Gender: Male
First Appearance: "City of Stone" Part I
Other Appearances: "City of Stone" Parts II & III
Prince Duncan was the son of Malcolm II, king of Scotland, and grandson of Kenneth II. Around AD 1020, the young Duncan began to make plans to secure his throne, and hired a mercenary known as Gillecomgain, or the Hunter, to be his personal assassin. In 1020, he sent Gillecomgain to slay Findlaech, the High Steward of Moray, and the only person, he believed, that could support any claim to the Scottish throne that his cousin, MacBeth, could have. For some reason- perhaps he intuitively recognized his destiny- Duncan saw Findlaech's son as his primary rival. When the Hunter succeeded, Duncan rewarded him- in his identity as Gillecomgain- with Findlaech's vacated position.
12 years later, Duncan's position was almost completely secure. He'd fathered a son, Canmore, who would inherit his throne. Partly to reward Gillecomgain for his service, and partly to hurt MacBeth, Duncan ordered Bodhe to marry his daughter, Gruoch, MacBeth's love, off to the Hunter. After this, Duncan asked Gillecomgain to eliminate the final threat to his becoming king- MacBeth himself. However, to his outrage, the Hunter refused, believing it could lead to a more thorough investigation into Findlaech's death, making things dangerous for them both.
Duncan decided to deal with his rebellious servant and his dangerous cousin at the same time. Feigning shock, he revealed to MacBeth that Gillecomgain was the Hunter. As he predicted, this led to a confrontation between his cousin and the assassin. However, his ploy was only half-successful- MacBeth, with Demona's help, slew the Hunter, and escaped unharmed. Duncan decided to become the new Hunter, devoted to the end of all gargoyles, for he now believed them to be helping his cousin.
By 1040, Duncan was now king, and maintained a cordial but unfriendly relationship with MacBeth, though the latter seemed not to notice. Their sons, Canmore and Luach, in contrast, were good friends and playmates.
One day, the two noblemen and their children were out for a walk on some misty hills, and Duncan slipped. He would have fallen to his death had MacBeth not saved him. Duncan was greatly surprised and pleased that his cousin was so loyal and a friend to him, and likely would have ended his machinations against him right then and there- but they found Demona and her clan of rogue gargoyles. Duncan made to destroy them, but MacBeth, recognizing Demona as the gargoyle who'd saved his life twice, asked the king to spare them. Duncan's paranoia re-asserted itself, and, while he did indeed spare them (for the moment), he now saw MacBeth as an enemy once more.
They began to journey home, but were halted by the Weird Sisters, appearing as a trio of hags. They told the four that each of them in turn would be king of Scotland. Duncan was certain now that MacBeth planned to steal his throne.
Near sundown, Duncan returned with MacDuff and a number of other men, planning to destroy the clan. However, his timing was bad, for only a few gargoyles were shattered before the rest awoke. Duncan himself was hurt. Regardless, he gathered an army and planned to march on Moray, to destroy his "betrayer" before he could actually betray him. However, this led to his undoing.
MacBeth planned to surrender himself to Duncan and thus save his loved ones, but was intercepted by Demona and the Weird Sisters. The Sisters bound Demona and MacBeth together, restoring the gargoyle's youth while taking away that of the nobleman. They also revealed to him that Duncan had ordered his father's murder, and gave him a magical weapon, a small green sphere.
Demona's small clan joined with MacBeth's forces, and they combatted Duncan's army. Eventually, Duncan and MacBeth faced off, but Duncan gained the upper hand- but MacBeth tossed the sphere at him, and when his sword shattered it, he was consumed in green flames and destroyed, leaving nothing but his helmet and Hunter's mask behind. Duncan was no more.
Duncan was a fairly good warrior, at least equal to MacBeth in 1040. However, his most formidable weapon was his clever, paranoid, and manipulative mind, which he used often to get what he wanted.