Komodo

A komodo

The komodo is a new enemy which occurs in Doom: The Dark Ages, a super heavy reptilian enforcer of the horde which bristles with armor and weaponry.

Appearance

The komodo appears as a bulky reptilian creature that is dressed in armor that covers the left part of its chest and has spiked shoulder pads (the left one is bigger than the right). One of the distinctive features of the komodo is a bare skull, as well as a semblance of a mane that spans from its back to its neck. Its right arm holds a spear, at the end of which is a double-bladed chainsaw. The forearm has bracelet with small spikes, and the elbow also has some fur. The monster has some cybernetics like a shoulder cannon, and its left hand is replaced with a prosthesis, on which demonic runes are engraved. Two massive tubes are present on this cybernetic augmentation. The tail has metal spikes, and part of it is replaced by a prosthesis with a double-ended blade.

Champion variant

The komodo champion variant has gold armor and gold cybernetic parts, the mane and fur on its right arm is black rather than dark green, and has dark bluish-gray skin.

Tactical analysis

The komodo is a fast super-heavy that rushes across the battlefield to attack with powerful melee strikes. While it is on the move, it fires a barrage of unparryable fireballs that should be blocked or avoided. It has multiple melee attacks that can be parried; a ground smash using its mechanical left fist, a stab or two swings from its dual-chainsaw spear, and more rarely, a lethal tail swipe. Players should shoot the komodo as it runs across the stage and keep an eye on its parry attacks, and seize the opportunity to glory strike its left arm.

Lore

The komodo are behemoths renowned for raw power, murderous instinct, uncanny skill with weaponry, and lethal violence. They pass through brutal trials in order to join Prince Ahzrak's vanguard, after which they enforce his will against both friend and foe equally, punishing any weakness with death.

Glory strikes/executions

The following glory strike animations exist:^{[citation needed]}

• The Doom Slayer throws the shield saw its left arm or strikes it with the flail.
• The Slayer strikes with the flail the face of the champion with one hand and then strikes with the fist of the other hand.

The following execution animations exist:

• From above (from the front either from behind) the Slayer lands on the monster's chest or back and throws the shield saw to decapitate the komodo, after which the shield returns to its owner.
• The Slayer slams his shield into the face of the demonic leader komodo, then rips from the left part of the creature's chest a heart-like organ, containing the demonic essence, to crush it in his hand, after which the demon dies.
• The Slayer strikes with the flail the champion causing it to fall, after which he raises his hand where the shield saw is and cuts off its head with it.

Development

According to Hugo Martin, the komodo was one of the demons, was approved during the early exploration stage of the game. The main focus during the developement of the creature's design, was that it would not look like other demons in the game and would have a distinct silhouette from others, and also push this aspect as much as possible.

Pre-release

The komodo was first seen in the key art of the game, at bottom left. Its concept art could be seen in the Xbox developer deep-dive video on at 2:06. Also in the same showcase, a test of this enemy without textures could be observed in one frame at 10:46. In the same video, a whiteboard with a list of monster names was shown, which included the name "Komodo". The concept art of the this demon could be seen again between 36 and 43 seconds into the first episode of The Art of Slaying.

The creature itself could be seen in the second trailer released on April 21, 2025 and in the Cosmic Realm reveal video.

The official reveal of the demon happened on May 6, 2025, where the komodo was shown in-game in a short video and its concept art was also officially revealed as well. The sixth episode of The Art of Slaying was also dedicated to this enemy. Game director Hugo Martin described the beast as "very mobile and [having] many combo attacks" that need to be parried with the shield saw.

Gallery

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  Champion komodo.

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  The komodo's collectible toy.

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  The codex entry image.

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  The size comparison of the Slayer and the komodo in the Ripatorium's encounter manager.

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  Concept art by Alejandro Mirabal.

Trivia

• The monster's name and its lizard-like appearance are a reference to a species of monitor lizards that live on Komodo Island, also known as "Komodo dragons".
• The komodo is the second enemy after the Doom hunter from Doom Eternal to use a double-bladed chainsaw as a weapon. It may form a reference to Doom 64, where the chainsaw was dual bladed. This weapon also appears on one concept art of an enemy that didn't make it into the game, known as the "Three Brothers", a huge demon that consists of three bodies.
• In the game files, the animations related to its mechanical left fist, and in the pro tips, about the demon in the loading screen of the level , are called "Graviton arm". Graviton is a hypothetical elementary particle, a carrier of gravitational force, possessing neither mass nor electric charge.