Council Elite

COUNCIL of GOD-KINGS

The Council of God-Kings, also called the Council Elite, is a loose committee of the leaders of the Earth's pantheons of gods designed to gather information and share consultation upon menaces or threats which no single pantheon of gods cannot handle alone. The Gods of Earth are an extra-dimensional race of beings of which all of whom consider Gaea the Mother Goddess as their common ancestor and are usually as a collective race are called Immortals (not to be confused with various individuals or races who have also used that name to designate themselves). Over several years after the Hyborian Age, which occurred roughly after the sinking of the continent of Atlantis and before the advent of written records, the Immortals of Earth divided into certain groups or tribes called pantheons mostly designated to areas on Earth with mortals who were separated culturally, geographically or racially. Each pantheon allowed themselves to be worshipped as gods either willingly or unwillingly by these gatherings of mortals. At times, certain pantheons even came to clash with each other over different reasons, usually over worship rights. Only a few of these confrontations are known. It is known that the Olympian gods and the Asgardian Gods formed an alliance with each other after friction between their perspective pantheons and that the Native American Gods nearly entered into bloodshed with the Asgardians when Vikings started invading North America. More over, the Celtic Gods now have a truce with the Asgardians after years of enmity, but not yet with the Olympians who they have held in low disregard since the Romans invaded Briton. Similarly, the Mesopotamian Gods finally have a truce with the Olympians after millennia of mistrust, but not with the Devas of the Hindu gods.

Following the war between the Asgardians and the Olympians, Odin learned of the coming of the Third Host of the Celestials, alien beings of inconceivable cosmic power who had influenced the evolution of the Earth’s human race and intended to judge humanity’s worthiness to survive when the Fourth Host came. Odin had contacted Zeus, Ruler of the Olympian gods, and they then met with the ruling gods of Earth’s other pantheons to set a course of action. This would be the first such gathering of the Council. Odin, Zeus and Vishnu the Preserver of the Hindu Gods then confronted the Third Host, which threatened to seal off the inter-dimensional passages between the gods realms and Earth unless the gods interfered with the Celestials’ activities for a millennium. Acting on behalf of Earth’s gods, Odin, Zeus and Vishnu agreed with their terms, but Odin already began making plans for the Fourth Host, which would arrive about a millennium later. He constructed a suit of armor with nearly invincible powers called the Destroyer, and transformed the Ring of the Nibelung into the Destroyer’s armor. Frigga and the other leading goddesses of Earth’s pantheons took charge in finding Earth’s human beings who were as close to genetic perfection as possible over these centuries.

After the coming of the Fourth Host of the Celestials, Odin withdrew all the life essences of the Asgardians except Thor into himself. Then Odin’s spirit entered the Destroyer, animating it, and Odin thus did battle with the Fourth Host. The Celestials annihilated the Destroyer, but judged in humanity’s favor when Gaea presented them with twelve genetically advanced human beings, the “Young Gods.” The chieftains of the other pantheons of Earth granted the power to restore Odin, who then revived the Asgardians. (It is possible that the Asgardians “deaths” when the Destroyer was annihilated constituted the prophesied Ragnarok, and that the Asgardians have thus survived it.)

In later years, the Council has been called together by Zeus, Odin or others to face potential threats. After Hades, the Olympian god of the dead entered into a pact with other gods of the dead to extend their respective reigns, they actually succeeded in restoring the primeval entity known as Demogorge to life which then proceeded in consuming the respective gods of the dead which it had confused as demonic beings. Odin then called upon the gods of earth to each send a champion to confront Demogorge who then turned on them as well. Consumed himself, the thunder-god succeeded in reversing the creature's palate and was able to save himself and the other consumed gods.

Sometime later, Odin and Zeus again gathered the respective sovereigns of the pantheons of earth to discuss the threat that the Eternal Thanos posed with the Infinity Gauntlet, a device with extra-ordinary cosmic power to restructure reality. Previously, the group had met physically in a neutral realm adjacent to their separate worlds, but this time, they met in Asgard and were stranded here as Thanos set the realms of the gods off the Celestial Axis. Nevertheless, Thanos was defeated by recurring waves of forces ranging from the costumed champions of earth, the gods of earth and to the cosmic forces of the universe itself.

The Council also gathered to discuss the threat of the former Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton who after spending years away from Earth in the company of extra-terrestrial races had returned with nearly omnipotent powers set to transform the earth into a close facsimile of the his Egyptian Dynasty, but Thanos robbed him of his power after traveling through time. In the altered timeline, Akhenaton was defeated by Thanos acting for himself, but in the aftermath, he saved and restored the universe out of a conscious act of will.

Over the years, the chief members of the Council has been unofficially preclusive to the rulers, sovereigns and chiefs of the pantheons of earth, but this has been by no means absolute. Both Brahma and Shiva have attended gatherings with Vishnu while others such as Shou-Hsing of the Chinese Gods and Horus of the Egyptian Gods have stepped in where Takamimusubi and Osiris were unable to attend. As a matter of fact, Osiris has taken over the sovereign duties of Ammon-Ra in his absence now that he has taken the role as ruler of the Egyptian gods. Tezcatlipoca, Ruler of the Aztec Gods, has even accompanied Itzamna in meetings, and in one known alternate reality was replaced by Quetzalcoatl himself. After the death of Odin, Thor himself ascended to his father's role in the Council after taking his role as Ruler of the Asgardian Gods although now with the restoration of the Asgardians, Odin is now once more Ruler of Asgard and again part of the Council.

Right now, these are the only known times that the Council has met. They certainly were acting behind the scenes to impede the activity of the sorceress Circe (not to be confused with the goddess Circe) as she duped certain gods of earth into lending her the power to attain godhood herself during the War of the Gods or when the Titan Cronus attempted siege against the gods of earth.. It is uncertain as their activities during other mortal incidents during the Crisis of Infinite Earths or when the extra-terrestrial Krona was merging realities and timelines in his quest to gain control over creation itself.

First Appearance: Thor I #300