#ram-amon

Synopsis:  At the Khemi Pyramid, Wrath-Amon is approached by Skulkar, who having spent some time searching the bottom of the oceans (his being undead making that possible), was only able to find a small Star-Metal Dagger to present him.  Which is exactly what Wrath-Amon was after, as it contained just enough Star-Metal to complete the seventh and final disc needed to free Set from The Abyss.  

At this time, Mesmira approaches Ram-Amon - who had been freed from captivity in a failed attempt to stop Wrath-Amon some time before - and makes clear that he knows as well as she does that once Wrath-Amon has Set’s Full Power at his disposal, neither of them will be safe from him.  And that she has a plan to keep that particular problem from arising.  

The following day, and with the last disc ready, Conan, along with Zula, Snagg, and Greywolf attack a group of Serpent-Men - who in the wasteland make no effort to conceal themselves - supposedly delivering Star-Metal to Wrath-Amon, and make short work of them.  Realising too late that it was a diversion intended to keep Conan and his companions away long enough for Wrath-Amon to complete his plan, and bring Set back to the Earth.  This is when the first element of Mesmira’s plan comes into action as Ram-Amon confronts Dregs, sealing him in a Ruby and taking his place in order to keep an eye on events.  

Wrath-Amon is rewarded for his work once Set returns with the Black Ring charged to levels he’s never experienced before, resulting in a notable increase in his size, and a constant emission of power from him, pledging to make Conan and his companions the first ones he’ll crush beneath his heel.  

At Shushan(?), Conan’s efforts to warn the King of the impending danger bear no fruit until a Disciple of Mitra - who identifies himself as Darius - alerts him that Set and his army are sighted, the War Drums pounding as they approach.  In an effort to buy time for its citizens to escape, the canyon walls that mark the pathway are brought down before Set and his army can clear it.  The fight with the powered-up Wrath-Amon, while knocking him out for a while - and revealing that even with the extra black magic, he is still at least somewhat susceptible to the effects of Star-Metal - they aren’t able to claim the Black Ring, and once Set enters the fray, the Kari Dragon has to intervene to save Conan and his friends from certain death.  The delay he brought by holding back Set - to which Conan deems his debt to him repaid - barely sufficient for everyone in Shushan to evacuate.  

The following episode opens with Conan meeting with his Grandfather as he rides to meet with Epemitrius the Sage to see if he knows a means of defeating Wrath-Amon and Set now that the latter is free.  While this happens, the others are in Tarantia preparing for when Set and his army attack.  A short wait as Set personally leads the assault.  And this time the Start-Metal is of little use, since with the Gateway to The Abyss open, once struck with it they are simply teleported a short distance away and able to enter the fray again, essentially making Set’s army limitless.  Though able to drive away Set’s army, the cost in life is alluded to being very high, the timely arrival of the Wizards of Xanthus making even that pyrrhic victory possible.  

Before Conan leaves for Tarantia, Epimetrius informs Conan that the Star-Metal Disc set on the Khemi Pyramid must be destroyed in order to close the Gateway to The Abyss, which means facing Wrath-Amon.  

Once Conan is able to rejoin his companions, he forwards the information he was given, at which point Darius returns stating that his help will be needed.  This is when he chooses to reveal that there is no Darius, and she is in fact Mesmira.  Stating that she is the Queen of Stygia, and refuses to be Ruled by Wrath-Amon, Set, or any other Reptile, which will most certainly be her fate should Set succeed.  With little choice in the matter, Conan has Mesmira tell them her plan.  

The plan involves Mesmira entering the Khemi Pyramid bearing Tribute, which is enough to allow her entry with her entourage who carry them on her behalf.  As Wrath-Amon demands that Mesmira speak, the Wizards of Xanthus - having recovered from the previous battle - attack Khemi itself to distract the serpent-men station there, as Mesmira dispels the illusions cast over Conan and companions.  

Despite threatening to direct his black magic at the statues of Conan’s parents - who are in the throne room with Wrath-Amon - his grandfather, Conn, makes clear he’ll protect them, allowing Conan to continue his attack on Wrath-Amon, whose next attack knocks him to the floor, the Amulet of Vathelos absorbing the magical energy and restoring him shortly afterwards to allow him to press on with his fight.  

Shortly after, demonic tentacles are summoned through the floor to ensnare Jezmine, Zula, Greywolf, Falkenar, Snagg, Sasha and Misha to remove them from the fight.  Ram-Amon - who had been revealed to having disguised himself as Dregs by now - forced to flee and Mesmira nowhere in sight.  Forcing Conan to face Wrath-Amon alone before Needle is called by Jezmine to take Wrath-Amon’s Black Ring - to which he notes that he shouldn’t listen to Epemitrius again.  

