I posted this in the Comic Book Discussion thread, but I’ll put it down here too since it involves Shuma-Gorath -
I found a hideaway comic book shop that is selling a bunch of back issues for half price, so I managed to track down some of the old Shuma-Gorath issues! And for dirt cheap!
Apparently most of his stories were arcs about him coming to be and then he would appear finally, so he doesn’t have too many actual comic book appearances. I got the first isssue he was mentioned, not in name but as the one behind everything - Marvel Premiere 3 and his first actual appearance, Marvel Premiere 10! He reappeared in issue 14 too. In issue 14 apparently the first time he came to Earth he was devouring Ape Men, and a God Sesi Neg - Genesis spelled backwards put him to sleep (he awoke during Conan the Barbarian’s time, and later to face Dr. Strange) and saved the last 2 Ape Men left alive that Shuma Gorath didn’t kill - Adam and Eve of course. Sesi Neg took the name Genesis too and became a big ol’ God in the sky. In his time traveling adventures Sesi Neg was also the one that destroyed Sodom and Gomorah and people thought he was God. All witnessed by Dr. Strange. Ha ha, Dr. Strange and Shuma-Gorath Biblical times ownage!
I only have one story of Shuma-Gorath in the Conan the Barbarian comics, not his appearance in it, just a story leading to his appearance. And I still don’t have him fighting against Dr. Strange in Strange Tales. So still on the look out for some of those. I don’t really bother ordering stuff like this online 'cuz when I do find it I wind up not paying a lot, plus it’s fun digging through bins, heh heh!
Shuma-Gorath was purple in both of his appearances with Dr. Strange as he was in Marvel Super Heroes the video game and in Storm’s ending in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Wikipedia seems to say that he was always green and Capcom made him purple out of nowhere, but that’s wrong. I’m not sure if he became green during his appearances in Strange Tales or the Conan the Barbarian books, but that’s really attributed to him being a God of 100 other dimensions and can look however he wants to look. I think in Conan he even had a mouth too. Anyway, I’ll try to edit his Wikipedia entry, who knows if the edit will stand because it’s Wikipedia…
During issue 14 there was a caption on how Shuma Gorath was gray, even though in the actual comic he was actually purple. So it could be at least in issue 14 he was intended to be gray. His color is kind of a gray-ish purple though. In his first appearance in issue 10 he is purple though, granted it’s the same kind of grayish purple, not as bright as the Capcom version, Wikipedia’s still wrong though. (sano runs off to attempt to edit, if the edit stands hopefully you won’t get to see what I was griping about…)
I’m waiting until Civil War ends before I update this section with what the MVC2 characters are up too, since a lot of great stuff is going on and I don’t want to spoil lots of it. For real, go read it!!! Best Marvel crossover in years. :tup:
