Welcome to a week of Warduke.

If Lord Soth is the Darth Vader of Dungeons & Dragons, then Warduke is the Boba Fett, a mysterious badass whose popularity is outsized compared to his limited number of appearances.

Warduke first appeared as an action figure in 1983 as part of the LJN D&D toy line. He is easily the most intriguing of the toys, with his glowing eyes, distinctive helmet, half suit of armor and demon skull shield. He appeared in exactly one episode of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, “In Search of the Dungeon Master,” in which he is an opportunistic bounty hunter, but firmly second string compared to the likes of Venger. (You can find it on YouTube)

Something about him, though, caught people’s imagination, to the point that he became a minor pop culture staple, appearing in all sorts of merchandise including a cheap Collegeville Halloween costume (which I desperately want – let me know if you have one you want to sell). He’s no Cobra Commander, sure, but if you show his picture to an 80s kid, you’re sure to hear, “Oh man, I remember that guy, he was so cool!”