| Glistening Death | |
|---|---|
 true form of Glistening Death | |
|
Real Name |
Unknown |
|
First Appearance |
City of the Living Dead (1952) |
|
Original Publisher |
Avon Periodicals |
|
Created by |
Norman Nodel & Vince Alascia |
Origin
When avoiding police scrutiny, Warren Arno goes to the home of his uncle, Robert Arno, deep in the Louisiana swamps. His uncle is reclusive, living without modern conveniences like electricity. He warns Warren of the dangers of the swamp. That night, Robert has his butler Hugo show Warren to his room. That night, Warren is attacked by an amorphous, blob-like creature that attempts to strangle him in his sleep. Warren wakes up, and the creature flees into the swamp.
The next day, Warren decides to not tell his uncle about the attack, suspecting his uncle is trying to hide something of value on the grounds. He goes digging in the area, but comes up with nothing.
Returning to the house, Warren is with his uncle and Hugo. There is a knock at the door. The uncle is surprised when a beautiful woman walks in, saying, "Why have you come?"
Warren appears very interested in the woman, introducing himself to her. Robert tells the woman he would come to her soon, and asks her to leave.
Afterward, Uncle Arno goes out into the swamp carrying two pieces of red meat under his arms. Warren follows his uncle, seeing the woman walking with him. He wonders what hold the woman has on his uncle, when the creature attacks him from the ground at his feet. It starts to wrap around him as he fires his pistol at it. He manages to tear it off of him and flee back to his uncle's house. There he discovers his uncle counting several bags full of gold coins. Warren confronts his uncle, accusing Robert of trying to frighten him off. The uncle tells his nephew he'd discovered an alien intelligence in the swamp and had fallen under its control. Warren doesn't believe it, and strangles his uncle to death.
The Glistening Death in human guise
When the woman shows up at the door, Warren tells her he's killed his uncle Robert and now is rich, elatedly tossing money about the room. He says he can take care of her. She asks what happened to Hugo, to which he informs her that he's killed Hugo as well and reiterates that he can take care of her. The woman tells him that his uncle, Robert Arno, was bringing her red meat for food. She says, "I am the first of my species on your planet. I must grow! I must have sustenance! You will help me grow!" The woman begins to change into the creature from the swamp, much to Warren's terrified surprise. The creature informs him that it gave the gold to Robert Arno for his body, as it required the body energy of mortals. It used both Robert Arno and Hugo for the energy, turning them into slaves for its bidding. It tells Warren Arno that he would fulfill a greater glory and, "become a part of me!" as it completes the transformation from beautiful woman to hideous monster as it wraps around him.
Powers and Abilities
The Glistening Death can transform at will from a loathsome, slimy creature of the swamps into a beautiful woman. It can strangle, wrap around, and constrict. It can move remarkably fast, and can drain its victims of "body energy". It is extremely intelligent.
Public Domain Appearances
City of the Living Dead one shot
See Also
City of the Living Dead #1 at The Digital Comic Museum