Croup and Vandemar

Real Name: Croup, Vandemar

Identity/Class: Unknown

Occupation: Cut-throats and assassins for hire

Affiliations: Angel Islington

Enemies: Door, Richard Mayhew, Marquis de Carabas

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Old Firm

Base of Operations: London Below

First Appearance: Neverwhere Episode #1 "Door" (BBC 1, 12th September 1996)

Powers/Abilities: While it is never made entirely explicit, both members of the duo have heightened senses which make them excellent trackers (they never lose someone once they have the scent), they are inhumanly strong and unphased by injuries, and they have a natural knack with any weapons they lay their hands on.

History: "Croup and Vandemar, the Old Firm. Nuisances eliminated, obstacles obliterated, bothersome limbs removed, and tutelary dentistry." For time beyond reckoning Croup and Vandemar have walked the dark places of the Earth, taking commissions that involved the destruction of life and property. They pride themselves on being implacable and ultimately unstoppable, and on always honouring their contracts.

Mr Croup is a small fat man possessed of great verbosity while his hulking partner Mr Vandemar is a monosyllabic brute of a man who plays the perfect straight man. They are living embodiments of destruction and there is nothing their prey can do about it, as Croup and Vandemar have seen it all before, since the dawn of time.

Their most recent job saw them working in London Below, hired to kill Lord Portico and his family, allowing one (or perhaps two) of them to escape. This was first step in a plan of their new employer, the Angel Islington. He needed the special talents the Portico's family each possessed, the ability to open any door, even the one to the Angel's prison below London, a talent Portico had refused to employ for Islington. By killing most of Portico's family, Islington planned to trick the survivor, Door, into releasing him. Croup and Vandemar pursued her but were not allowed to actually kill her, something which galled them greatly. They did manage to torture the Marquis de Carabas (one of Door's allies) to death, but he'd made some preparations and came back.

Finally things came to a head in Islington's prison.Under duress Door opened a portal for the Angel, but not to where she was meant to open it to. Islington, Croup and Vandemar were sucked into the portal by Hellish winds, ending up in some horrific dimension. Whether the two killers will escape from this remote place remains to be seen.

Comments: Created by Neil Gaiman. They were played in the BBC series by Hywel Bennett and Clive Russell

CLARIFICATIONS: None

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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