Conan the Adventurer (1992 TV series)

Plot

Episodes

Characters

Heroes

• Conan – The main character of the animated series, a brave barbarian from Cimmeria. This is a tall, long-haired brunette with a muscular build, incredibly strong and resilient. Conan's eyes are blue, and his skin is white. Unlike Robert Howard's descriptions, the barbarian's clothes in the animated series are quite open and emphasize his muscles. He wears a fur cloak, a leather loincloth with a metal strap, iron bracelets on his wrists, and leather boots. Sometimes, especially during distant wanderings, Conan appears in winter or oriental clothing that covers his head, torso and legs. The ears are adorned with gold earrings, and the neck is decorated with the Vatelos amulet, the true properties of which the barbarian learns during the development of the plot. He is armed with a long sword of star metal and a magical shield that is the hideout of the little phoenix Niddle. Conan is excellent with weapons, trained in fistfighting and blacksmithing. Acts in accordance with the internal code, type of "noble barbarian". In the first episodes, he cannot read, she washes once a year, prefers brute force. Over time, he masters literacy, martial arts and other knowledge, remaining in his soul the same simple and straightforward. Thanks to Zula and Jebalah, he found his totem animal – a lion. Conan sacredly honors the customs of his people and the god Crom, whom he often mentions. He is fond of beautiful women and is himself attractive to them. Not indifferent to Jasmine. Because of his naivety and gullibility, the Cimmerian more than once becomes a victim of villainous intrigues and hypnotic spells.
• * Thunder – Conan's willful horse, eventually armed with Star Metal horse shoes that was made from Snagg's grapnel. Thunder was stubborn as he is always refusing to enter cities enough to throw Conan from his back on more than one occasion rather than enter a city.
• Needle – Conan's feisty fledgling phoenix sidekick and only constant companion. He possessed the ability to enter flat surfaces and magically transform into a phoenix design. He spent most of his time inside Conan's shield. Needle speaks in the third person giving others nicknames and loves to eat pomegranates. He eventually learns how to harness his full power and aid Conan in battle. When in public, Needle is often asked to impersonate a parrot in order to not arouse suspicion, an act which he greatly resents. As a phoenix, death for him only means to rise again from his own ashes and as such, with effort, can sometimes recall useful information from his 'ancestors.' In an alternate future, Needle was turned into a statue by Set, but this timeline was averted. Conan and the Young Warriors mentions obliquely that Conan grew tired of Needle and made a meal of him, although it is possible that it was just a joke.
• Zula – Prince of the black tribe of the Vassai, cousin of Horus. A black warrior with the same muscular build as Conan. Zula's eyes are black, her hair is black, tied with a black elastic band in a ponytail. Zula's face has three multi-colored triangles on both sides - the symbol of the vassai. He wears light clothes made of tiger skin, a belt with a tiger's head and leather boots, a gold bracelet on his left wrist, and a leather one on his right. The neck is adorned with a necklace of three tiger fangs. Hypnotist. Zula met Conan while being a slave rower in Rat-Amon's galleys. After his release, he considers the Cimmerian his blood brother. Educated, prudent and wise, he worships the animal spirit of Jebalah. Using his sign, the vassai prince can summon wild animals for help. Thanks to Jeballu, Zula also mastered the gift of hypnosis and acquired his totem animal - the tiger. In battle, he first uses a bolas of star metal, which entangles enemies. Later, due to the inconvenience, he makes himself another throwing weapon - a boomerang. In addition, Zula is a masterful archer. Martial arts master.
• Jezmine – An agile and beautiful circus performer who possesses a set of Star Metal throwing stars, she started as a thief but became an honest woman for the rest of the series especially where the first point is that Conan and Jezmine are seen climbing a tower where Jezmine attempts to steal some priceless treasures. Her parents are later revealed to be a nobleman and woman in the city of Tarantia. To her horror, she learns that her mother serves Wrath-Amon and her father is the Serpent Man Astivus, making her a half-breed. From that moment, she is terrified her Serpent Man heritage will assert itself. When her father Astivus, who loved Jezmine's mother, sides with Jezmine and her mother against Wrath-Amon, Wrath-Amon banishes her father and mother to the Abyss. A magical potion applied to her Star Metal shuriken allow Jezmine to magically summon the throwing stars to return to her. She shared this potion with Zula. Jezmine hated Astivus, despite his love for her. She and Conan were able to free her mother during a trip to the Abyss, and later Astivus escaped when Set and the Serpent-Men banished over the years were freed from the Abyss by Wrath-Amon. Once again, Astivus chose Jezmine and her mother over serving Set, and it is implied in the final episode that Jezmine might be willing to reconcile with him. Unlike Valeria from the original 1982 film where she was killed by Thulsa Doom, Wrath-Amon doesn't kill her.
• Greywolf – A wizard from the magical city of Xanthus. Originally armed with a bare staff, he was given the mystical "Claw of Heaven" made of Star Metal that was mounted atop his staff and effectively doubled his magical power. His brother and sister were transformed into wolves in a plot by the Stygian queen and sorceress Mesmira. As a result, he consistently seeks a cure for their condition alongside of Conan. In the finale, he isn't able to turn his siblings back to normal, though he did manage to give them a small sampling of the cure that causes them to revert to human form once per month. The inability to completely cure his siblings remains as a plot dangler which never even happened in the sequel Conan and The Young Warriors which is somewhat similar to the events of Conan the Destroyer.
• * Sasha and Misha – Greywolf's older brother and sister who are also skilled in magic. They were transformed into wolves by Mesmira using poison from the thorns of the Lycanthrus Plant as part of her plot to become powerful. Mesmira planned to use the transformed Sasha and Misha in her plot only for a combination of their fellow wizards to cleanse the poison's madness from them. During the episode "Thorns of Midnight," a single flower from the Lycanthrus Plant was found that could transform one of the siblings back into a human. Not wanting to have to choose, the flower was split down the middle with Sasha and Misha each eating half giving them the ability to resume human form when the full moon is in the night sky.
• Snagg – A Viking-like barbarian as strong as Conan from Vanirmen tribe, which lives at the sea shore. Snagg likes to travel by water. He often quarrels with Conan because they grew up in neighboring countries with different culture. Once even a war happened between them. Despite it, Snagg and Conan are true friends. Snagg also has Star Metal weapons in the form of an axe and grapnel. Later, he gave his grapnel to make Star Metal horseshoes for Thunder when Thunder saved his life. Conan and Snagg start as rivals, but become increasingly friendly. They continue to compete with and insult each other, but it becomes jovial and good-natured. Snagg and Conan are very similar, though Snagg is generally less serious and controlled.
• Falkenar – Champion of the kingdom of Kusan, he uses the "Mantle of Wind" to fly and is armed with a Star Metal whip. Falkenar and Windfang are bitter enemies through repeated attempts by the villain to invade Kusan. He has a female pet falcon named Stormclaw.

