LADY DAEMON




 Real Name: Megan Daemon

Identity/Class: Extradimensional?/Alternate Earth? (see comments) 1930s era human, magic user, British citizen, Scot ancestry

Occupation: Laird of Clan Daemon in Scotland

Group Membership: Clan Daemon

Affiliations: Ian MacInnis (suitor);
    possibly Magik (Illyana Rasputin), Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) (see comments)
 
Enemies: Alisabeth Daemon; Outer Dark;
    possibly unidentified Daemon clan elders, unidentified younger Daemon clan members (see comments)

Known Relatives: Lord Daemon (father, deceased) Lord Daemon's unidentified wife (mother, deceased), Alisabeth Daemon (sister);
    possibly unidentified clan elders, unidentified younger relatives (unspecified whether these were children, grandchildren, nephews/nieces or perhaps descendants of cousins) (see comments)

Aliases: Child of Light

Base of Operations: Castle Daemon in "the remote fastness" of the Sutherland Highlands in Scotland

Education: Studied occult via sister and ancestral library

First Appearance: Bizarre Adventures#25 (March 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Magical powers (full extent unrevealed), partly inherited ("There has always been magic and dark power in the Highlands, and Clan Daemon has always been a part of it...");
Megan uses tarot cards to divine the future and a crystal cat skull's pendant (origins unknown) to focus her mystic abilities. She has access to a great deal of occult knowledge through the vast and ancient library of Castle Daemon.

   By the modern day the now elderly Megan had become a sorceress of extraordinary power (see comments).

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 100 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Blonde

History: (Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - 1900 - Alisabeth Daemon was born on the Winter Solstice.

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - 1904 - Four years later Megan Daemon was born on the Summer Solstice

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - c.1914? - When Alisabeth underwent her first menstrual cycle, Megan unwittingly assisted her in an evil occult ceremony. Their mother's mutilated corpse was found the next morning, sprawled on a mountainside, torn limb from limb.

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - c.1918? - When Megan underwent her own first menstrual cycle, Alisabeth made her take part in a similar evil occult ceremony. Their father's mutilated corpse was found the next morning, butchered and bloodless in his bed. Alisabeth left for the European Continent soon afterwards.

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - 1922 - Alisabeth sent Megan a deck of tarot cards as a gift.

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - 1925 - As Megan turned 21, Alisabeth returned to Castle Daemon. She fought with the Clan Elders, who later mysteriously disappeared. She departed again at dawn, leaving a Writ of Abdication making Megan officially Lady Daemon. She also left Megan a crystal cat's skull pendant, which helped her progress in her knowledge of the Dark Arts and the use of her tarot cards.

(Bizarre Adventures#25 - fb) - c.1930s. - Megan turned down many suitors but eventually befriended Ian MacGinnis of the Royal Scots Borderers (the circumstances of their first meeting remain unrevealed).

(Bizarre Adventures#25) - April-May 1937 - Megan and Ian traveled down to Inverness, then London, then to Stonehenge, where they encountered Alisabeth performing a dark occult ceremony intended to open a gateway for the "Outer Dark". During the ritual, these Entities merged (one is led to assume, willingly) with Alisabeth. Megan and Ian could not stop Alisabeth and instead found themselves two weeks later (their memories of the previous weeks erased) aboard the Hindenburg about to land in America. (This enables us to date the event to May 6, 1937.)

There, Alisabeth planned to fully open the gateway which she had unlocked at Stonehenge and let the Outer Dark into our dimension, but for that, she needed her sister's power and willing cooperation -- and the slaughter of many innocent lives. However, Megan resisted and fought Alisabeth. An "Emissary" "from the Outer Dark materialized. Then, Ian MacGinnis shot Alisabeth. Megan (unlike her sister) refused to be seduced by the Outer Dark and fought them off. The battle started the fire that destroyed the Hindenburg.

Megan and Ian managed to escape the disaster safely; Alisabeth's ultimate fate, however, remained uncertain.

(X-Men Graphic Novel: True Friends) - In the modern day the Daemon clan elders sought to strip Megan of her now significant sorcerous powers in order to pass them on to the next generation of the family. Since the pair intended to receive the abilities were evil and decadent slimeballs, Megan resisted this with the aid of two young allies, the mutants Shadowcat and Magik (see comments).

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer) and Michael Golden (penciller) and Terry Austin (inker).

The only tenuous connection between the story of Lady Daemon and any other known elements of the Marvel Multiverse is her description of her ancestry: "Before the MacKay, Cutherland, Sinclair, before Danes and Gaels and Picts, before the Lairds of Alban, from a time when the dark Caledonian forests covered the moors, we were!"

The name Picts come from the name Pictii (painted ones), first recorded in a Latin poem c. 300 A.D., as that the Romans gave to a mysterious tribe of savage warriors (somewhat troll-like?) who lived in Caledonia / Scotland. Bede's Ecclesiastical History says they came by sea from Scythia, but does not mention tattooing or body painting. The Picts are said to have vanished c. 900 AD and from thereon moved into fiction.

The Picts are of course part of the Robert E. Howard canon, especially the Bran Mak Morn series. Howard likely learned of the Picts through Sir Walter Scott who (wrongly) believed that the galleries in the walls of the Brochs were low and narrow because of the Picts' small stature. (In fact these prehistoric stone towers pre-date the Picts). Robert Louis Stevenson's ballad "Heather Ale" and John Buchan's story "No-Man's Land", both written in this century, portray the Picts as diminutive and living underground.

In Howard's canon, the Picts are connected with Brule (from the King Kull stories), Conan ("Beyond The Black River", "The Black Stranger" and "Wolves Beyond The Border"), Cormac Mac Art (two hundred years after Bran Mak Morn's time) and arguably Turlogh O'Brien (a few small bands unabsorbed by the conquering Scots in the tenth century survived into the early twelfth century). Their ultimate fate is displayed in Howard's "The Little People".

Are the Picts mentioned by Megan Daemon the same Picts as encountered in Howard's fiction, and therefore the Marvel Universe? Possibly.

As to the "Outer Dark", they are reminiscent, of course, of HP Lovecraft's Great Old Ones or Elder Gods, or the N'Garai or the Undying Ones, but they are never identified.
   However, this provides another loose connection to the Marvel Universe, as Kthara, Mother of Demons is known as "She who Rules the Outer Dark." Same writer (Claremont), same name. Coincidence?

So ultimately, the question of whether Lady Daemon's adventures took place on Earth-616 or another Earth remains ultimately unanswered. Exactly...nothing to rule them out...a few possiblities to rule them in. Several characters from Marvel Preview (which became Bizarre Adventures) and other such stories have eventually been confirmed as Earth-616, most notably--to me--Star Lord. Anyway, all it takes is an oblique reference to rule her in. I'll try to find--or make--one!
--Snood.

   Chris Claremont revealed in an interview in The X-Men Companion that he had planned a story where the X-Men encountered Lady Daemon:
"This is something that will be expanded on in the Lady Daemon/X-Men story that Michael Golden and I are planning."
   So she was always 616, even before the handbooks confirmed it.
   Amazing Heroes#39, a 1984 Special Preview, adds more information to this, revealing the tale was intended to appear in a graphic novel, True Friends, where the now elderly Megan was to team up with Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputin to stop the Daemon clan elders from stripping Megan of her sorcerous powers to give them to her nasty and decadent slimeball younger relatives. Sadly, we never got to see the tale, though Claremont did eventually re-use the title about fifteen years later. I've included the information we have about the story in the text above, as it doesn't contradict any established continuity, but in italics as it remains unofficial unless the original story somehow finally sees publication or another tale confirms the events happened.  --Loki


There is a Loch Daemon in the highlands of Scotland in Excalibur I#1-2 that is described as "a haunted place where from time immemorial, it's been said that even angels fear to tread." It's the location for the derelict factory where we first see Widget and the young Colin McKay. There is a stone circle near the factory that Colin describes as an ancient Druid ring. There is a flashback to the scenes in the factory in Excalibur I#46 when Colin returns as Kylun. I don't remember any other appearances of the loch, though it is mentioned in Kylun's OHOTMU profile. Obviously Chris Claremont isn't above reusing names, but perhaps there is a connection to the Clan Daemon?
--Changeling

