Conan the Adventurer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conan the Adventurer is the title of a Marvel comic, a live-action television show which premiered in 1997, and an animated (cartoon) series which premiered in 1992: all of which were loosely based on Robert E. Howard's character Conan the Barbarian.
Contents |
[edit] Marvel Comic
The Marvel Comic lasted for 14 issues from 1994 to 1995. It detailed the adventures of a young Conan prior to leaving his Cimmerian homeland and the life-lessons that would shape his character as an adult.
[edit] Live-action TV series
| Conan: The Adventurer | |
|---|---|
 Conan: The Adventurer title screen |
|
| Genre | Supernatural Drama |
| Creator(s) | Max A. Keller Robert E. Howard (characters) |
| Starring | Ralf Moeller Danny Woodburn Jeremy Kemp |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 22, plus a pilot episode |
| Production | |
| Running time | 42 min (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication / USA Network |
| Original run | September 22, 1997 – May 25, 1998 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Conan: The Adventurer was a low-budget American television series produced from 1997 to 1998 and loosely based on the fantasy hero Conan the Barbarian. The TV show premiered on September 22nd, 1997, and ran for 22 episodes. This live-action series starred Ralf Moeller as Conan of Cimmeria and Danny Woodburn as his sidekick Otli. The storyline was quite different from the Conan the Cimmerian lore created by Robert E. Howard, as well as the Conan the Barbarian depicted in Marvel Comics. In this live-action adaptation, Conan is a kind, sympathetic and jovial person. Also in this version, Conan is not a moody loner but a contented member of a merry band of adventurers. The story also differs in that, unlike the original Conan stories or the 1980s films, Crom is not a remote unseen god but a frequently seen, talkative deity. The tone of the series resembled its contemporaries Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.
In the series, Conan acquires a magic sword and is informed by Crom that he is destined to be king when he slays Hizar Zuhl, the evil sorcerer. When he obtains this sword, Conan is told by Crom of his entire mission as well. The evil sorcerer Hizar Zuhl (Jeremy Kemp) plays the primary villain and is partly responsible for the death of Conan's parents. This series is notable in that it does not include the Serpent Men of Thoth-Amon and that Hizar Zuhl (who may have been the inspiration for Hordak in She-Ra) is not a Serpent Man either but is the villain in The Tower of the Elephant. The entire show has no reference to Serpent Men, the evil god Set, etc.
Overall, this series focuses on the evil empire of the sorcerer Hizar Zuhl and his horde of warriors. The first two episodes were based on The Tower of the Elephant short story; however, in this episode, Conan is a caring human being and is selfless. He also doesn't lose his temper much either.
While some reports claim that the show contains some nudity, no nudity is intact in the version released to North American audiences. The reason for any appearance of nudity is that the show was aimed mostly at an adult audience.
The final episode aired on May 25, 1998.
[edit] Episodes
| Year | Episode Title | Aired |
| 1997 | 1. "The Heart of the Elephant" | September 22, 1997 |
| 1997 | 2. "The Heart of the Elephant" (Part 2) | September 22, 1997 |
| 1997 | 3. "Lair of the Beastmen" | October 6, 1997 |
| 1997 | 4. "The Siege of Ahl Sohn-Bar" | October 13, 1997 |
| 1997 | 5. "A Friend in Need" | October 20, 1997 |
| 1997 | 6. "The Ruby Fruit Forest" | October 27, 1997 |
| 1997 | 7. "The Three Virgins" | November 7, 1997 |
| 1997 | 8. "Ransom" | November 14, 1997 |
| 1997 | 9. "The Curse of Afka" | November 21, 1997 |
| 1997 | 10. "Impostor" | November 28, 1997 |
| 1997 | 11. "Amazon Woman" | December 7, 1997 |
| 1997 | 12. "Homecoming" | January 25, 1998 |
| 1997 | 13. "The Taming" | February 1, 1998 |
| 1998 | 14. "Red Sonja" | February 8, 1998 |
| 1998 | 15. "Shadows of Death" | February 15, 1998 |
| 1998 | 16. "The Child" | February 22, 1998 |
| 1998 | 17. "The Crystal Arrow" | March 1, 1998 |
| 1998 | 18. "The Labyrinth" | April 26, 1998 |
| 1998 | 19. "The Cavern" | May 3, 1998 |
| 1998 | 20. "Antidote" | May 10, 1998 |
| 1998 | 21. "Lethal Wizards" | May 17, 1998 |
| 1998 | 22. "Heir Apparent" | May 24, 1998 |
[edit] Cartoon series
| Conan The Adventurer | |
|---|---|
 The Conan logo, featuring Jezmine, Snagg, Greywolf and Zula. |
|
| Genre | Animated television series |
| Creator(s) | Robert E. Howard |
| Starring | Michael Donovan Long John Baldry |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 64 aired |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes approx. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | October 1, 1992 – October 1, 1994 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Conan The Adventurer was the name of a popular American animated television series adaptation of the literary and comic book character, Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s. Produced by Jetlag Productions and Sunbow Productions, the series debuted on October 1, 1992, ran for 64 episodes and concluded exactly two years later, on October 1, 1994.
[edit] Overview
This 64 episode cartoon series premiered October 1, 1992 and was produced by Sunbow Productions, Jetlag Productions, and Graz Entertainment. Conan lived in the Black Sea region with his parents throughout his childhood. While out with his grandfather one day on a trek, meteors dropped from the skies. Conan collected some of these "fiery tears" and brought them back to his family.
The metal turned out to be star metal, the strongest metal in existence. Conan's father forged the star metal into various weapons and sold them. His finest work, a magnificent sword, he kept for Conan. This last weapon was laid in a crypt and covered over with a heavy stone slab. Conan's father told him that when Conan was "man enough" (i.e., strong enough) to push off the stone slab, he could own the sword.
The evil, shapeshifting, Serpent Man wizard Wrath-Amon wanted this star metal to release his deity Set from "the Abyss". Set had been banished from Earth long in the past by the combined powers of virtually every living wizard on Earth because he wanted to enslave the human race.
Upon hearing of this cache of star metal, Wrath-Amon went in search of Conan's family. He and the Snake Cult killed many people in their search for star metal(which occurred in the films). Conan's father had sold most of the star metal by this point, and told Wrath-Amon that he had sold all of the star metal. (This was a lie; aside from the sword, it was revealed in a later episode that he had hidden pieces of star metal with other villagers.) Wrath-Amon used the spell of living stone upon Conan's family.
Conan sought the star metal sword to attack Wrath-Amon and his followers. When the star metal sword got near Wrath-Amon it disrupted his magic and showed his reptilian face. To this he said "Those who see the true face of Wrath-Amon must perish!" This scene is similar to one in the film.
Wrath-Amon's henchmen are also shapeshifting Serpent Men. When Conan's star metal sword is close enough to them it broke the spell that disguised them and revealed their true form to be serpent-men. When star metal made contact with the serpent-men it banished them to the Abyss with Set. Spies and agents of Set and Stygia, many of them also serpent-men, were present in many cities, nations and tribes throughout the land in the age of Conan.
[edit] Conan The Barbarian vs. Conan The Adventurer
As compared with the black and white Marvel Comics such as King Conan, Conan Saga, Conan the Barbarian, and Conan the King, the cartoon Conan displays a high degree of morality. While the Conan from these comics is bloody, a womanizer, thief and so on, cartoon Conan has more in common with sword-wielding cartoon characters such as He-Man. The above-mentioned live-action Conan is similar in this way to a lesser extent.
He is a kind and caring character, if not a little naive which is shown in many episodes, who stands up for his friends and what he sees to be right and is very respectable. In contrast, they are very different from one another. This Conan is a much different one from the original.
It is possible that when Conan the Adventurer came out, the original planned villain was the skull-faced sorcerer Thulsa Doom who was the template for He-Man's archenemy Skeletor. However such a notion would compete against He-Man since here Conan had a band of friends and his moral character is much of He-Man, so Wrath-Amon (who is loosely based on Thoth-Amon) came into existence as the main villain.
The series also spawned a small toyline in 1992 created by Hasbro.
Eventually the final plot where Wrath-Amon summons the evil serpent god Set was placed in the 2002 version of He-Man. In this storyline, King Hiss and the snakemen summon their god Serpos and He-Man fights Serpos to save Eternia.