  Supporting

• The Kari Dragon – The only dragon character in the series, the Kari Dragon was once imprisoned in an artifact and could be summoned to do the bidding of mortal men. Conan summoned him and granted him freedom for which the dragon was grateful. However, when Conan later came to him for aid, the dragon gave him a series of tests which Conan passed. When the final battle against Set came, the dragon battled Set to provide Conan with enough time to escape Set and his minions sacrificing himself in the process.
• Epimetrius the Sage : Leader of the wizards that banished Set to the Abyss thousands of years ago. His ghost is Conan's guide in his quest against Wrath-amon and to free his parents. Epimetrius presents Conan his shield and companion Needle and on a few occasions aids Conan in his adventures.
• Zogar Sag – The Pict shaman-chief Zogar Sag aids Conan and his friends in battle against Wrath-Amon, their common enemy. Unlike in the novels and comics, he does not worship Jhebbal-Sag and he is a good guy in this show.
• Dong Hee – An elder among the Silent Dragons of Phenion, Dong Hee was Conan's instructor in the art of ninjutsu and become an infrequent ally and father figure.
• Torrinon – Master inventor and a descendant from wizards, Torrinon is a little person that showed little talent in actual magic, but would apply himself after meeting Conan.

  Villains

The Snake Cult

• Set – A huge snake-like deity of the Stygians, the main antagonist of the animated series. Imprisoned in the Abyss, from where he commands the serpent-men through his commander Rat-Amon. Set was banished into oblivion by magicians many thousands of years ago and longs to return back to the human world to enslave him. To do this, he requires several pyramids with rings of star metal, which his minions are relentlessly hunting for. The most dangerous of Conan's enemies, Seth possesses incomparable power and great hypnotic power. Once he managed to hypnotize Conan, and only Needdle's intervention prevented the hero's death.
• Wrath-Amon – The evil sorcerer who currently leads the Snake Cult as its high priest and the personal enemy of Conan. He was originally a large gila monster who was transformed into a Serpent Man-like creature who overthrew his own master Ram-Amon after taking his Black Ring and now has the mission to free his god Set with the help of the Star Metal. Conan's grandfather states that his evil is legendary, that he is feared by kings and that he possesses so much power as the high priest. But he only fears Set who is his deity to whom he is the high priest. He led the attack on Conan's village where he turns Conan's parents into living stone instead of killing them like in the original line. Like Thoth-Amon in Conan, he is powerless without his black ring and its destruction would cause his spell of living stone on Conan's family to be undone. In the series finale, Wrath-Amon was empowered by Set before Conan reverts him back to his original form with the Amulet of Vathelos.
• * Dregs – Wrath-Amon's sneaky Nāga assistant with a hood like a cobra and a rattle like a rattlesnake. He could be considered Needle's nemesis as he frequently tries to catch and eat the phoenix. He once became Dregs-Amon when Wrath-Amon was going to undergo hibernation. He quickly changed his loyalties when Ram-Amon is freed by Conan, then Wrath-Amon was defeated, and served under Ram-Amon. He was crushed by a large statue in the final episode, but it is not revealed if he survived or not.
• Skulkur – One of Wrath-Amon's henchmen. A powerful undead who can raise skeletons as warriors and star metal would break the spell that animated them. He was once Sakumbe, a human member of another Snake Cult branch in Africa where Set is worshipped as Damballah. Sakumbe helped a man seize the power of the high priest in return for a promise of power, but the new high priest betrayed him. He then swore himself into Wrath-Amon's service, who empowered him with the Black Ring. When he tried to take his revenge, the new high priest who had betrayed him tried to transform him into a zombie slave, but his magic and the Black Ring's magic clashed and transformed him into the skeletal Skulkur.
