Coyote-Old-Man was a trickster spirit who appeared in desert valleys of southern California. He took the form of an aging Hopi Indian and began calling himself Father Craft.
History
As Father Craft, he found an ex-hippie guru named Snake. Snake had once been involved with White-Buffalo-Woman back in the 1960s, when she was assuming the name, Brown Mary. He believed that she was dead however – murdered by federal agents some twenty years prior. Father Craft knew better than to believe that White-Buffalo-Woman was dead. He feared however, that her identity may have been destroyed, and that she may have lost her ability to commune with the spirit plane.
Father Craft traveled to the suburban town of Fort Edgar. He discovered a young man named Brother Christopher, who had only recently escaped from a secret society known as the Mammonites. As luck would have it, Christopher was also the son of White-Buffalo-Woman. Father Craft and Brother Christopher traveled to the Laurel Canyon home of a federal agent named Cody and rescued White-Buffalo-Woman.
He then began to school Brother Christopher as to his true nature. He revealed to him his birth name, Snot-Boy, and explained that he was destined to be the deliverer – a hybrid being of both the physical and spiritual plane who would usher in the dawn of a new age – the Fifth World. It took a long time before Christopher accepted the truth about his identity, but in time, he fulfilled his role in the cosmic plan and brought about the post-apocalptic era of the Fifth World.
The emergence of the fifth world was signalled by a series of earthquakes and the appearance of the great Thunderbird spirit. As the barriers between the spirit realm and the physical plane fell sway, thousands of animal spirits ravaged the western regions of the United States causing untold carnage. Father Craft assumed his true form and took great pleasure from witnessing the destruction of the greed-infested corruption of the Fourth World. After the dust settled, Coyote-Old-Man began journeying towards the east, in the hopes of watching the entire spectacle take place a second time. Whether he was succesful in extending the power of the Fifth World on the east coast or not has never been revealed.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Immortality: Coyote-Old-Man is a "Power Being" of the Spirit World and as such, he is effectively immortal.
- Spiritual Connection: The full extent of Coyote-Old-Man's powers has never been revealed. As an animal-totem, he possessed the ability to perceive alternate dimensions both in the physical and spiritual planes of existence.
- Animal Empathy: Coyote-Old-Man shared an intimate connection with all matters relating to nature – most notably the coyote. He could communicate with the creatures of the Earth and inspire others towards acts of creativity.
- Metamorphosis: Like all power beings, Coyote-Old-Man had the ability to take human form. His strength and vitality in human form directly correlated to his internal spiritual strength.
Abilities
- Deception: Known as a trickster spirit, Coyote-Old-Man specialized in areas of beguilement, deceit and chicanery.
Weaknesses
If Coyote-Old-Man's spirit were ever broken, he would then lose his immortality and become subject to the same physical limitations that affect normal human beings.
Notes
- This character or object is an adaptation of Coyote (mythology), a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- The image of the coyote as a trickster spirit is prevalent in many Native American cultures. Even the ancient Egyptians regarded the coyote (more likely, jackal) as an untrustworthy prankster.
Related Articles
- Cody
- Fifth World
- Fifth World Raga
- Fourth World
- Ghostdancing (drug)
- Mammonite
- Snake (Fred Kominsky)
- Snot-Boy
Related
- 7 Appearances of Coyote-Old-Man (Ghostdancing)
- 1 Images featuring Coyote-Old-Man (Ghostdancing)
- 3 Quotations by or about Coyote-Old-Man (Ghostdancing)
- Character Gallery: Coyote-Old-Man (Ghostdancing)
Footnotes
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.