| SOLOMON KANE | |
| Real Name: Solomon L. Kane Identity/Class: Human, English citizen; 16th to 17th century Occupation: Adventurer; former mercenary, naval officer, privateer and explorer Group Membership: Former officer in the Royal Navy Affiliations: Captain Basso's niece, Ali-Ben Ar, James Alison, Cara Cabel, Justin Cabel, Marta Cabel, Nathan Cabel, Goodman Carson, Cathryn, Conan of Cimmeria, Dark Agnes de Chastillon, Mary Garvin, Goru, Sir Richard Grenville, Jeremy Hawk, Jack Hollinster, Kran, Kuroba, King Labashi, Loga, Moon Knight (Marc Spector), Bess Morgan, N'Longa, Nayela, Satyne, Siduri, John Silent, Morgit Sinkovit, Sir Hildred Taferal, Marylin Taferal, Hans von Frankenstein, Yussef of Hadji, Zunna; formerly Captain Basso Enemies: Agara, Akaana, Ben Allardine, Asshur-ras-arab, Sir George Banway, Uric Barrow, Sheikh Hassim ben Said, the Black Riders, Black Shuck, Rosella Carson, Daniel, Brother Dom, Dracula (Vlad Tepes), Sir Francis Drake, Driago, Dygor, Ezra, Fishhawk (Captain Jonas Hardraker), El Gar, Gasper, Gaston the Butcher (Gaston L'Armon), Gideon, Gulka the Gorilla-Slayer, Gideon Harkins, host of the Cleft Skull Tavern, Kari, Katzenborn dragon, Le Loup and his gang (including Gaston, La Costa, La Mon, Raton), Marta Cabel's brother, King Mkeeba, Queen Nakari, Serpent Men, Set, Silver One, Julka Sinkovit, Chief Songa, Baron (Robert) von Staler, Pilot-Major Allen Stewart, Sir John Taferal, vampire-creatures of Engazi, the Wyrm, Yamen; unidentified beast-men, unidentified second century succubus; Set-possessed Captain Basso and the crew of the Shandy Known Relatives: None Aliases: "Sulieman Kahani" (Arabic transliteration of name used by Hassim ben Said), "Monsieur Galahad" (nickname used by Le Loup), "Ing-Land" (nickname used by Conan) Base of Operations: Mobile across 16th to 17th century Earth First Appearance: (Historical) Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard (first published in Weird Tales, August, 1928); (Marvel Universe) Monsters Unleashed#1/4 (August, 1973) |
former |
| Powers/Abilities: Solomon Kane
possessed the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and
build who engaged in intensive regular exercise. He once, in a moment
of rare humor, referred to himself as "the strongest man is England,"
and would retain his vitality throughout his life, even decades past
his prime. Kane was a master swordsman, often armed with a rapier, having received early training in fencing, perhaps a student of one of the masters such as Austin Bagger or George Silver. On at least some occasions, Solomon wielded a silver-coated rapier that was effective against vampires, werewolves, etc. He also used other weapons such as axes, daggers and staves, and black powder firearms such as muskets and pistols. Knowledgeable in combating supernatural creatures, he would on occasion use silvered blades and ammunition. He possessed the Staff of Solomon, which possessed numerous supernatural abilities. Unable to use most of the powers of the staff, Solomon Kane nevertheless found it to be a formidable melee weapon, capable of even slaying vampires, but he was able to communicate with N'Longa in his dreams if he slept grasping it. Perhaps his greatest asset was his iron will and strength of faith, once even able to grapple with the ghost Gideon through sheer force of will. Kane was an expert frontiersman and tracker, skilled in seamanship and woodworking, and could speak numerous languages, including English and a trade language which allowed him to communicate with several African cultures. Height: 6'0" (by approximation) Weight: 190 lbs (by approximation) Eyes: Grey Hair: Black, later white History: (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - <1530> Solomon Kane was born in Devon (Devonshire) in southwest England. Reared in the Puritan faith (a branch of English Protestantism), he apparently received early training in the art of fencing, perhaps as a student of one of the masters such as Austin Bagger or George Silver. (Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2 (fb)) - The young Solomon played with his childhood friend Elizabeth "Bess" Morgan. (Solomon Kane#2 (fb)) - In their youth, Solomon and his friend Nathan Cabel spoke out against the English oppression of Puritanism. Solomon was close to Nathan and his wife Cara, and shared an affinity with their son, Justin. (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - To escape the persecution of the Puritans in England, and possessed of a restless nature, Solomon Kane left Devon, and he began his travels in his youth. (Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2 (fb)) - Bess Morgan watched from shore as Solomon Kane sailed away on a vessel from Devon. 
