Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
From Marvel Database
Varnae and other pre-cataclysmic wizards (contemporaries, possible allies); Kuchum, Shiva (pawns); Garn-Nak, Karr-Lo-Zann, Norra (Torrannians, pawns);
Nakura (drew power from his talisman)Contents |
History
His true origins are unknown. He claimed to have been alive before Atlantis rose from the ocean. That may make him closer to twenty five or even one hundred thousand years old.
He was a frequent foe of Conan and Kull. Seemingly immortal, he would be resurrected whenever he died. Thulsa was finally defeated when his skull and body were separated, not just through space, but time as well.
After suffering attacks on his kingdom by the Serpent Men, Kull led his Red Slayer to the Forbidden Swamp to attack the Serpent Temple. Thulsa Doom (having taken human form) duped Kull into believing he was an enemy of the Serpent Men as well. After Thulsa learned that Kull possessed one of a pair of magical gems, the Eyes of the Serpent God, he accompanied Kull and his allies back to Valusia
Thulsa Doom ensorcelled one of Kull's servants, a girl named Shiva, and sent her to steal the other gem from Kull. Kull stopped her and confronted Thulsa Doom, who revealed his true nature before vanishing. Doom then plagued Kull with a series of nightmarish visions, and Kull gave the gem to his ally, Ka-Nu for safekeeping. However, Doom had fooled Kull again, and had taken Ka-Nu's form. Now in possession of the both gems, Doom bound Kull in chains and prepared to slay him in front of a crowd in a gladiator-like arena in Kull's kingdom of Valusia. The real Ka-Nu used a magical amulet to help Kull's ally Brule to free Kull from Thulsa Doom's chains. However, Thulsa Doom's defeat came at his own hands, as he joined the two Eyes of the Serpent God, and was overwhelmed and seemingly destroyed by the vast energies released.
The mystic Kuthulos used his magical powers to make it appear as if Saremes, the cat of the noblewoman Delcardes, was precognitive and could speak. Thulsa Doom then captured, imprisoned, and replaced Kuthulos. Using the trusted words of Saremes, Thulsa Doom sent Kull to the Forbidden Lake, where he hoped he would be slain. Kull survived and returned to Valusia, where his assistants revealed that it was Kuthulos who had been putting words into Saremes' mouth. Thulsa Doom revealed himself upon being confronted, and walked out of the castle, despite the soldiers futile attempts to stop him.
Posing as the nobleman Ardyon, Thulsa Doom gained the alliance of four rebels within Valusia: the dwarfish Ducalon, the soldier Enaros, Baron Kanuub, and the minstrel Ridondo. As Ardyon, he caused Kull's guards to sleep, allowing the four rebels and their allies to invade Kull's chambers with plans to assassinate him. Kull fought valiantly, and though he was sorely wounded, he fought off all of his attackers. Ardyon then arrived, revealed his true nature to Kull, and drained Kull's strength, causing him to collapse. Ardyon removed Kull's crown, took over the rule for himself, and threw Kull into the dungeons.
Thulsa Doom cast a spell over Kull which prevented him from revealing Doom's true nature. Thulsa set Kull up for a public beheading, but he was rescued by his ally Brule, who gave Kull a magical amulet to save his neck from the axe. Unable to harm Thulsa Doom, Kull and Brule then escaped from Valusia.
While Thulsa Doom tyrannized the Valusians, taxing and abusing them, Kull and Brule returned to the City of Wonders, and ambushed him. Thulsa Doom created a warrior out of flame to delay then, while he escaped, and then he sent the Black Legion, the soldiers of Valusia, against them. Kull and Brule managed to fight their way to safety, but were again forced to flee the city.
Thulsa Doom sent members of the Black Legion to ambush Kull and Brule, though they won the fight. Thulsa observed the battle through a magic crystal. Kull and Brule's ship was later attacked by a sea serpent, with which Thulsa may or may not have had anything to do. Kull traveled to Atlantis, planning to take it over to fulfill a prophecy, and lead its forces to Valusia to help him retake his original throne. Along the journey, Thulsa Doom tormented him with demented visions.
