Follow

    Duncan MacLeod

    Character » Duncan MacLeod appears in 12 issues.

    "He is Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander. Born in 1592 in the Highlands of Scotland and he is still alive. He is immortal. For four hundred years he's been a warrior... a lover... a wanderer."

    Short summary describing this character.

    Duncan MacLeod last edited by downinthesewer on 09/11/23 05:46PM View full history

    Duncan MaCleod
    Duncan MaCleod

    Born in the year 1592 in the Highlands of Scotland, Duncan's father is unknown to him. He was raised by the chieftan of the clan MacLeod, Ian MacLeod. Ian gave him as a gift to his wife, when she lost another child during birth. His father raised him to ascend to his position. He had him trained as a warrior, diplomat, and scholar, proud that his son excelled at all. Yet it was at combat that he excelled them most, though he was a gentle soul.

    During his 30th year of Life, his clan became embroiled in yet another dispute with it's neighbors. Unable to come to a civil decision, the dispute erupted into violence. At the beheast of his father, Duncan was chosen to lead his people in the conflict. During the course of the battle, though he equiped himself well, Duncan fell. After his death he was revived, as are all immortals. Denouncing him as a demon his father and mother disowned him.

    Yet things would work out for Duncan, as his destiny truly began. Found by Connor Macleod, who explianed to Duncan who and what he was, he began his new life. Connor would become Duncan's mentor and guide throughout his life as an Immortal. Duncan lived though many wars and times of conflict including witnessing the French Revolution, the Battle of Waterloo and fought in both World Wars.

    During his life Duncan would meet many people who would influence his life, molding him into a great and powerful Immortal. Many of these are other Immortals: some of whom become mentors, some become friends and some become enemies. Though he starts out as a reckless, uneducated, and somewhat arrogant man, Duncan is able to gradually change during his life. He matures as he travels the world as with age, he becomes the wise, educated and compassionate character that we are introduved to during the present.

    Having lived for centuries Duncan is an expert in many subjects, fluent in multiple languages and as necessary by his lifestyle is skilled in many forms of martial arts. Also as a consequence of his many lifetimes, he has been many things including a soldier, bodyguard, newspaper editor, World War I ambulance driver, chauffeur, and World War II Resistance fighter. Most recently during his life he has been an antiques dealer, a dojo owner and also a part-time History teacher.

    Many of the greatest of the events of Duncan's life are recorded as happening during the years between 1992-1998. Joe's journal's show that Duncan returned to The Game after a period of semi-retirement with his girlfriend Tessa Noël and a meeting with clansman and mentor Connor MacLeod. Having returned to the Game, Duncan meets many old friends and enemies again, and manages to repay many old debts. Proving himself a skilled swordsman Duncan kills many Immortals.

    Yet these times are also charachter building. He loses people he cares about, including Tessa, the love of his life and many of his friends. Sadly, Duncan befriends Richie Ryan, mentors him after his First Death and teaches him the ways of the Immortals much as Connor had for him. Events transpire that cause him to accidentally kill him in 1997, an event Duncan is shaken up about for a long time.

    Duncan MaCleod
    Duncan MaCleod

    Duncan also meets Joe Dawson, who against the rules, reveals to him that there is an organization known as The Watchers who secretly observes all Immortals. Two of the greatest of his accomplishments are meeting with the oldest Immortal Methos, and defeating the demon Ahriman.

    An analytical chronology of Duncan's timeline, follows below.

    The life and times of Duncan MacLeod

    No Caption Provided

    1592 – Duncan is born in Glenfinnan, in the Highlands of Scotland. His true parents remain unknown. Ian MacLeod, whose son died in birth, decides to adopt him, in secret of anyone else.

    1592-1622 – Duncan is raised to be Ian’s successor in the leadership of the clan.

