CLAUDE DUGANCLAUDE DUGAN
Real Name: Claude Dugan
Identity/Class:
Human;
active circa 1952 (at least)
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None known
Affiliations: None known
Enemies: Betty Dugan, Donald Dugan, Michael Dugan
Known Relatives: Michael Dugan (brother), Betty Dugan (sister-in-law), Donald Dugan (nephew)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed location (presumably the USA)
First Appearance: Suspense I#16 (March, 1952)
Powers/Abilities: Claude had no superhuman powers.
Living in terror of his brother
and sister-in-law but unable to harm them, he was perfectly willing to
torment and even slay their child, his nephew. He chose to delay any
actual killing in favor of drawing out the suspense and frightening the
young boy more.
His weapon of choice was a large knife.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6')History:
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS / Vampires: The Marvel Undead)
- Apparently realizing that both his brother, Michael, and his
sister-in-law, Betty, were vampires and plotted to feed upon him,
Claude was able to escape death at their hands.
Although he either could not or would not do anything to Betty and Michael, Claude instead plotted against his nephew, Donald.
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS) - Claude told Donald stories in which the heroic figures died horribly.
(Suspense I#16 (fb)) <Months before the main story> - When his parents were planning to go out for the night, the 10-year-old Donald begged his father not to leave him alone, but his father assured him that he was old enough for them to go out occasionally and that his uncle Claude would stay with him.
As Michael and Betty headed out,
Claude -- despite Donald's begging him not to -- told him more scary
stories, with Hansel and Gretl being burned in the oven by the witch,
the giant from the beanstalk crushing Jack, and the 40 Thieves pouring hot
oil on a trapped Ali Baba. Claude was about to tell a story about
William Tell shooting a kid in the head with an arrow, but Donald cried
out for him to stop and not make him listen to any more stories. Claude
agreed and bade him good night and pleasant dreams. 
Claude later entered Donald's room,
plunged a knife into the center of his bed, and then depart, cackling
gleefully; he was apparently either unaware that Donald, having been
unable to sleep, had slipped out of his room, or he did know this and
just left the knife there to further intimidate him.
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS) - Slipping back into his room, Donald saw a large knife stuck into his bed where he had been lying minutes before.
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS) - Feeling that his parents would not believe it if he told them that Claude had tried to kill him, Donald for some reason hid the knife and and prayed that his parents would never leave him alone with uncle Claude again (see comments).
(Suspense I#16 (fb)) - Whether
aware of what had happened or for some other reason, Donald's parents
did not leave him alone with Claude. And whenever they did leave, they
locked Donald in his room, for which Claude had no key.
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#13: Werewolves)
- On the night of a full moon, Michael and Betty went out to a movie,
and they apparently left Donald locked in his room but forgot to lock
his door from the outside.
(Suspense I#16) - Claude approached and entered the room in which Donald had been screaming and pounding on the door due to his fear of darkness.
After Claude told him his parents were out at the movies, Donald tried to run out the door, but Claude caught him, telling him he had waited too long for this chance to let him run away.
Donald asked his uncle why he
wanted to hurt him and why he wouldn't let him go, but Claude told that
he would not understand but that he hated the boy's parents so much
that he had sworn to kill their only son.
Apparently enjoying Donald's terror, Claude told him that they would wait until the final stroke of midnight, at which point Donald would die.
At 5 minutes until midnight, as Claude pulled a blade out of his pocket, the frightened Donald asked Claude why he hated his parents so. Claude told him that it was because they were always trying to eat him up.
Remembering the horrible stories
Claude used to read to him, Donald figured that Claude was just trying
to scare him.
As the clock began to strike the
first midnight chime, Claude grabbed Donald and raised his knife, and
he progressively lowered it as the chimes continued.
(Suspense I#16 (fb) - BTS) - After the final stroke of midnight, however, Donald turned into a werewolf and slew Claude, who screamed in agony before dying.
(Suspense I#16) - Donald's parents were disappointed that Donald had beat them to Claude, and his mother told him that they had been saving Claude for themselves.
Comments: Created by Created by unidentified writer and artist.
Obviously the facts that Donald was a werewolf and that his parents were vampires was the surprise ending revealed in a the last panel. Claude does mention to Donald that his parents were trying to eat him up, but it seemed like he was just trying to scare Donald.
It's a little odd that the
parents would have gone out without telling Donald, or that they left
Donald at home with Claude when they knew they had to lock Donald's
door to protect him from Claude.
Maybe they hated him for being a
werewolf and were secretly leaving him in a dangerous situation in
hopes of getting rid of him?
Perhaps Claude knew that his brother and sister-in-law were out, and he entered their house to slay Donald.
I'm also not sure why it would
have been hard for Donald to convince his parents that Claude had tried
to kill him when there was a knife hole in his bed.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Claude Dugan should be distinguished from:
First posted: 11/30/2024
Last updated: 11/30/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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