Conan the Barbarian Origin - The Legendary Cimmerian Barbarian Who Defined The Sword & Sorcery Genre

hold on what is best in life to crush your enemies see them driven before you the comics seen in the 80s was abound with stories of the sword and sorcery genre with Conan being at the center of it all this genre was so loved by the people that Stanley got numerous emails from fans asking Marvel to also delve into this sword and sorcery genre which finally led to a brand new Conan the Barbarian series written by Roy Thomas Conan however goes back a long way as the character was created by Robert Irvin Howard in 1932 for a series of fantasy sword and sorcery themed stories for the weird Tales Magazine the Journey of this character from magazine to Standalone comics and paperbacks to Hollywood is super interesting so keep watching to know all about Conan the Barbarian before we go into our explanation we have a very small request if you like our content please support us by subscribing to her Channel this is a small click for you but for us it means a lot thank you and let's begin [Music] exploring the earliest appearance of Conan let us dive straight into this earliest appearance of Conan as written by Robert urban Howard in the early 1930s Howard was looking for a fresh character to introduce to the expanding pop markets at a time he said the short story people of the dark to Clayton Publications brand new Strange Tales of mystery and Terror magazine in October 1931 the protagonist of the novel people of the dark describes one of his past lives and the first person narrative a black-haired Barbarian hero Conan worships the god krom some Howard historians think that this Conan was a precursor to the more well-known character following his first mention of Conan in February 1932 Howard holidayed at a Border Town on the Lower Rio Grande during this trip he was influenced by the violent culture of the Wild West which favored Brawn fights and Duels as methods to settle conflicts Howard himself was a man who was physical in nature and would have been a prized fighter if not for his love for writing and literature all of his life experiences in the wild west and living in an oil Boom Town played a major role in the creation of Conan in May 1929 after returning from the trip Howard revised his story by this ax I Ruled that have been rejected substituting his new hero for the previously written call of Atlanta's character and renaming it the Phoenix on the sword and submitted it for publishing other pieces that Howard submitted to the weird Tales Magazine include the Scarlet Citadel and the frost Giant's daughter although the frost Giant's daughter was turned down to Phoenix on the sword was accepted and appeared in the December 1932 issue of the journal the month after the Scarlet Citadel came out as well seeing the positive response to the stories written by Howard editor Farnsworth Wright asked Howard to create an 8 000 word essay for his own use to describe the hiborian age the fictional world that the Conan stories were set in Howard's invented pseudo historical era known as the highborne age is set after the demise of Atlantis and before the rise of any other known ancient civilization for many of the fancy stories in his created World Howard invented a false history that included this particular era known as the hiborian age this essay further served as Howard's blueprint for the Tower of the elephant a new Conan tale that was the first to include his revised understanding of the hiborian world Howard was inspired to create further Conan Tales where the weird Tales after the Tower of the elephant was published and became popular in fact he had completed 21 stories by the time of his death by suicide in 1936 and 17 of them have been made public to adoring readers in these stories we saw Conan as a chivalrous Sumerian who would fight honorably despite being portrayed as a Savage man as for his earliest stories Conan was the son of the local blacksmith and was born on a battlefield he developed swiftly as a young man and by the time he was 15 years old he was already a renowned Warrior who had help bring down the acolonian Citadel of veneria after its destruction he developed a Wanderlust and set forth on the adventures that Howard went on to write about where he encountered lurking creatures Wicked Wizards Tavern wenches and lovely princesses he was a thief Bandit mercenary and pirate who traveled the hiborian age countries Conan frequently accomplishes heroic Deeds during his adventures but his primary motivations are survival and monetary gain although Howard died in 1936 only four years after he created Conan the character would live on after his death and gain more popularity than Howard could ever have imagined yes [Music] foreign Comics paved a way for a movie adaptation the story of Conan definitely kicks off with the comics while Howard did a brilliant job with a character many writers and illustrators picked up his work post his passing since 1970 Conan the Barbarian has made almost countless comic book appearances the comics more than the books may have been the medium that contributed most to the characters Fame and Longevity Conan's first comic book adaption was created in Spanish and released in Mexico in the 1950s however this was unlicensed and done without the permission of Howard's estate Conan the Barbarian which ran from 1970 to 1993 was the first officially sanctioned comic adaption to be written in English and published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s Conan the Barbarian written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Windsor Smith was the first Conan the Barbarian comic book and it was published by Marvel Comics in 1970. Conan was Among The Works