Nagraj
Nagraj | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
First appearance | Issue No 14 "Nagraj" (1986) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego |
{Earlier} Mr. Raj, Public Relation Officer of Bharti Communications. {now} Mr.Nagraj Shah CEO Snake Eyes Securities |
Team affiliations | Brahmand Rakshak,Panchnag, Sheetnag, Neernag |
Notable aliases | Snakeman, Greenman, Green Death, Venomous Gunpowder, Nag-Samrat |
Abilities |
|
Nagraj ("Snake-King") (नागराज in Devanagari script) is a fictional superhero appearing in Raj Comics,.[1] Created in the late 1980s by Sanjay Gupta, Nagraj has changed a lot in his 25 years in print, both in terms of looks as well as powers and abilities.[2][3]
Overview
The debut issue of Nagraj was written by Parshuram Sharma and illustrated by Sanjay ashtputre.After that Pratap Mullick illustrated the character for around 50 issues, ending in 1995. Since 1995, the illustration work of Nagraj has been taken over by artist and writer Anupam Sinha.
The name Nagraj is derived from the word "Nagaraja"(Hindi:नागराजा ) which is itself made up of two words "nāga" (Hindi:नाग) and "raja" (Hindi:राजा) where the word "nāga" means snake and "raja" means king. Nagraj is believed to have been inspired by the mythological Ichchhadhari Nag (shape shifting snakes) and historical Vishmanushya (venomous human). His stories create a rich blend of mythology, fantasy, magic, and science fiction. Many of Nagraj's fans believe that, over time, Nagraj's comics have developed a snake mythology of its own, which is unique to the popular Indian beliefs about snakes that are prevalent among the masses.
Nagraj was originally conceived as an enemy of international terrorism. Interestingly, in his debut issue, Nagraj was unleashed as an international terror weapon by the evil scientist Professor Nagmani. Nagraj, in this first mission, was tasked with stealing a golden statue of a Goddess from a temple that was protected by tribal devotees, snakes, and by a mysterious 300-year-old Sadhu named Baba Gorakhnath. Nagraj succeeded in his task, but upon confrontation with Gorakhnath and his mystic black mongoose shikangi, was defeated. Gorakhnath read his mind and discovered that Professor Nagmani had implanted a mind control device in the form of a capsule in Nagraj's head, to keep him under his control. Gorakhnath operated and removed the capsule from Nagraj's head, setting Nagraj free of Professor Nagmani's control. Nagraj then became Baba Goraknath's disciple and vowed to eliminate crime and terror from the Earth. Since then, Nagraj has thrice toured the world and defeated many villains and terrorists.
Nagraj lives as Raj (After Nagraj Ke Baad, he is under disguise of Nagraj Shah) in a fictional Metropolitan City Mahanagar as an employee of a TV channel that he owns secretly.
Fictional character biography
In ancient times, there existed a kingdom known as Takshaknagar, ruled by King Takshakraj and Queen Lalita. The couple had no worries except for one fact that, they had no children. The absence of a prince or princess made Nagpasha the only potential heir to the throne. Nagpasha was the younger brother of the King Takshakraj. Knowing that he was the only potential heir to the throne, Nagpasha started living a lavish worry-free life.
As time passed, Queen Lalita started getting depressed for not having a child of her own. The king realised the cause of her depression and became upset as well. The couple used to pray to their family deity Dev Kaljayi for his blessings. Dev Kaljayi also knew of their grievances, so one day he blessed them to have a great child. His blessings came true as the queen soon became pregnant and the whole kingdom rejoiced, except for Nagpasha. The birth of this child meant the loss of the throne for him, so he decided to kill the child before he was born.
One day when the queen was going to pray to Deva Kaljayi, Nagpasha replaced the curtained plate of her offerings to the god with one containing a dead mongoose. The Snake God got angry and knocked her unconscious with his venomous breath. The king sought forgiveness from the Devta and pleaded with him to cure his wife, to which the Devta refused. Then the desperate king tried to commit suicide. Not able to withstand a devotee's death, Deva Kaljayi showed him a way to save the queen's life. He gave a crystal to the king and told him to treat it with the queen's medicine. The crystal would divert all the poison from the queen's body to the child's body. However, due to the ill effects of the poison. the queen would lose her fertility.
The kingdom was highly grieved, as was the king. Nagpasha was overjoyed that he was now the sole heir to the throne. When the child was born, everyone believed him dead because his whole body was blue and showed no signs of life. As per Hindu rituals, the newborn baby was thrown into the river.
Nagpasha rejoiced and went to Deva Kaljayi; the deity that also protected the grand royal treasure in form of a giant two-headed snake, and asked him to hand over the royal treasures, telling him that now he was the sole heir to the throne, so the treasure rightfully belonged to him. Deva Kaljayi refused and told him that the "real successor" to the throne was alive and when the time comes the treasure will be handed over to him. Enraged, Nagpasha raised his sword against the deity only to be thrown away by a mere flick of the giant snake's tail. Nagpasha fell upon two bowls, one containing the highly toxic venom (halahal,the greatest form of venom as believed by Hindus) which destroyed his face and mixed with his blood, and the other containing Amrit, which made him immortal. Simultaneous effects of both made Nagpasha an immortal, venomous man. At that time, Nagpasha could not tolerate the changes in his body and fainted.
When the king was informed of the happenings by Dev Kaljayi, he realised that his son was not dead and he also realised the potential dangers to his son's life. So he ordered his faithful astrologer Vedacharya, who had great knowledge of Tilism to enclose the treasure in a Tilism which could be broken only by his son. Vedacharya made the tilism with the co-operation of Dev Kaljayi to ensure that no one, except for the king's son, will be able to break the tilism, not even immortal Nagpasha. When Nagpasha came to his senses, he realised that he had lost the treasure. Enraged, he murdered the king and the queen.