(Solomon Kane#2 (fb)) - <1545> Solomon Kane and Nathan Cabel
served as mercenaries in Germany, They were separated in battle, and
Kane thought Nathan dead, but Cabel survived and would later marry Romani
healer Marta.(The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - During these early years, Solomon Kane may have been a mercenary in the armies of continental Europe, a privateer in the West Indies, and traveled widely to India and China. (Savage Sword of Conan I#13/2 (fb)) - During his travels, Solomon Kane battled both mortal and supernatural evils, including demons, a werewolf, pirates and a giant demon. (Savage Sword of Conan I#13/2 - BTS) - Solomon Kane had established a fierce reputation as "a man more dangerous than a wolf." (Monsters Unleashed#1/4, Skulls in the Stars) - <1553> As he journeyed to Torkertown, England, Solomon Kane encountered a ghost on the moor. He learned the revenant was Gideon, murdered by his cousin Ezra. Kane forced Ezra to confront Gideon, and Ezra was slain by the ghost. (Savage Sword of Conan I#13/2, The Right Hand of Doom) - <1553> While still en route to Torkertown, Solomon Kane witnessed John Redly murdered by the disembodied hand of necromancer Roger Simeon. Redly had betrayed Simeon, and before his death in the gallows Simeon had his hand severed and sent it forth to slay his former friend. (Savage Sword of Conan I#14/2) - Arriving in Torkertown, Solomon Kane slayed a werewolf whom he discovered was Gideon Harkins, a former werewolf hunter. He then killed the Silver One, the werewolf responsible for Harkins' transformation. (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - Solomon Kane returned to France, serving as a mercenary captain during one of its religious wars and seeing at least one major battle. Sickened by the immorality of the cause, he resigned his commission. (Savage Sword of Conan I#18/2 - BTS) - Solomon Kane once encountered the French murderer Gaston the Butcher (Gaston L'Armon) in Calais, northern France. |
| (Marvel Premiere#33 (fb), Solomon Kane#1, Red Shadows) - <1553>
Wandering through rural France, Solomon Kane came upon a town pillaged
and a young girl murdered by the gang of cutthroats led by brigand Le
Loup. During the following weeks Kane hunted down and slaughtered the
members of the gang. (Marvel Premiere#33) - <September 15, 1553> Solomon Kane encountered and killed the illusionist La Costa, one of Le Loup's men, and buried a priest slain by the brigand. (Marvel Premiere#33 (fb), Solomon Kane#1 (fb), Red Shadows) - <1553> Tricking them into an abandoned house looking for a store of gold, Solomon Kane slaughtered most of the gang by exploding the house with black powder. He then tracked the survivor La Mon back to their hideout. (Marvel Premiere#33, Solomon Kane#1, Red Shadows) - <1553> Solomon Kane tracked Le Mon to their cavern hideout and the last brigands were slain, but Le Loup himself escaped through a secret entrance. Kane would pursue Le Loup relentlessly for the next years through Spain and Italy before arriving in Africa. (Marvel Premiere#34, Solomon Kane#1, Red Shadows) - Arriving on the Slave Coast of Africa aboard a Spanish vessel, Solomon Kane located Le Loup, who had allied himself with tribal Chief Songa and Gulka the Gorilla-Slayer. Kane was befriended by the imprisoned former tribal shaman N'Longa and became his blood brother. Kane slew Le Loup in a duel, N'Longa possessed a dead man to strangle Songa, and Gulka was killed by a male gorilla whose wife he had slain. (Kull and the Barbarians#2/2, Solomon Kane#5 (fb)) - As Solomon Kane prepared to depart, N'Longa gifted him an ancient voodoo staff. |  |
