The Many-Angled Ones are a race of extradimensional entities from the expanded Cthulhu Mythos. The term "Many-Angled One" was originally created by Grant Morrison for Zenith, a series published in the science fiction comic magazine 2000 AD by Fleetway Publications. It would later be used for several other works, most notably in Marvel Comics.
Zenith[]
The Many-Angled Ones (also known as the Lloigor) exist in a space that contains more dimensions than our universe therefore they appear to humans as "many angled." Therefore when one of them manifests in our universe, it appears to us as the floating disconnected body parts of a larger creature. Unlike most Lovecraftian entities, that often seem to have unknown albeit hostile motivations, the goal of the Many-Angled Ones is to impose on the multiverse a rigid geometrical order thereby making everything run like clockwork.
No matter what host body a Many-Angled One takes, it possesses superhuman strength, reflexes, and speed. It's extremely durable and nearly invulnerable. From the eyes it incredibly destructive beams. Regardless of whether they stole a body or specifically built it to host their lifeforce, they appear to always have these powers.
Marvel Comics[]
In the Marvel Multiverse, the Many-Angled Ones (also known as the Great Old Ones) are a group of malevolent entities who exist in the space between the innumerable realities, where they try to spread their corruption and decadence towards those universes. Shuma-Gorath is the most well-known of them all, however, other members include Zvilpogghua, Shub-Niggurath, and Tsathoggua. Despite being one of the Elder Gods of Earth, Chthon is frequently conflated with them. They are referred to as the "Many-Angled Ones" due to them existing simultaneously in many dimensions throughout the Multiverse, and mortals (for example, humans) are unable to perceive their true forms.
In "Realm of Kings", it is discovered that they offered the powers to the Revengers (the counterparts of the Avengers in a Lovecraftian universe) in exchange for being worshiped. The Iron Man of that universe believes that they have surpassed their reality and are looking for a new place to be worshiped, and this is how they let Quasar know. Back in the land of this, they are opposed by heroes like Vision.
They are also the main antagonists of The Thanos Imperative, where they seek to invade the main universe through "the Fault". (a tear that opens the door to other realities) They hail from a reality known as the "Cancerverse", in which they defeated Death so that nothing dies anymore. Life ran rampant like a cancerous tumor and its inhabitants are determined to spread the influence of these beings to other realities. Here a battle takes place that they end up losing.
In "The Laundry Files"[]
The novel author Charles Stross would incorporate the Many-Angled Ones into his Laundry Files series, which features the divisions of the CIA and MI6 having no idea that they have been battling the Many-Angled Ones. They have been doing so since Alan Turing came up with a theory that with a computer you could warp reality and the Nazis used the Holocaust as the fuel to summon them to Earth, though fortunately the Nazis were defeated before enough human lives were sacrificed. In one reality, they were successful and the entity that came through drained all heat from around it and decades later the universe was about to die.
The two primary espionage groups dealing with the paranormal are "The Laundry" (Britain) and "The Black Chamber" (United States), the latter of which is secretly controlled by the Many-Angled Ones. Among the eldritch entities in this multiverse are Nyarlathotep and Cthulhu. The moment the stars align, the Many-Angled Ones are able to filter through the universe's walls, which the Laundry was forced to confront recently.
Known Many-Angled Ones[]
- The Corrupted
- The Gatekeeper
- The Brain-Ship
- The Baby God
- Supreme Intelligence
- Cancerverse Daemons
- Kthl
- Nyerlathortech
- Shuma-Gorath
- Yog-Soter
- Quoggoth
- Slorioth
Gallery[]
- Main article: Many-Angled One/Gallery