Claw the Unconquered
Claw | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Claw the Unconquered #1 (May–June 1975) |
Created by | David Michelinie (writer) Ernie Chan (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Valcan Scaramax |
Place of origin | Pytharia |
Abilities | Master swordsman, magical claw on right arm. |
Claw is a sword and sorcery superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Claw the Unconquered #1 (June 1975), in which he was created by writer David Michelinie and designed by artist Ernie Chan.[1][2]
Similar in many ways to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian (and, more particularly, Marvel Comics's depiction of him), Claw is a wanderer and a barbarian in an apparently prehistoric age who battles various wizards, thieves, monsters, and warriors who cross his path.
Publication history
Claw the Unconquered #1 debuted in mid-1975, a period when DC Comics launched a record number of new titles on to the comic book market (16 new titles debuted in 1975 alone). Claw was one of several of these new series which were set in the "fantasy" or "sword and sorcery" genre. Other such titles include
Claw the Unconquered was published bimonthly up until #9 (October 1976), restarting again at #10 (May 1978). The entire series was written by Michelinie (though the never properly published #14 was credited to
The character was revived in 1981 for a two-part back up feature in Warlord #48-49 (August–September 1981) written by
Fictional character biography
The adventures of Claw, whose real name was Valcan, took place "in the realm of Pytharia" in a vaguely defined setting which resembled Earth's prehistory. His first adventure pitted him against "Occulas of the Yellow Eye", an evil sorcerer and king who was revealed to have murdered Claw's father, who had also had a deformed hand like his son. Occulas had received a prophecy which predicted that a claw-handed man would defeat him, and that prophecy became his reason for persecuting Valcan and his father.[1]
Claw's origin was revealed in #9, where Valcan learns that his family is cursed to have demon hands throughout their bloodline as a result of a deal his father made with demons.
In later stories it was revealed that Claw existed on the same world (Pytharia) as the original Starfire, which is apparently not Earth. Both Starfire and Claw were revealed as two of the "eternal champions of the Sornaii". The implications of this revelation were never explored, as the series ended in a cliffhanger.
Wonder Woman
Claw's first in-continuity appearance in over twenty years occurs in
Justice League: Cry for Justice
Time Masters: Vanishing Point
Valcan returns in Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1 where he meets Rip Hunter.[3]
DC Universe
In the pages of "Dark Nights: Death Metal", Claw the Unconquered is among the superheroes revived by Batman using a Black Lantern ring.[4]
Powers and abilities
Claw the Unconquered is an expert swordsman. He also wields a magical claw on his right arm.
Other versions
John Chan
Another version of Claw is a
Swamp Thing
Alternate versions of Claw have had cameo appearances in titles such as Sandman #52 (1993), Swamp Thing #163 (1996) and Starman (vol. 2) #55 (1999).
Red Sonja
In 2006, with the popularity of sword and sorcery comics once again resurgent due to revivals of Conan by
It is unclear if the new Wildstorm Claw stories feature the original 1970s version of the character or whether they adhere to a new continuity. Red Sonja's current iteration is supposed to be consistent with her 1970s Marvel Comics continuity, and the direct connection between Claw's revival and the crossover with Sonja seems to indicate that these new stories occur on Hyborian Age Earth (where Sonja's stories are clearly intended to occur). Strictly speaking, the crossover also means that this version of Claw co-exists with Conan (and indeed the Marvel Universe, as Sonja's original appearances did), though it is unlikely that those connections were ever intended or will ever be acknowledged.[5]
With the Red Sonja book shifting of several years to tell the story of a new Red Sonja, a descendant of the previous one sharing the soul of the departed character, a new Claw appears: Osin, a former ally of Red Sonja, accepting the Curse of Claw, and the partial merge with the Jullah demonic entity, in exchange for being able to locate, train, and protect the new incarnation of her friend.[6]
References
- ^ OCLC 213309017
- ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.)
David Michelinie's pen and Ernie Chan's pencils and inks provided the magic for this fantasy series that introduced Claw the Unconquered, a barbaric outlander with a deformed claw-like right hand.
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1 (September 2010)
- ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5. DC Comics.
- ^ http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/niven/142/recycleb/rb46.html"Claw the Unconquered: Cliche and the Perfect Genre Piece": An Essay on Claw the Unconquered #1
- ^ Red Sonja #36 (2008)