| The Angelus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Occupation | Opposing The Darkness |
| Alias | Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami Illa |
| Race | Primordial Being |
| Gender | Female |
| Status | Immortal |
| Relatives | The Darkness (Opposite; Rival; Temporary Mate) The Witchblade (Offspring) |
| Location | Earth Angelus Realm |
| First Appearance | {{{first appearance}}} |
The Angelus is one of the two primal forces of the universe and is the embodiment and ruler of the Light. She has been at war with her equal and opposite, The Darkness, since the Creation. At some point she and The Darkness forged a truce to avert mutual destruction and in so doing conceived The Witchblade.[1]
Each generation, The Angelus takes a human host, though such hosts have always been little more than puppets to the will of The Angelus.
Biography[]
Early History[]
To cement their truce, the Darkness and Angelus take on corporeal form and copulate, conceiving the Witchblade.
Since the beginning of the universe, The Angelus has been at war with The Darkness. In order to avert mutual destruction, a truce was struck. A peace was given from in the offspring of The Darkness, The Witchblade.
During her many lifetimes on Earth she has been called many names. In the East, she is the Japanese Sun goddess Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami. She is a part of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion. She is the goddess of the Sun, but also of the universe. The name Amaterasu derived from Amateru, meaning "Shining in Heaven". The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami, is "the great August Kami (God) who shines in the Heaven". The Emperor of Japan is said to be her direct descendant.
In The West, she is called Angelus, Queen of the Light. In the heart of the Amazon Rain forest, she is Illa, Bride of Inti, god of the Sun.
The Angelus has taken many human vessels over the millennia.
Throughout her time on Earth, The Angelus has been responsible for many historic an even Biblical events and disasters, all in her struggles with The Darkness down through the centuries:
- She tore down the Tower of Babel from the Heavens after God confused and scattered the languages of man across the Earth.
- Sometime in the summer of 70, during the Fall of Jerusalem, it was she who destroyed the Walls of Jerusalem.
- In 1883, it was she who caused the eruption of Krakatoa by ripping the island apart. The explosion killed 40,000 people, though estimates put the death toll much higher. The explosion is considered to be the loudest sound ever heard in modern history, with reports of it being heard up to 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from its point of origin. The shock wave from the explosion was recorded on phonographs around the globe.
The Modern Day[]
Her main goal is to rid the world of evil and Darkness regardless of mortal rule or law. This has put her at odds with the current Darkness host, Jackie Estacado. Eventually The Angelus was defeated by Jackie, and was hostless for some time until Sonatine tried to convince the entity to possess Appolonia Franchetti. Because Appolonia desired her power too much, The Angelus chose her catatonic mother, Lauren Franchetti, instead. Soon after, the newly reborn Angelus was fooled into thinking she had finally killed The Darkness, after Jackie made a copy of himself. She soon fled with Appolonia to an ancient temple in the Amazon Rain forest, where Lauren gave herself completely to The Angelus entity. The Angelus came in contact with The Magdalena, Sister Mariella. The Magdalena was seeking to reforge The Spear of Destiny which had been shattered during her first encounter with The Darkness. She encountered The Angelus and mistook her for a Demoness. She and The Angelus battled, The Angelus unleashed the full power of The Light onto Mariella, however the supernatural power of her bloodline protected her from The Angelus' wrath, much to The Angelus' surprise. The fight ended with no clear winner but The Angelus ordered Appolonia to leave because she was touched too deeply by The Darkness and that should they meet again, she would kill her.
The Angelus-possessed Lauren would once again attempt to kill The Darkness and would also come into conflict with the new Magdalena (Patience). During the fight Appolonia ran The Angelus through with The Spear of Destiny. The Angelus temporarily takes possession of Patience, but the spirit is forced out of Patience's body by Patience's compassion towards mankind, giving The Angelus a lot to think about regarding her mission.
First Born[]
During the time The Angelus was without a host, her followers sensed that the balance between The Light and The Dark has been tipped in favor of Jackie Estacado, and have begun preparing for war while The Angelus searches for a new host. She first takes possession of Velocity but is forced out by members of Cyber Force. She then takes possession of convicted murderer Celestine. Shortly after the birth of Hope Pezzini (daughter to Sara Pezzini and Jackie), The Angelus claims her only to have a mystical explosion occur. After the event, only The Angelus and her foes remain. Celestine and The Angelus now co-exist as separate entities, with Celestine now able to become The Angelus as needed but retaining her own free will. Celestine, however, knows that The Angelus does have the ability to submerge her will at any point, but The Angelus has chosen not to after her encounter with Sara Pezzini's daughter.
