Nagraj - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Nagraj was presented to the world as a creation of Professor Nagmani. He was meant to be an ultimate killing machine, and his original plan was to hire out Nagraj to the highest bidder among villains and terrorist groups of the world.

Professor Nagmani used him for his other experimental projects and leased him for international terrorism. Nagmani always claimed that Nagraj's powers were evolved by feeding him bits of snake poison until his blood itself became poison. He claimed that his venom was a result of snake bites from 1,000 different species of snakes (This echoes the Indian legends of Poison-Men or Women, specifically raised to kill by their kiss) and his other powers evolved when he was treated with ashes of a dead ichchhadhaari snake. In reality, Nagraj was much more poisonous than any species of snakes because his venom was celestial.

Based largely on the Hindu myth of the shape shifting snake, Nagraj derives most of his powers from microscopic snakes that live in his bloodstream, in lieu of white blood cells. He has a number of powers, such as superhuman strength, poisonous breath, vish-foonkaar and bite, instant healing powers, and snakes that come out of his wrists. The snakes can come out individually or form into ropes, parachutes, and many others, depending on his imagination. His venom is believed to be far stronger than Potassium Cyanide, resulting in the melting of any living being's body if he bites them or vice-versa.

For his first mission, he was sold for a sum of $1 million and was to recover an ancient statue. Nagraj succeeds, but then is foiled by the Sage Baba Gorakhnath, who frees him from the mind control of Professor Nagamani. Waking up to a newer world amid the calmness of Gorakhnath, Nagraj takes a vow to eliminate terrorism from the world and works toward achieving this goal.

In his initial issues, Nagraj's powers were too limited, and at times he was even knocked out by powerful human opponents. His strength was also quite human in nature, as he would marvel at his opponent's strength, such as when someone picked up a car. Over the years, Nagraj became powerful enough to not only pick up falling cars single-handedly, but also to achieve feats such as throwing things into outer space effortlessly.{This happened in the issue Nagadhish, when he threw the contolling sceptre of a serpent court official into orbit.

It is notable, and perhaps ironic, that Nagraj has now been transformed into a mythical/magical creature facing fantastical creatures as his enemies, with elements of sorcery/magic and even time and space travel. Many cite this as a reason for the continuous, meteoric rise in popularity of Nagraj comics. However, purists still claim that they prefer the more realistic, more practical stories that Nagraj began with.