YORICKYORICK
Real Name: Yorick
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Lionheart)
undead being
Occupation: Sage
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Death's Head (Minion of Earth-8410), Jannock, Tuck
Known Relatives:
Aliases: "Yorrick" (misspelling of name by Death's Head)
Base of Operations: The Gibbet Gate Cemetery,
Cordelion, Lionheart
First Appearance: (behind-the-scenes,
unidentified): Death's Head II I#3 (May, 1992);
(fully seen, identified): Death's Head II II#6 (May, 1993)
Powers/Abilities: Yorick existed as an undead being, constantly in a state of rot and decay. He could communicate with the deceased, an ability Death's Head referred to as "second sight."
Yorick was also skilled at reading Tarot cards.
Height: 6'5" (by approximation)
Weight: 100 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Red
Hair: Grey; originally red
History: (Death's Head II I#3 -
BTS) - During a trip to the alien world of Lionheart, the cyborg
Death's Head (Minion) took the alias of Hood and became an outlaw,
befriending the undead Yorick and many others.
(Death's Head II II#6) - "Ages"
later, while
looking for a friend Tuck on Lionheart circa Lionheart's calendar year
of 34-42 A.D., Death's Head gathered
information from locals in the Cordelion area of Lionheart as the
whereabouts of the Gibbet Gate Cemetery, where Yorick resided.
Visiting the Cemetery, Death's Head greeted Yorick, who knew Death's
Head as Hood, an alias Death's Head had used during his previous time
on Lionheart. After pleasantries were exchanged, Death's Head admitted
he had sought Yorick's help in finding Tuck and Yorick agreed to
help, consulting the spirits in the afterlife for information on Tuck.
After some time spent consulting, Yorick made contact with the spirit
of Jannock, whom Death's Head had once killed, and informed Death's
Head that Jannock suggested visiting a play being held in Cordelion.
Yorick also revealed that Jannock had told him that Death's Head might
find Tuck there and that Jannock sent his regards to Death's Head.
Death's Head soon heard a noise and asked Yorick to be quiet while he
investigated, soon finding Major Oak and his men invading Gibbet Gate
Cemetery in a revenge scheme against Death's Head.
(Death's Head II II#7/Death's Head II II#9 (fb) - BTS) - Following his capture and subsequent escape from Major Oak into the forests of Lionheart, Death's Head and his ally Tuck were met by Yorick, who was introduced to Tuck as an old friend of Death's Head's. Admitting that he had been searching for Death's Head, Yorick revealed that he had been communicating with the undead, who said that the local Lord Protector was sending the magician Methinx after Death's Head. Death's Head thanked Yorick for the warning and assured Yorick that he and Tuck would be leaving Lionheart using his Time-Belt, only to find the Time-Belt missing. Yorick followed up, warning that the undead's precognitive visions only showed Death's Head as a corpse and that it was preordained for Methinx to slay Death's Head. Brushing off Yorick's warnings, Death's Head started to say that there had to be a way to escape this future but Yorick exclaimed that Death's Head did not understand that the dead were never wrong in their predictions.
(Death's Head II II#8) - Death's Head demanded a second opinion but Yorick repeated his warning that Death's Head would be a dead man, prompting Death's Head to remind Yorick that he was a cyborg, not a man. After Tuck went over Yorick's undead predictions once more, she warned Death's Head to prepare himself just as Methinx arrived in the forest and attacked. Upon seeing Methinx, Yorick announced Methinx's presence and begged for sanctuary. During the ensuing melee, Tuck hit Methinx with an arrow but Yorick warned her not to celebrate the victory too soon. Methinx eventually bound both Tuck and Yorick to nearby trees and, while captured, Yorick explained to Tuck how Methinx's sorcerery was known to be dangerous on both sides of the eternal veil. When things became quiet, Tuck asked Yorick if he thought the fight was over but Yorick admitted that the undead was not communicating with him out of fear of Methinx. Despite Yorick's fear, Tuck nonetheless broke free of her bindings and ran off to help Death's Head while Yorick warned her that there was nothing she could do and asked that she not leave him behind. Death's Head's battle with Methinx subsequently progressed until Methinx generated a large explosion that destroyed a portion of Lionheart, with Yorick feeling the blast despite being still bound to a tree far from the battle. Once the dust had settled, Yorick was freed from his bindings, saddened by Methinx's victory. Making his way to Death's Head and Tuck, Yorick proclaimed that the spirits were in agony over Death's Head's supposed death and angrily accused Methinx and "his kind" of never learning their lessons while playing God. Methinx was affronted by Yorick's accusations and Yorick, unafraid of death, told Methinx to do his worst, only to remark that Methinx had already done his worst by destroying a portion of Lionheart. When Methinx showed regret and offered to make reparations for the damage he had caused, Death's Head impaled Methinx with his bladed hand, shocking both Tuck and Yorick, who still thought him dead. As Yorick watched, Death's Head revealed that he had already been rendered as part of Dr. Evelyn Necker's experiments and beat Methinx to the ground. After Death's Head forced Methinx to open a magical portal off Lionheart, he thanked Yorick for his help and expressed hope that Yorick could rest in peace. Once Methinx had successfully sent Death's Head and Tuck away, Yorick beckoned Methinx to follow him, offering to lead Methinx back to Cordelion.
(Death's Head II II#9 - BTS) - Upon arriving back on
Earth, Death's Head and Tuck discussed Yorick's earlier prediction that
Death's Head would be killed by Methinx and how Death's Head had
survived because Dr. Necker had constructed him using a corpse.
Comments: Created by Dan Abnett, Simon Colby and Andy Lanning.
Yorick was not seen or even mentioned in Death's Head II I#3 but Death's Head mentions later in Death's Head II II#7 meeting Yorick during his outlaw days on Lionheart, which occurred during Death's Head II I#3. This would therefore mean that Yorick met Death's Head behind-the-scenes some time during Death's Head II I#3.
Yorick's name was an obvious homage to the character of Yorick in William Shakespeare's 16th-17th century play, Hamlet.
In Yorick's first full appearance, he appears to have
red-orange skin and darker red hair but in his subsequent appearances,
his skin was color completely orange and his hair was gray. I basically
just chalked that up to an increasing level of decomposition.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Yorick has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Death's Head II II#8, p20, pan5 (Yorick standing,
main image)
Death's Head II II#6, p17, pan4 (Yorick headshot)
Death's Head II II#6, p16, pan3 (Yorick sitting with
Death's Head)
Appearances:
Death's Head II I#3 (May, 1992) - Dan Abnett (writer), Liam Sharp
(pencils), Andy Lanning (inks), John Freeman (editor)
Death's Head II II#6 (May, 1993) - Dan Abnett (writer), Simon Coleby
(pencils), Andy Lanning (inks), John Freeman (editor)
Death's Head II II#7 (June, 1993) - Dan Abnett (writer), Simon Coleby
(pencils), Sean Hardy & Co. (inks), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Death's Head II II#8 (July, 1993) - Dan Abnett (writer), Anthony
Williams (pencils), Andy Lanning (inks), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Death's Head II II#9 (August, 1993) - Dan Abnett (writer), Simon Coleby
(pencils), Peri Godbold (inks), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
First Posted: 03/13/2019
Last updated: 03/13/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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