EWAN DUFF

duff-ewan-dracula



Real Name: Ewan Duff

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Vampire hunter

Group Membership: Vampire Hunters (not a formal group, but rather a loose alliance of people, largely associated with Quincy Harker, seeking to destroy Dracula and other vampires)

Affiliations: Quincy Harker

Enemies: Vlad Tepes Dracula

Known Relatives: Eric (son, deceased)

Aliases: The Scotsman

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    died in Castle Dracula, Borgo Pass, Transylvania

First Appearance: Tomb of Dracula I#15 (December, 1973)


duff-ewan-dracula-face

Powers/Abilities: Ewan Duff was a large and strong man and a fierce warrior, fueled by determination and a desire to avenge his son. Perhaps in his mid-50's when he encountered Dracula (who can lift 1500 lbs., although he may have been somewhat weakened by not having consumed blood recently), he was able to hold his own, withstanding Dracula's powerful strikes and even fighting harder as the struggle continued. duff-ewan-dracula-ohotmu

    Trained by Quincy Harker, Duff wielded a wooden spear, which he ultimately used to pierce Dracula's heart.

Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 6'3" to 6'6"; he looked to be comparable in height to the 6'5" Dracula, but they are never clearly seen standing straight-up next to each other)
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 230 lbs.)
Eyes: Apparently light blue (my color vision is poor, but my wife helped me look at a blown up image, and with his hat being solid dark green, his eyes look to be light blue; my daughter thinks light green)
Hair: Red with male pattern baldness and a full beard


History:
(Tomb of Dracula I#15 (fb) - BTS) <Months before the main flashback> - After Ewan's son, Eric, vanished following chasing Dracula in China, Ewan sought revenge against Dracula.

(Tomb of Dracula I#15 (fb) - BTS) - From Quincy Harker, Ewan learned how to battle vampires and of the location of Dracula's castle.

duff-ewan-dracula-staking(Tomb of Dracula I#15 (fb) - BTS) - Ewan awaited Dracula in his castle. duff-ewan-dracula-pit

(Tomb of Dracula I#15 (fb)) - When Dracula returned to his castle to seek some last moment provisions before relocating to England with plans to finally kill Harker, Ewan confronted the vampire, demanding answers about his son and promising to destroy Dracula. Dracula revealed Eric's fate and then attacked Ewan, noting that he held not a crucifix as his son had, and that he would vampirize Ewan and make him his servant. 

    Though the more powerful Dracula battered the old Scotsman relentless, Ewan fought on, seeming to grow wilder and wilder as the struggle continued. Finally, Ewan managed to plunge a stake into Dracula's chest, piercing his heart. Do the relatively superficial nature of the stake's penetration into his heart, Dracula did not die instantly but nonetheless was unable to remove the stake, and he knew that his destruction was assured. 

    After Ewan noted that he had to win for his son, Dracula angrily cast Ewan to his apparent death in his Pit of Death. Weakened and physically aging/decomposing, Dracula's will allowed him to make his way to lie down in his coffin lined with Transylvanian soil before his flesh decomposed, leaving only a skeleton.

Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer.

    In the original story, Dracula gave the year of his encounter as 1969. That's a topical reference, meaning to show that it was 2-3 years before Tomb of Dracula I#1 (April, 1972). However, with the sliding timescale, Tomb of Dracula would be about 10 years before the current year. We just know that Dracula lay dormant after his temporary destruction by Duff for "years" before being found by Frank Drake and Clifton Graves in Tomb of Dracula I#1.
    This flashback was kind of a plot device to explain how Dracula ended up in the state in which he was found. He had so much time before being staked and finally collapsing and decomposing that it certainly seems like he could have pulled out the stake, but maybe he could not pull the stake out himself for whatever reason.
    If Duff's encounter with Dracula was meant to take place exactly 3 years before Dracula's revival, then this would make the encounter a few years before the start of the modern era (before Fantastic Four I#1).

    Marv Wolfman was kind enough to provide the Scotsman's real name for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12 (2010)'s Vampire Hunters and Vampires profiles. Thanks to Spider-Mike Fichera for reminding me of these details!

    It is unrevealed whether Ewan had learned from Quincy Harker and was a vampire hunter prior to his son's death, or if that only came after. 

    I was thinking that there had just been an earlier reference to Dracula lying in his coffin since the Scotsman had staked him, but I don’t see anything in ToD#1…

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ewan Duff should be distinguished from:

Eric Duff

Months before the main flashback, Eric Duff pursued Dracula in China. Dracula overpowered and slew Eric, but as Eric held a crucifix, Dracula could not vampirize him.

--Tomb of Dracula I#15

Note: The circumstances that led Eric to "come chasing" Dracula in China are unrevealed.

     Eric was not pictured, but rather only referenced by Ewan and Dracula. His surname was not given in-story, but I am ASSuming it was the same as his father's.

images: (without ads)

Tomb of Dracula I#15, pg. 16, panel 4 (full, oblique profile);
        pg. 17, panel 1 (face, detail, close-up);
        pg. 18, panel 1 (face, full) - digital version from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12: Vampire Hunters used;
            panel 3 (staking Dracula);
            panel 7 (cast into pit)

Appearances:
Tomb of Dracula I#15 (December, 1973) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12: Vampire Hunters (2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan, & Madison Carter (writers, coordination assistants), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jen Grunwald (editors)

First posted: 09/02/2021
Last updated: 04/25/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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