History
Origins and early years[]
This "monstrous toad-like entity",[3] the Toad God, was confirmed to be either a Great or a Lesser Old One.[1]
It lived in Central America, where he was worshiped in the Temple of the Toad, a pre-Columbian temple built centuries before the Spanish conquest by another race.
In the temple laid a mummy who carried as a necklace a toad-shaped jewel, a key to a hidden door in the temple. The place was thought accursed by the natives.
Von Junzt' book Nameless Cults hinted at the location of the pre-Columbian temple, and mentioned the mummy and the jewel, and also included a warning about "waking sleeping things".[2]
Modern Age[]
In modern times, the explorer Herr Tussmann sought for the temple using the knowledge of Nameless Cults, and finally found the temple. Despite his native guides advertisements, Tussmann took the jewel and used it to open the door. While exploring the tunnels in search of treasure, Tussmann encountered a little frog, and later found an horror that made him fire his gun at it then flee back to the entrance of the crypt, where the mummy had vanished, and left the temple with the jewel.
Returning home, Tussmann grew mad, haunted by the monster. When his friend Mr. Erwin came to visit him on Tussmann's plea, Tussmann told him his story, before losing sanity as the monster's hooves stroke at the roof. He rushed to his room to secure the jewel, but both were taken away by the flying Toad God who had tore open the roof of the house.[2]Notes
- This character was created by Robert E. Howard in "The Thing on the Roof", published in Weird Tales in 1934, and adapted by Roy Thomas and Frank Brunner in Chamber of Chills #3 (March, 1973). That story was considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos.[4]
- Another "toad-thing" living in a Temple of the Toad was introduced by Roy Thomas in "He Who Waits -- in the Well of Skelos!" (Conan the Barbarian #73; April, 1977), a story "freely adapted from a plot by Robert E. Howard". It is unclear if that "toad-thing" is the same as the Toad God.
- In Chamber of Chills #3, "The Toad" is the designation the closest to a name that he receive, his temple being the Temple of the Toad. The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe called him the "Toad God".[5]
- As pointed out by The Appendix, Robert E. Howard wrote other stories with similar characters. One such, "The Black Stone" (Weird Tales; November, 1931) featured a toad-like thing, inspired "The Monster of the Monoliths!" (Conan the Barbarian #21; December, 1972) and was adapted in Savage Sword of Conan #74 (March, 1982).
- It is unclear if the "monstrous toad-like entity" mentioned in the Nameless Cults's entry in Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic #1 is the Toad God or the toad-like thing.
See Also
- 1 appearance(s) of Toad God (Earth-616)
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Toad God (Earth-616)
- 2 image(s) of Toad God (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3 ; Demons' profile
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chamber of Chills #3 ; The Thing on the Roof!
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic #1 ; Appendix: Tomes, Nameless Cults's entry
- ↑ "Nameless Cults: The Cthulhu Mythos Fiction of Robert E. Howard]" is a collection of Cthulhu Mythos short stories by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in 2001 by Chaosium Press.
- ↑ Toad God at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe