SEKHMET THARN

 

Real Name: unrevealed, possibly Sekhmet Tharn

Identity/Class: Serpent Man (pre-Cataclysmic era), magic user

Occupation: necromancer

Affiliations: Serpent Men; Set (God); Jeesala, a kraken;
former kings of Valusiai (including Borna)

Enemies: people of Valusia; Brule the Spear-Slayer, Kull

Known Relatives: Jeesala (possible daughter)

Aliases: None

 

 

 

 

Base of Operations: a mansion on a cliff over looking the harbor of the City of Wonders, Valusia; Pre-Cataclysmic era

 

First Appearance: Marvel Preview#26 (May, 1981)

 

 

Powers/Abilities: As one of the Serpent Men, Sekhmet Tharn could shift his form to appear human. He would presumably be unable to maintain this transformation in the presence of the words "Ka nama kaa lajerama," which pain and expose the Serpent Men.

In addition to his inherent abilities, Tharn also possessed some magical skill. He was capable of reanimating the bodies of the dead former kings of Valusia and amassing them into an army to send against the current population of Valusia. Many, but not all, of these had been slain by Serpent Men over the years, and so were subject to the command of the Serpent Men. As Tharn only animated their bodies and not their spirits, this may indicate that they were subject to a different sort of spell, independent of the inherent control over the souls of those whom they had slain.
These reanimated beings are immune to physical pain and most forms of injury, short of complete destruction or immobilization of their forms.

He also used some sort of magic mirror, with which he could steal or gain hold of a fragment of a being's soul, and then direct it into a degenerate and corrupt state, with the changes on the soul shard being mirrored within the whole victim.

History:
(Marvel Preview#26 (fb) - BTS) - Sekhmet Tharn took human form and dwelled on the outskirts of Valusia for many years, without doing any of a suspicious nature for several years.

(Marvel Preview#26 (fb)) - Tharn sought to conquer the City of Wonders, and thus the entire nation of Valusia, in order to allow the Serpent Men to once again gain a stronghold in that era. Realizing that he did not have the manpower to physically conquer the nation, he decided to destroy it from within. Tharn performed a spell that allowed him to, one-by-one, reanimate the corpses of the former kings of Valusia, who were interred in the cellar below the castle.

(Marvel Preview#26) - Tharn sent another Serpent Man, who took the form of a beautiful woman, to seduce Kull, the king of Valusia. Kull was enthralled by Jeesala dancing outside of his throne room window, and he invited her up to his chambers. As Kull prepared to go for the gusto, he saw his image in the mirror, which reminded him of a primitive beast. Confused, he sent Jeesala away.

Kull and Brule investigated rumors of the restless dead wandering the countryside after a pair of young lovers had reportedly been killed by one. They found the reanimated corpse of Borna, Kull's predecessor, to be the culprit. After narrowly overcoming Borna, Kull investigated the royal crypts and found every single sarcophagus empty. Kull then decided to check out the possible involvement of the only known sorcerer in the area--Sekhmet Tharn.

Tharn invited Kull to dine with him, and after a few glasses of wine, he re-introduced Kull to Jeesala, his daughter. Tharn drugged Kull's wine, and Jeesala seduced him right at the table. Kull--his mind in a haze--mumbled, "but...your father...," to which the now naked Jeesala responded, "--already knows of such things, Kull. My father, you see, spawned me." And there was much...rejoicing...as Sekhmet watched on and glowed with triumph.

Kull awoke, even further in a haze, and Tharn showed him visions of Earth's past in his mirror. After the images faded, Tharn then altered Kull's own image, to show the depths of savagery and corruption in his own soul. Kull turned away, but his image no longer followed his movements. Tharn then sent the semi-stuporous Kull back to Valusia, where he was accompanied by Jeesala, who served as his mistress, guiding and enhancing the king's progression into decadence. Kull became more and more abusive, heavily taxing and even physically abusing the populace of the City of Wonders, until the people began to rebel against him--even his own Red Slayers, his royal guard, who had taken to their own level of debauchery. Kull's closest friend, Brule, tried to turn him from this path, but Kull struck him and instructed him to leave his castle. Fortunately, Brule only pretended to leave, as the following night, a full rebellion of the townspeople marched on Kull's castle

 

 

 

 

Kull could not understand why the people had turned against him, and Jeesala watched, bemused, as Kull's mirror image took on a primitive, bestial form. The form then reached through the mirror and grabbed Kull, pulling him into it and threatening to slay the doped-up king. Brule saved the day with his timely arrival, and shattered the mirror, destroying the corrupt image and allowing Kull to partially shake off the effects of the spell he had been under. They correctly surmised that Tharn was to blame, and Jeesala confirmed their suspicions by assuming her true, snaked-headed form. She then showed him the army of former kings marching on the city and mocked his final defeat as she hurled an acid-dart at him. Kull dodged the dart and used Brule's spear to put an end to Jeesala, spearing her through the chest; her death wail shattered the remaining remnants of the mirror.

 

Kull and Brule convinced the townspeople to postpone their revolution in favor of uniting against the oncoming army of Tharn's reanimated kings. The combined forces of Kull, Brule, the Red Slayers, and every able-bodied townsman managed to overcome the zombie army, but Tharn then raised a kraken to attack them. As the others fought the powerful sea creature, Kull confronted Tharn, who again summoned the corrupted spirit shard of the king to fight him. Kull slew his dark image and then beheaded Tharn, who reverted to his serpent-headed form in death. With Tharn's death, the waters around the kraken turned brittle and sharp, like mirrored glass. As the kraken struggled, the sea shattered, and its shards sliced the kraken to a thousand shreds.

 

 

Realizing that they had been manipulated by an ancient evil, the people of Valusia again rallied around their king.

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and John Bolton.

I'm not sure that Kull resisted Jeesala purely by willpower. Her comments to him indicate he may have tried to get busy with her, but...failed:
"Please, Kull--sometimes even a king's sword is not strong enough...but if you will give me the time to be clever and gentle...if there is something I can do to reach your strength, just tell me and--"

Tharn's use of mirrors is reminiscent of the Mirrors of Tuzun Thune, who was a member of the Elder race, which existed before humanity. Whether there is any connection is unknown.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

Jeesala

Elder Race

 

Last updated: 01/11/03

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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