Ba'al-HadadBa'al

Though his family relationships vary among accounts, Ba'al is of the Annunaki, and was worshipped as far back as 18,000 B.C. by peoples such as the Acheronians, Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. Aided by sea god Ea, Ba'al overthrew Dagon, who had in turn overthrown Anu. Dagon's giant son Ullikummis later drove Ba'al from his throne, restoring Dagon's rule until Ba'al and Ea slew the giant. Ba'al's thirst for knowledge brought him to the underworld, where he was duped into eating from the table of the dead; this killed him. Ba'al's wife, Anath, forced the death god Mot to resurrect Ba'al, though he lost his throne to Marduk, who slew the monster Tiamat. Degenerating from his experiences, Ba'al ruled the people of Gehenna, a place of unspeakable evil, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. A warrior, the Hand of God, armed with unbreakable steel and divine might, smote Ba'al. In his death throes Ba'al transferred his soul into the Gehenna Stone. The Hand of God shattered the gem, scattered its pieces and slaughtered the Gehennans. Over the centuries, the remaining Followers of Ba'al regathered the fragments of the Stone. Recently, Sà-Bal-Bal, the descendant of Ba'al, led the Followers to gather the last of the fragments--despite the efforts of Wolverine (Logan), Jessica Drew, and Archie and Burt Corrigan, and Ba'al reincarnated himself within Sà-Bal-Bal. Wolverine fought Ba'al futilely, until he earnestly prayed for help and was briefly possessed by the Hand of God. Wolverine shattered the Stone and slew Sà-Bal-Bal. His spirit cast to a netherworld, Ba'al captured Craig and Emma Blaze, hoping their father, John, would come and free him. Ba'al assisted evil human spirit Ice Box Bob and graduate student Darryl Licht, transforming the latter into the rampaging Anung-Ite of Native American lore. The dimensional barriers weakened by frequent travel, Ba'al escaped to Earth and attacked John Blaze, who was aided by the benevolent Wendigo spirit and Jesse Pinto (whose parents Licht had slain). His arm destroyed by a magic iron nail file, Ba'al retreated to his realm. The Wendigo spirit, Pinto, and the Blaze kids trapped Ba'al, but he sent them away by revealing the danger to John Blaze. Note: The Brotherhood of Ba'al fought by the Werewolf (Jack Russell) and Frankenstein's monster were actually Satanists.