of fiction that readers most frequently requested Marvel to be translated into comics along with a pulp magazine character Doc Savage Tarzan and John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs Thomas who was Marvel's associate editor at the time acquired a licensed work from the estate of its creator Robert E Howard when Stanley asked Thomas to take responsibility for inculcating the sword and sorcery genre into Marvel Comics The Story had a hero who lacked magical powers humor and many moral ideals it was set in a history that had no connection to the Marvel Universe however it did contain the typical action and fantasy components and thus Marvel took a massive gamble with Conan however the risk paid off and Conan the Barbarian became one of Marvel's best-selling comics in the 1970s John busemma a penciler took over for Smith while Thomas continued to write for many years JM demathias dog Munch Jim owsley Michael flesher Alan zelenitz Bruce Jones Chuck Dixon and Don crair were among the later authors of the Conan Comics notably Barack Obama a former US president is a comic book collector and a major fan of Conan the Barbarian he even played a part in a comic book titled Barack the barbarian from Devil's Due it was thus the comics that really cemented the presence of Conan and the title Conan the Barbarian in popular culture in addition in 1974 de Conan the Barbarian series gave rise to the more mature black and white Comics magazine Savage Sword of Conan which was created by busemma an alfredo alkala with samus's writing along with multiple graphic novels featuring the character Marvel also released a guidebook with Comprehensive details on the high boring age Conan the Barbarian has since interacted with both heroes and villains and is formally recognized as being inside the greater Marvel Universe the major success of Conan the Barbarian under Marvel also sparked Hollywood's interest in the material Origins and backstory of the barbaric Warrior Conan's origin story is a harrowing tale as per the written material Conan is a Sumerian a far Northern Region Barbarian he is the son of the local blacksmith Corin and was famously born on a battlefield and the story of his birth is a tale for the ages his mother Gresham nearly lost her life while trying to protect her husband during the fight in Samaria a she near death the frail aggression gave birth to her son and blessed him with the name Conan Conan developed swiftly and by the time he was 15 he was already a renowned fighter but helped to destroy the a colonian Outpost of veneria after that he developed the restlessness and Wunderlist and that led to the Vivid and thrilling exploits that Howard and others later wrote about [Music] rotation 19 82 considering the massive success Conan saw with Comics it was only a matter of time before Conan made it into the big screen this first movie Saw Arnold Schwarzenegger appear in the lead role as the mighty Conan at a time they started filming he was 33 years old and in wonderful physical form the movie details Conan's quest for Revenge after his parents were murdered by a man named Dulce do the Story begins with detailing the harrowing incidents in Conan's childhood that led him to becoming an orphan and being made to work as a slave Conan was a Sumerian and his father was a master blacksmith who was capable of forging amazing weapons they lived happily until one day a band of Raiders attacked their people this band of Raiders was led by a cruel man called thulsa doom and he oversaw the massacre and Slaughter of Conan's people the Sumerians who were not expecting such an attack fell victim to the swords of tholson and his men in his struggle Conan's father was killed by dogs and his mother was personally decapitated by thulsa Doom using the sword at Conan's father had forged for him Conan managed to survive along with many of the other Sumerian children however they were doomed to a life of slavery chained to the wheel of pain and forced to work a large meal orphaned at an early age Conan grew up in these harsh circumstances and became a big muscular man he also received Gladiators training from his master since he had to physique to be truly successful Conan was subsequently set free after numerous victories in training and education in the East he then began journeying in search of demand that killed his parents soon after he was pursued by wild wolves and took cover in a tomb of an Atlantean colonist Warrior where he found an old sword and made it his weapon Conan then traveled the world and met subatai a hair Canyon thief and Archer and they became traveling companions before coming upon a prophesied witch in a hut the witch gave Conan information about the whereabouts of Doom and he set off on a quest for Revenge during their travels they meet a female brigand called Valeria and she also joins their company as the three Loot and adventure together soon they are requested by King azarik to save his daughter princess yasamina who had become a zealot in Doom's cult Conan driven by his hatred for Doom and his desire for vengeance departed alone for the villain's Temple of set also known as the mountain of power because subutai and Valeria declined to accept the task however before he could fulfill his objectives he was captured and tortured by doom and crucified on the tree of Woe before he could succumb to his injuries Conan was rescued by subutai and healed by a wizard named akiro having his health restored Conan once again returned to his revenge Quest but this time he was aided by his companions subutai and Valeria in their struggle against thulsudum unfortunately Valeria who had become Conan's romantic interest loses her life however Conan is able to rescue the princess and Drive Tulsa back