Dragon of the Moon

Dragon of the Moon
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Defenders #143 (May 1985)
Created by	Peter B. Gillis and Don Perlin
In-story information
Alter ego	unknown
Species	unknown (or not applicable)
Team affiliations	Currently, None, Thanos, Moondragon
Notable aliases	none
Abilities	Control over cosmic and mystical forces, Superhuman strength, Extended life

The Dragon of the Moon is a fictional character, a malevolent entity appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. It has been a foe of both the Defenders and the Eternals.

Publication history

The Dragon of the Moon first appeared in Defenders #138-139 (December 1984-January 1985), and was created by Peter B. Gillis and Don Perlin.

The character subsequently appears in #142-145 (April-July 1985), #151-152 (January-February 1986), Doctor Strange #3-4 (March-May 1989), Marvel Tarot #1 (2007), Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar #2-4 (October-December 2007), and Annihilation: Conquest #1-2 (January-February 2008).

The Dragon of the Moon received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #2.

Fictional character biography

Origin

The Dragon of the Moon's exact origins are unrevealed, however he does claim to know some of the Elders of the Universe.

He has claimed to kill the inhabitants of Titan before the Eternals inhabited it.

He has also claimed that the Lords of Light once took away his freedom.

It has visited the Earth several times, the first time, he tried to take over the Earth, but was apparently repulsed by the Eternal known as Interloper.

The Dragon of the Moon apparently allied himself with Mordred against Camelot, but was banished into outer space by King Arthur with the help of the Eternal known as the Interloper. The Dragon was subsequently imprisoned on Titan, with special shields constructed there to prevent his escape.

It was while on Titan, that the Dragon apparently offered Thanos power, and Thanos took it.

Whilst imprisoned on Titan, the dragon sensed the presence of a human being that was currently being raised there, Heather Douglas, who would later become Moondragon.

The Dragon attempted to invade Moondragon's mind, but was repulsed by Moondragon herself, and the shields that kept him imprisoned, but not before he had planted a small seed of his essence within her mind.

The Dragon chose Moondragon simply because her spirit was good, and fundamentally powerful, but with an arrogance he could exploit.

Armed with this knowledge, the dragon bided its time, for Moondragon's mystical headband apparently kept its evil influence in check, but Moondragon herself was becoming disillusioned with the continuous battle within her mind to prevail over the dragon.

Manifesting as a black, demon-like, amorphous centipede to Moondragon, it taunted her, saying she could not hope to master both good and evil, it then took the form of Mantis and attacked Moondragon, eventually it ended up fighting the defenders, who came to Moondragon's aid, however, it was not until Beast shook Moondragon out of her stupor that the Dragon, taking Mantis's form, disappeared.

Now, with her headband removed, The Dragon once again fought Moondragon for control. Without the headband to keep the Dragon's influence in check, Moondragon began to lose the battle against the Dragon.

At that point in time, Moondragon had also contracted the gamma spores, which began to ravage her body. The Dragon again appeared to her, taunting her with images of her parents' death and happiest moments in life, all the while claiming it could cure her of the gamma spores.

This apparently was too much for Moondragon, so she conceded, and gave in to the Dragon's evil influence.

Now with Moondragon completely under its control, the Dragon of the Moon confronted Valkyrie, Angel, and Gargoyle, defeating them all.

It was not until Valkyrie called the full host of the Valkyrior against him, giving Angel time to call guide Cloud down to the unprotected Moondragon, where he hurled a lightning bolt at her, apparently disintegrating her in a flash of light.

The Dragon of the Moon and Moondragon had seemingly disappeared, but were merely hurled across the world in shadow, biding their time, waiting.

The Dragon, now considering Moondragon unworthy as she had been twisted by evil, retreated to the back of her mind, waiting yet again.

The Dragon of the Moon would appear to Moondragon yet again, this time taking the form of two eclipsing suns, and attempted to destroy the Defenders, Interloper, and Manslaughter.

As Interloper rushed into combat with the Dragon, so too did the Defenders battle Moondragon, using their psychic rapport, Manslaughter projected madness into Moondragon's mind, causing her to flee.

Now, the Dragon had to struggle to take control of Moondragon's mind yet again, but she resisted until the Dragon agreed to put her into contact with the Beyonder. The Beyonder, upon meetting Moondragon, asked her to be his disciple, and presented the Dragon with her in the form of a ring on her finger, (one she already apparently possessed).

Armed with the power of both the Dragon of the Moon and the Beyonder, Moondragon attempted to reshape the world, starting by eliminating the defenders.

Now once again in control, the Dragon of the Moon tormented Beast, Angel and Iceman with the deaths of Danny Milligan, Carol Faber, Chris Larmouth, and Candy Southern. It then prepared for its final battle with the Defenders, using Moondragon's relationship with Gargoyle to gain his trust, then excised his soul from his body.

Armed with both human and demonic powers, the Dragon of the Moon continued its battle against the defenders.

However, the Dragon of the Moon was finally undone when the Interloper and Valkyrie sacrificed their immortality. Channeling their power through Manslaughter and Andromeda towards the Dragon, instantly carbonizing all three of them (the Dragon, Moondragon, and Gargoyle). At the last moment, Moondragon, using the Beyonder's power, resurrected Danny Milligan, Carol Faber, and Chris Larmouth, sure that was the Beyonder's purpose in granting her power.

Dr. Strange and the Dragon of the Moon

The Dragon and the four 'Deceased' heroes, ( Danny Milligan, Carol Faber, Chris Larmouth, and Candy Southern), later appeared in a Limbo-like dimension of spirits, where he gained control over the spirits of that particular dimension, probably either by his own power or by tempting them to serve his will. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange, in a battle with Urthona, destroyed several mystical talismans, one of which was a talisman preventing the Dragon from ever returning to earth under his own power.

The Dragon, sensing the gradual decline in strength of the mystical barrier of on Earth, returned.

The Dragon had apparently gained power over a group of racist skinheads in Manchester, New England, and incited them to riot. Soon, Dr. Strange, the four heroes (who had been resurrected by the Vishanti), and Dafydd ap Iowerth (who contained the spirit of King Arthur the Pendragon) arrived on the scene.

Using the eye of Agamotto, Dr. Strange revealed the presence of the Dragon of the Moon through the Eye of Agamotto though the Dragon's abilities to play on the worst in Human Nature.

The Dragon's minions increased in strength until Iowerth stopped them. By then, the Dragon had moved on to another stronghold, and obtained a new set of minions.

When the heroes tracked the Dragon to his new stronghold, the Dragon had them surrounded by his minions, but Iowerth convinced them to reject the Dragon's influence, the Dragon then manifested in the open and attacked Iowerth.

As the battle progressed, it became clear that the heroes' mightiest blows against the Dragon were in vain, until Dr. Strange had the heroes join hands, forming the Dragon Circle, giving the heroes the same power the talisman had.

The Power of the Dragon Circle manifested in the form of an enormous sword, which drained the Dragon's power, diminishing him in size. Enabling Iowerth to later crush him in between his fingers, removing the Dragon of the Moon from the mortal plane.

The Dragon is later seen in Oblivion's realm, where Phyla-Vell - who had previously been fed to the Dragon by Maelstrom seemingly agrees to be Oblivion's new avatar of death giving her the power to cut her way out of the Dragon's stomach.

Powers and abilities

The Dragon of the Moon possesses control over massive amounts of cosmic and mystical forces, presumably on at least a global scale. It is immortal. Its strength is increased on the mortal plane as the host of the Dragon of the Moon succumbs further and further to the Dragon's influence.

External links

• Dragon of the Moon at marvunapp.com