History
Demontur was a soldier. Returning home, he was forced to reluctantly cross fiend-haunted woodlands. There, he was attacked by a Werewolf (or a Wolf-Man, see notes). Demontur slew the werewolf, but, as legends said, if one slew a werewolf in the half-form of a man, the slain's ghost would haunt its slayer.
The next full moon, Demontur turned (after the werewolf's spirit manifested over his head), and made his first kill. Next morning, he consulted a seer, who revealed him his eternal curse and the spirit-haunting. Demontur fled the village, seeking deliverance through honorable death as a mercenary, but failing to do so due to his skill.
Over the years, Demontur's travel finally brought him to the isle and castle of Dom Vinsala. There, he realized that the worshippers of the Cult of the Leopard might possess the power he needed, but they scorned him as one who kept them enslaved, as Demontur served Vinsala.
When King Kull of Valusia returned from a sea campaign against the Lemurian pirates, his ships were stranded on the isle. A scouting party of Black Legionnaires led by Brule was attacked by the Leopard-Cult. Demontur intervened and slew the Leopard-Men, saving wounded Brule, just before Kull could join the fight.
Demontur brought the Valusians to Dom Vinsala's castle. At night, as the Moon was almost full, Demontur went to Kull's room to ask him to lock and bolt his door at night. He did the same with Vinsala's daughter Marcina. That night, Demontur roamed the castle in werewolf form, scratching at Kull's and Marcina's doors, before heading to the village to kill two locals. The villagers accused Vinsala, who in turn accused the Leopard-Cult. Those killings and Vinsala's reaction soon caused an insurrection.
Meanwhile, Demontur turned again, and attacked Marcina who had not bolted her door for a second night. Kull battled Demontur, until he turned back to human form and explained him his ordeal. Demontur insisted that Kull slew him, but Kull instead decided to look for a cure, and Demontur and him found a cell where he could be contained.
Unrest grew to revolution, stirred by the Leopard-Cult and by Vinsala's refusal to bend, until the villagers surrounded the castle and Kull himself turned against Vinsala. During the battle, Demontur's beast form freed himself and enabled him to break free. He regained consciousness on the battlements, where he managed to keep the werewolf in check while trying to slay Vinsala, but turned anyway when a servant of Vinsala wounded him, and tore Vinsala apart before throwing him to the crowd of insurgents. Mortally wounded, Demontur finally expired in peace before Kull's eyes.[1]Attributes
Abilities
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Notes
- Demontur is the adaptation of De Montour, a character created by Robert E. Howard in the story "Wolfshead"[2] (Weird Tales; April, 1926),[3] a non-Kull story freely adapted by Marvel Comics in Kull the Conqueror #8 (May, 1973), the original Marvel story written by editor Roy Thomas, the script by Len Wein, and the art by Marie and John Severin.
- "Modern" Werewolves aren't supposed to exist before the Great Cataclysm. It remains unclear whether Demontur is supposed to be a Wolf-Man, or an other, early, form of werewolf.
- In The Kull Comics Chronology, in Conan Saga #97, Roy Thomas states that Demontur is cursed with lycanthropy,[4] while the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe considers Demontur and the werewolf attacking him both as Wolf-Men.[5]
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kull the Conqueror #8
- ↑ "Wolfshead" by Robert E. Howard at Project Gutenberg Australia
- ↑ Wolfshead at Wikipedia
- ↑ Conan Saga #97 ; The Kull Comics Chronology - Wolves and Scorpions
- ↑ Wolf-Men at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe