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| Atlanteans | |
| Body Type: | Humanoid |
| Skin: | Blue |
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Special Adaptations: |
Underwater breathing |
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Unusual Features: |
Each one possess two twin gills located on their necks near the clavicle bone, which allows them to breathe underwater. |
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Planet of Origin: |
Earth |
The Atlanteans, also known as Homo mermani, are a subspecies of Homo sapiens who have developed the ability to live underwater.
History[]
Earth-616[]
The Homo mermani are often referred to as Atlanteans, as it is in the city of Atlantis that their first complex society emerged. Atlantis itself had been a small above ground continent with many human settlements, when an event 10,000 years ago called the "Great Cataclysm" caused it to be submerged into the sea. 2,000 years later, a group of Homo mermani made the ruins of the human settlements in Atlantis their home and went on to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could scavenge from the wreckage. 500 years after the settlement of Atlantis, another group of Homo mermani left Atlantis to found their own city -this time in a part of the ruins of another continent submerged during the Great Cataclysm - Lemuria in the Pacific Ocean. These "Lemurians" would discover the Serpent Crown in the ruins of their city, and through their Leader Naga's exposure and extensive use of the ancient mystical device, they would become more serpent-like in appearance than their Atlantean cousins. During the 20th century the Homo mermanus race began to come into sustained contact with their human cousins. These contacts have often been hostile, and have included many aborted invasions (Atlantis Attacks etc.) and even separate occasions when large numbers of Homo mermani were rendered comatose or sterilized for periods. During the Second World War the kingdom of Atlantis also fought against the Axis Powers in alliance with the Allied Powers. However, not all interactions between Homo sapiens and Homo mermanus have been hostile - during the 1920s a Homo mermani female, Princess Fen of Atlantis mated with the human sea captain Leonard McKenzie - a union which produced the first human/Atlantean hybrid - Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Atlanteans communicate by means of a limited range of high-pitched vocal sounds and elaborate "signing" gestures. A more varied spoken language is not possible due to the inherent limitations of sound transmission through water.
Habitat[]
Habitat:[]
Marine
Gravity:[]
Earth gravity
Atmosphere:[]
Oxygen/nitrogen rich liquid atmosphere
Population[]
It is not known precisely how many Atlanteans there are in the world today. The number is believed to be fewer than ten thousand, an extremely small figure when compared to the surface human population of more than six and a half billion. About two thousand live in the capital city of Atlantis and its immediate vicinity. Others live in small enclaves from pole to pole.
Miscellaneous[]
Type of Government:[]
Monarchy
Level of Technology:[]
Advanced
Cultural Traits:[]
Most Atlanteans live in caves on the ocean floor or the submerged portions of coral reefs. The inhabitants of the capital city of Atlantis live in the ruins of the ancient city of surface Atlantis. Because there can be no fire under water, the Atlanteans have lacked the capacity to forge steel or burn fossil fuel for energy. Because of the aquatic medium in which they live, they were also unable to isolate or mix chemicals. Consequently, the Atlanteans never developed a native technology beyond that of flint tool making. Swords and armaments used in warfare were largely salvaged from the ruins of surface Atlantis or sunken ships of human construction. It is only in the past century, through interaction with scientists of the non-human Deviant race, that any form of advanced technology was developed. Astronomy, chemistry, biology, and physics remain virtually unknown sciences. Medicine has remained primitive, with drugs unheard of and surgery impossible under water. No system of mass communication has ever been developed, nor any means of mass transit.
With Deviant technology, Atlanteans built their first warships at the outbreak of World War II.
