Voodoo (Priscilla Kitaen) is a
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
superhero, appearing in books published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. Created by writer
Brandon Choi
Brandon Choi is an American comic book writer best known for his work for WildStorm Productions, in particular for the series '' WildC.A.T.s'' and Gen13 artist/publisher Jim Lee.
Biography
Choi was born in Seoul, Korea and came to the U.S. whe ...
and artist
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
, she first appeared in ''
WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. The comic was published in various formats from 1992 through 2022. It also formed the basis ...
'' #1 (August 1992), which was produced by Jim Lee's studio,
WildStorm
Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
comics, and published by
Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
. After WildStorm and its properties were purchased by DC Comics in 1999, the character continued as a character in books under the WildStorm imprint, until DC discontinued the WildStorm imprint in December 2010.
[Ching, Albert (September 21, 2010)]
"DC Co-Publishers Announce End of WILDSTORM Imprint, Zuda"
Newsarama
''Newsarama'' is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website ''GamesRadar+'', also owned by Future US.
Hi ...
.
A new incarnation of the character was created as part of the main
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
in September 2011, as part of DC's company-wide relaunch of its title,
The New 52
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
.
Publication history
Wildstorm
The first ''Voodoo'' series was a four-issue
limited series
In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...
, published in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
and written by
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
.
DC Comics
In June 2011, DC Comics announced that the character would be incorporated into the main DC Universe in an
ongoing series
In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues thus limited), a one shot (a comic book which is not a part of an ongoing series), ...
written by
Ron Marz
Ron Marz (born November 17, 1965) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as '' Batman/Aliens'', ''DC vs. Marvel'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Silver Surfer'', and ''Witchblade''.
Career
Marz is known for his work on ''Si ...
and drawn by Sami Basri as part of
The New 52
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
, a relaunch of DC Comics' properties. Josh Williamson was announced as the new writer of the comic book, starting with ''Voodoo'' #5, because DC wanted to take the story in a different direction.
Fictional character biography
Priscilla Kitaen was a
stripper
A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events.
Modern forms of stripping m ...
before being rescued by the
WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. The comic was published in various formats from 1992 through 2022. It also formed the basis ...
from the Daemonites. Voodoo had a gift called the "Sight", allowing her to perceive if a person was possessed by a Daemonite, and being able to separate Daemonites from the bodies they were possessing which made her very important to both the WildC.A.T.s and the Daemonites. Voodoo joined the WildC.A.T.S and revealed even greater powers, such as
telepathy
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
and the ability to develop animal-like traits, such as sprouting claws from her fingertips. She was later trained by
Zealot
The Zealots were members of a Jewish political movement during the Second Temple period who sought to incite the people of Judaea to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Land of Israel by force of arms, most notably during the ...
in the martial arts of
The Coda and developed an attraction towards
Spartan
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...
.
Her Daemonite ancestry was not revealed until she entered into a coma after being shot.
Void
Void may refer to:
Science, engineering, and technology
* Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies
* Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material
* Void, synonym for vacuum, a s ...
entered in her mind through a computer, and it was revealed that one of her ancestors, a Kherubim, was possessed by a Daemonite.
When the WildC.A.T.s travelled to Khera, home planet of the Kherubim, Voodoo was separated from her friends because of her Daemonite heritage. She was relocated to a Daemonite
ghetto
A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
and discovered that the war between Khera and Daemonites had been over for centuries. More importantly she discovered that most Daemonites were not evil as she always was led to believe; the Daemonites on Earth were all highly fanatical soldiers, but on Khera the Daemonites were citizens. She managed to find the other WildC.A.T.s and confronted Zealot, who shamed her as being of an inferior race in front of the Coda sisterhood. Voodoo became disgusted with the Kherans and renounced Zealot, her former teacher. Despite this she then helped the WildC.A.Ts to stop an assassination attempt on Zealot and she too turned away from Khera. The WildC.A.T.s returned to Earth, but Voodoo could not forget Khera and Zealot's behaviour. Disappointed by her life as a superhero, she left the WildC.A.T.s.
Priscilla moved to New Orleans to return to stripping. As she arrived, she met two men, Carry-4 and Attibon. Carry-4 took Voodoo to The Midnight Lounge, where the owner, Christian Charles, offered her a job as one of his dancers had disappeared. She became friends with Purity, another stripper. Needing a place to stay, Attibon took her to a hotel, the Royale, where she met Freeda, a former
prostitute
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
and Saturday, a former hitman. These three later revealed themselves as
Erzulie
Erzulie (sometimes spelled Erzili or Èzili) is a family of loa, or spirits, in Vodou.
