Lord Palethorn

Lord Palethorn of Shoreditch
Biographical information
AKA	Reggie Pallthrop (birth name) Palethorne (by Professor Christy)
Title(s)	Magic Circle member (? - 1877) Lord (? - 1886)
Gender	Male
Born	c. 1841 London, United Kingdom
Died	1886 (aged 45) London, United Kingdom
Family	Daniel Roger Palethorn (great-grandfather)
Behind the scenes information
Created by	James Shepherd
Designed by	Jason Wilson
Voiced by	Marc Silk[citation needed]
Appears in	MediEvil 2 Greenwich Naval Academy Kew Gardens Iron Slugger Wulfrum Hall The Demon

"Curse you! Curse you all! You think you've won? I'll have my day and when I do, I'll..." ― Lord Palethorn, after losing the boxing match.

Lord Palethorn of Shoreditch (né Reggie Pallthrop; c. 1841 – 1886) was a powerhungry sorcerer bent on conquering the city of London and beyond. He almost succeeded after obtaining numerous pages of the legendary Zarok spell book, but his plans were undone by the return of the Hero of Gallowmere.

History

Before 1878

A successful industrialist, Palethorn embraced the ethics of the Victorian age. He exploited every opportunity and was hungry for wealth and social acceptance. This led to him changing his name from Reggie Pallthrop to Palethorn, joining the Magic Circle and buying the title of 'lord' to make him seem more a part of the establishment. Palethorn believed that Black Magic was the key to obtaining both power and wealth.

Expedition of 1878

Palethorn and Kift on the expedition.

In 1878, one month after his expulsion from the Magic Circle for practising Black Magic, Palethorn approached Professor Hamilton Kift, a fellow member of the Circle, about travelling to the Hebrides to acquire some pages of Zarok's spell book. After arriving on a Hebridean island, they found the spell book in a tomb located at the island's northern point. Once Palethorn took the book from its resting place, the tomb began to collapse. Palethorn shoved Kift aside and abandoned him, escaping the collapsing tomb with the spell book. Using the power within its pages, Palethorn planned on taking over London, and eventually, the world.

The Autumn of Death

In 1886, Palethorn resurfaced and used Zarok's spell book to unleash havoc upon the city of London. The spell resurrected the dead across the city, including the skeletal remains of dinosaurs housed in Kensington's museum. Because the spell book was missing some of its pages, Palethorn was transformed as a side effect of the spell - his skin turned red and his ears grew long and pointed. Palethorn then set out to find the missing pages so he could fully control the zombies he had brought back to life.

During this time, Palethorn and his lackeys, Dogman and Mander, worked on a machine - the Great Scope - at the Greenwich Observatory. Using the machine, Palethorn hoped to instantly locate all the missing pages of the spell book. However, his plans were foiled by the resurrected hero Sir Daniel Fortesque after he crashed an airship into the Great Scope. Soon after, Palethorn built the Iron Slugger and organized a boxing match between himself and Kift's team, with the Egyptian Princess Kiya as the prize. The Iron Slugger was defeated by Dan, and Palethorn's plans were thwarted yet again. Realizing that Sir Dan is becoming more of a nuisance than he had anticipated, Palethorn contacted his ally the Count to help dispose of him whilst he continued his search for the pages. But in the end, even the ancient vampire was no match for Fortesque.

Palethorn finally confronted Sir Dan at the Cathedral Spires and recovered the last page of the spell book from him. Finally in possession of all the pages, Palethorn summoned a demon to destroy Dan once and for all. Unfortunately for Palethorn, Dan managed to outsmart the villain by diverting his bullets into the demon, causing it to attack and eventually crash Palethorn's ship. In a desperate final attempt to kill Dan, Palethorn activated a bomb which ultimately killed him, but not Dan.

Alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline, Palethorn used the spell book to travel back in time. Dan and Kiya used Kift's Amazing Confabulating Chrono-chair to travel back in time as well. However, they also ended up in this same timeline and encountered a beastly version of Palethorn in what appeared to be Zarok's Lair.

Legacy

Some scholars of the 20th century, such as Professor Marcus Effington Christy, rejected the events caused by Palethorn as mere mass hallucinations resultant from the high prevalence of disease in London at the time. Palethorn's fate was also unclear to scholars, as Professor Marcus noted that "one mystery of the time remains unresolved, that of the disappearance of industrialist and socialite, Lord Palethorne of Shoreditch." However, Palethorn's deeds and fate eventually became known by the 21st century thanks to the efforts of researchers such as Professor Darrow of Cambridge Archaeology.

Characteristics

Appearance

Palethorn was a wide, square, and gruff man with short blond hair and a dark moustache. He had a prominent chin. He liked to wear a dark blue suit and would often carry around a cane stick which was fashionable at the time. He would also often have a cigar in his mouth.

Palethorn's transformation.

After using the spell book, Palethorn underwent a physical transformation. His skin turned red and his ears grew long and pointed. At some point post-transformation, he also suffered an injury to his right eye, leaving it discoloured (and possibly blind). This also left him disfigured, as he had a big scar across the eye from the incident.

Personality

Palethorn was an opportunistic man with little regard for loyalty. He was quick to betray others when it suited him. His ultimate goal was to command respect and power through any means necessary.

Abilities

Palethorn had some magical ability which he may have honed during his time in the Magic Circle. After obtaining several pages of Zarok's spell book, he had limited command over the raised undead, but lacked full control of them.

Behind the scenes

Development

Lord Palethorn was conceptualised by James Shepherd as a replacement for Zarok, who was set to return in the initial design specification for MediEvil 2. Palethorn was designed by Jason Wilson who described him as a "mix of Alistair Crowley and the Godfather." He also listed "the London cockney gangster of popular British mythology" as a basis for the character. Jason made an effort to differentiate Palethorn from Zarok by making him wide, square, and gruff instead of thin, and fey.

Originally, Palethorn was conceptualised as a green character with a brown jacket, a goatee and flat hair. His design was later altered so that his skin was beige instead of green. His hair was also made taller. Eventually, his final design emerged with flat hair, no goatee, red skin, and a damaged eye.

• Palethorn's evolution
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  Concept art by Wilson.

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  Concept art by Wilson.

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  Concept art by Wilson.

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  Early Palethorn design.

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  Final Palethorn design.

Portrayal

Palethorn was portrayed by Marc Silk.^{[citation needed]} His voice was described as "deep and authoritative" on the official MediEvil 2 website. Although Palethorn attempts to speak like an articulate gent, he can't stop his natural London Cockney accent from coming through. This becomes more pronounced in moments of high emotion.

Promotion

Palethorn in the TV advert.

Palethorn appears as a hitchhiker in a US MediEvil II TV commercial alongside The Ripper, a gargoyle and The Count. He is hitchiking to Paris.

Gallery

Main article: Images of Lord Palethorn

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  Portrait from the official US website.