Kamara

**Kamara** is a fictional character in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in *The Demon* #4 (December 1972), but his first appearance in Swamp Thing comics was in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2 #25 (June 1984). He was created by Jack Kirby.

## History

The Karama was originally summoned to Earth by Ugly Meg under the command of the Iron Duke. Its third victim hanged himself rather than face the grotesque green monster it became. The Demon was sent by Merlin to investigate the evil disturbance, managing to banish the horrendous incarnation with a spell, but not the original ape-like form before the police arrived on the scene. The Sheriff of Raven County was the next victim. An alarming red being with yellow eyes of pure fear scared the Sheriff to death through heart failure. On its journey to Gotham City, the Kamara claimed three more lives before locating the apartment of Jason Blood. There it manifested into Harry Matthews' worst nightmare; a fire-breathing dragon. Kidnapping Jason Blood, the dragon absconded across the world to Transylvania where the Iron Duke no longer had any need for it. Ugly Meg was commanded to send it back from where she summoned it from. In that moment, the Kamara itself knew fear.

Jason Blood foresaw the return of the Kamara in Houma, Louisiana. Under the unknown influence of a malevolent spirit, a husband and wife unwittingly summoned the Kamara with a Ouija board. Their six-year-old son, Paul, heard their deaths at the hands of the creature he referred to as the "Monkey King" who had since *befriended* him. The orphaned boy was taken to Elysium Lawns where Abby Cable had started working. Paul's stories and pictures were dismissed as a fabricated coping mechanism, even when the other children started soiling their beds and drawing similar strange creatures. Only Abby believed Paul's version and returned to Elysium Lawns at night with Swamp Thing, confronting the beast just before Etrigan intervened.

The Kamara had grown strong feeding from the children, and while Swamp Thing wrestled with it, Abby fled into the swamp with Paul. Etrigan followed them, realising that the Kamara thought Paul to be its master, keeping it on the mortal plane. Etrigan planned to kill Paul to release the bond, but Swamp Thing saved the boy who once more fled with Abby, only to run into the Monkey King. As it fed off Abby's fear of her husband, Paul stood up to it. He belittled the Monkey King without fear which quickly shrunk it into a pathetic creature fitting in the palm of the boy's hand. Etrigan took the morsel from him and ingested it, caging the entity.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Unique Physiology**
	+ **Invulnerability:** The Kamara is immune to physical harm. Both Etrigan and Swamp Thing could do no permanent damage to it.
	+ **Fear Projection:** The Kamara had the innate ability to know what its victims will fear most. It even unnerved some in its innocent form. The fear was so great, adult victims have caused their own deaths accidentally from panic, intentionally for release, or have even just died of sheer fright. Children seemed to be the only targets the Kamara could feed from without resulting in death.
		- **Metamorphosis:** The Kamara will take on the form that will horrify the subject most.
			* **Size Alteration:** The Kamara grew to the size of a dragon fuelled by fear, yet shrivelled to the size of a mouse when deprived of it.
			* **Superhuman Strength:** Powered by fear, the Kamara could fend off Etrigan and Swamp Thing.
			* **Superhuman Durability:** The Kamara transformed into a dragon and could deflect bullets.
			* **Flight / Superhuman Speed:** In dragon form it flew his captive Jason Blood from Gotham City to Transylvania "faster than light-speed".
			* **Thermal-Blast:** As a dragon the Kamara could also breathe fire.

### Weaknesses

* **Power Loss:** The Kamara feeds upon human fear. If the subject is unafraid the Kamara's power will wane.
* **Magic:** Etrigan was able to cast a banishing spell which reduced the Kamara from its monstrous transformed state but not banish it entirely. Ugly Meg was able to both summon and banish it to its own dimension.

## Notes

* Although never specified, it is assumed the Kamara comes from Hell, due to the character's association with Etrigan, who also refers to him once as the "monkey-devil".

## Trivia

* The spell Etrigan first cast to try and banish the Karama was, *Back! Back! - O' thing of hate! To flame beyond the Devil's Gate! Open wide the flaming door! Fade until you are no more!*
* Besides various ghoulish creatures, the Kamara has taken form of a dragon, a dead infant, a child's perception of cancer, a paedophile, Matt Cable and Paul's mother.
* Paul was obsessed with correct spelling because he believed the Kamara killed his parents for spelling "camera" incorrectly. He gained this impression from hearing his parents reading the Ouija board out loud. His mother, Jenny, thought K-A-M-A-R-A was a misspelling of camera.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #25 (June 1984)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #26 (July 1984)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #27 (August 1984)