SORROW

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Fallen Stars) god, magic/energy user ((Distant Past and Pre-Cataclysmic Era through modern era)

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: Fallen Stars

Affiliations: Ellen Brandt, Job Burke, Cleito, Creator, Devil-Slayer, K'ad-Mon of the Fallen Stars, Man-Thing, inmates and staff of Rosewell Mental Hospital;
    formerly Mr. Termineus

Enemies: Mr. Termineus

Known Relatives: Creator ("father");
    Mr. Termineus (former husband),
    possibly the other Fallen Stars (K'ad-Mon, Termineus, others)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Currently unknown;
    formerly Rosewell Sanitarium, Charles, Massachusetts;
    formerly the City of the Golden Gate, a part of pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis;

First Appearance: Man-Thing III#3 (February, 1998)

 

 

Powers/Abilities: Sorrow has vast, though unspecified abilities. She can handle and manipulate the Nexus of Realities and is powerful enough to bar Termineus' path. Her primary power is compassion and understanding, providing comfort to the distraught. She does not speak, either from choice or inability.

    Her true form appears to be pure energy, though she typically takes the form of a young African-America woman.

 

 

Height: Variable; (human) 5'7"
Weight: Variable; (human) 102 lbs.
Eyes: White; (human) brown
Hair: Luminescent white; (human) black

 

History:
(Strange Tales IV#2 (fb) - BTS / 4 (fb) - BTS) <According to Termineus> - An ancient creator being's dreams (of darkness and light, love and hate, male and female, life and death, etc) were given form via the creator's staff. The Fallen Stars were born; living beings--each one the embodiment of one of the creator's thoughts and/or feelings. Each one unique in the role it would play in the drama of creation. The Fallen Stars took shape and fell from the sky through the void of the universe, in the process creating planets, galaxies, etc.
    Sorrow was one of these Fallen Stars.

(Strange Tales IV#3 (fb) - BTS) - Sorrow eventually fell in love with and married fellow Fallen Star Termineus.

(Strange Tales IV#4 (fb) - BTS) - However, Termineus eventually realized that in order to accomplish his mission he could not have a heart or know love. To try to eliminate these feelings, he treated Sorrow with disgust, rage, brutality, and hatred--all to mask the undying love that burned so brightly in his heart.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcover#7: MAGIC) - Sorrow, summoned by Agamotto, attended the Assemblage of Avatars in Atlantis around 19,000 BC to find a solution for the current conflicts between the Elder Gods. Only little was accomplished during the meeting and Agamotto became frustated with humanity's limitations.

(Man-Thing III#8 (fb) - BTS) <Prior to 18, 000 BC> - Sorrow came to dwell with the Atlantean City of the Golden Gate.

(Man-Thing III#8) <Prior to 18, 000 BC> - Sorrow was present in the City of the Golden Gate when Ellen Brandt and the K'ad-Mon-possessed Man-Thing traveled back in time to retrieve a fragment of the Nexus of Realities from Cleito.

(Man-Thing III#3 (fb) - BTS) - Sorrow came to dwell in Rosewell Sanitarium, providing comfort to its patients and staff, though she was believed to be a patient "so crazy that half the doctors in the state haven't able to figure her out."

(Man-Thing III#4 (fb)) - Sorrow comforted patient Ellen Brandt, helping her to regain her sanity.

(Man-Thing III#3 (fb) - BTS) - Sorrow befriended inmate Eric Simon Payne: Devil-Slayer, who was eventually embedded with one of the Fragments of the shattered Nexus of Realities, caused by the dimensional crossings during the heroes return from Counter-Earth: Franklin.

(Man-Thing III#3) - Sorrow comforted Eric on Christmas Eve, and she was present when Termineus confronted Eric, causing Rosewell to be shunted from the earthly plane.

(Man-Thing III#4) - Termineus taunted Sorrow with the insanity he had caused in Eric, and she went to Eric's side, attempting to calm him. She also briefly left Rosewell, visiting and comforting the young Job Burke. Meanwhile, Eric, as Devil-Slayer assaulted the partially K'ad-Mon-possessed Man-Thing, causing a powerful energy backlash.

