Formorians and Outsiders

[Yuillegan]

The etymology of the name is debated. The first part is now generally agreed to be the Old Irish fo, meaning under, below, lower, beneath, nether, etc. The meaning of the second part is unclear. One suggestion is that it comes from the Old Irish mur (sea), and that the name thus means something like "the undersea ones".[5] This was the interpretation offered by some medieval Irish writers.[6] Another suggestion is that it comes from mór (great/big) and means something like "the great under(world) ones", "the under(world) giants" or "the nether giants". A third suggestion, which has more support among scholars, is that it comes from a hypothetical Old Irish term for a demon or phantom, found in the name of The Morrígan and cognate with the archaic English word "mare" (which survives in "nightmare").[7][8] The name would thus mean something like "under(world) demons" or "nether demons". Building on this, Marie-Louise Sjoestedt interprets the name as meaning "inferior" or "latent demons", saying the Fomorians are "like the powers of chaos, ever latent and hostile to cosmic order".[4]

Interpret that how you will. They also have some interesting links to Noah, and to Perseus in Greek Mythology. Jim does his homework.

ALSO:The Fomor are supernatural demon-kin who dwell in the cold, dark waters. Folk tales say they are ancient evil gods – the personification of death and blight, but many have proven that they are not as all-powerful as told. The Fomor were described as having a missing body feature, such as an eye, leg, arm or all 3! Some have heads akin to reptilian goats and many have tails or other features to help them swim. Being creatures of magic and borne of daemons could be Outsider blood in them  - Ed note, no two fomor look identical and are instead categories by size and power.

[Con]

Well the Formor are an alliance of dark gods from various defeated pantheons so I;ve always thought that there would be some sort of Outsider link.

[Yuillegan]

Indeed, specifically Outsiders are in-text referred to as coming from the the Nether World. There is definitely a big link. Jim will of course have his own spin...but even in Hellboy there are links between, and in Warcraft, and D&D between the Celtic/Norse/Greek/Faerie/Elves and Demon. And JB uses all those, plus regular mythology and a few other fictional works.

It is just we know so little about them in-world.

Fact 1: They were related to the Fae and the Jotuns. The married, fought and were eventually driven back to the sea.
Fact 2: The currently are a nation of outcasts, not just the original Formor, but dark gods and spirits united together.
Fact 3: The Cantrev Lords look like frogs and have powerful, water based magics. (This further shows Harry's understanding of Magic is seriously limited).
Fact 4: Their servitors (turtlenecks) steal magical talents for an unknown purpose. They use both modern and ancient and arcane technology. They are sort of like magical cyborgs (but instead of machine parts, they have weird animal and monster parts).
Fact 5: The Red Court was somewhat keeping them at bay, or at least less active. When the Red Court fell, the Formor quickly and fiercely took its place.
Fact 6: One of their Cantrev Lords is Lord Omogh (who I can find not much info on), and another is Mags who was defeated by Marcone.
Fact 7: Their leader appears to be King Corb, who's court is located in Lake Michigan (I mean come on JB, change it up a little, we get you like Chicago but not everything of significance has to be there, there is an entire PLANET outside of America, let alone Chicago).
Fact 8: They created the beasts used by the Denarians, the hybrid monsters. This suggests dealings between the two groups.
Fact 9: The have had dealings with the Corpsetaker...and Evil Bob. This suggests a link to the Disciples of Kemmler and perhaps even the Black Council/Circle.

[Wizard Sibelis]

and where is #8 proven at in canon... or anywhere else? Never have a seen that even hinted at that I recall..

[Con]

Gard says so in the short story Even Hand, when Marcone fights a Fomor Lord.

[Yuillegan]

and where is #8 proven at in canon... or anywhere else? Never have a seen that even hinted at that I recall..

Con is correct - see the Even Hand story. But is makes sense too; they like to mishmash body parts.

[Con]

I always thought the base in Lake Michigan was more of a portal to the Nevernever base of the Fomor. Like the portals to the Stone Table or Erlking's Hall outside Bass and Pro.

We also have their summary multiple times as being a conglomerate of a dozen different fallen pantherons and dark gods. Which is kind of the defitinition of Outsiders.

[raidem]

I don't think the Fomor are Outsiders or exactly allied with Outsiders.  They are the Outcasts.  I think they were some of the ones responsible for defending the cosmos from the Outsiders before they got booted from it.  They seek revenge because they had power for a purpose and was deposed from that purpose and subsequently suffered a drop in power as a result.  It is stated they have some relation to the Fae. 

[Avernite]

The Fomor, from our descriptions, seem a close match to fallen Hell. The Denarians and their hellish allies are the in-reality evil that good struggles against, but said evil does not want reality to be forfeit.

Hell of course tries to attract all kinds of talents to its ranks too, the Fomor are just more 'agressive' about it because, having lost so much power, they are no longer all-pervasive but also not all-constrained.

If the above is correct, dealing with the Outside seems a poor plan for them.

[Kindler]

I don't think the Fomor are Outsiders or exactly allied with Outsiders.  They are the Outcasts.  I think they were some of the ones responsible for defending the cosmos from the Outsiders before they got booted from it.  They seek revenge because they had power for a purpose and was deposed from that purpose and subsequently suffered a drop in power as a result.  It is stated they have some relation to the Fae.

Outcasts seem like good targets for temptation. Those looking back on their glory days may be susceptible to offers of power to retake their "rightful" place at the top of the food chain. In other words, they may not be literally mated with Outsiders or working for them directly, but their cause and motivation may be subverted to Outsider interests, be it through manipulation, deception, or deals.

Or, as with literally everything in this series: maybe Nemesis got all up in there to stir things up.