Living Monolith
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The Living Monolith (Ahmet Abdol) is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. He first appeared in X-Men #56 (1969).
[edit] Fictional character biography
Ahmet Abdol was a professor of ancient Egyptology who discovered he had the ability to manipulate cosmic energy, mainly by absorbing it and projecting it as energy blasts. Deciding to use his powers for his own personal gain, Abdol created a cult around himself and set about his plan to rule the world. Abdol was the Living Pharaoh while in his normal appearance, but once he obtained enough cosmic energy, he would increase in size, mass, and power, thus becoming the Living Monolith.
Abdol discovered that another mutant, Havok (Alex Summers, brother to Scott Summers also known as Cyclops) could absorb and project cosmic energy more easily than Abdol could. Abdol kidnapped Havok and used him to increase his power. Abdol has mainly been an X-Men villain, usually using Havok to become the Living Monolith. He has also used other superheroes, including the Fantastic Four (who gained their super powers from exposure to cosmic rays). He even killed his own daughter to achieve his goal.
Though he is usually the one pulling the strings, another X-Men villain, Apocalypse, wanted to use the Living Monolith to drain the powers of other superbeings. Abdol went on a rampage, and several superheroes attempted to stop him. Eventually Abdol grew so large that Thor had to throw him into outer space, where the Living Monolith eventually became a Living Planet, similar to Ego.
It later was revealed that Abdol's powers did not spring from an inherent mutation, but rather from a procedure performed on him by Mister Sinister. Sinister spliced certain x-genes from Alex Summers into his genome, thus giving Abdol the ability to absorb cosmic energy. Since his powers were genetically similar to Havok's, this explained why their abilities interfered with one another's.
During his time in space, one of the Monolith's main weapons, the Staff of Horus, was acquired by a young woman called Akasha, who was able to use that power to become a female version of the Living Pharaoh. Fortunately, Spider-Man was able to break the staff, leaving Akasha to depart the scene retaining some fragments of the Pharaoh's power, although she hasn't been seen since.
Abdol was then found by Deathbird and Bishop floating in space, and Deathbird revealed she'd been betraying Bishop for some time, as it was later on revealed that she was in fact working for Apocalypse. She then knocked out Bishop and Abdol was brought to Apocalypse, who used Abdol's body as merely an energy container during the "The Twelve" storyarc. This finally led to Apocalypse's merging with Cyclops. The Monolith was seen breaking up because of an excess of power absorbed, and then fled.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The Living Monolith has been genetically altered by splicing his human genes with those of the mutant X-Man Havok. This modification allows him to absorb large amounts of cosmic radiation - although as Havok absorbs the same radiation, the Living Monolith's powers can be limited when Havok absorbs background radiation (or other suitable energy sources) that might otherwise be used to fuel the Living Monolith.
Although Havok projects absorbed radiation as energy blasts, the Living Monolith had a broader range of powers and is able to project energy as concussive force, intense heat, or sonic vibrations.
Stored energy also affects his physical form - increasing his size, mass, strength, and resistance to injury. Although there appears to be no clear upper limit to the amount of power he can absorb, it is also possible to overload his powers.
[edit] Appearances in other media
The Living Monolith also made an appearance in the video game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse as a boss character. His powers and appearance were similar to his comic counterpart; namely he took in sunlight to grow in size and power.