    1622 – During a battle, Duncan is fatally wounded and brought back to his village. There, he dies for the first time, only to be resurrected minutes afterwards, revealing himself to be an Immortal. He is subsequently accused of being a demon, and he is disavowed by his father, and clan.

    1622 – Later, in that year, Duncan confronts his father, who reveals to him he is not his true son. Despite Duncan’s wild protests, his father refuses to tell him who his true family lies.

    Duncan's kinsman, Connor
    Duncan's kinsman, Connor

    1625 – Scotland - Duncan meets Connor MacLeod for the first time. Connor takes him under his wing and teaches him the rules of the Game, as well as instructs him how to duel.

    1634 – France - Duncan meets, and rescues a mentally challenged Immortal named Ursa. Ursa accompanies him for a short time, before settling down in the monastery of Saint Combain.

    1639 – Florence - Duncan and fellow Immortal Hugh Fitzcairn serve as bodyguards for the Duke of Millan. Fitzcairn insists that they leave, but Duncan is in no hurry. They are attacked by enemies of the Duke, which they defeat quickly. During the battle however, seemingly a bystander died. He had the mark of the Watchers, but neither Duncan, nor Fitzcairn took real notice of it.

    1650-1718 – Under unknown circumstances, Duncan meets Vincenzo Coronelli.

    1660 – France – Duncan’s first meeting with Immortal Grace Chandel. Duncan inadvertedly interrupts her while helping a woman giving birth and she thinks he is there for her head. To her bemusement, that is far from the case, and the two become friends.

    1680 – China - Duncan’s first meeting with Kiem Sun, an Immortal that became eventually obsessed with the use of potions to make man’s life better.

    1728 – Dover, England – Duncan’s coach is attacked by the Immortal Werner Reindhardt, who mistakes a passenger to be Immortal, and is about to behead him, until Duncan intervenes, and defeats Reindhardt, but leaves him alive.

    1743 – Constantinople- Duncan and Immortal Amanda spend time together. Judging from exchanges between them, the encounter ended equally abruptly as later ones (See 1804, 1926).

    1780 – China– Duncan meets Kiem Sun (see 1680) once again, and this time his friend has created a potion originating from the Kwanlo root, which places people above fear, or pain, but also takes free will away from them. There are still more side-effects to the potion however, as a fight between two mortals that Kiem Sun staged ends up with both of them dead. Duncan strongly asks Kiem Sun to reconsider the usefulness of the potion before embarking.

    1783 – France - Duncan is acting on the behalf of the Baron Deschieldes, as his bodyguard, during negotiations for an important treaty. During an interval, a group of entertainers, led by the Immortal Kuyler set up a performance with the objective to assassinate the Baron – an action to which they succeed.

    1786 – Paris – Duncan and great Immortal womanizer and thief, Gabriel Pitton spend an entire night at a brothel as a way to celebrate the latter’s theft of pearls from a former lover, an unnamed Marquise. They are subsequently attacked by a group of soldiers sent by her, but they easily fend them off before escaping.

    1789-99 – Duncan acquires a necklace during the French Revolution, under undetermined motives, or circumstances

    .

    1803 – France - Duncan confronts his old friend Gabriel Pitton (See 1786) after the latter steals a necklace from Duncan’s lover, a duchess, despite Duncan specifically asking him not to do it. Duncan defeats Gabriel in the ensuing duel, but refuses to kill him. Gabriel exclaims he is in Duncan's debt.

    1804 – Bavaria - Duncan meets with old acquaintance, and flame, Amanda (See 1743), who, unbestknown to him had just stolen Baron Holstein’s jewels, along with Zachary Blaine. She tries to frame Duncan for the crime by leaving the Baron’s signet ring in his room. Duncan faces off with a group of soldiers sent by the Baron, defeats them all, and escapes.

    1815 – Waterloo - Duncan unsuccessfully tries to save his friend, Charles Dartmore from being erroneously executed for treason, and he himself gets shot in the process.

