Kid Pharaoh

Real Name: Zethi

Identity/Class: Human transformed by magic

Occupation: Wrestler

Affiliations: Frank Jennings

Enemies: Thothek, Munsen

Known Relatives: Zamen (father, deceased)

Aliases: None.

Base of Operations: U.K.

First Appearance: Valiant

Powers/Abilities: Zethi has no powers as such, though he is an exceptional fighter. Due to his curse he instantly falls asleep whenever he is removed from a light source, and while in this state enters a form of suspended animation.

History: While ancient Egypt mourned the passing of King Zamen, the Pharaoh's young son Zethi prepared to don the mantle of leadership. He intended to honour his father's memory by being a good ruler like Zamen had been, but it was not to be. For the evil High Priest Thothek had his men capture Zethi as he watched his father's funeral procession. Thothek had no desire to face the wrath of the gods by assassinating the young ruler, nor to encounter Zethi again in some future incarnation, so instead he fed his victim a potion that dulled his senses. Thothek's men entombed Zethi in a pyramid, as the High Priest laid a curse on him: "You shall sleep so long as darkness reigns!"

Shut away in the darkness, Zethi lay undisturbed for centuries, until in 1972, three millennia later, archaeologist Frank Jennings led an expedition which uncovered his tomb. When they entered the crypt he slept in, Zethi awoke the second the torches exposed him to light once more. At first he believed Jennings and his men were minions of Thothek, but soon Zethi came to realise this was not the case. Frank explained to him how long he had been asleep, and the two formed a friendship as the archaeologist took the displaced pharaoh under his wing. They set sale on a passenger ship bound for England, where they encountered Baron Munsen, a rich businessman whose astounding resemblance to Thothek immediately convinced Zethi that he was in fact a reincarnation of his nemesis.

Arriving in the UK determined to prove that Munsen was his enemy reborn, Zethi (and Frank) witnessed an attempt to hijack a security van just loaded with gold from the ship they were disembarking from. Ignorant of the dangers inherent in the machine guns carried by the crooks, Zethi took them on and swiftly defeated them with his wrestling skills, although no one ever realised that the thieves had been in the employ of Munsen. Afterwards Zethi told the police officer who thanked him "I shall oppose evil in modern Britain, just as my father did in ancient Egypt, Inspector!"

With Zethi determined to prove the link between Munsen and Thothek, and have the curse of darkness lifted from him, he and Frank continued to have many adventures. And in order for Zethi to find a way of earning a living in the modern world, Frank used the youth's newfound fame and fighting skills to set him up as a celebrity wrestler, under the name Kid Pharaoh.

Comments: When first I heard of this character I didn't consider him a superhero, in spite of his unusual background, but rather a sports character akin to Johnny Cougar. However upon reading his origin story it is clear that he has every intention of being a crime fighter, and that it is his friend Frank who turns him into a wrestler.

Other revived Egyptians with supernatural abilities include the Indestructible Man.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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