 | Edit | |
| Tau'ri | Malcolm Barrett | Jacob Carter | Chekov | Adrian Conrad | Major Davis | Paul Emerson | Louis Ferretti | Janet Fraiser Walter Harriman | Charles Kawalsky | Robert Kinsey | Carolyn Lam | Catherine Langford | Bill Lee | Harry Maybourne Rodney McKay | Lionel Pendergast | Robert Rothman | Frank Simmons | Pete Shanahan | Siler | Richard Woolsey |
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| Other Humans | Cassandra | Kasuf | Linea | Ma'chello | Martin Lloyd | Sha're | Shifu | Skaara | |
| Goa'uld | Amonet | Anubis | Apophis | Ba'al | Cronus | Hathor | Heru-ur Nerus | Nirrti | Osiris | Ra | Sokar | Tanith | Yu | Zipacna |
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| Jaffa | Bra'tac | Gerak | Ishta | Rya'c | |
| Other | Adria | Chaka | Fifth | Harlan | Merlin | Oma Desala | Reese | Replicator Carter | Thor | |
| Lists by race | All | Tau'ri | Ancient, Aschen, Asgard, Goa'uld, Jaffa, Langaran, Lucian Alliance Ori, Replicator, Tok'ra, Tollan, System Lord |
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