Starkesboro or Starksboro was a small town in New England, north of the Quabbin Reservoir,[1] located in Maine,[2][8] or in Northern[4] Massachusetts,[9][5] and set near the Ocean.[10][11]
Starkesboro was described as an isolated[1] "backwater",[2] "ghoul-haunted town", a "spectral village" with an "aura which tells of unspeakable abominations, of mysteries best forgotten by man, of waiting horror...",[10] "a heavy pall of mysticism over" it.[9]
Indeed, the town became involved with many eldritch powers, such as Sligguth, Shuma-Gorath, N'Gabthoth,[11] and Slorioth[12] (the first being the spawn of the Elder God Set while the others are three of the Great Old Ones).
From its founding until a few decades ago, the townsfolk were Serpent-Men, the spawn of Sligguth.[10] Later, many werewolves and feral or wolf-like superhumans came to inhabit the town for a time.[13]
History
Foundation[]
In 1670, an obscure sect fleeing persecution in England (similarly to the Puritans) and led by Caleb Starke came to this place.[1] The town was seemingly named after its leader.
Corruption by Sligguth[]
The town of Starkesboro fell under the influence of the Demon Sligguth, spawn of the Elder God Set, early in the town's history, its fishermen having retrieved a cross intwined with a serpent found floating in the sea. Over the following centuries, the people of Starkesboro became a new breed of Serpent Men who worshiped Sligguth, although their worship remained so secret that even some of its inhabitants remained ignorant of the town's true culture.[10]
Modern Age[]
By the Modern Age, nearly all of the town's inhabitants were descended from that original band of settlers. They were one of the few colonies of surviving Serpent-Men.[1] During that era, the town of Starkesboro was the setting of multiple events tied to the surnatural.
Awakenings of Sligguth, N'Gabthoth, Shuma-Gorath[]
In modern times, the call of Sligguth caused townsfolk who had moved away to return. In reaction to his fiancée Bethel Doal apparently abandoning him, Ethan Stoddard sought out the help of Doctor Strange. With his intervention, both Sligguth[10] and his fellow demon N'Gabthoth were slain, and Shuma-Gorath's awakening delayed, although the still-transformed townsfolk then fled into the dark hills.[11]
Werewolves[]
A new generation of business and homeowners took over the abandoned town sometime thereafter. For ten years, the township was economically depressed, until the arrival of Dredmund Druid.[14] Wishing to obtain the power of the Moongem for himself, Dredmund Druid came to town posing as a self-help guru, holding midnight masses, organizing seminars to attract people and help them "get in touch with their hairy selves". He used hypnosis to dominate the inhabitants. His experiments to reconstitute the gem and control its power with the aid of Nightshade resulted in Starkesboro becoming a town of werewolves, both the inhabitants as well as werewolves who felt summoned to the town by the Moongem. A mass of super-heroes including Captain America, Wolverine, and Cable, all following allies and friends afflicted with lycanthropy or similar animal-like alter egos, descended upon Starkesboro and ultimately defeated Druid. This time, the townsfolk were freed from their transformative curse and returned to their normal lives.[13]
Awakening of Slorioth[]
Most recently, Starkesboro, then strong of a population of 15,201,[7] was seen when Doctor Druid assembled a team of Secret Defenders to prevent the resurgence of Slorioth in Starkesboro. A powerful and dangerous mystic entity, Slorioth ravaged Earth 15,000 years ago until a cabal of ancient sorcerers bound his body and soul to the land that was later known as Starkesboro, perhaps explaining the small town’s odd attraction of dangerous mystic artifacts.
Dr. Druid has bargained to preserve the life of his lover, Jillian Woods, using one of Slorioth’s talismans, which cost a portion of his soul every time Jillian was temporarily brought back to life as the Darkforce-composed Shadowoman. Corrupted by the loss of his soul, Druid had actually formed the Secret Defeners – using Sepulcre, Cadaver, Deathlok, Drax, and Dagger – to get him past guardians keeping Slorioth imprisoned so that he could release him. They were successful, and Druid used the talisman to unlock Slorioth’s prisoner, releasing him the grounds of Starkesboro.
Druid's Secret Defenders, allied to the time-displaced original Defenders, fought Slorioth. A few of them confronted Dr. Druid himself, and managed to summon the Living Tribunal. Deciding that his existence threatened even Eternity, the Tribunal banished Slorioth to an unknown place, the entity abruptly drawn from Earth and disappearing into hovering clouds, and matters around the world soon returned to normal.[12]Points of Interest
- Starkesboro Town Square
- Desecrated church (used for the worship of Sligguth, then for Druidic masses)
- Lair of Sligguth (under the seafloor, accessed through the church)
- Unnamed crag over the lair of Sligguth
- N'Gabthoth's Roost - sacred cliff belonging to N'Gabthoth, the Shambler from the Sea, altar
Residents
- Me. Seward - Mayor[15]
Formerly:
- Dredmund Druid
- Moonhunter
- Doc Nightshade
- Werewolves/Moonchildren of Starkesboro
- Gary, Mike...
- People of Starkesboro (religious sect, Serpent-Men)
- Caleb Starke (leader circa 1670)
- Ethan Stoddard
- Bethel Doan
- Lemuel Joad
- Ebora (priestess)
- Sligguth
Notes
- Appearing in Marvel Premiere, the US coastal city of Starkesboro, home to the Serpent-Men descendants of Sligguth and Set, is considered to be inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's Innsmouth, a city inhabited by the amphibian-featured Deep Ones,[16] appearing in "The Shadow Over Innsmouth".
- Furthermore, it is set north of the Quabbin Reservoir. H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space (written in March, 1927; published in Amazing Stories in September, 1927) was set in the valley before it was flooded for the reservoir. Its mention by Roy Thomas in Marvel Premiere #4 (September, 1972) could be another reference to the work of Lovecraft.
- The location of Starkesboro remains unclear and somewhat contradictory:
- In its early depiction in Marvel Premiere 4 to 6, the town is stated to be set on the coast[10][11] of New England,[1][10] and north of the Quabbin Reservoir,[1] which in the real-world is set in the center of the state of Massachusetts. No state of location was provided.
- In Captain America #403 to 408, the town was stated to be set in the state of Massachusetts,[9][17] and in or close to northern Massachusetts.[4] That setting was reprised in the "Places of Interest" section of the United States of America's profile in Marvel Atlas #2.
- In Secret Defenders #24, the town was moved to the state of Maine. That setting was reprised in Slorioth's profile in Defenders: Strange Heroes #1.
- As soon as its first appearance in Marvel Premiere #4 (September, 1972), the town has been alternatively named "Starkesboro" or "Starksboro".
See Also
- 13 appearance(s) of Starkesboro
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Starkesboro
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Starkesboro
- 1 image(s) of Starkesboro
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Marvel Premiere #4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Secret Defenders #24
- ↑ Secret Defenders #25
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Captain America #403
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marvel Atlas #2 ; United States of America, Places of Interest
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #10 ; Shadowoman's profile
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Secret Defenders #23
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Defenders: Strange Heroes #1 ; Slorioth's profile
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Captain America #404
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Marvel Premiere #5
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Marvel Premiere #6
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Secret Defenders #23–25
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Captain America #403–408
- ↑ Captain America #407
- ↑ Captain America #408
- ↑ Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue-by-Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon, 2011, Pierre Comtois, quoted in "Lovecraft, Lee and the Elder Gods: Who will win?" by Gredogtales, march 16, 2017
- ↑ Captain America #405