This first incarnation of Conan in cartoon form performed much better than its sequel, Conan and the Young Warriors which lasted only 13 episodes. This is analogous to the performance of the film versions of Conan in the early 1980's, with Conan the Barbarian being better received than the follow-up Conan the Destroyer.
[edit] Main characters of Conan
[edit] Heroes
- Conan - The main character of the story. In this version, his parents are turned into living stone and there are few hints of his predestination of becoming a king; the references come as either a private joke to those who know the Conan mythos (one episode ended with him wearing a crown on his head, to the amusement of his allies) or as a finale note (In one episode in particular, Conan rescues a princess from a one-shot villain. Her father, a king, promised his kingdom to whomever returned her safely home and naturally, Conan succeeds in rescuing her which is a spoof of the adult Conan movie's King Osric asking Conan to rescue his daughter but Conan does not rescue her from Wrath-Amon but is thrown in prison for demanding the promised payment which is his weakness here. He is rescued then by the princess he saved who comments that Conan would always be a king in her heart as the closing line.) It is stated a few times that he and his Cimmerian tribe are descended from the people of Atlantis, and Conan is a descendant of Atlantean kings. Unlike Conan the Barbarian, he is more of a kind and caring character with Jezmine as the only woman he's involved with. He shows mercy to some of his opponents and nonetheless reconciles with friends, unlike the original Conan the Barbarian. He is portrayed to be able to break metal chains, do more unusual feats of strength as well unlike the movie Conan. He eventually defeats his long-time archenemy Wrath-Amon, the leader of the Snake Cult but was forced to face the old leader of the Snake Cult Ram-Amon as well as Set (his final enemy) in the last battle. By vanquishing Set, he had somewhat permanently defeated the Snake Cult.
- Needle - Conan's fledgling phoenix sidekick. He possessed the ability to enter flat surfaces and magically transform into a phoenix design (although he needed his magical tail feathers to accomplish this feat, and lost this power if he lost one of them.) He spent most of his time inside Conan's shield. Needle speaks in the third person giving others nicknames (i.e. he calls Conan "big dumb barbarian") and loves to eat pomegranates. He eventually learns how to harness his full power and aid Conan in battle. When in public Needle, who has the ability to speak, is often asked to impersonate a parrot in order to not arouse suspicion, an act which he greatly resents.
- Thunder - Conan's willful (but loyal) horse, eventually armed with star metal horse shoes. Thunder was stubborn, refusing to enter cities, and threw Conan from his back on more than one occasion rather than enter a city.
- Zula - Prince of the Wasai based from the original Conan literature, may have inspired TJ Storm's character in the live series who is a different person. He is the first ally Conan makes in the show, when Conan is captured and enslaved, alongside Zula and other captives. He and Zula start a slave rebellion and free the other slaves. Zula makes Conan his blood brother. Zula's brother Gora was a spy for Wrath-Among, and secretly tricked Zula into the ambush where he was captured by Wrath-Amon's slavers so he could inherit the throne instead of Zula (ironically, by making Conan his blood brother, Zula made Gora third in the line of succession.) Gora schemed against Conan and his friends, and was eventually discovered and captured. Zula was a master of the sign of Jhebbal-Sag, which allowed him to communicate with beasts and persuade them to aid him. Originally armed with star metal bolos, he reforged them into a boomerang because the bolos tangled. They would return on command thanks to Jezmine.
- Jezmine - An agile circus performer who possesses a set of star metal throwing stars, her character was possibly based on Valeria (she started as a thief but became an honest woman for the rest of the series but is in love with Conan nonetheless) especially where the first point is that Conan and Jezmine are seen climbing a tower where Jezmine attempts to steal some priceless treasures. Her parents are later revealed to be a nobleman and woman in the city of Tarantia. To her horror, she learns that her mother serves Wrath-Amon and her father is a serpent man, making her a half-breed. From that moment, she is terrified her serpent-man heritage will assert itself. When her father, who loved Jezmine's mother, sides with Jezmine and her mother against Wrath-Amon, Wrath-Amon banishes her father and mother to the Abyss. A magical potion applied to her star metal shuriken allow Jezmine to magically summon the throwing stars to return to her. She shared this potion with Zula. Jezmine hated her serpent-man father, despite his love for her. She and Conan were able to free her mother during a trip to the Abyss, and later her father escaped when Set and the serpent-men banished over the years were freed from the Abyss by Wrath-Amon. Once again, Jezmine's father chose her and her mother over serving Set, and it is implied in the final episode that Jezmine might be willing to reconcile with him. Unlike Valeria, Wrath-Amon doesn't kill her.
