KALUMAI
Real Name: Kalumai
Identity/Class: demon
Occupation: Ruler of an Extra-Dimensional realm
Affiliations: led the Cult of Kalumai and an army of demons
Enemies: Straw Man/Scarecrow; Dave and Jess Duncan, Harmony Maxwell, Thing
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: the Dimension of Kalumai
First Appearance: [Dead of Night#11], Marvel Spotlight I#26 (February, 1976)
Powers: Largely unrevealed. Kalumai
sought to takeover the Earth and was the lord of an
extradimensional realm, so you'd imagine him to be pretty
powerful. He controlled an army of demons and a Cult of followers
on Earth. His powers were greatly limited by his inability to
access Earth. He could grant power to others, and under some
occassions send his demons to Earth. I'd guess he could use magic
for a variety of attacks, but this was never demonstrated.
The Horn of Kalumai may serve as a source of mystical power. It's current fate is unknown.
Kalumai's demon-servants possessed mostly superhuman strength (enhanced human) and durability.
History: The origins of the demon Kalumai are unknown. He has been worshipped on Earth by the Cult of Kalumai for at least centuries in the past. Kalumai's dimension connects to Earth via a portal in the Straw Man's painting. The Straw Man has served as guardian of this portal and blocked the access of Kalumai for some time. They have clashed on several occassions, and on one of these, the Straw Man tore one of Kalumai's horns from his head. This Horn was retained on Earth as a power source to his Cult.
(DoN#11-BTS)-Members of the Cult of Kalumai, led by Gregor Rovik, attempted to obtain the Straw Man's painting. When these attempts were foiled by Jess Duncan, the Cult stole the painting from Duncan and kidnapped his friend, Harmony Maxwell to serve as a sacrifice to Kalumai. The Straw Man attacked and slaughtered the Cult, and rescued Maxwell.
(MarvSpot#26)-Kalumai
sent some of his demons through the portal to Earth in order to
retake his lost Horn (previously found on the dead body of
Rovik). The Straw Man battered the demons and took the Horn, but
when he returned to his painting, the Horn could not pass through
the portal and fell to Earth.
Kalumai next sent his demons to attack Jess Duncan at an
aquarium, but the Straw Man defeated them there as well.
(Marvel Two-In-One#18)-During an art exhibit, Kalumai spread his influence through the Straw Man's painting into a man. The man then clubbed Dave Duncan (Jess' brother) and leapt through the painting's portal. Kalumai mutated the man into a fiery creature and sent him back to Earth, where he attacked the Straw Man. The Straw Man was aided by the Thing, who was also present at the exhibit with his girlfriend Alicia Masters. Eventually, the Straw Man tricked the fiery pawn of Kalumai into incinerating the painting, which severed its connection to Kalumai, and returned the pawn to normal.
(Dr. Strange III#31/2(fb))-Kalumai was destroyed by the Straw Man.
Comments: Created by Scott Edelman and Ruben Yandoc.
See the entry on the Straw Man. Neither character
was ever fleshed out, but I'd guess Kalumai was originally
intended to be the running villain in the Scarecrow's series,
which never really happened. Kalumai was behind the scenes and
only peripherally involved in his few appearances. As the final
insult, his fate is summed up by the Straw Man, "But, in
the end, I myself destroyed him" and shown in a single
panel, which also showed Kalumai with two horns (mistake?
no...no...never. There's a lost story behind it, of course!)
There's some lost info in there, and I think the Straw Man would
make a great MAX or Marvel Knights Horror character...which could
flesh out Kalumai a little better.
Tell you what, if Aunt May and Dr. Octopus can return from certain death, I'm thinking an extra-dimensional demon king could do the same. Only one thing is stopping him: apathy--on the part of the readers and writers.
Clarifications:
Kalumai has no known connection to:
Kalumesh, the sunken city of
Dagoth, @ Marvel Premiere I#7
The Cult of Kalumai
Gregor Rovik was the former leader of the Cult of Kalumai. He sought to purchase the Straw Man's painting in an auction, but Dave Duncan gave him a shot in the ribs during the bidding, knocking the wind out of him, and allowing Jess Duncan to win the auction. Soon enough, Rovik led the Cult to Duncan's loft, where they beat both Duncans, and abducted their friend, Harmony Maxwell.
Rovik had the other cultists scrub the
painting, revealing an image of Kalumai beneath the Scarecrow's
image. The Scarecrow and his murder of Crows (I think that's
the right term for a "flock" of crows...) burst
into the room and descended on the Cultists, tearing them apart.
Rovik took Harmony and tried to escape, but the Scarecrow
directed some trees to grab him and pulverize him. The Horn of
Kalumai was later found on Rovik's dead body and taken into
police custody.
--Dead of Night#11
Bartolome was the floutist (one who plays the flute) who directed
the actions of Kalumai's demons on Earth. He could contact
Kalumai directly and presumbaly was granted some degree of power
by him.
--MarvSpot#26
The fiery pawn of Kalumai received no name,
origin, or anything. He had no previous connection to Kalumai. He
was present at the art exhibit, and fell under Kalumai's control
while observing the Straw Man's painting. He clocked Dave Duncan
from behind and jumped through the portal in the picture, where
Kalumai granted him powers. He fought both the Straw Man and the
Thing, but was tricked into incinerating the painting, which
severed his connection to Kalumai, and removed his powers.
Afterwards, he did not even remember these events.
While empowered by Kalumai, he could generate and project both
conventional and magical flames. He was composed of the same
flame, and while he could be dispersed by sudden impact, he could
reform just as easily.
Last updated: 08/02/02
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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