In Discworld cosmology the Death of Rats is an institutionalized, delegated aspect of the larger figure of Death: a very small office or "part" of Death whose responsibility is rat-death. Sources describe Death in Discworld as a parody of the Grim Reaper and note that Death himself is framed as a minion of Azrael in broader reference material; within that bureaucratic framing the Death of Rats functions as a specialised usher for rat souls.
Described in sources as a diminutive, hooded figure that mirrors the larger Discworld Death in silhouette. Fan sites and merchandise depict it as a tiny cloaked skeletal figure often shown with a proportionally small scythe; canonical references emphasise its small size and hooded likeness to Death rather than extensive anatomical detail.
Functionally limited and specific: it gathers or ushers the souls of rats and performs duties analogous to those of Death on a much smaller scale. Narrative references show it acting as an usher of rodent spirits (including an excerpt where it utters "SQUEAK" before raising its scythe and sending a spirit to another rodent life) and indicate it displays personality and agency appropriate to its office within the Discworld metaphysical bureaucracy.
3-D Man
3-D Man is a Marvel Comics superhero identity associated with a 1950s-era origin in which the body of Chuck Chandler can materialize in three-dimensional existence when activated by his brother Hal via a pair of glasses. The mantle was later assumed by Delroy Garrett (formerly Triathlon) in modern continuity.
5 Ronin
5 Ronin is a 2011 Marvel Comics five-issue limited series that reimagines five Marvel superhero archetypes as rōnin (masterless samurai) in a fictionalized post‑Sekigahara feudal Japan. The work places Wolverine, Hulk, Punisher, Psylocke, and Deadpool analogues into period roles to explore displacement, revenge, and identity in an era of political upheaval.
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
An Elvish hymn in Sindarin addressed to Elbereth (Varda) from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Presented in The Lord of the Rings and later musical and dramatic adaptations, the hymn functions as devotional poetic language that evokes Elvish reverence for the star-kindler rather than an independent supernatural agent.
A.R.G.U.S.
A.R.G.U.S. is a fictional clandestine United States government agency in the DC Comics universe that investigates, contains, and manages superhuman, meta-human, and supernatural incidents and assets. Introduced in The New 52 continuity, it functions as an institutional actor providing intelligence, logistical support, covert task forces (notably Task Force X / the Suicide Squad), and a dedicated magic division across comics and media adaptations.
Abin Sur
Abin Sur is a fictional extraterrestrial Green Lantern from the planet Ungara in DC Comics. A former history professor turned Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, he discovered and investigated a prophecy tied to the "Blackest Night," died wounded on Earth and chose Hal Jordan as his ring-successor, and was later reanimated as a Black Lantern in the Blackest Night storyline.
Absolute Green Lantern (tradition)
A modern comic-book reinterpretation in DC's Absolute Universe in which a giant green lantern-shaped vessel appears above Evergreen, Nevada, generates an impenetrable green dome, judges townspeople and sends the judged into the Lantern to await further adjudication in OA (Omega‑Alpha). The story reframes Green Lantern mythos as cosmic/religious horror with an "Enlightenment Spectrum" of flames (Qard, Rao, Sur, Aur) stewarded by Oans such as Abin Sur.
Absorbing Man
A fictional Marvel Comics character (Carl "Crusher" Creel) whose body acquires the physical properties of materials or energies he touches. Debuting in Journey into Mystery #114 (March 1965), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he is presented as a mortal supervillain/occasional antihero who challenges heroes such as Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, and the Avengers.
Ace West
Ace West (Wallace Daniel "Ace" West) is a contemporary American comic-book character in DC Comics continuity, a young speedster who channels the metaphysical Speed Force and occupies legacy-hero roles such as Kid Flash and Ace. Introduced in New 52-era stories as a biracial reinterpretation of Wally West and later retconned in DC Rebirth as a distinct Wallace West, son of Daniel West (Reverse-Flash), he appears across present-day and alternate/future timelines and participates in team and sacrifice narratives tied to the Speed Force.
Acheron
Acheron is a mythological river of the Ancient Greek Underworld, portrayed in classical literature as a boundary or entrance to Hades across which the dead are conveyed. It is also a real river in Epirus whose landscape and nearby cult sites (notably a Necromanteion) were mapped onto the literary river; later Western authors use Acheron metonymically for Hell or the infernal realm.
Achilles and Patroclus
A central heroic dyad in the Homeric Trojan War tradition: two mortal Greek warriors whose close bond—portrayed as deep companionship in the Iliad—drives key events of the epic when Patroclus' death provokes Achilles' rage, return to battle, and the slaying of Hector.
Acoetes
Acoetes is a proper name applied to multiple mortal figures in classical Greco‑Roman mythic narratives. Most famously, an Acoetes is a fisherman who recognizes and testifies to the divinity of Bacchus/Dionysus and recounts how blasphemous sailors were transformed into dolphins; other bearers of the name appear as a Trojan genealogical figure (father of Laocoön), an aged former squire of Evander, and a frightened soldier in Statius' Thebaid.
Adam X the X-Treme
A fictional Shi'ar–human mutant hybrid from Marvel Comics, created in the 1990s X-Men milieu. Portrayed as a genetically engineered offspring tying the Summers mutant bloodline to Shi'ar royalty, he appears in Earth- and Shi'ar-centered storylines and exhibits both Shi'ar physiology and a mutant heat/blood ability.
Community Record
- [1]Death (Discworld) - Wikipedia. Wikipedia: Death (Discworld) — notes Death as a Discworld character and frames Death as a minion of Azrael; describes the institutionalised aspects of Death and mentions that the Death of Rats is an infinitesimally small part of Death himself.wiki
- [2]Death of Rats - Creatures Wiki. Creatures Wiki entry summarising the Death of Rats as a personified, diminutive usher of rat souls and noting its characteristic vocalisation "SQUEAK."wiki
- [3]The Death of Rats - The Pen is Mightier than the Sword (fan excerpt). Fan-site excerpt describing an instance where the Death of Rats utters "SQUEAK" before raising its scythe and sending a spirit to the next rodent life; used as evidence for its ushering behaviour and characteristic vocalisation.other
- [4]Death of Rats | Discworld Emporium. Discworld Emporium product description and blog discussing an exclusive recreation of "Terry Pratchett's diminutive usher of souls" and describing merchandise depictions such as a tiny scythe and cloak.other
- [5]Reaper Man - Wikipedia. Wikipedia entry for the Discworld novel Reaper Man, cited in notes as containing narrative material about Death and related sub-figures (context for mentions of the Death of Rats' agency/preferences).wiki