The child, floating away on the river in his state of suspended animation, got stuck somewhere in bushes. He laid there for a long time.
Meanwhile, the snake deity Deva Kaljayi appeared in the dreams of King Maniraj and his wife Queen Manika, rulers of ageless Ichchhadhaari naags, living secretly on an invisible island in the Indian Ocean called Nagdweep. He told them the location of the baby and asked them to cure him. They did so and discovered that the baby was far more venomous than the greatest snake on Nagdweep, which was Mahatma Kaaldoot, indicating that he had divine venom of the god. Initially, the raj vaid was unsure whether he would be able to cure the child, but since Dev Kaljayi himself asked the king for his treatment, he was assured that the treatment will work. According to the rules, no one was permitted to bring an outsider to the island, so the king decided to keep his presence a secret.
Many years passed and the treatment started showing results and, although still in the suspended animation, the color of the baby had gradually changed to green. The king gave the news to the queen and they decided to adopt the child, since they had no child of their own. Their decision was heard by Vishandhar, an evil Tantrik who wanted to become the ruler of the island, but was afraid of Mahatma Kaaldoot. He attacked the secret area where the baby was kept and escaped with him, but fearing the wrath of the god, he decided not to kill the baby and instead placed him back into the same bushes in the river where he was found. His plan failed as the queen soon got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter who was named Visarpi.
Vishandhar never knew that the baby that he left astray was cured enough to regain his senses. First, his face and later, his whole body, turned normal color and he started crying. A priest of the nearby temple located him and gave him to Professor Nagmani, who was wandering in the nearby forest searching for snakes. For unknown reasons, the priest narrated a fake story that the child belonged to a woman, who was a devotee of the Snake God. He also said that the child was blessed by an ichchhadhari naag, so he asked Nagmani to bring up the child and allows him to avenge his mother.
Nagmani realised that the priest was lying, but he took the child. The blood tests of the child showed that the child had minute, microscopic snakes in his blood, filling in for white blood cells. The child had extraordinary healing powers and was extremely venomous. He raised the baby, who became Nagraj.
Plot summary
Nagraj was presented to the world as a creation of Professor Nagmani. He was meant to be an ultimate killing machine, and his original plan was to hire out Nagraj to the highest bidder among villains and terrorist groups of the world.
Professor Nagmani used him for his other experimental projects and leased him for international terrorism. Nagmani always claimed that Nagraj's powers were evolved by feeding him bits of snake poison until his blood itself became poison. He claimed that his venom was a result of snake bites from 1,000 different species of snakes (This echoes the Indian legends of poison-men or women, specifically raised to kill by their kiss) and his other powers evolved when he was treated with ashes of a dead ichchhadhaari snake. In reality, Nagraj was much more poisonous than any species of snakes because his venom was celestial.
Based largely on the Hindu myth of the shape shifting snake, Nagraj derives most of his powers from microscopic snakes that live in his bloodstream, in lieu of white blood cells. He has a number of powers, such as superhuman strength, poisonous breath, poisonous breath and poison-bite, instant healing powers, and snakes that come out of his wrists. The snakes can come out individually or form into ropes, parachutes, and many others, depending on his imagination. His venom is believed to be far stronger than Potassium Cyanide, resulting in the melting of any living being's body if he bites them or vice versa.
For his first mission, he was sold for a sum of $1 million and was to recover an ancient statue. Nagraj succeeds, but then is foiled by the Sage Baba Gorakhnath, who frees him from the mind control of Professor Nagamani. Waking up to a newer world amid the calmness of Gorakhnath, Nagraj takes a vow to eliminate terrorism from the world and works toward achieving this goal.
In his initial issues, Nagraj's powers were too limited, and at times he was even knocked out by powerful human opponents. His strength was also quite human in nature, as he would marvel at his opponent's strength, such as when someone picked up a car. Over the years, Nagraj became powerful enough to not only pick up falling cars single-handedly, but also to achieve feats such as throwing things into outer space effortlessly. This happened in the issue Nagadhish, when he threw the controlling sceptre of a serpent court official into orbit.
It is notable, and perhaps ironic, that Nagraj has now been transformed into a mythical/magical creature facing fantastical creatures as his enemies, with elements of sorcery/magic and even time and space travel.
Powers and abilities
Nagraj, a character in the Raj Comics series,[4] has a huge arsenal of powers of which most can be credited to his divine birth in the comics storyline. Ever since Writer & Artist Anupam Sinha took over the character of Nagraj, his powers and abilities have evolved a great deal making him powerful enough to counter any character of the comic universe. Nagraj is arguably the most powerful superhero in the Raj Comics Universe and is among the most powerful Icchadhari Naagas of his time. Time and again, he has even shown the potential of challenging the Supreme Snake-Gods like Sheshnaag, Vasuki, Takshak, Kaaljayi, and has defeated the likes of Kaaldoot, Trifana, Mahavyaal and Sheetnaag Kumar, who are ranked among the mightiest snakes in their species. Nagraj's blood is a mixture of red blood cells, venom and minute snakes. He can "release" snakes out of his body at his will through his hands and use them for whatsoever purpose he likes, controlling them through telepathy. Though Nagraj gives full liberty to his snakes, his will can keep them inside his body, leading him at times to take enemy snakes inside him. Snakes in his body can be classified into many groups:
- Microscopic snakes
Though these are snakes, of many different species, which commonly exist in the real world, being born in Nagraj's body means that they share in Nagraj's extremely powerful venom. Nagraj uses them variably as ropes, ladders, parachutes, shields, boats, spies and messengers. Most notable among them is Naganand, at a time considered right-hand man of Nagraj, he left Nagraj's body to look after the people of Nagdweep at Nagraj's order after he upgraded to become an ichchhadhaari nag. Nagraj has accumulated snakes which weren’t born in Nagraj's body, but it was Nagraj who gave them a place in his body. These snakes are usually snakes carrying some special abilities. They include
- Jagmag sarp(glowing snakes which in Nagayana series were shown shooting lasers),
- Naav-sarp(giant snakes, Nagraj uses them for making snake-boats),
- Nagfani sarp(literally "cactus-snakes") and
- Ichchhadhaari-naags (shape-shifting snakes).
