First appearance Avengers #31 | Publisher Marvel Comics | |
Transia (also Republic of Transia) is a fictional European country on the Earth of the Marvel Universe. It is one of several fictional countries in Eastern Europe created for Marvel Comics.
Contents
In nearly all story lines, the Republic of Transia is located between Romania and Serbia. More than 90% of its people live in one large town (East Transia) and a number of smaller villages located at the base of Mount Wundagore. The country is presented as mainly Slavic, with a Muslim minority in the western province Romani. President Russoff was a Secret Police Official in the communist era.
Within the Marvel Universe, Transia (and/or Mt. Wundagore) is where Chthon is imprisoned, and where the men of the Russoff line were afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy. It is used as the birthplace of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. It is the base of operations for the High Evolutionary, and the source of the "radioactive clay" used by the Puppet Master.
Publication history
According to researchers, the first appearance of Transia is in Avengers #33 (1966), however, it is not named in this comic. The country appears next in Thor #133-135 in which is it is established that Mount Wundagore belongs in a small country located in the Balkan Mountains. According to the Marvel Atlas (2008), Transia is first named in Thor #133 (1966). Other researchers state Transia is not named until Avengers #36 (1967). In Avengers #36, Transia is mentioned as a village at the base of Mount Wundagore. Later, Transia is referred to as a small country that encompasses Mount Wundagore.
The country has since appeared in several other comics, including Iron Man and X-Men and continues to appear in Marvel Comics and other media.
Fictional history
Transia was a former section of Wallachia before that country integrated with Moldavia in 1857 to form Romania. Transia broke with the two larger countries and established its status as an independent state, and was recognized 20 years later as an autonomous, neutral nation. Transia is governed by an elected official (burgomeister) who is bound by law to follow the country's constitution to the letter. The nation's main source of income comes from the uranium found in and around Mt. Wundagore — Herbert Edgar Wyndham funded a national non-profit trust with the money gathered from his uranium mine that still provides money for Transia to operate its government programs, and thus they have no need of outside investors or a tourist market. This, along with the (intentionally fostered) negative international image, keeps many foreigners out of Transia.