History[]
Titus Defoe, the protagonist of the 2000 AD strip Defoe, is a former member of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army turned zombie hunter in an alternate universe version of 17th century England. His friends betrayed and executed or routed by Cromwell after the Civil War, Defoe attempted to live a quiet life as a family man in Colchester. The arrival of a meteor in 1666 which started the Great Fire of London and caused the dead to rise ended his idyllic existence when Defoe's former comrade Jack O'Bite murdered Defoe's wife and two children, all of them becoming zombies. The three zombies turned on Defoe, forcing him to 'kill' them all with an axe. After that event he lost his Christian faith, becoming convinced that God could not exist in such a horrible world (see quotes page). This leaves him in the depressing position of believing in supernatural evil but not in supernatural good, which is probably why he's so relentlessly dour and taciturn.
Defoe enlisted as a zombie hunter, eventually being named Zombie Hunter General, and fought the so-called reeks alongside a number of allies including Sir Isaac Newton, young reporter Fear-the-Lord Jones, his brother If-Christ-Had-Not-Died-for-thee-thou-Wouldst-be-Damned Jones (an espionage agent) and Gabriel Grubb. He was later affiliated with a group known as the Dirty Dozenne or The Brethren of the Night, including Mister Bodie, hangman Jack Ketch and former female pirate Tomazine Scarlet.
The supernatural plague which had thrown the world into chaos eventually proved to have been orchestrated by entities known as The Shining Ones, who blackmailed Tomazine Scarlet into betraying Defoe by threatening the spirit of the unborn son she had once aborted.
In 1671 Defoe was living in Tyburn with Tomazine Scarlet, her son Sean and their new baby. They thought they'd seen the last of the reeks because Defoe had killed the 'resurrectionist' Faust, who was creating them. However, the reeks returned when someone found the grimoire containing the spells used to control them, ensuring that Defoe would have an extra line of work to supplement his chair-carrying income. He also carried out vigilante killings of members of the aristocracy who were hurting the poor, and inspired a young boy called Daniel to become a writer and use 'Defoe' as his pen name.
Powers and abilities[]
Abilities
Defoe has an almost infallible sixth sense which warns him of danger, but insists that this is not supernatural (see quotes).
Strength level
Human male who gets regular strenuous exercise (he works as a chair-carrier).
Paraphernalia[]
Weapons
Dagger-guns; volley pistol; meat cleaver; nine-barrelled shotgun; lever-action repeating rifle with metallic cartridges.
Notes[]
Defoe had a cameo in 2000 AD prog 2000 (published September 2016) which was drawn by Boo Cook. He was shown carrying a 'Mills & Gallagher' shotgun and looking just as grumpy as he normally does.
Links[]
- Appearances of Defoe
- Character Gallery: Defoe
- Images that feature Defoe
- Fan-Art Gallery: Defoe
- Defoe quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Titus Defoe · Defoe