- Nagfani-sarp Given by Deva Kaljayi to Nagraj, these snakes have spikes on their body and they can easily rip apart most opponents. The extent of their power is still a mystery; powers tend to be revealed when necessary for the plotline. For instance, Nagraj once used a snake to tie up an enemy, revealing that they may extend themselves at length.
- Nagfani snakes may have additional powers:
- Dhwansak sarp : short-living magical snakes which explode at will causing major damage to their surroundings. Though Nagfani-sarp warned Nagraj about using them too frequently, Nagraj never ever had any problems with their numbers while using them.
- Tishk sarp : This snake wraps himself around Nagraj's forehead giving him paranatural powers and the ability to break physical laws. Using these snakes Nagraj can see and fight against souls and invisible powers. While using this power
Nagraj's body gets divided into minute particles making him almost ethereal and immune to physical damage, also temporarily disabling his power to eject snakes out of his body. This form of Nagraj is called Maanas Nagraj. Ichchhadhaari nags. They may or may not be of the same species but all snakes possessing the power of shape-shifting come under this category. They include a big bunch of ichchhadhaari naags banished from Nagdweep. It is quite notable that some of them possess such great powers which rival Nagraj's own, but they all hold great respect for Nagraj. While some of them live in his body just cause they have no better place to live, others live willingly to learn something from Nagraj's way of life. Most notable names among them are :
- Saudaangi : Saudaangi is the most famous and most notable Ichchhadhari nag inside Nagraj's body. Also she was the very first special snake induced by Nagraj in his body. She is the member of an Egyptian clan of snakes which fights against the evil mummy of pharaoh Tutankhemun. Like Nagfani snakes she too has spikes on her body when she is in her snake form,she also has a limited knowledge of Tantra. Among the trio of Sheetnag kumar, Naagu and her, her powers are least explained. In early issues of Nagraj, she often became the decisive force of the fights between Nagraj and his powerful enemies, particularly Nagdant. Though she does not appear as frequently as earlier, she still has a devoted fan following with some urging that she should be the main love interest of Nagraj.
- Sheetnag kumar : Sheetnag-kumar is now the most frequently appearing ichchhadhari sarp of Nagraj's body. Earlier a rival Sheetnag-kumar has now became one of Nagraj's most trusted snakes. He belongs to a clan of ichchhadhari nags living on the Himayalas. Sheetnag-kumar is known for his "icy powers", he can create and manipulate ice at his will giving it different forms like spears and arrows. Sheetnag-kumar also regulates Nagraj's body temperature making him immune to normal fire when he is inside his body and also giving him protection against severe cold ; one of Nagraj's greatest weakness which makes him drowzy pushing him towards hibernation . Sheetnag-kumar's Fang can absorb many attacks and revert them back towards the enemy. He can also freeze all the liquids inside one's body paralysing him.
- Naagu : Naagu is the most cheerful and comical among Nagraj's snakes. His acts are such that at times it becomes difficult to judge whether he is a jester or a helper. He belongs to a family of Ichchhadhaari naags living near Mahanagar.
His main source of power is his mani which grants him almost every imaginable power. For entering Nagraj's body he has to remove his mani from his possession so he hides it in micro form at some place in Nagraj's dress. He though looks and behaves like an idiot and talks non-sense, but he is the one who can never be underestimated. Unlike other snakes in Nagraj's body, Naagu decided to live in Nagraj's body for no reason other than watching movies, which becomes easier living in city. He is a true movie lover and remembers all dialogues of his favourite movies be it Bollywood or Hollywood.
- Sukshm-sarp: This is not a type but a state of the snakes living in Nagraj's body. Nagraj's snakes live in his body in form of Sukshm-sarps, or "micro-snakes". In this state the snakes of Nagraj's body can do anything which they could while in their maximized state, and just their size is affected. They carry out many important activities inside and even outside Nagraj's body. While in Nagraj's body they performs functions like healing his body, fighting against diseases and providing him superhuman strength. They have also been used to cure others of their diseases.
- Nagraj once used one of his powerful snakes Nagshri in Nagdant's body to kill all the micro-snakes inside him making him powerless temporarily.
- He also used them to temporary disable Karanvashi's hypnotic powers.
- Nagraj sent one of his sukhsham-sarp to live inside shakti's body to contact her in case of an emergency.
- Nagraj used one of his dhwansak-sarp in sukhsham roop (micro form) to destroy the brain of a terrorist recently in WTSSeries.
