Ferrus the Invincible

Real Name: (comic) unknown; (real world) Cal Ra....(name unreadable), then Jay Star, creator of Ferrus.

Identity/Class: (comic) unknown; (real world) magical being

Occupation: (comic) unknown; (real world) killer

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Ryan Dallion, Micki Foster

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: (comic) unknown; (real world) New York

First Appearance: Friday the 13th: The Series #1.10 "Tales of the Undead" (Syndicated, 30th January 1988)

Powers/Abilities: Ferrus was an armour-plated superpowered humanoid. It was immune to almost any form of attack, and strong enough to smash steel or kill humans with a single blow.

History: (backstory to the series) Louis Vendredi sold his soul to the devil. In return for immortality, he would curse items and then sell them from his antiques shop to unsuspecting customers. Each item would activate in the hands of a susceptible person, granting them power of one sort or another, but at a terrible price. But Louis tried to break his deal, and was dragged into Hell for this breach. Micki and Ryan, two distant relatives, inherited the store, and along with Louis' old friend Jack, they now seek to track down and safely store all the cursed objects.

(Tales of the Undead episode) Ryan, a comics fan, is shopping in his local store. Another customer, Cal meanwhile wants to purchase an old and valuable issue of "Tales of the Undead", but when he is unable to, he tries to steal it instead. As soon as he touches the comic, he transforms into the lead character, Ferrus the Invincible, a monstrous armoured being. Ryan witnesses him killing the owner, before the creature knocks him unconscious and escapes from the store. Back at the antiques shop, Micki checks the ledger Uncle Louis kept track of sales in, and discovers that an unnamed magazine was purchased by him from Jay Star, artist and creator of Ferrus and Tales of the Undead. Star had long since dropped from sight, and was believed to be dead by comic fans, but the ledger includes an address, so he goes to check it out. He finds Star, still very much alive, but bitter because he feels he was cheated out of a fortune after his characters were taken from him by published Peerless Comics. When Ryan informs him of the cursed comic, Star goes off in search of it, wanting to gain revenge on the company who took his character.

He finds Cal, who turns into Ferrus, only to be killed by Star, who knows the character's one weakness, a sharply pointed Comics Artist Award for Excellence that Star won in 1947 for the first issue of Tales of the Undead. Learning of Cal's death, Ryan and Micki visit Peerless' owner, Carmine DeMateo, who claims Star let himself be bought out only to lose the money he was paid through bad investments; Carmine also mentions that Star was so angry, he wrote a comic where Ferrus was killed, but it was never published - Star has the original artwork. After Ryan and Micki leave, Star visits Peerless too, and, as Ferrus, attacks Carmine, who trips the alarm before Ferrus kills him. Hearing the alarm, Ryan and Micki return in time to witness Ferrus leave, merely slowed by the police. Unaware Star is their killer, Ryan goes to ask him for help against Ferrus, revealing he is looking for the artwork showing how Ferrus can be killed; once he has left, Star tries to find and destroy his copy, only to learn that his housekeeper has stolen and sold it, along with much of his other art. After getting her to tell him who she sold it to, Star becomes Ferrus and slays her too, then leaves to retrieve his art. Ryan and Micki also try to track down the artwork, but reach the dealer who owns it too late, finding him already murdered. Finding a pill, Ryan recognises it as belonging to Star; the pair return to Star's house, finding him in the process of burning the artwork, but while Micki distracts Star at the front door, Ryan breaks in and pulls the art from the fire. As Star turns into Ferrus and tries to kill them, Ryan, having learned Ferrus' weakness, snatches up the award and stabs the monster. Ryan and Micki safely lock the comic away in the vault beneath the antiques shop.

Comments: In spite of using the term "real world" repeatedly in the profile above, please note that I don't actually mean any of the above really happened. I'm simply using that term to distinguish which events happened in the comic book depicted in the TV show Friday the 13th: The Series, and which events happened in the "real world" depicted on said TV show. Within the context of the story, Ferrus first appeared in Tales of the Undead Vol.1 #1, published by Peerless Comics in March 1947.

Jay Star was played by Ray Walston.

CLARIFICATIONS: None

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

Back to US Independents Page

Home

All images and characters depicted on this site are copyright their respective holders, and are used for informational purposes only. No infringement is intended and copyrights remain at source.