| Death | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Death |
|
First Appearance |
Hand of Fate #9 (1951) |
|
Original Publisher |
Ace |
|
Created by |
Burt Frohman, Ken Rice |
Origin[]
Death, also known as Mort, the Grim Reaper, or Deces, was a secondary figure in the horror stories featuring Fate, the embodiment of Destiny & Fortune. Death was depicted as an initially reluctant subordinate of his brother Fate, being shown in as one of the living members of the tarot card controlled by Fate in his own realm. Though he called Fate "Master", it was noted in his first appearance that Death bowed to no other being.
Death is depicted as a hooded, robed entity with a corpse-like, nearly skull-like, green face. He is the ruler of the Underworld and seeks to have as many souls under his power as possible. Thus, when a dying man pleads with Death to spare him if he will become a murderer and send Death even more souls, Death is tempted to take the bargain, although Fate ensures that the dead man does not get much of a reprieve. Death is frustrated, but unsurprised, by this development.
Later, Death was depicted with the more traditional appearance of a skeleton; he dresses up as as an air-line pilot to help Death crash an airplane, making sure there is only one survivor. Later, he is one of the tarot spirits who torment a man who murdered his wife (of Romani descent) until he joins her in the afterlife by driving his car off a cliff in terror from the creatures pursuing him.
Death's alternative design in The Hand of Fate #20.
Later still, Death, now depicted with small human-like eyes deep in his skull-face's sockets, and wearing what was clearly a black funeral shroud instead of the grayish robes. He and Fate confront a poisoner together, and they seem to be working as equals rather than master and servant, with Fate noting that the Hand of Fate and the Hand of Death are equally implacable. He displays the ability to temporarily take the form of a handsome human man to trick a murderess who'd been working with the poisoner into marrying him, sealing her fate.
Fate comes together with Death once again to thwart an inventor's attempt to claim immortality for himself at the cost of many lethal experiments on unwilling victims. He calls Death “Brother” and refers to himself and Death as Gods. The two appear again in the same issue in Death Wears No Face, where it is reaffirmed that Death has a duty to do as Fate says, but a degree of fondness is shown between the two characters; after Death is made to stare into his own eyes in a mirror and feel the same terror as mortals, Fate lets him recover rather than ordering him back into the fray, trusting that the man who thus temporarily cheated his doom will find him in time. Death displays the ability to shapeshift once again, taking the forms of a series of literally faceless men to speak with the man who cheated him, until the mortal is ready to face Death by his own choice.
Public Domain Appearances[]
- The Hand of Fate #9, 15, 20, 25-A, 25-B
Notes[]
- Two stories in Issue #25-B, the final issue of Hand of Fate, feature the allegorical representation of Death in their opening splash panels, but the entity does not actually feature in either of the stories.