    1815 – Waterloo - June the 18 – Duncan rescues an unknown soldier, who is sick, and at the brink of death. In the battlefield, Darius – a priest, and fellow Immortal passes, meets Duncan and offers to cure the soldier. That meeting makes Duncan question his warrior instincts, as he realises the futility of war for mortal participants.

    1816 – Paris – Duncan is on his way to visit Darius (See 1815), who serves as a cleric in a church. Darius has been attacked by soldiers seeking for gold, and stabbed to death. Duncan fights, and defeats the soldiers, but refrains from killing them, per Darius’ request. He later on confesses he is about to move to the New World (US).

    1832 – London – Connor MacLeod (See 1625) and Duncan meet in London, and Connor has an affair with a beautiful red-head, despite being humorously implied that both he and Duncan were interested in the girl. It is later commented that she was one of the few beautiful women Duncan did not have.

    1840 – Paris – Duncan meets Grace Chantel (See 1660) once again. He bids her farewell before she departs for Amazon, Brazil, to reside in fellow Immortal’s Carlos Sendaro’s plantation in order to engage in scientific research. Duncan asks Grace to be wary of Sendaro’s ways.

    1856-1939 – Duncan meets Zigmund Freud under undetermined circumstances. It is hinted they had long conversations.

    1863 – August, Chattanooga- Duncan first meets fellow Immortal Lucas Desiree, while in Confederate captivity, for attempting to free slaves. Despite being a colonel to the opposing side, Desiree is respectful towards Duncan and the other prisoners. Once Duncan is executed by hanging, Desiree retrieves his body until he revives, and helps him escape.

    1872 –Seacouver, US – Connor (See 1625, 1832) meets up with Duncan again, this time in a destroyed Sioux camp. Duncan is devastated by the numerous deaths, caused by the Army. Upon burning the bodies in respect of the fallen, Duncan announces he wishes to retire from the Game for a while, and reside in Seacouver.

    1872 – Seacouver - Duncan accidentally meets an Immortal named Carl, in the wilderness of Seacouver. They become friends, and Carl initiates in the ways of the wild life, while instructs Carl on how to fight.

    1912 – April 10-14 – Duncan was a passenger in the Titanic. He later mentions that was the last time he wore a tuxedo, up until 1993.

    1915 – Duncan serves as a paramedic in the Western Front, along with his friend Stan. They are both killed by a poison gas grenade, by an Immortal who wishes to steal the soldiers’ payments. The Immortal is revealed to be Xavier St. Cloud. Despite Duncan being weak and defenceless, Xavier fails to kill him due to the timely intervention of other soldiers, and flees.

    1925 – Seacouver – Duncan confronts former friend, and fellow Immortal Marcus Corulus (time of first encounter is unknown), who has turned into a mass murderer of blonde women, by killing 5 within 10 days, due to insanity, caused by the betrayal of his former love, Lenora, who exposed him as an Immortal and had him burned at the stake, in 1625. Duncan saves a girl that Marcus is about to murder, tries to reason with him, fails, and is forced to kill him.

    1926 – West Coast - Duncan and Amanda (See 1743, 1804) meet again, all the while being circus artists, during the Barnum and Bailey tour of the Southwest – she is an acrobat, while Duncan is a knife thrower. They once again part abruptly, with her being wanted for burglary in five states.

    1938 – USSR – Duncan, with the assistance of indebted Immortal captain Alexei Voshin (it is hinted that Duncan spared him in an earlier duel) tries to help people flee the country by boat, Voshin’s “Sea Witch”. Voshin, however, double-crosses them to the KGB, forcing Duncan to make an escape by jumping at the sea, and being presumed dead by the authorities.

    1972-3 – Paris – Duncan visits the art collection of Anne Wheeler.