Broken Trinity[]
Celestine later returns to fight Jackie Estacado. While caught in the middle of a fight between the hosts of The Glacier Stone and The Ember Stone, Celestine is decapitated with The Blood Sword wielded by Jackie Estacado.
The Angelus was once again without a bearer until she came across Finch, friend of Danielle Baptiste, and possesses her. During a fight with Sara Pezzini (currently hosting The Darkness portion of The Witchblade and is corrupted by it), she attempts to kill the bearer of The Angelus portion of The Witchblade, Dani. After emerging victorious (or, so she believed) and absorbed the remaining half of The Witchblade into her being, while still being corrupted. Sara was on the brink of killing Dani when an Angelus-possessed Finch swoops in to save Dani from death, and The Angelus transfers hosts from Finch to the old bearer of The Witchblade, stating that she had finally found a host worthy of being more that just a puppet. Now The Angelus, Dani is able to use the powers of The Angelus to purge Sara of the corruptible forces of The Darkness. The fact that The Angelus would allow Dani to retain her free will caused come unrest among her followers, particularly her lieutenant, Sabine, who desired for The Angelus to choose her as a host.
Powers & Abilities[]
The Angelus is the embodiment of light and totalitarian order. As such, she possesses many supernatural godlike powers even under dark conditions. The exact ferocity of her power and beauty remains unknown, though she has been described as being as beautiful as The Morningstar and more violent and bloodthirsty than Kali.
- Invulnerability - The Angelus is Impervious to mortal weapons such as gunfire. Being a force of pure light, she is immune to the harmful effects of fire, heat, and electricity.
- Possession - The Angelus, as a spirit, requires a human vessel to exist in the physical world. While possessing someone, she has access to the host's memories.
- Immortality - The Angelus grants her hosts eternal youth and beauty. They do not age, weaken, or die from old age, so long as The Angelus force remains within them.
- Telepathy - The Angelus can communicate with and hear her sentient creations through telepathy, either through thought or even verbally speaking into their minds, even from across great distances.
- Flight - The Angelus can fly both in her true spiritual form and in a human host. She does not need her wings to fly while in her spiritual form.
- Superhuman Strength - The Angelus is a physical match for any supernatural force that opposes her. She can overpower humans with no effort. She is known to have destroyed many great things with her might; including the Tower of Babel, the Walls of Jerusalem, and the island of Krakatoa. Her strength is superior to that of any of her creations, including Angelus Warriors. The Darkness is the only physical match for The Angelus.
- Superhuman Stamina - The Angelus can remain active for 21 years strait without nourishment or sleep, sustaining herself on the will of The Almighty alone. This implies that she draws her strength from the will of God Himself. Her host's muscles do not produce fatigue toxins, this gives her much more stamina in all physical activity.
- Holy Light - The Angelus possesses the powers of the sun and can project powerful (even destructive) beams of light from her hands. She can also channel her energy through her weapons. She has also been seen to radiate powerful blue light from her whole body capable of searing The Darkness's armor.
- Pyrokinesis - The Angelus can create and breathe fire. She can also manipulate fire and light to form solid physical objects such as swords, shields, and razor-sharp bladed spears. She can also turn these weapons back into light and/or fire anytime she wishes. While in her disembodied form, she appears as a being of pure living flame. She can reduce a human to a burnt skeletal crisp with a single touch.
The Angelus moves with superhuman speed.
- Superhuman Speed - The Angelus can fly at speeds besting the hands of time. Danielle was able to decapitate two rebellious Angelus Warriors with a single blurring dash that sent her across the room.
- Healing Factor - The Angelus heals her hosts of any physical wounds, even fatal ones such as torso impalement. This rejuvenating affect also heals psychological trauma endured by the host and gives them fortitude in battle.
- Teleportation - The Angelus can teleport both herself and other beings to any location, either one that she chooses or any random location. She can also open portals to ethereal planes such as Angelus Realm and Hell. The Angelus also has used her tactile-teleportation abilities to summon powerful light to overpower and banish her opponents, as she did with Glorianna Silver.
Weaknesses & Limitations[]
Despite her divine powers, The Angelus does have weaknesses.
- The Dark: The Angelus can still function in dark conditions, though she cannot recharge her strength from the light and as she uses her powers, she grows weaker until she eventually loses all of her strength. If her host is of an ancient age, she will age at an accelerated rate util she turns to dust within seconds after losing her power.
- Supernatural Decapitation: The Angelus host can be killed by decapitation from weapons like The Blood Sword.
- Electromagnetic Energy: The Angelus seems to be vulnerable to electromagnetic energy while within a host, as Cyblade was able to purge her essence from Velocity by "stabbing" her with her EM "blades".