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(Solomon Kane#1) - Solomon Kane returned to the waiting Spanish vessel, departing the Slave Coast. ((Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (fb)) - Possession of the staff raised unrelenting urges with Kane, and as he believed that it possessed powers granted by the dark gods of Africa, he wondered more than once if he had condemned his eternal soul by keeping it. However, he could not bring himself to throw it away.  (Dracula Lives#3/3 - BTS) - After Rosella Carson, the daughter of Goodman Carson, an English friend of Solomon Kane, vanished in the lands of Transylvania, Kane journeyed to that realm to locate her. (Dracula Lives#3/3 (fb)) - <Mid 1550s> In Transylvania, Solomon Kane was ambushed by four Turkish bandits and rendered unconscious by a sling, but the brigands fled as the full moon arose, apparently fearing Dracula or other vampires. (Dracula Lives#3/3) - Subsequently attacked by wolves, Kane was saved by Dracula and invited back to his castle to recover. That night, a woman climbed into Kane's bed and began to caress him with her naked body. Resisting, he recognized her as Rosella Carson and used his stave to oppose her superhuman attack. Carson mockingly smashed her hand through the staff, but Kane then impaled her with the jagged lower portion. (Dracula Lives#3/3 - BTS) - Kane confronted and gained the advantage over Dracula, but spared him due to having vowed to grant Dracula any boon after Dracula had spared his life. (Savage Sword of Conan I#25/2) - <Mid 1550s> Months later, upon learning of Dracula's atrocities, Solomon Kane vowed to return to Transylvania to end his tyranny. He traveled through the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, where he beheaded a succubus imprisoned in the remnants of a second century Roman temple. (Savage Sword of Conan I#26/2) - <Mid 1550s> Solomon Kane returned to Transylvania. At a funeral, he met the young woman Morgit Sinkovit, whose parents Franz and Marcia had been slain by the vampire lord, and her sister Julka transformed into a vampire. Kane destroyed Julka and then Dracula, but the latter was resurrected when the Romani Bolescu removed the jeweled cross lodged in Dracula's heart. (Solomon Kane#2) - <Winter, 1555> In the Black Forest near Aubermach, Germany, Solomon Kane rescued Justin, son of his friend Nathan Cabel, from a werewolf. However, having been scratched, Justin was infected and became a werewolf himself, slaying his Romani stepmother, Marta, and Solomon and Nathan were forced to end his life. The original werewolf was revealed to have been Marta's brother. (Savage Sword of Conan I#18/2, Rattle of Bones) - Traveling through the Black Forest of Germany, Solomon Kane took shelter at the Cleft Skull Tavern. He faced the rogue Gaston the Butcher (Gaston L'Armon), who was killed by the maddened host of the tavern,who was himself apparently slain by the chained skeleton of a Russian magician he had murdered. (Savage Sword of Conan I#19/2, The Castle of the Devil) - In Germany's Black Forest, Solomon Kane rescued a woman from being hung upon the order of Baron (Robert) von Staler. Meeting fellow Englishman John Silent, who was returning from passing Castle Frankenstein near Darmstadt, Germany, the two infiltrated the Castle of the Devil and confronted the Baron, a devil worshiper who sacrificed women to a demon he called "Satan."  (Savage Sword of Conan I#22/2, Doctor Strange#37 (fb)) - Near Castle Frankenstein in Darmstadt, Germany, Baron (Hans) von Frankenstein attempted to sacrifice Cathryn to the dragon terrorizing their lands. This was the second dragon, the first being slain in 1531 by Hans' brother, knight Georg von Frankenstein, the legendary St. George. Kane slew the dragon, but not before it poisoned Cathryn. (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - Solomon Kane and John Silent rode to Genoa, Italy and ventured out to battle Turkish corsairs on the Mediterranean. Captured by the Turks, Kane spent months as a galley slave before escaping. (Solomon Kane#4) - <1555> Solomon Kane undertook a subsequent journey to Africa on board a British privateer vessel, but they are captured by Portuguese pirates. The pirates attempted to sell him to a small coastal kingdom in the Arabian desert ruled by Caliph Abu-Ben Ar. Kane was however freed by Ali-Ben Ar, son of the caliph and a prophet attempting to unite the people of Islam. Kane and Ali later entered the tomb of "the old prophet" on the Mountain of Sighs, and Kane briefly considered leaving his Staff within the tomb, believing it to be dark magic, but decided against it. (Savage Sword of Conan I#171/2) - Traveling through southern France, Solomon Kane was forced to kill the sociopathic child Daniel, who had murdered his whole family. (Conan Saga#50/3) - Passing the border of France and Spain while en route to the Kingdom of Castile, Kane rescued the Spanish toll collector Gasper from Brother Dom, a demonic Franciscan monk, and the demon Driago. (Savage Sword of Conan I#37/2 (fb)) - In England, Solomon Kane killed Sir John Taferal in a duel. As he lay dying, John confessed that to receive the inheritance of the Taferal estates, he had sold his cousin Marylin Taferal into slavery to Barbary freebooter El Gar. Marylin was also the cousin to Sir Hildred Taferal, an old friend of Kane. Over the following years, Kane would follow the trail of Marylin, starting his pursuit with El Gar. (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger) - Solomon Kane followed the trail of El Gar to the Barbary Coast of Africa. While there he was captured and enslaved to serve at the Barbary vineyards, but soon escaped. (Savage Sword of Conan I#37/2 (fb)) - Solomon Kane pursued El Gar and slew the corsair during a naval battle, but learned the girl had been sold to a merchant out of Stamboul, then taken captive by a Portuguese slaver, which itself was ambushed off the African west coast. Arriving in Africa, Kane continued his search. (Savage Sword of Conan I#34/2, Savage Sword of Conan I#37/2, Savage Sword of Conan I#39/2, The Moon of Skulls) - <1566> Pursuing rumors of ancient Negari, a lost colony of Atlantis, Solomon Kane infiltrated the city to locate Marylin Taferal, kept as a slave by its ruler, Queen Nakari. During a confrontation with Nakari, Kane shattered the skull of Nakura, a powerful artifact, causing a massive earthquake, devastating the city and killing Nakari. Kane fled the city with Marylin, returning her home to Devon. (Savage Sword of Conan I#219 - BTS) - After departing the ruined Negari, Solomon Kane would retain a fragment of the shattered skull of Nakura. (The Trail of Solomon Kane) - <1566-1572> Francis Drake and Solomon Kane plundered Spanish treasure galleons in the Caribbean. During this time, Kane acquired knowledge of both woodcraft and guerrilla warfare while fighting South American Indians in Darien (located in modern Panama). (Conan: Serpent War#1-4: The Get of Garm by C.L. Werner (text story)) - <August 4, 1577> Solomon Kane protected the town of Bungay, Norfolk, East Anglia, England from Black Shuck, spawn of Hel hound Garm. Black Shuck wass controlled by Uric Barrow, the son of a witch burned by the townsfolk the prior year. Uric and his father, town sheriff Oswyn Fitzwilliyam, died when a section of St. Mary's Church collapsed upon them, and the wolf demon vanished. (Conan: Serpent War#2 - BTS) - Solomon Kane rescued the niece of Captain Basso of the vessel Shandy from beast-men roaming near Casmin.
(Kane... the Avenger) - <1577-1578> Queen Elizabeth I of England
dispatched Francis Drake upon his expedition to circumnavigate the
globe from 1577-1580. Solomon Kane initially would accompany Drake on
the voyage until 1578.