Atlantean government has traditionally been tribal, although the citizens of the capital city of Atlantis have adopted the stylings of a monarchistic republic from their long-dead surface predecessors. Besides an ancestral monarch, Atlantis has a Council of Elders, who serves as the judiciary and legislative branch of government. Atlantis has a standing militia who perform police functions in times of peace. Although the monarchy of Atlantis claims all Homo mermani dwelling in the Atlantic Ocean as its subjects, in actuality the monarchy neither provides services or protection nor demands tribute or recognition from those who live beyond one day's swim from the capital city. Most Homo mermani continue to live tribally. The largest grouping of Atlanteans in the Atlantic Ocean outside the capital city are ruled by the barbarian warlord Attuma. Atlanteans subsist on raw fish and seaweed. They are largely a hunter / gatherer society, who have made successful attempts to farm seaweed. In most of the Atlanteans tribes, male hunt for fish and females gather seaweed. In the monarchy of the Atlantean capital, society is stratified so that there is a special guild of hunters and gatherers who provide food for the entire population. This frees the rest of the society for other pursuits, such as the advancement of culture. The culture of the tribal Atlanteans remains primitive, with ritualistic dance and storytelling at its core. The culture of monarchic Atlantis is slightly more sophisticated, with its class or guild of entertainers. The religion of most tribal Atlanteans is pantheistic nature-worship. The state religion of monarchic Atlantis holds in reverence the Greek god of the sea Neptune, who once lived among the Atlanteans some two millennia ago before leaving them. The Atlantean Empire in many ways resemble the ancient Roman Empire at its zenith.
Biology[]
Atlanteans possess twin gills located on their necks near the clavicle bone, which enable them to extract oxygen from the water. They possess physiologies far stronger and more durable than their surface counterparts, which enable them to withstand the vast water pressure at the ocean's bottom as well as the pressure changes encountered traveling from one depth to another. Compared to the average air-breather, the average Atlantean is about ten times stronger. The average Atlantean can swim at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. Atlanteans are warm-blooded, and their blood circulation is superior to that of land-dwellers, enabling them to withstand the near-freezing temperatures of the ocean depths with minimal discomfort. Atlanteans have specially-adapted eyes possessing vision more sensitive to the green portion of the spectrum. This enables them to see more acutely in the dimly lit ocean depths. Atlanteans need water in order to breath, and will suffocate in open air in about five minutes, though Fen, Namor's mom, used a potion that allowed her to breathe air for five hours, but eventually began to breathe air and underwater permanently. Atlantean skin tends to be light blue in color, although certain individuals are darker. Atlanteans possess residual body hair primarily on their heads, a holdover from their surface-dwelling ancestry. Despite their various marine characteristics, Atlanteans are mammals: they bear their young live and care for them during infancy. Although rare, it is possible for an Atlantean and an air breather to mate. The physical characteristics such an offspring will inherit are subject to genetic chance. In the two known cases of such matings (onc such case being Prince Leonard of the What If? continuity), the offspring acquired the capacity to breath in both air and underwater. The life expectancy of an Atlantean is about 150 years.
Atlantean Technology[]
Vehicles[]
- Patrol Craft: Two-man, open cockpit, aquatic scout ship used by Attuma's army in Tales of Suspense #66. Each patrol craft is equipped with an Atlantean Ray Cannon.
- Pincer Tank: Two-man, open cockpit, aquatic craft armed with a set of flexible pincer claws that amy be used to grapple and entangle oppoentns. Used by Attuma's army in Tales of Suspense #66.
Individual Weapons and Equipment[]
- Body Armor: Atlantean soldiers wear body armor
- Ray Pistols:
- Ray Rifles:
- Heat Ray: One of Attuma's troops utilized a hand-held heat ray against Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #66.
- Power Tridents: Project stun blasts.
- Water-Breathing System: When a non-amphibious Atlantean ventures into the surface world, he wears a sealed bubble helmet that covers his head and neck-gills. The helmet is designed to enable the wearer to see normally. A small cylinrical backpack recycles and renews the water. The system enables the wearer to stay away from the water for days before they suffer ill effects.
- One-Man Propulsion System: This is a small cyndrical platform that clamps to the user's feet. It is steered by flexing the feet and legs. It can maintain speeds of 75 mph for up to two-thousand miles in the water. It's usefulness in the air is limited to a short hop of 10 to 20 feet.(enough to get onto a dock or the shore.)
- Turtle Transports: These gigantic turles are bred to carry troops on their backs across great distances. These turtles are amphibious and can function equally well in or out of the water.
- Air-Breathing Serum: Atlanteans have developed a chemical compound that allows normal breathing in air, while turnng the flesh from normal blue to human flesh-tones. This chemical allows air-breathing for 24 hours