The comic book mythos is filled with Superheroes and Super Villains with God like superpowers. But did you know that there are actual Gods in there? There are actually living, breathing Gods that stand by the other heroes sometimes and try to protect the earth from upcoming threats. We have the Asgardians that Thor is a member of. We have the Greek Pantheon of Gods that Wonder Woman is related to. And then we have the Hindu Pantheon, a lesser known and not a very well established group of Gods within the comic book universe of both Marvel and DC that is extremely powerful and is yet to make its mark. Want to know more?? Presenting16 Powerful Superheroes of the DC and Marvel Universe Superheroes based on Hindu Mythology!!!
1. Indra
Indra is the God of War in Indian Mythology. In Marvel Comics, his history might be a bit too murky and controversial. Indra is considered the most powerful Warrior God of his respective Pantheon. When Thor battled Shiva and easily defeated him, a severe backlash from Hindu readers led Marvel comics to change that story into Indra posing as Shiva in the battle. Indra has made several appearances in later issues like Chaos War.
2. Shiva
Shiva is next on the list because he is closely associated to the previous entry. Shiva is one of the three Skyfathers that lead the Hindu Pantheon. When Asgard was destroyed, it was Thor that tried to convince the Hindu Pantheon to give up a part of their essence to help the Asgardian race could be reborn. Shiva was the only one who refused. So Thor and Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction, fight. Shiva lost.
3. Vishnu
Vishnu is the leader of the Hindu Pantheon. The Council of Godheads, which has three members, includes Odin and Zeus, has Vishnu as its third member. Lord Vishnu is the ruler of Vaikunth in the Marvel universe and was part of the team of Gods that tried to fight the Celestial Host before he could destroy the whole planet.
4. Maya
Maya is a Hindu teenage superhero hailing from the Indian subcontinent. She was just a child when she first manifested her elemental powers. Maya can project a fire-based bow that could help her shoot fire based projectiles. On later issues, Maya also gained the ability to create and manipulate water based projectiles.
5. Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu God of Knowledge. He is one of the three chieftains of the Hindu Pantheon. He hasn’t had much of a role in Marvel comics but he is too powerful to be a supporting role. He is a part of the Devas. The Devas’ physiology allows them much higher strength than regular Gods. Brahma being a chief figure of the Devas is a level above most. He has both the brawn and the brains to back him up.
6. Lord Rama
Lord Rama is one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu and one of the most powerful Gods out there. In DC Comics, Lord Rama fought alongside Wonder Woman. He has several godlike abilities but his most prominent one is his ability to get into a rage mode which vastly increases his already extreme levels of attributes.
7. Rama Kushna
Rama Kushna is the sacred entity that watches over the Monastery of Nanda Parbat. She is also the Goddess that grants Boston Brandt his powers. Boston Brandt is more popularly known as the DC Superhero Deadman. Rama Kushna’s primary power is Comic Awareness. She knows whatever was, is or will ever happen.
8. Indra
Indra is a mutant superhero and a member of the X-Men in the Marvel Universe. Indra’s real name is Paras Gavaskar. While Indra is the God of War in Hindu Mythology, Paras is ironically a pacifist and doesn’t believe in violence. Indra has the ability to manifest armour that grants him superhuman durability and extreme levels of strength.
9. Ahriman
Ahriman is a Hindu God who is also known by his other name ‘Ravana’. Ahriman once worked with Morrigan, Mixcoatl, Baal and Izanami to try and corrupt Superman. They failed to turn him to the Dark Side. Ahriman would later join hands with the Titan Cronus to overthrow the Hindu Pantheon. He was defeated by the combined efforts of Lord Rama and Wonder Woman.
10. Skanda
Skanda is an old ally of Hank McCoy aka Beast of the X-Men. Skanda has all the typical attributes of a Hindu God of his calibre. Skanda can fly, lift tons of weight and is extremely fast, durable and resistant to all form of poison and injury. Skanda holds a deep grudge against Doctor Doom and his family.
11. Ganesh
Ganesh is the Hindu God of Wisdom and Good Luck. In DC Comics, Ganesh is one of the core Gods that constitute the Hindu Pantheon. Ganesh has the head of an elephant and the body of a human being. The Demon God Ahriman once tried to oust Ganesh and his fellow Gods from Vaikunth with the help of the Greek Titan Cronus. Ganesh has decelerated ageing, an extreme level of intellect and the power to influence probability.
12. Kobra
Kobra is the name shared by a pair of twin brothers separately. Jeffrey Burr became Kobra and started his Kobra Cult to bring on the mythical Kali Yuga. Jeffrey was killed by Black Adam. Jason Burr, Jeffrey’s twin brother who also shared a psychic connection with his dead sibling, became the next Kobra.
