DC's The Last God Makes A Twisted Legend More Disturbing
The fantastical world of Cain Anuun returns somehow more ensconced in magic and mythology than DC Comics’ original portrayal in The Last God series. A decade after the events of The Last God, a monstrous beast based on the infamous Grendel from the Beowulf epic poem now roams these afflicted lands, feasting upon children for sustenance. In a manner similar in scale to this disturbing past time, this rendition of Grendel lives within a horrifically abominable nest constructed from the human remains of what were, presumably, its victims before it ripped them asunder and utilized their carcasses for shelter.
Cyanthe, a hero from the original tale whose conquests led to her later becoming queen stumbles upon this creature in the debut issue of The Last God: Songs of Lost Children by guest writer Dan Watters and artist Steve Beach. Though her original intent for venturing away from her throne may have been to ascertain whispers of pain and dissent within her kingdom, Cyanthe’s quest changes dramatically upon her encounter with a town that has been plagued by the mysterious disappearance of children. Upon finding the aforementioned "Grendel," the mystery as to their whereabouts becomes abundantly clear. This monster not only takes the form of these missing children but later transforms into a hideous monstrosity composed of human corpses, bones, flesh, and other horrifying parts - all of which can be contorted further so the creature can achieve certain feats that are quite hostile in nature.
After successfully fending off the grotesque amalgamation of corpses, Cyanthe’s travel companion and aelven handmaiden reveals that their assailant was the Gryndel, a creature so legendary that Cyanthe at first refuses to believe the possibility and denounces it as mere myth. But the fact this creature “wears the forms of its victims to lure fresh meat” just like the Gryndel of legend does leave little doubt in their minds. This iteration is a rather twisted divagation of the Grendel from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem.
Beowulf scholars might not know for certain what form Grendel the “destroyer and devourer of our human kind” actually takes since Beowulf's nameless poet chose to obscure Grendel's actual appearance in ambiguity, but no translation exists that would suggest Grendel could shape-shift. In fact, some readings imply that Grendel is a man, whereby Grendel is referred to as “monstrous,” meaning “outrageously evil or wrong,” rather than “having the ugly or frightening appearance of a monster.”
Additionally, Beowulf’s Grendel never seemed to favor the flesh of children more so than others or, at least, devote most of its attention towards their slaughter while ambivalently precluding teenagers, adults, and the elderly from its bloodletting. However, Grendel did seem to be greatly motivated to kill those who wronged it no matter how trivial that wrongdoing might have been. In Beowulf, Grendel became enraged when the cacophonous din of merrymaking within the mead-hall of Heorot perpetually barraged his weary mind night after night. So night after night, he’d kill them. So unless these children in Songs of Lost Children wronged this Gryndel in some way, the likelihood that it would go out of its way to hunt down and mutilate innocent children is not high, that is, if this Gryndel is meant to be an accurate portrayal of Grendel from Beowulf. Regardless, Gryndel in the Last God is terrifying and hideous... There’s no doubt about that.