KAMINARI
Real
Name:
Kaminari
Occupation:
Goddess of thunder
Legal
Status:
Citizen of Ama
Identity:
The general populace of Earth is unaware of Kaminari except as a mythological
character.
Other
Aliases:
Thunder-Queen
Place
of Birth:
Unrevealed
Marital
Status:
possibly Widowed
Known
Relatives:
Shina-tsu-hiko (father, possibly deceased), Shina-to-be (mother, possibly
deceased), Kamikazi (sister, possibly deceased), Takamikazuchi (husband/uncle,
possibly deceased), Inari,
Kumari
(cousins), Izanagi
(paternal grandfather), Izanami
(paternal grandmother), Takamimusubi, Bishamon,
Susanowo, Tsukiyomi, Kagutsuchi, Minato-no-kami (uncles), Amaterasu, Uke-Mochi,
Kawa-no-kami (aunts), Inn (grandfather, possibly deceased), Gaea
(grand-mother, alias Yo)
Group
Affiliation:
The Kami
(Gods of Japan)
Base
of Operations:
Ama
First
Appearance:
Ares #5
History:
Kaminari is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the
Amatsu-kami who was worshipped as gods by the Ainu, the ancestors of the
Japanese civilization. Kaminari is the sister of the wind-goddess, Kamikazi, who
created winds powerful enough to blow away the enemies of the Japanese gods. She
was accepted by the thunder-god, Takamikazuchi, to be his wife, and was
worshipped as the goddess of thunder. Takamikazuchi was one of the champions of
the Amatsu-kami, defending Japan from threats to the Japanese gods.
Unlike
the majority of Earth’s gods, Kaminari and the Amatsu-kami have been
worshipped well by the Japanese well into the Twentieth Century, although they
no longer traffic with mortals as much as they did in ancient times. In recent
years, Mikaboshi,
the god of evil, recovered the Grasscutter Sword from Earth lost by Susanowo,
the storm-god. The sword had been a gift to the Imperial Family of Japan for
centuries, but when the empire fell during World War Two, it was hidden away in
a heavily guarded temple where Mikaboshi lead demonic armies to acquire it for
him. The sword was protected by those samurai who had lost their lives to it,
but Thor and
the Asgardian
Gods eventually freed it during a quest. They were unable to safely protect
it as Asgard, the home of the Asgardian gods, was frequently invaded by other
threats, such as Morgan
le Fay, who scattered the relics of Asgard on Earth as she seized the
Twilight Sword to remake the Earth to her liking. Thor eventually led the
Avengers against Morgan and reclaimed the Twilight Sword.
Using
the Grasscutter Sword, Mikaboshi severed Ameno-kihasi-date, the bridge
connecting Ama, the home of the Japanese gods, to Earth and conquered Yomi, the
other-dimensional realm that served as the residence for the shades (ghosts) of
the worshippers of the Japanese gods, unleashing the demons of Yomi upon Ama as
a result. Several of the Kami either lost their lives in the bloodshed or were
forced into hiding in other dimensions. Takamikazuch possibly lost his life in
the conquest, but this is unconfirmed. Kaminari was protected by the war-god,
Bishamon, along with a small group of Japanese gods fleeing Ama for another
dimension. Mikaboshi then turned his attention to the other gods of Earth and
lead an attack on the Olympian
gods as the Asgardians gods had already succumbed to Ragnarok or Twilight of
the Gods. Acting as a messenger, Inari,
the rice-god, soon rallied with Hermes,
the Olympian god of messengers, to use trickery and deception in uniting their
two pantheons against Mikaboshi. During his visit to Olympus, Inari had
requested water to quench his thirst, but he actually returned with it to the
hiding place of the other Kami rescued by Bishamon, giving the water as a gift
to the water-goddess, Kumari. Accepting the gift, Kumari and Kaminari returned
the honor by rallying with the Olympian gods against Mikaboshi and eventually
ousted him from power, restoring Ama in the process to the Amatsu-kami.
In
the absence of Izanagi,
king of the Amatsu-kami, Bishamon is the acting ruler of the Japanese gods, but
which of the Amatsu-kami have survived and their subsequent whereabouts are is
unrevealed.
Height: 5’
11”
Weight: 310 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Kumari possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift
(press) 10 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Kumari possesses the conventional physical
attributes of the Amatsu-kami or Gods of Japan. Like all of the Kami, she is
extremely long-lived, but she is not immortal like the Olympian gods. She has
not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She
is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If
she were somehow wounded, her 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 her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then,
it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Izanagi,
Takamimusubi or Susanowo or for a number of Japanese gods of equal power working
together to revive her. Kumari also possesses superhuman strength and her Kami
metabolism provides her with far greater than human endurance in all physical
activities. Though not quite as powerful as the Olympian or Asgardian gods, the
Amatsu-kami have greater speed, reflexes and responses than the Olympian gods.
(Kami flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human
tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Amatsu-kami.)
Kumari
also has limited experience in the mystical arts, mostly in tapping and
manipulating elemental energies in generating wind, rain and thunder. She can
conjure rainstorms of varying frequency, mentally control the strike points of
lightning and summon atmospheric vibration akin to clashes of thunder. The exact
limits of her power are unrevealed, but it is unknown if she is as powerful as
other thunder-gods as Zeus
or Thor
Comments: This profile largely describes Kaminari as she has been seen in the Marvel Universe; she has not yet been seen in the DC Universe.
It
is unknown as to her exact location in the family tree of the Japanese gods, but
speculation is she could be the daughter of the wind-god, Shina-tso-hiko.
Kaminari's
sister, Kamikazi, later lent her name to "kamikaze," suicidal Japanese
air pilots who gave their lives in war against enemies of Japan.
Clarifications: Kaminari
should not be confused with:
Last updated: 10-8-08