    1980 – Paris – Duncan accidentally encounters Immortal Kuyler (see 1783) once more, but he is without his sword. After a short bout, both combatants flee, under the danger of being arrested. In his escape, Duncan bumps on the car of a young, Inspector Lebrant. Subsequently he jumps over the ledge at the river Seine, at Quai de la Tournette, and lands on the boat where Tessa Noel works as a guide for Paris, that being their first encounter, and beginning of their relationship.

    1981-91 – Seacouver – Duncan and Tessa live together and Duncan reveals his Immortality to her. They eventually open an antique store.

    1988 – Seacouver, December the 31st –Minutes before New Year, Duncan fights Immortal Walter Reindhardt (see 1728) on the top of a building, where he and Tessa had gone in order to celebrate. Reindhardt accidentally falls off the building, and Duncan returns to Tessa, without revealing the incident.

    1992 – Seacouver - Richie Ryan attempts to rob Duncan’s and Tessa’s antique store. He is thwarted by Duncan , but they are interrupted by the sudden entrance of Immortal Slan Quince and Duncan’s clansman, Connor MacLeod (see 1625, 1832, 1872). Connor challenges Slan, but he flees. After continuous harassment on Tessa and Duncan, Connor confronts Slan on a bridge but falls, and Duncan steps in, beheading Slan. Tessa comes to accept the danger in Duncan’s life, now that he is once again active in the Game.

    1992 – Seacouver- Richie develops a close relationship to Duncan, and seeing that he is homeless, Duncan lets him live with him and Tessa. Richie, raised in an orphanage and adoptive families, wishes to find his true father. Relating to him, Duncan helps him. Richie finds a man claiming to be his father, but he turns out to be a con-man, named Joe Scanlon, who steals an invaluable mask from Duncan ’s store to repay his pressing creditors. retrieves the artefact and saves Scanlon in the process.

    1992 – Seacouver- A friend of Richie collapses and passes away after attempting to rob a bank. Duncan notices black spots on the body’s forehead, and recognises them to be the result of exposure to the Kwanon root, an ingredient of the potion created by Kiem Sun (See 1680, 1780). Kiem Sun refuses that it was him that used the potion on Richie’s friend, and claims the potion was stolen by his assistant, Chou-Lin. Duncan finds Chou-Lin before he uses the potion again, and destroys it. Enraged, Kiem Sun faces Duncan in a duel but is defeated. Nevertheless, Duncan still spares his life.

    1992 – Seacouver- Duncan is on his way to visit old friend Lucas Desiree (See 1863), only to arrive there and find him beheaded. A disturbed Vietnam War veteran named Leo is arrested for the crime, but Duncan believes him to be innocent. He eventually finds and kills the true culprit, Immortal Howard Crowley, thus dismissing Leo of all charges.

    1992 – Seacouver - Immortal Felicia Martins infiltrates Duncan’s home, posing as an inexperienced Immortal in order to protect herself from Immortal Justin Devereux, who rightly hunts her after she killed his wife and newborn baby, centuries ago. Felicia kills Devereux, but Duncan is onto her ploy. He defeats her in combat, but is convinced to spare her at Richie’s request.

    1992 – Seacouver- Duncan, Tessa and Richie are being held hostages by escapee convicted criminal Bryan Slade. Slade quickly executes Duncan on live feed to convince the police to comply with his demands. soon revives defeats Slade’s accomplishes, and kills Slade himself.

    1992 – Seacouver- Tessa is abducted while drawing in the mountains. Her kidnapper is Immortal Caleb Cole, who wishes for her to be his wife, and live on the mountains along with his adopted son and another accomplice. Duncan uses the teachings of Carl (See 1872) to locate them. Eventually, he dispatches the son and the other accomplice, and beheads Caleb.

