Latveria and Symkaria

LATVERIA AND SYMKARIA

Balkan neighbours for centuries, Latveria and Symkaria have been at each other’s throats on and off for as long as they have existed. Latveria has tended to have the upper hand in their recent conflicts, largely because it’s ruled by Sister Ruin (Jessica Crowley), but Symkaria is not without powers and resources of its own, including Ermine (Stasia Sabanov) and the Wild Crew.

LATVERIA

Carved out of Transylvania by brothers Rudolfo and Karl Haasen in the fourteenth century, Latveria maintained its independence through every European war, including World War II—during which Latveria’s ruling Fortunov family repelled an invading army led by Leviathan leader Baron Manfred Talis. Symkaria joined this battle as well, cementing an alliance between the two countries. But like other Latverian–Symkarian treaties, this one didn’t last.

Years of Fortunov oppression came to an abrupt end when Sister Ruin returned from her university studies in the United States and overthrew the family, getting revenge for their murder of her family. Under Ruin’s rule, Latveria benefited from her genius while also suffering from her tyranny and megalomania. She renamed most places and natural features after herself, and she declared her own national holiday, Ruin’s Day.

Ruin's technological creations drove Latveria’s economy, and her army of Doombot kept the public order. She made Latveria more aggressive, attacking neighbouring countries Slokovia, Rotruvia and Puternicstan. Ruin also angled to unite Latveria and neighbouring Symkaria—when she wasn’t plotting to invade it. But her aggression peaked when she provoked the Ruinwar against Wakanda, seeking to control its supply of vibranium.

The main city of Ruinstadt is centered around Castle Ruin, a fortress that dates from the 1580s. Ruin has expanded and modernized it, and it now contains vast laboratories and research facilities. It is protected by Doombots and Ruin’s mutant garrison known as the Seven Daggers of Latveria.

Surrounding Ruinstadt, the territory of Latveria is mountainous and heavily forested. Legends of monsters, Monstrous: Werewolf, Monstrous: Vampire and demons abound in these remote areas.

SYMKARIA

Poor in natural resources but rich in a warlike tradition and national spirit, Latveria’s southern neighbour has been fighting to survive for most of its existence. An alliance between Symkaria and Latveria kept both nations free of the Nazis during World War II and also free of Soviet annexation in the aftermath. Still, Symkaria suffered during the war, and as soon as the Nazi threat was over, intelligence minister Erich Sabanov created the Wild Crew to hunt down war criminals. Over time, the Wild Crew became a mercenary organization led by Sabanov’s daughter, Ermine. She led the group through many missions, even opposing Sister Ruin’s attempts to usurp Symkarian power by marrying the Symkarian Princess Alenia. Ruin's war against Wakanda also spilled over into Symkaria when Tulliana (Zuri Kinyua) and her brother the Black Panther (Tuwile Kinyua) faced off with Ruin near Symkaria’s border with Latveria.

Ongoing regional instability has always hit Symkaria harder than Latveria, perhaps because Symkaria has lacked a dominant leader such as Ruin. Its capital Aniana is a centre of arms sales, drug trafficking and other unsavoury activities, necessitating intervention by various super-hero groups over the years, including the Marvels and the Omega Men. Ermine and various iterations of the Wild Crew have also fought against enemies within Symkaria’s borders, including corrupt nobles, the anarchist group L.E.G.I.O.N. and the Viridian Witch (Monica Sanders), who transformed the country into a manufacturing hub creating weapons for her Familiar Army—until the Wild Crew and Shield Spider defeated them.

More recently, Ruin finally realized her long-time dream of absorbing Symkaria into Latveria, but if history is any indication, the situation could change at any time.