COYOTE

Real Name: Maslum (Algonquin name)

Occupation: Trickster-god, god of earth and fire

Legal Status: Often exiled citizen of Shipolo

Identity: The general populace of unaware of the existence of Coyote except as a figure from Native American folklore.

Other Aliases: Nanabozho (Cheyenne name), Nhenebush (Chippewa), Wisgatcak (Tsimshian), Amarok (Eskimo), Isakawate (Crow), Italpas (Haida), Sedit (Wintun), Inagiutasunhi (Cherokee), Taswiscara (Iroquois), Kabibonakka ("North Wind," Anishinaabe name), The Adversary, et al

Place of Birth: Unrevealed, possibly Shipolo

Known Relatives: Gaoh (father), Awenhai (mother), Chibiabos, Wabasso, Manabozho (brothers), Utset (wife), Cirape (sons), Tawa, Hino, Hotamintanio, Owayadota (nephews), Pawa, Omamama (nieces), Susstinnako (mother-in-law), Inktomi (father-in-law)

Group Affiliations: The Anasazi (Native American Gods),

Base of Operations: Shipolo (Native American Heaven)

First Appearance: Doctor Strange III #25 

History: Maslum is the son of Gaoh, the old wind-god and Awenhai, the earth goddess. According to old Algonquin myths, he was born to be the eternal enemy of his brother, Manabozho, the sky-god, their animosity beginning in the womb before they were born. Their birth reportedly resulted in the death of their mother, a crime for which Maslum blamed Manabozho who fled for the sanctuary of the great goddess Nokomis (Gaea in her role as the Native American Mother Earth). Living as a mortal, Manabozho became the ancestral chief of the Algonquin Indians, establishing heaven and earth and the first laws of man even as Maslum taught them suffering and hardship. Indirectly establishing his brother as the positive force of the universe, Maslum became by the Native Americans as Coyote, an old Native American Name for "trickster." Manabozho later became known as the beneficent Great Spirit, ruler of the Native American Gods. (Considering that Manabozho and Maslum have two other brothers, Awenhai may have been restored to life or Manabozho and Nanabozho are the youngest of the four brothers).

Coyote became known as the trickster among the majority of the Native Americans of Earth even though various tribes came upon numerous names to know him. Among the feats that have been attributed to him is the scattering of the stars of the sky before there were constellations and the separation of Tawa, the sun-god, from his wife, Pawa, the moon-goddess. At one time, Native Americans lived in the same realm of the Anasazi, but Coyote had promised immortality upon one of their chiefs and the hand of his daughter to Tawa in marriage, but the discord that Coyote had caused resulted in the alienation of both deities and the exile of Native Americans from Shipolo. Coyote was exiled from Shipolo to lead the Native Americans to earth where they would exist from ever after, but on earth, he often masqueraded as a wolf to further sow the seeds of dissent on earth and teach mortal man the intent and nature of evil. Coyote had to share his name with the coyote as a result, but he has forever tried to shake the stigma behind his name.

On rare occasions, Coyote has rallied with the rest of the Anasazi against common enemies, such as the Anamaqkui and the Anaye, evil spirits and cannibalistic demons from Seana, the Native American underworld. In the First Century BC, European invaders began pressing into North America, most notably the Vikings in Greenland and Spanish Conquistadors along the Caribbean. Skirmishs between the deities of the invading Europeans were rare but Coyote found a kinship with Loki of the Asgardians and Bres of the Danaans. Coyote also rallied some of his fellow gods, such as the war-god, Hotamintanio, into inciting their worshippers against the Europeans. As a result, over several hundred years, Coyote developed a hatred for the white man, the name their worshippers gave to the European settlers who took over North America and ignored Native American beliefs while they stole the land of his worshippers. Coyote’s vindictiveness might have been lessened by the fact that the white men had the capacity for greater destruction and had the potential to annihilate themselves during the American Civil War and with Hotamintanio helped the Native Americans to obtain gunpowder and rifles to use against the white man. However, provoked by the spirits of countless slaughtered Native Americans, he was joined by his two main supporters, the war-god Hotamintanio and Calumet, the god of the peace pipe in order to encourage their worshippers to unite against the United States government which he considered a sacrilege to Native American pride. They tried to get Owayodota to join their cause and resorted to restraining him and torturing his apprentice, Red Wolf of the Cheyenne tribes, to bend him to their will. Black Crow of the Navaho, however, enlisted Doctor Strange on a rescue attempt on behalf of Red Wolf and Owayodota, and dissuaded Coyote from his mission of vengeance by forcing him to realize the utter folly of his desires. Coyote backed down before the powerful sorcerer and retreated back to his native realm. His current activities are unrevealed. However, there has been some speculation that the Adversary, who has fought the X-Men, could actually be Coyote in disguise, but this is unconfirmed.

Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black, turning gray

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

Known Superhuman Powers: Coyote possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Olympian gods. Like all Olympians, he is immortal: he has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow 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 a god of significant power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Helios also possesses superhuman strength and his Olympian metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.)

Coyote also has the ability to tap into and channel the othon, the negative elemental energies of the universe. He represents a force of nature more cruel than kind as well as the destructive force and command magical energies into crossing dimensions and firing rays of force. He is also a shape shifter and can take the form of a large wolf or coyote and mentally control the beasts of earth such as bears and wolves. He can extend his consciousness into these beasts and sense and perceive the same stimuli they experience. Both cruel and kind, embodying the positive and negative forces of nature, his power is in excess of the majority of the Native American gods, except for Manabozho. Coyote is possibly equal in power to deities such as Loki of the Asgardians or Bres of the Celtic gods.

Pets: Coyote is often represented by the coyote.

Comments: Coyote's history is outlined and pieced together from Algonquin, Iroquois, Micmac, Cheyenne, Micmac, Inuit and Chippewa sources as well as presented in a likely Marvel Comics scenario. None of the Native American gods have been observed in the DC Universe.

Clarifications: Coyote should not be confused with:

Last updated: 10/27/13

 

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