The High Priest of Zor

HIGH PRIEST OF ZOR

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Demon (Class 2 or possibly Class 3) magic user

Occupation: High Priest of Zor

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Demi-Demons, Magrador, Zor

Enemies: Crystal, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), Power Man (Luke Cage), Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Keep Zor, New Jersey, USA

First Appearance: Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (February, 1984)

Powers/Abilities: The High Priest of Zor controlled dark forces of magic with several different effects. He could cast illusions over his own form and clothes to resemble a human being; he could animate objects and transform them into demons under his command; he could teleport himself and other beings over large distances; and he could fire bolts of eldritch energy and erect magic shields for the purpose of defense or entrapment. The High Priest knew how to perform a powerful ceremony using the Twin Idols of Zor. He also commanded an army of Demi-Demons, which protected Keep Zor.

The High Priest schemes

History: 

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (fb) - BTS) - The High Priest was a worshiper of Zor, second only to Magrador itself. For years, the cult of Zor had searched for the Twin Idols of Zor, a unique pair of powerful artifacts, but the High Priest possessed only one of them.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (fb)) - One day, he learnt that the other Idol had been found by Wanda Maximoff and her husband, the Vision. The High Priest tried to buy it with every legal proposal, but, having faced their refusals, started to using more violent methods. The High Priest attacked the two heroes using their own house, but the combined powers of magic and science saved them and the Idol too. The High Priest then had Wanda's house under a secret siege and managed to pursue the Idol when Wanda brought it to Power Man and Iron Fist.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102) - While the High Priest tried to force the two heroes for hire to release the statue to him, the Vision managed to steal the second Idol from Keep Zor, the Cult of Zor's stronghold.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102 - BTS) - The High Priest, however, sensed the Idol's presence in the popcorn machine and removed it from its hiding place, and also captured the Scarlet Witch.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102) - Using Wanda's life, the High Priest blackmailed the Vision and obtained the second Idol. The High Priest then transported Power Man and Iron Fist to Keep Zor to be imprisoned while he performed the Ceremony of Zor using the Twin Idols. The Heroes for Hire and the Vision soon broke free, and also freed the Scarlet Witch. They interrupted the ceremony and defeated the Demi-Demons, forcing the High Priest to run for the catacombs under the Keep. His escape did not last long; surrounded, he had to teleport himself away, leaving the Idols to the heroes. Without the High Priest's magic to sustain it, Keep Zor vanished.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#102 - BTS) - The High Priest probably faced a severe punishment for failing his demon master.

(Vision & Scarlet Witch II#8) - Some time later the High Priest attacked Luke Cage in his apartment in NYC. Cage punched the High Prist, who realized that it was stupid to attack Cage directly. He threatened Cage and then teleported away to get the Twin Idols of Zor.

  The High Priest and his demonic allies attacked Cage again on his way to Leonia, New Jersey to warn Vision and the Scarlet Witch. The High Priest teleported away with his allies after the Scarlet Witch hit them with her magic.

  The High Priest secretly followed the heroes to NYC where the Scarlet Witch had hidden the Idols. The High Priest used illusions that made all the places the heroes went to look medieval. He followed them and sent several demons against them on their way to the hidden Idols on the World Trade Center's roof. The High Priest already awaited there with Demi-Demons that had been selected because each of them was able to counter one of the heroes. Scarlet Witch summoned a storm, but the High Priest crawled through it to the seemingly invisible Idols, but they weren't there. Meanwhile Crystal had destroyed the Idols in Leonia. The High Priest disappeared and wasn't seen since then.

Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek & Richard Howell (writer/co-plotters/artist).

The hierarchy of the cult of Zor remains unknown, although Magrador was above the High Priest, but who was Magrador? And was Zor their only god/demon? Let's hope someone will answer these questions.

Thanks to Markus Raymond for adding the Vision & Scarlet Witch appearance.

Profile by Spidermay.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The High Priest of Zor has no known connections to

Zor has no known connections to

Magrador has no known connections to

The Demi-Demons have no known connections to

One of the Twin Idols of Zor

Twin Idols of Zor

The Twin Idols of Zor were two identical, dark-green statues, one cubit tall, depicting Zor. They were ancient mystical artifacts of great power that were needed for the Ceremony of Zor, which, once complete, would enslave every mind on Earth. The Idols were believed to be lost to antiquity. In the modern era, one was still in the possession of the High Priest of Zor while the other Idol came into the possession of the Scarlet Witch and the Vision. 

   Wanda's investigations revealed the Idols' potential but also attracted the High Priest's attention and anger. To protect the Idol, Wanda deceived Power Man and Iron Fist, hiring them to keep the Idol. The High Priest of Zor could not defeat the heroes to retrieve it. Power Man hid the packet containing the Idol in a popcorn machine but the High Priest sensed it and easily retrieved it. Meanwhile, the Idol still in Keep Zor was stolen by the Vision and returned to Wanda's hotel room, where the Heroes for Hire were looking for her. The High Priest, threatening Wanda's life, stole the second Idol and transported Power Man and Iron Fist to Keep Zor to have them imprisoned while he performed the dark ceremony. However, the Ceremony of Zor was interrupted by the heroes, now freed, and the High Priest tried to escape with Idols. But he was surrounded and had to transport himself without the Idols, which were then taken into the custody of the Scarlet Witch.

The following months she and Vision tried to destroy them. The High Priest returned before they succeeded, but the Scarlet Witch lured him to NYC while Crystal sought a way to destroy the Idols. She eventually created a fire that burnt the Idols.

--Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (Power Man and Iron Fist#102, Vision & Scarlet Witch II#8

Demi-DemonsDemi-Demon with axe

Demi-Demons

 The Demi-Demons were the troops of Keep Zor under the command of the High Priest of Zor, who also sustained them. They were mostly simple, strong and armed soldiers, but some of them were also versed in magic, capable of using sorcery to shoot magic bolts or to enhance their own physical traits and abilities. Some of them had fur and claws. The Demi-Demons patrolled Keep Zor's surroundings and the dungeons inside the Keep.

 

 

 

 

 

Demi-Demon using magic    The Demi-Demons guarded the Ceremony of Zor and tried to stop the heroes when they broke free from their prison. The Demi-Demons' magic attacks were easily stopped by Wanda's shields. Their bodies were unable to stop the disgregating attack by the Vision, and their magically enhanced strength and resistance could not resist Wanda's hex bolts. Iron Fist's precise kicks were also capable of knocking one of them out. When the High Priest escaped, the castle and the Demi-Demons disappeared without his power to sustain them.

 

They once again served the High Priest against Vision, Scarlet Witch, Power Man and Quicksilver. They fought the heroes in Leonia, New Jersey and later in New York City. Some specially chosen Demi-Demons were each chosen to counter one of the heroes were blown away by a storm summoned by the Scarlet Witch.

 

 

--Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (Power Man and Iron Fist#102, Vision & Scarlet Witch II#8

 

images: (without ads)
Power Man and Iron Fist#102, p20, pan9 (High Priest, main image)

p19, pan4 (High Priest, head shot)
p10, pan3 (Idol of Zor)
p13 pan3 (beast-like Demi-Demons)
p13, pan3 (Demi-Demon with axe)
p17, pan4 (Demi-Demon using magic)

Appearances:
Power Man and Iron Fist#102 (February, 1984) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Richard Howell (artist), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Vision & Scarlet Witch II#8 (May, 1986) - Steve Englehart (writer), Richard Howell (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)

Last updated: 03/23/08

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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