Beowulf (DC Comics)

Beowulf
Beowulf and Nan-Zee, cover of Beowulf #2 Artist Ricardo Villamonte.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #1 (May 1975)
Created by	Michael Uslan (writer) Ricardo Villamonte (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Beowulf
Place of origin	Daneland
Notable aliases	Prince of Geats
Abilities	Expert swordsman, superhuman strength and speed.

Beowulf is a fictional character of the swords and sorcery genre published by DC Comics. The character debuted in Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #1 (May 1975), and was created by Michael Uslan and Ricardo Villamonte. The character is based on the Anglo-Saxon mythic hero Beowulf, first depicted in the Nowell Codex.

The tale of DC Comics' version of Beowulf starts out very close to the mythic Bēowulf, but later veers wildly away into the regions of science fiction and faustian fantasy. The Beowulf title only lasted six issues, running from May 1975 to March 1976.

Under instructions from a being known as "The Shaper", Beowulf travels to Castle Hrothgar in Daneland, to fight the monster Grendel. On the way there Beowulf and his men take a detour into the Underworld where they rescue Nan-zee, a Swedish scylfing warrior from the Demons who have been controlling her. Beowulf, Nan-Zee, and his companions Wiglaf and Hondscio continue onwards to Castle Hrothgar, but are again detoured, ending up in a bog where they battle Swamp Men. Meanwhile, for some reason Grendel and his mother reveal to the reader that they are descendants of Cain. Somehow, Beowulf and friends fall through a dimensional gateway beneath a patch of quicksand into a fiery underworld they refer to as Hell.

At a later point in the series Beowulf discovers that the only way to slay Grendel is with the nectar of the Zumak Fruit. Along the way he encounters Dracula, a mysterious Lost Tribe of Israel, Ulysses accompanied by a troop of anonymous Greek Warriors, Egyptian/Sumerian Space aliens straight out of Chariots of the Gods, and the lost city of Atlantis.