DAFYDD AP IOWERTH

Real Name: Professor Dafydd ap Iowerth

Identity/Class: Human magic user;
    British citizen

Occupation: Professor of Comparative Literature

Group Membership: Dragon Circle (Andromeda, Interloper, Manslaughter, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)), perhaps one of the Knights of Pendragon

Affiliations: Sian Bowen (student), Genevieve Cross, Dr. Strange, Will Fanshawe, Roger Loomis, Pendragon

Enemies: Dragon of the Moon and its demon legions

Known Relatives: Arthur Pendragon, Uther Pendragon, Aurelius, Constantine (common ancestry)

Aliases: Taffy

Base of Operations: University of Swansea, Napoleon

First Appearance: Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#3 (March, 1989)

Powers/Abilities: Dafydd ap Iowerth is able to command those of British descent, even to the point of commanding them to expel magical energies and spirits.

 

 

History:
(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#3) - As the Dragon of the Moon assaulted Britain, Gilda's Contemporary Account of Arthur's Reign--a book which didn't exist--fell from Dafydd's shelf. After conferring with colleague Roger Loomis, they and student Sian Bowen were visited by a strange eagle. Dafydd then led the trio to the hills of Central Wales. When a trucker nearly ran over them, Dafydd was able to convince the driver, Will Fanshawe, to join their investigation. A sudden energy blast from above petrified the quartet, and their forms were found by Dr. Strange and another Britisher, Genivieve Cross. Strange cast a spell that allowed the Dragon Circle to be reborn on Earth by taking over the forms of Bowen (Andromeda), Fanshawe (Interloper), Loomis (Manslaughter), and Cross (Valkyrie).
    Iowerth returned to human form, though confused by the strange events, but before he could learn what was going on, a legion of demons assaulted them. The demons threatened to overwhelm them, until the panicked Iowerth screamed for them to get away from him. The demons vanished, after which the form transformed/possessed Britishers recognized Iowerth as their rightful liege and lord, and they knelt before him.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#4) - Iowerth traveled with Strange and Dragon Circle to Manchester, where they were confronted by a group of people under the Dragon of the Moon's control. The battle raged on until Iowerth had the chance to command them all to stop, restoring them to human form and their own minds. They, too, knelt before Iowerth before following his order to return to their homes. Iowerth and his allies tracked the Dragon of the Moon to a nuclear power station which it intended to cause to melt down, via a terrorist group, the Revolutionary Action Committee. Iowerth forced the Dragon's human host to expel the Dragon, but it then attacked Iowerth, striking him down with magical energy. Strange formed a mystic barrier to protect Iowerth, then Strange and Dragon Circle called on the Pendragon energies to shrink the Dragon to the size of a centipede, which Iowerth crushed between his fingers.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36 - BTS) - Doctor Strange asked Doctor Druid to contact Iowerth at the University of Swansea to see if he had retained any memory of half the Earth's population disappearing after Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet.

Comments: Created by Peter B. Gillis, Richard Case, Randy Emberlin.

    These two issues strike me as a precursor to the Knights of Pendragon series, with Iowerth possessed by the Arthur spirit, and the Dragon of the Moon represent an agent of the Bane. Too bad he wasn't included in either of the Knights series. Anyway, the Pendragon of Arthur later went on to possess Adam Crown.

    Dafydd, according to Defenders entry in Update 89#2, is not a descendant of Arthur, who had only one child (Mordred) and Mordred had no <KNOWN> children, and is also not the reincarnation of Arthur.  However, Dafydd is a member of the Pendragon family.
--Per Degaton
    While I'm not going to argue with the OHOTMU, and accept Dafyd isn't a descendent of Arthur, who says Arthur only had one kid, or that Mordred had none? The legends are vague and inconsistent - just because they don't record other kids, doesn't mean that these guys couldn't have fathered others, perhaps unknowingly. Bear in mind that the English language has a surname prefix (Fitz) which was generally used to indicate someone was the illegitimate son of noble blood - these kingly types have been known to put it about a bit.
--Loki
        This may be true in the Marvel Universe, but in Arthurian legend, Arthur did have many sons and Mordred himself did have two sons, Melehan and one unnamed, most likely out of wedlock. After their father’s death in the Battle of Camlann, they tried to seize Britain, but Sir Bors, one of the Knights of the Round Table, killed Melehan and the other was slain by Lancelot himself. see Mordred
--Will U
    Perhaps he is/was possessed by the Pendragon of Arthur before it bonded to Crown

    In an alternate future, Iowerth might have been an ancestor of Arthur Pendragon of Earth-Young-Arthur.

    His name is misspelled Iorwerth in Dr. Strange III#4.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

 

images:
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#3, p16, pan6 (main)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#3, p16, pan7 (head shot)

Appearances:
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#3 (March, 1989) - Peter Gillis (writer), Richard Case (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Carl Potts (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#4 (April, 1989) - Peter Gillis (writer), Richard Case (penciler), Tony Dezuniga (inker), Carl Potts (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36 (December, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Dan Lawlis (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

First Posted: 08/15/2004
Last updated: 01/28/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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