(Savage Sword of Conan I#33/2, Solomon Kane#3, Blades of the
Brotherhood) - In northern Britain, the youth John "Jack" Hollinster
fought a duel with Sir George Banway, who later alongside pirates the
Fishhawk and Ben Allardine, abduct Jack and his lover Mary Garvin to
his manor. Solomon Kane rescued the young couple and subsequently
killed Fishhawk and Banway. |
(Savage Sword of Conan I#20/2 - BTS, Solomon Kane#6/2 - BTS, Savage
Sword of Conan I#162/2 - BTS) - <1603> Bess Morgan,
schoolteacher
and childhood friend of Solomon Kane, died and was buried in a
graveyard in Devon, England.  (Savage Sword of Conan I#83/4 - BTS) - As he continued to grow older, the elderly Solomon Kane saw his hair turn from black to silvery white. (Savage Sword of Conan I#219-220, Death's Black Riders) - <1606> Riding through the forests of Devon, England, the elderly Solomon Kane was abducted by the Black Riders, dispatched by King Mkeeba to return him to the devastated city of Negari in Africa. Using a remnant of the skull of Nakura in Kane's possession, Mkeeba restored the skull, recovering the soul of sorcerer Nakura from across the void. Kane was saved from the eldritch energies by the Staff of Solomon, which transported him to ancient Negari circa 16,000 BC, where he befriended Hyborian Age adventurer Conan the Cimmerian, whom the Staff also transported from circa 10,000 BC. (Savage Sword of Conan I#219-220) - Kane and Conan observed as the Atlantean sorcerer Nakura of the past, a worshiper of the dark god Golgor, used the talisman oh Thulsa Doom, which linked the city to his essence. Nakura then usurped the power of King Gandaro XVII and had the Atlantean inhabitants slaughtered by their African slaves, whose population assumed their place. Nakura was then slain by his conspirators Dygor and Kari, his skull becoming an artifact of worship, but Kane and Conan stole the talisman and returned to 1606. Assaulted by the skull of Nakura (which possessed Nakura's mind/spirit), Conan used the talisman to shatter the skull again, and then returned to his own era. Kane subsequently departed the crumbling city. (Savage Sword of Conan I#83/4) - The elderly Solomon Kane traveled aboard the vessel Athena, bound from India to England, but when the captain Pilot-Major Allen Stewart attacked the unarmed Portuguese vessel Bianca, Kane helped defend the Portuguese crew and killed Stewart. The Portuguese captain allowed Kane to remain on the Bianca, which was destined for Japan. (Savage Sword of Conan I#20/2, Solomon Kane#6/2, Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2, Solomon Kane's Homecoming) - <1610> The elderly Solomon Kane retired to his hometown of Devon, England, but again his wanderlust overtook him and he departed after he visited the grave of Bess Morgan. |  |
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Comments: Created by Robert Ervin Howard, adapted for Marvel Comics by Roy Thomas and Ralph Reese. "Solomon Kane... a name that tells of both wisdom and wandering..." — Cathryn (Savage Sword of Conan I#22/2) The primary chronology of Solomon Kane was derived from the articles The Trail of Solomon Kane (Kull and the Barbarians#3) and Kane... the Avenger (Savage Sword of Conan I#219), both written by Fred Blosser, which were adapted from the chronological order devised by Glenn Lord for the Red Shadows anthology. The dates are derived from these articles and the stories themselves:
Kane was born "around 1530" (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger).