Nagraj's Venom
Nagraj's venom is the most powerful venom of the world, so much so that direct contact with it results in instant death
and melting of body. He gained his venom through the blessings of snake deity Deva Kaaljayi, who himself was blessed
by Lord Shiva. It is explained that Lord Shiva who holds the strongest venom of the universe synthesised during
Samudra-Manthan, gave a minor portion of it to Deva Kaljayi who holds a dilute form of it and Nagraj holds an even more
dilute form of it. The different ways in which Nagraj uses his venom also results in various powers he is said to possess.
Like :
Vish-funkar
Nagraj uses his breath to force out his venom in vapour form, depending upon its concentration the
vish-funkar can cause a variety of damages to his enemies. Its effects include temporary blindness, drowzyness, black
outs, deaths and for once it even caused fire. This power of Nagraj once as a side-effect temporarily cured Richa (love
interest of Super Commando Dhruva) of her disease pertaining respiratory system. This is among one of the oldest
displayed powers of Nagraj.
Vish-dansh
- This is simply a snake-bite. Since Nagraj has divine venom more often than not this power when executed properly
results in an opponent's instant death,[1] though exceptional beings able to withstand the poison include the Deva Kaljayi, himself and enemies who didn't have a biological body. It was suggested in one issue that the venom inside Nagraj's teeth is far more vicious than the venom in his blood, perhaps so much so that Nagraj might die if he bites himself.
Vish-fuhaar
- Nagraj can spill out high amount of liquid venom from his mouth. Since liquid form is much more concentrated in
comparison to vapour form therefore it causes more damage in comparison to vish-funkar, it is said that use of this power has negative effects on Nagraj weakening him temporarily cause it results in sudden drop of venom inside his body decreasing the number of sukhsham-sarps too.
Vish-varsha
- This is one of the lesser known applications of Nagraj's venom. Nagraj once under the influence of evil powers spilled his venom as vish-fuhaar over the ocean and heated it using his dhwansak-sarp forming venomous clouds, the clouds
rained a very dilute form of his venom which was still extremely powerful. Whosoever came in contact with it died instantly and their bodies melted. After the clouds cleared there were many human skeletons lying at various places as a proof of the viciousness of Nagraj's venom.
Ichchhadhaari Shakti and its origin
- According to the comic storyline inspired from a popular puranic storyline which has many alternate versions,
Vishwamitra a king who turned into a Rishi and wished to become a Brahmarshi (which he later became) once promised
his disciple Trishanku to send him to heaven alive with his body. This alarmed the Gods who to protect the rules of the
universe decided not to let this happen. When Rishi Vishwamitra applied his power to send him towards heaven, the
Gods applied counter-force to oppose him. This resulted in a stalemate. Despite all his efforts Vishwamitra failed to fulfil
his promise. This enraged Vishwamitra, he saw this act of the Gods as his insult, so he used his power to call upon the
power which was used for the creation of the Universe. He started creating a new heaven for sending Trishanku there to
keep his words. Seeing the powers of the rishi and alarmed by his act the gods themselves descended upon earth and
convinced him to drop his decision. Vishwamitra after realizing that Trishanku had evil intentions left him hanging. (It is
believed that he is still hanging somewhere between heaven and earth alive cause Vishwamitra gave him half of his
powers).
Vishwamitra called upon the power himself, but he couldn't send it back so he entrusted this power to his disciple,
a snake Mahatma Kaaldoot. Minor portions of the power passed on to his future generations and resulted in a new
species of snakes the Ichchhadhari naags (shape-shifting snakes). Most of the snakes don't know all the uses of
this power and used it only for shape-shifting purposes but this power can do anything, even creating living beings.
It is least used but most effective power of Nagraj, celestial as its origin is this power's true extent was unknown to
everyone for quite a long time. Since Nagraj had lost a very major part of this power
courtsey See Through, he doesn't try stupid stunts and makes minimum use of this power cause if he tries shapeshifting
into something beyond his power limit then he might not be able to reform a new body and left bodiless like See
Through or maybe even die.
Applications of this power:
Shape-shifting
- Nagraj even when limited on power has been seen successfully switching between his real and snake form. He can use this power to divide his body into particles and rejoin them within 3 seconds making him invisible and intangible temporarily. At times in case of emergencies Nagraj has temporarily taken powers from the ichchhadhaari naags of Nagdweep granting him access to use the full extent of this power. Nagraj also has a number of ichchhadhaari naags in his body, and though he hasn't yet, he can take their powers too, in times of emergency. Nagraj when high on this power can undergo amazing transformations and can change into anything imaginable. In theory, this power has no limits.
Hypnotism
- Nagraj has a unique hypnotic effect, formerly considered a separate power, this power was later explained as an
application of his ichchhadhaari shakti. Utilizing this power Nagraj can cast a hypnotic reality upon his surroundings using
his eyes.[1] Breaking this hypnotic fate is extremely difficult and going against it is impossible. Nagraj
and his snakes can cast normal hypnotism too.
Body-fusions
- Nagraj at times has used this power to fuse with his allies to bring down a powerful enemy. He can perform two types of
fusions :
- Multi-membered imperfect fusion : In this type of fusion many people can join together to form a single body having
many heads and hands. Every individual retains his or her own identity and set of powers. Nagraj used it for the first time fusing with the legendary five in order to fight against a creature created by Nagina .
- Two-membered perfect fusion : In this type of fusion Nagraj can join together with a single person to form a whole new
identity. The new identity has new set of powers born from the combination of the participants' sets of powers. Nagraj
displayed this power for the first time fusing with Lava to become Agni-Nagraj (Fire-Nagraj). The new born identity could
release 'burning snakes' and could breathe 'venomous fire'.
Psychic powers
Telepathy
In addition to his ability to communicate with snakes, Nagraj contacted Super Commando Dhruva telepathically when he
was trapped in a parallel dimension containing evil souls.
