Soter

SOTER

Real Name: Soter

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: High priest

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Vin Centhotep (son, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: ancient Egypt

First Appearance: Egypt #2 (September, 1995)

Powers: Soter could command scarab beetles, and had access to advanced technology in genetics and weaponry.

History: (Egypt #2) - Soter was a high priest of Seth, who'd killed his brother Osiris and brought about an age of darkness in Egypt. He learned of the Fellaheen, a rebellious group that demanded immortality for all Egyptians, not just the elite. He turned Fellaheen Vin Centhotep into a double agent, and learned of the Fellaheen's plans to break into the necropolis to learn the secrets of immortal life. Promising Vin eternal life for his help he gave him a necklace, and told him to go along with the Fellaheen's plan. Inside the necropolis the necklace summoned Seth, who killed the Fellaheen and possessed Vin, exploding his body.

(Egypt #4, 5) - Vin was reborn as Khum Hetet, born to a wealthy family, and grew to be a spoiled young man in love with his sister who spent his free time indulging in pleasures of the flesh. He ran into Fellaheen Peshy and Aphotep, and when he told them he remembered them Aphotep thought him a temple spy, and bashed him in the head. Khum remembered all his past lives, and sought them out again, thanking Peshy for ensuring his rebirth by reassembling his body and sending it to the necropolis. They still wanted to unseat Seth from power, but Khum begged off, saying he'd think about helping. He tried to gain more information about Soter, whose beetle spies learned what he was up to. His men killed Khum's parents and dragged him to temple. Soter tortured Khum, but when he revealed he was the reborn Vin Centhotep Soter seemed to go pale, and left him. Handmaidens helped Khum enter the land of the gods to act as their agent. Isis had resurrected Osiris, but Egypt was still in an age of darkness under Seth. Nephthys showed him a secret land she'd discovered and named the Valley of the Dead Gods, filled with mutlilated Egyptian deities who still existed, and she admitted she didn't understand the significance. Isis made love to Khum to initiate a ritual, and Osiris revealed to him some of the knowledge of the gods. Khum met Vin's uncle, and learned that Soter was Vin's father.

(Egypt #6, 7) - Khum investigated the underworld and was chased off by Seth and Soter. Isis opened a gate to save him, but when Osiris and Isis had a disagreement Osiris left, leaving their dwelling vulnerable to Seth. Seth created a sandstorm that killed Nephthys, and Isis' handmaiden opened the Eye of Wedget to help them escape to a temple where Khum saw a colossal statue of Vincent Me in full pharaohnic garb. Khum and the handmaiden fell into a pit trap, and found them at the mercy of Soter, who revealed that he was the last disciple of the fathers, who used advanced technology to bring the Egyptian deities and the underworld to life. They used one of Khum's previous incarnations, who was mummified thousands of years ago, as a template, and the fathers intended for ancient Egypt to be completely static. Soter had tried to kill and recreate the gods with himself as a template, and had sown discord with them so they'd meet in a final battle, leveling the playing field for his new pantheon. With that Khum and the handmaiden were sent away from the temple. Khum reasoned that the gods were like him, in that they huffed and puffed, but rarely accomplished anything. He talked to Seth, Nephthys , Isis, and Osiris, and convinced them to work together for once to achieve something. He got drunk at a bar while the gods destroyed Soter's temple and destroyed him, freeing Egypt from its static nature.

Comments: Created by Peter Milligan & Glyn Dillon.