The Scarab is a fictional
superhero from the
Golden Age of Comics
The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known chara ...
. He first appeared in ''Startling Comics'' #34 (July 1945), published by
Nedor Comics
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
. The character was later revived by writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
for
America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) is a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's Best ...
.
Nedor Comics
The Scarab was the secret identity of
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...
Peter Ward, who decoded a secret message in an ancient papyrus scroll. Ward was actually the
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...
of an ancient Egyptian high priest; by rubbing his magic
scarab ring Ward would instantly transform into the super-powerful Scarab. He was accompanied by Akh-Tu-Men, an intelligent black cat.
The Scarab debuted in ''Startling Comics'' #34, and became a regular backup feature in ''Exciting Comics'' from issue #42-48. His last Golden Age appearance was in ''The Black Terror'' #20 (October 1947).
America's Best Comics
Alan Moore revived the Scarab, along with many other Nedor Comics characters, for his ''
Tom Strong
''Tom Strong'' is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse, initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division. Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero", wi ...
'' series. In ''Tom Strong'' #12 (June 2001), the Scarab was revealed to have been one of the members of
SMASH that had been placed in suspended animation after an alien invasion from the moon in 1969. Awakened 30 years later, the Scarab joined his former comrades in the fight against the alien. SMASH disbanded shortly thereafter, but reformed three years later. The Scarab is a member of the reformed group.
In the ''Terra Obscura'' spin-off series, the Scarab allows himself to be bonded with the ancient Egyptian god
Thoth
Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'', Egyptian: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or ...
in order to control one-time superhero Mystico (who is himself bonded with the god
Seth).
Dynamite Entertainment
The 2008 miniseries ''
Project Superpowers
''Project Superpowers'' is a comic book limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning January 2008. It was co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, with scripts by Jim Krueger, covers by Alex Ross, and interior art by Doug Klaub ...
'' from
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...
introduced a new version of the Scarab.
He is a loose interpretation of the
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
Scarab, with more differences from the source than other characters in the series, who are all characters who have fallen into the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.
Fictional biography
Ten years ago, Amon Khadul found a priceless stone shaped like a
scarab, and he sold it for a fortune upon which he built a financial empire. Wanting to make a difference in the world, he built the Scarab armor to fight against the F-Troops who were invading the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
; electronic jammers in his armor prevented people from recording his existence. It was there that he met
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
, who convinced him to fight the enemy openly, and this encounter led to Scarab becoming an ally of The Superpowers.
[ However, Amon Khadul is also a member of The Supremacy, a secret council that rules the world and considers the returned heroes a threat to their system; because he is opposed to The Supremacy's practices and lust for power, Khadul acts as a "double agent", keeping the Superpowers informed of The Supremacy's plans.
Unbeknownst to Khadul, the scarab-shaped stone he had found and sold was formerly part of a magic ring that once belonged to another hero known as the Scarab; the fact that Khadul has taken the same name and symbol is a coincidence... or perhaps fate.
]
Armor
The Scarab wears a suit of exoskeletal armor, which resembles a silver-colored humanoid scarab. The armor gives Scarab superhuman strength and speed, and its wings enable him to fly with great speed and maneuverability. The armor is also equipped with electronic jamming technology, which prevents people from electronically recording him.
Film
A modernized version of the Scarab appears alongside other Golden Age superheroes in the independent film ''Avenging Force: The Scarab'', a low-budget production likely attempting to capitalize on the success of the film '' Marvel's The Avengers''.
References
External links
Scarab
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on September 30, 2015.
{{GoldenAge
Golden Age superheroes
America's Best Comics superheroes
Nedor Comics superheroes
Comics characters introduced in 1945
Dynamite Entertainment characters