Real
Name: Madcoil MADCOIL
Real
Name: Madcoil
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial, possibly alternate reality (see comments) magical hybrid animal
Occupation: Marauding beast
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Nightrunner, Wolfriders (Bearclaw, Brownberry, Clearbrook, Cutter, Dart, Dewshine, Foxfur, Joyleaf, Longbranch, Nightfall, One-Eye, Pike, Rain, Redlance, Skywise, Strongbow, Treestump, others), unnamed human tribe (Yokut, others)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Forevergreen Forest, Sunholt, Abode
First Appearance: (WaRP Graphics) Elfquest I#4 (May
1979); (Marvel reprint) Elfquest II#6 (January 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Madcoil is a massive
combination of a sabre-toothed cat and a huge serpent, and possesses
sword-sharp fangs and lethal talons. Its scaly hide effectively armors
it against attacks, and its size makes it extremely strong. Additionally
it was always "Sending," telepathically projecting horrific images into
others minds and causing mental distress and disorientation; telepaths
themselves, the Wolf Riders were particularly vulnerable to this attack.
It was exceptionally intelligent and
malicious for an animal.
Length: 16' (by estimation - see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Green (see comments)
Fur: Green (see comments)
History:
(Elfquest I#4 (fb) - BTS) - At a time
when the world of Abode, also known as the World of Two Moons, was
inhabited by primitive stone age-equivalent humans a group of elf-like
aliens dubbed the High Ones crash landed. Attempts to adapt their
magics to survive on this new world didn't always work properly, and
as a result in some locations pools of "stagnant" magic were left
behind, slowly turning bad.
(Elfquest RPG Elfbook) - One such pocket
was the result of an attempt at Fire-Starting (see comments).
(Elfquest I#4
(fb) - BTS) - Over the next 10,000 years scattered
survivors of the High Ones evolved into different tribes, including
the forest dwelling Wolfriders.
(Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) -
Eventually the Wolfrider's current chief, Bearclaw, and the religious
zealot shaman who led a human tribe, had a confrontation near the
stagnant pool created by the failed Fire-Starting. Their tribes had been
in conflict for decades since the humans moved into the area, which
began with the humans deciding the elves were forest demons thanks to
the shaman's predecessor and mentor, and the elves initially pranking
the humans in an attempt to scare them away, with escalating violence
after the humans began ritually sacrificing captured elves, which
included Bearclaw slaying the previous shaman in retribution. Now the
humans had nearly killed Bearclaw's son Cutter when the youth naively
had approached the humans in hope of brokering peace between the two
groups, so Bearclaw had isolated the shaman and chased him deep into the
woods to a region neither humans or elves normally went. Unwittingly
standing by the soured magic, Bearclaw made one more attempt to convince
the shaman to try peaceful coexistence, but the human made it clear he
considered it his people's sacred duty to "cleanse" the land of the
demons. As the human ranted Bearclaw's wolf friend Blackfell sensed the
ancient magic residue, and with its lupine eyes it saw what they could
not as their violent emotions woke the magic. Blinded by their hatred
for one another, the human and elf ignored Blackfell's agitated whines
and lunged for each other, unaware of invisible tendrils that reached
out in newfound hunger lusting after the rage and hatred they had
unleashed. Luckily for both foes, just before they made contact with one
another or the magic the spot was struck by lighting (presumably drawn
by the magic, or it would have been a heck of a coincidence), throwing
them apart (and presumably sparing them the fate that would soon befall
others). Blackfell hastily dragged the stunned Bearclaw away from the
questing tendrils, while the human staggered off, also narrowly avoiding
the magic's grasp. However the magic was now active, fueled somewhat by
the lightning, but seeking some more rage and hatred to truly live. It
found them in two natural enemies who were drawn there, their natural
animosity heightened by the magic's pull.
(Elfquest
I#4 (fb) - BTS/Elfquest Readers
Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) - The sabre-toothed cat and
giant serpent became locked in battle, and the magic entwined them in
their death struggle, feeding on their raw pain and rage, merging the
pair into a new creature with all the worst aspects of either, a being
that lived for the joy of slaughter for slaughter's sake, Madcoil.
(Elfquest I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Making a lair in a cave deep in the forest, Madcoil ventured out to kill, taking back slain animals to consume them, and so littering the cave floor with bones.
(Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) - At
first it hunted small game, never straying from its cursed corner of the
forest, but eventually there was none left, so it ventured further
afield, and as Madcoil grew larger and larger, so did its quarry,
shifting up to boars and then full-grown deer. Eventually it came upon
three human hunters who had strayed far from their normal hunting
grounds, and it slaughtered them without mercy.
(Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider - BTS) - One
man, Yokut, clung on to life long enough to be found and carried back to
his tribe. His dying words of the monster convinced the shaman that the
elves had used their "foul magic" to grow a monstrous beast to prey on
them. The shaman declared a holy war to wipe out the elves, marking this
with a dance of drums around their fire.
Avoiding relentless human hunting parties
over the next few weeks the elves decided to relocate somewhere beyond
their reach. A large hunting party was formed to go out and find the
spot for their new holt, venturing out over many days and nights until
they unwittingly entered Madcoil's territory.
(Elfquest I#4
- BTS/Elfquest Readers Collection
Book 9a: Wolfrider- BTS) - That same night Madcoil came across
a wolf club and slew it, purely for the pleasure of killing.
The traveling elves detected a foul, unnatural stench in the woods, and sensed something unnatural in the woods watching them from the darkness. They sought to locate the source but despite their senses being far superior to humans they could not. Then they discovered the slain cub and while their attention was on that...
(Elfquest
I#4/Elfquest Readers
Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) - Madcoil struck from
the darkness, killing the group's healer Rain with a single blow. Still
obscured by the darkness of the pre-dawn morning, Madcoil attacked the
rest of the party, slashing and tossing both wolves and elves, and
telepathically "sending" horrific images directly into its foes' minds,
which also revealed its origins and name to them. The Wolfrider chief
Bearclaw shouted for the survivors to run for their lives and they
scattered.
(Elfquest
I#4 - BTS/Elfquest
Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider- BTS) - However
Bearclaw's wife Joyleaf was among the casualties, along with Brownberry, Foxfur and Longbranch. The
chief ordered the rest of the tribe to stay behind while he hunted down
the killer, an order only Cutter disobeyed.
Madcoil took the bodies of the fallen and
headed back to the cave it had taken as its lair to consume them.
Sensing it was being pursued by Bearclaw and Cutter, the beast toyed
with them, luring them with growls and spoor on a fruitless hunt that
went on for days. Eventually while Madcoil was out hunting the two elves
located the creature's lair and set an ambush. Sensing this, Madcoil
kept them waiting for hours until Cutter fell asleep, then lured
Bearclaw to it by "sending" a telepathic challenge. Eager to avenge his
beloved and to spare his son the risk, Bearclaw left Cutter sleeping and
went alone.
(Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) -
As Bearclaw approached Madcoil's hiding spot he had to fight off its
sending, until suddenly he came eye to eye with the monster. Then it
assailed him with visions that revealed to him his part in Madcoil's
genesis, and he fell to the ground blaming himself for all the
deaths that had followed. Madcoil slithered in assuming it would be
an easy kill, but when it was just above him Bearclaw suddenly
rallied and stabbed upwards, piercing the underside of Madcoil's
jaw. Though Madcoil had a size and strength advantage, Bearclaw had
1200 years experience fighting animals much larger than himself, and
both he and Madcoil landed blows that cut their opponent. Eventually
Madcoil managed to trap Bearclaw in the coils of its tail and lifted
him up towards its fangs, but even as it bit down Bearclaw stabbed
Madcoil in the throat, severely wounding the beast, and causing it
to spit him out and retreat.
(Elfquest I#4-BTS) - Woken by the beast's roars,...
(Elfquest I#4 - BTS/Elfquest
Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider- BTS) -
Cutter raced to the spot to find his father dying. Once he had passed
Cutter summoned the rest of the Wolfriders, realizing his father had
been wrong to think he could slay Madcoil by himself. Madcoil meanwhile
returned to its lair to rest and heal.
The next evening Cutter and his wolf
Nightrunner came to the entrance of the cave and challenged Madcoil to
come out.
(Elfquest I#4/Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) - Slithering out the beast loomed over the elf and wolf, who fled back into the forest. As intended Madcoil pursued them, and Cutter led the monster under some trees where the remaining Wolfriders were hiding. As Madcoil passed beneath them they jumped, catching the beast in a net they had woven. Even weighed down by nearly a dozen elves, Madcoil struggled to free itself, but before it could Cutter raced in and stabbed it through the right eye, killing Madcoil instantly.
(Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider) -
Still hoping that there could be peace between the humans and elves
Cutter decapitated the corpse and the Wolfriders dragged Madcoil's
head through the forest with great effort to leave it near the
human's camp, hoping to show the humans that they were safe from the
evil that Bearclaw and the shaman had created. However, as ever, the
shaman misread this message with the worst possible interpretation,
still blaming the elves for creating the beast. He ordered his
people to burn the head and continue their sacred war until all the
elves were dead.
