“You think I’m cruel don’t you? Perhaps you’ve forgotten what it’s like outside these walls, heartless, ignorant and savage. But I can change that. I will bring order after centuries of chaos.”
- Memnon to Cassandra.
Lord Memnon is a legendary swordsman and ruthless tyrant and the main antagonist in The Scorpion King.
Biography
Little is known about Memnon’s early life, the only thing known is that he was a member of a “fearsome horde from the east” whom by their laws due to his skill in combat and warfare was chosen as their King.
A tyrannical conqueror, Memnon was known as “the greatest swordsman the world had ever seen”, possessing remarkable fighting skills, though was stopped from claiming the entire Earth by the Akkadian warrior known as Mathayus.
Memnon was fixated with an ancient prophecy that concerned the House of Scorpio, in which the gods would choose favour upon a warrior and render that warrior invincible. Memnon became sexually attracted to a young girl known as Cassandra, who possessed the ability to see the future: Cassandra was kidnapped by Memnon and compelled to predict the future for the warlord.
Memnon was almost assassinated by the Akkadian warrior Mathayus, who went on to kidnap Cassandra and take her away from Memnon’s palace: at this, Memnon was furious and was informed that Cassandra had defected from his side to join the resistance against the warlord. Memnon’s intent was to make the sorceress his queen and consummate their marriage (which would halt her powers), but his plans were halted when he learned that Cassandra’s powers were diminishing as she was falling in love with Mathayus. Memnon had Cassandra taken hostage when the resisters arrived at his palace for the final battle to stop Memnon’s ascent to power: Mathayus came to rescue her and was engaged in a swordfight with Memnon, which revealed the warlord’s skills to the Akkadian. Memnon gained the upper hand and began to boast that the gods favoured him as a warrior, but was stopped when Mathayus, having ripped an arrow out from his back that was shot by Memnon’s men, used the arrow to fire at Memnon: Mathayus was the warrior that was prophesied to take on the mantle of Scorpion King. Memnon was knocked off by the force of the arrow from the roof of his temple where he stood and engulfed in a cloud of fire caused by an explosion of gunpowder by the resisters below.
Legacy
After Memnon's death, Mathayus eventually followed in the latter's footsteps and became a king and tyrant in his own right (as seen in The Return of the Mummy). But when he dies by Rick O'Connell, Mathayus is presumably redeemed and is reunited with Cassandra.
Appearances
- The Scorpion King (First appearance)
- The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (Mentioned only)
Behind the Scenes
Memnon was portrayed by Steven Brand.
