Hey everybody, welcome to another great character spotlight right here in Marvel Snapshot! In this installment we’ll be looking at the life and times of the Living Monolith! This character has been around for quite some time, but really hit his stride with one of Marvel’s Graphic Novels from the 1980s. Created by Arnold Drake, Roy Thomas, Don Heck, and Neal Adams, in 1969 (X-Men #54).
Ahmet Abdol was born and raised in Egypt. He was bullied as a child for being imaginative, and thinking he was special in some way. One bully in particular, named Hassan, really crossed the line, and Ahmet never forgot about that one boy. As he grew, he was scoffed at for his mental acumen, and he traced his lineage back to the days of ancient Egypt, and more importantly, the Pharaohs! He eventually was hired to work at the American University at Cairo, and he lectured there, and also married his childhood sweetheart. The two had a child, and this little baby girl would play a bigger part in his life much later. One night, he gave a lecture on ancient Egypt, and the coming of mutants. The crowd went berserk, and chased him and his wife (and their baby). He sped away and got into a car accident, killing his wife. He then lashed out in anger, and killed a few of the people with some form of cosmic energy he focused into a blast.
As he is weeping over his wife’s death, he’s approached by a strange man who convinces him that he’s some sort of messiah. There is a clan of men that have been worshiping him secretly, and will serve him until death. Initially, he’s known as the Living Pharaoh, but then is changed into the gigantic Living Monolith! He first fights the X-Men, and uses his siphoning abilities to take Havok’s cosmic storage powers away from him in order to increase his own powers. The X-Men defeat him, and he’s thrown into jail.
As he ponders his next move while in prison, it just so happens that the guard of that block is none other than the schoolyard bully, Hassan. He frequently harasses Ahmet, but his powers are still within him, and he eventually breaks free. His foot soldiers help him escape, and he then captures the Fantastic Four, and steals the cosmic rays that changed their molecules around, giving them their powers. Again, though, he’s eventually defeated by a horde of heroes, mostly comprised of Avengers.
He’s made some other scatter-shot appearances throughout the Marvel universe over the years. The X-Men again, as he’s used as a pawn of Apocalypse; a meeting with Spider-Man and Thor; and so on. Either way, he’s an important part of Marvel history, so definitely check him out!
As usual, check out my recommended reading list, along with some great pics! See you next time!
Recommended Reading
Essential Classic X-Men vol. 3 – Tpb
Marvel Tales #205 & 206 or Marvel Team-Up #69 & 70
Marvel Graphic Novel #17
Revenge of the Living Monolith – OGN
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
Does he have a connection to Garokk? They have a similar look.