Loch Daemon is said to be in the remote Sutherland Highlands of Scotland, which is the region in green on the map to the right. I've marked with a red dot the location of the real world ruins of Ardvreck Castle, which sits on a rocky promontory jutting into Loch Assynt; I'd personally pick these as good real world equivalents for Castle Daemon and Loch Daemon respectively, though I have to stress that's purely my own supposition based on comparing real world geography with the minimal information the story provides. Nevertheless, they seem good fits. For reference, given the X-Men connection mentioned above, I've also put an M in where evidence suggests Muir Island should be, showing its relative proximity to Castle Daemon. - Loki

"The Eyes That Never Close!" Strange Tales I#61 (February, 1958) -- a magic idol transports prisoner Jeff Corley to the LZ-129 Hindenburg. Lady Daemon could be a face in the crowd.
--Gammatotem
   She and her sister Alisabeth were passengers on the Hindenburg as it was landing at Lakehurst, NJ.--Darci

Castle Daemon image added by Loki.

Lady Daemon has a full entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1980s Handbook.

"Profile by" Jean-Marc Lofficier.

Clarifications:

Lady Megan Daemon should not be confused with

Alisabeth Daemon should not be confused with

Ian MacInnis should not be confused with

Outer Dark should not be confused with

Alisabeth Daemon

Name: Alisabeth Daemon

Identity/Class: 1930s era human, magic user, British citizen, Scot ancestry

Occupation: Former Laird of Clan Daemon in Scotland; evil sorceress

First Appearance: Bizarre Adventures #25 (March 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Magical powers (full extent unrevealed).

History: Alisabeth Daemon is the evil sister of Megan Daemon (Lady Daemon). She was responsible for the death of her parents. Her primary goal appears to be the opening of a gateway between the dimension of the Outer Dark and ours, and she later became possessed by the Outer Dark. Her history is intertwined with that of her sister.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer) and Michael Golden (penciller) and Terry Austin (inker).

 


Ian MacInnis


Name: Ian MacInnis

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Royal Scott Borderer.

First Appearance: Bizarre Adventures #25 (March 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Reasonably competent fighter, proficient with firearms.

History: Ian MacGinnis is Megan Daemon (Lady Daemon)'s suitor. He helped her defeat her evil sister Alisabeth aboard the Hindenburg, although his shots may have unwittingly triggered the tragedy. His history is intertwined with that of Megan.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer) and Michael Golden (penciller) and Terry Austin (inker).








Outer Dark



Identity/Class: Extra-Dimensional creatures

First Appearance: Bizarre Adventures #25 (March 1981)

History: Nothing is known about the Outer Dark, summoned by Alisabeth Daemon. They are reminiscent of HP Lovecraft's Great Old Ones or Elder Gods, or the N'Garai or the Undying Ones, but they are never identified. They managed to willingly possess Alisabeth Daemon and dispatched a monstrous "Emissary" aboard the Hindebnurg. They tried to enlist Megan Daemon's help, but failed.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer) and Michael Golden (penciller) and Terry Austin (inker).

I'm reasonably sure Claremont got the "Outer Dark" term straight from Robert E. Howard stories, where he does brush in cosmic horror themes. In fact there's a collection of his works by that name that was sold a few years back.
--Marcel Nicolaevski


Castle Daemon

Images:

Lady Daemon:
Marvel Legacy Handbook 1980s, Lady Daemon entry, colorized from Bizarre Adventures#25, page 3 (main)
Bizarre Adventures#25, p26, panel 1 (Megan as a child)
Bizarre Adventures#25, cover
Bizarre Adventures#25, page 29, panel 3 (headshot)

Alisabeth Daemon:
Marvel Legacy Handbook 1980s, Lady Daemon entry, colorized from Bizarre Adventures#25, page 31, panel 4 (Alisabeth)

Ian MacInnis:
Bizarre Adventures#25, page 29, panel 4

Outer Dark:
Bizarre Adventures#25, page 36, panel 4

Castle Daemon:
Bizarre Adventures#25, page 26, panel 2


First Posted: 05/22/2004
Last updated: 11/08/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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