Kane and Cabel were mercenaries in 1545, "ten years" and "a decade" (Solomon Kane#2) before 1555. Kane battled Gideon "around 1553" (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger). Kane witnessed murder of John Redly "around 1553" (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger). Kane began his hunt of Le Loup shortly after "15 September 1553" (Marvel Premiere#33). Kane first encountered Dracula "around the mid 1550's" (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#3) and "between 1553 and 1566" (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition#17), with their second encounter "so many months" (Savage Sword of Conan I#26/2) later. Kane encountered Cabel in Germany in "the year of our Lord, 1555," during the "wintry" (Solomon Kane#2) season. Kane encountered Ali-Ben Ar in "the year of our Lord 1555" (Solomon Kane#4). Kane battled Driago "in the Spain of Philip II" (Conan Saga#50/3), thus sometime after 1556. Kane discovered the city of Negari in 1566, later stating he was "perhaps a decade older" (Savage Sword of Conan I#220) than Conan, who was age 26, as it was "more than a month" (Savage Sword of Conan I#219) after the death of Bêlit. Kane and Drake were privateers from "1566" for "some six years" (The Trail of Solomon Kane) to 1572. Kane accompanied Drake on his voyage from "1577-78" (Kane... the Avenger). Kane witnessed Doughty executed in "1578" (Savage Sword of Conan I#62/2), which occurred July 2, 1578. Kane and Grenville were in the Battle of Flores in "1591" (Savage Sword of Conan I#41/2), fought August 30-September 1, 1591. Bess died in 1603, "seven years" (Savage Sword of Conan I#20/2, Solomon Kane#6/2, Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2) before 1610. Kane returned to Negari in 1606, "four decades" (Savage Sword of Conan I#219) after 1566. Kane returned to Devon in "1610" (The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger). The date of "1556" (Solomon Kane#3) for Blades of the Brotherhood was in error, as it occurred between the execution of Doughty in 1578 and the Battle of Flores in 1591. The dates of "1555" (Solomon Kane#5) for Hills of the Dead and "1559" (Solomon Kane#6) for Wings in the Night were in error, as they occurred after the Battle of Flores in 1591. As the dates and histories are sometimes contradictory, it is difficult to be 100% certain of the placement of all the stories. The stories Hawk of Basti and The Children of Asshur were never adapted to Marvel, but were confirmed as canon in The Trail of Solomon Kane and Kane... the Avenger. The original stories by Robert E. Howard were incomplete fragments, but were posthumously completed by Ramsey Campbell. Although Kull and the Barbarians#2/2 being given the staff by N'Longa shortly before rescuing Zunna from the vampires, Solomon Kane#5 retconned this, depicting him receiving the staff shortly after killing Le Loup. His middle initial of L. was from "the letters S.L.K.", which he had carved onto the cheek of a bandit in Red Shadows. Bess was first mentioned in Solomon Kane's Homecoming, and her full name given as Elizabeth "Bess" Morgan in Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2. The birthdate of "1570" (Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2) on her tombstone was in error, as she was a childhood friend of Kane, himself born in 1530. Julka and Morgit Sinkovit's surname was revealed in Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1. Baron (Robert) von Staler's first name was revealed in Marvel Atlas#1. The city of Engazi was named in The Savage World of Solomon Kane. Relatives of Solomon Kane had been mentioned in non-canon sources. In the film Solomon Kane (2009), his father was named Josiah Kane and his brother Marcus Kane. In the books Tarzan Alive (1972) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) by Philip José Farmer, Solomon Kane and Bess had a daughter named Bess Kane, who married a man surnamed Clarke, and they were the ancestors of notable characters such as Denis Nayland Smith from The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1913) by Sax Rohmer, Doc Savage from The Man of Bronze (1933) by Lester Dent, Sherlock Holmes from A Study in Scarlet (1887) by Arthur Conan Doyle, and Tarzan from Tarzan of the Apes (1914) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Estimation of Solomon Kane's height and weight,
courtesy of Loki First option is the original stories - what REH established
should overrule anything else. But, AFAIK (and please correct me if I'm wrong),
he only identifies Kane as "tall" - trouble is, in the era Kane comes
from, the average height of European males was only around 5'5", Next option, we use a character with a known height for
reference who Kane has met. Kane's only interacted with Dracula in terms of
this kind of thing. Dracula is 6'5". Trouble is, there's no decent
comparison shots in SSoC#26, and Dracula Lives#3 isn't definitive - they are
rarely side by side and standing straight up, with either one or other usually
