Here, finally, are some character bios for this series. I'm going to do these on an arc by arc basis, as I progress through the series I'll add updates. Enjoy for now
Sara Pezzini NYPD homicide detective who followed her late father’s footsteps onto the force. Through her investigations into a criminal she meets Kenneth Irons and his bodyguard Ian Nottingham and discovers she’s the Witchblade’s chosen one quite by accident, losing her partner Michael Yee in the process. Good friends with her colleague/partner Jake McCarthy and close to her boss Joe Siry, the only family we know of is her sister Julie who’s a model, they don’t appear to be close. She has no known romantic interests, though she finds Nottingham pretty sexy and Jake would like to be closer to her. By the end of the first arc she and the Witchblade are a team. In the second arc we learn of the death of Sara's father, Vincent 'Frank' Pezzini, who she thought was shot whilst on duty. During the Microwave Murderer case Siry tells Sara that her father was a victim of the Microwave Murderer too. However at the end of the arc she's told by the murderer that she didn't kill her father. In #15 Sara gets suspended from duty over the events at Boucher's and is given a job by Level 42 which turns out to be a trap, which she has to be saved from by Ian Nottingham (#15 - 17). In #19 Sara has lost the Witchblade to Nottingham and when it is offered to her again she refuses it and it stays with Nottingham. In the next arc, #20 - 25, we meet Sara's aunt Ruth, her Father's sister, who knows more about the past than she'll tell Sara. We also learn that Sara has no idea where her mother is. At a prestigious clothing manufacturer's Sara sees a photo of her Father with Gavin Taylor and Kenneth Irons, which only puts more questions in her mind about her Father and his death. At the end of this arc Sara reclaims the Witchblade from Nottingham, minus its red gem which falls into the hands of Irons. In #26 Sara gets a new partner while Jake is in hospital, Eric Sketh, and during #26 – 35 she learns that Siry killed her father and the red gem is returned to the Witchblade by Irons, however he’s tampered with it. Also during this arc we learn from Julie that a 13 year old Sara was abducted for three days by her female therapist, who was never caught (In the Destiny's Child mini it is revealed that Sara was taken to two men, one was Nottingham so it's fairly safe to assume the other was Irons). Following the events of the second Witchblade/Darkness crossover Sara gains complete control of the Witchblade. In #50 – 53 the Enclave tells Sara that she and Ian share a linked destiny and Ian professes his love for her, which she rejects. Sara first meets Detective Lee Kim in # 54 – 57 while investigating the mob murders and he asks her out in #59, finally getting his date ion #70 – 75, although the two don’t pair up again. #62 – 65 see Sara’s first meeting with The Magdalena, Patience. She appears again in #82. Sara is attacked and put out of action for a while when she’s attacked in her family church and is put in a coma. When she wakes she solves the case with Detective Gleason who’s assigned to her assault. Sara also has her first meeting with the Curator, who tells her she is ‘one of thirteen’, he reappears in #86. In #87 Sara is transferred from 18th Precinct to One Police Plaza where she meets up with Gleason again. Sara has a new boss at One Police Plaza, Captain Peyroux, who we meet in #88. #91 sees Sara promise Gleason she’ll learn more about the Witchblade and in #92 she questions the Curator about the origin and nature of the Witchblade, seeing many past wielders in a vision and learning that the Witchblade was created by the darkness and the Angelus as a balance between the dark and the light. As a male entity the Witchblade needs a female bearer to balance it. In #94/95 Sara is tested by the Curator, much to her annoyance. In #96 Sara’s relationships with Gleason is moving towards being more than just professional and Ian Nottingham reappears in her life asking for her help. In #98 Sara turns down Ian’s offer of a life with him and arrests him, and she and Gleason agree to give a relationship a try. #99 sees Sara and Gleason made permanent partners at work, assigned all the cases no one else wants. In #100 Sara reveals that she’s pregnant, although we later learn she’s not had sex for over a year. In #101 Nottingham pops back into Sara’s life when he escapes from prison, and #102 she re-arrests him, again turning down his offer of a life with him. She also realises that the Witchblade and a baby aren’t going to go well together. She cedes the Witchblade to Danielle Baptiste in #103, and Sara has to adjust to not having it in #104 and 105. During this time Sara and Gleason’s relationship goes from