Curated playlist
Fictional kings
- Thor (Marvel Comics)Donald Blake, the surgeon who became Marvel's Thor, was never a real person. Odin invented him to teach Thor humility.
- King LearFor nearly two centuries, audiences saw King Lear with a happy ending. Nahum Tate's 1681 rewrite cut the Fool.
- ThéodenKing Théoden of Rohan was slowly poisoned by his own advisor. Gríma Wormtongue secretly served the wizard Saruman.
- ÉomerÉomer defies orders to lend Aragorn horses, then is jailed for it. He later becomes King of Rohan.
- Apocalypse (character)En Sabah Nur is the birth name of Apocalypse, a supervillain from Marvel Comics, and Marvel says the name means "The First One." That translation is considered grammatically incorrect. Broken into parts, the name joins words for "the,"…
- AragornAragorn began as a hobbit in Tolkien's earliest drafts. He wore wooden shoes and was nicknamed Trotter.
- IsildurIsildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, then refused to destroy it. He later died to orcs at the Gladden Fields.
- Black Panther (character)Black Panther, the Marvel Comics hero known as T'Challa, made his debut in Fantastic Four #52, published in July 1966. He did not arrive as a sidekick or a soldier. T'Challa was a king, the ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation made…
- Griffith (Berserk)Griffith, a mercenary leader in Berserk, sacrifices his entire band at the Eclipse.
- NazgûlThe first Black Rider in The Lord of the Rings was originally Gandalf. Tolkien called it "an unpremeditated turn."
- NamorNamor, also known as the Sub-Mariner, made his debut in a comic that almost nobody ever saw. It was called Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, a planned giveaway meant for theater owners. Only eight known copies survive from the batch made to…