Overview
The Erzulie is a family of loa that are often associated with water (fluidity), femininity, and feminine bodies. They are one of the only group of ...
,
Papa Legba
Papa Legba is a lwa, or loa, in West African Vodun and its diasporic derivatives ( Dominican Republic Vudú, Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Winti), who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroa ...
and
Baron Samedi.
Soon it became clear that Christian Charles had been murdering his dancers to bathe in their blood, an arcane ritual to resurrect his dead father, a dark magician. Christian had help from Carry-4 who was, in reality,
Mait' Carrefour. Priscilla and lieutenant David Dove, the police officer investigating the murders, arrived in time to save Purity, but Christian had absorbed enough blood to summon his dead father. Priscilla faced him and
channelled Erzulie. Despite all their power, Christian and his father could not resist her dance and Priscilla lured him back to the Royale. Inside the Royale, Baron Samedi, Erzulie, and Papa Legba waited for Christian and his father, telling them that they disturbed the balance. The three pointed the Charles' towards a door where they faced
Damballa
Damballa, also spelled Damballah, Dambala, Dambalah, among other variations (), is one of the most important of all loa, spirits in West African Vodun, Haitian Voodoo and other African diaspora religious traditions such as Obeah. He is traditi ...
, causing the Royale to explode. The experience made Priscilla decide to learn more about
voodoo magic and she became an apprentice to a
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
*Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
.
Several months later, she briefly rejoined the WildC.A.Ts, but left again when the team disbanded following Zealot's apparent death. She moved in with Dr.
Jeremy Stone, but despite her attempts to get closer to him, he often locked himself up in his lab. Unknown to Priscilla, Jeremy had fallen in love with her and was developing a method to remove the Daemonite-genes from her. Voodoo had no direction to her life at this time, but a Daemonite, disguised as an elderly man followed her around.
Priscilla was given a credit card from the
Halo Corporation under the name
Marlowe Marlowe may refer to:
Name
* Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters with the surname or given name
* Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator
* Pat Marlowe (1933–1962), English socialite
* Phili ...
. While tracking this credit card, Voodoo was attacked by a
serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
called Samuel Smith, who was trying to kill
Jacob Marlowe and all his relatives. It turned out that Jacob had defeated Smith's grandfather, a criminal with superhuman powers and now Samuel wanted revenge. He surprised her, and his powers seriously injured her, separating her legs from her body and injuring her throat. Spartan, now Jack Marlowe, and
Grifter took down Smith later. Grifter also convinced Jeremy that his plan to heal Voodoo from her Daemonite-side might not be welcomed at all by Voodoo.
While she was treated in the hospital, she amazed the medical staff by quickly recovering from her throat injuries. She quickly grew annoyed by the medical staff until she noticed a Daemonite among them. Soon afterwards, the Daemonite confronted her. He told her that he was not an enemy, but a rare
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
among the Daemonite military and that she should see him as her grandfather. He instructed her in the proper use of her Daemonite powers of time manipulation and regeneration and within several hours, Voodoo had regrown her legs. Before leaving, he also convinced Priscilla to start a relationship with Jeremy. This relationship has ended recently; an aspect of her telepathic powers is that they increase with physical intimacy, and Voodoo's willingness to be intimate with other men to use them was, despite his protests, not something with which Jeremy could cope. The break-up fight was ended when Priscilla intentionally angered him to the point that he grew in size. With the resulting loss of intellect that comes with his size growth, he forgot they were fighting, and she took the opportunity to leave. (as of Worldstorm #2)
When
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
' character
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
was stranded in the Wildstorm reality, Voodoo and the other WildC.A.T.S were sent to capture him. Voodoo displayed magnetic abilities that allowed her to control the metal of his uniform, and even disrupt the flow of iron in his bloodstream. However, when she attempted to use her
telepathy
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
to probe his mind, he connected her brain to all of the information in the world, which overloaded her mind and rendered her unconscious.
WildC.A.T.s vol. 4
No longer a superhero, Priscilla Kitaen is, at the start of this series, once again a stripper - now dancing for oil sheiks and billionaires. However, despite her telling
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
that it had been "years since
heywere superheroes together," it was clear that their former passion was not dimmed, and they ended up in bed together. She now appears to be an employee of the
Halo Corporation once more, with Hadrian offering to triple her current wages.
Ongoing series in DC Universe
Following the events of ''
Flashpoint'', Voodoo is one of the many Wildstorm characters who were brought over into the mainstream
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
, with her entire history now rewritten.
