Cathulhu — ghostbusters

Cathulhu^[1] is the main antagonist of the episode "The Collect Call Of Cathulhu". It's one of the Old Ones and one of the most powerful entities the Ghostbusters have encountered.

History

Primary Canon

Cathulhu was a vastly powerful entity dwelling at the bottom of the ocean awaiting for the stars to be in the correct alignment for it to rise again. This occurs every 60 years; however, it appears that Cathulhu requires an outside ritual contained in the Necronomicon to bring this about. It had acolyte creatures known as the "Spawn of Cathulhu" as well as a human cult who worshiped it and attempted to awaken it to bring about the apocalypse.

Cathulhu was eventually sent back to the depths when the Ghostbusters used their particle streams to ionize a roller coaster track in Coney Island, causing lightning to strike it, effectively sending 100 gigavolts of electricity though it. This was, however, not enough to cause any lasting injury, but was enough to return Cathulhu to a dormant state, until the stars are right again.

Secondary Canon

Ghostbusters: The Board Game

Ghost Card Information

Side A

To Hit: 3 or higher
To Trap: Cathulhu cannot be trapped.
When Hit: Move 2 spaces towards that Ghostbuster.
When Missed: Moves 2 spaces towards that Ghostbuster, them moves 1 space in a random direction.
Special:
- (Set-Up) Cathulhu starts with 3 Slime tokens on it.
- Terrain and Ghosts do not block Line of Sight to Cathulhu.
- When Cathulhu is adjacent to a Gate as it closes, remove a Slime token. When Cathulhu has no Slime tokens, remove it from the scenario and each Ghostbuster gains 3 XP.
- At the end of each Ghostbuster's turn, Cathulhu moves 1 space towards the nearest map edge. If Cathulhu leaves the map, you lose the game.
- Push - When Cathulhu moves into a Ghostbuster's space, they get Slimed and are moved 1 space in the same direction.

Side B

Cathulhu is one of the "Old Ones", a race of extradimensional beings who once ruled Earth but have since been banished by unknown means for unknown reasons. Cathulhu has since dwelled at the bottom of the ocean, and every 60 years, the stars are in correct alignment for it to rise again.

Insight Editions

Cathulhu reached out to writers in the physical world and psychically influenced them into writing fiction centered on entities resembling it. The writers were haunted by dreams with a specific continuity of detail.^[2] It was assumed to be a fictional character because there was no other proof of its existence. Cathulhu's long-term plan worked, and the stories inspired the founding of a cult dedicated to summoning it. In the present, the Cult of Cathulhu summoned their deity to the physical plane. Their bodies were possessed and transmogrified into miniature versions of Cathulhu. The Ghostbusters were hired to deal with the infestation. Cathulhu manifested near Coney Island and influenced a lightning storm in clear weather. Proton Streams failed against it. The Ghostbusters ionized roller coaster tracks with their throwers and lured Cathulhu near it. A lightning strike of 100 gigavolts struck it, and Cathulhu returned to a dormant state.

Ghosts From Our Past

Cthulhu dated back to the Protodynastic period when it was originally named Cathulhu, a Babylonian name that translated to "High Priest of the Great Old Ones". The physical manifestation of Cthulhu was said to be dozens of stories tall. Stories have recorded that he destroyed numerous civilizations with his bare hands and had since gone into hibernation underwater.^[3]

Classification

Primary Canon

According to Egon Spengler, Cathulhu makes Gozer look like "Little Mary Sunshine" and is "completely off the scale" in terms of power.^[4]^[5] This would indicate that it is well beyond the standard classification system.

Secondary Canon

Ghostbusters: The Board Game

In Ghostbusters: The Board Game, Cathulhu is a Class 8.

Insight Editions

Cathulhu is unclassifiable.

Ghosts From Our Past

Ghosts From Our Past: Both Literally & Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal, page 118, lists Cthulhu as a Class VII.^[6]

Description

Physically, Cathulhu resembles a reptilian humanoid with bat-like wings and an octopus head, or as Peter Venkman put it, "looks like Godzilla wearing an octopus hat".^[7]

Powers

The Real Ghostbusters

Cathulhu is capable of physical regeneration, as shown when the Ghostbusters fired their Particle Streams at his head. As a result of this and its inherent power, it was entirely immune to conventional ghostbusting techniques. It did possess a weakness to magic; however, it would take a magician of vast ability to have anything other than a very short-term effect on it, as shown when Professor Derleth attempted use an incantation to return it to its slumber.

Insight Editions

Cathulhu was able to psychically influence a group of writers into crafting stories that featured entities like it. Its presence on the physical plane alone causes environmental manipulation. It was also immune to Proton Streams.

Based On

According to Ray Stantz, H.P Lovecraft used Cathulhu to create works of fiction. This is a reference to the author of many short stories set in the "Cthulhu Mythos" written around the 1920s. Such stories included the Necronomicon, and were in fact published by August Derleth, who the Cathulhu expert was obviously named for.

Trivia

According to J. Michael Straczynski on Twitter, Cathulhu "Should've been [spelled] Cthulhu, but the stupid title person thought it was a typo missing a vowel and "fixed" it."^[8]
On page eight of Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #2, Peter, from The Real Ghostbusters, asks if the Ghostbusters ever encountered Cathulhu.^[9]
On March 8, 2015, the 22nd stretch goal is Ghostbusters: The Board Game, $1100K, was also revealed: Cathulhu.^[10]
On March 10, 2015, Cathulhu was unlocked.^[11] The 24th and last stretch goal, $1325K, was later introduced: an upgrade of Cathulhu to 100mm.^[12]
On March 11, 2015, The Cathulhu 100mm upgrade was unlocked.^[13]
On Cathulhu's character card in Ghostbusters: The Board Game
- The caption on the photograph quotes Egon's "Its power is completely off the scale!" line from "The Collect Call of Cathulhu".
- The biography mentions the back drop of "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" in which the stars are in correct alignment every 60 years to summon him.
Erik Burnham considered using Cathulhu as a primary antagonist in Ghostbusters Annual 2018 but ultimately decided on a new version of Samhain, Connla.^[14]