in the end he is able to recover the sword that his father had forged for him and he uses the very same sword to behead tholsadum as well finally avenging his parents the film's epilogue alludes to Conan's subsequent adventures and depicts an elderly Conan Seated on a throne wearing a crown with the narration adding that in time he became a king by his own hand the film received both positive and negative criticism but that is to be expected when it comes to a film that is as violent as Conan the Barbarian the reviews regularly made reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance and they were generally complementary of the former bodybuilders acting his physical look and actions gave the impression that he was a Savage numerous others claimed that Schwarzenegger's Charisma and accent mangled dialogue added to the movie's attraction to his supporters all in all Arnold in the film managed to embody the essence of Conan which made the film deeply enjoyable [Music] foreign [Music] story continues in Conan to Destroyer 1984 the 1982 Conan film was a major success and garnered a massive fan following thus it only made sense to capitalize on the success and create a sequel the sequel titled Conan the Destroyer came out two years after the first film in the year 1984 from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a narrative by Roy Thomas and Jerry Conway Richard flesher directed the movie actress Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako reprized the roles as Conan and akiro respectively Conan a formidable Warrior gets deceived into working for the cunning queen teramus of shadazar in his second movie Adventure the queen asks Conan to go on a quest for her and Promises to resurrect Conan's beloved Valeria Conan agrees to the terms however the quest is a dangerous one as per Queen teramis Conan was to accompany princess Jenna a virgin and the Queen's niece who was destined to restore the jeweled Horn of the dreaming deity dagath to find a horn Conan had to First obtain the magical gem heart of ariman further bombata the captain of tiramis's guard joined Conan and his friends Malak upon instructions from the queen however unbeknownst to Conan the queen had secretly instructed her Captain bombata to kill Conan as soon as the gem was found thus she never planned on resurrecting Valeria and wanted to kill Conan once he has served his purpose unaware of the Queen's evil scheme Conan set off on his quest and as we all know nothing is straightforward and before he can even reach the main quest he has to fight up several other villains he rescues his friend the mound sorcerer akiro from a band of cannibals and even encounters a powerful Bandit named Zula they finally arrive at The Fortress where the gem is kept and which happens to be the castle of a powerful wizard named thought Ammon once here Conan and his companions are tested and have to cross many hurdles before they are able to reach the gem Conan fights a terrifying man beast and finally kills the wizard taught Ammon however he is then attacked by the Queen's soldiers he makes it out alive in Princess Jenna who knows nothing of for aunt's deception even professes her love to Conan in the end he is able to fight against bombata and the Queen's soldiers and is even able to stop Jenna from getting sacrificed as part of the ritual that would resurrect dogoth in fact Conan even fights off dogoth and finally restores peace Jenna is crowned as Queen and Conan rejects her proposal of marriage and decides to carry on his adventures instead the critical response to this film was not as great as previous one however fans still love the film Conan the Barbarian 2011 was a far cry from the 80s classic King Conan crown of iron a tale about an older Conan was rumored to be another Conan sequel in the late 1990s but it was shelved after Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in 2003. seven years were spent by Warner Brothers trying to launch the project the rights however were returned to Paradox entertainment in June 2007 even though all drafts were created while Werner was in charge to remain with them the Project's rights were purchased by Millennium films and this was revealed in August 2007 to have stories that were more true to the Robert E Howard conception production was intended for a spring 2006 start subsequently Marcus nissbell was appointed by Millennium as a director in June 2009. Jason Momoa was then chosen in January 2010 to play Conan the story follows Conan as he sets off once again on a Revenge Quest against a man named Keller Zim who killed his parents the tale here is slightly different and showcases the legend of the mask of macaron Dark Forces of Akron once ruled the world after Sorcerers created the mask of akaron Barbarians defeated actor on Warriors however and split the masks fragments among the tribes but evil does not stay hidden for long the evil warlord kalarzem invaded Chief corens barbaric Sumerian hamlet in search of the final fragment of the mask of Akron which he needed to resurrect his wife this led to him killing Conan's parents and sparking off a desire for revenge in young Conan the movie follows Conan as he tries to track down calorim and get his revenge unfortunately when the movie was released in August 2011 it received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office many found a story to be dull and sluggish with cliched dialogues and overused tropes in fact many said that Jason Momoa was the only good thing about the movie if you're a fan of Conan this might be an interesting watch but it is best not to have too many expectations the mightiest warrior ever two popular animated TV series based in Conan if films novels and comic books were not enough there are also