- Greywolf - A wizard from the magical city of Xanthus. Originally armed with a bare staff, he was given the mystical "Claw of Heaven" that was mounted atop his staff and effectively doubled his magical power (as stated on a couple occasions). His brother and sister were transformed into werewolves in a plot by the Stygian queen and sorceress, Mesmira. As a result, he consistently seeks a cure for their condition alongside of Conan. At the finale, he isn't able to turn his siblings back to normal, though he did manage to give them a small sampling of the cure that causes them to revert to human form once per month (on a full moon). The inability to completely cure his siblings remains as a plot dangler which never even happened in the sequel Conan and The Young Warriors which is somewhat similar to the events of Conan the Destroyer.
- Falkenar - Champion of the kingdom of Kusan, he the use of the "Mantle of Wind" to fly, and is armed with a star metal whip. He and Windfang are bitter enemies through repeated attempts by the villain to invade Kusan. He has a female falcon named Stormclaw. He is the only character who is not featured in the logo
- Sasha & Meesha - Greywolf's older brother and sister, transformed into wolves by Mesmira. During one episode a single flower was found that could transform one of the siblings back into a human. Not wanting to have to choose, the flower was split down the middle each eating half, giving them the ability to resume human form once per month, on a full moon. In only one other episode did the siblings appear as humans.
- Snagg - A barbarian (as strong as Conan) from Vanirmen tribe, which lives at the sea shore. Snagg likes to travel by water. He often quarrels with Conan, because they grew up in neighboring countries with different culture. Once even a war happened between them. Despite it Snagg and Conan are true friends. Snagg also has star-metal weapon - axe and grapnel. Later he gave his grapnel to make star-metal horseshoes for Thunder, when Thunder saved his life.
[edit] Villains
- Set - The evil god of the serpent men as well as the Snake Cult. He is a giant cobra with mystical powers but he only has one head unlike the usual representation from Marvel Comics. He planned to enslave the human race, deceived many into his cult and as punishment, he was locked away into the Abyss for that offense by the Elders. He gives orders to the Snake Cult's high priest to give him the Star Metal, to build seven pyramids to release him. He returns in the finale to wreak havoc only to be banished once again thanks to the combined efforts of Conan, his friends and a surprise guest who turns out to be his sworn enemy. Conan and his friends sent him off with the Star Metal weapons. He was locked away for good.
[edit] The Snake Cult
The Snake Cult is an evil religion that worships its god Set and lures away victims, even rulers who fear the wrath of Wrath-Amon (similar to the Conan movie). Wrath-Amon preaches the wicked religion of Set and so did the sorcerer Ram-Amon before him. Their quest is to set their god free from the Abyss.
Unlike in the movie versions, the only brutality the Snake Cult is revealed to do are kill people and enslave them, with less violence, although it's safe to assume that they also eat human beings but isn't shown.
- Wrath-Amon - The evil sorcerer who currently leads the Snake Cult and the archenemy of Conan. Unlike Thoth-Amon, he was once a gila monster who was changed into a serpent man who overthrew his own master Ram-Amon who suspiciously resembles Thoth-Amon and became the new leader of the Snake Cult. He currently owns the Black Ring and now has the mission to free his god Set with the help of the Star Metal. Conan's grandfather states that his evil is legendary, that he is feared by kings like the movie version of Thulsa Doom, and that he possesses so much power. But he only fears Set who is his deity. He led the attack on Conan's village (but then, Conan had grown man enough, in contrast to the movie where Conan is still a child when it happens where he is supposedly to kill Conan's parents) where he turns Conan's parents into stone instead of killing them like in the original line. At the end of the series, Conan reverts him back into a gilla monster after a hot battle before his followers revealing him to be a fraud instead of beheading him, to reduce the violence. Such a plot was also used in He-Man 2002. Like Thoth-Amon in Conan, he is powerless without his black ring. He obviously looks like a serpent man even without being exposed. His long life span may either be because of the Black Ring or his ability to shed his snake skin as most members of the Snake Cult are serpent men.
