The Undying Soldier is a mythic warrior from Russian folklore purported to have captured Death.
History[]
According to an old Russian folktale, the soldier returned home after fighting in a war. Near the end of his journey, the soldier began to exhaust his supplies. He met a strange beggar. Being a generous man, the soldier gave the beggar his last ration. Rewarding his kindness, the beggar gave the soldier his Mystical Sack and told him it would catch any creature then vanished. The soldier used the sack to catch many animals to eat and returned home at least. The soldier used the sack to help others and became a wealthy man loved by all.
However, the war took an unexpected turn when Vigo unleashed an Underworld Horde. The soldier used his sack to trap Death and became invincible. The soldier drove the rest of the horde back to the underworld. Even time caught up with the soldier. While his body could not die, he aged and fell terribly ill. The soldier tried to bargain Death's release if it would take him to the next life. Death refused and cursed him. The soldier wandered the earth, always sick but unable to die. He vowed never to use the sack again.
The soldier eventually settled in a deep region of Siberia. In mid-September 1912, John Horace Tobin discovered the soldier's body and showed it to Mikhael Gallon. However, Tobin stared off at Death, who was hovering above the soldier's corpse.
Trivia[]
- The Undying Soldier's backstory is heavily inspired by "The Story of Ivan Turbincă", the Moldovan/Romanian fairytale written by Ion Creanga.
- The character gave his last money to two beggars who turned out to be God and Saint Peter in disguise. For his generosity, God blessed his rations bag ('turbinca' in Romanian), which Ivan later used to capture imps who've been haunting a local boyar's house, and later still, Death.
- In the end, God took away the bag because he was not pleased with Ivan's constant torturing of Death, when she was just doing her job. So once free, it was time for Ivan to die, because he was quite old, but Death refused to take him, saying that he's to live forever as punishment for the cruel treatment he gave her.
Appearances[]
- Ongoing Series
- Issue #8
- "The Man Who Sought Death"
- Issue #8
References[]
Gallery[]
