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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Urzkartaga is a powerful ancient plant-god, a male presence, potent and ageless.
History
For ages, he was attended by women drawn to his potency. According to the belief of his worshippers, those who were unfaithful were cursed; those who were true were rewarded.[1] The Bouda, a warrior race of werehyenas, are devoted to Urzkartaga. To them, the Cheetah is a goddess.[2]
Aeons ago, Urzkartaga was trapped in Urzari Jungle (Okarango Region, Bwunda). The unfaithful who did this sought to imprison him, to steal his power. In present days, Colonel Andres Cadulo planned to free the god from his prison, raise an army and conquer the world. He should become the avatar of Urzkartaga, while Colonel Steve Trevor, who would be sacrificed by Cadulo to the god, would be the vessel of his transformation.[1]
With the help of the Cheetah, Wonder Woman thwarted Cadulo's plans, freeing the girls who would attend Urzkartaga and also Steve Trevor and his friends of Echo Team. One of these girls would be chosen to become the new Cheetah, the bride and the protector of Urzkartaga, blessed with long life and power. The woman had to be a virgin, otherwise she would be cursed, as he did to Barbara Ann Minerva, his current wife.[3]
Even with defeated Cadulo, Urzkartaga woke up and attacked Wonder Woman, demanding that Cheetah help him defeat her, but Diana made Barbara realize that Urzkartaga is afraid of the women, that they were never his worshippers, but his wardens, handing her Lasso of Truth so she and the other girls would wrap the god around with it, causing Urzkartaga to be destroyed, leaving only one seedling left in his place. With the defeat of Urzkartaga, Barbara Ann was freed from the curse of the Cheetah, returning to be the woman who was before the ritual wedding.[3]
After that, Steve Trevor took the seedling to the A.R.G.U.S. office and handed it to Director Sasha Bordeaux, giving her a summary of the mission. He told her that all the young women kidnapped by Cadulo but seven returned to their families; these seven girls have assumed the sacred duty of guarding against the god's return.[4] The seedling would be later given to Veronica Cale by Bordeaux and Cale used it to transform Barbara Ann back into the Cheetah, although this time she was free from Urzkartaga's influence.[5]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Immortality: Urzkartaga is ageless, there were no records of when he was born.
- Power Distribution: Urzkartaga gave the powers of Cheetah to many women through the years, like Barbara Ann Minerva.
- Superhuman Strength: Urzkartaga is able to fight on an equal basis with Wonder Woman.
Notes
- Urzkartaga was created by George Perez and Chris Marrinan, first appearing in Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #28. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Urzkartaga first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #3 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp.
Related
- 7 Appearances of Urzkartaga (Prime Earth)
- 2 Images featuring Urzkartaga (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Urzkartaga (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Urzkartaga (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
  This character is or was primarily an enemy of Wonder Woman and the Amazons in any of her various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Villains category." |