Psychic force
- In the debutant issue of Nagraj, after his introduction Professor Nagmani said : This later proved to be true, when Nagraj
achieved the feat using his ichchhadhaari shakti. Though the latter claim has not been substantiated, Nagraj's psychic potential has been demonstrated during his battle with the Mahamanav (an advanced creature having enough psychic capabilities to wipe out entire planets) in a psychic power battle.
- Nagraj's primary power is his ability to contain millions of snakes inside his body, becoming a host for a variety of snakes. He can order them to come out of his body and attack his opponents, and also instruct them to create simple forms, such as ropes, lassos, webs, gloves, pipes, etc., as well as complex forms, such as a parachute, boat, gliders, and many others.
- Aside from ordinary snakes, he also has a wide variety of mystical snakes like Jagmag Sarp, snakes with bodies that shine brightly in the dark, Naagfani Sarp, snakes with stretchable, spike-covered bodies, which can pierce through anything and elongate themselves as well, Dhwansak Sarp, explosive snakes which explodes as soon as their body come in contact with anything, Maanas Sarp, psionic snakes which enable Nagraj to split his astral psyche from his body, Udan Sarp, winged snakes which can fly, among others. These snakes multiply rapidly, thus making them limitless in numbers.
- He also hosts several Icchadhari Sarp, shape-shifting snakes, in his body, such as Sheetnaag Kumar, The Prince of Sheetnaags, who has the ability to manipulate ice, Saudangi, an Egyptian snake woman who is a master of Tantra-Kala, or sorcery, Naagu, a Manidhhari snake, which is a snake with a diamond like gem on his forehead, whose 'Mani' grants him powers such as shape-shifting, illusion-casting, energy-based attacks, etc., and the Vilakshana Naags. These snakes can come out of his body at will and aid him in battles.
- Nagraj's body holds the most dangerous venom and thus his bite is fatal to almost every human being and Naags in this world. Anyone he bites, or vice versa, melts to nothing in a few seconds. His breath also consists of some amount of this venom, thus enabling Nagraj to concentrate all this venom into his one breath, which he calls Vish-Funkaar, which results in a quick death for anyone who inhales it. He can also spit this venom on others, which he uses in his Vish-Funkaar, which is equally dangerous and fatal. This venom is combined in his blood, thus anyone who tastes his blood die almost instantly.
- All of Nagraj's physical attributes have reached super-human level, and his strength, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and speed are far beyond the peak human level.
- He also has accelerated healing factor, which heals any wounds almost instantly, thanks to the millions of snakes in his body who aid in the healing. Thus guns, swords, blades, etc. are useless against him.
- All of his primary senses have been enhanced to super-human level, which makes his eyesight and hearing far better than any human. He can also sense vibrations in the environment, thus allowing him to navigate and combat even without using his eyesight. He also has a sixth-sense, which he uses if his other five senses are not of much help. Being a highly poisonous human-snake (He refuses to be called a snake-man), poisons and drugs have absolutely no effect on him, making him immune to them.
- Being an Ichchhadhari, he has shape-shifting abilities and can shape-shift into any creature or person he desires. He can also use this power to grow wings, claws, as well as fins on his body for better navigation and combat. Thanks to his shape-shifting abilities, he can grow his size and proportional strength to even higher levels. Although he lost many of his shape-shifting powers during the events of the issue "Icchadhari", still he retains his ability to turn into a snake at will. He can also use his Icchadhari shakti to break free his atoms, rendering himself invisible and intangible, to dodge attacks and pass through barriers, though he can only remain in this form for three seconds. His Icchadhari shakti also protects his head from any assaults and attacks, thus any telepathic or electromagnetic attack on his brain backfires on the source.
- Nagraj possesses the ability to shed his skin, in the same way as a snake sheds its Kenchuli, in case some harmful substance, like acid, comes in contact with his skin.
- Nagraj can also stick to surfaces and climb walls in a way some snakes do.
- He is a master of hypnotism and can hypnotise anyone in a matter of seconds, to cast illusions and force the victims into believing or obeying whatever he tells them.
- Nagraj has reached a level of strength considered superhuman. He can easily hold a car or throw a bus in air without a problem, as seen in his comic "Venom" in which he was badly injured, having most of his bones broken, but to save the people from a fire dragon, he managed to lift up a 100 tones kilogram globe and threw it into the mouth of the fire dragon, which was flying 100 meters above the ground.
- Nagraj also possess some unknown amount of psychic powers which is very dangerous and he can increase his psychic powers with the help of his snake.
Known relatives and close friends
Nagraj, along with his deeds, has earned a large amount of friends, many of whom appeared just once, but some that appeared more often, and still fewer that became permanent figures in Nagraj's stories. Here is a list of some very well known characters in his comics :
- King Takshakraj : father (deceased)
- Queen Lalita : mother (deceased)
- Baba Gorakhnath : Mentor
- Mahatma Kaaldoot : Mentor
- Dada Vedacharya : Mentor
- Deva Kaaljayi : Snake Deity
- Nagpasha : Uncle (Arch enemy)
- Bharti/Faceless : Friend, business partner. She is in one-sided love with Nagraj. She fights with the identity of Faceless.
- Visarpi : Queen of Nagdweep, love interest of Nagraj.
- Nagrani : Mother to Nagraj's son Nageesh in a parallel dimension. She is the female equivalent of Nagraj.
