That Which Must Obey (Elder Earth; Chane foe)

that_which_must_obey-main THAT WHICH MUST OBEY that_which_must_obey-seelattack

Real Name: Unrevealed;
possibly "That Which Must Obey"

Identity/Class: Demon (presumably Class II);
presumably pre-Cataclysmic era, but possibly distant past;

Occupation: Killer, warrior

Group Membership: None known

Affiliations: Jugarta;
formerly Zukura;

Enemies: Chane, Seela, Zukura;

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
apparently some demonic realm (possibly the Shadow Lands)

First Appearance: Savage Sword of Conan#67/3 (August, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: That Which Must Obey is an immense, reptilian creature with vast superhuman strength.

His hand appeared to be the size of a fully grown wolf, and an apparently casual swat of his hand was sufficient to send the wolf flying against a stone wall for an apparently fatal impact.

His digits on his hands, at least, have sharp talons, and he has sharp canine and incisor teeth on both his maxilla and mandible.

He also has a long and thick tail that could presumably be used as a striking weapon.

Although the creature must obey its summoner, it can act to defend itself if attacked.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 30-50')
Weight: Unrevealed (impossible to estimate without knowing his density)
Eyes: Unrevealed (black and white story; appeared to be a solid light color around a small pupil)
Hair: None
Skin color: Unrevealed that_which_must_obey-seelaswat

History:

(Savage Sword of Conan#67/3 (fb) - BTS) - Zukura was once Warlock and king of an empire that eventually fell into ruins. He and his daughter, Seela, were apparently forced into "their accursed vigilance by the lord of the realm of shadows."
They were apparently cursed to guard the gate to the shadow-lands.

(Savage Sword of Conan#67/3) - When Chane arrived in Zukura's realm, Seela became entranced with the stranger, but Zukura somehow concluded that his presence would damn and destroy him and Seela forever.

Calling on Jugarta, the demon of the shadow-lands, Zukura asked the demon to send them "That Which Must Obey" to rid them of Chane, to enable them to endure their eternal watch, and to spare his daughter her calamitous fate.

However, following the emergence of the monstrous That Which Must Obey from a pit, as the demon reached for Chane, Seela, who had adopted wolf form, protectively leapt at the creature. Zukura could only futilely yell, "Seela, No!", as That Which Must Obey swatted the wolf aside, smashing it to a pulp against the far wall.

that_which_must_obey-banished Lamenting that Jugarta had slain his (or her?) loyal servant and destroyed him (Zukura), Zukura vowed vengeance for Jugarta's treachery, and then banished That Which Must Obey back through the portal: "Monstrous offspring of Hell! Return to the molten slime which spawned you. Back to your beginnings! Back...!" Obeying, the creature returned to the portal from which it had emerged.

Zukura then used his own life force to forever seal the portal, shattering the entire chamber onto them: "All that I descend from...all that I am...all that I command of night's dark forces...Hear me! Close this accursed gate--this blemish of the world! Seal this ugly passage!" I give my blood as mortar to bond the stone. Die, vermin of the underworld! Seela, your father joins you!"

The chamber then collapsed, sending a shower of stones to plug the dark passage from the netherworld and presumably crush Zukura; the entire dome shattered, and the collapsing masonry sent up leprous clouds that all but masked the ruins from site.

Narrowly escaping the collapsing ruins, Chane did not fully comprehend the events his arrival had set into motion, but he was nonetheless grateful to be alive.

Comments: Created by Gil Kane

It is uncertain whether the "Hell" or "underworld" from which That Which Must Obey emerged was the same as the Shadow-Lands that was Jugarta's home.

I don't know why Zukura suddenly thought Chane was going to be the death of him and Seela, but he may have just gone mad over time while trapped in his realm of ruins.

The narrative text does identify That Which Must Obey as a male.

That Which Must Be Obeyed previously had a sub-profile under Zukura, originally published 02/16/2015.

This profile was completed 10/21/2025, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
That Which Must Obey should be distinguished from:

THAT Which ENDURES - intelligence behind evolution, generated on earth billions of years ago from mutation of the first cell formed by mitosis, developed unconscious collective sentience, chose to maintain its existence by surviving in earth’s dominant lifeform, achieves active sentience once every hundred thousand years, unable to exist within mutants--West Coast Avengers II#44
other "That" characters, groups, items, events, races or places...

images: (without ads)
Savage Sword of Conan#67/3, pg. 8, panel 1 (emergence);
          panel 3 (Seela leaping at That);
       pg. 9, panel 2 (That swatting Seela);
          panel 5 (banished)

Appearances:
Savage Sword of Conan#67/3 (August, 1981) - Gil Kane (writer, artist), Danny Fingeroth (associate editor), Lynn Graeme (consulting editor), Louise Jones (later Simonson; editor)

First posted: 09/30/2026
Last updated: 10/21/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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