The Living Monolith
Real Name: Ahmet Abdol
AKA: The Living Pharaoh
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men 54
What's His Problem? An Egyptian scholar with a keen interest in the Pharaohs of old, Ahmet Abdol discovered he was a mutant with the power to absorb and project cosmic energy. Taking the name the Living Pharaoh, Abdol gathered a group of followers and tried to gain more and more power, at times achieving enough to become the huge, super-strong Living Monolith. He had dreams of being the new master of the world, and possibly even more. He wound up becoming his own world!
Abilities: As a mutant, Abdol could toss around cosmic energy similar to Havok. If he absorbed enough of it, he transformed into the 30-footer Living Monolith. He often used heroes who got their power from "cosmic rays," like Havok or the Fantastic Four, to turn into the Monolith. He eventually grew too big to support his own weight and collapsed (a foretelling of the ultimate fate of Marvel Comics, perhaps).
Weapons: As the normal sized Living Pharaoh, Abdol used two gems called the "Pharaoh's Eyes" which could mystically hypnotize people. He also had the usual Kirby-tech Machines (tm) a supervillian with dreams of conquering the world needs, most of which were designed to give him more cosmic power.
Favorite Quote: "See? S-see you bully? I-I'm not a wimp!" (Said after Abdul murdered his only daughter in cold blood.)
Heroes He Kept Running Into: Since he first had to kidnap Alex Summers to get enough "cosmic juice," the Living Monolith battled the original X-Men. He later fought Spider-Man, Thor, Power Man and Iron Fist, who all did their part to blast him back to Ancient Egypt. When he attempted to play Godzilla with New York, the Monolith was defeated by the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, with Spider-Man lending a web. Since he was now too big to move or go to jail, Thor agreed to the Monolith's last request of sending him into another Solar System where he could do no more harm. There, Abdol reached the size of a "Living Planet," and became covered by vegetation and possibly other life forms.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Abdol was devoted to his wife Filene and his daughter Salome, until Filene was killed by an anti-mutant mob (isn't that always the way?). As the Living Pharaoh, Abdol had a large group of followers who were very willing to battle super-heroes for him. Some years after the Living Monolith's "death," his followers caused trouble for Havok.
Most Despicable Act: Kidnapping Havok twice was pretty rotten, but Abdol's nastiest act would be killing his own daughter, Salome, by remote control to make sure she wouldn't spill the beans about him to the Fantastic Four. Then he went on a rampage through New York out of guilt.
by Bobby Coakley
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