PRIEST OF SICKLESPRIEST OF SICKLES
Real Name: Johan Richter
Identity/Class: Human magic user (World War II era
to modern era) (German)
Occupation: Cult leader, servant of Kulan Gath;
former Luftwaffe pilot
Group Membership: Unidentified cult;
formerly Nazi Party
Affiliations: Kulan Gath, the Hand, Jhoatun Lau
Enemies: Doctor Voodoo (Jericho
Drumm), Elektra (Elektra Natchios), Punisher (Frank Castle), Signore
Saviano, Venom (Eddie Brock), Wolverine (James Howlett)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Acolyte"
Base of Operations: An unidentified jungle mansion;
formerly the City of Sickles,
Savage Land
First Appearance: Savage Avengers I#1 (July,
2019)
Powers/Abilities: The Priest of Sickles is a skilled mystic, adept at teleportation spells and the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, among others. He is also long-lived (likely through mystic means), having aged very little since the early 1940s.
The Priest has used a large sickle to decapitate
others during his cult sacrifices.
Height: 5'8" (by approximation)
Weight: 150 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blue
History: (Secret Avengers I#2 (fb)) - In the
early 1940s, as World War II raged across the globe, German Luftwaffe
pilot Johan Richter was in an aerial firefight when his plane was shot
down over the Savage Land. A pteranodon soon collided with the enemy
plane as Richter parachuted down and Richter's damaged plane flew into
an unidentified portal. After his parachute caught in a tree, Johan
Richter freed himself and ended up fighting dinosaurs for months before
discovering the City of Sickles, ruled by Hyborian era sorcerer Kulan
Gath. When Richter asked Gath where he was, Kulan Gath welcomed a new
student that had fallen from the sky and promised Richter great power
if Richter obeyed him. Gath then demanded Richter kneel to him and
Richter did so before Gath saw images of the horrors of Nazi Germany in
Richter's minds. Pleased by what he saw, Gath had Richter arise to
begin his reeducation under Gath. Over time, Johan Richter became the
only student of Kulan Gath to survive into the modern day.
(Savage Avengers I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Richter eventually
became the leader of an unidentified cult seeking to summon the elder
god Jhoatun Lau. As leader, Richter took on the title of Priest of
Sickles.
(Savage Avengers I#1) - The Priest of Sickles
welcomed captive opera singer Signore Saviano to the City of Sickles,
referring to the giant bowl of blood in front of them as Saviano's
destiny. Saviano warned that if the Priest intended to hurt him, he had
powerful friends, but the Priest replied that they were counting on
Saviano's friends arriving. Explaining that his cult was filling the
bowl with the blood of mankind's finest in order to summon the god
Jhoatun Lau, the Priest proclaimed how much of an honor it was to die
summoning Jhoatun Lau before using his sickle to decapitate Saviano. As
Saviano was knocked into the bowl, the Priest commented on how much he
loved Saviano's voice then turned to the ninja Hand agents who had
brought Saviano before him. The Priest then informed the Hand that they
needed more powerful blood and suggested the Hand bring warriors next.
The Priest later led the newly-captive Doctor Voodoo
to the bowl of blood, where Dr. Voodoo attempted to talk the Priest
into a "best two out of three." The Priest declined, instead assuring
Voodoo that his blood would join others within the bowl. When Voodoo
asked what the Priest was talking about, the Priest began ranting about
a planet beyond Pluto that would align once a millennium with Earth,
allowing his cult to summon Jhoatun Lau. He then explained that after
Jhoatun Lau had supped himself on Earth, the Priest and his cult would
join Jhoatun Lau in his Temple in the Stars. After revealing how their
bowl of blood was more full than the last summoning attempt, which
resulted in the entire cult being killed, the Priest was accused of
being insane by Dr. Voodoo, to which the Priest replied that perhaps he
had lost his senses after decades in the City of Sickles. As the Priest
announced how he looked forward to finding out the truth about his
senses, Wolverine arrived to rescue Dr. Voodoo, only for the Priest to
slit Voodoo's throat with his sickle. The Priest's Hand allies then
attacked Wolverine en masse as the Priest ordered them to restrain
Wolverine. As the Hand dealt with Wolverine, more Hand agents brought
caskets to the Priest, who asked why he was being brought dead when he
needed powerful, living blood. The Hand agents bowed and explained that
the corpses were bait for another warrior who had shed more blood than
almost any other man.
(Savage Avengers I#2) - Despite the Priest's orders
for the Hand ninjas to kill Wolverine, Wolverine slashed his way
through the Hand with ease and took the fight directly to Richter.
Casting the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak in an attempt to hold Wolverine
back, the Priest was surprised when Wolverine was able to fight the
Bands' power to continue fighting and when Wolverine continued to close
in on the Priest, he cast a teleportation spell and disappeared in a
cloud of green smoke. Returning to Kulan Gath, the Priest of Sickles
learned that Gath's amulet had been stolen and that Gath had been
forced to release his captive alien (Venom) early, prompting Richter to
inform Gath of Wolverine's involvement. Gath promised to take care of
Wolverine and when he mentioned that they could not summon Jhoatun Lau
without his amulet, Richter agreed to find the amulet.
(Savage Avengers I#3 - BTS) - In an attempt to get
close to injure Kulan Gath, a recovered Doctor Voodoo took the form of
the Priest of Sickles but Kulan Gath saw through Voodoo's mystic
illusion.
(Savage Avengers I#5) - The Priest of Sickles met
with Kulan Gath alongside other Gath agents and commended them on their
service, announcing their mission to summon Jhoatun Lau a success.
Richter assured Gath that it was their will to serve him and Gath
ordered the trio to prepare to return to their homelands, suggesting
they all wait to see how long it takes for warriors to kill Jhoatun
Lau. When Jhoatun Lau was killed by Wolverine, Conan, the Punisher,
Venom, Doctor Voodoo and Elektra, they teleported back to the City of
Sickles and Gath sent the Priest and two other agents through a mystic
portal to prepare for the next sacrifice.
(Savage Avengers I Annual#1 (fb) - BTS) - When one of the Priest's agents, a human trafficker, was defeated and chased into the nearby jungles by the Black Widow, Conan and Daimon Hellstrom, the Priest of Sickles intervened and teleported the agent away.
(Savage Avengers I Annual#1) - Berating the agent
that had he not intervened, the agent would have been captured and his
plans jeopardized, the Priest of Sickles reminded the agent that they
had to kill tens of thousands in the span of a few months and asked
what the agent was if he was not part of their solution. When the agent
replied that he was part of the sacrifice, the Priest slit his throat
then snapped his fingers to communicate with Kulan Gath. Announcing
that he had found a way to get Kulan Gath's "venom" into the population
quickly by using drugs, the Priest promised that he would not fail Gath
in preparing for the coming of Shuma-Gorath.
Comments: Created by Gerry Duggan and Mike
Deodato, Jr.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Priest of Sickles has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Savage Avengers I#1, p5, pan1 (Priest of Sickles, main)
Savage Avengers I#1, p27, pan2 (Priest of Sickles, headshot)
Savage Avengers I#2, p2, pan3 (Johann Richter during the early 1940s)
Savage Avengers I#1, p4, pan3 (Priest of Sickles, waist up image with
sickle)
Savage Avengers I Annual#1, p29, pan2 (Priest of Sickles berating a
servant)
Appearances:
Savage Avengers I#1 (July, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike Deodato,
Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#2 (August, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike
Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#3 (September, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike
Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#5 (November, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike
Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I Annual#1 (December, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer),
Ron Garney (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 04/29/2020
Last updated: 04/29/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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