ANU

Real Name: Anu

Occupation: Supreme Monarch of the Mesopotamian Gods, God of sky and heaven, former king of Sumer

Legal Status: Citizen of Celestial Dilmun

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of Anu’s existence except as a mythological character.

Other Aliases: An (alternate spelling), Anus (Hittite name), Baal-Anu (Assyrian Name), Jabru (Elamite Name)

Place of Birth: Unknown, possibly Ur (now modern Tell al-Mugayyar, Iraq)

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Anshar (father, alias An, possibly deceased), Kishar (mother, alias Ki), Ea (brother, alias Oannes), Mami, Damkina (sisters), Eriskegal (presumed sister), Gaea (wife, alias Asherah), Inanna (daughter by Gaea), Enlil, Hadad, Ninurta, Martu (sons by Gaea), Ningal, Nusku, Nergal, Gibil (sons by Mami), Zarpandit (daughter by Mami), Asnan, Ninlil, Gatumdug (daughters by Uras), Ithm, Sheger (sons by Uras), The Sebettu (sons by Aura), Shamash, Nanna, Ullikummis, Mot, Shachar, Shalim, (grandsons), Hammon, Pothos, Ninazu (uncles), Alalu (uncle, deceased), Wurusema, Omichle, Enmesarra, Derceto (aunts), Lakhmu (grandfather), Lakhamu (grandmother), Tiamat (great-grandmother, deceased), Apsu (great-grandfather, deceased),

Group Affiliations: The Gods of Mesopotamia, The Council Elite

Base of Operations: Celestial Dilmun, formerly Ur, Sumer (now part of modern Iraq)

First Appearance: (behind the scenes) Thor #301

History: Anu is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Anunnaki, who were worshipped as gods by the various tribes of Ancient Mesopotamia. Considered one of the most ancient races of gods on Earth next to the Egyptian gods, the Anunnaki were attributed with creating modern civilization, living on Earth as the ancient god-kings of the Sumerians and Babylonians. Anu was the eldest son of the older primeval gods, Anshar, god of sky, and Kishar, goddess of earth. Anshar and Kishar were the grand-children of the ancient sea-goddess Tiamat. (According to the Greeks, Tiamat was one of the Protogenoi, a generation of gods who predated the Titans.) Tiamat had coupled with the freshwater god Apsu and gave birth to a lethal progeny of creatures who ravaged the earth and terrified ancient mortals.

Not much is known about the early history of the Annnaki, but according to myths, Anu and Ea rebelled against their parents to gain control of Earth. Anu slew his father, Anshar, and usurped his role as ruler of the gods and Ea slew Apsu, Tiamat’s lover, for control of the seas of earth. Anu and Ea then split portions of Earth between them with their sister Eriskegal ruling the underworld. (Some references call Eriskegal a daughter of Anu rather than his sister.) Anu took the earth-goddess, Gaea in her role as the Sumerian earth-goddess, Asherah, and sired numerous children who were worshipped as gods by the Sumerian people. Among them were the four storm-gods, Enlil, Hadad, Ninurta and Martu, and Inanna, the goddess of fertility. As Ishtar, Inanna became one of the most powerful goddesses of the Middle East.

Sometime in the Second Millennium BC, Anu noticed that mortals had become lazy and corrupt and were allowing the temples of the gods to be neglected and decided to destroy humanity and start over anew. Although some of the gods tried to dissuade his decision, Anu proceeded sent his son, Enlil, to Earth to create a flood to destroy humanity. However, Ea managed to save the family of King Ziusudra of Shurrupak and teach them how to survive the flood in an ark that rose up over the waves for several days. According to myths, the ark eventually came to rest in Ur where Ziusudra made a sacrifice to the sun-god, Shamash. Possibly realizing the rashness of his decision, Anu allowed Ziusudra to live on without retaliation under the name Utnapishtim. This story, however, became the basis of several other flood myths passed down through history, including but not limited to the Biblical story of Noah.

As god of heaven, Anu was also an arbitrator of order and dispensed justice both between mortals and the Sumerian gods. He sent Enlil to the underworld to free Inanna after she was kept captive by Eriskegal and issued a decree that she could spend separate parts of the year on Earth and in the underworld to be near Dumuzi, her lover. When Ninurta felt slighted by Adapa, the King of Eridu, he sought Anu to slay the disrespectful king, but Ea, Adapa's godly father, implored that Anu find other means to punish Adapa in order to avoid any bloody consequences. Anu eventually decided to test Adapa by offering him some of the food of the gods. Suspecting it to be the food of the dead, Adapa refused. Anu then revealed to the mortal king that he had refused the food of the gods which would have made him a god and that because of his rash choice he would have to suffer eventual old age and death. 

