Labyrinth villain Jareth the Goblin King is a highlight of the classic fantasy film, played by David Bowie. Here’s Jareth’s origins explained.

How did Labyrinth villain Jareth become the Goblin King? Labyrinth was a box office bomb during its 1986 theatrical run but since then it’s become a cult favorite and has been reassessed by critics as one the best fantasy films to come out of the 1980s. Directed by master puppeteer Jim Henson, the movie tells the tale of a teenager named Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) who must navigate the enormous magical labyrinth to rescue her baby half-brother from the clutches of its ruler Jareth, who is played by late music legend David Bowie.

Singer/actor David Bowie’s performance as Jareth the Goblin King is a big reason why Labyrinth is such a well-liked movie. He’s perfectly cast as the charismatic yet menacing antagonist and brings his trademark otherworldliness to the role. Like Bowie, Jareth is an enigmatic character and Labyrinth poses more questions about the Goblin King than it provides answers. How did he learn to transform into an owl, for example, and what was his game plan with kidnapping Sarah’s brother? Or how did a seemingly human man become the ruler of a predominantly goblin kingdom?

Jareth the Goblin King finally got a backstory thanks to a comic book series. Titled Labyrinth: Coronation, the 12-issue series was published by Archaia Entertainment between 2018 and 2019 and was written by Simon Spurrier, with illustrations by Daniel Bayliss. It transports Labyrinth fans to 18th century Venice when Jareth the Goblin King was just a babe in the arms of his mother Maria – a taverna maid who married a duplicitous English nobleman named Albert Tyton who abandoned his wife and child in fear of what his father would think of him marrying beneath his social class.

The series soon revealed that Albert has been plagued by the goblins that reside in the labyrinth who want him to succeed their ruler – a menacing being known as the Owl King. The dastardly Albert instead offers up he and Maria’s son Jareth to the goblins, whereupon the infant is magicked away to the goblin kingdom. Like Sarah in the original Labyrinth movie, Maria is challenged by the Owl King to save her baby but unfortunately fails in her mission, leaving young Jareth to eventually become the Goblin King and new ruler of the labyrinth.

While Labyrinth: Coronation offers some insight into Jareth’s the Goblin King's backstory, it doesn’t fully explain how he ascended to the throne of his goblin kingdom. However, with a Labyrinth spinoff sequel reportedly in the works, perhaps even more of Jareth the Goblin King’s past will be explored in the future.

Next: Labyrinth 2: Recasting Jareth The Goblin King For The Sequel