strength the strength. Jake McCarthy California born and bred Jake is a colleague of Sara’s and he’d like to be much more. He’s worried when she’s kidnapped and is behaving strangely. It’s he who works out Selzer isn’t all he should be and gets him to take him to Irons’ place when Sara’s in trouble. He also puts in most of the work on the Microwave Murderer case. In the finale to the second arc Jake has his arm broken by Bruce Wilder who he thought was a friend. In the aftermath of the events at Dannette's house Jake is suspended and returns home to San Diego much to his parents' and old flame Cynthia's delight. However, when he learns of the Yakuza attack on his station he returns to New York quickly, adopting a more serious look on doing so. The events of #20 - 25 are hard on Jake, he falls out with Sara and Siry over the events of #19 and then his ex - fiancée Cynthia is found murdered in New York and it clearly has something to do with The Church of Holy Prosperity. Whilst following up a lead he has a run in with Nottingham and is badly hurt as a result (again!). Jake starts the next arc in hospital but is healed by the Witchblade. On his return to the duty he’s moved to the Research Department where he works to bring down Gavin Taylor. He later discovers that Taylor did murder Cynthia and arrests him eventually. Jake is still close to Julie. In #36 after a night out together Julie and Jake end up in bed with each other. It’s another injury filled time for Jake as he ends up getting shot at the climax of the Pez killer story (#42 – 46) and left unconscious in hospital. During the #50s Jake is jealous of Detective Kim’s involvement in Sara’s life, but come the Death Pool (#70 - 75) story he’s in a steady relationship with Julie, although this disintegrates when he discovers she’s running drugs for Lisa Buzanis’ boyfriend Drexler. He rescues her from trouble but has to arrest her as well. #78 – 79 see Jake deeply hurt by Julie’s betrayal and he contemplates suicide, but in the end visits Julie in prison and attempts to shoot her. Suspended from duty he’s by Sara’s bedside when she’s comatose at the start of Witch Hunt (#80 – 85) and looks out for her, only to his cost. He’s again hurt and he ends up in a coma which he’s yet to recover from. In #98 Jake wakes from his coma and all seems fine until in #99 it’s clear he’s been possessed by a God from ‘the other side’. Jake takes his own life in #100 to prevent the God which Sara has temporarily driven off from returning. Michael Yee Sara’s partner who dies at the hands of Nottingham in #1, much to her distress. When Sara has possession of the Witchblade she tries to bring him back to life and it briefly works, however it is very brief and he is dead. Lieutenant Joe Siry Sara’s boss and a close friend of her father. Almost like a father to Sara he is worried by her strange and reckless behaviour. Married to Dalia. In the second arc we see Siry struggling with guilt and pain over the death of his best friend Frank Pezzini, and wrestling with his conscience over whether or not to tell Sara the truth about her father's death. We also see that Bruce Wilder has a hold over him that is very powerful but not explained yet. In #17 we see Siry reluctantly agreeing to be a part of the group of cops known as the White Bulls who are planning revenge on the Yakuza, it is obvious Siry's had a dodgy past seeing the way he can be manipulated. In #19 he makes up for his weakness in #14 by killing Bruce. In #26 – 35 we find out that Siry goes way back with Irons, and that Irons still has power over him, it was Irons who made Siry kill Sara’s father. Siry finally confesses his guilt to Sara and resigns. The Pez killer arc sees Siry back as Sara’s boss (can anyone say continuity error?), and in #58 – 61 he meets with Irons and then wants to talk with Sara about her father but she brushes him off. In the Death Pool arc we see that he tried to reason Vince Pezzini and protect Sara from his dodgy connections. In the climax of the story he shoots Irons in full view of Detective Kim, leaving a letter for Sara. Strangely Siry is still Sara’s boss until she’s reassigned in #87. Kenneth Irons Extremely wealthy business man and criminal. Obsessed with the Witchblade, it is he who indirectly causes Sara to come into contact with the gauntlet. He tries to use the power of the Witchblade for himself through Ian Nottingham. Nottingham rebels against him and Sara eventually battles him and throws him from his penthouse window, killing him. No known family except a dead wife, Danni. In flashback during the second arc we witness Irons' discovery of the Witchblade in Athens and his experimentation with it, including forcing his young wife Danni to wear the gauntlet. We later learn the couple have a son, Bruce Wilder (#14). Although