After some effort, Needle is able to prise the Ring from Wrath-Amon, who almost immediately begins reverting without its power.  Forgetting Conan for the moment, he chases after Needle to retrieve his Stolen Ring, this proves to be a mistake when Conan himself keeps Wrath-Amon from catching Needle, so he returns his focus to just trying to kill Conan there and then.  

Unfortunately - for Wrath-Amon - since the Amulet of Vathelos has been restored to its full power, it activates again, accelerating his reversion.  Panicking and begging, Wrath-Amon stumbles and backs away while Conan advances on him, the next strike finishing the process of making him a simple lizard once more.  This time, for good.  

Though aware that Set remains to be defeated, Conan insists on finally freeing his parents, as he swore to do at the beginning of the series, though the Black Ring’s close proximity initially blocks his attempts.  Greywolf uses his own Magic, augmented by all the Star-Metal they have to finally destroy it - an act that catches Set’s attention moments later.  

Now destroyed, Conan is able to free his parent from the Spell of Living Stone, but in the momentary celebration, Mesmira is able to take the ruined remnants of the Black Ring.  

Once Conan’s parents are airlifted to be taken to Tarantia, he and his companions direct their Star-Metal and the Amulet’s power at the Disc keeping The Abyss open, the act of closing it costing Set half his serpent-men.  

Their joy at this success is cut short when Ram-Amon returns and uses a purple lotus-laced potion to render them all unconscious.  Despite the loss of the Black Ring, he considers the Amulet of Vathelos and Greywolf’s Star-Metal Staff enough to ensure he is the most powerful Wizard in all the lands.  Calling Set, he informs him that Wrath-Amon failed him for the last time, but that he has done what he could not.  Offering Set the lives of his enemies and a promise to reopen The Abyss, which will enable Set to resume his conquest of the Earth.  Set being rather more pleased with this development states that once Conan and his friends are dead, Ram-Amon will be rewarded with all he desires.  

As Set approaches, Ram-Amon having tied and bound them all, help comes from a rather unlikely source.  Jezmine’s father, the serpent-man Astevus.  While initially only trying to get Jezmine out of the killing zone, her refusal to leave her friends to die compels him to remain and aid his daughter, Astevus himself unwilling to leave her behind.  

Set arrives before they’re all freed, and they attack Ram-Amon to try and get close enough to Conan to break him from his own chains.  But since Ram-Amon currently wields both the Amulet of Vathelos and Greywolf’s Staff, it isn’t long before they’re all either unconscious or pinned down.  

This is when the Kari Dragon arrives - unable to just sit by and do nothing while Set is loose - and attacks Set directly before he can devour Conan.  This allows Jezmine to free herself and attack Ram-Amon again, first striking Greywolf’s staff from him, then kicking the Amulet away so Needle can give it to Conan, forcing Ram-Amon to flee the area shortly before Set kills the Kari Dragon.  

Set’s next attack floors Conan again, and now it’s Needle who expends all his own power to stall for time, burning himself down to ash.  Now with the Amulet charged almost to the point of bursting, Conan, Jezmine, Zula, Greywolf, Snagg, and Falkenar launch an all-or-nothing attack against Set with their Star-Metal Weapons and the Amulet.  

They’re finally successful with Set being forced back into The Abyss, permanently.  Though before Conan gets the chance to mourn for Needle, he reveals that True Phoenix’s always rise from ashes as he returns to the Land of the Living.  

Most likely at Conan’s rebuilt village, they celebrate that night, toasting to their own success.  During this, Zula wonders what Conan will do next, as Greywolf points out that Ram-Amon hadn’t been seen since the battle, and Mesmira - who is the rightful Queen of Stygia - also remained at large.  

Conan’s response was to Eat and be Merry, as Crom alone knew what the next day would bring.  Bringing the series to a close.  

Review:  Easily the longest Synopsis I’ve done, and for good reason.  With three episodes to cover, there’s a lot to talk about.  

First off, the simple fact that Set is free from The Abyss.  This by itself means that things, just got real.  Since at this point Conan and his companions had been having problems with just defeating Wrath-Amon, now that Set is loose and bestowed Wrath-Amon with his full power via the Black Ring, the stakes have just exploded upwards.  Fitting for a series that - as best as I could tell - knew it was approaching its end.  

