Magog (Earth-22)

Magog
Kingdom Come‎
Gallery
Real Name	David Sikela
Main Alias	Magog
Other Aliases	Boy Thunder Thunderman
Relatives	Asher Sikela (father) Gayle Sikela (mother)
Affiliation	formerly Gog, Injustice Incarnate, Justice Batallion, Teen Titans, Superman Family
Status
Alignment	Neutral
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Vigilante
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Black
Hair	White
Origin
Universe	Earth-22 · Earth 22
Creators	Alex Ross · Mark Waid
First Appearance	Kingdom Come #1 (May, 1996)

The world changed... but you wouldn't. So they chose me. They chose the man who would kill over the man who wouldn't... and now they're dead.

— Magog

Magog (real name David Sikela) was among the new and violent generation of superheroes in the latter half of the twentieth century on Earth 22.

History

Origin

David Sikela

David Sikela was born to Asher and his wife Gayle Sikela on an unknown Earth from Hypertime. As a teen, David's parents placed him in a bleedship and sent him to Prime Earth, to save him from the destruction of his world. The boy arrived on Earth-0, were he was found by Batman and Superman. They quickly realized the unique properties of David's biology gave him powers under Earth's sun, and brought him to Kandor to be examined by the Kandorian scientist Kim-Da.

While there, Kim-Da fabricated David a costume inspired by Hel-Oz, an ancient Kryptonian hero. After a brief but traumatic excursion to Gotham, Robin took David to the secret base of the Teen Titans, where he introduced the teen to his friends and partners. David joined them and became Superman's sidekick; the Boy Thunder.

The Boy Thunder

For a time, David acted as Boy Thunder happily, but events took a turn for the worse. A team-up of the Joker and the Key resulted in David's torture at Joker's hands, a deeply traumatic experience. In his rage, David attempted to kill the Joker, with the Titans having to restrain him from actually doing it, though the Joker was badly wounded enough that he had to be taken to a medical bay. David's actions deeply concerned Superman, Batman and the Titans. Superman briefly considered siphoning off David's powers, but decided against it, believing that he deserved a chance to try to fix his mistakes. Unfortunately, the Key took this opportunity to attempt to use David's ship to unlock the so-called secrets of the multiverse, triggering the ship's systems and causing it and David to inadvertently warp into an unknown world in the Multiverse.

There, he encountered the old god Gog. This meeting was witnessed by The Flash, who was traveling the multiverse at the time and had earlier promised that he would try and find David if he could. Deeply concerned by what he saw, Flash went back and helped Superman and Batman travel to Earth-22, where David had been sent, using his cosmic treadmill.

Thunderman

As Thunderman

As Superman and Batman arrived on Earth-22, David was occupied battling a supervillainess named Atom-Master, apparently trying to resolve a hostage situation. Between the time he had been sent to Earth-22 and this incident, he had aged somewhat, taking the name "Thunderman" and wearing a modified version of his original outfit that included a domino mask, a jacket and several pouches. Superman once again had to restrain David from going too far. David quickly realized who they were, and though at first he acted overjoyed to see them again, this proved to be a ruse, as he then grabbed Superman by the throat and tried to electrocute him.

However, Superman quickly recovered and took them both to an unpopulated area so they could continue the fight. Knowing he was outmatched, Thunderman called for help from this world's Superman and Batman. As Earth-22 had had no history of multiversal encounters prior to this, Superman and Batman were unable to convince them that they were anything other than ill-intentioned imposters, especially with Thunderman egging them on with lies. The Earth-22 Superman's battle proved unsuccessful, as his prime counterpart managed to trap him in a lead mine. Meanwhile, Batman attempted to fight off his older counterpart, as well as Nightwing, but was attacked by Thunderman just as he seemed to be managing to reason with them. He was saved in the nick of time, however, by the arrival of his Superman, returning from his fight. Superman took Batman to safety just as his own counterpart arrived.

The two groups of heroes began to discuss the situation. Earth-22's Dynamic Duo were suspicious of why the two strange visitors appeared to know David, and asked him if he was hiding something from them, though David reassured them that he wasn't, "reminding" them that his parents had come to them for help when an accident gave him superpowers (which the Prime Earth Superman, watching from afar with his telescopic vision, notes to be a lie, as he knows David's true history). Their dialogue is then interrupted by the arrival of Gog. Thunderman, Batman, Superman and Nightwing proceed to kneel in his presence. Thunderman apologizes for their failure to curtail the incident, but Gog assures him that it's being taken care of. Sure enough, the prime Superman and Batman are immediately accosted by an armada of superheroes native to this earth.

Kingdom Come

After taking on the name Magog, David eventually made good on his promise to kill the Joker, who was under arrest for the murders of Lois Lane and dozens of other staff members of the Daily Planet. Magog surrendered to the authorities and Superman for his murder. When put on trial, he was subsequently acquitted with a mass public majority accepting his actions, as the public at that time had grown weary of supervillains and preferred having them killed off rather than letting keep terrorizing civilians. Magog's acquittal was met with shock from Superman over how the public began to embrace the anti-hero and his violent methods which led to Superman's retirement from the public eye, followed, in turn by much of the previous generation of heroes doing likewise. Subsequently, Magog's actions influenced a dramatic change in heroism among the new generation of self-proclaimed protectors, who admired and revered him as many had Superman, choosing to follow his example and violent approach to eliminating crime and villainy.