    1992 – Seacouver – After being the victim to a hit and run accident, Duncan is hospitalised, with severe injuries. He heals quickly, however, and tries to leave unnoticed. Doctor Wilder, the man over Duncan’s case realises he walked away by himself and wants to conduct illegal experiments on him to learn more about his unique abilities. He captures Duncan , and sedates him, but Duncan still manages to escape. Wilder later captures Randi MacFarland, a journalist covering Duncan’s hospitalisation and disappearance. Duncan conducts his own search, finds Wilder’s residence and saves Randi. Wilder is caught up in a fire, and perishes.

    1992 – Seacouver - Duncan tangles again with Alexei Voshin (See 1938). A friend of Ritchie’s, Nikki, was involved in an illegal drugs transaction gone awry and she managed to escape both with the money, and the drugs – both of which belonged to Voshin. Duncan protects her, destroys the merchandise and is challenged to fight Voshin mano a mano on Voshin’s boat, called “Sea Witch II”. Duncan wins when Voshin falls into the sea and is beheaded by the ship’s propeller.

    1992 – Seacouver – Former fiancée of Immortal Werner Reindhardt (See 1728, 1988) accuses Duncan of murdering her him after noticing Reindhardt’s sword was in Duncan ’s antique store. It is eventually revealed that it was all a ruse of Reindhardt himself to implicate Duncan. The Highlander faces him, and defeats him once and for all.

    1992 – Seacouver – A series of murders resembling the ones Duncan’s former friend, Marcus Corulus (See 1925) committed, and a failed attempt on a friend of Tessa’s life, force Duncan to search for the copy-cat killer. Duncan sets up a trap for him by using Tessa as a potential victim, at her own request. The killer is eventually stopped when Tessa hits him with Duncan’s car.

    1992 – Seacouver – Immortal Andrew Ballin strangles artist Anne Weeler (See 1972-3). Tessa witnesses the murder but since there is no body, there is no substantial proof. Tessa is later on taken to a police warehouse, for her own safety. Ballin is revealed to be a police captain, and Duncan deduces him to be the killer, that intentionally placed Tessa under protection to dispose of her more easily. He saves Tessa, and ends up beheading Ballin.

    1993-Seacouver – Now permanently residing in Paris, Darius (See 1815, 1816) confronts his former comrade, Immortal Grayson. Grayson is on a quest to kill all of Darius’ pupils in order to spite him and force him to face him in a duel. Darius informs Duncan of this, and saves one of Darius’ pupils that Grayson targeted, Victor Paulis. In the end, Duncan faces Grayson, and after an intense fight, defeats and beheads him.

    1993 - Paris – After accepting an offer at a consulting capacity in a French museum, Tessa ponders on if she should accept. Duncan encourages her to do so, and he and Richie join her there, thus changing their long-time residence.

    1993 - Paris - A series of assassinations by people posing as clowns occurs in the vicinity, and Duncan recognises the pattern of an Immortal he encounter before: Kuyler (See 1783, 1980). In reluctant co-operation with inspector Lebrant (See 1980), Duncan attempts to find him, and realises Kuyler always remains a step ahead due to having an inside man in Lebrant’s task force. Kuyler finally challenges Duncan in his warehouse, and is beheaded.

    1993 – Paris – After a robbery occurs near Darius’ chapel, and the primary suspect was seen entering it shortly afterwards, inspector Lebrant pays Darius a visit. To his astonishment, he finds Darius and Duncan playing chess. Lebrant asks Darius for information, but Darius is unable to help, since the culprit went to him in order to confess, and as such, he had to keep the information confidential. When Lebrant mentions that during the robbery, poisonous gas was used, Duncan recognises the methods of Xavier St. Cloud (See 1915). St.Cloud plants a gas bomb to an exhibition of African sculpture Tessa set up, but Duncan realises it in time and disarms it, before engaging St. Cloud in combat. He cuts-off his left arm, and St. Cloud flees.

