Ibis's original name, 4000 years ago when he was a prince of Egypt, was Amentep. He was in love with the beautiful Princess Taia of Thebes, but an evil magician calling himself The Black Pharoah kidnaped Taia and seized the throne, imprisoning Amentep as he did. Amentep's uncle snuck a magic wand called the Ibistick to him, whereupon the prince became Ibis the Invincible. In the ensuing melee, Taia was struck by an arrow. Before she could die, Ibis used the wand to put her into suspended animation long enough for the wound to heal, then did the same to himself so he could be with her when she woke up. Both came to in 1940, in separate museums, where they were being exhibited as mummies. They had little trouble getting together, and even less adapting to life in the 20th century, in which Ibis, his former occupation as an Egyptian prince no longer available to him, embarked on a new career of using the Ibistick to bash evil.