Grendel

GRENDEL

Real Name: Grendel

Class: Demon

Occupation: Monster

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Cain (ancestor), unnamed mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Daneland, Middle Ages

First Appearance: Beowulf #1 (May, 1975)

Powers: Grendel possessed vast superhuman strength and durability.

History: (Beowulf #1, 2) - Satan, lord of Hell, rose to cause havoc on Earth and woke his servant Grendel. Grendel emerged from his swamp and heard the merriment of King Hrothgar's court in the mead-hall. He despised all life and happiness, and was born to kill, so he stormed the hall and maimed and killed a number of warriors before lumbering back to his swamp. The hero Beowulf, accompanied by Nan-Zee, Hondscio and Wiglaf, came to Hrothgar to slay Grendel. Unferth was worried that Beowulf would show him up in front of his king, and had his magician the Silent One create an illusion that led Beowulf astray, straight into a swamp and a confrontation with Swamp Men, agents of Satan. Beowulf and his companions slew the Swamp Men, but found themselves stuck in quicksand. Nan-Zee told them to stop fighting and sink, because she sensed the Underworld was under the swamp, through which they could return to Hrothgar. They were met by Medulus, the hound of Hell, Trol-Demons, and the demon Pough, with Beowulf slaying them all, and Nan-Zee shocked by Beowulf's bloodlust. They met Satan, who told them he unleashed Grendel because he was bored, and viewed Beowulf as merely a pawn, telling him he might stand a chance against Grendel if he drank the venom from the Black Viper and ate the fruit of the Zumak tree. Beowulf sliced off Satan's ear, and he was incredulous at the hero's bravado, sending him and his crew to the surface world but warning that they were doomed. Grendel confronted his mother, asking where he came from, and why he was filled with hate all the time, but she calmly told him they were but Satan's minions. Satan reached out to Grendel, having him cause another bloodbath at Hrothgar, but forbidding him from confronting the arriving Beowulf until Satan was done manipulating him.

(Beowulf #3) - To bedevils Beowulf's men while he was on a quest Satan dispatched his demonic Man-Apes to Castle Hrothgar. Grendel tore them to shreds, and said he'd continue defying Satan until he brought back his mortal enemy Beowulf. Satan promised to deliver Beowulf to Grendel by the next full moon if he returned to his mother's den. Grendel acquiesced, but said he'd come down to Hell to fight Satan if he was lying.

(Beowulf #4) - Grendel demanded combat, so Satan teleported Beowulf, Hondscio and Wiglaf to Heorot Hall. That night Grendel attacked, tearing apart Hondscio and eating him. Grendel was satisfied, so Satan teleported Beowulf and Wiglaf back to the desert where their quest continued. Beowulf told Shaper that when he set down his legend to tell of only one conflict between him and Grendel, in which he emerged victorious, and to give Hondscio credit for being the first comrade to give his life in the fight against Grendel.

(Beowulf #6) - In Hell Satan told Dracula he was to be his new heir, a fitting replacement for Grendel. Grendel's Mother overheard him, and told her son his master had forsaken him. Grendel had had enough, and after pulling a stalactite from the cavern ceiling stabbed Satan through the heart, and ascended his throne.

Comments: Adapted to comics by Michael Uslan & Ricardo Villamonte.

Grendel was a mythic Anglo-Saxon monster from the epic poem Beowulf. For more information see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel.