How Thoth-Amon Got Lost In Translation

It's no secret that Conan the Destroyer (1984) is viewed as a convoluted mess. However, I think Hasbro still had a soft spot for it when they created Mesmira for Conan the Adventurer (1993). The Conan mythos had various alternations from adaptation to adaptation or call it remake to remake. It's because each story is independent from different continuities like Marvel Comics, Dark Horse, and Robert E. Howard's original stories. One character that got lost in translation is the wizard Thoth-Amon. Thoth-Amon was a villain in "The Phoenix and the Sword". For some reason, later alternations of the Conan mythologies made Thoth-Amon from just another character (who never met Conan in earlier adaptations) that ascended to the level of the archenemy.

Conan the Destroyer introduced a character named Thoth-Amon but played a VERY MINOR ROLE. The biggest antagonists were the mesmerizing Taramis (the Big Bad, though another Taramis from the novels was a good queen) and the final antagonist was Dagoth. Thoth-Amon played a very minor role when he guarded the jewel from Conan and his friends. This Thoth-Amon wasn't even the snake worshiper that he was in the comics.

Later on, I discovered Conan's archenemy wasn't the Wrath-Amon from Conan the Adventurer as the character was created exclusively for the cartoons. Instead, it was a villain named Thoth-Amon. The beloved Conan the Barbarian (1982) presented Thulsa Doom. Movie Thulsa was the leader of the Snake Cult and was presented as a dark-skinned sorcerer who worshiped Set the serpent god. Yes, I called Movie Thulsa "Wrath-Amon" back when I saw that ADULT MOVIE as a child. Movie Thulsa was pretty much like Comics Thoth-Amon in many ways. Unlike Wrath-Amon, Thoth-Amon was pretty much more cunning, and could still do considerable more damage. The Dark Horse Thoth-Amon is presented to be a very cruel villain. Earlier versions of Thoth-Amon were more leaned towards the Noble Villain portrayal. Movie Thulsa though was only focused on getting Set's worship across the world by all means necessary. 

I remember seeing a few Conan covers as a child, thinking Conan was fighting Skeletor from the He-Man franchise. Instead, this "Skeletor" was the REAL Thulsa Doom - not the Thoth-Amon knock-off. True, Skeletor was partly inspired by a traumatic incident of a corpse at an amusement park. However, nothing can deny that Thulsa Doom is a skull-headed sorcerer who wore a hood. Thulsa Doom was originally the enemy of King Kull. Later iterations of Conan made Thulsa Doom a frequent enemy and may have been even more dangerous than Thoth-Amon. What the skull-headed sorcerer and Movie Thulsa had in common was that they worshiped Set as well. Skeletor in He-Man was also the Lord of Snake Mountain while Movie Thulsa was the master of the Mountain of Power. Coincidence? However, Skeletor was rightfully toned down since He-Man wasn't meant for adults. 

The comics would show Thoth-Amon and Thulsa Doom not liking each other. King Hiss was also introduced into the He-Man franchise first in the comics and the canceled-too-soon He-Man (2002) cartoon series. Some later comics of He-Man also showed Skeletor and King Hiss having an uneasy alliance against He-Man. The He-Man (2002) cartoon made King Hiss temporarily take over Skeletor. 

An interesting note is that Conan the Adventurer created two Thoth-Amon-based characters. One is Ram-Amon who's obviously a nod to Movie Thulsa in some way. Having Arthur Burghart voice Ram-Amon seems to suggest that James Earl Jones was supposed to voice the character. However, JEJ was devoted to The Lion King at that time. Still, Burghart almost sounded like JEJ so I'm fine with that. Ram-Amon looked a lot like THOTH-AMON wearing the Pharaoh-like attire. Ram-Amon was pretty much like Movie Thulsa - a charismatic Dirty Coward who preferred to use subtle tactics and deceit to win the day. I even wonder if Hasbro intended to use the name Thulsa Doom for Wrath-Amon's creator? It's because I think Movie Thulsa would definitely hate Wrath-Amon and would offer Cartoon Conan and his friends to be devoured by the serpent god Set. 

Why did the producers choose the name "Thulsa Doom" for a character that was obviously THOTH-AMON? Why did the second movie demote Thoth-Amon to SUCH A SMALL ROLE? Why did Movie Thulsa become a Thoth-Amon Expy instead of a skull-headed sorcerer? Instead, Thoth-Amon's name was lost in translation. It's really not explained at all.