SPAWN OF THE WITCH QUEEN
Real Name: Lawrence Thornton (adopted name); real name unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human magic user or demon simulacrum
Occupation: British Army officer, cult leader
Group Membership: Cult of Black Magic; formerly British Army
Affiliations: Thoth, the Witch Queen, unidentified giant snake
Enemies: Barbec, Bucky (James Barnes), Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Known Relatives: Witch Queen (mother), Gerald Thornton (adoptive father)
Aliases: Captain Tarleton, Evil One (used by a member of the Cult of Black Magic)
Base of Operations: England;
formerly a tomb in Egypt
First Appearance: Captain America Comics#20/1 (November, 1942)
Powers/Abilities: The Spawn of the Witch Queen possessed mystical powers enabling him to manipulate ancient Egyptian magic. Among his many magical feats he demonstrated was mental command of snakes and crocodiles, enlarging creatures to giant size, creating obscuring and poisonous smoke that can cause sleep and create mental illusions of talking and floating mummified heads.
He was proficient in ancient Egyptian language, hieroglyphics and was knowledgeable with the occult. As an army officer he was trained in various forms of military equipment, leadership, and unarmed combat.
Height: Unrevealed (5'8"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (170 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(Captain America Comics#20/1) - The Witch Queen desired to return from the dead and placed one of her children, possibly a demonic simulacrum in the form of a boy, inside a nearby tomb where he was discovered in 1912 by an explorer called Gerald Thornton. Due to the magic placed on the child, his mummified body did not age. After reading magical hieroglyphics inside the tomb, Gerald Thornton managed to bring the lifeless child mummy to life the next day. The surprised explorer (possibly under the mental influence of the Witch Queen) adopted him, renamed him Lawrence, and returned to England to raise him.
(Captain America Comics#20/1) - World War II broke out and the Witch Queen's tomb was briefly abandoned from further exploration.
(Captain America Comics#20/1) - <1942> Lawrence took on the identity of British officer Captain Tarleton and returned to serve in Egypt during the German invasion of North Africa. Now calling himself the Spawn of the Witch Queen he reformed the Witch Queen's Cult of Black Magic and acquired by unknown means the Book of Toth. He began casting rituals to return his mother the Witch Queen to life by sacrificing American and British soldiers that camped nearby. Several missing soldiers and explorers were kidnapped by his Cult of Black Magic and ritually sacrificed inside the tomb. These unexplained disappearances prompted British Intelligence, Captain America and Bucky to investigate. The Spawn of the Witch Queen tried to kill Captain America and the others by releasing a giant snake on them. He gassed them with sleeping vapors and wrapped their comatose bodies in mummy wrappings (Captain America feigned unconsciousness and escaped), attempted to strangle Cap with a noose and finally commanded a crocodile to attack them. The plot to return the Witch Queen to life ended when Captain America, Bucky and Barbec destroyed the Book of Thoth by placing it in a burning brazier. With the Book of Thoth destroyed Lawrence's life ended as well and he turned to dust. The tomb's entrance began to cave inward, but Captain America and Bucky managed to escape the falling rubble. Barbec did not and was crushed beneath a pillar that left the mark of the Witch Queen on his head as a final curse.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer, Al Avison & Syd Shores.
In one panel of the comic the Spawn of the Witch Queen appears twice, one image of him speaking and another showing him from the back. This was probably a mistake by the artist or maybe he was able to duplicate himself using magic. His mother the Witch Queen was never seen until six years later in a 4-page story in Amazing Mysteries#33 (July, 1949).
The Cult of Black Magic wore head pieces representing various Egyptian gods. Those depicted were a crocodile (Sobek), cat (Bast), snake (Apep), Jackal (Am-He) and possibly, although difficult to make out, a baboon (Astennu a minor god associated with Thoth).
The Witch Queen and her son were loosely based on the novel Brood of the Witch-Queen by Sax Rohmer written in 1918.
You can read the novel online Brood of the Witch-Queen.
Profile by AvatarWarlord.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Spawn of the Witch Queen has no known connections to:
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The Cult of Black Magic served the Witch Queen during her reign in the ancient past and was also reformed by her son (the Spawn of the Witch Queen) who attempted to use the Book of Thoth to resurrect her. They were responsible for kidnapping others and preparing them for sacrifice to the Witch Queen. They were human and wore various costumes and head pieces depicting the gods of ancient Egypt. Most of them were likely killed when the Witch Queen's tomb collapsed. --Captain America Comics#20/1 |
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Barbec was an Egyptian working for British Intelligence during World War II and was investigating a series of disappearances and murders involving British and American soldiers from a military camp near the Great Pyramids. He aided Captain America and Bucky in defeating the Spawn of the Witch Queen and his Cult of Black Magic but died when the temple collapsed because of the Witch Queen's final curse. --Captain America Comics#20/1 |
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This was a snake of gigantic proportions likely created by magic and set as a trap by the Spawn of the Witch Queen to kill Captain America and Bucky when they entered the tomb to investigate the deaths of soldiers from their nearby camp. The giant snake was seemingly killed when Captain America shoved his shield in its mouth and repeatedly struck the snake's head with a series of powerful punches. --Captain America Comics#20/1 |
images: (without ads)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p8, pan7 (main image)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p11, pan1 (as Captain Tarleton)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p15, pan2 (knock out blow)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p9, pan3-4 (Cult of Black Magic)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p15, pan4 (Barbec)
Captain America Comics#20/1, p5, pan1 (giant snake)
Appearances:
Captain America Comics#20/1 (November, 1942) - Unidentified writer, Al Avison (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First Posted: 07/18/2021
Last updated: 07/18/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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