SWANSWAN
Real Name: Swan
Identity/Class: Human magic-user (Hyborian era)
Occupation: Slave seer, Counselor of Maddoc II,
Keeper of Prophecies, Mistress of the Unseen
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Maddoc II (owner, lover), Conan, Anneka, Jahli (Maddoc's son), Randor, General Shapur, Zahdt
Enemies: Tetra
(Pathir);
possibly the Council of Seven
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Clairvoyant" (by Tetra)
Base of Operations: City-State of El Shah Maddoc,
Koth
First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian I#181 (April, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Swan's perceptions extended their
range beyond what ordinary humans could see and hear.
She could sense that someone was
telling the truth.
She could also connect present events
of little importance to great things that would happen in the future,
near or far.
It is unclear if her prophecies were
triggered when meeting the person involved in that event, or if she
could see those events before any hint or clue.
Height: 5'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 122 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown
History:
(Conan the Barbarian I#184 (fb) - BTS) - Swan was one of King Maddoc
II's personal slaves, but a special one. The King loved her, but never
told her. Maddoc felt that she understood him, and she was his comfort
and guide. He gave her gifts, and he treated her almost like a princess,
but he denied her freedom.
(Conan the Barbarian I#181) - The
King gave her the power to grant asylum into El Shah Maddoc.
The day Conan the Cimmerian arrived at El Shah
Maddoc, Swan was waiting right at the main gate of the town, on a
litter, surrounded by personal guards.
She had never met Conan before. She saw
a strong and self-confident northerner that had demanded to see the
King. The stranger was so
determined to break into town that he used Zhadt and Randor,
two guards, to mop the ground, and he didn't yield despite many other
armed soldiers running against him. Swan saw something that others could
not see in that man with a golden armor, and she intervened. Her word
and her role were enough to stop the guards and to officially grant
asylum to Conan. She ignored Conan's distrust, speaking to him in
riddles. "Protect our king, son of Cimmeria. Spare his life that
our king may be fit to clean the boots of the mightiest king in all
the world." she said.
That same day, King Maddoc fought in
the Arena. The King's propaganda included the illusion that he was a
god, and, to strengthen that illusion, he fought a man, defeating him,
forcing all his subjects to watch his "godly" might. Swan sat near the
King's throne, when Maddoc II broke the neck of his already defeated
adversary.
Among all the people of the Arena, the only one man
that didn't bow to the "God" was the man in the golden armor. It was
considered a blasphemy, so General Shapur sent soldiers to subdue the
man. Conan claimed that he wasn't there to harm the King, nor his
soldiers, and then Swan intervened again. She had understood that the
stranger had come to warn the King. aving alwayHs trusted her and her
ability to see the future, Maddoc II decided to hear Conan's words. Again, when Conan told the
legends of "the end of all there is", Swan confirmed his
word. She saw death. Again Swan had to quench the King's anger, because
Maddoc's pride denied him to honor Conan, the bearer of the prophecy.
Even so, Swan had visions, and she had to convince Maddoc that the
barbarian spoke the truth.
While Conan and Keiv
walked away, Swan suggested to Maddoc how to create a reason to honor
the stranger: to recover the old King's signet ring from the tower, the
tower where Maddoc's father had been imprisoned by the Witches
of Shem, and where he died. The King, who trusted her, accepted.
Shortly after, Swan made the proposal to Conan, but
he was still angered and refused.
However, Keiv, less involved than Conan and more
rational in that moment, managed to convince him to do the job.
That night, during the Gala Ball at the
royal castle, Swan was at the King's right. They were almost confessing
to each other their feelings, when the previous schemes showed their
result. Conan had seized the signet ring from the tower, but had also
saved Maddoc I, the old father of Maddoc II. King Maddoc II honored
Conan with the role of Warlord of Koth. Swan silently smiled, as her
visions had been confirmed. General Shapur left the celebration, having
lost the position of Warlord.
