Abzu

Abzu Alternate names Armand Class- ification Asterias Abzu Species Starfish-like aquatic organism Place(s) of emergence Underwater Hollow Earth passageway beneath Kvitøya, Norway Enemies Tiamat Written by David M. Booher Designed by Drew Zucker First appearance Monsterverse Declassified

Abzu is a giant starfish monster who appears in flashback in the "Tiamat" portion of the 2024 anthology graphic novel Monsterverse Declassified.

Name

According to Bernie Hayes, Abzu was named after "a Sumerian god." In reality, abzû was the name of a kind of holy water produced by underground aquifers in Sumerian mythology, though it is indeed a deity in the Babylonian (not Sumerian) Enūma Eliš. In this account, Abzû was a male god composed of water and the consort of Tiamat; this contrasts the Monsterverse's Abzu and Tiamat, who fight to the death. Though Hayes refers to the monster as just "Abzu," a monitor reads, Asterias Abzu, which is presumed to be its cryptozoological classification. The first word in this classification, Asterias, is a genus of starfish. Hayes also jokingly offers the name Armand, seemingly derived from the idiomatic phrase "an arm and a leg."

Design

Abzu has an appearance similar to that of a starfish, with a magenta coloring. On the top of its body, its base is covered by plate-like structures, and its five main limbs bare scutes scattered across their surface. The undersides of its main limbs have suction cups similar to an octopus. Its mouth, at the center of its underside, has three additional limbs lined with tooth-like appendages, which run half the length of these limbs up to their tips.

History

• Monsterverse Declassified (2024) ["Tiamat"]

"Tiamat"

Sometime in the past, Tiamat was drawn to an underwater cave beneath Kvitøya, Norway, which emanated a pink substance. As the Titan approached, she was suddenly grabbed by a giant starfish-like creature which blasted her with pink goop. Tiamat managed to wriggle free and began encircling the creature, named Abzu, disorienting it in a whirlpool. Tiamat then grabbed hold of Abzu and tore it in half, killing it.

The Titan proceeded onward through the passageway, finding the substance's source as a crystal formation, which she laid upon and became encased by.

Abilities

Corrosive blast

Abzu blasted Tiamat with a viscous pink substance from its mouth which burned the Titan's skin.

Physical abilities

Abzu used its five appendages to ensnare Tiamat, wrapping each one around a part of her body. The creature was unable to keep its hold, however.

Weaknesses

Abzu was caught in a whirlpool generated by Tiamat. She instantaneously killed it by biting down on one half of its body and coiling her body around the other, then pulling the two halves apart.

Trivia

• Though it is not specified whether Abzu is classified as a superspecies, it is explicitly stated to not be a Titan.
• Bernie Hayes describes Abzu as looking "like it came straight out of a 1950s sci-fi movie." A sci-fi movie starring alien starfish, Warning from Space, was released by Daiei in 1956.
• Abzu is similar to the Barem from Rebirth of Mothra 2: both are starfish-like creatures which make use of a corrosive substance to attack their victims.

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