lowered in a fighting stance or nearer to the reader than the other. The one
shot that might work suggests Dracula actually towers over Kane, but Kane was
hurt at the time and might have been slouching, or he might simply be closer to
the reader (see the image in the main profile)
A human in ideal proportions has a body (including head)
that is 7.5 times the height of their heads. I think we can all agree that both
MJ and Sonja have ...perfect proportions. So using some cutting and pasting, I
figured out that Sonja is between 5'11.5" or 6'. That sounds about right -
tall enough to be above average by today's standards, let alone Hyborean
times. Next, compare Sonja to Conan - and again, we've got a good
comparison shot in Sonja's second appearance, Conan the Barbarian#24. Again, assuming Conan is in perfect proportions, which I
think we can all concur with, and using that head to body ratio and Sonja being
6', Conan is around 6'6" - which again thinks works. He's tall, but not
ridiculously so. From the REH stories, he hit 6' early in his teens and was
"not yet his full height." On that 7.5 times head height factor, that
makes his head somewhere shy of 9" tall, which important for the final
step. I think the shot in the main profile with Kane and Conan side by side, is probably the
ideal height comparison for the two men: The top of Kane's head is about a quarter of the height of
Conan's head above Conan's chin - which makes him somewhere close to 6.5"
shorter than Conan (and looking at the last two images, a bit shorter than
Sonja). I think we're looking at a height of 5'11" to (maximum) 6".
That still makes Kane "tall" by his era's standards (a good 6 to 7
inches above average), and above average even by today's norms. Now the weight. Kane is described as having virtually no fat
- he's "gaunt" faced, with "rangy" limbs. Even if he was
6'2", 220 lbs. is high for that - by comparison, Ryan Reynolds is a
muscular 6'2" and apparently weighs around 190 lbs. And even now, as
Deadpool, he's not as thin as he was when he played Hannibal King - per his
comments on the DVD audio commentary for Blade Trinity he was down to 4% body
fat for that one, which would fit Kane better. So even if Kane is the same
height, having him more than 190 lbs. seems high, and if Kane is a couple of
inches shorter...
Excellent points and excellent research, Stuart. I do think we have to
keep in mind how much Marvel’s history is different from the
real world, as Conan’s time period was just a couple millennia away
from
Cro-Magnon man in the real world. CLARIFICATIONS: Solomon Kane has no known connections to:
images: (without ads) Savage Sword of Conan I#13/2, page 3, panel 1 (main image); #53/2, pg. 9, panel 4 (vs. Akaana) Marvel Premiere I#34, page 13, panel 7 (Kane vs Le Loup); Solomon Kane#5, pg. 5, panel 13 (with Cabel in Germany); Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37, pg. 8, panel 1 (vs. worm); Savage Sword of Conan I#220, page 7, panel 5 (Kane and Conan); pg. 35, panel 1 (senior Kane at time of return to Negari) Appearances: Monsters Unleashed#1/4 (August, 1973) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Ralph Reese (pencils, inks) Dracula Lives#3/3 (October, 1973) - Roy Thomas (writer), Michael Reed (pencils, inks) Kull and the Barbarians#2/2 (July, 1975) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Alan Weiss (pencils), Neal Adams (pencils, inks), Karen Mantlo (letters) Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 (September, 1975) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Alan Weiss (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Karen Mantlo (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#13/2 (July, 1976) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Doug Moench (adaptation), Steve Gan (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#14/2 (September, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils, inks) Marvel Premiere I#33 (December, 1976) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Howard Chaykin (pencils, inks, colors), Jim Novak (letters) Marvel Premiere I#34 (February, 1977) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Howard Chaykin (pencils, inks), Don Warfield (colors), Jim Novak (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#18/2 (April, 1977) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Howard Chaykin (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#19/2 (June, 1977) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Sonny Trinidad (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#20/2 (July, 1977) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Virgilio Redondo (pencils), Rudy Nebres (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#22/2 (September, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Sonny Trinidad (pencils, inks), Davida Lichter-Dale (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#25/2 (December, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Steve