History Literature / Kull

* AnAxeToGrind: [[BadassBoast "By this axe, I rule!"]]

* BadassBoast: One of the most legendary in fiction is Kull's TitleDrop in "By This Axe I Rule!"
->"By this axe I rule! This is my sceptre! I have struggled and sweated to be the puppet king you wished me to be — to king it your way. Now I use mine own way! If you will not fight, you shall obey! Laws that are just shall stand; laws that have outlived their times I shall shatter as I shattered that one! I am king!"

* ContemplateOurNavels: Most egregiously seen in ''The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune''.

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kull_Sweet_3884.jpg]]

* {{Precursors}}: The Serpent People and other races (implied).

* BerserkButton: Kull will look for any excuse to go kick someone's ass. He's easily bored. However the opening ''Riders Beyond the Sunrise'' takes the cake: Tu explains to Kull that Lala-ah eloping with Felgar violates Valusian tradition and costume... and Kull doesn't care, Tu tells him that her marrying a foreigner without his permission is an insult to the crown... and Kull cares not, but then the rider who led the search for them relays a message from Felgar insulting Kull personally... '''[[RuleOfThree and Kull completely loses his shit!]]'''

%%* AwesomeMcCoolname: Come on, say it, ''KULL''.

* BerserkButton: Kull will look for any excuse to go kick someone's ass. He's easily bored. However the opening ''Riders Beyond the Sunrise'' takes the cake: Tu explains to Kull that Lala-ah eloping with Felgar violates Valusian tradition and costume... and Kull doesn't care, Tu tells him that her marrying a foreigner without his permission is an insult to the crown... and Kull doesn't care, but then the rider who led the search for them relays a message from Felgar insulting Kull personally... '''[[RuleOfThree and Kull completely loses his shit!]]'''

* PurpleProse: Howard was one of those exceptional writers who did this ''well''.

* {{Asexuality}}: Kull "was not interested in women", according to ''The Shadow People'' and ''The Cat and the Skull'' (nor is he shown interested by men or anyone else).
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Come on, say it, ''KULL''.

* AdaptationNameChange: Ascalante, Gromel and Volmana of "By This Axe I Rule" were renamed Ardyon, Enaros and Ducalon respectively for the Marvel comics.

* AnAxeToGrind: [[BadassBoast "By this axe, I rule!"]]

* ''Black Abyss'', also known as ''The Black City''. First published in 1967. Howard actually left the story unfinished. Lin Carter added further chapters and a conclusion to the story.

* DoppelGanger: The Serpent People can perfectly mimic people's appearances using magical illusions. Kull is understandably very creeped out by seeing doubles of close acquaintances, and himself.

* {{Glamour}}: The Serpent People are capable of casting illusions that make them look human.

%%* MasterOfIllusion

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Serpent are completely malevolent, with no goal beyond ruling humans.

** ReptilianConspiracy: The TropeMaker!

* {{Asexuality}}: Kull "was not interested in women", according to ''The Shadow People'' and ''The Cat and the Skull''.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The state of existence in Valusia for so long that literally no native Valusian can conceive of any other way to be.

* LizardFolk: The Serpent-men who are the villains of "The Shadow Kingdom." They are quite literally half-human and half-snake but strangely have legs in contrast to the snake-people in fiction making them closer to this trope in appearance.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: Despict being from enemy races Brule shares with Kull a great friendship, in more than one occasion each one has saved the life of the other, even in one situation where they had to face a cosmic entity.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kull and Brule the Lance-slayer, justified by the fact Brule acts as his bodyguard and also is one his few true friends and collaborators.

* BadassGrandpa: Kull won't allow age to lessen his contempt if you are ''not'' this.

* MadeASlave: Following his exile of Atlantis, Kull became a galley slave onboard a Lemurian gladiator.

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[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kull_Sweet_3884.jpg]]

''Kull'' is a character appearing in [[http://www.amazon.com/Kull-Atlantis-Robert-E-Howard/dp/0345490177 a series of short stories]] by Creator/RobertEHoward, the few of which published during his lifetime appeared in ''Magazine/WeirdTales''. Kull is a barbarian hailing from {{Atlantis}}, but was exiled from his homeland. After some years as an adventurer, Kull made himself king of Valusia in a bloody coup. He lived approximately 100,000 years ago (according to ''Kings of the Night'').

Howard's more famous Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian inhabits the same continuity as Kull, but lives many thousand years later. Kull is a precursor of sorts of Conan; indeed, the first Conan story was a rewrite of a Kull story Howard had not sold. Both are fierce barbarian warriors, but Kull is a more thoughtful, philosophical character.

