During the events of Highlander: The Series and movies in the timeline following it, the oldest living immortal is Methos Peter Wingfield , whose timeline dates back thousands of years, as he was at one point one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
While Highlander lore implies Methos is predated by millennia of other immortals, he exists as the oldest and most powerful alive within the timeline of the franchise. What binds Immortals through time and location are The Rules, a governing list of combat ethics by which they hunt and kill each other, an act known as The Game. These Rules are passed from teacher to student, as each immortal needs trained by a fellow immortal to ensure they play The Game properly.
These rules not only govern the behavior of the immortals throughout the films and television series, but also serve as dramatic guideposts upon which plots and action can be based. The concept of holy ground is utilized constantly throughout Highlander: The Series , and the series also contains episodes involving the consequences for immortals who break the rules. The franchise has been a cult hit for decades at this point, beginning in the s with Christopher Lambert in the original Highlander film.
The popularity of that film eventually gave way to a spinoff TV series featuring his clansman Duncan MacLeod, who embarked on his own immortal adventures. Throughout the course of the show, and the subsequent films that continued the story, Duncan MacLeod faced off against the deadliest immortal opponents imaginable. This list has been updated to include five more that proved to be his most challenging.
This unique immortal was born in in England and lost his life at age He was resurrected and taken under the wing of Amanda, who acted as his protector. With no physical strength or skill to protect him from other immortals, Kenneth used his child-like innocence to catch them off guard and slay them.
In later years, Kenneth would be taken under the wing of several immortals, only to betray and kill them all, taking their Quickenings. He then attempted to do the same to Duncan and Ritchie but failed. He would later enlist the help of immortal Terrance Kincaid, who also had a personal vendetta against MacLeod. He managed to slay Kincaid, which left him in a weakened state.
Kenneth seized the opportunity but was interrupted by his former protector Amanda, who assured him that she'd kill him if he took MacLeod's head. Byron was one of the few immortals to be based on an actual historical person - 19th-century bad-boy poet Lord Byron.
It is revealed that Methos mentored Byron following his untimely death in , but it wasn't enough to set him on a path of righteousness. After Byron influenced an up-and-coming guitarist into joining him in his irresponsible lifestyle which led to his quick death , MacLeod decided to take him out. The two engaged in a duel in a cellar, where he was swiftly killed.
In the end, Byron's excesses and selfish pursuits could no longer be tolerated. Born in , Larca led a life of piracy before becoming a conquistador, and later a Messiah figure to a tribe living in Peru.
Fashioning himself a deity, Larca would later be killed by his own tribe after they began dying of a foreign virus. For years, he lay trapped in a tomb, only to be released in Larca quickly took up his old occupation as a cult leader, this time recruiting other immortals into his fold.
He successfully convinced them that Duncan MacLeod was the embodiment of Satan, who needed to be fought. Eventually, the two squared off, and Larca easily lost his head to Duncan's superior skill. His true danger lies in how easily he could corrupt and radicalize his followers. Grayson was an immortal born in AD in Dacia, who lost his life when the Goths invaded. Their leader Darius sensed that Grayson was immortal, and became his mentor. So, we tried to use something that created the idea that somebody got their head cut off, but that it was more like a jolt of light came out of the head, and the lightning flew around them.
This, I suppose, was less violent than the movie version. Consequently, the Quickening scene in the pilot episode "The Gathering" is described in the script as follows : "We will call this shot for want of a better term, the Quickening Thrust.
This will be one of our signature shots of the show In any event what we will NOT see, is a decapitation. No head leaves the body, indeed no sword strikes the neck. Instead, we cut to: The Quickening is a blinding flash of blue light emanating from what was the bad guy and filling the screen and arcing into anything electrical nearby.
Thus, street lamps, car headlights, windows, etc. The time of the Gathering is not consistent throughout the movies and series most likely due to the fact that the first Highlander movie was scripted to end the story without sequels in mind.
In Highlander , the Gathering happens in , the "far away land" is America and Connor wins the Prize. In Highlander: The Series , set in , the Gathering is supposed to happen during the first season for continuity with the first film. In all subsequent Highlander: The Series seasons and Highlander movies and series, the Gathering has not happened yet and the Game continues. It has been suggested that the Gathering is cyclical and generational, happening every few centuries. This is not in keeping with the idea of the initial film.
In Highlander: Endgame , the Gathering is said to be set in "a very far off time" and it is not mentioned at all in Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. The very last Immortal still alive at the end of the Gathering wins the Prize.
The nature of the Prize is "ultimate power and knowledge", according to the Season 1 promotional booklet of Highlander: The Series.
