Cabal (comics)

The Cabal is a comic book secret society of supervillains and antiheroes in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. The group was formed in the "Dark Reign" storyline very shortly after the Secret Invasion event.

Fictional team history

During a presentation shown by Bendis during the 2008 convention season, a picture was made public of a second Illuminati group consisting of villains and former villains. Presented in the same pose as the cover of Illuminati #1, this group was revealed to include Namor, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki, The Hood, and Norman Osborn. The Sub-Mariner is thus revealed to be affiliated with two different Illuminati groups simultaneously allied with both heroes and villains.

Uncanny X-Men writer Matt Fraction mentioned in an interview that the Uncanny X-Men annual in January will explain how Emma Frost was invited into the team. Loki was revealed to have dealings with Doctor Doom in recent issues of Thor and Namor was shown to have formed an alliance with Doctor Doom at the end of his last limited series. Namor had previously been aligned with Doom in the '70s series Super-Villain Team-Up. A past connection between Emma Frost and Namor was presented in Uncanny X-Men Annual #2, where it was revealed that Emma and Namor shared a brief romance while attempting to recruit Namor into the Hellfire Club as the new White King.

Cabal

A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue, usually unbeknownst to persons outside their group. Cabals are sometimes secret societies composed of a few designing persons, and at other times are manifestations of emergent behavior in society or governance on the part of a community of persons who have well established public affiliation or kinship. The term can also be used to refer to the designs of such persons or to the practical consequences of their emergent behavior, and also holds a general meaning of intrigue and conspiracy. The use of this term usually carries strong connotations of shadowy corners, back rooms and insidious influence. The term is frequently used in conspiracy theories; some Masonic conspiracy theories describe Freemasonry as an internationalist secret cabal.

Origins of the word

The term cabal derives from Cabala (a word that has numerous spelling variations), the Jewish mystical interpretation of the Hebrew scripture. In Hebrew it means "reception" or "tradition", denoting the sod (secret) level of Jewish exegesis. In European culture (Christian Cabala, Hermetic Qabalah) it became associated with occult doctrine or a secret.

Cavall

Cavall (Middle Welsh: cauall RBH & WBR; modernized: Cafall; pronunciation: /kaˈvaɬ/; Latin: Cabal, var. Caball (ms.K))) is the name of Arthur's dog, used in the hunt for the great boar, Twrch Trwyth (Latin: Troynt, Troit).

Cavall was Arthur's "favourite dog", and during a stag hunt, he was customarily the last dog to be let loose to chase after the game (Gereint Son of Erbin).

Historia Brittonum

Legend in antiquity has it that Cabal left his permanent footprint in the rock while pursuing the boar Troynt. The lore is preserved in the Wonders of Britain (De Mirabilibus Britanniae or Mirabilia in shorthand) appended to Historia Brittonum (9th century). The wonderous nature of this cairn of stones was that even if someone removed that footprinted stone to another spot, it would be back at its original heap the next day.

The Latin account has the mark of age, since it refers to Arthur merely as warrior and not king. The full quote in translation is given in the Twrch Trwyth (or wikisource), but Lady Guest's notes might best be consulted, since it provides both the Latin text and translation, as well as commentary on the Carn Cavall as well (Schreiber 1849, pp. 358–360).

Cabal (novella)

Cabal is a 1988 horror novel by the British author Clive Barker. It was originally published in the United States as part of a collection comprising a novel and several short stories from Barker's sixth and final volume of the Books of Blood.

The book was adapted into the film Nightbreed in 1990, written and directed by Barker himself, starring Craig Sheffer and David Cronenberg.

Plot

The story is focused on a young man named Boone, who is suffering from an unspecified mental disorder. He is consulting a psychiatrist named Decker. To Boone's horror, he is informed by Decker that he is responsible for the brutal murder of eleven people, the most recent of which was in the City of Calgary. Boone, however, has no recollection of the murders he has committed.

Boone initially tries to kill himself, but when this fails, he begins to believe he can save himself from prosecution. Midian, a semi-mythical city, appears in his dreams as a place that offers sanctuary to monsters, who are collectively known as the Night Breed. He starts trying to reach Midian, unaware of the truth behind the insidious events that set him on this course.