The Kull stories are a peripheral part of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. Perhaps most notably, Cthulhu fans will recognize the Serpent People who appear in ''The Shadow Kingdom''.

[[folder:Kull stories written by Robert E. Howard]]
Few Kull stories were actually published in the lifetime of Howard, as the character was not particularly popular.
* ''The Shadow Kingdom''. First published in August, 1929. First Kull story.
* ''The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune''. First published in September, 1929.
* ''Kings of the Night''. First published in November, 1930. Features a crossover with ''Literature/BranMakMorn''.
* ''The King and the Oak'', a poem. First published in February, 1939.
* ''The Altar and the Scorpion''. First published in 1967.
* ''Black Abyss'', also known as ''The Black City''. First published in 1967. Howard actually left the story unfinished. Lin Carter added further chapters and a conclusion to the story.
* ''By This Axe I Rule''. First published in 1967. Famed because Howard revised the story to ''Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword'' (1932), the first Conan story.
* ''The Curse of the Golden Skull''. First published in 1967.
* ''Delcarde's Cat'', also known as ''The Cat and the Skull''. First published in 1967.
* ''Exile of Atlantis''. First published in 1967. Howard finished the story, but never gave it a title.
* ''The Skull of Silence'', also known as ''The Screaming Skull of Silence''. First published in 1967.
* ''Swords of the Purple Kingdom''. First published in 1967.
* ''The Striking of the Gong''. There are two version of this tale. The original Howard version was first published in 1976, and a version revised by Lin Carter in 1967.
* ''Riders Beyond the Sunrise''. There are two version of this tale. The original Howard version was first published in 1976, and a version revised by Lin Carter in 1967.
* ''Wizard and Warrior''. There are two version of this tale. The original story draft by Howard was published in 1978, an expanded tale by Lin Carter appeared in 1967.

[[/folder]]
Some Kull stories [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Robert_Ervin_Howard#Kull_of_Atlantis here]].

See also: Creator/RobertEHoward, ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'', ''Literature/BranMakMorn''.

Not to be confused with the [[KingMook big Urgals]] from Christopher Paolini's ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' (though Kull probably inspired their name) or with the movie ''Film/{{Krull}}'', which is completely unrelated to Kull.

There was a 1997 movie ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' with Creator/KevinSorbo in the title role.

