Jock Kellogg (Quality Universe)

Merlin
Quality Universe‎
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Real Name	Jock Kellogg
Main Alias	Merlin
Relatives	Merlin Ambrosius (ancestor), Unnamed Uncle (deceased), Jepson Kellog (cousin), Ronnie Kellogg (ancestor · deceased)
Base Of Operations	London
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	English
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Magician, Sorcerer
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Quality Universe
Creators	Dan Zolnerowich
First Appearance	National Comics #1 (July, 1940)
Last Appearance	National Comics #26 (November, 1942)

.. After all, I'm heir to Kellogg Manse. If I die, Jepson gets it .. But isn't he supposed to be in the South Seas? .. Yes .. There's the old place!

— Merlin

Merlin was a sorcerer who used his skills to fight evil in London during the 1940s.

History

Jock Kellogg was a bored young playboy who unexpectedly learned from his dying British uncle that he was the heir to the powers of Merlin the magician. Donning Merlin's hooded cloak, which gave him all his ancestor's powers, Kellogg became the new Merlin and opposed every sort of evil-doer, from orphanage embezzlers to the Nazis to Mars, the Roman God of War himself.

His fight with the Roman God of War, Mars, would not be the last time he ventured to realms beyond the physical. When Singh Abeem invoked an ancient Hindi magic, the spirit of his deceased son, Prince Abeem, took revenge on his murderer's family, including Sybil Elliot, Merlin's ex-girlfriend. Merlin ventured to the Land of the Dead to rescue her from Prince Abeem and his council of ancestors.

Mars would also not be the only God of War he fought. Merlin also faced off against the Norse god Wotan, but managed to defeat him as well in a sword fight. While he would sometimes come into conflict with the Axis Powers in his early adventures, he rarely sought them out to fight directly like other wartime heroes. He often expressed a strong opposition to war in general, even outright refusing to join the army at several points. This attitude led him to come in contact with the entities like Peace and the Oracle of Delphi. However, he did still support his country and the British war effort, even helping out friends he had in the military, like Lieutenant Rex King.

As he continued his heroics in the city, the world became more and more aware of the existence of magic. However, a few skeptics remained, such as high school principal Mr. Grone. To prove magic existed, Merlin whisked the principal away to a realm he called Fairyland, populated with all manner of mythical creatures like Unicorns, Ogres, and the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk in the clouds.

At one point, an impersonator attempted to swindle the Kellogg Manse in Scotland by posing as Jepson Kellogg and faking Jock's death. Merlin investigated the events and used portraits of his ancestors to clear the impostors from his home and free their hostage, Jock and Jepson's childhood friend, Daphne MacLane. The real Jepson later returned after hearing the news of the attempted scam.

While Merlin would initially only help those in need, he would become more involved in Allied war efforts as World War II progressed, supporting the Russian army in addition to the American and Chinese troops, and securing items like the All-Seeing Eye Diamond, protected by rival magic users, Nang Tu, a Himalayan priestess.

After obtaining information that Merlin was in Coast Town (a seaside city somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean), German soldiers launched a raid to try and eliminate Merlin once and for all. They held the townsfolk hostage, and began plans to execute them should things not go their way. Merlin alerted the army and they managed to liberate the town, with Merlin swearing that he'd continue to take on anyone who threatened the United States of America.

Merlin's adventures were retold in National Comics, which were popular among American troops and caused them to recognize him. This is reinforced by an army general seen reading National Comics in National Comics #26. Merlin stated that he "managed to get in a couple of blows for Uncle Sam" likely hinting at a familiarity with the Spirit of America, with both of their adventures being featured within the monthly magazine.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Magic: Merlin's cloak gives Jock unique abilities far beyond mortal comprehension.
  • Animal Control
  • Astral Projection: Merlin is able to project an image capable of traveling across the world while his mortal body appears to be sleeping.
  • Dimensional Travel: Merlin was able to ascend to the heavens to fight Mars. He frequently commutes to otherworldly realms.
  • Elemental Control
    • Aerokinesis
    • Hydrokinesis
    • Pyrokinesis
  • Enhanced Hearing
  • Flight: Merlin's cloak allows Jock to fly and allow nearly a dozen men to fly while standing on it.
  • Healing: Merlin was able to instantly heal an elderly man of his gout.
  • Hypnotic Stare
  • Illusion Casting
  • Invisibility: By wrapping his cloak, Merlin could render himself and others invisible
  • Magnetic Manipulation
  • Matter Manipulation: Merlin is able to create inanimate objects, as well as make them disappear into thin air.
  • Molecular Reconstruction: Merlin is able to manipulate the physical bodies of people, such as inflating and deflating them, causing them to grow and shrink, and even changing their gender. His control over matter extends to creating living beasts from inanimate objects.
  • Necromancy: Merlin has been shown returning people back to life with just a wave of his hand. He also summoned the long-dead warriors buried beneath the Great Wall of China to fight once again.
  • Phasing
  • Summoning: Merlin was able to summon "a host of tittering demons" from his fingertips.
  • Telekinesis
  • Teleportation
  • Time-Travel

Abilities

• Occultism
• Aviation
• Swordsmanship: Even before he obtained his magic abilities, Jock excelled at swordplay.
• Skiing

Weaknesses

• Power Loss: Jock's magic powers are tied exclusive to Merlin's cloak. Losing it means losing access to all magic.
• Power Limitation: A strong enough force, like that of a plane crash into one of his monster-creations, has been shown to break Merlin's spells. When he was grazed by a bullet, Merlin was left in a weakened state unable to concentrate to conjure magic. He is also unable to cast spells indefinitely, though the time limit for his magic is unknown.
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Merlin's Cloak: This magical cloak is imbued with many, if not all, the magical capabilities that Merlin of King Arthur's court possessed. It was passed down through Merlin's descendants, eventually coming to Jock Kellogg's uncle, who passed it on to Jock before he died.
• Crystal Ball: Merlin mentions searching for trouble with his crystal ball.

Transportation

• Zeus' Pegasus (Formerly)

Notes

• Jock Kellogg is the hereditary Laird of the old Kellogg Manse, in Dundee, Scotland.
• Jock's nationality is not mentioned in any of the first few issues of National Comics, though he lives in London and owns a lordship in Scotland. In National Comics #20, he is called an "English magician."
• In later issues of his run, Merlin performs his magic by speaking backward, much like Zatara. This is first seen in National Comics #12 when he shouts "Ria elbbub mrof!" to keep sailors on a sinking ship from drowning.
  • Merlin is very similar to another Quality Comics hero, Tor, the Magic Master. They both dress in near identical magician outfits (differently colored), sport identical pencil mustaches, and rely on incantations of backwards words and phrases to cast spells.
• In a rare instance for wartime comics, Merlin actually helps two Nazi soldiers defect from fighting altogether and they set off to study the ruins of Egypt.
• He is sometimes seen with a staff, though he never uses it for magic-related reasons and it may only serve as a walking stick.
• A German soldier shouts a parody of the Superman line "It's a bird! It's a plane!" but instead of saying Superman, he says "It's the magician!"

Related

• 26 Appearances of Jock Kellogg (Quality Universe)
• 5 Images featuring Jock Kellogg (Quality Universe)
• 2 Quotations by or about Jock Kellogg (Quality Universe)
• Character Gallery: Jock Kellogg (Quality Universe)