- Nageesh : Son that lives with mother Nagrani in a parallel dimension
- Super Commando Dhruva : Best Friend and an ally superhero
- Saudangi : An Egyptian snake-woman with tantrik powers and thorns on her body that lives in his body. Later on it was known that Saudangi was an egyptian princess and Nagraj was a soldier in their previous birth.
- Sheetnag Kumar : Friend that lives in his body, Prince of snow snakes "Sheetnaag".
- Panch naag : Naagdev, Sarpraj, Naagpreti, Singhnaag and Nagarjuna. They are Ichchhadhari naags(shape shifting snakes) from Naagdweep.
- Naagu : Friend that lives in his body. Very fond of watching movies.
- Professor Srikant/Adrishya Hatyara (Invisible killer): With a situationally-driven personality.
Enemies
Innumerable enemies of Nagraj have appeared in Nagraj's comics; many died, but some lived on to appear again. Here is the list of Nagraj's major enemies that are still alive and who can be expected to make a comeback in future issues :
- Professor Nagmani : Nagraj's so-called creator who brought up Nagraj.
- Thodanga : A strange African creature. He has a combined body of human, turtle and rhinoceros.
- Nagdant : A jealous, comparatively weaker copy of Nagraj made by Professor Nagmani.
- Tutan Khamen : Ancient Egyptian mummy whose main power-source, his mask, was snatched away by Nagraj.
- Miss Killer : Beautiful, young, evil scientist from Japan.
- Nagina : A female tantrik and shape-shifting snake.
- Vishandhar : A male tantrik and shape-shifting snake.
- Jaadugar Shakura : An evil sorcerer from an alien planet of immortal wizard dwarfs.
- Nagpasha : Nagraj's immortal venomous uncle who murdered his parents.
- Gurudev : Nagpasha's guru, a man good with mechanical science but evil on intentions who wishes to rule the world though Nagpasha.
- Kentuki : A student of Gurudev, who is a physically powerful snake having the strength of fifty elephants.
- Polka : A terrorist and scientist who works for Nagpasha.
- Zulu : An African exorcist and scientist. An expert of Voodoo and Zombies.
- See-Through : An invisible soul that stole a big share of Nagraj's shape-shifting power, but still wants more.
- Sapera : A man whose power is Nagraj's weakness, i.e. snake charming music.
- Karanvashi : A magician who uses hypnotism to enslave people.
- Vish-Amrit : Duo of Paranatural powers troubling innocents on Earth while playing hide and seek.
- Khalnayak Nagraj : Evil side of Nagraj's personality which still exists in his unconscious mind.
- Tantrata : Bharti's nanaji (maternal grandfather) who took over Bharti's brother Agraj's body and wants to rule the world.
- Garalgant : A famous enemy of Dev kaljai but also become enemy of Nagraj.
Comics list
Nagayan Series
- Varankand
- Grahankand
- Harankand
- Sharankand
- Dahankand
- Rankand
- Samarkand
- Itikand
- Upsanhar
Amazing friends of Nagraj
- Adhura Pre
- Nag Jyoti
- Panch Naag
- Ambrish
- Fairo
- Vishya
- Pratishodh
- Kobrak
- Shrap
- Param Vishya
- Parajay
- Pagal Nagin
- Dev Kanya
- Kaal Surp
- Ranniti
- Yugal Shrishti
List of all published comics of Nagraj
Issue no. Comic's name
GENL-0014 NAGRAJ
GENL-0019 NAGRAJ KI KABRA
GENL-0026 NAGRAJ KA BADLA
GENL-0031 NAGRAJ KI HONGKONG YATRA
GENL-0033 NAGRAJ AUR SHANGO
GENL-0039 KHOONI KHOJ
GENL-0050 KHOONI YATRA
GENL-0051 NAGRAJ KA INSAAF
GENL-0065 KHOONI JANG
GENL-0072 PRALAYANKARI NAGRAJ
GENL-0081 KHOONI KABILA
GENL-0085 KOBRAGHATI
GENL-0114 BACHCHON KE DUSHMAN
GENL-0150 PRALAYANKARI MANI
GENL-0151 SHANKAR SHAHANSHAH
GENL-0172 NAGRAJ KA DUSHMAN
GENL-0175 ICHCHHADHAARI NAGRAJ
GENL-0200 NAGRAJ AUR KAALDOOT
GENL-0220 NAGRAJ AUR JADUGAR SHAKURA
GENL-0234 NAGRAJ AUR BAUNA SHAITAAN
GENL-0240 NAGRAJ AUR TAJMAHAL KI CHORI
GENL-0250 NAGRAJ AUR LAAL MAUT
GENL-0270 KABOOKI KA KHAJANA
GENL-0280 NAGRAJ AUR THODANGA
GENL-0295 NAGRAJ AUR TOOFAN JU
GENL-0320 NAGRAJ AUR JADU KA SHAHANSHAH
SPCL-0001 NAGRAJ AUR SUPER COMMANDO DHRUVA
SPCL-0005 NAGINA KAA JAAL
SPCL-0008 NAGRAJ AUR BUGAAKU
GENL-0350 AJGAR KA TOOFAN
GENL-0375 BAKORA KA JADOO
GENL-0390 PIRAMIDON KI RANI
GENL-0420 NAGRAJ AUR MISTER 420
GENL-0444 THODANGA KI MAUT
GENL-0470 BEM BEM BIGELO
SPCL-0016 FIR AYA NAGDANT
SPCL-0020 NAGRAJ AUR NAGINA
SPCL-0025 NAGRAJ AUR MISS KILLER
SPCL-0029 NAGRAJ AUR TUTEN TU
SPCL-0031 ADRISHYA HATYARA
SPCL-0035 NAGRAJ AUR KANJA
