SONS of SATANNISH
SONS of SATANNISH
Membership: Asmodeus, Marduk, Tyrone D. Gus
Purpose: Accumulation of magical power; bringing Satannish to the Earthly plane
Affiliations: Satannish, Surtur, Ymir
Enemies: Baron (Karl) Mordo, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Cage, Clea, Defenders, Dr. Strange, Hulk, Nighthawk of Earth-616, Tiboro, Son of Satan (Hellstorm), Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)
Base of Operations: Mobile;
formerly a base beneath a mausoleum in a New York cemetery
First Appearance:
(Benton (Asmodeus): Dr. Strange I#169 (June, 1968)
(Behind the Scenes): Dr. Strange I#174 (November, 1968)
(Seen and identified): Dr. Strange I#175 (December, 1968)
Powers/Weapons: The Sons of Satannish had modest
magical abilities, though they combined their energies into
Crystals of Conquest, with which any one of them could access the power of
the whole group. They could call on Satannish for additional power, though they
risked destruction at his hands by arousing his ire.
Asmodeus was markedly more powerful than the other members.
History:
(Dr. Strange I#174) - After Dr. Strange defeated Lord Nekron, Satannish told
Strange that he would find others in his world who had struck similar bargains
with Satannish.
(Dr. Strange I#175) - Locating their targets via their Satan-Sphere, the Sons of Satannish called upon Satannish for increased power, which was granted. They then assaulted Strange, sending rings of negativistic nihilistic force to crush him, but Strange neutralized the threat, shattering their Satan-Sphere in the process. They then took mental control of a taxi driver, forcing him to take them to Clea, whom Asmodeus duped into following them back to their base.
(Dr. Strange I#176) - From the same taxi driver, Strange learned who had abducted Clea and tracked down a trio of the cultists, including Marduk, but they used their wands to form ribbons of nihility which trapped Dr. Strange within a cube of nothingness. He escaped this, as well as a subsequent attacks, but Asmodeus managed to ensorcel Clea and send her to stab Strange. He stopped her attack and then followed her back to their mausoleum base, but Asmodeus used the Crystals of Conquest to incapacitate Strange, strip him of Cloak, Eye of Agamotto, and Book of the Vishanti; and then banish he and Clea to another dimension.
(Dr. Strange I#177) - Strange revealed that he had only pretended to allow Asmodeus to steal his magic items, as he regained his Cloak and Amulet, and the Book of the Vishanti was sent to the Ancient One's side in Tibet. Asmodeus then performed a ritual that drained the power from the other Sons of Satannish, after which he banished them to the Sixth Dimension. Asmodeus took Strange's appearance and magically duped the Ancient One into allowing him to peruse the Book of the Vishanti, but Strange and Clea escaped back to Earth, and Strange confronted Asmodeus. As the two struggled at full power, the exertion proved too much for Asmodeus' heart, and he suffered a heart attack. With the last of his energies, Asmodeus grabbed the Book of the Vishanti and spoke the words "Thermidorus...Frigibus...Nihilius...!", setting into motion the powerful spell of Fire and Ice. Strange then unmasked Asmodeus, recognizing him as his old colleague.
(Dr. Strange I#178) - Strange recruited the Black Knight to accompany him to the Sixth Dimension in hopes of learning how to reverse the spell of Fire and Ice. Tiboro attacked them after their arrival, but Strange and the Black Knight defeated him and convinced him to give up the Sons of Satannish.
(Avengers I#61 (fb) - BTS) - Strange blanked out the minds of the remaining Sons of Satannish with the exception of Marduk.
(Avengers I#61 (fb)) - Strange asked Marduk to help them combat the spell of Fire and Ice, but Marduk led them back to their base, where he used a Crystal of Conquest to strike down the Black Knight with a mystic bolt. Strange then blasted Marduk into submission, then forced him to reveal that the Crystal might be used to overcome the threat of Fire and Ice.
(Avengers I#61) - Strange and the Avengers saved the Black Knight's life, and the Avengers opposed the threat itself, the appearance of Surtur and Ymir on Earth. Meanwhile, Strange struggled to master the Crystal of Conquest, after which he used the Crystal to materialize the two monsters in each other's path, neutralizing them both and sending them back to their realms of Asgard.
(Giant-Size Defenders#2) - Asmodeus convinced Satannish to return him to life if he could bring him a living soul in exchange.
(Giant-Size Defenders#2) - Allying himself with the demon Laurox the Lecherous, Asmodeus managed to transport the Hulk to Hell and begin to drive him mad. Asmodeus then revealed what he was doing to Strange, leading Strange to bring the other Defenders (Nighthawk, Valkyrie) to try to rescue him. Strange also recruited the Son of Satan, who led them to the location from which Asmodeus was working. When the heroes resisted his efforts to drive them mad, he lashed out, attempting to destroy them directly with his magical power. However, the Son of Satan warded off his attack and saved the others, and Satannish declared that Asmodeus had used up his allotted time, and pulled him back to Hell.
