NANNA
Real Name:
Suen (also spelled Sin, his Sumerian name. Nanna is his Babylonian name)
Occupation:
God of the moon
Legal Status:
Citizen of Celestial Dilmun
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Nanna except as a mythological deity.
Other Aliases:
Yah (Egyptian name), Yarikh/Jarih (Phoenician name), Arma (Hittite name), Kashku/Kusuh
(Hurrian name), Selardi (Urartian name),
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Enlil (father), Ninlil (mother), Hadad,
Ninurta,
Martu, Nergal,
Kinyras (uncles), Inanna
(aunt), Shamash,
Ninazu, Ursanabi (brothers), Ningal (wife), Nusku, Isum,
Usmu, Rundas (sons), Aya (sister-in-law), Nusku, Isum, Usmu (nephews), Anu
(grandfather), Asherah
(grandmother),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Mesopotamia
Base of Operations:
Kurnugi
First Appearance: Nanna has not yet appeared in the Marvel or DC Universes.
History: Nanna is a member of a extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Anunnaki who were worshipped as gods by the Ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Hittites and Phoenicians from the Middle East between 4000 BC to about 1000 AD. He is the elder son of Enlil, the god of storm, and Ninlil, a water-goddess. According to myths, Enlil had discovered Ninlil bathing in the canals at Nippur and pursued her to the underworld where he d her. She eventually gave birth to Nanna in the underworld, but Enlil was distraught that his son would be bound to the underworld for having giving birth to him there. Anu allowed Enlil to sire one more son who became known as Shamash, the sun-god, and Nanna and Shamash took turns living in heaven and the underworld. They separately departed the underworld through a gate located in a cave on Mount Mashu, and returned through another cave at Mount Hazzi, ruled by the god, Martu, then traveling over the river of the dead back to Kurnugi. At times, only one of the brothers was allowed in heaven while the other took the other's place in the underworld.
Shamash's brother, Ursanabi, became the ferryman who carried the shades of the dead across into Allatum, the other-dimensional realm reserved for the spirits of the worshippers of the Anunnaki. Ninazu stood guard at the gates for Eriskegal, goddess of the dead.
Enlil eventually became king of the gods by deposing Anu, but he was himself overthrown by Hadad, the god of wind. While in exile, Enlil seduced the water-goddess, Upelluri, to give him a son, Ullikummis, powerful enough to help him reclaim rule over the Mesopotamian gods. Ullikummis knocked Nanna out of heaven, resulting in him falling to Earth, but he was revived by rain summoned by Hadad, who eventually overthrew Enlil once more and reclaimed rule over the gods. When Hadad tried to gain powers over life and death for mortals, he himself was taken captive by Namtar, the god of death. During his absence, evil spirits known as the Uttukki imprisoned both Nanna and Shamash from departing Kurnugi in over to attempt an invasion of Earth, but the god Marduk defeated them and freed both Nanna and Shamash, becoming ruler of the gods himself.
Eventually, worship of the Mesopotamian died out on Earth due to the invasions of the Greeks and the Turks and the influence of both the Judeo-Christian and Moslem religions. Nanna is no longer worshipped as a god.
His modern activities are as yet
unknown.
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 520 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Strength Level: Nanna possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift
(press) 35 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Nanna possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Anunnaki (Mesopotamian gods). Like all of the Anunnaki, he is extremely
long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods: he has aged at an
extremely slow rate since
reaching hood 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 Anu, Ea or Enlil or for a number of
Mesopotamian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Nanna also possesses
superhuman strength and his godly metabolism provides him with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Anunnaki flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Mesopotamian gods.)
Nanna also has a number of powers which seem to be mystical in nature. He has a clairvoyant ability to measure time; he can perceive weeks and months by going by the intervals of the moon. He can use moonlight to raise the tides and waves and to fertilize plants.
Abilities: Nanna is an accomplished warrior in armed
and unarmed combat.
Weapons: Anna carries a sword and bow and arrow.
Pets: Nanna rides through the air pulled by two bulls.
Comments: Nanna has not yet appeared in Marvel or DC Comics.
In Sumerian and Babylonian myths, Shamash is the son of Nanna,
not his brother. In Phoenician lore, later adopted by the Greeks, the sun and
moon are siblings, (like the Greek Apollo
and Artemis,
the Norse Mani and Solveig or the Russian Saule and Meness). This is one of the
few instances where I have deviated from the most original source material in
order to lineate the mythology.
Clarifications: Nanna is not to be
confused with:
Last updated: 06/08/08