SHANGO

Real Name: Shango

Occupation: God of Storm and Thunder

Legal Status: Citizen of Celestial Ala

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of Shango’s existence except as a character in mythology.

Other Aliases: Chango, Sangbo, Sogbo, Xevioso,

Place of Birth: Celestial Ala

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Lusa (father), Mawu (mother), Damballah, Eschu, Gu, Legba, Maou, Loco, Ogun, Sagbata, Zaca (brothers); Ayaba, Faa, Erzulie, Avlekete (sisters); Oya (wife); Nyambe (uncle); Asase-Ya (aunt), Anansi (cousin); Obatala (grandfather), Odudua (grandmother),

Group Affiliation: The Loa (Gods of Voodoo), The Orishas  (Gods of Africa)

Base of Operations: Celestial Ala (a dimension similar to Asgard or Olympus)

First Appearance: Thor I Annual 10

Origin: Doctor Strange III #17

History: Shango is one of the seven twins of the African God Lusa, god of the sun, and Mawu, goddess of the moon. He was worshipped as a god by the Afrikaan tribes of Earth since ancient times and in the Sixteenth Century, he provided a part of the tenets of Modern Voodoo, a religion merging aspects of Africa’s pagan rituals with the rites of modern Catholicism. Much of his involvement is described in the mystical Book of the Vishanti.

In modern years, he was recruited by Thor to confront Demogorge, the destructive aspect of the Elder God-spawn Atum, accidentally raised by seven death gods. Shango was one of the few to actually injure Demogorge with his throwing iron. However, he was consumed by the entity along with the death gods and his own allies. He was finally released when the monster rejected Thor. The shift in the creature's palate caused it to become Atum once more, thus freeing the swallowed gods from within it.  

In order to understand the human condition, Shango adopted the identity of a mortal college student on Earth and met the hero Firestorm in his civilian identity of Ronnie Raymond. A few months later, Circe (not to be confused with the goddess with that name) mentally manipulated Shango into releasing shadow-demons to serve her while she tried to destroy the gods of earth to become a goddess herself. Shango and Firestorm along with many of the earth's heroes later turned against Circe and ruined her spells.  

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 425 lbs.

Eyes: Black

Hair: Black

Strength Level: Shango possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) 85 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Shango possesses the conventional physical attributes of the African Gods. Like all of the African Gods, he is extremely long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian Gods. He has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any known conventional means. He is immune to all known terrestrial diseases and is invulnerable to conventional injury. If wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for Nyambe, Lusa or a number of gods of equal power working together to revive him. Shango does have some superhuman strength and his own Loa metabolism gives him far greater than human endurance in all physical activities.  (The flesh and bone of the African Gods is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight).

Shango does possess greater power than most of the African gods except for perhaps Lusa or Nyambi himself. He has superhuman strength, stamina, endurance and resistance to injury. He can perform exceptional physical skills of power and dexterity since his body does not tire easily. He also has certain mystical abilities to command and control great storms of varying size, dispatch rain clouds to certain areas and to fly on such clouds through dimensional portals such as from Ala to earth. He also seems to have some sensory awareness to detect intangible differences in the sky and the earth.  

Shango can also call upon and summon thunder and storm on a level equal to Thor. He can also control the rain and conjure clouds upon which he can fly through the atmosphere.

Abilities: Shango is one of the greatest warriors within the African Pantheon of gods.

Paraphernalia: Shango often carries an ofo rod, a mystical plant that takes on the characteristics of the world around it.

Comments:  The African Gods seem to parallel the Asgardians in as much as they both constitute two smaller, interacting tribes of gods. In Asgard, it's the Aesir (heaven gods) and the Vanir (earth gods). In Africa, it's the Loa (gods of earth and the underworld) and the Orishas (gods of sky and heaven).

In Yoruba religion, Ala is the center of the Yoruba homeland, or the name of the Earth in their tongue.

Clarifications: Shango is not to be confused with:

 

MAIN PAGE