(Man-Thing III#5) - The energies released restored Rosewell to Earth from the extradimensional vortex into which it had been pulled. Termineus attempted to claim the Nexus Fragment after it was released from Devil-Slayer, but Sorrow stopped him and gave the Fragment to Ellen Brandt in the form of a necklace.

(Strange Tales IV#2 (fb) - BTS) - Sorrow summoned the rest of the Fallen Stars to oppose Termineus' plot to bring about the end of all reality.

(Strange Tales IV#2) - Devil-Slayer, Sorrow, and the other Fallen Stars appeared in the Man-Thing's swamp, confronting Termineus and joining with K'ad-Mon against him. Termineus felt that his opponents were doomed to failure.

(Strange Tales IV#3) - While Termineus taunted Sorrow, K'ad-Mon, Sallis, and the other Fallen Stars, he empowered Owen Jackson with the final Nexus fragment. Meanwhile, K'ad-Mon had re-formed Ted Sallis as a whole, intact being outside of the Man-Thing. The K'ad-Mon-possessed Man-Thing prepared to send Job home and claim the necklace containing the Nexus fragments, but Jackson them emerged, roaring like a demon from Hell, slew Job with his Sword, and gave the necklace to Termineus. Seeking to free all beings from the dream that was existence, Termineus then destroyed the Nexus, and all reality was consumed.

(Strange Tales IV#4) - After all planes of reality were consumed, there was only a Sea of Nothingness, containing only five figures: Ted Sallis, Ellen Brandt, the deceased Job Burke, the exhausted Termineus, and Sorrow. Ted's nature as the Man of Lineage (combined with his love for Ellen) allowed him to briefly maintain the dream of existence. Termineus attempted to convince that since all life was but a dream of the Creator, that there was no point in struggling to maintain its falsehood. Sallis countered that Termineus remained in existence because he could not relinquish his own love of the Creator, its dreams, and of Sorrow. Still, Termineus refused to add his will to that of Sallis, who, disheartened by Termineus' arguments, began to lose his grip on the dream. Ellen faded from existence, followed by Sorrow, followed by Termineus, whose smile persisted for a few seconds, like the Cheshire Cat, before fading away.
    However, as Ted Sallis lay there, cradling his dead son Job, he realized that if life were but a dream, then so is death, and he restored Job to life. Job combined his will and power with Ted Sallis, becoming the Love that formed the Whim that formed Creation, and they restored all reality to existence. Ted Sallis became the Nexus, while he then returned Job to his parents, who left, to forget all that had happened...for now.
    Back in the Man-Thing's swamp, Sorrow offered her hand to the dejected Termineus, but he refused, continuing to turn his back on love and vowing to keep working towards his goal of bringing about the End of All Things. Sorrow took Eric Simon Payne's hand and walked off into the sky, the Fallen Stars fading into mist along with them.

Comments: Created by J. M. DeMatteis and Liam Sharp.

Mr. DeMatteis was kind enough to share with me the paid for, but unpublished, scripts to Strange Tales IV#3-4, information from which I've added to this profile (in italics). They are referenced in Peter Parker :Spider-Man, and fit perfectly into continuity. At some point, I'll post the scripts and plots to the net for everyone's enjoyment.

The Creator referred to in the Man-Thing/Strange Tales stories was supposed to be God (or, more correctly, some non-denominational creator being).

Sorrow has an entry in Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

images:
Man-Thing III#3, p8, panel 4 (human force)
        p12 (true form?)

Appearances:
Man-Thing III#1-5, 8 (December, 1997 - April, July, 1998) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Liam Roger Sharp (artist), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Strange Tales IV#1-2 (September-October 1998) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Liam Roger Sharp (artist), Pete Franco (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcover#7: MAGIC (2009) - David Sexton (writer), Jeff Younquist & Jennifer Gruenwald (editors)

Last updated: 11/07/04

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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