General Immortus
| General Immortus | |
|---|---|
 General Immortus as depicted inFinal CrisisAftermath: Run!#2 (August 2009). Art by Kako. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | My Greatest Adventure#80 (June 1963) |
| Created by | Arnold Drake Bob Haney Bruno Premiani Murray Boltinoff |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | Brotherhood of Evil |
| Notable aliases | The Baron |
| Abilities | Longevity Alchemy Expert in theoccult Centuries of knowledge Criminal genius |
General Immortusis a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byDC Comics.He has also been called "The Forever Soldier" or "The Forever General".[1]
Publication history
[edit]Immortus debuted inMy Greatest Adventure#80 alongside theDoom Patrol,and was created byArnold Drake,Bob Haney,Bruno Premiani,andMurray Boltinoff.[2]
Fictional character biography
[edit]General Immortus is perhaps centuries old, and his origins are shrouded in mystery.[3]At some points, it has even been implied that Immortus' origins lie in ancient history, having claimed on at least one occasion to have been alive at "the Dawn of Man". He once owned a diamond mine, the source of much of his current-day wealth, and he killed many of the slave workers to keep the location a secret,[4]which even remains today. However, little beyond this information has ever been revealed about Immortus' past. His real name has never been revealed, nor his country of origin, although it is implied to be somewhere in Europe.
Until coming into contact with theDoom Patrol,Immortus had sustained his unnatural long life indefinitely with a highly secretive and life-extendingalchemicalpotion,but Immortus eventually lost the precious formula and was unable to reproduce it, and as his previous stocks began to run out he began to once again age, this time rapidly. Immortus hired a young scientist namedNiles Caulderto recreate the potion. When Caulder discovered Immortus's identity and plan, he sabotaged the "life extending ray" that he had been developing.[1]Caulder, as "The Chief" later formed theDoom Patrolspecifically to combat one of Immortus' later schemes.[5]
Thereafter, most of General Immortus' schemes were to sustain hislongevityby finding a substitute for theelixir of lifehe had lost. Thus, he funded and became the leader of a highly secretive criminal syndicate to steal ancient tomes and mystical artifacts and sustain his life. This syndicate is militaristic, hence Immortus' title of "general",and not unlike theThule Societyin its philosophy and dabbling in the occult. From time to time thereafter, Immortus sparred with the Doom Patrol, usually in an effort to obtain the results of the Chief's life-extension research, or the Doom Patrol intercepted Immortus as he attempted to steal ancient mystical artifacts.
Immortus was a one-time member of theBrotherhood of Evil,a group formed largely to combat the Doom Patrol.
A second Doom Patrol was initiated by anIndianwoman named Arani, claiming to be Mrs. Niles Caulder and calling herselfCelsius.InShowcase#95, the general submitted her to a mind scan to find the secret to immortality, and managed to become young for the briefest moment on his Moon Base until the Doom Patrol got free and started to destroy the base as he began regressing to his formersenescence.It turned out the immortality treatment failed because it had been prepared specifically for Arani's physiology.[1]
In 2004, DC writerJohn Byrnerestarted the Doom Patrol series and declared that the previous history had never happened, though this revision did not tamper with the history of all its villains, since their history had also been chronicled in variousTeen Titansbooks. SinceInfinite Crisis,all Doom Patrol continuity Byrne attempted to wipe out is now largely restored, including that of General Immortus.
He was seen inSalvation Run,where he was killed byParademonsin the final issue.
Immortus reappeared, alive and well, inFinal Crisis Aftermath: Run#2, and referred to the events ofSalvation Runas having been an eye-opening experience for him. He is now recruiting followers into his Army of the Endangered. General Immortus hasProfessor Milooperate upon them to give them powers, including established non-powered villainsSportsmaster,Mr Polka Dot,Condiment Kingand theHuman Flameas well as new villains Brown Recluse, Miss Army Knife, N-Emy, Phoney Baloney, and Seductress. He ensures that use of these abilities causes pain until the villains have proved themselves unconditionally.[6]The Human Flame however is able to overcome both the pain and an additional failsafe installed by Professor Milo (a wireless remote wired to his implants and granting to Immortus and Milo the ability to shut down his powers at will), grievously burning Immortus with his powers and killing all of his new followers, save for his lover Seductress, who stays at his side.[7]As the Human Flame goes away, in a quest for gaining new powers, a wounded Immortus asks Milo to rethink their strategy.[8]
Powers and abilities
[edit]General Immortus is a cunning criminal mastermind and has lived for centuries as a result of his life-extending potion.
In other media
[edit]Television
[edit]- General Immortus appears inTeen Titans,voiced byXander Berkeley.[9]This version is a member of theBrotherhood of Evilwho appears older than the comics incarnation, commanded troops as far back asancient Egypt,took part in every major world conflict, and claims to have taughtSun Tzu.In the present, he takes part in the Brotherhood's efforts to eliminate young heroes around the world, only to be defeated and flash-frozen by the Teen Titans.
- General Immortus appears in the "Doom Patrol" segment ofDC Nation Shorts,voiced byClancy Brown.
- Immortus appears in the fourth season ofDoom Patrol.This version is a disembodied, interdimensional deity who possessed actressIsabel Feathers(portrayed by Charity Cervantes) after saving her from the timestream.
Video games
[edit]General Immortus appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[10]
Miscellaneous
[edit]- General Immortus appears inTeen Titans Go!.[11]Additionally, a heroic, alternate universe incarnation of Immortus appears in issue #48 as a member of the Brotherhood of Justice.
- General Immortus appears inBatman: The Brave and the Bold#6.[12]
References
[edit]- ^abcWallace, Dan (2008), "General Immortus", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.),The DC Comics Encyclopedia,New York:Dorling Kindersley,p. 136,ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1,OCLC213309017
- ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 116.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^Rovin, Jeff (1987).The Encyclopedia of Supervillains.New York: Facts on File. pp. 138–139.ISBN0-8160-1356-X.
- ^Doom Patrol Online
- ^Beatty, Scott(2008), "Doom Patrol", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.),The DC Comics Encyclopedia,New York:Dorling Kindersley,p. 109,ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1,OCLC213309017
- ^Final Crisis Aftermath: Run#2 (June 2009)
- ^Final Crisis Aftermath: Run#3 (July 2009)
- ^Final Crisis Aftermath: Run#4 (August 2009)
- ^"General Immortus Voices (DC Universe)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedJuly 20,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013)."DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide".IGN.RetrievedJuly 20,2024.
- ^"Teen Titans Go! #35 - Enemy of My Enemy (Issue)".Comic Vine.RetrievedJuly 20,2024.
- ^"Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6 - Charge of the Army Eternal (Issue)".Comic Vine.RetrievedJuly 20,2024.
External links
[edit]- General Immortusat DC Comics Wiki
- General Immortusat Comic Vine