SPCL-0036 NAGRAJ AUR PAPRAJ
SPCL-0039 VIJETA NAGRAJ
SPCL-0042 VISARPI KI SHAADI
SPCL-0046 SHAKOORA KA CHAKRAVYUH
SPCL-0049 NAGRAAJ KA ANT
SPCL-0054 JAHAR
SPCL-0057 NAGPASHA
SPCL-0060 KHAJANA
SPCL-0065 CRIME KING
SPCL-0067 RAJNAGAR KI TABAHI
SPCL-0071 VISHKANYA
SPCL-0075 SNAKE PARK
SPCL-0081 ICHCHHADHARI
SPCL-0088 KENCHULI
SPCL-0090 PRALAY
SPCL-0093 VINAASH
SPCL-0102 JAHRILE
SPCL-0106 BAAMBI
SPCL-0110 TANASHAH
SPCL-0113 SOORMA
SPCL-0120 SAPERA
SPCL-0125 FUN
SPCL-0129 NAGIN
SPCL-0137 KALIYUG
SPCL-0142 VISH AMRIT
SPCL-0155 SAMMOHAN
SPCL-0169 RAAJ KA RAAJ
SPCL-0185 KOHRAAM
SPCL-0189 KAYAMAT
SPCL-0202 MRITYUDAND
SPCL-0206 NAGDWEEP
SPCL-0211 TRIFANA
SPCL-0213 MAHAYUDDHA
SPCL-0217 AGRAJ
SPCL-0225 NAGRAJ KA KAHAR
SPCL-0231 TAANDAV
SPCL-0235 JALJALA
SPCL-0241 AATANK
SPCL-0246 DUSHMAN NAGRAJ
SPCL-0253 SHAKTIHEEN NAGRAJ
SPCL-0264 NAHIN BACHEGA NAGRAJ
SPCL-0271 SANGRAAM
SPCL-0279 KAALCHAKRA
SPCL-0293 KUNDLI
SPCL-0304 VIDHWANS
SPCL-0315 PARKAALE
SPCL-0323 ELANE JUNG
SPCL-0337 KALI MAUT
SPCL-0344 SANHAAR
SPCL-0351 NAGRAJ AMERICA MEIN
SPCL-0365 AATANKWADI NAGRAJ
SPCL-0385 NAGRAJ AUR DRACULA
SPCL-0400 DRACULA KA ANT
SPCL-0420 KOLAHAL
SPCL-0435 VISHHEEN NAGRAJ
SPCL-0460 ICHCHHADHARI CHOR
SPCL-0490 KHALNAYAK NAGRAJ
SPCL-0500 SAMRAAT
SPCL-0515 SOUDANGI
SPCL-0520 RAKSHAK NAGRAJ
SPCL-0525 SARV SHAKTIMAAN
SPCL-0545 LAAVA
SPCL-0555 VINAASHLEELA
SPCL-0565 PAAGAL NAGRAJ
SPCL-0580 MASIHA
SPCL-0585 CHAKRA
SPCL-0600 MADYUSA
SPCL-0620 CHHOTA NAGRAJ
SPCL-0635 SO JA NAGRAJ
SPCL-0650 SHESHNAAG
SPCL-0660 BHANUMATI KA PITAARA
SPCL-0670 NAGADHEESH
SPCL-0680 VARTMAAN
SPCL-0700 FLEMINA
SPCL-2240 FUNKAAR
SPCL-2265 VARAN KAND
SPCL-2270 GRAHAN KAND
SPCL-2280 HARAN KAND
SPCL-2281 HARI MAUT
SPCL-2285 JAHREELA BAROOD
SPCL-2290 SHARAN KAND
SPCL-2295 MAMBER
SPCL-2300 NUMERO UNO
SPCL-2305 OPERATION SURGERY
SPCL-2310 DAHAN KAND
SPCL-2315 MISSION CRITICAL
SPCL-2320 TEEN SIKKE
SPCL-2325 JUNG MAUT TAK
SPCL-2335 RANN KAND
SPCL-2340 SAMAR KAND
SPCL-2350 NAGRAJ UNDER ARREST
SPCL-2355 ITEE KAND
SPCL-2360 ORMETA
SPCL-2365 AANKH MICHOLI
SPCL-2370 PANCHVA SHIKAAR
SPCL-2375 26/11
SPCL-2379 GEHRI CHAAL
SPCL-2385 NAGRAJ KE BAAD
SPCL-2393 FUEL
SPCL-2395 VENOM
SPCL-2396 HALLA BOL
SPCL-2397 LEVEL ZERO
SPCL-2400 RONIN
SPCL-2405 KAAMIKAJE
SPCL-2410 TOMO
SPCL-2415 SHIKATA GA NAI
SPCL-2425 ABHISHAPT
SPCL-2430 AVASHESH
SPCL-2445 CHUNAUTI
SPCL-2449 HEDRON
SPCL-2450 AADAMKHOR
SPCL-2455 NAGRAJ HAI NAA
SPCL-2460 KYUN HAI NAGRAJ
SPCL-2464 INFECTED
SPCL-2465 I-SPY
SPCL-2470 MRITYUJEEVI
SPCL-2475 AADAM
SPCL-2480 ORDER OF BABEL
SPCL-2485 NEW WORLD ORDER
SPCL-2490 KAAL KARAAL
SPCL-2500 MAKBARA
Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv
- Nagraj Aur Super Commando Dhruv
- Nagraj Aur Bugaku
- Aatank
- Dushman Nagraj
- Rajnagar Ki Tabahi
- Pralay
- Vinash
- Tanashah
- Kaliyug
- Sangram
- Sanhaar
- Kohram
- Zalzala
- Vidhwans
- Parkale
- Dracula ka ant
- Kolahal
- Samraat
- Saudangi
- Sarvashaktimaan
- Chakra
- Madyusa
- Nagadheesh
- Vartmaan
- Flemina
- Gehri Chal
- Level Zero
- Nagayan series
- Avshesh
- Chunauti
- Hedron
- Samudri Lutere
- Belmunda Ka Khazana
- Negatives
- Last stand
- Sarvyugam
- Sarvdaman
- Sarvsangram
- Sarvsanhar
- Sarvmanthan
- Sarvsandhi
- Sarvkranti
New media
Numerous attempts have been made by Raj Comics to expand Nagraj into other media. However most attempts have been unfruitful. In the late 1990s, Raj Comics tried adapting Nagraj into a live-action television show in India. A few episodes were shot. However, the show never made it to the television screen. The reason cited was the poor quality of the special effects. Raj Comics was not satisfied with the quality of the show. The production of more episodes was placed on indefinite hiatus. The three episodes that were made are available on CDs, which were distributed freely as an attachment to digest-sized comic editions. (Khalnayak Nagraj, Samraat, and Saudangi)
Nagraj was also set to feature in a proposed animated television series. Once again the show never made it to the television screen. An episodic series was in works, and a teaser was uploaded on YouTube featuring Nagraj and his arch enemy Jadugar Shakoora. However, since then there has been no news about the series. It is assumed that production has stopped because the production company Rtoonz's website has since disappeared.
