Comic series based upon another Earth Pantheon other than Nordic and Greek one?

[chief12d]

Indeed, and fair enough on not liking the Spider-Men being tied into the mystical stuff overmuch. Now that you mention it, though, Anansi should still have Wakandan worshippers. Come to think of it, there were even spiderlike hybrid creatures that showed up in a Black Panther run with implicit or explicit ties to Anansi, too.

Yea I’m not automatically opposed to magical Spider-Man stories (I’ve mostly been fine with the Kindred stuff as of late) but for the most part it’s not my cup of tea. Yea the spider-like Originators were actually named Anansi too, which kinda breaks the lore because from what we saw the Originators are supposed to be as old as the Elder gods, who are themselves older than new gen gods like Anansi and Bast. How they had a name based on a god that hadn’t been born yet doesn’t make much sense to me lol.

But yea Wakanda takes gods from all over Africa and it’d be nice particularly to see what could be done with Aztec lore. If the rumors are true Atlantis in the MCU may have a more Mesoamerican inspiration maybe we see the Aztec gods used more prominently.

[JudicatorPrime]

Aren't Wakanda gods kinda a mix of gods from other Pantheon? Like Bast is from Egyptian Pantheon.
Kinda like how Atlanteans have Neptune as their patron god?

Yes, Wakanda's pantheon incorporates several gods from across the African diaspora, including Egyptian and Yoruba deities. Orishas, of course, also have standing in what most people generically call voodoo.

History teaches us that it was fairly common for cultures to embrace gods from other cultures/locales. Consider, for example, Alexander the Great seeking counsel at the oracle of Zeus-Ammon. Sulis Minerva also comes to mind, as she was worshipped by Romans and Celts alike. While some likely viewed the two gods as aspects of the same god, it's also likely that some viewed them as distinct entities which merged over time into one being as a natural result of religious orthodoxy.

[JudicatorPrime]

Yeah, it kinda fascinates me that a "side god" from a pantheon can be the "godhead" of another.(Bast in Wakanda's case, Neptune in Atlantis's case.)
Though it can only happen with fictional civilizations.

That's not quite true. One of the reasons why you see temples of worship dedicated to one god, but not others is primarily because that particular deity was worshipped above all others in that region. We are viewing pantheons after the fact. To early man, gods were created separate from a pantheon. It's why there are so many of them that overlap in function, even within the same culture. It wasn't until individuals in power sought to centralize influence that pantheons were determined. It was as much a political process, as a religious one.

[JudicatorPrime]

I mean, like many Christian exorcism shows/movies, some pagan religions/belief are always kinda just straight up demon worship.

This is true to an extent, but Christians weren't the first group to demonize the gods of other religions. It's a safe bet if humans today can argue over the legitimacy of political tenets -- even to the point of bloodshed -- then humans waaaaaaaay back when definitely disagreed over the validity and legitimacy of gods from other cultures -- even to the point of bloodshed. And we can never forget that Christianity itself is not unchallenged in its central creed, by both its sibling religion of Islam and its forebear, Judaism. The Abrahamic religions are always interesting in that way. As this relates to your comment, the Abrahamic religions definitely have their fair share of demons even without creating demons of pagan gods and non-believers.

[Huntsman Spider]

Yea I’m not automatically opposed to magical Spider-Man stories (I’ve mostly been fine with the Kindred stuff as of late) but for the most part it’s not my cup of tea. Yea the spider-like Originators were actually named Anansi too, which kinda breaks the lore because from what we saw the Originators are supposed to be as old as the Elder gods, who are themselves older than new gen gods like Anansi and Bast. How they had a name based on a god that hadn’t been born yet doesn’t make much sense to me lol.

But yea Wakanda takes gods from all over Africa and it’d be nice particularly to see what could be done with Aztec lore. If the rumors are true Atlantis in the MCU may have a more Mesoamerican inspiration maybe we see the Aztec gods used more prominently.

Thanks, and yeah, that doesn't make much sense to me, either.

[Hypestyle]

hopefully an african deity can decide to "go human for a while" and that leads to adventures. But the setting can't be New York City. Go elsewhere.

[MaximoffTrash]

That's not quite true. One of the reasons why you see temples of worship dedicated to one god, but not others is primarily because that particular deity was worshipped above all others in that region. We are viewing pantheons after the fact. To early man, gods were created separate from a pantheon. It's why there are so many of them that overlap in function, even within the same culture. It wasn't until individuals in power sought to centralize influence that pantheons were determined. It was as much a political process, as a religious one.

Thanks for your take, when I say that I am kinda talking about the modern "established" mythos of various pantheon though.(Then again there are example you bring up about different aspects of the same god.)
Fictional civilization kinda has the liberty to make any combination you want though. It's one interesting world building aspect.

[MaximoffTrash]

hopefully an african deity can decide to "go human for a while" and that leads to adventures. But the setting can't be New York City. Go elsewhere.

You mean, like Donald Blake but consciously making that choice of using a mortal identity from very start?

[JudicatorPrime]

Thanks for your take, when I say that I am kinda talking about the modern "established" mythos of various pantheon though.(Then again there are example you bring up about different aspects of the same god.)
Fictional civilization kinda has the liberty to make any combination you want though. It's one interesting world building aspect.

I totally agree. This is just my opinion, but I think for the most part Marvel has done a good job of that, not only with respect to the Earth based pantheons, but the gods of some of the extraterrestrial civilizations. Those stories are almost always a fun read for me.

[JudicatorPrime]

I wonder...

DC at one point was really pushing the narrative that the core members of the JLA were analogous to the Greco-Roman pantheon, with Superman being Zeus/Jupiter, Flash being Hermes/Mercury, so on and so on. I'll let you decide whether that narrative was a good one or not.

But what if Stan and the boys decided in the very beginning that the classical gods were off limits? Writers could create their own unique pantheons, but they couldn't use any adaptation or likeness of an existing mythical being or entity. That includes homages, avatars and analogs. What do you think Marvel's fortunes would have been like? Would their fictional universe have been better, or worse for it?

[Zero Hunter]

Has the Egyptian pantheon been explored that much outside of Moon Knight books?

They mostly first appeared in the original Thor series before the Moon Knight books.

[Hypestyle]

You mean, like Donald Blake but consciously making that choice of using a mortal identity from very start?

Yes. I'd like to see something like that. As far as what the "civilian identity" would be, I don't know. But it could be intriguing.