Thulsa Doom is a fictional character created by American author

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

, as an

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Kull of Atlantis. Thulsa Doom debuted in the story "Delcardes' Cat". He has since appeared in comic books and film as the nemesis of Kull and, later, one of Howard's other creations,

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

. Thulsa Doom is the prototype for many of the future undead evil wizards in Howard's stories, such as Tsotha-Lanti (in the Conan saga) and Kathulos (in the Skull Face novelette); other living or revenant Howardian practitioners of magic such as Thoth Amon, Thugra Khotan, Kathulos, and Xaltotun bear some psychological similarities to Thulsa Doom even if their actual appearance is vastly different.

In pulp magazines

Thulsa Doom first appeared (as Thulses Doom) at the end of the short story "Delcardes' Cat" by

, which featured the character Kull as the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

. Howard later edited the text to include foreshadowing/references to Thulsa Doom (as he had been renamed) throughout the story and changed the title to ''The Cat and the Skull'' to reflect this. Editor Patrice Louinet speculated that this change was because Howard had originally intended Kuthulos (whom Doom impersonated in this story) to be the actual villain before coming up with Thulsa Doom near the story's completion. This version was submitted to ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...

'' in 1928, but it was not accepted. The story did not see print until 1967 in the

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

''King Kull'' published by Lancer Books. Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in "The Cat and the Skull" as having a face "like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire". He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull's comrades that he feels "only a slight coldness" when being injured and will only "pass to some other sphere when istime comes". As Thulsa Doom's original story was not published in Howard's lifetime he reused the character as "Kathulos of Atlantis" in his 1929 story

Skull-Face ''Skull-Face'' is a fantasy novella by American writer Robert E. Howard, which appeared as a serial in ''Weird Tales'' magazine, beginning in October 1929, and ending in December, 1929.''The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard'', pages 194–320 ...

In comic books

A powerful necromancer, Thulsa Doom is a primary foe of Kull. His first appearance was in Monsters on the Prowl #16. He was often a featured foe in the Marvel Kull comics (for instance, ''Kull the Conqueror'' #3 and #7). Thulsa Doom returns in ''Kull the Conqueror'' #11, "By This Axe I Rule", based on an original story by Robert E. Howard. 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, in the pages of his own comic, until it was cancelled. Kull resumes his quest in the pages of ''Kull and the Barbarians'', a black-and-white Marvel magazine format (published under the

Curtis Magazines Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

imprint). Thulsa 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. ''Kull and the Barbarians'' lasted for three issues until it was cancelled. In the return of ''Kull the Destroyer'', Thulsa Doom/Ardyon learned of the curse of Torranna (essentially, if a scarred man wore the crown and sat on the throne, he would be unable to ever leave the throne), which he determined to bestow upon Kull. To this end, 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. In ''Kull the Destroyer'' #28, 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. In the next issue (also the final issue of the ''Kull the Destroyer'' title), Thulsa Doom 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 powers 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. Kull would face Thulsa Doom at least one more time, in the pages of ''Marvel Preview #19'' (summer 1979 issue). The script for that issue was an adaptation of the prose tale "Riders beyond the Sunrise", itself the completion by writer

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. Lov ...

of an untitled fragment written by R. E. Howard. Thulsa Doom appears to finally perish at the climax of this story, but he would eventually return as a Conan villain in the pages of '' Conan'' and a few issues of Conan's black-and-white magazine, '' Savage Sword of Conan'' (issues #190–193). He's apparently immortal and is visualized as a skull-headed sorcerer, or as an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

when taking on the illusory appearance of a living man. A similar concept of an undead sorcerer can also be found in the

lich In fantasy fiction, a lich () is a type of undead creature with magical powers. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's " The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term for any corpse, animat ...

from ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' and other works of fantasy fiction, such as '' The Sword and the Sorcerer''. American company

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...

published a ''Thulsa Doom'' mini-series written by Arvid Nelson, with art by Lui Antonio, for a total of four issues in 2009.

Against Cormac Mac Art

Thulsa Doom later becomes an enemy of the

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic hero Cormac Mac Art, another Howard character further expanded by Andrew J. Offutt. Set in the time of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

(though Arthur himself doesn't appear onstage) Thulsa Doom comes back to life after 18,000 years on a sinister deserted island. Recognizing Cormac Mac Art – an Irish adventurer who joined a band of Danish Vikings – as a reincarnation of his old enemy King Kull, Thulsa Doom immediately resumes his ancient vendetta and relentlessly seeks to kill Mac Art. As depicted by Offutt, 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. 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.

Skull-Face

Howard's 1929 novella ''

'' features a resuscitated Atlantean necromancer appearing in the present-day world and seeking to take it over. This villain is very similar to Thulsa Doom, but is named "Kathulos of Atlantis".

In films

A character of the same name is the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

''. Played by James Earl Jones, the cinematic Thulsa Doom is considerably different from the literary one, who is described as having a skull-like face. Pre-production drawings showed this version of Thulsa Doom with the skull-like face, but as filmed, he is essentially the classic Conan villain Thoth-Amon, servant of the serpent-god Set. As such, he appears as an ordinary human in the film, though one said to have lived for a thousand years and with the power to transform into an enormous snake. The film earned mixed reviews, but Jones was singled out for praise by some critics who said his performance was reminiscent of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, a cult leader whose hold on his followers was such that hundreds of them obeyed his orders to commit suicide. In July 2008,

announced that

Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou ( ; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor. He began his career appearing in music videos and made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990). He then earned widespread recognition for his role as C ...

signed to co-produce and star as Thulsa Doom in a film version based on the comic books, rather than Robert E. Howard's original incarnation, although the film has not yet been made.

Notes

External links

Thulsa Doom
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe {{Conan Conan the Barbarian characters Fantasy film characters Literary characters introduced in 1967 Fictional characters who use magic Fictional murderers Fictional reptilians Fictional shapeshifters Fictional liches Kull of Atlantis Male literary villains Male characters in literature Male characters in film Robert E. Howard characters Action film villains