Comments: Created by Wendy and Richard Pini.
The color of Madcoil's eyes varies depending
on the printing. The original 1979 WaRP Graphics appearance was in black
and white, but with the advent of color in the Epic and Donning reprints
the beast's eyes were yellow. However, the more recent Dark Horse
reprint and, critically, the version on the official Elfquest site,
which provided the main image above, has a definite green tint in the
eyes. In terms of the fur, it seems weird that the merger would turn the
cat's fur green, but we can see what appears to be tufts in the main
image above. It is possible that this isn't actually fur, but moss or
grass whose seeds got lodged in the gaps between scales and subsequently
grew out of the beast's corrupted flesh.
His length is very hard to estimate. He's clearly huge, but he's never shown full body, let alone in a good position alongside something with a known size. The best we have are the shots of him confronting Cutter or fighting Bearclaw, both of whom are somewhere close to 4' tall (give or take a few inches). The top image gives the impression that he is at least four times Cutter's size, so he's at least 16' long, but he might well be several feet bigger than that. In terms of breadth, he's stated to be "as big around as a tree."
The Elfquest comic didn't state what kind of
magic the elves had been trying to use when they generated the pool of
magic the later created Madcoil. Cutter does discuss how the pool came
about, and when he does we are shown an image of some elves in the snow,
clearly freezing, creating fire via magic, but we don't know for sure
that this image is an accurate flashback or just what the listeners are
imagining, since none of those present when Cutter is speaking were
around when the fire-starting was taking place, and even if it is, he
was talking about magic pools in general, not the specific one related
to Madcoil. However, the Elfquest RPG, presumably based on this panel
from the comic, explicitly stated that an attempt at Fire-Starting is
what created the pocket of magic tied to Madcoil, effectively being the
either confirmation or the actual source of the info, depending on your
perspective.
Is Elfquest set on Earth-616? Absolutely not,
though not (as many might assume) because it is a creator-owned series.
Obviously Wendy and Richard Pini didn't intend their creation to be part
of Marvel, but even if they had, the story isn't set on Earth-616 for
the simple reason that Elfquest isn't set on any version
of Earth. It takes place on the planet Abode, a.k.a. the World of Two
Moons - to be precise, Madcoil, like the Wolfriders at the start of the
series, lived in Forevergreen Forest on the continent of Sunholt on the
planet Abode, a.k.a. the World of Two Moons. But setting aside
creator-intent and going purely from speculation based on evidence in
story, could Elfquest be set in Reality-616? Then
probably yes, for the same reason - being set on an alien world, albeit
with natives who look like and get called humans, means that there's
nothing that I know of that could prevent Abode being a world in a
remote part of Reality-616's cosmos. Given this, there's no point
assigning Elfquest a reality number.
Like Marvel's What If? or DC's Elseworlds,
Elfquest has an alternate reality brand, Worldpool. In one of those
stories, Elfquest: King's Cross#1, Bearclaw succeeded in slaying
Madcoil,
If you visit the Elfquest
Official Website, (almost?) the entire series can be read for free
with full permission of the Pinis - though they do hope people will
enjoy it enough to buy the actual collected editions. It's a great read.
This profile was completed on
09/05/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the
Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent
Elfquest.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Madcoil has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Elfquest I#4, p28, pan1 (main image, looming over Cutter and
Nightrunner); reprinted in Epic's
Elfquest#7, p3, pan4
Elfquest I#4, p16, pan3 (vision of Madcoil's origin); reprinted in
Epic's Elfquest#6, p11, pan3
Elfquest Readers Collection#9a: Wolfrider, p138, pan4-5 (the magic, and
the two animals that merged to become Madcoil)
Elfquest Readers Collection#9a:
Wolfrider, p140, pan1 (Madcoil is born from magic, lightning and hate)
Epic's Elfquest#6 cover (Bearclaw vs Madcoil)
Appearances:
Elfquest I#4 (May 1979) -
Wendy Pini (creator, writer, art), Richard Pini (creator, editor)
Marvel/Epic reprints: Elfquest II#6-7
(January-February 1986) - Wendy Pini
(creator, writer, art), Richard Pini (creator, associate editor), Archie
Goodwin (editor)
Elfquest Readers Collection Book 9a: Wolfrider
(August 1999) - Christy Marx (script), Wendy Pini (script, art), Jeff
Zugale (art), Richard Pini (editor)
First Posted: 09/10/2026
Last updated: 09/05/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright
info
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Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
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