two animated shows based on Conan that are worth checking out Conan the adventurer and Conan and the Young Warriors both these animated shows were created in the early 90s [Music] Conan The Adventure a 65 episode animated television series called Conan Adventure was created by jet lag Productions and sunbow Productions it premiered on September 13 1992 and it ended on November 23 1993. in the series Conan pursued an enemy The Serpent man wizard known as wrath Ammon around the globe in an effort to free his parents from a curse that had resulted in their unending torment the plot showcased Conan's Journey from being a young boy to a grown man as he went on a quest to claim his sword made of star metal however RAF Ammon also wanted a star metal weapons for himself to do so he Tracked Down Conan's family and when his father refused to hand over to Star metal or the weapons to him he cursed Conan's family using the spell of Livingstone the show follows Conan's Journey as he tries to find a way to reverse the curse and take down wrath amend in the end Conan successfully defeats wrath Ammon and the rest of the serpent man and even manages to free his family from the curse the show is entertaining especially if you're a fan of the Conan stories notably this Conan animated cartoon had a higher level of contemporary morality than the classic Conan tales and Conan related Marvel Comics such as king Conan de Conan Saga Conan the Barbarian and Conan the king the cartoon Conan is much more in common with sword-wielding kids cartoons characters like He-Man than the genuine Conan who is a burglar murderer and a philanderer the violence was also toned down presumably to make Conan kid-friendly battling the forces of evil they are Young Conan and the Young Warriors as a follow-up to the Animated Series Conan the adventurer Conan and the Young Warriors was an American television cartoon series from 1994 and was created by sunbow entertainment and broadcasted by CBS John Griz it was the show's director and Michael Reeves was its creator it only had a single season with 13 episodes likely because this one was not as well received as its predecessor plotline of his show was completely different than what Conan fans were otherwise used to in this story Conan believed that his questing life was over after defeating wrath Ammon and bringing his family back to life from Livingstone but now until the time comes when they are meant to take over hiboria he must train and guard the chosen ones a trio of new Young Warriors who possesses mystical Star Stones hence Conan ended up in the role of a mentor and Coach rather than being in the thick of all the action which was disappointing this series 2 was made kid-friendly which meant that the violence was turned down almost making Conan appear naive and robbing him of his Savage appeal furthermore apart from Conan's character design which is the same as that in Conan The Adventure there are only a few minor similarities between this series and its predecessor and references to the earlier series are made in an effort to establish a connection this also made the show feel somewhat disjointed yeah [Music] Conan The Adventure 1997. a live-action TV series that brought a different version of Conan we have explored the animated Conan shows and now we come to the Conan live action TV series weekly live action television episodes of Conan The Adventure aired on American television in the late 90s the legendary fantasy figure Conan the Barbarian served as the primary inspiration for this production which Max a Keller and Michelin Keller staged between 1997 and 1998. 28 episodes of the program which had its premiere on September 22 1997 were primarily shot in Puerto Vallarta Jalisco Mexico notably Ralph Muller a two-time Mr Universe German native and close friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger performed a part of Conan the show in itself was entertaining and it is always fun to watch your favorite characters come to life however because this version was more non-violent and catered to all age groups the plot diverged from the core to Conan character as well as that Conan previously portrayed in the 1980s film and comic book series by Marvel Comics the series plot followed Conan on yet another one of his legendary quests to take down the villain he saw zul he saw zul was an all-powerful sorcerer who dominated and ruled Samaria Conan's native country with an iron grip using magic deception and threats he had brutally killed Conan's parents and he frequently appeared in the show as the villainous Mastermind who was just narrowly thwarted by Conan in the show Conan in a warrior Army rise up in opposition and battle to liberate Samaria from the Demonic Tyrant and his henchmen Conan fights mythological beasts that prowl the countryside as he continues his travels as per the show Conan had been chosen by the gods to fight evil and had been instructed by krom that he was destined to be a king thus Conan wanted to exact revenge on hisazul for killing his family and constantly trying to hunt him down what makes Conan one of the deadliest warriors Conan is hands down one of the deadliest warriors ever known to mankind his savagery knows no bounds and that is one of the main reasons that he drew so many fans from all across the world here is a complete breakdown of all his powers and abilities starting with his innate attributes Conan is obviously extremely strong and is often said to be an example of peak human strength remember Conan is just a man he is not a superhero or a demigod and thus cannot be compared with characters who fall into that category Conan boasts strength way over the hardiest of his race he was regarded as possessing the strength of 10 to 20 men making him