Ahura (comics)

Ahura is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe and is a member of the Inhumans species. Ahura was created by Ann Nocenti and Bret Blevins and first makes an appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel: The Inhumans (1988).

Fictional character history

Ahura is the son of Black Bolt and Medusa of the Inhumans. He was conceived without permission of the Genetics Council. Having met with unbearable resistance by the Council and her own husband, Medusa sneaked away to earth with a group of friends and allies. Medusa would give birth in an out of the way house, the area guarded and cleared of pollutants by the powers of the group.^[1]

His birth cry demonstrated his father's devastating power, but this evolved into a psionic "evil eye" power that can cause death.

He was taken by the Council and sent to earth. His spacecraft crashed and he was taken in by a childless couple and named "Pope". He grew unnaturally quickly and it was in this period that his "evil eye" power replaced his vocal powers. He was put in danger after the local townspeople mistakenly believed that he had maliciously killed a goat with his powers. Gorgon, Karnak, Daredevil, Brandy Ash and Number Nine came to rescue him, though their goodwill mission was interrupted by the demonic Blackheart. The entire group was taken to Hell itself. Although Brandy is murdered by Mephisto in the escape, Ahura is able to see Brandy's spirit form.^[2]

Back on the moon, he was taken by the Genetic Council for the leader's own purposes. With the help of his family, he was able to overcome the corrupt Chief Justice who had been stealing his power.^[3]

His existence seems overlooked in the Son of M series: Crystal demands the Inhumans go to Earth and retrieve her daughter, Luna. Medusa and Black Bolt refuse to intervene, to which Crystal bitterly retorts that they would understand if they had children. Medusa then looks upon Crystal silently with contempt.

However, Silent War revealed that Ahura has been locked away for years because he is afflicted with the same madness as his uncle, Maximus. As his powers grew, so did his insanity. The Genetic Council of Attilan deemed him too dangerous and he was taken to the Pacifiers to suppress his powers. They were unable to treat his mental illness. Black Bolt forbade Medusa to see him but she visits him twice. The first time, Ahura chastised her for allowing this to happen to him. On Medusa's second (and most recent) visit, it is revealed that years with the Pacifiers have taken away Ahura's anger and violence, but left him in an over-sedated state. Medusa than asked permission of Black Bolt to use Luna to attempt to heal his mind, but he flatly refused.^[4]

Maximus frees Ahura and instructs Luna to remove his mental blocks as she did on Maximus.^[5]

When it came to the Secret Invasion, Ahura was later revealed to have been captured by the Skrulls who replaced the boy by a Skrull agent. Eventually the Skrull Ahura was defeated by Maximus.^[6] Ahura is held captive on Skrull ship, watched by a Skrull whose powers are specifically designed to neutralize telepathy. Ahura is forced to watch as Black Bolt undergoes torture by the Skrulls attempting to steal his destructive potential. A rogue Inhumans strike force, led by his mother, rescues them both and the Skrull ship is neutralized.^[7]

During the "War of Kings" and other recent appearances, Ahura has been portrayed as mentally sane or much more stable than he used to be. Whether this is a recent development or an improvement of his condition remains to be seen.

Alternate versions

In the Earth X/Universe X/Paradise X series, the grown up Ahura becomes the Black Knight, heir to Captain Britain, ruler of Britain.

References