moA Plague-Lord Amidst the Ruins: Mortarion’s Dominion
A Plague-Lord Amidst the Ruins
This page from “If Doom Slayer joins the Imperium of Man“ centers around Mortarion, the Daemon Primarch of the Death Guard, standing tall amidst a war-torn battlefield. Smoke coils through the air as twisted wreckage and fallen warriors litter the ground, consumed by decay and fire. Mortarion’s massive, tattered wings spread like a shroud behind him, while his scythe—iconic and ominous—rests at his side. To his left and right, traitor forces lie in states of ruin or grim satisfaction, and behind him, a daemonic entity looms, its presence amplifying the horror of the Warp. The setting is one of rot and ruin, perfectly echoing Mortarion’s allegiance to Nurgle, the Chaos God of plague and entropy. The heavy cross-hatching gives the scene a gritty, old-school manga aesthetic, which adds weight to the grimdark atmosphere.
Mortarion’s Mockery
The panels to the right zoom in on Mortarion as he taunts an unseen figure—revealed through dialogue to be Kaldor Draigo, the Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights. His words drip with disdain as he mocks Draigo’s resilience, daring him to even speak Mortarion’s true name while trapped inside what he cruelly calls a “coffin.” The Primarch’s expression, hidden beneath his horned helm, still radiates venom and superiority. His massive stature and baroque armor reinforce the idea that he’s not just a powerful daemon—he’s a fallen god of war and rot. The background shows shattered machinery and corpses, underscoring the destruction he brings. Draigo remains silent, a small panel showing only an ellipsis, which serves as a grim retort in its own way.
Herald of Decay, Challenger of Champions
Mortarion finishes his speech with brutal finality, commanding Draigo to stay back and witness the “Slayer’s end,” likely referring to the Doom Slayer himself. He boasts that no one can withstand the will of the Dark God—Nurgle—implying that Doom Slayer’s defiance is futile against the primordial power of decay. Mortarion stands as the embodiment of inevitability, the slow rot that nothing can escape, not even a being as relentless as Doom Slayer. This portrayal captures Mortarion’s core character: a tragic figure twisted by bitterness and fate, now a monster who sees resistance as ignorance. His presence overwhelms the page, and the dialogue oozes with contempt and blasphemous certainty. The moment hangs heavy with tension, a prelude to a devastating confrontation between death incarnate and the universe’s most relentless warrior.
