WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Marvel’s Mummies

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind, focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters

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<v Speaker 2>in time. I'm kicking off a multi part series this

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<v Speaker 2>week concerning various monsters from Marvel Comics. Because while it's

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<v Speaker 2>easy to focus on its various superheroes and more traditional villains,

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<v Speaker 2>the Marvel universe is also exceedingly rich with monsters unleashed

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<v Speaker 2>from the imaginations of numerous talented artists, writers, and dreamers.

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<v Speaker 2>While I'll get to some really well known entries, I'd

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<v Speaker 2>like to begin in more obscure territory with a pair

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<v Speaker 2>of rather different mummies. First up is Nikantu, the Living Mummy,

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<v Speaker 2>created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler for supernatural thrillers

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<v Speaker 2>back in nineteen seventy three. The story goes that Nikantu

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<v Speaker 2>was a North African tribesman who, after capture by the Egyptians,

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<v Speaker 2>led her a vault, but was ultimately embalmed, alive and

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<v Speaker 2>sealed in a tomb by an evil priest. Three thousand

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<v Speaker 2>years later, he awakens in modern times, first as a

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<v Speaker 2>rampaging monster and ultimately as a monstrous hero who fights

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<v Speaker 2>alongside the likes of Morbius, the Living Vampire, Werewolf by

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<v Speaker 2>Night Man, Than and others as part of the Legion

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<v Speaker 2>of Monsters. In addition to his mystic senses, the Living

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<v Speaker 2>Mummy also boasts incredible strength, which isn't surprising given that

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<v Speaker 2>Marvel dot Com lists him at a height of seven

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<v Speaker 2>foot six or about two hundred and thirty two centimeters.

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<v Speaker 2>That's two inches taller than Andre the Giant's build height.

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<v Speaker 2>You might guess then that Nikantu's The Living Mummy is

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<v Speaker 2>the tallest mummy in the Marvel universe, and you would

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<v Speaker 2>be dead wrong. Allow me to introduce you to Gomdola, who,

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<v Speaker 2>like Nikantu, looks like your standard bandage rapped on dead

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<v Speaker 2>horror movie mummy, only he's roughly the size of King Kong. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>Gomdola is a true giant mummy. He first rampaged in

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<v Speaker 2>the pages of Journey into Mystery back in nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 2>and is credited by Marvel dot Com to the legendary

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<v Speaker 2>Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. One of the books I

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<v Speaker 2>source for this series is Monsters creatures of the Marvel

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<v Speaker 2>Universe explored by Kelly Knox. Knox lists Gomdola at a

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<v Speaker 2>height of up to sixty feet or eighteen meters, and

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<v Speaker 2>describes his awakening in a modern Egyptian museum, his subsequent rampage,

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<v Speaker 2>his pursuit by interpol is worshiped by cultists, and eventually

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<v Speaker 2>his battles with the Fantastic Four. The secret to his

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<v Speaker 2>great size, however, is that he's not a mummified human,

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<v Speaker 2>but an evil robot from another planet that terrorized ancient

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<v Speaker 2>Egypt before being deactivated and stuck away in a tomb.

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<v Speaker 2>Like a lot of classic curvy monsters, Gomdola isn't only

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<v Speaker 2>big and physically powerful, he also has other crazy powers

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<v Speaker 2>like levitation and telekinesis. So at this point you might

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<v Speaker 2>be wondering, fine, given all of this, exactly how tall

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<v Speaker 2>is the tallest mummy actually unearthed in real life? The

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<v Speaker 2>answer would seem to be Third Dynasty Pharaoh Sonicate during

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<v Speaker 2>the third millennium BCE. By today's height standards, and certainly

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<v Speaker 2>by Marvel Comics standards, he wasn't too terribly tall, only

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and eighty seven centimeters or about six foot

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<v Speaker 2>one and a half, but for the time period, based

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<v Speaker 2>on what we know from skeletal evidence, he was considerably

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<v Speaker 2>taller than average. As discussed in the twenty seventeen paper

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<v Speaker 2>Oldest Case of Gigantism Assessment of the alleged Remains of Sonicate,

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<v Speaker 2>King of Ancient Egypt, published in The Lancet, he is

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<v Speaker 2>still the oldest known paleo pathological case of gigantism. The

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<v Speaker 2>authors Galassi at All indicate that skull measurements, photos, bone data,

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<v Speaker 2>and other measurements suggests gigantism and possibly acromagally in the

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<v Speaker 2>facial features, though regressed through age. In analysis of his

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<v Speaker 2>physical and royal stature, the authors write the following quote.

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<v Speaker 2>The fact that he was buried with honors in an

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<v Speaker 2>elite Mastaba tomb after reaching adulthood suggests that gigantism at

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<v Speaker 2>the time was probably not associated with social margination. While

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<v Speaker 2>short people were much preferred in ancient Egypt, especially in

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<v Speaker 2>the early Dynastic period, we have no records that very

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<v Speaker 2>tall people had any special ste social preference or disadvantage.

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<v Speaker 2>Sonica was originally unearthed in nineteen oh one, so it

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<v Speaker 2>seems possible that his discovery and subsequent writings about his

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<v Speaker 2>discovery or treatments of this general theme and other works

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<v Speaker 2>might have influenced the creation of these two Marvel mummies,

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<v Speaker 2>but I couldn't find any definitive mention of it. And

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<v Speaker 2>we also have to consider the influence of things like

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<v Speaker 2>the widespread hoax of the Cardiff Giant mixed with just

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<v Speaker 2>a little good old fashioned mummy mania. Now, to come

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<v Speaker 2>back to Nakantu, the Living Mummy and Gombdola, I have

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<v Speaker 2>to point out that, as far as I can tell,

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<v Speaker 2>these two never faced off against each other. Comic fans,

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<v Speaker 2>if I'm wrong, please write in and let me know. Also,

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<v Speaker 2>to date, neither Mummy has crossed over into the MCU

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<v Speaker 2>or other Marvel movies, but we can only imagine that

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<v Speaker 2>they are both out there waiting, sweeping, anticipating their release.

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<v Speaker 2>Tune in for additional episodisodes of The Monster Fact each week,

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<v Speaker 2>and there will be more Marvel Monsters in the weeks

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<v Speaker 2>to follow. As always, you can email us at contact

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<v Speaker 2>at Stuff to Blow your Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For

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