Synopsis
Lord Pumpkin/Necromantra #1 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Lord Pumpkin story: The last pumpkin
Writer Dan Danko. Pencils Kyle Hotz. Inks Pav Kovacic. Colour Design Micky Rose. Colours Wolf Pack with Salvador Mancha.
In the Godwheel mini-series certain Ultravillains led by Argus tried to combine the Crystal Crown, the Roc's Egg and the Windsword to relight the Crucible Of Life in the Gods' home Vahdala that would grant immortality, and certain Ultraheroes stopped them. Lord Pumpkin won the Egg for Argus but was killed for his treacherous thoughts. However a horde of little LPs was born from his seeds and joined the final battle. Argus and the Crown were sent through a portal to some other dimension by Marvel's Thor. And in an epilogue Marvel's Loki broke the Sword.
Now we see another 6-inch Pumpkin figure approaching the smashed pumpkin head of LP which still contains the lighted candle that gives him power. He grabs it but has to fight a half-rat/half-pumpkin (it ate 1 of the seeds) for it. The rat claims to be the Pumpkin but but the pumpkin man lays claims to the title Lord Pumpkin, and proves it by using the power of the candle to breathe fire which burns his foe to a crisp.
Carrying the candle he heads for the Crucible and the Roc's Egg that has the power of teleportation. He passes the broken Sword and now knows that only the Egg remains. he remembers beating Hardcase to get the Egg but then being killed by Argus. He also remembers the pumpkin army of which he was the only 1 with free will. So he sent them all on a kill spree and sat back to watch. But he saw them all die and the heroes win and return to their various homes.
Now the Egg displays another of its properties by shrinking to a convenient size for mini-Pumpkin to handle, while Pumpkin is determined to regain his full size. But now he notices that Vahdala has been transformed into a hellscape and he asks the Egg to take him to the powerful being who did this because he should be able to grant his wish.
That being is Loki who asks his servant Iago ('inherited' along with the otherwise deserted place) to refill his wine glass. Little Lord Pumpkin finally manages to get his attention and demonstrates his power with a flame blast, which of course does nothing to the Asgardian god. Loki picks him up, making him drop the candle, and thanks him for the entertainment. He's been bored since being trapped in this place. He's discovered that in this universe he doesn't have the power to magic himself anywhere he wants.
Pumpkin offers him a bargain which Loki promises to honour. He tells him of (Ultra-)Earth which is ripe for being ruled by they 2. But the little being says that if he will make him what he once was (ie full-size) then he will give him the Roc's Egg which will teleport him anywhere he wants. Loki agrees to the deal, takes the Egg and transforms it into a ring for his finger. LP is worried by this because the Egg should have been attuned only to him who found it (twice). But he now asks Loki for his side of the bargain. The trickster god laughs and does transform him into something he once was, a scarecrow hung up in a field, with his candle on the ground below him.
Necromantra story: New girl in town
Writer Mike Barr. Pencils Gabriel Gecko. Inks Stephanie Baskerville. Colour Design Micky Rose. Colours Gone Fishin' with Ruth & Sharleen.
Evil male wizard/knight Thanasi had occupied the body of Mantra (Eden Blake) and renamed her Necromantra (in Mantra #17). 'She' was immediately caught up in the Godwheel mini-series where she aided and schemed against Argus. In #3 she abandoned Mantra's body when it was menaced by the energy vampire Rune. In Mantra #18 Eden was impregnated by her love Lucasz, and Thanasi caused the pregnancy to hyper-accelerate. They named the baby Marinna but Thanasi's spell made the child rapidly became adult at which time Thanasi possessed her as a new Necromantra. But Mantra managed to send her away (in #19).
Now she awakes in a field back on the Godwheel with a young girl warning about a large snake about to strike. She's too weak to use magic but the girl leads the snake away until the woman makes a noise by tripping over a rock. The snake bites her leg and the girl stabs the snake. But it still menaces them both until it's peppered with arrows from a band of knights led by the girl's father Lord Tavon. They take NM back to their castle to be cured of the slithor's poison.
When she awakes again she learns that they're amazed she survived. Tavon introduces the girl as his daughter Arielle and she asks them to call her Marinna. They invite her to stay for as long as she wants, and use this bedchamber which was his late wife's. She does, and over time Tavon falls in love with her (as she plans).
When she deems the time is right 'Marinna' goes down to the dungeons and 'persuades' the lone guard to let her in by threatening to tell his Lord that he tried to molest her. She locates a cell with a wizard in it, who detects that she's not what she seems. He describes her abbreviated history for us:- (S)he was Thanasi, 1 of the male knights serving a great wizard named Archimage. But (s)he betrayed the mage in exchange for the ability to live in other bodies. And she took over the body of a powerful female mage (Mantra in her #17). But she was ousted from that body, however it gave birth to another female which is the body she wears now (Mantra #19).
He tells her he can't make her a man again, but she says she prefers the form she has now which allows he to bend men to her will. But her magic is weak now and she wants to know how to make it strong again. He says her black magic needs deaths to power it - she must slay those she hates and those she loves. She thanks him for his help and 'promises' him his freedom.
Next we see Marinna getting dolled up for her wedding to Tavon. Arielle pops in to wish her well and thank her for making daddy and herself happy again after mommy died. Her mother-to-be promises never to leave her. The wedding happens and Tavon awaits his wife in their bedchamber. She enters in a slinky garment and makes another promise, that this room shall be their private haven for as long as he lives. Then she pops back out supposedly to don a garter that the bridesmaids insisted on.
But outside she switches to Necromantra and finds eggs in the nest of a slither (possibly the mate of the 1 that got killed earlier). Mummy snake objects and she fights it with her spiked 'belt' and then stabs it with 1 of its own fangs. It dies and the snake tattoo up her left leg reappears (she had it in her previous incarnation). And she flays some of the slither's skin to use as a facemask.
Then she visits the wizard in his cell who recognises her growing power and tells her she must now kill *2* people she loves. She claims to love *him* for his advice and kills him. Then she returns to her waiting husband in her new form and kills *him* to make 2. (Could it be that she avoided killing young Arielle because she really *does* care for her?)