Behemoth

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Behemoth</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

Deceased

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<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>Behemoth (pronounced: "bih-HEE-moth"<ref>Worm Audiobook pronunciation guide (confirmed by Wildbow)</ref>) is one of the Endbringers. He is the first of the Endbringers, followed by Leviathan and Simurgh. He's a dynakinetic, meaning he has complete control over all types of energy from radiation to kinetic. On top of this he has no Manton Limitation within a radius of 32 feet and is the most durable of the Endbringers. Although he is very slow and incapable of dodging most attacks he can render a region uninhabitable over a course of a few hours.<ref name="Cast2">Behemoth, originally called Hadhayosh, is a forty-five foot tall horned brute with incredible strength and durability, regeneration and dynakinesis; the ability to manipulate energy in all its forms. Creates shockwaves, lightning, thunder and delivers massive impacts, and can ignore the Manton effect within a radius of about thirty feet, allowing him to roast capes from the inside-out. He has racked up the most cape kills during the fights, and is consequently nicknamed ‘Herokiller’. - Cast (in-depth)</ref>

Appearance

Behemoth is over forty-five feet tall. He has gray, leathery skin topped with cooled magma and obsidian-like crags, some of which can even reach 10 feet in length. His body is described as a muscle-bound caricature midway between a human and a bear. Behemoth's hands are merely mangled growths of obsidian-looking material and his arms are as thick as oak trees. In a gap between two of the horns<ref name="Cast1">Behemoth – A forty-five foot tall horned abomination with dynakinesis.

[...]

Hadhayosh – Another name for Behemoth (see above) - Cast (spoiler-free)</ref> he has a single red, glowing eye. His mouth is a jagged gap, lined by obsidian teeth with a deep glowing coming from the throat.<ref name="15.z">Interlude 15.z</ref>

Abilities and Powers

Most of Behemoth's powers are simply variations of his dynakinesis, an all-encompassing manipulation of all kinds of energy. What makes this ability even more dangerous is how he can ignore the Manton effect within a radius of 32 feet, meaning he can affect living matter as easily as any other material. The most common expressions of this are:

Lightning

One of Behemoth's most iconic and feared abilities is his ability to generate and guide lightning. Most likely he can generate anywhere but he typically launches it from the tips of his claws. These lightning bolts can range from an average-sized lightning bolt to being able to cut one of Dragon's craft in half in only five hits.<ref>He struck the wheel-dragon with a bolt of lightning, flaying off a few plates of armor and destroying the wheel. It opened its mouth and launched cannon-fire at him. The shells exploded into blobs of containment foam, fireproof, sticky, virtually impossible to remove.

But not capable of holding back something like Behemoth.

More lightning was unleashed, each doing successively more damage to the craft. By the fourth blast, it wasn’t operational. The fifth split it down the middle. Insulation was little use against a dynakinetic that could redirect the natural course of electricity. - Drone 23.5</ref> These particular bolts are mainly used to start fires in areas that will burn the fastest and behaves like normal lightning. However, when he focuses on this ability he can produce a stream of lightning that can blow apart Dragon-craft in one hit<ref>Behemoth brought both hands together, but it wasn’t to clap. Instead, he directed a stream of lightning at the nearest craft, easily twenty feet across. It was splintered in an instant.

A second craft perished a second later. - Drone 23.5</ref> or produce a bolt the diameter of an apartment building.<ref>In the distance, a column of lightning cut through the wall of smoke above the city, as big around as an apartment building. Cody could feel the vibrations shudder through the building, as sturdy as it was, though the lightning was miles away. - Interlude 23</ref>

Behemoth can use lightning to strike targets over long distances.<ref>One managed to escape, taking flight. He got a full four city blocks away before Behemoth reached out. He was struck out of the air by a visible arc of lightning that extended from a claw’s tip. - Drone 23.5</ref><ref>“Last stand!” a male cape I didn’t know hollered the words, his voice ragged with fear and emotion.

Behemoth, three or four hundred feet away, responded to the shout with a lightning strike. Our capes were too slow to erect barriers, and the protection insufficient. Capes died. For the first time, I averted my eyes. I didn’t want to know how bad the casualties were. Our numbers were too thin. - Crushed 24.5</ref> He can also guide these bolts to hit pinpoint targets<ref>He pointed his claw once more, and she braced herself, gritting her teeth. Time to see how invincible I am.