In her DC Universe iteration, Priscilla Kitaen is a Human-Daemonite hybrid who works as a Daemonite spy, using her shapeshifting abilities and limited telepathy to blend in with humans and learn intelligence about metahumans and other possible threats to the Daemonites. Priscilla works undercover as a stripper under the alias ''Voodoo''. It is eventually revealed that Priscilla was born a human, but was abducted and genetically engineered into a Daemonite half-breed after a fire killed her mother. Further complicating her identity issues, Voodoo learns that she is a clone of the real Priscilla Kitaen, who has been held captive by Voodoo's pursuers, the Black Razors, for several months. Upon learning this, Voodoo takes aggressive action against the Daemonite High Council, but is persuaded to stop her attack when she is offered a higher ranking position that would put her in charge of all earthbound Daemonite clone forces.
Powers and abilities
Wildstorm
Voodoo is a
telepathic
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
human-Kherubim
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
with Daemonite ancestry and possesses "the Sight," the ability to see Daemonites who have possessed humans. Along with this, she can use her powers to separate Daemonites from their hosts and has shown the ability to do this to other organisms that have been bonded. She can read and manipulate the thoughts and emotions of others, and even shut off people's minds. Her powers increase proportionate to physical intimacy, enabling her greater ability to psychically manipulate and read others. Early on, she was able to
shapeshift
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...
into a humanoid wolf-like state, complete with fur and claws, and in this state her personality became savage and feral. Later this power was changed so that she shifted into a Daemonite form. An elderly Daemonite appeared to her and taught her the use of her hidden powers of regeneration and time-manipulation.
Zealot
The Zealots were members of a Jewish political movement during the Second Temple period who sought to incite the people of Judaea to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Land of Israel by force of arms, most notably during the ...
has trained her in the martial arts of
The Coda. She was also mentored in the use of Voodoo magic by a High Voodoo Priestess.
Voodoo has displayed the power to control magnetic fields, and can move and manipulate ferrous metals with her mind. She can control the trace amounts of iron in a person's bloodstream.
The New 52
In The New 52 reality, because she is a Daemonite/human hybrid, her powers have changed; Voodoo lost the sight, regeneration, magnetic and magical powers. But she has shape shifting and telepathy powers; and the productions of projectile quills and the secretion of poison.
Her shape shifting powers allow her to copy humans or animals that she touched; and the creation of wings and weapons like a spear. Also her shape shifting has been used to provide a limited form of camouflage, as she can take on the colors of other objects which she might be standing in front of.
Voodoo now has limited mind-reading capabilities; however she is unable to control her own mind when she uses these abilities, thus leaving herself vulnerable to counter telepathy. Also she has the abilities to survive in harsh environment, as seen when she functions in the environment of
Europa (the moon of Jupiter), without any form of protection.
The Daemonites have trained her in hand-to-hand combat and in espionage.
Collected editions
The first series has been collected in a number of
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...
:
* ''Voodoo: Dancing in the Dark'' (104 pages, DC Comics, December 1998, )
*''Alan Moore: Wild Worlds'' (320 pages, DC Comics, August 2007, ,
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
, July 2007, )
All the first issues of The New 52 were collected in one hardcover volume:
* ''DC Comics: The New 52'' (1216 pages, hardcover, DC Comics, December 2011, )
The second series has been collected into two
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...
:
* ''Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath'' (Voodoo #1-6, DC Comics, September 2012, )
* ''Voodoo Vol. 2: The Killer in Me'' (Voodoo #7-12 and #0, DC Comics, February 2013)
In other media
* In the short-lived ''
WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. The comic was published in various formats from 1992 through 2022. It also formed the basis ...
'' animated cartoon, Voodoo was portrayed as a somewhat naive teenager, rather than an exotic dancer. She also has
telekinesis
Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...
on top of her other facets in series, Voodoo was voiced by Canadian actress
Ruth Marshall.
* A Voodoo figure from
Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan Tai-ho as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing its own line of preschool to ...
was released in 1995.
References
External links
*
*
Voodooat the DC Comics Database
Voodooat World of Black Heroes
Voodoo (New 52)at World of Black Heroes
Voodoo at the Wildstorm Resource Wiki
{{The New 52
African-American superheroes
Characters created by Jim Lee
Comics characters introduced in 1992
DC Comics shapeshifters
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics psychics
DC Comics characters who use magic
DC Comics characters with accelerated healing
DC Comics characters with superhuman senses
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics martial artists
DC Comics telepaths
Female characters in animated television series
Fiction about Louisiana Voodoo
Fictional characters who can manipulate time
Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
Fictional empaths
Fictional erotic dancers
Fictional extraterrestrial–human hybrids in comics
Fictional martial artists
Fictional characters who use magic
Fictional therianthropes
Fictional werewolves
WildCats characters
Wildstorm Universe superheroes