Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
May I present proof that the path to Hell is paved with good intentions: Modred the Mystic
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Appearances in Heroclix: Wheels of Vengeance,
First Appearance: Marvel Chillers #1 (Oct 1975)
Team Affiliations: Midnight Sons
Powers/Abilities: Powers consistent with Occult knowledge and occasional demonic possession including, but not limited to: Elemental control, Necromancy, Super Strength, Teleportation, Teleportation
Created by: Bill Mantlo – Yong Montano – Marv Wolfman
Modred is born outside what would become London, England in the 6th century CE. After coming of age he becomes an apprentice to the wizard Gervasse and becomes engaged to Gervasse’s daughter, Janice. Modred is such an adept student that he is slated to become the apprentice to Merlin until Merlin is replaced by an impostor (who goes under many names such as Mad Merlin, Maha Yogi and Merlin Demonspawn). Recognizing the impostor, Gervasse and Modred conspire to stop this evil together. Modred seeks out a grimoire of great power known as the Darkhold, forged by the elder god Chthon.
Modred intends to use the Darkhold’s powers for good but Chthon will not stand for that. The Other, Chthon’s emissary, offers Modred power in exchange for the apprentice’s soul. Modred rejects the offer at first, only relenting when the Emissary threatens to corrupt his fiance, Janice. Modred accepts the offer to protect her and, with his soul corrupted, Gervasse binds Modred in suspended animation where he remains for centuries.
Modred is eventually awakened in the modern day by archaeologists, who lead him to London where he is attacked by the Other. Modred easily defeats the Other as Modred is now secretly possessed by Chthon and has access to his full power. Modred continues to seemingly help heroes such as Spider-Woman and the Thing as they battle the Mad Merlin.
Some time later, Chthon is able to assert his influence over Modred and uses him to bring Scarlet Witch to a prison beneath Mount Wundagore. Once they arrive, Wanda is possessed by Chthon only for the pair to be defeat and Wanda to be freed at the cost of her adoptive father, Django Maximoff. Following this defeat, Modred is returned to the intellectual level of a child and loses all his magic knowledge as well as the semblance of sanity. The Avengers choose to leave him in care of Bova, the cow-woman servant of the High Evolutionary. While still not mentally well, he does regain some of his magical knowledge and temporarily reduces the Thing and Puppet Master to the size of dolls, attacking them with his own toys.
When Magneto arrives to destroy Bova’s cottage, Modred watches. When Bova is injured in the attack, Modred wanders off and finds his way back to England. Once returned to England, his mind and powers return in earnest and he returns to vengeance on Merlin. Forgetting that the Merlin he hates is an impostor, Modred attacks the servant of the true Merlin: Captain Britain. Modred defeats Britain, steals his costume and is able to use the powers of Captain Britain combined with his own magic to battle Captain America. Rogers and Braddock join forces to defeat Modred and turn him over to Merlin, who jails the confused magician in Otherworld.
Modred escapes from Otherworld and is able to take over the mind of Rachel Summers, using her to battle Quasar and her teammates in Excalibur. Modred is eventually defeated and exiled into another dimension by Widget. After an unknown amount of time Modred is able to right himself and return to Earth-616 in order to confront Chthon and reclaim his soul. In this search he comes across a group calling themselves the Darkhold Redeemers, normal humans seeking out fragments of the Darkhold. Modred joins them and becomes their leader, trying to protect them from enemies both real and imagined. He battles the N’Garai demons, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange, with the latter binding Modred to the island of Maui. Unfortunately, this leaves the Redeemers defenseless against Blade, transformed into the “Switchblade” by a spell from the Darkhold. The Switchblade goes on a killing spree that includes Modred before being stopped by a counter-spell cast by a surviving Redeemer, Louise Hastings. The counter-spell also restores all of the Switcheblade’s victims to life.
Once resurrected, the Dwarf, a servant of the Other, offers Modred a chance to reclaim his soul if he delivers a pure soul for Chthon. Modred agrees and finds an ancient holy woman, blind from old age. He offers to restore her to her youth in exchange for her soul and she agrees. As her face returns to its youthful state, he realizes in horror that it’s his beloved Janice. She also recognizes Modred and though the Other tries to take her soul, Modred offers his up again to save her. Unfortunately, the brief struggle for her soul is too much and Janice dies in Modred’s arms.
Modred returns to the Redeemers and takes Louise’s son Jinx on as an apprentice. Soon after, Lilith along with her consort Zarathos and their Lilin offspring attack the Redeemers and Midnight Sons. Louise is killed in the battle by Morbius and the other Redeemers accuse Modred of helping to plan the attack. Modred and Jinx escape the Lilin and lead the Redeemers to the home of the Truthsayer. This Truthsayer reveals to Modred that Chthon is about to manifest on Earth but before any more can be said, Metarchus attacks Modred. Modred uses the confusion to kill the Truthsayer in order to obscure the fact that Chthon is doing to reborn to one of the Redeemers. After Louise’ funeral, Modred leaves the Redeemers and takes on a new disciple.
This new disciple is named Kyllian and calls himself Wildpride, he is also a former apprentice of Doctor Strange. Modred then mentally dominates Morbius and Werewolf by Night before the foursome attacks Salome, a foe of Dr. Strange. Modred attempts to forge an alliance with Salome but she refuses and escapes him. Modred is soon after kidnapped by Clave, alongside Dr. Strange’s mystical doppelganger and the Scarlet Witch, only to be rescued by Blade.
Modred then sends Wildpride to attack Strange and follows the sorcerer to his new sanctum. All of this is done to find the Darkhold Redeemer Victoria Montesi, who is still pregnant with the essence of Chthon. Strange defeats Modred, temporarily stripping him of his mystic power, and teleporting him to Thailand before exorcising Chthon from Montesi’s unborn child.
Modred eventually manages to gather all of the pages of the Darkhold and reforge it, returning to Mount Wundagore. Once there, he kills all the Knights of Wundagore and captures Quicksilver. Using the Darkhold, Modred transfers Chton’s essence into Quicksilver and unleashes a chaos cascade that engulfs the Earth. With the ritual complete, Chthon is resurrected in Quicksilver’s body and the power of the Darkhold is transferred into Modred. Hank Pym and the Mighty Avengers arrive and are able to drive Chthon out of Quicksilver’s body and trap it back in the Darkhold, while also knocking Modred out.
Warrior Woman of Earth-21195 eventually approaches Modred to form a pact. He agrees and they take over the Myriad, a loose association of deserters and runaways looking to gain wealth that is transformed into an army capable of conquering the planet.
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