Nicodemo Darque, also known as Master Darque, is the world's most powerful necromancer. He has been alive for over a century and spent much of that time exploring the Deadside. His ruthless ambitions have made him an enemy to the superhero Shadowman and the Abettors.
He is the twin brother of Sandria Darque.
History[]
Origins[]
Nicodemo Darque, and his twin sister Sandria, were born in 1812 Louisiana. They were born albino, and their birth killed their mother, meaning they were raised alone by their power-hungry, magician father. Trained in magic from a young age, Nicodemo and Sandria grew very close. He sought to use his twin children as a focus for a spell that would transport him to Lyceum, another world where he would be a god. Tattooing magic sigils across their bodies, he began the ritual. Sandria, quite painfully, began to be cast into the other plane, and Nicodemo, horrified at the sight of his beloved sister in pain, gathered all his magical strength, and the strength of all life around him, to kill his father. [1]
Darque became obsessed with reaching the same plane his father had tried and failed to use him to reach. But while his father sought Lyceum for personal gratification, Nicodemo only wanted more power. This hunt for dark, destructive power led him into conflict with the Shadowmen–a line of men and women devoted to using the powers of darkness to keep more villainous forces from doing the same. After a century of struggling against the Shadowmen and their allies, Darque realized that the key to Lyceum lied within his enemy, and used Shadowman Josiah Boniface to cross into the fabled realm. [2]
Darque Reckoning[]
After a decade of study, as well as destroying the entirety of Lyceum, Darque enlisted a demon named Mister Twist to help him return to his home realm. He and Twist were stopped, however, by the son of the previous Shadowman and current bearer of the mantle, Jack Boniface (Shadowman), who left Darque trapped between worlds. [3] With the aid of a Loa named Baron Samedi, Darque attempted to return the Earth by constructing a dark "soul-spire" designed to break down the walls between worlds. Jack once again stopped the mad necromancer, turning the magics of the soul-spire against their creator, destroying Darque and healing the walls between worlds.[4]
End Times[]
Even this was not Darque's end, as in a desperate attempt to discover what had become of his missing father, Jack Boniface restored the Necromancer back to life. However, while he granted Jack his wish, he also bound the Shadowman to his will in exchange. [5][6] He bound Shadowman, under the identity of "Magpie", in magic chains that kept him subservient. Master Darque had his new servant gather lost Lycean artifacts for him, and terrorize the Deadside. [7] Jack was eventually stopped and freed by British superspy Ninjak, but Darque's schemes continued.
Book of Death[]
Kidnapping a young man named David Dunlow, fated to become the powerful Geomancer, Darque sought to use him to subvert the Geomancer's power and use it to destroy the world. [8] However, his plans were challenged by Tama, a Geomancer from the future. Using her Book of the Geomancer, which recorded all events leading up to her time, Tama knew of the coming of a dark Geomancer called the "Corrupted One", who was Darque empowered with Geomancer's abilities. [9] Tama, alongside her guardian the Eternal Warrior, challenged Nicodemo for the fate of the world. On the verge of victory, Darque was stopped when Tama used her powers of the Earth to transform him into the form of a twisted tree, seemingly killing him forever. [10]
The Seven Blades of Master Darque[]
Evidently prone to cheating death, Darque once again survived. His dark energies transformed the land around his barky prison into a twisted, evil forest, or "Darquewood".[11] Sandria sent the mystic assassins known as the Shadow Seven to kill him, but Darque, reborn and revitalized by the energies of people killed in the Darquewood, managed to defeat the Seven. Turning what could have been his death into an opportunity, he stole the powers of the Seven he defeated, until their unwilling ally Ninjak managed to plant a bomb on his chest. The atomic-level explosion finally killed Darque, but Sandria stole his bones before they could be confiscated and stored safely by MI-6.[12]
Deadside War[]
After a failed bid at using Jack's connection to her brother to resurrect him, both Sandria and her brother's bones found themselves trapped inside the mystical Ring of Solomon, which was given to the voodoo god Baron Samedi.[13] Sometime later, the powerful spirit Lady Deadside sought to bring the Deadside into the material world. To that end, she attacked Samedi, and stole the Ring from him.[14] She freed the spirits of both Darque twins and enlisted them as her generals, placing them in the bodies of demons under her command.[15] During the final battle, the Darques lead an army of demons against Shadowman and his allies. Punk Mambo, augmented with the magic of Maman Brigitte, managed to trap Darque (and presumably his sister) in the Ring of Solomon once more.<ref>Shadowman (Volume 6) #8Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Personality[]
Master Darque is a cruel, obsessive man, which stems from his terrible childhood and his exposure to dark magics. This leads him to be manipulative, power-hungry, and quick to anger.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Necromancy: Master Darque has learned and trained in countless magics, both common and obscure, weak and powerful, across his centuries of life
- Telekinesis: Using his magic, Darque can activate telekinetic abilities of several kinds, including simple pushing of opponents, and stopping bullets with invisible forcefields
- Flight: Possibly as an extension of his telekinetic abilities, Darque can fly on his own power, without visible wings
- Pyrokinesis
- Energy Projection: Darque can emit and control dark energies of many kinds
- Plant Manipulation: After joining with the "Darquewood", Darque could manipulate the plants and flora that composed it
- Demonic Form: During his time under the command of Lady Deadside, Nicodemo's soul was hosted inside a hulking demonic form, with razor-sharp teeth and brutal spiked maces for hands.[15]
Equipment[]
This character has no special equipment.
Notes[]
- Master Darque plays a large role in the album "Tales from the Deadside" by A Sound of Thunder. While no songs bear his name, "Children of the Dark" is about him and his relationship with his sister Sandria, and Darque plays a large role in the story told by the album. The album itself is a tribute to the hero Shadowman, another Valiant Comics character.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
Cover Art[]
Quotes[]
You should see this, Mr. Verdad. And you should understand what it is you see. You think, perhaps, that this is rescue. You think that Shadowman will fight his way here, and that I will fall. That this is a battle that can be won. That this is cause for hope. But you are mistaken. There is only one truth in this universe. There is no hope.
- -- Master Darque[src]
References[]
This section is for footnotes and citations.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shadowman (Volume 4) #0
- ↑ Shadowman (Volume 4) #1
- ↑ Shadowman (Volume 4) #4
- ↑ Shadowman (Volume 4) #9
- ↑ Shadowman: End Times #2
- ↑ Shadowman: End Times #3
- ↑ Ninjak (Volume 3) #12
- ↑ Book of Death #1
- ↑ Book of Death #3
- ↑ Book of Death #4
- ↑ Ninjak (Volume 3) #24
- ↑ Ninjak (Volume 3) #26
- ↑ Shadowman (Volume 5) #11
- ↑ Shadowman (Volume 6) #5
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Shadowman (Volume 6) #6