Thulsa Doom
Thulsa Doom is a male literary character who features in Conan.
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Biography
Thulsa Doom was once a male human born long ago on Earth where he became a powerful sorcerer.
He came to serve the Great Serpent and became the master of the serpent people. In the time of Valusia, his sworn enemy was King Kull of Atlantis, who broke the power of the serpent-men.
During the Hyborian Age, the undead sorcerer returned where he encountered Conan the Barbarian who had unwittingly rescued him from the pits of Arallu. In a battle, Conan came to separate Thulsa's physical body from his skull.
In the reign of King Arthur, Thulsa Doom came back to life after 18,000 years on a sinister deserted island. In this time, he recognised that an Irish adventurer named Cormac Mac Art was a reincarnation of his old enemy King Kull. Doom immediately went about resuming his ancient vendetta and relentlessly seeks to kill Mac Art.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, he was took the form of a man with a skull for a head and eyesockets that burned with unholy flames.
He was a follower of the Great Serpent and an ally of the Serpent Men.
Thulsa Doom came to be an enemy of Thoth-Amon with whom he contended for control over the serpent-men.
Powers and abilities
He was seemingly invulnerable to harm or any form of injury. This was seen when boasted after being run through by one of Kull's comrades. On this, he said he felt only a slight coldness when being injured and that he would only pass to some other sphere when his time came to him. While Thulsa Doom cannot be killed – even when pierced by a sword or thrown from a great height – he's vulnerable to steel being driven through his body, such steel acting to imprison him and prevent Doom from getting away.
Doom was shown to hold the power to create illusions, travel across dimensions, and capable of invisibility. He was also capable of telepathy, levitation and summoning of demonic servants.
Thulsa Doom possess remarkable shape-changing powers, being able to take not only the form but also the precise mannerisms of Cormac mac Art's close friends. This includes also a perfect sex change ability. On one occasion, Thulsa Doom is able to perfectly imitate Cormac mac Art's girlfriend, speak convincing words of love to a man who knows her well and is in love with her, and engage in full-fledged sex – with the intention of taking Mac Art by surprise and suddenly drawing steel. However, at the moment of his attack, Thulsa Doom shows his true skull face, enabling Mac Art to realize the deception and save himself at the last moment.
Thulsa Doom is also seen as controlling the elements and being able to call up a storm out of a calm sea.
Notes
- Thulsa Doom was created by Robert E. Howard and featured in the Conan universe.
In other media
Films
- In Conan the Barbarian, Thulsa Doom appeared as the main antagonist in the 1982 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor James Earl Jones. He was shown as being the founder and leader of the Cult of Set. A powerful wizard with a melodic voice and hypnotic gaze and the power to turn himself into a snake, Doom ruled from his Mountain of Power and controlled his subjects through the sheer force of his personality. His army invaded Conan's village when Conan was only a child to take the children into slavery, and Doom himself personally beheaded Conan's mother Verina after hypnotizing her into compliance. Years later, Doom took the daughter of King Osric as his lover and an enraged Osric hired Conan and his companions Valeria and Subotai to steal her back. The three infiltrated the Mountain of Power and attacked Doom's followers during an orgy. Doom himself transformed into a snake and escaped, while his soldiers fended off the intruders. Nevertheless Conan's party successfully took the princess. Human again, an enraged Doom swore the "infidel defilers" would pay for crossing him and killing his men (to say nothing of his pet giant python). Using his magic to turn a poisonous snake into a venom-tipped arrow, he shot and killed Valeria as Conan's group rode away from the Mountain. He then rallied his army to chase down and finish off the heroes. Conan, assisted by Subotai and the wizard Akiro, routed Doom's soldiers and killed his top lieutenants Rexor and Thorgrim. Afterward, Doom confronted Conan atop the Mountain as he addressed his followers. Knowing Conan had come to kill him, an unfearing Doom attempting to hypnotize the barbarian as he had his mother. He argued that since it was hatred of him that gave Conan's life purpose and direction, then he, Thulsa Doom, was truly Conan's one and only parent. "For who is your father if not I? What would your life have been without me?" Conan managed to overcome the cult leader's powerful gaze, and, disagreeing completely, used his real father's sword (appropriated by Rexor years before and reclaimed by Conan when he killed him) to cut off Doom's head, which he then threw into the midst of Doom's shocked followers.
Comics
- In Monsters on the Prowl v1 #16 (1972), Thulsa Doom made his first appearance in the comics setting of Marvel Comics. He claimed to have been already old when Atlantis first rose from the ocean. The Book of the Vishanti identified him as one of the last of the pre-human races dating back to the time of the Elder Gods on Earth. In the Age of Kull, Thulsa Doom claimed to be undead, having died "as men know death" long ago. Posing as the nobleman Ardyon, he forms an alliance with four rebels within Valusia: the dwarfish Ducalon, the soldier Enaros, Baron Kanuub, and the minstrel Ridondo, who actually dethroned the hero, and set him on a quest to regain his lost kingdom. hulsa Doom sent members of his 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. Thulsa Doom as Ardyon came to learn of the curse of Torranna that said if a scarred man wore the crown and sat on the throne, he would be unable to ever leave the throne. To that end, he came to be determined to bestow this curse upon Kull. For this goal, 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 later pulled Kull into a pocket dimension for their final battle. Kull managed to slash Thulsa Doom's face with his sword, but was ultimately overpowered by the necromancer. Thulsa Doom returned them both to Torranna, but Kull rallied long enough to push Thulsa Doom onto 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 were drained by his curse as the city of Torranna collapsed, seemingly crushing him. Kull, luckily, escaped, and then returned to Valusia to retake his own throne.
Appearances
- The Cat and the Skull: (1928)
External Links
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