PRIEST OF SICKLES

Real Name: Johan Richter

Identity/Class: Human magic user (World War II era to modern era) (German)

Occupation: Cult leader, servant of Kulan Gath;
    former Luftwaffe pilot

Group Membership: Unidentified cult;
    formerly Nazi Party

Affiliations: Kulan Gath, the Hand, Jhoatun Lau

Enemies: Doctor Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Elektra (Elektra Natchios), Punisher (Frank Castle), Signore Saviano, Venom (Eddie Brock), Wolverine (James Howlett)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Acolyte"

Base of Operations: An unidentified jungle mansion;
    formerly the City of Sickles, Savage Land

First Appearance: Savage Avengers I#1 (July, 2019)

Powers/Abilities: The Priest of Sickles is a skilled mystic, adept at teleportation spells and the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, among others. He is also long-lived (likely through mystic means), having aged very little since the early 1940s.

The Priest has used a large sickle to decapitate others during his cult sacrifices.

Height: 5'8" (by approximation)
Weight: 150 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blue

History: (Secret Avengers I#2 (fb)) - In the early 1940s, as World War II raged across the globe, German Luftwaffe pilot Johan Richter was in an aerial firefight when his plane was shot down over the Savage Land. A pteranodon soon collided with the enemy plane as Richter parachuted down and Richter's damaged plane flew into an unidentified portal. After his parachute caught in a tree, Johan Richter freed himself and ended up fighting dinosaurs for months before discovering the City of Sickles, ruled by Hyborian era sorcerer Kulan Gath. When Richter asked Gath where he was, Kulan Gath welcomed a new student that had fallen from the sky and promised Richter great power if Richter obeyed him. Gath then demanded Richter kneel to him and Richter did so before Gath saw images of the horrors of Nazi Germany in Richter's minds. Pleased by what he saw, Gath had Richter arise to begin his reeducation under Gath. Over time, Johan Richter became the only student of Kulan Gath to survive into the modern day.

(Savage Avengers I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Richter eventually became the leader of an unidentified cult seeking to summon the elder god Jhoatun Lau. As leader, Richter took on the title of Priest of Sickles.

(Savage Avengers I#1) - The Priest of Sickles welcomed captive opera singer Signore Saviano to the City of Sickles, referring to the giant bowl of blood in front of them as Saviano's destiny. Saviano warned that if the Priest intended to hurt him, he had powerful friends, but the Priest replied that they were counting on Saviano's friends arriving. Explaining that his cult was filling the bowl with the blood of mankind's finest in order to summon the god Jhoatun Lau, the Priest proclaimed how much of an honor it was to die summoning Jhoatun Lau before using his sickle to decapitate Saviano. As Saviano was knocked into the bowl, the Priest commented on how much he loved Saviano's voice then turned to the ninja Hand agents who had brought Saviano before him. The Priest then informed the Hand that they needed more powerful blood and suggested the Hand bring warriors next.

The Priest later led the newly-captive Doctor Voodoo to the bowl of blood, where Dr. Voodoo attempted to talk the Priest into a "best two out of three." The Priest declined, instead assuring Voodoo that his blood would join others within the bowl. When Voodoo asked what the Priest was talking about, the Priest began ranting about a planet beyond Pluto that would align once a millennium with Earth, allowing his cult to summon Jhoatun Lau. He then explained that after Jhoatun Lau had supped himself on Earth, the Priest and his cult would join Jhoatun Lau in his Temple in the Stars. After revealing how their bowl of blood was more full than the last summoning attempt, which resulted in the entire cult being killed, the Priest was accused of being insane by Dr. Voodoo, to which the Priest replied that perhaps he had lost his senses after decades in the City of Sickles. As the Priest announced how he looked forward to finding out the truth about his senses, Wolverine arrived to rescue Dr. Voodoo, only for the Priest to slit Voodoo's throat with his sickle. The Priest's Hand allies then attacked Wolverine en masse as the Priest ordered them to restrain Wolverine. As the Hand dealt with Wolverine, more Hand agents brought caskets to the Priest, who asked why he was being brought dead when he needed powerful, living blood. The Hand agents bowed and explained that the corpses were bait for another warrior who had shed more blood than almost any other man.

(Savage Avengers I#2) - Despite the Priest's orders for the Hand ninjas to kill Wolverine, Wolverine slashed his way through the Hand with ease and took the fight directly to Richter. Casting the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak in an attempt to hold Wolverine back, the Priest was surprised when Wolverine was able to fight the Bands' power to continue fighting and when Wolverine continued to close in on the Priest, he cast a teleportation spell and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. Returning to Kulan Gath, the Priest of Sickles learned that Gath's amulet had been stolen and that Gath had been forced to release his captive alien (Venom) early, prompting Richter to inform Gath of Wolverine's involvement. Gath promised to take care of Wolverine and when he mentioned that they could not summon Jhoatun Lau without his amulet, Richter agreed to find the amulet.

(Savage Avengers I#3 - BTS) - In an attempt to get close to injure Kulan Gath, a recovered Doctor Voodoo took the form of the Priest of Sickles but Kulan Gath saw through Voodoo's mystic illusion.

(Savage Avengers I#5) - The Priest of Sickles met with Kulan Gath alongside other Gath agents and commended them on their service, announcing their mission to summon Jhoatun Lau a success. Richter assured Gath that it was their will to serve him and Gath ordered the trio to prepare to return to their homelands, suggesting they all wait to see how long it takes for warriors to kill Jhoatun Lau. When Jhoatun Lau was killed by Wolverine, Conan, the Punisher, Venom, Doctor Voodoo and Elektra, they teleported back to the City of Sickles and Gath sent the Priest and two other agents through a mystic portal to prepare for the next sacrifice.

(Savage Avengers I Annual#1 (fb) - BTS) - When one of the Priest's agents, a human trafficker, was defeated and chased into the nearby jungles by the Black Widow, Conan and Daimon Hellstrom, the Priest of Sickles intervened and teleported the agent away.

(Savage Avengers I Annual#1) - Berating the agent that had he not intervened, the agent would have been captured and his plans jeopardized, the Priest of Sickles reminded the agent that they had to kill tens of thousands in the span of a few months and asked what the agent was if he was not part of their solution. When the agent replied that he was part of the sacrifice, the Priest slit his throat then snapped his fingers to communicate with Kulan Gath. Announcing that he had found a way to get Kulan Gath's "venom" into the population quickly by using drugs, the Priest promised that he would not fail Gath in preparing for the coming of Shuma-Gorath.

Comments: Created by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato, Jr.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Priest of Sickles has no known connections to:


images: (without ads)
Savage Avengers I#1, p5, pan1 (Priest of Sickles, main)
Savage Avengers I#1, p27, pan2 (Priest of Sickles, headshot)
Savage Avengers I#2, p2, pan3 (Johann Richter during the early 1940s)
Savage Avengers I#1, p4, pan3 (Priest of Sickles, waist up image with sickle)
Savage Avengers I Annual#1, p29, pan2 (Priest of Sickles berating a servant)


Appearances:
Savage Avengers I#1 (July, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#2 (August, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#3 (September, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I#5 (November, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Savage Avengers I Annual#1 (December, 2019) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Ron Garney (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)


First Posted: 04/29/2020
Last updated: 04/29/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters