Possessor (comics)

The Possessor (Kamo Tharnn) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is one of the Elders of the Universe. His name comes from his self-given title Possessor of the Runestaff, a powerful alien artifact.
Publication history
The Possessor first appeared in Thor #235 (May 1975), and was created by Gerry Conway and John Buscema.
Fictional character biography
Kamo Tharnn, the Possessor, was a librarian, scholar, and seeker of knowledge on the planet Rus, in the Scion system in the Andromeda Galaxy. He considers the mystic Runestaff the "key" to all knowledge in the universe. Tharnn acquired the power object by killing its previous owner; his first attempt to use it drew the inhabitants of the library-planet on which he lived into the staff itself, blinded him, and drove him mad.
The Runestaff was once stolen by the goddess Sif, and used by the Vizier of Asgard to save the life of the dying mortal Jane Foster by infusing the life force of Sif into her. Sif's life force subsequently overwhelmed Foster's, which entered the pocket dimension accessible through the staff and thereafter the Possessor's own body. The Possessor later battled Hercules and the Champions of Los Angeles. The Runestaff was used by Darkstar to destroy the Stranger's anti-life bomb. The Possessor was later rescued from alien invaders by Thor, Sif, and Keith Kincaid, who returned the spirits within the Possessor, including Foster's, to normal existence.
As one of the Elders of the Universe, the Possessor became involved in a plot with ten other Elders to kill Galactus. On one occasion he attended a meeting of the Elders on Ego's surface where he learned that, thanks to the Grandmaster's manipulations, the entity Death had vowed to bar all of them from her realm forever, making them all immortal. He later attended another meeting of the Elders on Earth. Their subsequent attempt to use the six Infinity Gems to kill Galactus was thwarted when Nova caused the local star to go nova and then collapse into a black hole which quickly sucked in Nova, the Silver Surfer, all six Infinity Gems and all eight Elders who were physically present. Galactus managed to retrieve his two heralds and five of the Elders (whom he soon consumed as punishment for their actions) but not the Possessor, the Astronomer or the Trader. Instead, these three Elders traveled through the black hole and emerged in a mystical dimension where they made a deal with the In-Betweener: in exchange for the Elders using the Soul Gem to restore him, the In-Betweener would take them back to their home reality and kill Galactus. Soon, Galactus, who was suffering from "cosmic indigestion" caused by the Elders he had consumed, sent the Silver Surfer, Mister Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman in search of the Infinity Gems. The three agents of Galactus fell victim to the Astronomer's plan and the In-Betweener was restored. After taking the Elders and the Infinity Gems back to their own reality, the In-Betweener attempted to destroy Galactus but found himself unable to do so and stated his intention to hurl Galactus into the black hole instead. The three Elders, who wanted to rescue their brother Elders from within Galactus, threatened him with the other five Infinity Gems and the In-Betweener responded by summoning Death and forcing her to negate them despite her vow. As a result, the Astronomer, the Trader and the Possessor and his Runestaff were apparently disintegrated.
After the Multiverse was restored following the "Secret Wars" storyline, Possessor took part in a Contest of Champions between the other Elders of the Universe in order to determine who would keep the Power Primordial that is now abundant throughout the universe. He was eliminated from the contest when his unknown champions lost.
Powers and abilities
The Possessor gains vast superhuman powers through manipulation of cosmic energy, including superhuman strength, durability, and genius intelligence. The Possessor has the ability to manipulate cosmic energy for a variety of effects, including the projection of concussive force blasts and increasing his size and mass (and hence physical strength). The Possessor does not age and is virtually immortal. He also has telepathic abilities that enable him to make limited contact with the minds of other Elders, and although he is totally blind he had unrevealed extrasensory perceptions which take the place of his sight.
The Possessor wields the Runestaff, an alien artifact of unknown origin capable of manipulating the life force of living beings. The staff contains a pocket dimension that has in the past housed the life forces of hundreds of thousands of sentient beings. It can also allow Tharnn to travel across dimensions and/or vast distances, control emotions of others, and heal others.
Due to machinations with the other Elders against Death, the Possessor could not die by any means; whether this still applies is unrevealed.
The Possessor has vast knowledge of virtually any type in the known universe. He once accumulated the largest known store of all knowledge in the universe in his master computer.
Other characters named Possessor
The Possessor is not to be confused with the criminal mentalist of the same name who fought Daimon Hellstrom.
In other media
Possessor Kamo Tharnn is featured as a boss in the NES Silver Surfer video game.

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