(Marvel Team-Up I#126 (fb) - BTs) - Tyrone D. Gus organized a group of homeless men into another sect of the Sons of Satannish, plotting to find a superhuman host for Satannish to possess on Earth.
(Marvel Team-Up I#126) - Gus led Power Man (Cage) into his trap, but he was accompanied by the Son of Satan, who helped him escape the trap, causing Satannish to slay Gus when the window to access the Earthly plane closed.
(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#6) - Satannish sent a trio of Sons of Satannish to try to steal the crystal containing the souls of Baron Mordo (and Sara Wolfe), who had bartered his soul to Satannish for power against Strange, then attempted to renege on his side of the deal. Strange defeated the trio.
COMMENTS: Created by Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer.
There's no reason Marduk couldn't still be around, planning
vengeance...unless he was the "minor foe of Dr. Strange" slain by
"Armorer" the in
Hellstorm#14.
(Hellstorm#14) - Seventh victim, "a minor adversary of Dr. Strange", loses his
sternum, windpipe, and shoulderblades to a sudden hail of knives, on Eighth
Avenue and 125th Street.
Marduk's real name was revealed in the Fire and Ice Event profile in Thor: Asgard's Avenger (2011).
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Asmodeus has no KNOWN connection to:
Marduk has no KNOWN connection to:
Dr. Charles Benton.
A former colleague of the physician Dr. Strange, his efforts to convince the master surgeon to do some charity work was doomed to failure by Strange's egocentric attitude. Years later, he became involved with the occult, seeking power for its own sake, even offering his soul to Satannish and coming to lead the Sons of the Satannish. He pretended to be trying to convince Strange to serve as a medical consultant in order to better know his foe. He did manage to banish Strange, but even after sacrificing his own allies for power, he could not long stand against Strange. He had a heart attack from the strain of trying to match Strange's power, but he did manage to initiate the spell of Fire and Ice before dying. He later convinced Satannish to give him a chance to return to life if he could exchange a living soul for his own. With the aid of Laurox the Lecherous he nearly succeeded in providing Satannish with the souls of several Defenders, but he was foiled by the Son of Satan (Hellstrom), and Satannish claimed his soul once again as forfeit.
--Dr. Strange I#169, (as Asmodeus)#175 (169(fb), 173, 175-178, Giant-Size Defenders#2
Tyrone
D. Gus
A former teacher of Carl Lucas (Cage), he was the only who looked past his tough facade to see the mixed-up kid underneath. Years later, he'd fallen on hard times, living on the streets, drinking himself into oblivion, but Cage could still see the man inside of him. However, he eventually turned to black magic in an effort to gain power, becoming leader of an incarnation of the Sons of Satannish. Using a mystic construct of himself, Gus led Cage into a trap, intending to sacrifice him to Satannish who would use his superhuman form as his host. However, the Son of Satan helped Cage escape this fate, and Satannish punished Gus for his failure as the celestial alignment passed. Satannish intended to bring Gus to Hell, but Cage convinced the demon to leave him on Earth. Gus died from Satannish's attack, but Cage may have redeemed his soul.
--Marvel Team-Up I#126 ([126(fbs)], 126
(David Puerto) Former second-in-command to Asmodeus, his skill and daring were levels above the other Sons of Satannish. He led one assault on Dr. Strange, and after being rescued from the Sixth Dimension, he struck down the Black Knight with a blast from one of the Crystals of Conquest. However, Strange then easily defeated him and forced him to reveal how he might thwart the spell of Fire and Ice.
--Dr. Strange I#175 (176-178, Avengers I#61
Crystals
of Conquest
Magic items used by the Sons of Satannish, they allowed each one of them to harness the power of the entire group. In some of their appearances, they didn't use the Crystals, but instead used Wands. Presumably these functioned in a similar manner.
Using the Crystals, the cultists could fire energy blasts, form magical shields, bind others, etc.
--Dr. Strange I#175 (176-178, Avengers I#61(fb), 61
images:
Dr. Strange I#173, p8, panel 3 (Benton)
#175, p2
p3 (Asmodeus)
Avengers I#61, p7, panel 2 (Marduk unmasked)
Marvel Team-Up I#126, p6, panel 6 (Sons)
p8, panel 1 +4 (Gus)
Dr. Strange I#173 (October, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Dr. Strange I#176-178 (January-March, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Avengers I#61 (February, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), George Klein (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Giant-Size Defenders#2 (October, 1974) - Len Wein (writer), Gil Kane (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#126 (February, 1983) - J.M. Dematteis & Mary Jo Duffy (writers), Bob Hall (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Dr. Strange III#6 (August, 1989) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Jackson Guice (pencils), Jose Marzan (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 10/03/2004
Last updated: 01/01/2012
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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