I am everything! Live and grow old. You are at one with all living things. Each man's thoughts and dreams are yours to know. You have power beyond imagination. In which way the last Immortal uses the Prize depends on his personality. David Abramovitz, Creative Consultant on Highlander: The Series , explains: "Because there can be only one, at the end there will be only one.
If that one is good, the world will see a golden age. If evil, the world will fall into anarchy. Conversely, in the Highlander: The Series episode "The Gathering", at a time when the Gathering has not happened yet, Connor describes what would happen should an evil Immortal win the Prize : "The last one will have the power of all the Immortals who ever lived.
Enough power to rule this planet forever. If someone like Slan Quince is that last one, mankind will suffer an eternity of darkness, from which it will never recover. Immortals can be found in any time era and in any place around the world. They can be of any race, ethnicity, or gender. For example, Xavier St. There are comparatively few female Immortals.
Abramovitz explains, "You have to be realistic. Women survive in a warrior's game by being different kinds of warriors. You can't expect a woman who is 5'4" and pounds to survive in the same way. So it's hard for me to understand, no matter how good she is with a blade, that a woman could take on a great athlete and survive.
She is asked to admit that Connor is not her son, because they wanted her to say Connor was the son of Satan. Immortals are raised in the societies to which they were born or adopted into, and often retain their personality, customs and habits most of their life. Abramovitz explains, "Even if you are an Immortal, who you are as a child in many ways is who you become. Immortals grow up and age exactly like mortals, except that they do not have children.
They do not feel the Buzz but they trigger [one] Immortals know what pre-Immortals really are when they encounter them. According to Panzer, Immortals "carry within them the seed of their immortality which is triggered by a violent death. This is called the First Death. Most Immortals feel their resurrection is a miracle.
Mortals usually react violently when they witness a First Death; Connor MacLeod was banished from his clan for witchcraft in and this had become legendary in Duncan MacLeod's time around , which he recalls likely referring to Connor , "When I was growing up there was a legend in my clan about a strange man in my grandfather's time.
He was killed in battle and then miraculously revived. I thought it was an old wives tale. The new Immortal usually does not learn about their situation until they meet another Immortal willing to teach them. This Immortal is referred to as the mentor or First Teacher. Cloud, who beheaded his First Teacher, Henri St. Xavier himself then took at least one student, Morgan D'Estaing , and taught him the ways of immortality, becoming D'Estaing's ideal, one so strong that he wanted to avenge Xavier's death.
After their First Death, Immortals can theoretically live forever, but in practice, it depends on their ability to defend their heads against an opponent. A new Immortal has the chance to live for untold millennia - maybe even as long as the mythical Methos - or maybe all he gets is another week.
Methos, the oldest living Immortal, is over well over years old, and looks like a man in his late twenties or early thirties. Richie Ryan first died at 19 and met his final death at the age of A First Death happening too early in life can be a hindrance at playing the Game; Kenny , is an year-old Immortal who died for the first time at the age of twelve and has retained the body of a year-old ever since.
It's possible that the Quickening is a form of neural or bio-energy field far beyond the capability of current technology to detect.
Similarly, many mortals, upon meeting and interacting with an Immortal, see no evident difference between them in form, appearance or substance from themselves. Some fans propose that Immortals are a sub-species of humanity, due to being very similar to mortals despite their Immortality. They are sterile and so a genetic dead-end. They can be of any ethnicity or gender. For example, Xavier St. The Quickening rebuilds their bodies whenever it's damaged, and revives them from temporary death after the main organs have stopped operating.
It acts like a jump start on cells and the major organs to get them going again. How long it takes wounds to heal depends on the amount of damage. The Quickening speeds up the healing process to such an extent that it happens within seconds, and the regeneration process is perfect, leaving no scars or marks.
The Quickening can heal damage from any part of the body, even neural damage; cartilage and all soft tissue will restore to pre-injury state. All cuts, scratches, and other damages on the body heal very quickly, but deep cuts on the neck take longer to heal. The organs do regenerate. If an Immortal's heart, for example, is destroyed, the Immortal will die temporarily. Then he or she will revive.
Another benefit of the Quickening is that it completely protects cells from free radicals and ambient radiation, preventing any oxidation and ionization damage to the DNA. Perhaps it also modifies and augments the genes responsible for telomerase an enzyme that prevents chromosomal degeneration production so Immortals continuously possess the enzyme in every cell in the body, completely preventing cellular senescence and therefore giving every cell replicative immortality.
The Quickening probably also effects the genes responsible for the metabolic processes of aging, by completely suppressing their function. As a result of these effects of the Quickening, Immortals are incapable of aging, decaying, etc. Immortals might survive and maintain their physical health without the need to eat, drink, or breathe. And should be able to survive and adapt to any environment.
A possible example is Nefertiri , who was buried alive in a sarcophagus for 2, years.
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