Said stakes showing in the first part of this finale as all their work and effort was simply to buy time for an evacuation, and a chance to regroup and determine a means of defeating Set.  

Another clear detail was yet again the need for unusual alliances, twice before Conan had allied with Ram-Amon in an attempt to defeat Wrath-Amon, and both times Ram-Amon sold out on him when it suited him.  This time it was Mesmira offering to help Conan - and having already done so without their knowledge.  Though wary of her, - they know full well that Mesmira has her own motives, and the obvious one that she makes clear is that she refuses to bow before any reptile - with little choice in the matter they join forces to bring about Wrath-Amon’s defeat.  This being what allowed them to get inside the Khemi Pyramid to face Wrath-Amon.  

This time the temporary alliance worked better as Mesmira, while having her own more selfish reasons, was under no illusion that if Set were to win, she would lose.  Thus it was in her own interest to aid Conan and help him win, even if she stayed out of the fight itself and helped herself to the ruined Black Ring when the others were distracted.  Why she took it isn’t explained, but it is true that while she holds it, it can’t be used against her.  

Indeed, while disguised as Darius, there are a few subtle hints that he’s not who he appears to be.  The first being his immediate recognition of Ram-Amon, the other being the look on his face when trying to take the Black Ring the first time in the first episode of the finale.  

Wrath-Amon’s final defeat is another highlight.  Having sworn to do so since the first episode, Conan finally achieves this in the penultimate episode.  

Since being powered up by the Ring, his arrogance and ego had inflated along with his size.  As had his obsession with killing Conan.  But once Needle was able to prise the Black Ring of Set from him, and he began reverting to his Lizardman form, this to me marks the point when the arrogance melted and he began to panic.  Conan was on the ground, but still conscious, yet Wrath-Amon ignored him and started chasing Needle to take back the Ring.  It was only after Conan ‘reminded’ him that he was still there that Wrath-Amon turned his attention back to him.  To me, this indicates that he wasn’t even trying to think about the situation, and was reacting pretty much wholly on instinct.  

Then when Wrath-Amon learned too late that the Amulet of Vathelos had been restored to its full power - having forced him to resume his Lizardman form - he really was panicking.  Screaming and begging for Conan to stop.  And Conan in no mood to show him any mercy as he forcefully makes Wrath-Amon the lowly lizard he was.  

Rather satisfying for many, for all his arrogant claims, threats, sometimes actually enacting said threats, and schemes.  Wrath-Amon really was very insecure, jumping at shadows, and perhaps even paranoid about his own safety.  All of this made more than clear in the final moments of sentience he had.  And yet sometimes, I pity him.  When first created by Ram-Amon, he made sure to fill him to the brim with the Power of Evil, those were the attributes he was given at the start, and he never did appear to be able to become more than he was.  

Speaking of Ram-Amon, once Wrath-Amon was disposed of, choosing then shortly after that battle and before Conan had a real chance to recover from it was a smart move for him, allowing him to collect the spoils without having to put much effort into it.  Displaying his knowledge of tactics and strategy to get into Set’s favour once more.  This knowing when to attack and retreat, is why he was able to escape the final battle without injury, granting him the opportunity to recover, and strike again when he’s ready.  Not bad for a villain.  

Then there’s Set.  He displays just how little care he holds for anyone other than himself.  Once Wrath-Amon was gone, he pretty much forgot all about him and instead offered his rewards to Ram-Amon.  It may even be possible that he sees the serpent-men as less his children, and more his tools to be used.  

Which could be one reason why Astevus chose again to side with his daughter, and his wife in opposing Set.  Actively aiding Jezmine when she was attacked by Ram-Amon, this act being the proof for her to finally reconcile with him, and accept that he is her father.  The only gripe here is Astevus, was precisely, a token character.  

As for the conclusion itself?  It does well to close the main story.  After all, Set is gone for good.  Wrath-Amon is no longer a concern.  The serpent-men for the most part have been routed, and divided - with half of them permanently trapped with Set in The Abyss.  And things are looking up for Conan and his companions.  

That said, they appear to have deliberately left some pieces unresolved.  What happened next to Wrath-Amon was never shown - though trying to bring him back for an “Oh how the Mighty have Fallen” is at best extremely unlikely to work.  Ram-Amon escaped and is still at large.  Mesmira is still Queen of Stygia - and most likely with a more secure rule now.  While Greywolf’s mission to restore his brother and sister to human form remains unfinished.  All of this would suggest that they left these plots dangling for a possible sequel series where they could finish these arcs.  

