Saturday Showcase: the Dweller-in-Darkness

 

We are officially on the countdown towards May and the release of the Multiverse of Madness.  With that said, my showcases will continue to focus on the world of Doctor Strange.  Today, I will focus on the leader of the Fear Lords, Dweller-in-Darkness.  He debuted in the 70's and continues to be a thorn in Strange's side.

The Dweller-in-Darkness is a demon allegedly sired by Cthulhu, from the dimension Everinnye, like the demon Nightmare. The Dweller became shunned by his people for following "The Way of the Shamblu". Like Nightmare, the Dweller feeds on the fear of living beings; fear both increases his powers and keeps him alive.

In the universe which existed before the current reality, the Dweller caused a fracture in the M'Kraan Crystal in order to bring about the destruction of the universe and absorb the fear this would cause in every being that existed. Just before the crystal shattered, however, the Phoenix Force telepathically reached out to the minds of all life and united them in peace, foiling the Dweller's scheme. As the universe came to an end, the current Marvel Universe was born.

In this new universe, when he first came to Earth, the Dweller-in-Darkness fed upon the fears created by the war between the humans of Atlantis and the Deviants of Lemuria. The Atlantean sorceress Zhered-Na discovered the existence of the Dweller and banished him with the help of Agamotto and the Atlantean god Valka. When Atlantis sank, the Dweller absorbed the fear of the inhabitants and used it to create D'Spayre. 

Fast forward a few centuries, the Dweller would create Shade Thralls. These Shade Thralls were destroyed by Doctor Strange and Clea, but not before the Dweller finally freed himself from his prison. The Dweller witnessed the destruction of his Shade Thralls by Strange and Clea and determined that they were the largest threat to him on Earth. Over the next few months he tried to kill Strange using servants like the Dream-Weaver and several demons, but Strange defeated them all. Still, Strange's resolve was sapped by the Dweller's servants and he was overcome with fear. The Dweller decided that he had defeated Strange and stopped his attacks.  A move he would eventually regret.

The Dweller gathered the Fear Lords and told them about his plans to create the Great Fear: a terror which would engulf humanity. In fact, the Dweller hoped that the other Fear Lords would be destroyed during this plan by Doctor Strange. Most of the Fear Lords agreed, but the Straw Man, who disagreed with their plan and warned Strange. The Fear Lords destroyed the Straw Man before he could tell Strange too much.

The Great Fear started out as the Dweller had planned; several of the Fear Lords were destroyed by Strange and his allies, but D'Spayre told Nightmare about the Dweller's true plans. Nightmare and the Dweller fought, but during their battle they generated so much fear that humanity stopped fearing and started to despair. The two were unable to feed upon this despair, but D'Spayre was and he became more powerful than the two of them. Realizing that D'Spayre had manipulated them, the Dweller attacked him, but D'Spayre destroyed the Dweller's robotic body. His head, the only living part of the Dweller, escaped.

Powers and Abilities

The Dweller has the ability to generate fear in other living beings. This fear in turn sustains and empowers the Dweller, allowing him to generate even more fear. He also has other undefined mystical powers: he can create independent creatures out of fear like D'spayre and he can turn humans who die under his influence into Shade Thralls, beings made of shadow with superhuman strength. Strong light can kill or banish these thralls.

The Dweller is immortal, does not age, and even the sorceress Zhered-Na, assisted by powerful beings like Agamotto and Valka, could only banish him, not destroy him.

The "Way of the Shamblu", the Dweller's chosen path in life, involved a ritual where the Dweller removed his head from his own body. His body died, but his head lived on, now as a corporeal being, whereas the other inhabitants of Everinnye are more ethereal. The Dweller's head is attached to a robotic body, which possesses superhuman strength, but it can detach and move with the tentacles near its mouth in case of emergency.

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance: Thor #229 (November 1974, mentioned)

                                Doctor Strange #30 (August 1978, revealed)

Created by Gerry Conway & Rich Buckler

Species: Demon

Team Affiliations: Fear Lords

Notable Aliases: He Who Dwells in Darkness

I hope you enjoyed learning about the Dweller-in-Darkness. It wouldn't surprise me if he is at least mentioned in the film, but we will see.

Until next time, get your READ on!