• Windfang – Windfang is a fire-breathing, four-armed winged dragonoid enslaved by Wrath-Amon. Windfang was once a human general named Venturas from Koth that opposed Wrath-Amon 200 years before the events in the series. His king sent him to invade Stygia, but his men fled from Wrath-Amon's evil sorcery. Venturas fought on, but he was captured and mutated by Wrath-Amon. Being a cruel despot, he then released Windfang who flew to his fiancée who screamed and reacted with horror upon seeing him. Realizing he had nothing left to live for upon Wrath-Amon finding him in his eyrie, he agreed to serve Wrath-Amon upon his arrival in exchange for a promise to transform him back into a human at some point in the future. He has an eyrie high in the mountains where he keeps trophies of his long lost past and human self. His eyrie was located close to or within the borders of Kusan and he raided it often making the two are bitter enemies. He was in love with Jezmine initially because she reminded him of his dead fiancée Lady Mirim, but although she showed him kindness she didn't love him. Windfang also commands other flying reptilian creatures similar to himself. Windfang often sought to find a way to transform back into a human without Wrath-Amon or to force Wrath-Amon to keep his promise, and made it clear he would not continue in Wrath-Amon's service if he could regain his humanity. In one occasion, he succeeds in breaking his curse and regaining his human form. But upon returning to Koth, he realizes that all the things and people he cared about no longer existed, leaving Venturas without a purpose in life. After Wrath-Amon appears and forcefully transforms him into Windfang again upon sacrificing himself, he resigns his fate as the villain's servant. He has twice worked with Yin Doo in plots that revolve around Kusan.
• Ram-Amon – Wrath Amon's creator and predecessor, a Stygian sorcerer and apparently of a human-like race. After creating the lizard man who became Wrath Amon, Ram-Ammon is betrayed by his creation after he lost the black ring. After at least 200 years of imprisonment, he was released by Conan as he knew the knowledge of the Black Ring. He later replaced Wrath-Amon in aiding Set after his defeat by Conan, and escaped following the defeat of Set.

  Other villains

• Mesmira – Stygian witch, who acts as an opponent, and sometimes - an unreliable ally of the protagonists. Secretly dreams of overthrowing Rath-Amon to become the forever young queen of Stygia. Not indifferent to Conan; unable to seduce him, he tries to subdue the barbarian with the help of hypnosis. Her fascination with Conan is especially disliked by Jasmine. The second implacable enemy of Mesmira is Greywulf, whose brother and sister were turned into wolves by a sorceress. The protagonists do not trust the insidious Mesmira, but she more than once manages to set them conditions that they cannot refuse.
• Gora – Zula's cousin. Hoping to overthrow the vassai prince, he secretly serves Rat-Amon and intrigues the protagonists. The Gora has the same muscular build as Conan and Zula. Witch. Unlike Zula, Horu does not possess hypnotic abilities, but uses black magic, in particular, Voodoo magic. With the help of dolls, Voodoo tried to kill Conan and Zulu, but the intervention of Conan and Amra's lion did not allow him to do it.
• Yin Doo – A warlord who was exiled from Kusan for his evil deeds. He often teams up with Windfang in his various plots.

  Nations, tribes, and groups

• Cimmerians – Conan is a Cimmerian, a tribe that tends animals in the mountains and valleys. Despite being called barbarians, they have settlements and do not invade other towns when not at war. Barbarian is probably a reference to their relative primitiveness; they have villages, but not large towns, wear little clothing, paint their bodies for war, and are largely warriors. They are descended from the Atlantians. Their chief, and possibly only, deity is Crom.
• Wasai – The Wasai are a large, powerful and wealthy tribe, of whom Zula is a prince. The Wasai are African and live in the jungle.
• Vanirmen – The Vanirmen, including Snagg, are a barbarian tribe almost completely analogous to Vikings, except that they are not pillagers. They serve a god called "Woden" and are a seafaring and fishing tribe, whose organization and outlook is similar to the Cimmerians.
• Picts – The Picts are an extremely primitive tribe, who paint their bodies. They are similar to the Picts of Scotland, in the name, painting, and habit of pillaging other towns, though they live in or near the jungle. Nearby tribes and nations tend to fear the Picts.

  Home releases

Reception