This, in turn, lead Magog to form his own version of the Justice League known as the Justice Battalion in order to defend the Earth from threats. However, the murderous, chaotic and reckless actions of Magog's generation would cause the civilian population to descend into a state of existentialist depression and hopelessness, abandoning events that celebrated humanity's achievements such as Nobel Prizes and The Olympics.

Ultimately, Magog's brand of justice turned against him as he and the Battalion were directly responsible for causing a nuclear holocaust in Kansas, and forcing many older superheroes, including Superman, to regulate the metahuman community. Magog, traumatized by his experience and deeply repentant, turned himself in to Superman's Justice League in order to redeem himself. Magog was later among the superhumans who survived the United Nations bombing; prior to that he was avoiding the fight that escalated between Superman and Captain Marvel while attempting to save as many lives as possible. He and the survivors were then present to witnessed Superman's renewed hope for humankind. Thereafter, Magog later retired to Paradise Island. He visited the graves of the heroes who fell during the bombing incident at least once, watching Superman and Batman mourn them from afar.

Twenty years in the future, Magog was among the many to attend Bruce Wayne's funeral.

Infinite Frontier

Magog meets Flashpoint Batman and President Superman

When President Superman and the Flashpoint Batman arrived in the Earth 22 during the Infinite Frontier, the two were attacked by Magog when they try to investigate a crashed ship. Superman assumes Magog has reverted to villainy, but Magog states he simply wants to keep dangers from the multiverse off his world. The Justice Incarnate arrives to provide backup, but Superman orders them to stand down and tells Magog they simply want to investigate the wreck and leave, which he agrees.

Magog later joined an interdimensional team of villains called Injustice Incarnate, to ensure that the worlds of the Multiverse would remain separate.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Unique Physiology: Magog is a human from a universe with a colder sun, this means that under a yellow sun his cells process solar energy differently.
  • Solar Energy Absorption: Like Superman, David's enhanced powers are derived from a passive ability to absorb the energy spectrum of yellow sun radiation into his body.
    • Superhuman Strength
    • Invulnerability
    • Thermokinesis: David can convert the solar energy he absorbs in intense heat and blinding light.
      • Energy Projection: David has learned to project his energy in either multiple powerful energy blasts or extremely concentrated and precise rays.
    • Flight: David can fly through the generation of a gravitational flux.
    • Enhanced Senses: Magog could sense that Batman was the result of reality manipulation.
• Hypertime Travel: Due to his parents' machine, David has the unique ability to travel through Hypertime, but requires a medium to stabilize this power.

Abilities

• Deception: David was able to trick all of Earth 22 with a fake origin story.

Weaknesses

• Power Instability: David's power seems to be influenced by his emotional state and great amounts of stress can cause him to lose control over them.
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Battle armor

Transportation

• Hypertime Drive

Weapons

• Energy staff
  • Energy Projection: David can discharge powerful blasts of energy capable of knocking down even President Superman.

Notes

• Magog is named after a Biblical character from the Book of Genesis, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Book of Revelation as well as names that appear in a variety of subsequent legends. In addition to taking his name from the Old Testament, Magog represents the Golden calf, that is, a false idol.
• The scar around Magog's right blind eye is in the symbol shape of the Eye of Ra. His staff also invoke ancient Egyptian style and imagery.
• Magog represents the violent, modern-style heroes who come into conflict with the classic, moralistic heroes of the past. His character design was based on superhero design trends of the time, principally the Marvel Comics anti-hero character Cable, and Cable's creator Rob Liefeld himself. According to Magog's character supplement in Kingdom Come / Revelations, Alex Ross stated that despite making Magog "everything we hate in modern superhero design" he and Mark Waid wound up liking Magog's character design.
• During the Thy Kingdom Come storyline, Magog's real name was given as "David Reid". The fact that the Earth-22 Magog was later given the name David Sikela may be due to the need to hide his future identity from the reader, as well as an homage to John Sikela, writer of many stories for the original Pre-Crisis Superboy, who David resembles as a young hero from another world with Superman-like powers.
  

Trivia

• In the novelization of Kingdom Come, Magog matured enough to become a Dean of Students in Paradise Island.
• David's costume as "Boy Thunder" resembles the costume worn by Nova, an alternate version of Superman from the Silver Age story The Has-Been Superman! who ironically enough was a Superman without any powers.
• His design as Thunderman incorporates references to anti-hero design trends from the nineties, particularly an overabundance of unneeded pouches as well as a brown jacket. Thunderman appears to represent a transitional state between his original classic-style costume and the radically-different design of Magog, and may even be a nod to the popularity of young sidekicks taking on newer, more "mature" identities (especially as he is contrasted in the same issue by Nightwing).

Related

• 28 Appearances of Magog (Earth-22)
• 22 Images featuring Magog (Earth-22)
• 2 Quotations by or about Magog (Earth-22)
• Character Gallery: Magog (Earth-22)

Footnotes

Injustice League member This character is or was a member of the Injustice League, a villainous counterpart to the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Injustice League members" category.

Justice League member This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or simply the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

Teen Titans member This character is or was primarily a member of the younger superhero team known as the Teen Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Teen Titans members" category.

Superman Family member This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Superman, and a member of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Family members" category.