But it wasn’t fire. A lightning bolt flashed from the tip of Behemoth’s claw, arcing around her and striking one of her subordinates in a single heartbeat, before leaving only the smell of ozone. - Interlude 15.z</ref> and clustered groups of people. Behemoth's lightning can defy the normal laws of conduction and arc out of metal objects when normally they'd ground out.<ref>Lightning ripped across the landscape, following its own path, independent, breaking every rule that electricity was supposed to follow. It danced over the outside surfaces of houses, running across concrete and leaving glassy scorch marks in its wake. It touched objects that should have grounded it, channeling it into the earth, but leaped for another target instead. - Interlude 23</ref> Although his lightning does not appear to follow regular channels<ref>“I don’t think you’re any safer or worse off than anyone else,” I said, trying to inject a note of confidence into the discussion. I raised myself a step off the ground to get a better view of what lay ahead. The ground was shaking, a steady, perpetual tremor. “His lightning doesn’t follow regular channels. We’re all lightning rods to him.” - Crushed 24.1</ref>, it is possible to redirect his lightning to a degree by creating a path of least resistance and ionizing the air.<ref>Before he could turn his attention to a third, the stream of lightning shifted, curving off to one side. Drones, the annoying little bastard spheres that had electorcuted me on multiple occasions, the same ones that had been built into the ceilings of the cells and prison hallways in the PRT headquarters, were in flight, deployed by a drone-ship like the one I’d fought in Brockton Bay, and they were channeling the lightning along a different path.

Behemoth wasn’t one to roar, but I could see the effort at work as he began to draw the lightning away from the remote drones, forcing it to take another path, beyond the route of ionized air or the electromagnetic charge that they were using to catch it and harmlessly redirect it into an area that was already rubble. He was taking abuse from the airborne craft, unable to move without giving ground. More containment foam and more ice built around him, tearing and melting, respectively, in response to his lesser movements.

They moved closer together, strengthening the bond, and the lightning was caught once more. - Drone 23.5</ref><ref>“Good. And we were talking about lightning rods,” I said.

“You said they don’t matter.”

“The drones Dragon used redirected his lightning. Golem? How big can you go? Optimal conditions?”
[...]
A lightning bolt lanced out from the midst of the cloud of smoke, striking the hand.

There were whoops and cheers from the Chicago Wards. I managed a smile.

Another lightning strike, curving in the air, hit the hand. Residual electricity danced between the two extended fingers.

It was working, and as much as it was a success in helping against the lightning, it was working to help morale. To contribute something, anything, it mattered.

“Air’s ionized now,” Tecton said, as if that was a sufficient explanation for everyone present. I got the gist of what he meant. The lightning would be more likely to strike there again. Lightning did strike the same place twice. - Crushed 24.1</ref>

Kill Aura

Behemoth can bypass the Manton effect and manifest energy within anyone who ventures within a 32-foot radius of him, burning them from the inside out.<ref>Using Behemoth’s tissues would be just as problematic.  The Herokiller could ignore the Manton effect at a range of up to thirty-two feet.  Even semi-conscious inside a glass case, it was too risky. - Interlude 19.x</ref><ref name="R1">Behemoth is the first, he's a dynakinetic, capable of absorbing and producing energy in its various forms. Fire, electricity, sound, kinetic energy and radiation, as well as more alien forms of energy. This compounds his natural toughness as he can simply absorb and redirect the energy from a given attack, and can do it for all forms of energy, though he prefers to focus more on offense and leave gaps to draw people in closer/feint. He's a walking, lumbering piece of artillery and he's gotten up from a blast that would have wiped India off the map. If anyone gets within 30 feet of him he can blow past standard defenses and simply manifest energy within them, burning them to a crisp from the inside out (best interpreted as disintegration). Behemoth is also known as 'herokiller' as he's removed several notable heroes using this radius of death. - Wildbow on Reddit</ref> The recommended distance from Behemoth is at least 100 feet so that there is less risk of him closing the gap before one can escape. This ability makes anyone without extreme durability or ranged attacks nearly worthless in the fight; capes that cannot engage Behemoth will typically operate as search, rescue, and support.<ref>“We’ve already notified you if we believe you have the capacity to engage Behemoth. Anyone else is operating as search, rescue, and support. Maintain a distance of at least a hundred feet from Behemoth at the very minimum. Get any closer, you probably won’t have a chance of escaping if he decides to close the gap. Be mindful of line of sight, because he can and will tag you with a lightning bolt, and it’s not something you can dodge. Assume every structure will fall down in a heartbeat, and know that there’s no good place to hide and wait for this to be over. Keep moving and move smart.” - Drone 23.5</ref>

Radiation

Another signature ability of Behemoth's is to project radiation around himself. When he use this ability, he glows with white light.<ref> Behemoth was glowing, his gray skin tending more towards white, a stark contrast to his obsidian horns and claws. The heroes were backing off a measure, and Behemoth was taking advantage of the situation to stampede forward, tearing past buildings and barricades.