The previous wielder of the Black Ring of Set, granting him Set’s Power and conferring him the title of Chief Servant of Set.  His fall from Set’s Favour was brought about largely by his own Hand when he sought a replacement for Dregs, sparing no effort in his creation of the Lizardman who would become Wrath-Amon.  

In some ways, Ram-Amon was a rather more competent and capable Villain than Wrath-Amon, seemingly greater control over his emotions than Wrath-Amon (who was prone to raucous outbursts) and able to not only devise good plans but leave himself an escape route were it to fail.  

Ram-Amon was also more than loyal to Set for even after Set all-but-abandoned him after Wrath-Amon took charge, he was still seeking to reclaim the Black Ring and resume his place as His Chief Servant.  How much of this was due to his own loyalties and how much to be safe from Wrath-Amon isn’t made abundantly clear - although Mesmira did warn him that neither of them would be safe from Wrath-Amon were he to gain the Full Power of Set.  

Perhaps Ram-Amon’s greatest asset however, was that even without the Black Ring, he was still an extremely powerful wizard, able to perform a number of complex spells up to and including opening small portals to The Abyss.  

But he is not without his flaws, and the principal one would be his own Hubris.  For the sole purpose of proving to Dregs that anybody would make a better servant than he could ever be, he chose to invoke the Powers of Darkness to reform a simple lizard into a Lizardman, gifted with strength, intelligence, and cunning.  It worked.  Too well.  For that very Lizardman would overthrow and imprison him, taking his place at Set’s side for more than 200 years before his escape thanks in part to the very one partially responsible for his imprisonment in the first place.  

And like Wrath-Amon, he is very self-centred.  While willing to ally himself with Conan twice and once with Mesmira, as soon as he seemed to have what he wished he would break his end of any agreement made.  Attempting to attack Conan when he refilled his own Power and again when the recharged Amulet of Vathelos was in his grasp.  

The remaining downside to Ram-Amon is that really, he doesn’t seem to be in it for any other besides Power, indeed, in spite of the power he already wields, it’s clear that for him, it’s not enough.  For while Wrath-Amon needs Set to maintain his illusion, and Mesmira has a whole Kingdom to worry about (amongst other things), Ram-Amon lacks that.  And not much else is known about him.  

One interesting detail is that after Set’s defeat, he was able to escape.  Likely a Sequel Hook for a possible follow-on series, and so remains a credible threat to Conan and his allies.  

“Uungh…”  A dull moan heard by just one from deep within the Khemi Pyramid.  

“Oh ‘Master’, you’re awake at last.”  The other spoke with a distinct rasp, through a throat that wasn’t originally built to support speech.  

“You…creature…what…?”  Vision returned slowly, the haze dissipating to greet him with the sight of cold stone walls and iron bars.  

“I do hope that you enjoy your stay, Ram-Amon.”  His name spat with venom.  “It will be your home now, for as long as I see fit.”  His captor peered down with piercing yellow eyes through the bars to face his one-time Superior.  

Said Captor stood tall on the very edge of the opening, green and yellow scales covering his well-built body with just a ragged loincloth.  That and an all-too familiar ring worn on his left hand, even with his reptilian face, triumph could clearly be made out.  

“You, Traitor!”  Ram-Amon made a lunge through his prison, only for his former servant to step beyond his reach with a cruel chuckle.  

“My, aren’t we upset this day.  Though I don’t think I could blame you.  He dropped to one knee, a mere two foot between their faces.  “After all, you made me, the instrument of your own downfall.”  

“And you presume to have triumphed over me!?”  Ram-Amon’s deep booming tone bouncing off the walls of his own dungeon.  “That you can just take the Title of Chief Servant!?”  

He didn’t have an answer for his accusations, and after some moments of silence, Ram-Amon suspected he had struck a nerve and pressed his attack.  

“Do you expect the Serpent-Men, or indeed any other to follow your orders?  From one who is far less than them?  From one who owes all their intellect, strength, and skill to me?  From one who is a virtual unknown?  From ultimately, just a lowly lizard?”  The way the Lizardman’s face twitched and scowled informed Ram-Amon that he was striking him where it hurt.  

The Lizardman’s response was to spit a large globule in his direction, hitting the bars and slowly dripping.  “We shall see.”  Were all the words he had as he left him.  

Partway through the empty corridor and he had to stop.  Why did his words cut so deeply into him?  Why couldn’t he answer back?  Why couldn’t he stop shaking?  A fist struck out to smash into the stone wall.  