In November 2007, an agreement was signed between Motion Picture Corporation and Raj Comics to produce a high quality 2D Movie featuring Nagraj.
Published series
Nagayana
Raj Comics is publishing a landmark new series featuring Nagraj named Nagayana. It was first intended to be a four-part mini-series, but later, the series was extended to include more issues. Raj Comics has also decided to publish it world wide. It's a story based on a hypothetical future world casting Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruva 25 years into the future. Largely based on Hindu epic Ramayana, the story narrowly follows the same storyline as of the epic, but with Raj Comics characters filling in the places of original characters. The reason for the extension of the mini-series was to tell various sub-plots and the series was finally declared to be an eight-part series. The last part is Iti Kaand, which is an 128-page issue released on 10 March 2009. The new series is as follows:
Issue No. | Comic Title | Publication Status | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Varan Kaand | Published | |
2 | Grahan Kaand | Published | |
3 | Haran Kaand | Published | |
4 | Sharan Kaand | Published | |
5 | Dahan Kaand | Published | |
6 | Rann Kaand | Published | |
7 | Samar Kaand | Published | |
8 | Iti Kaand | Published | |
9 | Upsanhaar | Published | |
World Terrorism Series
A new series named "Aatanqharta Nagraj" or "Nagraj-World Terrorism Series" is being published parallel to the "Nagayana" series. In this series, Nagraj is travelling around the world to fight and eliminate terrorism.[6] World Terrorism Series" is being written by Mr. Nitin Mishra.
This series includes:
- Hari Maut
- Zahreela Barooda
- Mamber
- Numero Uno
- Operation Surgery
- Mission Critical
- Teen Sikke
- Jung Maut Tak
- Under Arrest
- Ometra
- Aankh Micholi
- Paanchva Shikaar
- 26/11 series (with Doga)
- Ronin
- Kame Kazi
- Tomo-The katana
- Shikata Ga Nai
- I-SPY (with Tiranga )
- Order of Babel
- New World Order
- World War
- Veergati
- Kshatipurti
- Maut Ke Bajigar (Upcoming)
Nagraj Ke Baad
'Nagraj ke Baad'(After Nagraj) is a three-part series (Nagraj ke baad, Fuel, and Venom) starting with a comic of the same name. It deals with a time when Nagraj is killed by his enemies and now the world is facing serious threats from the villains.
Nagraj Parallel Series
These days Raj Comics have published three parallel series of Nagraj, where each Nagraj is involved in a different universe. There are the following three parallel Nagraj series:
Nagraj – The original ongoing series of Nagraj, which is being illustrated and written by Mr. Anupam Sinha.
Aatankharta Nagraj– This Nagraj appears in the World Terrorism series. In the series, Nagraj no longer resides in Mahanagar. but instead, is travelling in different parts of the world fighting terrorism. This series, until now, has not portrayed villains with supernatural powers, but are more like gangsters or dons of different countries/cities. It is illustrated by Mr. Hemant and written by Mr. Nitin Mishra.
Narak Nashak Nagraj – This Nagraj is a bit different from the original Nagraj in appearance. He wears a jacket and a trouser and has longer hair. He also possesses different powers (Sheetika, Takshika, and Agnika) than the original Nagraj. He also rides on a flying snake named Sarpat. Until now, the series has shown him fighting vampires, demons, zombies, etc. It is illustrated by Mr. Hemant and written by Mr. Nitin Mishra.
References
- ↑ "Why Nagraj, Dhruva, Doga aren't finding space on big screen&? (view pics)". India TV News.
- ↑ "In pics: Top comic characters". jagran.com. 25 November 2015.
- ↑ "Golden childhood memories: Favourite comics of 90's". jagran.com. 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Trinaa Prasad (7 May 2014). "The Indian Superhero League: A Look at the Desi Avengers". NDTV.com.
- ↑ http://comicvine.gamespot.com/nagayana/4050-30920/
- ↑ http://comicvine.gamespot.com/nagraj-world-terrorism/4050-26789/
External links
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