- Dregs - Wrath Amon's evil Naga assistant. He once became Dregs-Amon when Wrath-Amon was going to undergo hibernation. He quickly changed his loyalties when Wrath Amon was defeated, and served under Ram Amon. He was crushed by a large statue in the final episode, but it is not revealed if he survived.
- Skulkur - One of Wrath-Amon's henchmen. A powerful undead who can raise skeletons. Once a member of another Snake Cult branch in Africa, where Set is worshipped as Damballah. It is assumed that they are cannibalistic as well.
- Windfang - Windfang is a fire breathing four armed winged dragon-man enslaved by Wrath-Amon. Windfang was once a human general from Koth that opposed Wrath-Amon 200 years before the events in the series, but was captured and mutated by Wrath-Amon. He was in love with Jezmine initially because she reminded him of his dead fiancée Lady Mirim, but although she showed him kindness she didn’t love him. Windfang also commands other creatures similar to himself. He has an eyrie high in the mountains where he keeps trophies of his long lost past and human self.
- Ram-Amon - Wrath Amon's creator and predecessor. A black sorcerer and previous leader of the Snake Cult, probably a member of a forgotten race. Whether or not he is a snakeman still remains to be seen. He bears resemblance to Thoth-Amon as well. He was also killed. He is a far greater sorcerer but why the producers split up both characters of Thoth-Amon into two still remains to be seen. He later replaced Wrath Amon after his defeat by Conan, and escaped with the remains of the Black Ring following the defeat of Set but was probably killed after the battle.
[edit] Other Villains
- Mesmira - Mesmira is an evil queen of Stygian, and sorceress who battled Conan and company several times. She turned Greywolf's siblings into werewolves, and she wants his staff to further her power. She hates Jezmine, and strives for Conan's affection. At the end of the series, Ram-Amon and her escaped together with the remains of the black ring.
[edit] Episodes
- The Night of Fiery Tears
- Blood Brother
- Star of Shadizar
- Conan the Gladiator
- The Heart of Rakkir
- Men of Stone
- The Terrible Torrinon
- Greywolf of Xanthus
- Shadow Walkers
- The Claw of Heaven
- Serpent Riders of Set
- Windfang's Eyrie
- Seven against Stygia
- Tribal Warfare
- Curse of Axh'oon
- Master Thief of Shadizar
- The Vengeance of Jhebbel Sag
- The Red Brotherhood
- Thunder and Lightning
- The Crevasse of Winds
- Hanuman the Ape God
- Isle of the Naiads
- In Days of Old
- The Battle of Wrath-amon
- Earthbound
- The Treachery of Emperors
- A Needle in a Haystack
- Return to Tarantia
- The Book of Skelos
- Labors of Conan
- The Amulet of Vathelos
- The Final hours of Conan
- An Evil Wind in Kusan
- Blood of my Blood
- Dragon's Breath
- The Queen of Stygia
- Nature of the Beast
- City of the Burning Skull
- Son of Atlantis
- Conan rides Again
- Down to the Dregs
- Dregs-amon the Great
- The Wolfmother
- Conan of the Kosaki
- Torrinon Returns
- The Frost Giant's Daughter
- Cornucopia of Grondar
- When Tolls the Bell of Night
- The Lost Dagger of Manir
- Thorns of Midnight
- The Vale of Amazons
- Bones of Damballa
- Turnabout is Foul Play
- The Once and Future Conan
- Sword, Sai, & Shuriken
- Full Moon Rising
- The Stealer of Souls
- Amra the Lion
- Escape of Ram-amon
- The Star-Metal Monster
- Into the abyss
- A Serpent Coils the Earth, Part 1
- A Serpent Coils the Earth, Part 2
- A Serpent Coils the Earth, Part 3
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Conan the Adventurer (Cartoon) @ Internet Movie Database
- Conan the Adventurer (Live-action) @ Internet Movie Database
- Conan the Adventurer @ TV.com