Thulsa Doom/Ardyon learned of the curse of Torranna (essentially, if a scarred man wore the crown and sat the throne, he'd be unable to ever leave the throne), which he determined to bestow upon Kull. To this end, he took on the aspect of the god of Torranna and advised its inhabitants how best to bring this about. Thulsa Doom manipulated Garn-Nak, Karr-Lo-Zann, and Norra of Torranna. They drew Kull into Torranna and had him undergo a series of trials to gain the crown of Torranna. Kull sought the crown because he believed he could use the army of Torranna to help him retake the crown of Valusia from Thulsa Doom. Kull successfully completed the last of the trials, but before he could don the crown, Norra warned him of the curse of Torranna. Thulsa Doom allowed Norra's age to catch up with her, turning her into a shriveled corpse, and then revealed himself to Kull, challenging him to one final battle. Thulsa Doom pulled Kull into a pocket dimension for their final battle. Kull managed to slash Thulsa Doom's face with his sword, but ultimately was overpowered by the necromancer. Thulsa Doom returned them both to Torranna, but Kull rallied long enough to push Thulsa Doom until the throne and place the crown on his head. His face scarred by Kull, Thulsa fulfilled the prophecy and fell victim to the curse himself. Thulsa's power drained by the curse, the city of Torranna collapsed, seemingly crushing him. Kull, of course, escaped, and then returned to Valusia to retake his own throne.
Thulsa Doom allied himself with the Squire Sedrick in a plot against Valusia. After several months of planning, Thulsa gave Sedrick the power to summon an army of demons into Kull's throne room. Kull, Brule, and members of the Black Legion fought off the demons, but in the process, Maxelle, Sedrick's master was slain. Thulsa Doom's involvement was exposed, and his plot foiled. However, as punishment, Thulsa transformed Sedrick into an immortal cat.
The immortal cat of Kull eventually attracted the attention of the Elder Gods, who imbued it with their power.
Milennia later, in the Hyborian era, The Devourer of Souls came to Arallu, the Land of the Evil Dead, to learn the secret of the Child of the Elder Gods. He found Thulsa Doom chained to stone pillars, where he had been for a hundred centuries (10, 000 years). Thulsa explained to the Devourer the story of Sedrick, the Elder Gods, and the involvement of the daughter of Kaleb. In return, the Devourer freed Thulsa Doom from his millennia long imprisonment.
Conan also came to Arallu, seeking the same answers the Devourer had sought. Wishing to prevent the destruction of all reality (so he could rule it himself, naturally), Thulsa told Conan of the Devourer's plans. The dead souls within Arallu sought to prevent Conan and Thulsa's escape, but Conan's allies arrived to help fight them off. The Devourer unleashed a powerful fireball designed to slay them all, but Thulsa Doom had them all link hands and used his powers to expel the fireball into the atmosphere.
The Devourer of Souls succeeded in gaining the power from Sedrick and the Kaleb's daughter. Now immensely powerful and enormous in size, it confronted Conan and his allies, among whom was Thulsa Doom. The Devourer attempted to destroy them, but Conan possessed the Sword of the Elder Gods, which enabled them to resist his attacks. When the Devourer left to consider how he could destroy them, Thulsa Doom called upon the demon Xuthl, who then manipulated the Devourer into taking human form to repair an old debt. Conan and his allies rushed to destroy the Devourer, who managed to regain his power at the last second. Nonetheless, its experiences as a human weakened the hatred of the Devourer, and Conan, using the Sword of the Elder Gods, managed to destroy it. Actually, at the last second, Xuthl rewarded the Devourer by returning it to human form and allowing it to live out its life as a man.
Thulsa Doom regaled Conan's troops with Conan's life as a youth, causing the to lower their defenses. Thulsa slew his General, Shapur, and took over his form.
Thulsa Doom, both in his own form and in the form of Shapur, accompanied Conan to Ophir. There Thulsa began performing sacrifices and manipulating the dreams of Conan and his troops, all in an effort to regain his full power, and a "seventh life." Conan confronted and assaulted Thulsa Doom, who knocked out with some pixie dust and transported him to the House of Shades. There Thulsa began to drain Conan's life, in preparation of taking over his body. Conan didn't care for this idea, and so he tackled Thulsa Doom into a crevice where they fell back towards Arallu. Upon approaching the realm, Conan was sent back to Earth, while Thulsa was returned to Arallu and his physical form on Earth disintegrated.
The Skull of Thulsa Doom somehow reformed and ended up within a cavern on an island off the coasts of Kush. There it was found by the former Khitan nobleman Kuchum, to whom it spoke and enthralled with tales of the pre-Cataclysmic era. Doom told Kuchum of a great treasure in the Western Sea.
Kuchum encountered Conan, who joined his crew. Although Conan distrusted Thulsa, he obeyed Kuchum's wishes to leave it alone. When their ship was assaulted by Zingaran pirates, Thulsa Doom summoned an immense sea serpent to destroy the other ship. The sea serpent grabbed Conan as well, but Conan grabbed and hurled the skull at it, and it exploded on impact. Meanwhile, Thulsa Doom's agents, the Serpent Men, had recovered Doom's body, and transported it to the Forbidden Land, where it would be reunited with his skull.
A Stygian aboard Kuchum's ship found the Skull of Thulsa Doom, took it and fled to Stygia, where he brought it to his lord, Thoth-Amon. Thulsa Doom proposed an alliance, but Thoth-Amon rightly suspected treachery and tried to destroy the skull. Conan and Kuchum followed the Stygian's trail back to Thoth-Amon where they retook the skull, although Thoth-Amon also went with them--he transferred his mind into Ee'Ching, a monkey-like pet of Kuchum.
Back on Kuchum's ship, Ee'Ching tried to hurl the skull overboard, but Thulsa Doom bit into its hand, pulling him with it. Conan retrieved them both, although the skull bit off Ee'Ching's hand. Upon arriving in the an island, they were greeted by what appeared to be shipwrecked Khitans (of the same race as Kuchum and his daughter Li-Zya), but were really Serpent Men. The Serpent Men captured Conan, Kuchum, and Li-Zya, and impersonated them to their crew. Thulsa Doom and the Serpent Men directed the crew to the Forbidden/Unknown Land. Conan and his allies escaped while the Serpent Men reunited Thulsa's head with his body. Conan and Thoth-Amon (within Ee'Ching) were forced to unite against Thulsa's power. They enlisted Jandlinatjari, one of the Snakes of Many Colors, to transport them to Thulsa Doom and the Serpent Men, to prevent him from reclaiming his full power. The Serpent Men had enlisted another Snake of Many Colors, Yarralamundu, to oppose Jandlinatjari. Thulsa Doom's limited powers proved sufficient to hold off the combined powers of Conan and Thulsa Doom (who had taken over and transformed the body of one of the Serpent Men). However, Jandlinatjari managed to slay Yarralamundu, and then turned her powers against the would-be usurpers of her island. Jandlinatjari banished Thoth-Amon back to Stygia, and separated Thulsa Doom's skull and body anew. This time, she separated them not just by distance, but by time as well--over an epoch between them.
After Thulsa Doom's death in the pre-cataclysmic era, the other wizards of that era joined together seeking revenge. They managed to obtain the parchments of Chthon, and they became the very first group of Darkholders. They used these parchments to unleash a spell such as the world had never seen. This spell transformed one of their own, Varnae, into the first vampire on Earth.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Thulsa Doom was an extremely powerful sorcerer, although his abilities did wax and wane under uncertain conditions. He has survived several "deaths" and cannot be killed by conventional means. He can form powerful energy shields, project his astral self, alter his own appearance, manipulate others, and grant magical power to others.
Abilities
He was able to hold his own in a sword fight against Conan or Kull.
Strength level
Unknown.
Weaknesses
None known.
Paraphernalia
Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- May served as the inspiration of He-Man's Skeletor.
- It is speculated, but unconfirmed, that Thulsa Doom may have a connection to Victor von Doom. This is only because they have the same last name. Thulsa was originally created by Robert E. Howard for his Kull stories, completely independent of Marvel ownership.
See Also
- Appearances of Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
- Character Gallery: Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
- Fan-Art Gallery: Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
- Quotations by Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
Discover and Discuss
- Search News for: Thulsa Doom · Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
- Search Forums for: Thulsa Doom · Thulsa Doom (Earth-616)
- Discuss this and other characters on the forums
Links and References
- None.
Marvel Database > Administration > Tasks > Appearances Category Needed
Marvel Database > Administration > Tasks > Fan Art Page Needed
Marvel Database > Administration > Tasks > Gallery Page Needed
Marvel Database > Administration > Tasks > Quotes Page Needed
Marvel Database > Administration > Tasks > Templated Articles
Marvel Database > Characters
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Ability > Fencing
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Alignment > Bad Characters
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Creator > Robert E. Howard/Creator
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Gender > Male Characters
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Occupation > Kings (Royalty)
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Power > Immortals
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Power > Magicians
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Power > Power Bestowal
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Status > Characters by Identity Status > Secret Identity
Marvel Database > Characters > Characters by Status > Characters by Living Status > Deceased Characters
Marvel Database > Realities > Earth-616 > Earth-616 Characters
