We all crave for a break from the monotony of regular life, and there’s no better way to get away from the usual than diving into a world of fiction, where magic and the supernatural are the new normal! It is no surprise that the sword and sorcery genre has flourished over the years, both in the literary world and in the film industry.
Of course, there have been a few misses, but the massive commercial success and popularity of Conan set the tone for the others to follow. The 80s, in particular, was a thriving period for the genre, and the world of fantasy filled with brave warriors, evil wizards and other powerful creatures found a loyal fan base.
Over the course of time, we have encountered some memorable villains in the multitude of movies and books, but Thulsa Doom is simply the showstopper. This remarkable baddie was created by Robert E. Howard way back in 1928, and finally found a larger audience after featuring in the movie Conan the Barbarian in 1982.
The character was so impactful that it shaped several other notable villains in Howard’s stories, and in this video, we will dive deep into the character and get you everything that you need to know about this nightmarish entity!
Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian was the definition of a perfect villain!
Conan the Barbarian holds a special place in the hearts of the sword and sorcery fans out there, and it was a game-changer for the genre. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular superhero warrior, the story of revenge and bravery was perfectly engaging and could hold the viewers to the edge of their seats the whole time. But you cannot have the ideal hero without the perfect villain, can you?
Enter Thulsa Doom, the leader of a snake cult that keeps growing in strength with their rampaging acts of violence! He is shown in human form, but he has been around for over a thousand years, which tells you about his supernatural attributes. The son of a serpent, Thulsa Doom can transform into a giant snake himself, and has been portrayed as an evil god of sorts. He has the perfect introduction, where he destroys the life of young Conan on one of his atrocious raids.
The movie starts off with a blacksmith forging a special sword and showing it to his son Conan, elaborating on the importance of metal in the lives of their people, the Cimmerians. However, a band of raiders led by Thulsa Doom soon put an end to the family life of a youthful Conan. His father is killed by dogs and Thulsa Doom uses the special sword to decapitate Conan’s mother before his eyes. He gets a good look at the person who ruins his family.
But he is still a young boy and there is little that he can do against such a powerful enemy. However, the seeds of revenge are sown deep at this point and you can guess the direction that the story is going to take. After watching the slaughter of his people, Conan and the other young boys are helplessly sold into slavery.
But even an early life of trauma and struggle is not enough to douse the fire inside Conan, who grows up to be a powerful warrior, skilled in combat. He is trained to be a gladiator, and he eventually earns his freedom. The ground is now all set for the ideal revenge against the evil forces of Thulsa Doom! All he remembers is the symbol of the snake cult, but that will be enough to get him face to face with his parent’s killer.
Conan’s adventures take him through multiple places and events. He gets possession of an ancient sword, and befriends an archer and thief named Subotai. A prophetic witch advises him to visit the city of Zamora in order to find Thulsa Doom, and this is where they meet Valeria, the titillating pirate.
The run-in with the notorious snake cult is not far away, and Thulsa Doom takes notice of this brave warrior after he raids the Tower of the Serpent and kills the powerful giant snake on guard. Conan and his companions take away all the wealth, including the precious Eye of the Serpent, and Thulsa Doom realizes that this could be a threat to his plans of world domination.
Shortly after the raid, Conan and his friends are captured by the king’s guards, and king Osric requests them to free his daughter, Princess Yasmina, who is a prisoner of Thulsa Doom’s cult. Subotai and Valeria aren’t motivated enough to take the risk, but Conan is fuelled by his long-standing desire to exact revenge for the murder of his parents. He sets off for the temple of Set, where Thulsa Doom and his evil cult reside on the Mountain of Power.
Conan infiltrates the temple of Thulsa Doom dressed as one of the priests, but the rather clumsy attempt leads to him being identified and captured. The followers of the cult inflict extreme tortures on Conan, who is helpless and gets bashed and bruised. When he is taken to Thulsa Doom, the latter has one of his arrogant outbursts, where he tries to show off the extent of his powers.
He tells Conan that the power of his magic is far superior to the power of steel, and hypnotizes one of his female followers to jump to her death just as an illustration of his might. He orders his henchmen to crucify Conan on the Tree of Woe, and the viewers shudder at the thought of the near-death moment for the superhero whom they have been rooting for!
Luckily for Conan, just as he is on the verge of Death, Subotai discovers him and takes him to the Wizard of the Mounds, Akiro. He summons spirits to heal Conan, but he also warns them about a price that they would have to pay for this. The spirits exact a heavy toll, and we soon see the true extent of the sacrifice that Conan has to make yet again!
After being rescued and healed, Conan wastes no time in regrouping and planning another attack on the ruthless sorcerer. Together, they all mount an attack on the followers of Thulsa Doom, and this time the sudden and planned assault proves to be successful. They even manage to free the princess, and Conan seems to have learned a few lessons from his previous failed attempt.
Several of Thulsa’s guards and followers are slain, but the primary antagonist transforms himself into a giant snake and makes a sneaky escape. However, his escape is not uneventful because he manages to shoot one of his lethal snake arrows into Valeria, who is now mortally wounded. Conan’s brief romance with this alluring lady comes to a tragic end as she dies in his arms. It furthers the fire of revenge burning in his heart and gives him more reason to put an end to Thulsa Doom once and for all.
The notable final confrontation
Two sworn enemies, the fight between good and evil, the ultimate act of revenge – every aspect of the final confrontation between Conan and Thulsa Doom is grand! It is presented in a fitting climactic battle, where Conan takes down two major warriors of Thulsa Doom.
Rexor, his lieutenant almost gets the better of Conan, but Valeria appears as a Valkyrie to save his life. To make matters more interesting, Rexor wields the same sword that Conan’s father had forged, and the sword that was taken by Thulsa Doom during the raid. It is an emotional moment as Conan retrieves the sword from a slain Rexor. As Thulsa Doom retreats, Conan and Princess Yasmina are in pursuit, and this brings us to one of the grandest moments of the villain in the movie.
He is seen preaching to thousands of followers in white robes holding candles, and his booming voice is testimony to his command over these people. He makes an elaborate speech that is bound to leave the viewers as stunned and stirred as Thulsa Doom’s followers in the scene.
When Conan appears, we get to see one of Doom’s benevolent smiles, as he tries to hypnotize Conan under the effect of his honey-laced words. It works briefly, but one look at his father’s sword breaks his trance, and Conan hacks at Thulsa Doom’s head, decapitating him as the final outcome of the perfect revenge! His followers snap out of the spell, and they start to disperse as a bloodied Thulsa Doom and his snake cult have now been destroyed. It is undoubtedly a gruesome end, but one that is fitting for this demented evil wizard.
Our takeaways from the movie
There are several reasons why Thulsa Doom had such an impact in the movie, and one of the foremost reasons is the gallant performance by James Earl Jones. The versatile actor was at his best while playing this role with the right flair, and he perfected the mannerisms and attitude required to pull off this stunt.
In his long black hair, black leather armor armed with two serpentine swords, and the impactful Darth Vader-like voice, he was a truly mesmerizing villain. The magnetic stare, the enchanting and hypnotic voice, and the unpredictability of his ruthlessness made him the ideal opponent for someone like Conan. He looked intimidating enough in his horned helmet and overall gear, and the wonderfully mystical real locations made the scenes stand out.
The action sequences were nicely done, and it was a sight to behold when Thulsa Doom and Conan tried to outdo each other. It is a popular opinion that the movie was iconic and we all know how it turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into an overnight superstar, but James Earl Jones also deserves a fair share of the credit for pulling off something as challenging a role as Thulsa Doom. Despite all the bad blood between the two characters, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones bonded a lot on the sets, with the former even helping James to stay in shape for the role. They both underwent extensive training, and it reflected in the action scenes.
Conan wasn’t his first opponent
Most people know about Thulsa Doom from the incredibly popular movie Conan the Barbarian, but this evil wizard goes back a long way. In fact, his primary enemy was not even Conan, but Kull the Conqueror – another fictional character from the father of sword and sorcery, Robert E. Howard. However, his presence in the plot was a rather short one. The story titled The Cat and the Skull portrayed a truly terrifying version of Thulsa Doom, where he had a skull for his head, and unholy flames burned in his eye sockets.
He was an undead necromancer, skilled in wizardry and all sorts of magic. He could create extremely powerful illusions for his enemies, and he was capable of dimensional travel as well. No ordinary weapons could harm him, and no regular warrior was a match for his brute strength and supernatural powers. He declared himself as the greatest enemy of Kull, and the story elaborates on his cunning plan of putting an end to the mighty warrior. He led Kull into the Forbidden Lake, which, as you can imagine from the name, was a dangerous place.
Kull somehow managed to survive, but Thulsa Doom couldn’t be destroyed as he escaped. This was only a glimpse into the demented world of the renowned wizard, and Conan the Barbarian finally explored the true extent of his vile nature. He later appeared in various comic strips featuring Kull the Conqueror, and Thulsa Doom was established as his primary opponent.
What makes him such a deadly opponent?
There must be something very special about the guy who can fight some of the finest warriors in the world! Well, you can be sure there is, and Thulsa Doom is one of the deadliest opponents for even the mightiest of heroes. We have already established his skills when it comes to sorcery. His magical powers are unparalleled, and he is possibly the greatest wizard with his command over the dark forces.
He can create illusions to confuse his enemy, and he happens to be a shapeshifter who can assume the shape or identity of just about anything or anyone. We have witnessed the gravity of his hypnotizing skills on several occasions in the movie. He put Conan’s mother under his hypnotic effect before chopping her head off. On another occasion, we see him commanding one of his female followers to jump to her death from a high ledge, and she obeys under his hypnotism.
Besides his sorcery, Thulsa Doom is also a highly trained warrior because he can hold his own even while fighting the best of swordsmen like Kull and Conan. He can transform into a deadly snake, and he also has the ability to turn snakes into arrows, which he shoots from his serpentine bow. Some versions of Thulsa Doom have portrayed him as a necromancer, and he has also been shown with the ability to travel through dimensions.
Thulsa Doom revived in the Marvel universe
In an ongoing Marvel comic book series titled Savage Avengers, Conan is seen teaming up with the likes of Wolverine, Venom, Punisher, and a few others. This unlikely alliance takes Conan into a story arc, where he gets to meet one of his scariest adversaries – Thulsa Doom.
Issue #2 focuses on this menacing villain trying to get rid of Conan for good. Conan, Elektra and a few other superheroes travel back in time to the Hyborian Age, and become a part of an ancient prophecy. However, they also end up summoning the evil force of Thulsa Doom, who looks meaner than ever, and it is a truly haunting comeback that will be enjoyed by the fans.
A few final words
The best of heroes are incomplete without a suitable opponent, and the likes of Kull the Conqueror or Conan the Barbarian wouldn’t be half the warrior that they are regarded as, without the ideal enemy in Thulsa Doom. He is a personification of evil, the bearer of misery for humanity, and everything from his mannerisms to his heartless actions will make you hate him. But, this is the true success of a supervillain – being loathed by everyone and posing serious challenges for those people root for!
In this regard, Thulsa Doom is one of the finest antagonists in the genre, and with the character being utilized even today in fiction, you can imagine how people have admired and feared this monstrous wizard! Do let us know in the comments below about your favorite moments featuring this evil sorcerer, and tell us about other characters in the sword and sorcery genre that you want us to explore!