The Battle of the Black Stone comic was an event undreamed of. The four issue miniseries teamed Conan the Barbarian with other characters created by pulp legend Robert E. Howard. However, the comic still managed one last surprise for readers in the final chapter with the reveal of the series’ ultimate villain. Said villain is also a creation of Robert E. Howard, though better known from Marvel Comics than Howard’s stories.
Written by Jim Zub with art by Jonas Scharf, Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #4 found the party of heroes reduced to five. Still, they threw themselves into battle against the undead forces raised by the dark sigil, carved in Black Stone across time. It was this symbol that brought them together, though most of the heroes had no memory of the fight after. However, the conflict allowed writer James Allison, whose soul could astral project to other times, to glean the name of the power behind the sigil. The power’s name, revealed on the last page of the comic, was Shuma Gorath.
Shuma Gorath Connection to Conan Explained
Shuma Gorath was created by Robert E. Howard for his King Kull story “The Curse of the Golden Skull.” It is there that a dying sorcerer evokes “the iron bound books of Shuma Gorath,” among other dark powers. While Howard never defined Shuma Gorath any further, the name shared the same cadence as Gol-Goroth, a cosmic being Howard created for his story “The Children of the Night.” Comparison can also be made to the names of various entities created by Howard’s pen-pal H.P. Lovecraft.
Decades later, when Roy Thomas licensed Conan for Marvel, he also secured permission to adapt the whole of Howard’s writings. For the most part Thomas used this license to rework Howard’s historical stories into fantasy works. However, Thomas also took advantage of the license and the recently revised Comics Code Authority rules to revive Doctor Strange with a weird horror vibe. It was here Thomas developed Shuma Gorath into one of the Great Old Ones. This history is fully detailed in an essay by Jeffrey Shanks at the end of Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #4.
Shuma Gorath has grown into one of the great cosmic evils of the Marvel Universe. They went on to have a cameo in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. They are also a playable character in several Marvel Vs. Capcom games. It is unclear what role they may play in future Titan Comics events. Whatever it is, it cannot bode well for Conan the Barbarian.
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #4 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