(Conan the
Barbarian I#182 (fb) - BTS) - Conan taught a boy named Jahli, son of
Anneka, daughter of Shapur, how to clean his warlord's boots.
When, days later, Conan
protected Jahli from enemy M'Gai scouts, he guessed part of
Swan's riddle: Jahli was Maddoc II's son, and the King had sent him to
die at the Kushites' hands.
(Conan the
Barbarian I#183) - Before dawn, Maddoc II sought the company and the
counsel of Swan. He expressed his desire for possession above the
slave, but he couldn't tell her that he loved her. She assured him
that she had foreseen that they would be together unto death. The evil
and powerful demon Pathir, in the form of the girl named Tetra,
appeared then before the two, and confirmed Swan's prevision. Shortly
thereafter Pathir killed Swan before Maddoc's eyes.
(Conan the Barbarian I#184) -
Surrounded by flowers and green plants, the dead body of Swan lied on
her deathbed. Maddoc, broken by Pathir's machinations and magic,
declared his love for the slave, that was to have become his queen.
Comments: Created by Jim Owsley (now Priest), John Buscema and Ernie Chan.
Swan wasn't the first seer to see Conan's future grandeur.
This profile was completed 04/18/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event.
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Swan should be
distinguished from:
Randor and Zhadt have no known connection with any other character with a similar name.
Randor was a soldier of the City-State
of El Shah Maddoc, he worked with Zhadt and the guards at the gates of
the City.
Randor was very tall, a head taller than Conan, and
presumably his physical strength was proportionally greater than the
average strength of a human being.
Apart from the ordnance gear of a
guard, Randor wore gloves with a particular feature: The gloves had long
talons, pointed and sharpened, suited to cut human flesh, and Randor
seemed glad to be able to use them.
Randor was called for help by Zhadt, one of the gatekeepers. Conan, bored by the guards and by their delays and extortion at the gate, maltreated Zhadt and another gatekeeper. Randor walked out by the shadows to menace the Cimmerian, apparently sure that he had the upper hand. He lasted only long enough to be kicked in the low parts, falling in the dirt like Zhadt.
Other soldiers, with their sabres
unsheathed, intervened, but the fight was quenched by Swan.
--Conan the Barbarian I#181
Zhadt was a soldier of the City-State
of El Shah Maddoc, he worked with Randor and the other guards at the
gates of the city.
Zhadt was also a gatekeepr, and had the power to
decide what strangers could enter the city or not.
After half a day at the gates, the queue of merchants and visitors outside was still long. Zhadt was vexing a sheperd when Conan, bored, decided to pass through the gates, urging that he had to see the King. Zhadt asked for a letter of admission the barbarian. Conan knocked the two guards down without any effort. On the ground, Zhadt called for Randor's help. Randor arrived to help but was swiftly dropped and fell down by him after a few instants.
Other soldiers, with their sabres naked, intervened, but
the fight was quenched by Swan.
--Conan the Barbarian I#181
images: (without ads)
Conan the Barbarian I#181, pg. 4, panel 1 (Swan, full body)
Conan the Barbarian
I#182, pg. 6, panel 2 (Swan, head shot)
Conan the Barbarian
I#181, pg. 9, panel 6 (Swan and Maddoc II)
Conan the Barbarian I#181, pg. 3,
panel 3 (Randor)
Conan the Barbarian I#181, pg. 2,
panel 1 (Zhadt)
Appearances:
Conan the Barbarian I#181 (April, 1986) - Jim Owsley (writer), John
Buscema (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), George
Roussos (colors), Larry Hama (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#182 (May, 1986) - Jim Owsley (writer), John
Buscema (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), George
Roussos (colors), Larry Hama (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#183 (June, 1986) - Jim Owsley (writer), John
Buscema (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), George
Roussos (colors), Larry Hama (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#184 (July, 1986) - Jim Owsley (writer), John
Buscema (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), George Roussos (colors), Larry
Hama (editor)
First Posted: 09/28/2026
Last updated: 04/18/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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