WANTED: Earth-Two's Most Dangerous Super-Villains
Shathan
Personal information
Name: Shathan the Eternal
Residence: Dis/Hell/Netherworld
Occupation: Nobility of the damned, agent of Lucifer
First Appearance (Silver Age): Showcase Presents #61(April1966)
Character History
The origins of Shathan the Eternal are shrouded in antiquity. His history dates back to the beginnings of time where he arose as a demon lord and an embodiment of evil along with other demons such as Belial, Beelzebub and others. He eventually becomes part of Hell's ruling class subordinate the true evil known as Satan and Lucifer among other names.
The first recorded encounter with Shathan on Earth-Two occurred in the mid-1960's when he was the architect behind the work of Azmodus, whose actions were designed to weaken the barrier between the material world and Dis, where Shathan resides. This weakening allowed Shathan to reach out to humans in mortal danger and offer to save their lives in exchange for their shadows. All agreed not realizing that surrendering their shadow made them disciplines of Shathan. Shathan's power is proportional to those who believe in him and are in his debt. As more fell under his sway, the more the barriers thinned and he eventually emerged fully formed on Earth.
The Spectre, having followed a shadowless man and discovered Dis, races back to the earthly plane to confront Shathan. The two struggle but Shathan resists defeat by conventional means. The Spectre pushes him back through time, placing him near known disasters of meteor strikes and volcanic eruptions but still Shathan resists. The Spectre finally takes him back to the dawn of Time, leaving Shathan in the instant of the Big Bang where the force of creation would expand him outward for all time, preventing him for assuming a cohesive presence ever again. (Showcase #61).
Whether this unlikely outcome was true on Earth-Two or Shathan every re-appeared in this timeline is unknown.
Powers and Abilities
Shathan's powers are cosmic in scope, the level of an evil God. He can travel time, grow in size, project mystical forces and move between dimensions. His physical strength is essentially limitless and he can assume any form he choose. He is immortal and commands a legion of demons of less rank who obey his every whim.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The primary limitation on Shathan is the requirement that he have followers. In Dis, he is worshipped by demons, the belief of whom keeps him at a high place in Hell's heirarchy. The lack of belief in mortal realms is the only thing that prevents his freedom to move among them. He is also subordinate to higher forms of evil and when he crosses them, or is surpassed by them, can be tormented as easily as he does others.
Multiversity
It should be noted that Dis is outside of the normal linear time stream and has access to multiple timelines. Thus is possible that the Shathan of other Earths are in fact all the same one.
Earth-0
In the timeline that emerged post-Crisis, Shathan created Azmodus by merging one of the earliest hosts of the Spectre - Caraka - with a demon succubus named Sekuba. Azmodus thus became on hos long-serving and loyal deputies (The Spectre Vol 3 #25).
He was also the patron of Roger Romaine, the Spirit King, accepting sacrifices from him in the 1950's exchange for power until he was defeated by the Spectre and Mr. Terrific (JSA Vol .1 #60). The Spirit King eventually returned using power from Shathan to kill Mr. Terrific and going on a rampage until defeated by the Justice Society (Soectre Vol 3 #54). He eventually lost control of Azmodus when the Spectre seperated him back to his component entities and sealed the mortal realm from Shathan one again (Showcase Vol. 3 #28-31).
Appearances
|
Issue |
Comment |
Reprinted in |
|
Showcase Presents #61 |
First Appearance, vs. The Spectre |
Showcase Presents The Spectre Vol. 1, The Wrath of the Spectre Omnibus Volume 1., Adventure Comics #492 |