MR. MORDEAUX
Real Name: Mordeaux (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Semi-human (see comments) (1950s Era)
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: Unnamed aristocratic club in New York
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Local Hungarian villagers
Known Relatives: Mordeaux clan (names unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations:
Mountainous region in Hungary;
formerly New York, USA
First Appearance: Astonishing#11/1 (spring, 1952)
Powers/Abilities: Mordeaux had no unusual abilities beyond those of an ordinary human, but was vain and arrogant. He carried the trait of the Mordeaux family of bulging eyes and no eyebrows.
History:
(Astonishing#11/1 (fb) - BTS) - In centuries past, members of the Mordeaux clan were viewed as sorcerers and excluded from society and hunted, eventually disappearing into their castle. Their name became legend in the small area and associated with evil. In the 1800s, some of Mr. Mordeaux's ancestors fled from Hungary but claimed aristocratic lineage. In the modern day, Mr. Mordeaux joined an exclusive club for aristocrats, although the vain club members doubted Mordeaux's claims, having researched his family tree.
(Astonishing#11/1) - One day at the club, Mr. Mordeaux was outraged that his aristocratic lineage could be questioned and resolved to find his ancestral estate belonging to the Hungarian branch of his family, although they seemed to be shunned by the American Mordeauxs. Finding a picture of the ancestral castle, Mr. Mordeaux journeyed by ship to Budapest, full of contempt for his fellow passengers. He then looked for his family crest in the city's library and found the location of the castle, traveling there by car and coach. Seeking a night's lodging in a nearby inn, his family's facial features were recognized and he was chased by the angry and superstitious villagers. Mr. Mordeaux ran to the castle and escaped inside, quickly falling asleep on the stone floor. He awoke to find dog-sized creatures swarming over him, dragging him hungrily under the floor into their burrow. Although frightened, he recognized his family's facial features on the creatures and saw what had become of the Hungarian aristocrats, laughing like a madman.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer and Joe Sinnott (art).
So had the Hungarian branch of the Mordeauxs effectively become an offshoot of humanity? It may be that the Hungarian Mordeaux clan had been mutated by sorcerous means, particularly if the superstitions about them had basis in reality.
This story was later reprinted in Tomb of Darkness II#16/2 (September, 1975), which is where the images are from.
Many thanks to Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine for the scans!
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Mr. Mordeaux has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Tomb of Darkness II#16/2, p1, pan1 (main image)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 05/01/10
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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