I wonder if he would rather fight Tom Cruise or Brendan Fraiser. Introduced in Supernatural Thrillers #5 (1973) by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler, N’Kantu was the cheiftain of the Swarili tribe in Ancient Egypt. This tribe were treated as slaves in Pharaoh Aram-Set reign who raided this village and put many of his people in chains. Aram-Set tried to break his will but N’Kantu stood strong against the tyrant and N’Kantu ran afoul of the necromancer, Rakses. Eventually, N’Kantu and his people rose up in revolt against the Pharaoh. However, the court wizard, Nephrus, splashed N’Kantu with a chemical that paralyzed his body. He was taken to a lab where is was wrapped in a bandages and injected with a serum that turned him immortal but unable to move. He was entombed in a coffin for centuries.

He awoke in the 20th century but was driven insane after spending so much time alone and unable to move. He began terrorizing the locals until he happened upon archaeologist Doctor Alexi Skarab, who he discovered was the descendant of Nephrus. Alexi was terrified of N’Kantu and set him ablaze, causing him to go on a rampage. He was eventually stop and sent to a museum in New York where he was revived again. He was eventually sent to Egypt by the Elementals to receive the Ruby Scarab for them. He broke free of their control and defeated them. After befriending Ulysses Bloodstone, he would help the Thing and Alicia Master fight against General Hassan, another descendant of Nephrus.

He would join Dr. Druid’s Shock Troop and helped Quasar fight Quagmire. He would team up with Elsa Bloodstone to fight a resurrected Rakses before spending time guarding the Orb of Ra. He was later forced to join the Howling Commandos, which he did not like because he thought it was a form of slavery. He was later imprisoned for not registering with the SRA but was later freed by Cap and his Secret Avengers. He would then come under the service of Anubis as the god’s soul collector but N’Kantu said he would only take the souls of evil me. He would join the Legion of Monsters before rejoining the Howling Commandos under Dum Dum Dugan’s command when they battle the Mindless Plague. He was then sent by Dracula to fight Deadpool to retrieve Shiklah as part of the Frightful Four.