Demonology #16 - Immortal Enemy!

The sixteenth and final issue of Jack Kirby's The Demon wraps up the storyline but returning the Demon's most implacable foe, the deadly Morgaine Le Fay.

Morgaine Le Fay in many ways is responsible for the centuries spanning Demon, as her assault on Camelot so long before is why Merlin summoned his Demon to begin with.

The story begins with the Demon on patrol in Gotham City when he comes across another of his kind, a demon named Kafir the Horned One who looks rather like a two-legged buffalo. They fight, but the Demon is overcome by magical mist which puts him to sleep.

When he awakes he is the prisoner of Morgaine Le Fay who seeks to make a slave of the Demon and Jason Blood by branding him on the forehead with her mark. She seems successful.

Meanwhile Glenda Mark is practicing with the Philosopher's Stone and begins to realize its great power. She is suddenly confronted by Warly, the old sorcerer who we first encountered in the debut issue of the series and who is a servant of Morgain Le Fay. He tells Glenda that if she follows him he can take her to Jason Blood.

When they arrive at Morgaine's hideout, the Demon is busy entertaining her by fighting an ancient gladiator. The battle is ended Morgaine entertains her guest by showing her control over the Demon and over Jason Blood himself and Glenda for the first time sees the transformation and leans the truth about the man she has come to care for.

Morgaine wants the Philosopher's Stone, but Glenda does not give in so easily and as they banter Warly suddenly snatches it and attacks his former mistress turning her into what appears to be a metallic mummy case. But Morgaine's magic is not done and red tendrils reach out from another dimension and snare Warly who counters with Nether-Flame. The flames get out of control and Jason and Glenda flee when suddenly Jason realizes that he's free of Morgaine's control.

Using his powers as the Demon he gets himself  and Glenda free of the flames and ends the menace of Morgaine Le Fay. He then reclaims the Philosopher's Stone and confronts Glenda with the truth that he and the Demon are one and the same. With that revelation the series comes to an end.

It's clear that Kirby knew the this was the last issue and so he was able to give it a send off, though it was a flawed one. We still get no word on  Harry Matthews and Randu Singh who had been saved but still suffer from the idea that Jason had turned on them. That plot is not resolved, at least not directly. I do like that Glenda is finally let in on the secret of Jason, and she proves a worthy partner for him in this adventure.

Bringing in Morgaine Le Fay again was smart and I was especially surprised to see old Warly again. This gives the series a nice circular structure and on that level an interesting ending.

That's the end of the series but there's a bit more to come still.

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