Mancubus (Doom 3)



The Mancubus is one of the few Doom 3 monsters that is very similar to its classic counterpart.

Like the original version it is roughly as big as a car, it has a fireball launcher for each arm, but unlike the original, it does not fire the two launchers simultaneously, firing each in turn instead. It is greenish grey in colour, rather than brown like the classic Doom version. The Doom 3 Mancubus is also tougher than the classic version, taking as many as six direct rocket hits to kill, making it the toughest (but also one of the slowest) non-boss creature in the game.

Furthermore, unlike the classic Mancubus, the Doom 3 version has a melee attack: both of its launchers are used as hammers, which while attacking almost spontaneously, it is possible to use its long "recharge" time to actually kill the Mancubus with any melee weapon (chainsaw being the best bet.)

Compared to the Classic Doom Mancubus, this one is more elephant seal-like or Cthulhu-like since the Making of Doom 3 book states the latter. Their strange head was explained by the game designers. The centre tentacle is a breathing tube, consisting of tiny holes along its sides (which are visible if viewed closely). Both side tentacles were actually supposed to be tusks, making them even more like elephants. Due to a graphical and model design glitch they were reduced to feeding tools, and are stated to be used like the mouth of an octopus. It it unknown whether they have a beak inside their mouth or not.

The weapons that are effective against the Mancubus are the Chaingun, the Rocket launcher, Plasma Gun, and the BFG.

The main diferences between the Doom 3 Mancubus and the Doom II Mancubus is the skin color, the face, and the feet. In Doom II, the Mancubus had a mouth, light colored skin, and elephant-like feet. In Doom 3, the Mancubus has a small "trunk" instead of a face, pale skin, and their feet look like fanned out pieces of flesh.

Trivia

 * If the Mancubus model is examined more closely (e.g. using the noclip cheat or a model viewer) it is possible to see hooks with suckers where the trunk begins, suggesting the trunks are actually feeding tools; when the Mancubus shakes its head, they flap around. This could indicate that the design of the Mancubus was inspired by Cthulhu, like much of Quake. The tentacles can also be seen in the beast's introduction FMV. The designer said that the Mancubus is not only inspired by Cthulhu but also of a shock site image of a man who took off his lower jaw from a gun shot.


 * Some of the original Mancubus grunts from Doom II are used for this version as well.


 * If the noclip cheat is used to get up close, nipples can be seen on the mancubus.


 * The Vagary's abdomen contains a malformed Mancubus fetus, leading to speculation that the Vagary is the "mother" of the Mancubi species.


 * These monsters are usually accompanied by Cherubs. This has lead to some believing they are the offspring of Mancubi. This is highly unlikely, since they look and act completely differently, though it still may be possible.

Combat Details

 * Health: 1,000
 * Attack Damage: 20 (blast), up to 20 (splash damage), 40 (melee)
 * Locations: Recycling Sector 2, Hell, Erebus Sector 5, Hell (revisted)
 * Cheat Spawn: "spawn monster_demon_mancubus"