Anu, however, was eventually overthrown as King of Sumer by his wily son, Enlil, who seized his throne for himself. As a result, Anu fled Earth, but not before he cursed Enlil to have three miserable sons for his disobedience. He departed Earth for the heavens and created Celestial Dilmun, the home of the Sumerian gods who departed Earth. Enlil, however, failed to hold his throne and was soon overthrown by Hadad, who took the throne for himself. After their reigns on Earth were over, Anu exiled both Enlil and Hadad to the underworld for their treachery. Without their influence, the Sumerian Empire waned and was conquered by the Babylonian Empire whose chief deity was Marduk, the god of wisdom.

Unfortunately, the Babylonian Empire never accomplished the power of the Sumerians and were conquered by the Assyrians, who revered the war-god Assur as their patron deity in his role as Assur. The remaining Anunnaki eventually departed Earth as their worship rites were replaced by the Hebrews and by the invading Greek armies who brought their native Olympian gods with them. As a result, relations between the Olympian and Anunnaki gods have been strained ever since Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods, abducted the Phoenician princess, Europa, as his lover. Despite these tensions, the Olympians trafficked both sides of the Mediterranean with the Olympian goddess, Aphrodite, considered the reincarnation of the goddess Ishtar.

Increased hostilities between Anu and the Sumerian gods with the Olympian gods were abated by a race of cosmic beings known as the Celestials. Around 1000 AD, the Celestials returned to Earth. Long having an interest in human beings and their development, they ordered all the gods to stop trafficking with mortals. Anu and Zeus met with the heads of the other races of gods who were or had been worshipped by Earth mortals to discuss the Celestials' possible threat to Earth, and then Odin, Zeus eventually confronted the Third Host of the Celestials on behalf of all of Earth's pantheons. However, Zeus and the other godheads were forced to pledge not to interfere with the Celestials after they threatened to seal off the one-dimensional passageways connecting the gods' dimensions with Earth. The Celestials' Fourth Host eventually decided to spare Earth from destruction and left the planet. As a result of this pledge, the Annunaki had to lessen their contact with Earth, although a few of them such as Ninurta and Shamash have masqueraded as mortals and spent time living with humans on Earth.
As a part of this pledge, Anu bestowed upon the thunder-god, Thor, a fragment of the life forces required to restore the Asgardians to life after the destruction of the Destroyer in an encounter with the Celestials. Despite the activities of other gods on Earth, Anu has not shown any interest to return to Earth or attend further meetings with the other god-heads of Earth as part of the Council Elite to contend with threats to Earth. In recent years, he faced off with Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of chaos, leading hordes of demons across the relative god-realms of Earth. It has yet to be revealed if he is still alive.

Height: 6’2”
Weight: 445 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White (Black in his youth)

Strength Level: Anu possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) almost 75 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Anu possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Anunnaki and Mesopotamian Gods. Like all of the Mesopotamian Gods, he is immortal. 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 Zeus, Odin, Ea or a number of gods of equal power working together to revive him. Anu does have some superhuman strength and his own godly metabolism gives him far greater than human endurance in all physical activities.

Anu also has vast powers of an unknown nature, which seem to surpass the powers of any other Mesopotamian god. Magical in their form and nature, these powers can be employed in numerous forms. He can project rays of mystical forms resembling modern lasers that can explode on impact and erect shields and objects such as thrones and ships from this energy. He can also create dimensional portals at will to travel between earth and heaven and create spells that augment or enforce spells already in existence. He can project his image, voice or energy bolts from heaven to earth and even place bondage spells powerful enough of bonding individuals to certain realms. Anu seems to have limited precognitive and sensory awareness to perceive facts and information from beyond time and space.

Abilities: Anu is a shrewd and wily ruler as well as a just and beneficent deity.

Comments: This bio describes Anu as he has appeared in the Marvel Universe; it is not known if he has appeared in the DC Universe

Anu's family tree here is based on a combination of the Hurrian/Hittite and Sumerian family trees for the Anunnaki.

Clarifications: Anu is not to be confused with:

Last updated: 03/10/16

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