The titular antagonist of the 1992/3 Animated Series Conan the Adventurer, Wrath-Amon was originally a simple Gila Monster Lizard kept and trained as a Sniffer by the Army of Set until sometime over 200 years before the Series began.  A Slave Escape under the Watch of Dregs (a supremely incompetent underling) exhausted Ram-Amon’s patience with him and to demonstrate to Dregs that anyone and anything could be a more competent Right-Hand ‘Man’ than he could ever be - not a difficult task by any measure.  

A Position he didn’t hold for very long as perhaps an hour - two at most - after this he had already stolen the Black Ring of Set from Ram-Amon, imprisoned him in his own dungeons, and shortly after was granted the Title of Chief Servant of Set tasked with freeing him from The Abyss, given leadership of his Serpent-Men on Earth and a new body.  

The more you stop to think about it, the more you begin to realise the fantastic levels of Good Fortune he enjoyed in his early hours of his Creation.  It was Conan’s travelling though time to that period  and trying to steal it then from Ram-Amon - in order to prevent Wrath-Amon from turning his family into Living Stone, only to be pulled back to his own Time just before he could catch it - that allowed Wrath-Amon to claim it when it literally rolled to his feet.  

The time needed to imprison Ram-Amon before calling Set to inform him of the new Leadership on Earth would not have been more than an hour, plus the one or two hours between when he was made into a Lizardman and claiming the Ring means that he became Chief Servant in less than three hours.  

And in those few hours the only ones who would have seen him as a Lizardman would be few at most, and those aware of what he was before totalling just four.  Himself, Dregs, Ram-Amon, and Set.  

Which gives rise to the idea that he detested that form, most likely as it would be a perpetual reminder of his origin, and built himself one of his own design to hide this fact from the World - and the Cult of Set - at large, though not every detail was or could be hidden, his eyes and teeth being the most prominent examples.  

So while appearing a little more human to others, this did carry a number of downsides.  He appeared to be completely dependant on the Black Ring simply to sustain that body (with even the cape and armour magically crafted) and the loss of it would in turn deprive him of his favoured form.  

Furthermore, this also lends credence to the belief that maintaining it exerted a constant drain on the Ring’s Power, power that needed to be regularly replenished by Set thus ensuring that Wrath-Amon remained dependant on him.  Perhaps this is why Set had little issue with it, that and usually performing his role adequately enough to permit Wrath-Amon the occasional luxury.  

His extremely rapid rise to power additionally meant his needing to lead an entire movement, and entire army, with no leadership training or experience, no knowledge of battle strategy and combat tactics.  He had to learn all of that On-The-Job, and given that 200 years before he was able to defeat armies - as demonstrated with General Venturas’ defeat - he was able to not only learn quickly but put what he learned to good use.  But not every skill seemed to have been developed, for while he was able to develop good plans in advance - some of which succeeded - Wrath-Amon appeared ill-equipped to managing situations that went outside his pre-planned borders, quickly losing control of both that and his own temper when such instances occurred.  

Wrath-Amon showed a Sadistic Side on more than one occasion, lacking any qualm about using captured enemies for experimentation, the aforementioned Venturas being one example who was forcibly mutated into a four-armed winged draconic being now known as Windfang, and he was not the only one, several dozen more at least being made into somewhat less powerful Dragonspawn and placed under Windfang’s command.  Indeed, it’s not unrealistic to conclude that he considers killing an opponent to be Too Good for them, preferring to make them endure year upon year of unending suffering for his own amusement.  

This coincides with a Complex that Wrath-Amon appears to have.  He didn’t kill Ram-Amon even though it opened the risk of his being able to escape and severely complicate matters for him, along with keeping Dregs around even though he consistently and frequently proved himself to be completely inadequate to any serious task given him.  

While having Ram-Amon around to rub into his face that he was in part responsible for his own downfall would indicate a Superiority Complex, the fact that Dregs was kept on hand, his experiments on his foes, these suggest an Inferiority Complex.  That he needed them at close quarters, to be able to beat them down to augment his own Sense of Greatness compared to them.  

And for all his power, it appeared that he oft-felt insecure in his Position as Chief Servant.  While cruel and vicious towards even his most devoted underlings, he would often be grovelling and begging before his God, under no illusion that Set ultimately held all the Cards he played, that he owed all he held to Set.  His fear of anyone learning of his past too, is something that makes sense in context.  When Ram-Amon escaped and confronted Wrath-Amon, the latter was visibly shaking, backing away despite his still holding the Black Ring.