Theron

Theron
First appearance:	"Derek"
Created by:	Lee Falk and Phil Davis

Theron is a character from the Mandrake the Magician comic strip that first appeared in "Derek". Theron is the grand master of the College of Magic somewhere in the Himalayas. Theron is hundreds of years old, probably due to the energy of the powerful Crystal Cube of which he is the guardian.

Fictional Character Biography

The Phil Davis Era

Theron's wife

First time Mandrake told Narda about his childhood he said when he was twelve years old his father brought him to the "College of Magic". It was located in a hidden valley in mystery shrouded Tibet, and Theron was the head of the college. He was a master of illusions and taught the students mental magic like: mind reading, telepathy, instant hypnosis and other great secrets. Therons wife took care of Mandrake and his twin brother Derek while they lived and studied at the campus. Shortly after Mandrake graduated (at the age of eighteen) he read that a hill tribe attacced the college, looting and burning it. A few of the instructers had escaped, but Mandrake did not know what happened to Theron.

A few years later, while Mandrake is looking through a photo album from his college years, he makes mental contact with Theron. Theron needs Mandrake's help to stop an evil man with their powers loose in the world, a man graduated from the College of Magic. Theron says that he now is old and weak and cannot maintain mental contact for much longer, but that he has sent Mandrake a letter with a photo and more information.

After Mandrake had managed to capture the evil Swami, Theron personally appears in the courtroom and persuades the judge to hand over the prisoner to him so that he could be sentenced by the court of the College of Magic. Later Mandrake handed over an other ex-student to the court of the College of Magic, but Theron was not directly involved in this case.

One day Narda came to visit Mandrake, he sat in deep concentration in front of a crystal ball that had a small replica of the College of Magic inside. Asking about the strange artifact Mandrake told her about his years at the ancient College of Magic, and Theron "the master of magic". Mandrake said Theron became his teacher during his sixth year at college and that he the started to learn the deep arts like: levitation, mind control, instant hypnosis, creating hallucinations among others. After ten years, Mandrake graduated and Theron gave him the crystal ball so that Mandrake could reach him whenever he needed to talk to him.

In order to understand the power of the crystal ball, Mandrake suggested that Narda join him on a mental journey to college and greet Theron. Theron welcomed them warmly and showed Narda around the campus. But these were turbulent times and the college was suddenly attacked by aircraft from invaders. A bomb hit the college and the crystal ball went black.

Family

Theron has been married twelve times and said to had 30 - 40 children, only four of them are alive today; Luciphor, Derek, Mandrake and Lenore.

Notable appearances

Some of the stories where Theron has featured most prominently are:

Year	Title	Daily/Sunday	Comments
1948	Daily	"Derek"
1950	Daily	"Swami"
1953	Daily	"The Mysterious Mr Beam"
1963	Daily	"Master of Magic"
1969	Daily	"The Cobra Strikes (The College of Magic)"
1971	Sunday	"The Hidden College of Magic"
1980	Daily	"Derek"
1981	Daily	"Mandrake's Family"	Theron reveals that he is the father of Mandrake
1984	Daily	"Behind Death's Door"
1989	Daily	"King Kered"
1997	Daily	"Mandrake's Wedding at the College of Magic"