Black Colossus

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This article is about a short story. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Cimmerian.

"Black Colossus" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, first published in Weird Tales in 1933. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian (Gnome Press, 1954) and Conan the Freebooter (Lancer Books, 1968). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (Del Rey, 2003).

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The opening panel of the Black Colossus comic adapation by Roy Thomas featuring the art of John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala.

The original short story was written by Robert E. Howard and first appeared in a 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine.

A powerful wizard named Thugra Kotan is awoken from his three-thousand year sleep by a clever thief. Thugra wakes with dreams of world domination. He assumes the name Natohk, the Veiled One, gathers an army of desert tribes and sets out to conquer the Hyborian nations. However, the tiny kingdom of Khoraja stands in his way, a country presently ruled by the lithesome Yasmela, sister of the king, who is himself a captive of neighbouring Ophir. In dread of Nathok's pending invasion, Yasmela turns for advice to a pagan god, Mitra, and is told to venture into the streets and hand over the defense of her kingdom to the first man she meets.

Fatefully, the first man she encounters is Conan the Cimmerian. Conan already has a position in her army, but now he is given full command, much to the chagrin of the other more cultured commanders. Conan goes head-to-head with Natohk's army, but soon finds the wizard's magic more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, the wizard himself has made it clear conquering the world isn't the only thing on his agenda: He also desires the lovely Yasmela for himself.

The story climaxes with a large battle. Conan defeats Natohk's army and Natohk makes a last attempt to snatch Yasmela. Conan gives chase and goes mano-a-spello with the wizard in the ruins of a Stygian temple.

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Black Colossus

Conan wiki • Black Colossus • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
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Conan the Barbarian
Original stories by Robert E. Howard: Beyond the Black River • Black Colossus • The Black Stranger • Cimmeria • The Devil in Iron • Drums of Tombalku • The Frost Giant's Daughter • The God in the Bowl • The Hall of the Dead • The Hand of Nergal • The Hour of the Dragon • Iron Shadows in the Moon • Jewels of Gwahlur • The People of the Black Circle • The Phoenix on the Sword • The Pool of the Black One • Queen of the Black Coast • Red Nails • Rogues in the House • The Scarlet Citadel • Shadows in Zamboula • The Snout in the Dark • The Tower of the Elephant • The Vale of Lost Women • A Witch Shall be Born • Wolves Beyond the Border • Xuthal of the Dusk
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