Gan (pencils), Dino Castrillo (inks), Jim Novak (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#26/2 (January, 1978) - Don Glut (writer), David Wenzel (pencils), Marilitz (inks), Jim Novak (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#33/2 (September, 1978) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils), Duffy Vohland (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#34/2 (October, 1978) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils), Bill Wray (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#37/2 (February, 1979) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#39/2 (April, 1979) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#41/2 (June, 1979) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils, inks) Marvel Preview#19/2 (Summer, 1979) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), Will Meugniot (pencils), Steve Gan (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#53/2 (June, 1980) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#54/2 (July, 1980) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Don Glut (adaptation), David Wenzel (pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#62/2 (March, 1981) - Robert E. Howard (original story), David Wenzel (adaptation, pencils, inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#83/4 (December, 1982) - Mary Jo Duffy (writer), Danny Bulanadi (pencils, inks), Joe Rosen (letters) Solomon Kane#1 (September, 1985) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Ralph Macchio (adaptation), Steve Carr (pencils), Bret Blevins (pencils, inks), Glynis Oliver (colors), Joe Rosen (letters) Solomon Kane#2 (November, 1985) - Ralph Macchio (writer), Bret Blevins (pencils, inks), Christie Scheele (colors), Joe Rosen (letters) Solomon Kane#3 (January, 1986) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Ralph Macchio (adaptation), Bret Blevins (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Ken Feduniewicz (colors), Joe Rosen (letters) Solomon Kane#4 (March, 1986) - Ralph Macchio (writer), Mike Mignola (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Bob Sharen (colors) Joe Rosen (letters) Solomon Kane#5 (May, 1986) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Ralph Macchio (adaptation), Jon Bogdanove (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Ken Feduniewicz (colors), Ken Bruzenak (letters) Solomon Kane#6 (July, 1986) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Ralph Macchio (adaptation), John Ridgway (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Ken Feduniewicz (colors), Jim Novak (letters) Solomon Kane#6/2 (July, 1986) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Sandy Plunkett (pencils), Al Williamson (inks) Savage Sword of Conan I#162/2 (July, 1989) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Steve Carr (adaptation, pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Diana Albers (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#171/2 (March, 1990) - John Arcudi (writer), Steve Carr (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Gary Fields (letters) Conan Saga#50/3 (May, 1991) - Alan Rowlands (writer), Steve Carr (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Jack Morelli (letters) Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 (January, 1992) - Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, Jean-Marc Lofficier, Randy Lofficier (writers), Geof Isherwood (pencils, inks), George Roussos (colors), Pat Brosseau (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#219 (March, 1994) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Colin MacNeil (pencils, inks), Diana Albers (letters) Savage Sword of Conan I#220 (April, 1994) - Roy Thomas (writer), Colin MacNeil (pencils, inks), Diana Albers (letters) Conan: Serpent War#1 (February, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Scot Eaton, Vanesa Del Rey (pencils), Scott Hanna, Vanesa Del Rey (inks), Frank D'Armata, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors), Travis Lanham (letters) Conan: Serpent War#2 (February, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey, Stephen Segovia (pencils, inks), Frank D'Armata, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors), Travis Lanham (letters) Conan: Serpent War#3 (March, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey, Luca Pizzari (pencils, inks), Frank D'Armata, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors), Travis Lanham (letters) Conan: Serpent War#4 (March, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey, Ig Guara (pencils, inks), Frank D'Armata, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors), Travis Lanham (letters) The Get of Garm, Part 1-4 (text story in Conan: Serpent War#1-4 (February-March, 2020) - C. L. Werner (writer)
Bibliography: First Posted: 11/18/2019 |
So the next option is a multi-step comparison, and here's
where we have more luck. We've got a great height comparison for Mary Jane
Watson (5'8") and Red Sonja from MTU. 