The history of the Vishanti may have started untold billions of years ago. Oshtur, the Goddess of the Dawn was born as one of the Elder Gods, the first beings ever to have existed on Earth. Unlike most of her siblings, Oshtur had a fascination for what lies beyond the stars, and so she decided to leave Earth and travel across the universe which also allowed her to escape the dark fate of the rest of the Elder Gods.
During her travels, she met Hoggoth, one of the Old Ones. Hoggoth was all alone and is accompanied by the ghost of his fellows, known as the Host of Hoggoth. He soon joined Oshtur on her travels across the univese.
Upon her arrival back to the place of her birth, Oshtur found out the horrific fate of her siblings and decided to perform self-exile so that her sister Gaea remains safe and the spell of the Demogorge intact. Also, somewhere during this time, Oshtur witness children playing and was touched by the scene where a blind child still managed to smile despite his handicap. A single tear fell from the Goddess's eye and from there, Agamotto was born.
Oshtur taught Agamotto about the secrets of the universe but she also told him to take his own path and discover the world of magic. Agamotto followed his mother, and from his travels he discovered the Three Paths of Magic. He also became the first Sorcerer Supreme, and the first defender of the Earth dimension from mystic threats such as that of the dreaded Dormammu.
These three principalities soon combined their might which in turn led to the creation of the Vishanti. The Vishanti served as the prime protector of the Earth dimension as well as the entire universe from mystic threats. Millions of year before the rise of the first humans, the Vishanti fought the unspeakable evil of Shuma-Gorath. Their battle ended to a stalemate as neither one cannot destroy the other.
The Goddess Oshtur, with the aid of the rest of the Vishanti commissioned the creation of the Book of the Vishanti, a powerful tome of benevolent magic set to oppose the Book of the Darkhold, created by the demonic Elder God Chthon.
The Vishanti also created the seat of the Sorcerer Supreme to serve as the universe's protector against mystic threats. The Vishanti also gave Aged Genghis great power and in return for this power, Genghis agreed to summon together the greatest mystics in the world for a tournament to discover the Sorcerer Supreme known as the Trial of the Vishanti. The first mortal to ever held the title was the sorceress Ayesha of Balobedu, ancestor of Ororo Munroe, known as the X-Men member Storm. The current holder of the title is Jericho Drumm, also known as Brother Vodoo, but perhaps the most well known Sorcerer Supreme was Stephen Strange, known as the former master of the mystic arts Doctor Strange.
In recent times, the Vishanti participated in the War of the Seven Spheres and took Salome as their champion when Dr. Strange refused. But it didn't take long for Strange to reconsider and fought the war for millenia and yet when the war was over, he only aged one year. During this time, the Vishanti was summoned by the vessel of Gaea to battle Slorioth. The Vishanti knew that if they would Slorioth directly, the release of macro-cosmic energies from their fight might destroy the entire plane. So they summoned the Living Tribunal who then placed judgement to Slorioth and banished the entity.
According to Oshtur and Hoggoth, the first law of the Vishanti is that "With great power there must also come great responsibility."
The Vishanti was created for use in Marvel comics by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko. The first appearance of this team is in Marvel Premiere #5, released in November, 1972.
Powers and Abilities
The Vishanti is said to be the supreme-most being of the mystic arts. Each of its members are vastly powerful in their own right.
Oshtur as an Elder Goddess possesses power beyond any other Gods of Earth in their prime. Her power is great enough to rival her brother Chthon, who's mere presence threatens the entire universe. Many sorcerers have claimed her "Omnipotence" and often seek the aid of her "Mighty Hands".. Her status as an Elder God and her title clealry makes her the most powerful member of the Vishanti.
Hoggoth as one of the Old Ones is a being of great mystical powers comparable to that of the Elder Gods
Agamotto as the son of the Elder Goddess Oshtur also possesses vast mystical power. He was able to stand against such threats Dormammu and was stalemate the cosmic being Galactus. He is also the creator of many powerful mystical items such as the Eye of Agamotto and the Orb of Agamotto. He also granted his power to beings such as the Sorcerer Supreme, the Minorus and Witchfire.
The full extent of the combined might of the Vishanti is still unknown, but is said to be greater than that of most cosmic beings such as Galactus as Agamotto alone is of sufficient power to fight the world devourer, also the Vishanti is capable of summoning the Living Tribunal is a realm not of their own while it took the combined effort of Galactus and the Watcher just to summon Eternity in their own native realm.
The power of the Vishanti can be used in nearly-infinite number of effects such as:
- Induce temporary paralysis
- Manipulating matter on an atomic level
- Conjure the illusion of reality
- Banishing the winds of Watoomb
- Conjure the Circle of Cyttorak
- Enable the Shades of the Seraphim to banish the Vapors of Valtorr
- Time Travel
- Inter-dimensional Teleportation
- Matter Transmutation
The Vishanti never appeared to any mortal, even those trained in the occult, for their true aspect is something which no mortal mind could comprehend and remain sane. Instead, they chose to appear in a variety of disguised physical forms. The Vishanti are also All-knowing, at least when the three principalities combined as one.
The Vishanti are the greatest trinity of magical beings in the Multiverse even though they themselves individually are not apparently Multiversal in nature.