“Grue!” I shouted. The noise in the distance was getting worse. If Behemoth was continuing the path I’d seen him traveling, he was wading through a series of buildings. Grue didn’t hear me. I raised my voice, waited until the noise died down, “Radiation! Use darkness!”
[...]
And just beyond this point, Behemoth, in the flesh.  He glowed white, marking the radioactive glow, and Grue’s darkness wreathed him, containing it. - Crushed 24.2</ref> Behemoth emits concentrated radiation limited to a radius of around 100 feet, which is enough to irradiate the area and inflict acute radiation syndrome.<ref>They were the lucky ones, Chevalier thought. The radiation was generally observed to be concentrated, limited to a certain range, manipulated to strike only those within a hundred feet or so of Behemoth, to saturate the landscape and render it uninhabitable. These capes were close enough. Their deaths would be slow, painful. - Interlude 24.x</ref>

Roar

By using his manipulation of sonics and kinetic energy whenever he roars he can cause massive damage to an area or groups of people. Within seconds of being hit by it eardrums and eyes alike will often explode from the sheer force. If a person is not immediately brought to safety their internal organs will quickly liquefy. It can even be powerful enough at times to shatter forcefields and knock over buildings.

Shock-waves

One of Behemoths ranged attacks is the ability to produce powerful shock-waves. He typically generates these by clapping his hands or claws together. They are powerful enough to knock over buildings and often come in quick succession. These also have a double purpose of being used to spread the radiation he produces over a further area.

Heat Generation

One of his more basic abilities is to simply generate massive amounts of heat. Besides simply cooking opponents to death he can use it to superheat to temperatures capable of destroying airborne drones, guiding fires to vulnerable spots, and melting debris into balls of magma (which he can then throw).

Energy Redirection

One of his few defensive abilities besides simply tanking any shots thrown at him is to redirect the energy from the attack. With this he can move the energy from an attack into the ground around him or even use it to strengthen his own attacks. Notable uses include deflecting away all of Alexandria's punches and even channeling her attack's energy into his fist to smack her out of the air. However he can only do this when he knows an attack is coming.

History

Background

Behemoth has attacked the most times out of any any Endbringer since he was the first. Almost all of his attacks result in massive casualties, earning him the name Herokiller. The average rate of death for heroes fighting him is, probably, more than one in four.<ref>“Is it really a one in four chance?” he asked.

“Those are the numbers they gave me when I fought Leviathan,” I said. “They probably won’t be so generous this time around.”

“They call him the herokiller,” Reynard added. - Drone 23.4</ref> This is mostly due to his sheer durability and attacks that easily kill non-invincible heroes. Attacks include:

On December 13th, 1992 Behemoth, or Hadhayosh<ref name="Cast2" /> as he was called, appeared for the first time to attack Marun, Iran's second largest oil field. However he appeared miles away from it rather than simply coming up directly underneath it. The Triumvirate were present at the time was caught off guard since their purpose for being there was only "earthquake relief." Several of the local heroes died almost immediately but the Triumvirate managed to put up a fight. Eidolon used laser and sand powers to fight Behemoth<ref>Eidolon was manipulating the sand, creating barriers while simultaneously drawing sand out from beneath their enemy, while pelting it with laser blasts that he spat from his mouth. - Interlude 15.z</ref>, before resorting to his matter deletion power to drive off the Endbringer.<ref>He tapped into an erasure power he hadn’t had since he had fought Behemoth the first time. - Interlude 27.x</ref> On television, it was shown that Scion flew right past the fight to visit Kevin Norton.<ref>Interlude 18.x</ref>

Post-Echidna

Although he was discussed before, Behemoth's first direct appearance in the plot was in Drone 23.5. He was detected as he emerged in New Delhi, India. All available heroes were rushed to the area on Dragon craft making for the highest attendance for any Endbringer battle to date. This included the Undersiders, Dragon and Defiant, Weaver, and even the Yangban. The Indian "hot" capes who attacked him first were quickly and ruthlessly killed. Nearly a dozen Dragon-craft attacked him with containment foam bombs, cryogenic beams, and devices that pulled the ground from beneath him. All of these ultimately failed and he took down several of the craft but drones managed to ionize the air to redirect the lightning. However he managed to free his lightning from this and he obliterated the drones with heated air. Afterwards he destroyed several more Dragon-craft.

