The Dead Men always has seven members, with Larrikin being brought on in cases such as Skulduggery being missing, or Ravel healing from injuries. It was the only time that they had seen Anton smile while on a mission. When Larrikin was in a chokehold, he pulled out a very crushed bun that he had been hiding for three days and put a candle in it, saying that it was Anton's cake. The hugging lead into an intensely quiet wrestling match between the two. He then proceeded to hug Anton, which showed Anton not being a hugging person. Although their targets were passing by, Larrikin insisted he sing Anton a happy birthday song. On the third day, Larrikin decided that it was Anton's birthday. They had been in that spot for three days, and all of them, excluding Skulduggery, were wet and hungry. In 1850, all the members of the Dead Men were down in France, huddled in a field. One of his antics was known as 'Shudder's Birthday'. He was known to wind up Anton, by leaning in and whispering something in his ear in the middle of a dangerous mission. It was revealed that Larrikin was the comedian of the group, as recalled by Dexter, Ghastly and Skulduggery at the Requiem Ball. Dead Men took orders from Corrival Deuce, he was one of the few they did.

This was not always the case as Hopeless and Larrikin were killed in action and Skulduggery was killed at home. The Dead Men received their name because they went on suicide missions but always came back alive. We actually do our best not to die.' - Ravel to Valkyrie After they did return, successful and with all seven men alive - or undead, in Skulduggery's special case - the name stuck. But they made me go anyway'.)īefore they left for the mission, the group were already (discreetly) being called 'Dead Men' due to no one believing they'd return. (With the supposed exception of Saracen who claims that he had been yawning and ' raised arm was me stretching. Skulduggery volunteered immediately and Ghastly, mistakenly thinking that his friend had a plan, was the second to volunteer.

However, the Dead Men weren't official until Eachan Meritorious asked for volunteers for a suicide mission.

This incident led to the meeting of all seven men and the creation of their team. Shudder, who watched him do this, came to his comrade's aid. Later on, Saracen Rue slips down a hill and 'aggressively' rolls into an encampment of Mevolent's soldiers. Sometime after Skulduggery comes back from the dead, Dexter Vex became the fifth member of the group. When the war broke out, Skulduggery was already friends with Ghastly and Hopeless, with the latter bringing Ravel into the fold. That's what happens when people try to kill you - you form attachments.' - Skulduggery in Last Stand of Dead Men

Skulduggery pleasant series