Battle Pope
Encyclopedia
Battle Pope is an independent comic book
created by Robert Kirkman
and Tony Moore
, which was published by their own small press company under the moniker of Funk-O-Tron
originally in 2000
. The series was reprinted in color by Image Comics
in 2005
, with plans to possibly continue it with new stories after collecting the original material.
The book tells the tale of a hard drinking, womanizing Pope
condemned by God
for his own evil ways, who is called to action to save Saint Michael, with the help of Jesus H. Christ, becoming mankind's final hope in a world overrun by demons following the Rapture
.
The flashback ends and Pope witnesses a group of ruffians about to kidnap a young woman. As Pope moves to stop the group, they summon their demon friend Belaam. After a brief fight Belaam is defeated by Pope. The woman expresses her gratitude and goes back to Pope's house.
Later that night, Belaam ambushes Pope, killing the woman in the process. While distracted by the death of his lady-friend, Pope is also seemingly killed. As Belaam basks in his triumph, he is shot from behind by Jesus. Pope soon awakens, and he is in the presence of Jesus and God. They reveal to him that God had sent Saint Michael to watch over the good people left on earth, although Lucifer was able to overpower and capture the Saint. God endows Pope with super-strength, and tells him that should he be able to rescue Saint Michael, he will be granted entry into Heaven despite his deplorable life-style.
As Pope and Jesus search for Hellcorp - Lucifer's headquarters on earth - they are accosted by the Zombie Twins, minions of Lucifer. Pope seemingly dispatches the duo, until they summon all the corpses on earth and form a giant zombie monster of writhing bodies. Pope is ineffective against this new monster, but Jesus is able to destroy them in a brilliant explosion with his hallowed might when they try to eat him. After killing the zombies, Pope and Jesus are once again attacked by Belaam, now sporting a robotic arm. He is easily and quickly defeated.
Now at the doors of Hellcorp, Jesus and Pope enter, only to have to fight an innumerable amount of enemies waiting for them. After putting up an incredible fight, Pope and Jesus are incapacitated and brought to the lair of Lucifer. There, they discover Lucifer's plan: to steal Saint Michael's halo and combine it with his own demon horns, thus expanding his powers to godlike proportions. Pope escapes, but is unable to prevent Lucifer from donning the halo, and is banished.
Pope then spends what seems like a long time in Hell, womanizing and fighting his way through every day to survive. A mere 17 seconds later on Earth, Pope is rescued by God, who increases Pope's powers by granting him a halo of his own. With his newfound power, Pope returns and defeats Lucifer, managing to save the Saint in the process. After meeting with God again, he is granted access to Heaven; an offer he turns down to protect the people of earth.
Afterwards, Pope returns home with Jesus as his roommate.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
created by Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
and Tony Moore
Tony Moore (artist)
Michael Anthony "Tony" Moore is an American comic book artist, whose work consists mainly of genre pieces, most notably in horror and science fiction, with titles such as The Walking Dead, Fear Agent and The Exterminators.-Career:...
, which was published by their own small press company under the moniker of Funk-O-Tron
Funk-O-Tron
Funk-O-Tron LLC was a publisher of independent American comic books written by its founder Robert Kirkman. Titles which the company published include Battle Pope and Battle Pope Presents: Saint Michael ....
originally in 2000
2000 in comics
-February:*Strange Adventures vol. 2, #4, final issue cover-dated February - January :* January 5: Goseki Kojima, co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, dies at age 71.* January 6: Mad magazine fixture Don Martin dies at age 68....
. The series was reprinted in color by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
in 2005
2005 in comics
- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
, with plans to possibly continue it with new stories after collecting the original material.
The book tells the tale of a hard drinking, womanizing Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
condemned by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
for his own evil ways, who is called to action to save Saint Michael, with the help of Jesus H. Christ, becoming mankind's final hope in a world overrun by demons following the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
.
Plot
Portraying a comical view of a fictional Pope, (Pope Oswald Leopold II) the opening panels of the comic show the main character sitting in a bar drinking and reminiscing. There is a flashback to a young child being prepared to accept the mantle of Pope. As such, he undergoes martial arts training from Bruce Lee because, "The Pope needs to be ready for anything." After becoming Pope, he leads a life full of cursing, drinking, and sex. Shortly thereafter, God casts judgement down upon the entire human race, condemning them all. The gates between Earth and Hell thus open, and the world is swarmed by demons. After a great war, a treaty is formed and the gates to Hell are closed. The survivors, both human and demon, are allowed to roam the earth and co-exist.The flashback ends and Pope witnesses a group of ruffians about to kidnap a young woman. As Pope moves to stop the group, they summon their demon friend Belaam. After a brief fight Belaam is defeated by Pope. The woman expresses her gratitude and goes back to Pope's house.
Later that night, Belaam ambushes Pope, killing the woman in the process. While distracted by the death of his lady-friend, Pope is also seemingly killed. As Belaam basks in his triumph, he is shot from behind by Jesus. Pope soon awakens, and he is in the presence of Jesus and God. They reveal to him that God had sent Saint Michael to watch over the good people left on earth, although Lucifer was able to overpower and capture the Saint. God endows Pope with super-strength, and tells him that should he be able to rescue Saint Michael, he will be granted entry into Heaven despite his deplorable life-style.
As Pope and Jesus search for Hellcorp - Lucifer's headquarters on earth - they are accosted by the Zombie Twins, minions of Lucifer. Pope seemingly dispatches the duo, until they summon all the corpses on earth and form a giant zombie monster of writhing bodies. Pope is ineffective against this new monster, but Jesus is able to destroy them in a brilliant explosion with his hallowed might when they try to eat him. After killing the zombies, Pope and Jesus are once again attacked by Belaam, now sporting a robotic arm. He is easily and quickly defeated.
Now at the doors of Hellcorp, Jesus and Pope enter, only to have to fight an innumerable amount of enemies waiting for them. After putting up an incredible fight, Pope and Jesus are incapacitated and brought to the lair of Lucifer. There, they discover Lucifer's plan: to steal Saint Michael's halo and combine it with his own demon horns, thus expanding his powers to godlike proportions. Pope escapes, but is unable to prevent Lucifer from donning the halo, and is banished.
Pope then spends what seems like a long time in Hell, womanizing and fighting his way through every day to survive. A mere 17 seconds later on Earth, Pope is rescued by God, who increases Pope's powers by granting him a halo of his own. With his newfound power, Pope returns and defeats Lucifer, managing to save the Saint in the process. After meeting with God again, he is granted access to Heaven; an offer he turns down to protect the people of earth.
Afterwards, Pope returns home with Jesus as his roommate.