Marvel Comics Super Special Vol 1 13

Marvel Comics Super Special #13
Previous Issue	Marvel Comics Super Special #12
Next Issue	Marvel Comics Super Special #14
Art by: John Buscema, Rudy Nebres and Peter Ledger
Release Date	October 9, 1979
Cover Date	October, 1979
Issue Details
Editor-in-Chief	Jim Shooter
Original Price	$1.50

1. "Warriors of the Shadow Realm: Part the Third - The Soul Shrine"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Doug Moench
Penciler(s)	John Buscema
Inker(s)	Rudy Nebres
Colorist(s)	Peter Ledger
Letterer(s)	John Costanza Herb Cooper Mark Rogan Tom Orzechowski
Editor(s)	Rick Marschall Ralph Macchio

 By your very innocence, you can defeat the legacy of Darklens! 

—Zarthon

Appearing in "Warriors of the Shadow Realm: Part the Third - The Soul Shrine"

Featured Characters:

• Mud-Butt
• Velanna of Klarn
• ⏴ Tyndall of Klarn ⏵

Supporting Characters:

• Five Savage Elves
• The White Wolf (Apparent death)

Antagonists:

• Zarthon (Apparent death) (Merges with Darklens)
• Darklens the Evil One (Origin and death in vision; resurrection and apparent death in main story)
• Dark Riders (Apparent death)

Other Characters:

• Silver Elemental Wraiths (Mentioned)
  • Greed (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
  • Lust (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
  • Hate (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
  • Pestilence (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
  • Death (Mentioned) (Name revealed)
• Dwarf Mother (Invoked)
• Unnamed Savage Elf (Mentioned) (Deceased)

Races and Species:

• People
• Dwarves
• Gods
• Elves of Klarn
• Glowfish (Mentioned)
• Night-Fangers
• Silver Elemental Wraiths (Mentioned)
• Bigfins (Mentioned)
• Savage Elves (Origin revealed)
• Demons (Referenced)

Locations:

• Weirdworld (Main story and origin in vision)
  • Crater Lake
  • Klarn (Origin in vision)
  • Region of Shadow (Origin in vision)
    • Bright Core Origin in vision
      • Shrine of the Heart of Evil (Mentioned)
  • City of Seven Dark Delights (Mentioned)
  • Circle Gate Mountains (First appearance)
    • Tomb of Limbo / Shrine of the Dawning Miracle (First appearance)
• Sorcery-Realm (Name revealed) (Apparent destruction)

Items:

• The Darklens Gems / Key of Illumination (Main story and origin in vision)

Synopsis for "Warriors of the Shadow Realm: Part the Third - The Soul Shrine"

Zarthon explains to Tyndall and company the history of Darklens and Weirdworld. Darklens was once a rebel dark god that lost his war and was condemned to a mortal life on the world he had inadvertently spawned from the clash of magical forces in battle. Darklens eventually engaged a plot to blot out the light on Weirdworld and corrupt it by levitating large pieces of its crust high into the sky, starting with the elves' homeland of Klarn.

Before he could advance to the next step, a comet thought to be sent by the gods of light fell through the center of Klarn and crushed Darklens on the surface below, resulting in the Region of Shadow's ring shape. The Dark Riders, Darklens' followers, embarked on a plan to eventually resurrect their master, starting by transferring his essence to the Darklens Gems before entombing his remains deep in a shrine of Limbo. Before they could complete their efforts, the gems were stolen from the tomb.

In the process, Tyndall also learned that the situation in which Velanna was found in the center of the Region of Shadow corresponds to a prophecy of a savior that will one day restore the image of Klarn in a world where their kind has been ostracized due to its connection to the evils that spawn from their land's shadow. With the gems now assembled into a miniature of the tomb that produces a key for it, Zarthon gives Tyndall's group the mission of going to the tomb and burning Darklens' bones once and for all.

Magically transported to the tomb, Tyndall, Velanna, and Mud-Butt are quickly surrounded by mohawked Klarnfolk like the one they got the gems from. The savage elves initially believe them to be Darklens' agents, but the appearance of the white wolf diffuses the situation. The five reveal that they are the last survivors of a tribe absent from Klarn when it was elevated and they have been working against the Dark Riders ever since. They stole the gems and sent their messenger with them to find Zarthon. They also explain that the white wolf is actually a spirit of the comet and the embodiment of all dead Klarnfolk. They decide to trust Tyndall's group with the mission to destroy Darklens.

They penetrate the tomb and follow the clues to open Darklens' sarcophagus and begin incinerating his bones with the gems, but just then Zarthon appears and merges with the corpse, apologizing for submitting to the dark allure of their power. As Zarthon grows to titanic proportions, he gradually transforms in Darklens reborn. Ironically his followers, the Dark Riders, only recognize him as an usurper of their master's power and attack, shedding their humanoid guises to reveal that they were the same Night-Fangers that were also hunting for the gems.

The Night-Fangers' attack causes the tomb to collapse into a colossal gateway made up of large-scale Darklens Gems. through which they can see a magical realm where Zarthon-Darklens continues to battle the Night-Fangers. The balance is upset when the white wolf appears, revealing himself to also be the innkeeper from the City of Seven Dark Delights, and dives through the gate to conquer the Night-Fangers and then sacrifice himself in a clash with Darklens that appears to annihilate them both and the Sorcery-Realm around them. In the dawn of the new day, the savage elves dedicate the grounds of the former Tomb of Limbo as the Shrine of the Dawning Miracle.

See Also

• 3 image(s) from Marvel Comics Super Special Vol 1 13
• 1 reprint(s) of Marvel Comics Super Special Vol 1 13