GHOST DANCER

Real Name: Nathaniel Great Owl

Identity/Class: Human magic user;
    Native American  (presumably Hopi)

Occupation: Sorcerer, warrior

Group Membership: Ghost Dancer lineage

Affiliations: Lori

Enemies: Clown demons, Curtis Edwards, Iktomi, Manitou

Known Relatives: Unidentified wife (deceased), Ethan Owl (son, deceased), unidentified daughter-in-law (deceased), James Owl (Ghost Dancer, grandson);
    numerous unspecified ancestors (many of whom were Ghost Dancers)

Aliases: Gate-Keeper of the Secret Worlds

Base of Operations: Presumably one of the Secret Worlds

First Appearance: Dances with Demons#1 (September, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Ghost Dancer serves as a gate-keeper, blocking passage into the world of the spirits. He has a number of unspecified magical abilities, including projecting blasts and opening dimensional portals, though most of his abilities are as yet unseen.

History:
(Dances with Demons#1 (fb) - BTS / Dances with Demons#3(fb)) - Nathaniel Great Owl became the latest in the line of Ghost Dancers, blocking passage of the unworthy into the world of the spirits.

(Dances with Demons#1) - The mystic known as Lori served as Nathaniel's guardian.

(Marvel Frontier Comics Special#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - Nathaniel encountered many old trails given new life, as well as many new trails to follow.

(Marvel Frontier Comics Special#1/2) <December 21, 1925> Nathaniel left the Southwest, traveling to New York to follow the trail of the whispers of one who would force his an entry into the hidden realms, of one who would be Manitou. Nathaniel approached a lavish house, and the door exploded as he neared. Recognizing this as illusion, Nathaniel nonetheless transformed into the Ghost Dancer and entered, dispelling images of Native America warriors as he walked. He finally entered the chambers of the cause of the illusions, Curtis M. Edwards, who was possessed by one of the Clown demons, sent by the trickster Iktomi to romanticize the slaughter of the Indian Nations. Ghost Dancer recognized and summoned forth the Clown demon and then took it away to force it to atone.
    After Ghost Dancer departed, Edwards laughed, commenting that with the last vestiges of his former self removed, he was human and thus beyond the Ghost Dancer's retribution. However, from the shadows someone spoke, "I'd guess that whoever told you that was playing a trick of his own!" And Edwards vanished in darkness.

(Dances with Demons#1 (fb) - BTS) - As Ghost Dancer, Nathaniel Great Owl dogged the Manitou demon at every turn across secret worlds for twenty years, seeking to deny it the deaths that nourished it.

(Dances with Demons#2 (fb) - BTS) - Nathaniel Great Owl dedicated his grandson James' unborn spirit to the task of becoming the next Ghost Dancer.

(Dances with Demons#1 (fb) - BTS) - Nathaniel's son, Ethan Owl, never forgave him for walking out on his mother, Nathaniel's wife. Ethan  told James that Nathaniel had abandoned his family before James was born, before James' father left the reservation to go to college.

(Dances with Demons#1) - The Manitou demon confronted the weakened Nathaniel in a New York subway. Nathaniel transformed into Ghost Dancer and fought back, but was slain when his chest was slashed open by the Manitou demons' lesser demons. The Manitou then tore off Ghost Dancer's head, questioning why it hadn't received his power and where he was hiding his soul, at which point a hawk (Lori) burst forth from his chest and escaped, despite the Clowns' efforts to stop it. Reappearing above South Central Los Angeles, Lori took a wound from the Clown before casting it to the alley below.

(Dances with Demons#3) - Manitou easily overpowered Ghost Dancer until Lori arrived and jumped into the fight. She was no match for the Manitou, but James then had a flash of his grandfather's memories, and Nathaniel took over the Ghost Dancer's form and fought for him. Nathaniel cast off the Clowns swarming over him and rescued Lori, who in turn temporarily healed Mike after he had been skewered by one of the Clowns.
    James later began his training under Lori and started his visionquest. He was immediately confronted by a past incarnation of the Ghost Dancer (possibly Nathaniel), which seemed to tear his heart from his chest.

(Dances with Demons#4) - James continued his confrontation with his ancestor Ghost Dancers, including his grandfather, who explained that as each Ghost Dancer died, his spirit was added to the Ghost Dancer's form and passed on to the next descendent. They then proceeded to test him. They cast him into the secret worlds that existed before the present one. Ultimately, James "slew" and absorbed the power and souls of each of the Ghost Dancers. James completed the ritual by tearing the heart from the last standing Ghost Dancer and taking it for himself. Accepting the mantle and power of the Ghost Dancer, he seemed to grow to great size and consume Manitou, who vanished into darkness.

Comments: Created by Simon Jowett and Charlie Adlard.

Marvel UK, Frontier Comics. Kind of like the Marvel Knights, or Marvel Edge, or, or something.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:

images: (without ads)
Marvel Frontier Comics Special#1, Ghost Dancer story, p2, panel 5 (normal face)
        p4, panel 1 (Ghost Dancer)

Other Appearances:
Dances with Demons#1-4 (September-December, 1993) - by Simon Jowett (script), Charlie Adlard (art), Garry Russell (editor)
Marvel Frontier Comics Special#1 (January, 1994)- by Simon Jowett (script), Charlie Adlard (art), Michael Bennent (editor)

Last updated: 08/11/06

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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