    1993 – Paris – Immortal Ursa (See 1634) lives secretly at the catacombs, below the Parisian Opera. He falls in love with singer Carolyn Lamb, who takes advantage of his mental problem to have him kidnap a vocalist, and friend of Richie, who she views as a threat to her. Duncan finds the girl, but Carolyn manipulates Ursa into attacking him. After a furious battle on top of the opera, Ursa falls over, and Carolyn thinks him dead. Once Ursa revives before her eyes, her terror causes her to flee and she gets hit by a car. Duncan then guides Ursa into a new monastery in order to peacefully continue his life.

    1993 – Paris – Duncan meets again with Grace Chantel (See 1660, 1840) who has been consistently stalked in the past few decades by her former lover, Carlos Sendaro (See 1840). Sendaro ends up kidnapping Grace, and Duncan goes to her rescue. He and Sendaro end up fighting each other in the underground subway, and Sendaro gets incapacitated, and then beheaded by a train. Duncan and Grace say goodbye once more, despite having feelings for each other.

    1993 – Paris – Duncan accidentally sees again his former lover, Immortal Amanda (See 1743, 1804, 1926) while watching a circus performance with Tessa and Ritchie. Amanda is threatened by another Immortal, and former partner, Zachary Blaine (See 1804) who wants Duncan’s head. Duncan fights Zachary to a standstill, but their fight is interrupted by the men of the circus. Later on, Zachary and Amanda set up the robbery of an invaluable manuscript, but Duncan is onto them and prevents it. He fights Zachary once more, defeats him, but it is Amanda who lands the finishing strike at him.

    1993 – Paris– After killing a model and former lover of his, and attempting to replace her with a new model, named Myia, which Richie happens to like, famous fashion designer Gabriel Pitton (See 1786, 1803) encounters Duncan once again. Richie suspects Pitton killed the girl and attempts to prove it, but Pitton sets him up and he ends up in jail. Duncan reluctantly intervenes and finds Pitton ready to kill Myia, for finding out he killed the aforementioned girl, saves her and kills Pitton, who refused to listen to his pleas. Duncan bursts into tears after beheading his old friend.

    1993 – Paris – A mortal man, named Alfred Cahill gets stabbed by a prostitute after threatening to hit her. Before he dies, Duncan, who is driving nearby, senses the change within him and follows him. Cahill dies and is reborn as an Immortal. Being driven mad by this development, and despite Duncan’s attempts to reason with him, he goes on a killing spree. Duncan finally finds Cahill in an old Knights Templar meeting place, where he beheads him.

    1993 – Paris – Duncan, Richie and Tessa visit an old friend of Tessa’s in an isolated mansion at the outskirts of Paris. Later on, a former general, and Immortal, Bellian pays a visit, claiming that he wants to extract revenge on the son of Tessa’s friend – Mark – for raping his daughter Lorry. Duncan, by principle, refuses to hand the boy over to him, despite signs pointing at him being guilty, claiming that would not be just, but simply vengeful. Duncan barricades the house against the general and his friends, and ends up fighting him after Tessa’s friend is gravely wounded. Duncan wins, but the fight is interrupted by Mark, who wants to shoot Everett, not knowing he is Immortal. Lorry appears and shoots him instead.

    1993 – Paris – Duncan, upon meeting with old, Immortal friend Hugh Fitzcairn (See 1639) discovers Darius’ body beheaded in his chapel. Appalled both by his friend’s death, as well as the fact that the act was committed in holy ground, he pledges to find the murderers. During the course of the investigation, it becomes clear that the culprits are mortals, that possess the symbol Duncan saw in Florence (See 1639), and their goal is to eradicate Immortals. They manage to abduct Fitzcairn, and nearly Duncan, but Richie’s intervention saves him. Duncan manages to track down their headquarters, and save his friend, who was about to be beheaded at the guillotine. The head of the organization, however, manages to escape.

    * Duncan claims to have seen the legendary mines of King Solomon, in Africa. No further clarification on this has been given to be chronologically placed.

    sizepositionchange
    sizepositionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    bordersheaderpositiontable
    positionchange

    This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.