As he moved on Behemoth used his lightning to light fires in areas that burn the fastest and cut off evacuation routes. This combined with the fact there was no advanced warning or evacuation meant the hundreds of thousands in the area were nearly helpless. Since only the ultra-durable capes could even get near him any other group of capes was forced to traverse the fire and smoke choked streets. Behemoth continued his rampage with shock-waves, lightning, fire, and even super-heating balls of debris into lava balls to hit further away areas.

Several staging areas were set up throughout the city along his predicted path, the largest one being in the field in front of India Gate. Behemoth continued along his trail of destruction, taking minimum damage despite constant barrages from Eidolon and Legend. His lightning was temporarily countered by Weaver's lightning rod but he quickly destroyed this. However "Alexandria" returned and engaged him. She got in a few good hits but he redirected most of her attacks into the ground. And because of Perdition's attack on the HQ he plowed through the defensive perimeters with ease.

Meanwhile it seemed Scion was going out of his way to avoid the battle. Behemoth managed to get close to the command center and slowly tore his way through the defending capes and forcefields with his roar and lightning. Tattletale eventually revealed that Behemoth, and all other Endbringers, were purposely holding back their attacks and letting the heroes win, meaning their full destructive potential had never been seen. Behemoth also had a goal in mind, which turned out to be an Indian cape Phir Sē who was created a massive ball of energy that took him three days to make.

Once Behemoth reached India Gate he was only delayed after he got pushed into wires frozen by Clockblocker. He eventually took out "Alexandria" by redirecting her own attack into his fist. Behemoth was then engaged by Weaver, Tecton's group, and the Undersiders. He zapped Regent to death after he used himself as a distraction to save Imp. Eventually Foil used her power on a chain, strung it between two of Rachel's dogs, and charged him, managing to cut one of Behemoth's legs off. Then the blast from Phir Sē came along and scraped off several layers of Behemoth.

It was then discovered that the outside appearance of him and all the Endbringers was vestigial and his powers worked as normal. He burrowed away and killed Phir Sē in his underground bunker. Then he moved on and attacked a temple where the wounded were being held, forcing the 70 or so remaining heroes to make a last stand. By the time he decided to retreat there was barely 40-50 heroes left and the area was doused in radiation.

However Scion arrived just as Behemoth retreated. He used his powers to slightly heal the heroes and remove the radiation then he raced after Behemoth as he burrowed underground. Scion pulled him back up to blast him with golden light then threw him into the ground. This repeated several times until he tore Behemoth in half. Behemoth tried to turn his remaining chunk into a super-massive bomb but Scion simply disintegrated him, making him the first Endbringer ever killed.

Fanart Gallery

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  3D Behemoth model by Draidecht on SpaceBattles
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  Behemoth videogame boss by WorkingOrder
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  Behemoth by B_E_H_E_M_O_T_H
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  Illustration by Lonsheep
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  Statue by DamienDraidecht
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  S-Class Threats by BenswFrenefits

References

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Endbringers
Behemoth {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Leviathan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Simurgh • Khonsu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tohu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Bohu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}

S-Class Threats
Endbringers	Behemoth {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Leviathan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Simurgh • Khonsu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tohu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Bohu {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Titans	The Kronos Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titan Eve {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titan Fortuna {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Nemean Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titan Arachne {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titan Oberon {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Ashen Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titan Skadi {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Ophion Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Strange Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Auger {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Titaness Amenonuhoko {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Flowing Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Drillbit {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Liminal Titan {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Pouffe {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Valkyrie {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Morgana {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Yakshini {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Ashoka {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Ghast {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Groups	The Slaughterhouse Nine {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Three Blasphemies • The Machine Army
Parahumans	Ash Beast {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Echidna {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Khepri {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nilbog • Pastor {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Scion {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Sleeper • The Tower {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}