Father Fathom
Real Name: Connor Wells, First Appearance: Skybreaker Stories #260, Dec 1979
Lieutenant Type: Enemy
Die Size: d10
Motive: Destruction, Approach: Mental
Traits:
- Pressure of the Depths: When Father Fathom uses a bonus, as a reaction he may Hinder any number of nearby targets using his single status die.
The aborted rise of Atlantis gave birth to a new slate of Fomorian-derived villains for Skybreaker to fight, alongside his existing gangsters and gimmick-driven enemies, but not all of them were aligned with their dark creators. While Skybreaker Stories largely eschewed the complicated mystical stories being pushed by other magical titles, preferring more classic tales of heroic figures going toe-to-toe with vile villains, the title occasionally dabbled in the sort of weird creatures that were more popular in Into the Green or Dark Rivers. Father Fathom was one such villain, a minor but recurring presence in Skybreaker’s adventures.
Connor Wells was an oceanographer and diver who became obsessed with Atlantis after seeing the island’s rise, convinced that there was an ancient city of treasure below the waves. Believing that humanity had failed and the world was dying, he sought to transform himself into something that could live beneath the sea, using his intellect and expertise to discover the ancient city in the hopes of learning how its people had lived beneath the waves. Unfortunately for Connor and his followers, the answer was ‘dark magic’. The expedition was attacked by Fomorian forces, and Skybreaker barely saved them from being fully consumed by the Dark Sea.
But Connor was not grateful. He and his followers had already been tainted by Fomorian magic, turning into half-aquatic creatures, and he blamed the superhero for failing to save him in time. Harnessing his newfound powers, he took the name Father Fathom, and began to grow his Church of the Deep – a cult that he believed would grow to stand against both humanity and the Fomorians, casting down everything of the surface and creating an undersea empire that could defeat the Dark Sea on its own terms. Father Fathom learned how to transform willing supplicants in a dangerous ritual, and began to organize his followers, launching raids on coastal cities and carrying off more technology and magic to enhance his empire.
Father Fathom’s powers were limited; he had strength and endurance that allowed him to survive the crushing depths, and he could creating waves of pressure that would slow or injure his foes. His primary threat was in his intellect – he knew exactly how to apply his limited powers and followers to their best effect, wrecking havoc in excess of the power that he held. He rarely appeared as a lone enemy, preferring to arrive during catastrophes or create a third front during a battle against Fomorian forces, attacking demonic invaders and human civilians alike.
Behind the Scenes:
This was a real “working backwards” sort of situation.
The name “Father Fathom” popped into my head, and I wanted him to be a minor villain. Originally I thought he might be a Reactors foe, but their main villain was already an elementally-aligned cult leader, so I pushed him back into the 70s. Then I had Atlantis, and I thought he might be a Fomorian lieutenant, but I wanted something a little different, and so here we are.
Evil cult of fishmen probably ends up drawing on Lovecraftian themes occasionally, but Father Fathom is more of a dangerous third front in Skybreaker’s ongoing war. He turns willing cultists into fishmen, uses them to attack people, and retreats where people can’t follow him. He’s not very subtle and he’s not very complex, but he’s fun to write I bet.
