CULT of the HARVESTER of EYES
Membership: Agent of
Fortune, Belathauzer/Balthazar, Vera Gemini,
nameless demons and humans, (formerly) Devil-Slayer
Purpose: To enact Xenogenesis (the rebirth of the
demon race)
on Earth
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Deathlok
(Manning),
the Defenders, Devil-Slayer, Doctor Strange, Hellcat, Hulk (Banner), Marc,
Nighthawk, Sharon, Valkyrie
(Brunnhilde)
Base of Operations: Ruins in the jungles of Mexico
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight I#33 (April, 1977)
History:
(Marvel Tarot#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Cult of the Harvester of Eyes was originally
formed to hunt down and kill followers of Agamotto. (Defenders I#58 (fb) - BTS) - Centuries ago the Ancient One defeated with the Eye of Agamotto the Cult of Harvesters of Eyes. (Defenders I#59 (fb)) - The Cult was reformed
in order
to enact Xenogenesis, the rebirth of the demon race that once walked
the Earth. Human agents were recruited, and a headquarters was
utilized and shielded from discovery in the jungles of Mexico.
Vera Gemini, half-demon and half-human, possessed the power to commit
human sacrifices and to resurrect one demon at a time. The
resurrected demon then took on a human form and was integrated into
society, from rulers of countries to common muggers. Eventually,
there would be enough demons to rule the Earth once again. (Marvel Spotlight I#33 (fb)) - When Devil-Slayer defected
from the
Cult after learning their true purposes, the Cult sent a death squad of
demon assassins (and possibly a demogorge) to apprehend him.
After an unrevealed attempt to reclaim him in Jamaica, they pursued him
to New York where he planned to say goodbye to his ex-wife, Cory
Payne. The demons arrived there first and replaced the staff at
New Grace Hospital where she worked with demon duplicates. (Marvel Spotlight I#33) - At the hospital, Devil-Slayer did
battle
with Deathlok, a future cyborg, thinking Deathlok was a demon. While
the two of them continued their battle in another dimension, the demons
revealed themselves to Cory Payne and planned on murdering her to get
revenge on Devil-Slayer. Devil-Slayer and Deathlok came back and
battled the demons, causing the demons to flee with vows of revenge. (Defenders I#59 (fb)) - Vera Gemini conceived a plot to speed
Xenogenesis. By using Dr. Strange's Eye of Agamotto, she could
open a portal that would allow the demons direct access to the Earth
via the astral plane. (Defenders I#58) - The Cult sent an Agent of Fortune, an
operative
used to garner possessions, to retrieve the Eye of Agamotto from Dr.
Strange, and the Agent was successful. Meanwhile, Vera Gemini met
with Devil-Slayer at a nightclub and tried to re-recruit him though
he'd been actively fighting against the Cult. Devil-Slayer
over-reacted and assaulted the seemingly normal Vera, leading the Valkyrie and the Hulk
to try to stop him, and Vera
escaped. When two Americans, Marc and Sharon, approached the Cult
headquarters in some ruins in the jungles of Mexico, they were captured
and used as sacrifices to enact another demon resurrection. The
Agent of Fortune returned with the Eye and was instructed to slay
Devil-Slayer. (Defenders I#59) - Once Belathauzer was resurrected, he took
on the
human form of an Air Force base commander. Dr. Strange tracked
down the Eye on the astral plane, but Vera had already used it and
demons began manifesting themselves. Caught up in the spell, Dr.
Strange's form merged with some of the demons. Meanwhile,
Devil-Slayer arrived at the Cult's headquarters and was attacked by the
Agent of Fortune. (Defenders I#60) - When the Cult's human agents exhausted
themselves
with a chant of resurrection, the demons burst forth and killed the
humans. In a game of demonic roulette with the demon lords, Vera
Gemini claimed leadership of both demons and humans. When the
Defenders arrived, they separated Dr. Strange from his merged form and
defeated the Agent of Fortune. While Hulk, Valkyrie, and
Devil-Slayer battled the demons, Hellcat defeated Vera Gemini and Dr.
Strange and Nighthawk successfully retrieved the Eye of Agamotto.
The Xenogenesis plot was reversed, and the Cult of the Harvester of
Eyes was no more. (Marvel Tarot#1 - BTS) - Sorcerer Ian McNee read
about the original purpose of the Cult of the Harvester of Eyes. Comments: Created by David Anthony Kraft (writer), Rich Buckler, Mike Nasser, Arvell Jones (all pencils) & Klaus Janson (inks). The names 'Vera Gemini' and 'Harvester of
Eyes' are
songs by the Blue Oyster Cult. Agent of Fortune is also a reference to Blue Oyster Cult lyrics and it is also an album name. Balthazar too is a reference to BOC lyrics (both are in the song ETI on Agents of Fortune), there might be more, but I'm pretty sure
that's it. If you care enough, I'd check the Blue Oyster Cult site, I think they
have a page on cameos, Marvel used stuff from their songs a couple times
(Marvel Spotlight
I#33) - The Cult recruited Eric Simon
Payne, a former soldier and hitman, to act as a Reaper of Souls, or
assassin. They helped awaken his telepathic powers, equipped him
with a Shadow-Cloak (through which he could teleport to other
dimensions and draw forth other-dimensional weapons). Calling
himself Devil-Slayer, Payne acted as their assassin, learned their
tactics, and discovered the location of their dark retreat.
--Jacob Bleier
Slayer (Dave Cox) fought Captain America and Nomad using Devil-Slayer's uniform (including a shadow-cloak) in Captain America I#293-294. Dave was manipulated and mind-controlled into
wearing it by Baron (Helmut) Zemo and Mother Superior to strike at Captain America. Clarifications: No known connection to (Defenders I#33) - Marc was an
archaeologist affiliated with Empire State University who had not had
any recent discoveries, and so was sent on a trip to the jungles of
Mexico. Sharon accompanied him, and chided him for going at
all. While the two of them argued in the jungle, they came across
ruins that acted for the headquarters of the Cult of the Harvester of
Eyes. The two of them were captured by the Cult and used as human
sacrifices to enact Xenogenesis. --Defenders I#33 images: Defenders I#58, p31, pan1 Marvel Spotlight I#33 (April, 1977) - David Anthony
Kraft (writer), Rich Buckler, Mike Nasser, Arvell Jones (pencilers),
Klaus Johnson (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor) 02/06/11Last
updated:
12/20/05. Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. Non-Marvel
Copyright info Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
--Michael Niosi
Marvel Spotlight I#33, p30, pan4-5 (fighting Deathlok and Devil-Slayer)
Defenders I#58, p27, pan5 (Marc and Sharon)
Defenders I#58 (April, 1978) - David Kraft (writer),
Ed Hannigan (penciler), Klaus Johnson, Dan Green (inkers), Archie
Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#59 (May, 1978) - David Kraft (writer), Ed
Hannigan (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#60 (June, 1978) - David Kraft (writer),
Ed Hannigan (penciler), Dan Green (penciler/inker), Archie Goodwin
(editor)
Marvel Tarot#1 (2007) - David Sexton
(writer/designer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and ©
1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
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