An ananym is a type of anagram whose spelling is derived by reversing the spelling of another word. Remember that: There may be a test. Welcome to Ten Things: Ten Ananyms!

Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with An Amateur Comics Historian and Nairotsih Scimoc Ruetama Na, Presents:

TEN THINGS: TEN ANANYMS!

10) NOOB SAIBOT

Once a ninja known as Bi-Han, the mysterious Noob Saibot is actually the original Sub-Zero, slain by his nemesis Scorpion during the original Mortal Kombat tournament. After being resurrected by the sorcerer Quan Chi, his humanity was purged, leaving only a shell of pure evil with shadow power. In his first appearance, he could only be reached by winning fifty consecutive matches, and is often cited as an overpowered character. (His alias was created by reversing the surnames of the game’s creators, Ed Boon and John Tobias, but it sounds mighty sinister, indeed.)

9) NAMOR

Namor McKenzie, aka Prince/King Namor of Atlantis, is often a heroic figure, but has always served his own interests (and those of his kingdom) first. His flooding of Manhattan during WWII is legendary and even though he has served with The Defenders, The Avengers and the X-Men, he’s as likely to attack humanity as he is to preserve it. Reputedly, his civilian name came from his creator, Bill Everett, finding words that conveyed the nobility he wanted to, then writing them backwards. He settled on “Roman.”

8) NAMAGEM

Initially just an enforcer for Lord Obsidian, Namagem was headstrong and often insubordinate, while clashing with Megaman and bailing out his evil boss on multiple occasions, He is eventually revealed to be Megaman’s long-lost twin brother, but rather than turn face, he declares that he hates him even more and vows revenge on Megaman for the life he could have had.

Namagem is what the Zatara family calls Megaman.

7) NEMO

After the death of her father, Janni Dakkar (somewhat unwillingly) took up his legacy as pirate and Captain of The Nautilus. Out-of-place in her Victorian era, Janni is arguably a more brutal and terrifying force than her late father, even as she tries to fight the influence of his (and her own) worst impulses. Sadly, after she dies, her son becomes a new Captain Nemo.

Though the name was chosen for its Latin meaning (“no one”), when reversed, it spells “omen.”

6) NOSYARG KCID

An extradimensional imp similar to, but apparently distinct from, Bat-Mite (he claims to be from Dimension 4 & 9/8s), Nosyarg came to Earth to meet his idol, Robin. Because his name is hard to say, Robin and his Teen Titans pal dubbed the imp Larry, and his magical antics caused much the same effect as Bat-Mite’s, Mxyzptlk’s or others of their ilk.

If you spell it backwards, you get a possible clue as to WHICH Robin is seen in the ‘Teen Titans’ cartoon.

5) KLUH

Created by the alien Xemnu (who was once himself known as The Hulk), Kluh has much in common with the grey incarnation of The Hulk, and was in fact intended to destroy and replace the monstrous hero. The Impossible Man somehow merged the green Hulk with his red counterpart, creating a Compound Hulk whose combined powers were a match for the grey usurper.

Even the dullest Hulk knows what Kluh spells backwards.

4) EMERPUS

Much as Alan Moore’s Supreme is a loving tribute to the Golden and Silver Age Superman stories, the strange creature called Emerpus (there’s no need to spell this one out, is there?) is sort of a take on Bizarro. Hailing from a sector of space called The Backwards Zone, he has all of Supreme’s powers, he is incredibly dangerous, as he insists on “unaverting” disasters that Supreme might halt, and was thus trapped in a prison known as the Hell of Mirrors with the Ivory Icon’s worst foes.

3) NEVINYRRAL’S DISK

An incredibly powerful artifact from the world of ‘Magic: The Gathering’, it’s named in-universe for it’s creator, a lich who acquired a treasure trove of powerful artifacts. When it seemed he might lose his cache, he used his greatest creation, Nevinyrral’s Disk, to destroy his weapons, himself and most of his city out of spite.

In reality, it’s name derives from Larry Niven, whose science-fiction output does NOT include the ‘Discworld’ series, but whom I now always conflate with Terry Pratchett because of this card.

2) TOBOR

Debuting in 1985, this Filipino superhero is a living robot with human emotions, but whose inventor died soon after his completion. His brain is not only capable of machine calculation, but somehow also telepathy, telekinesis and ESP. Among his nemeses are characters eerily reminiscent of Daredevil foes, The Gladiator and The Ani-Men as well as a palette-swapped Darth Vader, named… Vart Daver.

I think this commercial from my childhood explains his alias best.

1) REGOR

Much like Superman, baby Flint (first name never recorded) was rocketed from his home to a far-away planet, albeit accidentally. His home, in this case, was Earth, and his destination was the far-off planet Uuz, where somehow, weaker gravity made him a superman! Disguising himself as Winki Lamm, TV reporter, Regor fought evil in all its forms, teaming up with Superman once for a good old-fashioned “hero pretending to be another hero” adventure. He has recently reappeared as part of the United Planets Superwatch in the pages of ‘The Green Lantern’, along with dozens of other Silver/Golden Age one-shot characters.  Reversing his name gives him the manly nom de Guerre of…  Roger.

This week’s Ten Things Topic, Ten Ananyms is all me (though it was inspired by our own Rodrigo), but feel free to follow along @MightyKingCobra for more Ten Things madness on Twitter. You can also check out the full Twitter archive here! As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, if only because of the sensational new character find for 2020, Loopdaed! Either way, the comments section is Below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!

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