PROFESSOR HENRY OXTON
PROFESSOR HENRY OXTON
Real Name: Henry Oxton
Identity/Class: Human;
pre-modern and modern eras
Occupation: Archeologist
Group Membership: Presumably some archeological society (such as the Society for American Archeology)
Affiliations: Professor Berger, Sheik Hamid
Enemies: Azazel
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
died in the Sinai desert, Egypt (the only portion on the Asian continent)
Education: At least the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in archeology; possibly a masters or Ph.D equivalent
First Appearance: Cable II#79 (May, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: Professor Oxton was knowledgeable about archeology.
He came up with some radical theories and steadfastly held to such beliefs despite lack of support.
He generally discounted
supernatural abilities, causing him to ignore warnings that might have
saved his life.
He wore eyeglasses, although his specific deficit and prescription are unrevealed.
In death, he was described as "solid as a stone statue."
Whether that means he was actually turned into stone or just left completely rigid is unrevealed (presumably the latter given he still had his ante-mortem pigmentation)
History:
(Cable
II#79 (fb) - BTS) - Archeologist Professor Henry Oxton spent 20 years searching for proof that a once great civilization ruled Asia (see comments) while the rest of mankind was still in the Stone Age. He developed a theory that Atlantis was located in the Sinai Desert.
His peers called him a fool and worse, and they said that he was mad and that his theory was total nonsense.
(Cable II#79) - Professor Henry Oxton led his associate Professor Berger to the lair of Azazel on Mt. Sinai. Noting his detractors, he said to let them talk and he asked them to explain this.
(Cable
II#80) - As Oxton's laser device failed to scratch the surface of
Azazel's gate, he commented that it was incredible and that no known
ancient civilization could have created such a metal.
Noting approaching armed locals (led by Sheik Hamid), Berger advised Professor Oxton that they had a more serious problem that required his immediate attention.
(Cable
II#80 (fb) - BTS) - Oxton and Berger made peaceful arrangements with Hamid and his men (see comments).
Feeding Oxton and Berger in his tent, Hamid
advised them that great, powerful,
and evil genii -- represented by a circle in a circle, a mind within a
mind -- still existed in the cavern and that their seal was on
the door. Oxton argued that whatever was hidden behind those doors was
long gone, as nothing lived forever. Hamid told him that those behind
the door were demons and that they were Undying. 
(Cable
II#81) - Outside Azazel's lair, Oxton
told Hamid how he did not understand how the doors had remained secret
for thousands of years. He felt that surely one of Hamid's people would
have revealed the location to explorers in the area or archeologists
like himself as such a discovery would have made them rich.
Hamid replied that Azazel, the "Lord of the Undying," guarded their privacy and killed any who attempted to speak of this location and that many had perished with his dread name on their lips. In response to the name Azazel, Berger related how in the Book of Enoch, that was the name given to the leader of the fallen angels called the Sleepless Ones. Berger added that Azazel was also referred to in that tome as "the star fallen from Heaven."
Oxton dismissed this all as nonsense, and he contacted Hafia (see comments)
and prepared to relate
his findings, dismissing Berger's recommendations to achieve some
distance from the site before broadcasting news of their discovery.
Defiantly stating that Henry Oxton was not afraid of some ridiculous
superstition, especially after making the discovery of a lifetime, he
stated the word Azazel and immediately died but was left
standing, "solid as a stone statue."
Hafia responded, but Oxton was gone. 
Berger considered that at least
Oxton had died happy, which was a better end than most, although he was
not sure what to tell the authorities.
After correctly reasoning that
Azazel would not have an appreciation of the internet and related
terminology, Berger sent out jpg and wav files detailing his findings.
With Oxton tied into the back of his jeep, Berger departed with Hamid.
Comments: Created by Robert Weinberg, Michael Ryan, and Andrew Pepoy.
So, I don't know that Oxton found
evidence of a great civilization ruling Asia while the rest of mankind
was in the Stone Age (although it's a known fact that such
civilizations exited on the Thurian continent and/or eventually
Atlantis in the pre-Cataclysmic era, and in various regions of what
would be Europe and Asia circa 10,000 B.C.)...all he found was the
hidden base of Azazel, and the Undying sowed chaos throughout the world, and they were around on Earth from 5000 B.C. forward.
While eating with Sheik Hamid,
Oxton called him "my friend." There was no explanation of the
transition point between Hamid's men holding Oxton and Berger at
gunpoint to Oxton and Berger sitting in Hamid's tent while eating and
discussing matters. It may be that Oxton and
Hamid knew each other before, but it also may be that he was just being
friendly/polite/respectful and that Oxton and/or Berger were able to
negotiate peaceful relations.
I don't know if Hafia is meant to be a person or a group or something else?
Googling it, I get Hafia as the name of a town and
sub-prefecture in the Labe Prefcture in the Labe Region in
northern-central Guinea...which is all the way on the north-west side
of Africa, with Egypt being on the east side.
Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel, and would
be much closer than Hafia, so perhaps it was a misspelling. It seems a
little odd to be calling for a city, but perhaps there is some base
there. It would remind me of astronauts contacting NASA, "Houston, we
have a problem..."
Hafia is
apparently an Arabic female name. Nevertheless my first thought would
be the Israeli city. It could be the Haifa headquarters of an
organization he's calling.
--David Zuckerman
Oxton is also pictured in two
images in the Azazel profile, showing his discovering the gate and the
laser being used against it.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Professor Henry Oxton should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81 (July, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
First posted: 10/27/2023
Last updated: 10/27/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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