one of the physically strongest people to have ever lived he is also extremely durable Conan's enormous height strength and mental fortitude are thought to have a greater capacity for harm resistance than that of Regular People his bones or at least his Cranium appeared to be stronger than that of a usual human on one occasion when he fell on his head in a ravine he was only knocked unconscious whereas others would have had their head split open his durability is also physiological making him far more resistant to poison than others once after consuming the Purple Lotus liquid that would have killed one or two regular men he turned into a living corpse instead of dying similar to this Conan believed there was no such thing as too much drinking and he always awoke with a clear brain the alcohol seemingly never affecting him he had also reached the upper limits of human endurance Conan could push himself for a substantial length of time without rest and stay awake for days before showing any indications of exhaustion Conan also had enough stuff to surprise forest animals because he was nurtured in a Wilderness environment growing up in a community of Barbarians Conan's experience as a thief allowed him to further hone this additionally he was able to move quietly and stealthily which aided him in his quests and Journeys Conan Speed and Agility were also much more than what a man of his size should have in fact his movements were frequently compared to those of a jungle cat it is important to acknowledge that Conan spent a lot of time Outdoors both out of need and as a source of recreation growing up amid the gloomy Highlands of Samaria as a result he also gained Vision hearing and smelling senses that were much more acute than those of a civilized person aided by his natural strengths Conan grew to become a great fighter both with and without weapons Conan was a very powerful opponent he had had extensive training to proficiently handle the majority of the Weaponry in use at a time with his preference being a two-handed Broad Sword he has proved to be able to kill highly competent and armed opponents whether armed or bare-handed and his ability cruelty and ferocity while in a fight were unmatched Conan was far more skilled in combat than the heartiest members of his kind while in harkania the acquired bow handling skills a natural leader and Commander of men his extensive combat experience provided him with a great deal of tactical and strategic Insight which he used to plan his schemes and attacks with all of these powers and abilities combined together Conan grew into a feared and respected warrior in the hiborian age having ties with various Pirates and philanderers further added a layer of ruggedness to his fighting style and Persona all in all he is easily one of the deadliest warriors to have ever lived foreign Conan movie featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger get indefinitely delayed as we all know by now Schwarzenegger gained an authority as a prehistoric warrior in the fantasy classic Conan the Barbarian in 1982 and he returned to the character in Conan the Destroyer in 1984. Conan the Destroyer ended up with a tease for a third Conan film featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger but we never got to see it while other Arnold franchises have made a comeback to the big screen the Conan movie has remained little more to the notion recently Arnold and others have made it apparent that they still want to rejoin the world of Conan however what is stopping them seems to be complications with illegal rights and issues with Howard's estate and not a lack of passion or creativity in fact Arnold has even stated that he wants to make a Conan movie similar to Unforgiven where we return to Conan who is now old and has been sitting on his throne for 40 years he envisions a Conan who has evolved into one of the rulers and authorities he once detested he has fallen victim to this same trick that has deduced revolutionary men over the ages he's gotten overweight and lazy and is currently over indulging in food and women we see an elderly man with little value the third film for Arnold should be his reluctant comeback story as an old Conan begins to feel like his life is beginning to slip away and getting taken away from him the movie will Chronicle his journey as he tries to get it back now there is no confirmation that this is the official script but we will just have to wait and see there is also no date or any confirmation that the film would actually be happening even though Arnold is in his 70s he shows no signs of stopping in his personal interest in a Conan sequel is what has and continues to give fans hope the fantasy genre is enjoying a comeback thanks to the success of shows like Game of Thrones The Witcher and Lord of the Rings the rings of power it would be ideal for Schwarzenegger and Milius to collaborate once more at this moment and present a more modern take on the brand by and large it is easy to see that Conan is a beloved character that has been around for almost Century now having a rich history with multiple writers and artists contributing to Conan stories over the years has brought it much popularity furthermore Hollywood truly cemented Conan as a Fantasy character par Excellence while fans wait for the Conan sequel with baited breath which Conan media would be your favorite among those we mentioned in a video tell us in the comments section down below if you like our content don't forget to leave a like And subscribe to us if you haven't already have a good one and be safe thanks everyone foreign [Music]

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Length: 28min 13sec (1693 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 17 2023