AMINTASAMINTAS
Real Name: Amintas
Identity/Class: Terrestrial Lost/Hidden race/Elderspawn (Serpent Men)
Occupation: Would-be conqueror; leader of the Order of the Serpent; apparent priest of Set
Group Membership: Order of the Serpent
Affiliations: Set;
"Set" (dragon-creature);
formerly coerced Conan into helping him achieve his goals
Enemies: Conan the Cimmerian, five unidentified members of the Crimson Brotherhood, Horob and Gorsham and their Shemite black lotus-trading gang, Malas and his Stygian black lotus-trading gang,
Known Relatives: Likely some of the other Serpent Men in the Order of the Serpent
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly a temple of Set near Khemi, Stygia
First Appearance: Savage Sword of Conan#122 (March, 1986)
He may or may not have had superhuman strength and/or durability, but he possessed sharp, fanged teeth and an elongated tongue. His skin was covered with green scales, and he had three taloned fingers and a thumb on each hand. He was notably vulnerable to fire. In addition to controlling a number of other Serpent Men, he also could use the giant lizard/dragon "Set" to consume his foes. Height:
Unrevealed (perhaps 5'10"; he was never clearly pictured directly next
to the 6'5"-ish Conan, but he looked to be a bit shorter) |
History:
(Savage Sword of Conan#122 (fb) - BTS) - Amintas and a group of Serpent Men -- the Elderspawn descendants of Sligguth
(one of the sons of the Elder God Set) -- believing themselves to be
the last surviving spawn of the Serpent of Lemuria, settled on the
coast of the shores of Stygia. Amintas and his associates plotted to
control the nearby black lotus (a powerful narcotic) trade, currently
split between rival Stygian and Shemite gangs, the former led by Malas
and the latter by the brothers Horob and Gorsham. With the Black Lotus,
they planned to enslave humanity and reclaim the world for the Serpent
Men.
(Savage Sword of Conan#122 (fb) - BTS) - Conan and five other members of the pirate group the Crimson Brotherhood washed up on the shores of Stygia near Khemi, their ship having been incapacitated by Stygian forces. Spotting these men, Amintas and his allies adopted human form and resolved to force the humans to help them slay the Lotus traders.
(Savage Sword of Conan#122 (fb)) - In human form and acting as guards, a number of the Serpent Men confronted Conan and his allies and forced them at spearpoint into chains; the guards then led the Crimson Brotherhood to the temple, where Amintas introduced himself as the high priest of the Order of the Serpent and claimed to have foretold the fall of the Crimson Brotherhood; he further identified Conan as the Cimmerian known as Amra the lion.
Amintas then showed Conan a dragon, which he claimed to be their living god, Set, and he announced that the penalty for piracy in Stygia was death in Set's bowels. However, Amintas then offered that the other pirates would be spared if Conan agreed to carry out a mission for him: He would enter the wharves of Khemi, pretend to be a black lotus dealer, and set the two rival gangs against each other, so that Amintas and his associates could finish off the survivors of that struggle.
Amintas claimed that his order of the priesthood had vowed to wipe out the waterfront Lotus trade,
his men were duty bound to wipe out the narcotics trade. Conan vowed to accomplish this as long as his men remained safe. 
(Savage Sword of Conan#122 (fb) - BTS) - Amintas instructed Conan to return to the Temple of Set the next night to update him on his progress.
(Savage Sword of Conan#122 (fb) - BTS / Savage Sword of Conan#122) - Slaying members of both gangs, including Gorsham, Conan made arrangements to lead the two rival Black Lotus gangs against each other, with Horob's forces preparing to invade Malas' base.
(Savage Sword of Conan#122) - Returning to the Temple of Set, Conan instructed Amintas to have his men ready the next night to view the impending conflict. After Amintas showed Conan the imprisoned but safe Crimson Brotherhood members, Conan departed. Though Amintas assured Conan they would remain safe, once Conan was gone, he opened the cell, allowing his dragon to slay the pirates.
Later, as Conan directed Horob's men to Malas' base, Amintas watched and had his men hold back as the two gangs slaughtered each other, with Malas slaying Horob, and Conan slaying Malas. Amintas and his men then confronted the survivors, forcing their surrender.
Amintas complimented Conan on his success and promised he would be rewarded, but when Conan asked about his men, Amintas told Conan they were where they belonged and where they would soon be.
Amintas and his men, both priests and guards, then she their human skin and reverted to their true forms, and Amintas revealed their actual plans for the black lotus. Instead, Conan hurled an oil-burning lantern into Amintas, setting him afire. Screaming and begging for aid, the panicking Amintas turned and ran into bushels of black lotus, causing the entire store of lotus to burst into flame.
Amidst the distraction, Conan escaped, while Amintas and the rest of his order presumably perished.
Comments: Created by Don Kraar and Ernie Chan.
This profile was completed 8/1/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Amintas should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Savage Sword of
Conan#122 (March, 1986) - Don Kraar (writer), Ernie Chan (artist), Pat
Redding (managing editor), Larry Hama (editor)
First posted: 09/15/2021
Last updated: 09/14/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