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!!Tropes
* AnAxeToGrind: [[BadassBoast "By this axe, I rule!"]]
* AdaptationNameChange: Ascalante, Gromel and Volmana of "By This Axe I Rule" were renamed Ardyon, Enaros and Ducalon respectively for the Marvel comics.
* AppealToForce: The implication of Kull's famous BadassBoast is this. He is not bound by the previous code of laws that he inherited after taking over Valusia, and anyone who objects can argue with his axe.
* {{Asexuality}}: Kull "was not interested in women", according to ''The Shadow People'' and ''The Cat and the Skull''.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Come on, say it, ''KULL''.
* AxCrazy: The reader often gets the feeling that Kull is bored very easily with his job. "Kull, who opens Pandora's Boxes like birthday gifts".
* BadassGrandpa: Kull won't allow age to lessen his contempt if you are ''not'' this.
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:Kull himself in ''Swords of the Purple Kingdom''. He thought Brule was one in ''The Cat and the Skull''.]]
%%* BarbarianHero: Duh.
* BigBad: Thulsa Doom is a self-proclaimed one (though he only appears in one of Howard's stories)
* BerserkButton: Kull will look for any excuse to go kick someone's ass. He's easily bored. However the opening ''Riders Beyond the Sunrise'' takes the cake: Tu explains to Kull that Lala-ah eloping with Felgar violates Valusian tradition and costume... and Kull doesn't care, Tu tells him that her marrying a foreigner without his permission is an insult to the crown... and Kull doesn't care, but then the rider who led the search for them relays a message from Felgar insulting Kull personally... '''[[RuleOfThree and Kull completely loses his shit!]]'''
%%* BookcasePassage
* BoundAndGagged: Happens to no less than 5 characters, one of them being [[spoiler:Kull himself.]]
* ContemplateOurNavels: Most egregiously seen in ''The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune''.
%%* CosmicHorrorStory.
* CrossOver: ''Kings of the Night'', featuring Kull and Literature/BranMakMorn.
%%* CurtainCamouflage
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The state of existence in Valusia for so long that literally no native Valusian can conceive of any other way to be.
%%* DividedWeFall
%%* DuelToTheDeath
* TheExile: Kull has been exiled from Atlantis ever since he performed a MercyKill on a woman who would have been burned at the stake for marrying a Lemurian. The untitled story that occurred in has even since been called "Exile of Atlantis."
%%* EvenEvilHasStandards
%%* EvilIsNotWellLit
* FakeKing: The Serpent People do this, murdering and replacing the rulers of Valusia and other lands.
%%* FeudingFamilies
%%* FireForgedFriends
%%* GlorySeeker
%%* GoMadFromTheRevelation
%%* TheGoodChancellor: First Councillor Tu.
%%* GreenEyedMonster
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kull and Brule the Lance-slayer, justified by the fact Brule acts as his bodyguard and also is one his few true friends and collaborators.
%%* HiddenDepths
%%* HumanSacrifice
* IAmTheNoun: "I AM THE LAW!", Kull said, fed up with the Can't-Marry-Slaves law. He takes an ax to it. Could very well be a {{Trope Namer|s}}.
%%* IdenticalGrandson
%%* InHarmsWay
%%* ItWasAGift
* LizardFolk: The Serpent-men who are the villains of "The Shadow Kingdom." They are quite literally half-human and half-snake but strangely have legs in contrast to the snake-people in fiction making them closer to this trope in appearance.
* MadeASlave: Following his exile of Atlantis, Kull became a galley slave onboard a Lemurian gladiator.
%%* MadOracle
* MagicMirror: The titular mirrors in "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" with one apparently crafted by the "Deepest magic."
%%* {{Masquerade}}
%%* MasterOfIllusion
%%* MercyKill
%%* NoOntologicalInertia
%%* ObviousTrap
%%* OrWasItADream
%%* OurGhostsAreDifferent
* PetTheDog: Kull has a soft spot for young lovers and other such fools.
* {{Precursors}}: The Serpent People and other races (implied).
%%* ThePromise
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Despict being from enemy races Brule shares with Kull a great friendship, in more than one occasion each one has saved the life of the other, even in one situation where they had to face a cosmic entity.
%%* PowerOfTrust
* PowerTrio: King Kull is TheMcCoy, Councillor Tu is TheSpock, and Brule is TheKirk.
%%* ThePromise
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Kull is an Atlantean, Brule is a Pict, both belong to ethnic groups considered barbarians and both are proud warriors.
* PurpleProse: Howard was one of those exceptional writers who did this ''well''.
* RecursivePrecursors: {{Atlantis}}, Kull's homeland, is a young and barbaric island nation while Valusia and its culture is considered ancient beyond reckoning, extending back to the very dawn of Man [[spoiler:as a free, non-enslaved species]].
%%* ReligionOfEvil
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The Serpent People, through which Howard distantly connects with the Franchise/CthulhuMythos of his friend Creator/HPLovecraft.
%%* RequisiteRoyalRegalia
%%* RoyalBlood
%%* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Look at IAmTheNoun above.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Screaming Skull of Silence. Kull almost ends the world out of sheer boredom.
* {{Shibboleth}}: The Serpent Men can magically disguise themselves as humans, often posing as other people, but due to their facial anatomy they cannot say the phrase "Ka nama kaa lajerama".
* ShootTheDog: In "Exile of Atlantis", Kull throws a knife in a girl's heart to spare her from being burned to death.
%%* SchrodingersButterfly
%%* SelfMadeMan
* SparedByAdaptation: The Marvel comics adaptation of "By This Axe I Rule" spared Ridondo to give Kull a travelling companion while he sought a way to regain his throne. As you might have guessed, it was a loose adaptation.
%%* TalkingInYourDreams
* TimeTravel: In ''Kings of the Night'', Kull visits Literature/BranMakMorn who lives 100,000 years later.
%%* VestigialEmpire
* VictoryIsBoring: Kull spends most of his time after becoming king in an existential funk, because it's so much more enticing to conquer than to rule.
* WillNotTellALie: Judging by his behavior, Kull regards liars as scheming weaklings. Real men ''always'' tell the truth...and kill all who take offense to it.
%%* ZergRush

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* TheExile: Kull has been exiled from Atlantis ever since he performed a MeryKill on a woman who would have been burned at the stake for marrying a Lemurian. The untitled story that occurred in has even since been called "Exile of Atlantis."

%%* TheExile

%%* LizardFolk: The Snakemen
%%* MadeASlave

%%* MagicMirror

%%* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Quite obvious.

%%* PettingZooPeople

There was a 1997 movie ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' with Kevin Sorbo in the title role.

Not to be confused with the [[KingMook big Urgals]] from Christopher Paolini's ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' (though Kull probably inspired their name) or with the movie ''Film/{{Krull}}'' although there was a 1997 movie ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' with Kevin Sorbo in the title role.

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