Dweller-in-Darkness
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2015) |
Dweller-in-Darkness | |
---|---|
Fear Lords | |
Notable aliases | He Who Dwells in Darkness |
Abilities | Fear generation Immortality Superhuman strength |
He Who Dwells in Darkness, or simply the Dweller-in-Darkness, is a fictional character appearing in
The character made its film debut in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, voiced by Fala Chen.
Publication history
The Dweller-in-Darkness was first mentioned in Thor #229-230 (Nov.–Dec. 1974), by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler. The character is first fully revealed in Doctor Strange #30 (Aug. 1978), by Roger Stern and Tom Sutton.
The character subsequently appears in Doctor Strange #32-33 (Dec. 1978, Feb. 1979), #35-37 (June–Oct. 1979), Fantastic Four Annual #23 (1990), Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #31-33 (July–Sept. 1991), #38-40 (Jan.–March 1992), and Adventures of the X-Men #11-12 (Feb.–March 1997).
The Dweller-in-Darkness received an entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror #1 (2005).
Fictional character biography
The Dweller-in-Darkness is a demon allegedly sired by Cthulhu,[1] from the dimension Everinnye, like the demon Nightmare. The Dweller became shunned by his people for following "The Way of the Shamblu". Like Nightmare, the Dweller feeds on the fear of living beings; fear both increases his powers and keeps him alive.[volume & issue needed]
In the universe which existed before the current reality, the Dweller caused a fracture in the
In this new universe, when he first came to Earth, the Dweller-in-Darkness fed upon the fears created by the war between the humans of
In the 20th century, the Dweller appeared in the dreams of many humans and told them that they would gain eternal life if they died. These humans would then kill themselves but turn into Shade Thralls, powerful creatures who served the Dweller, but were vulnerable to light. His plan was stopped by the gods Thor and Hercules who fought the Shade Thralls and destroyed them.[volume & issue needed] He also inspired Zoltan Drago to become the first Mister Fear.[volume & issue needed]
The Dweller would create new Shade Thralls. These Shade Thralls were destroyed by
Months later, the Dweller gathered the
Powers and abilities
The Dweller has the ability to generate fear in other living beings. This fear in turn sustains and empowers the Dweller, allowing him to generate even more fear. He also has other undefined mystical powers: he can create independent creatures out of fear like D'spayre and he can turn humans who die under his influence into Shade Thralls, beings made of shadow with superhuman strength. Strong light can kill or banish these thralls.
The Dweller is immortal, does not age, and even the sorceress Zhered-Na, assisted by powerful beings like Agamotto and Valka, could only banish him, not destroy him.
The "Way of the Shamblu", the Dweller's chosen path in life, involved a ritual where the Dweller removed his head from his own body. His body died, but his head lived on, now as a corporeal being, whereas the other inhabitants of Everinnye are more ethereal. The Dweller's head is attached to a robotic body, which possesses superhuman strength, but it can detach and move with the tentacles near its mouth in case of emergency.
Other versions
Secret Wars 2099
During the Secret Wars storyline in the Battleworld domain of 2099, Martin Hargood (the 2099 version of Baron Mordo) used Alchemax's virtual unreality laboratory to summon the Dweller-in-Darkness. Meanwhile, Miguel O'Hara called in the Avengers to defend the city from the Dweller-in-Darkness allowing the Defenders to intervene without being arrested. While Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Roman the Sub-Mariner, and Hulk confronted the Dweller-in-Darkness, the rest of both teams confronted Hargood. After Hargood was knocked out, Strange was able to reverse the effects of the portal that brought the Dweller-in-Darkness and brought it back to where it came from.[4]
In other media
Film
- The Dweller-in-Darkness appears in the Great Protector.
Video games
- The Dweller-in-Darkness appears as a boss in Marvel Avengers Academy.[citation needed]
- The Dweller-in-Darkness appears as a boss in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. This version is a pet and minion of Lady Hellbender.[6]
References
- ^ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe vol. 4 #10. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Adventures of the X-Men #11-12 (Feb.–March 1997). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Secret Avengers vol. 2 #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Secret Wars 2099 #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Lebovitz, David L. (September 2, 2021). "The Ending Of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings Explained". Looper. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: How to Defeat the Dweller-In-Darkness (Boss Guide)". ScreenRant. 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
External links
- Dweller-in-Darkness on Marvel.com
- Dweller-in-Darkness at the Marvel Database
- Dweller-in-Darkness at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Dweller-in-Darkness at the Grand Comics Database
- Dweller-in-Darkness at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)