presumed dead at the end of the first arc Irons reappears in #20 - 25 and welcomes Ian back to his fold. In #26 – 35 Irons takes control of the First Church of Holy Prosperity from Gavin Taylor, forces Siry into doing his dirty work concerning Sara and tampers with the Witchblade red gem before returning it to Sara in an attempt to control the gauntlet. He also strains his relationship with Ian by making him kill Setsuke and has a new gold hand! Irons appears again in #54 – 57 when Ian comes back to his fold. He’s unhappy to learn Ian now has Excalibur but sets about exploring it’s potential via Level 42. After his interference in the Yakuza/Mafia gang war an attempt on his life is made by Tora-No-Shi, which is easily dealt with by Ian. Irons holds Tora after this, as a replacement for Ian, During this period Irons also meets with Siry. In Death Pool Tora is killed by Ian, leaving the way largely clear for Siry to apparently kill Irons. Ian Nottingham Irons’ bodyguard and right hand man, he carries out assassinations and also acts as a conduit for the power of the Witchblade. In the Destiny's Child mini we learn that Nottingham was an orphan and that he has a brother, and that age 8 he was adopted by the Nottinghams. His new father was a criminal and trained Ian to be his personal assassin. Ian fell in love with a target, a Japanese girl called Nomi. He stayed in Japan 5 years and was going to marry Nomi until he found her in bed with another man. On his return to England his father sent him to murder Irons, a mission he thought Ian would never survive. Ian did survive but didn't kill Irons, however he was offered a job with Irons which he accepted. Eventually he realises that Irons is merely using him as a tool and he rebels, fighting Irons. Irons throws him from his penthouse and he's assumed dead. In #17 Ian reappears saving Sara's life in South America and then returns to New York. He has obvious ties with Yakuza boss Takata and is used by Lord Sonatine to acquire the power of the Darkness from Jackie Estacado. He takes on both the Darkness and Witchblade powers for a time (Family Ties arc) but in #19 Jackie takes back the Darkness, Sara refuses the Witchblade so it remains with Ian. In #20 - 25 we learn that Ian has ties to the Yakuza, that they looked after him during a low point in his life. He is still working as an assassin but is having great trouble controlling the Witchblade, which constantly tries to take him over. He returns to the service of Kenneth Irons but loses the Witchblade in a battle with Sara, although he does salvage the blade's red gem which he gives to Irons. Badly hurt by the events of #25 Ian is cared for by a Japanese girl Setsuke who’s in love with him. Irons orders Ian to kill Setsuke after she makes an attempt on Gavin Taylor’s life, which Ian does but it causes tension between master and servant. Ian’s back in #50 – 53 with his own blade, Excalibur, and proclaims his lover for Sara. At the end of this arc he returns to Irons' employ. During the gang war of #54 – 57 Ian is sent to prevent any further violence and faces off against Tora and wins. During Death Pool Ian’s set upon by a CIA task force which he easily deals with, a test from Irons. He loses control and kills Tora and then takes on Sara. He loses Excalibur to her and then disappears (#75) In #96 Nottingham crashes back into Sara’s life when she’s trying to have dinner with Gleason. He claims to need Sara’s help and gets it but when Sara finds out he’s been lying to her and is up to his old tricks she arrests him in #98 despite him inviting her to have a new life with him. In #101 he escapes from prison but is tracked down by Sara in #102 and put away again. Julie Pezzini Sara’s younger sister who works as a model but also has some knowledge of lock picking!! She doesn’t get on that well with her sister and in leading Lisa astray she further strains their relationship. Julie reappears in #20 and tries to help the investigation into Cynthia's murder by getting close to Taylor, which puts her in great danger. She also spends time with Jake after Cynthia's murder, looking after him at Sara's request. In #26 – 35 Julie and Jake are still spending time together, and she reveals her plan to move out to L.A. for work. We also find out that she knew Siry had murdered their father. In #36 after a night out together Julie and Jake end up in bed with each other. The next we see of Julie is at the end of Endgame (#61) when she comes to visit Sara, in #63 she asks Jake out to dinner. During Death Pool Julie’s in a steady relationship with Jake but is working for Drexler running drugs. She ends up in trouble which Jake gets her out of but she is also arrested and ends up in prison. In #79 Jake attempts to shoot Julie in prison. Julie reappers in #116, when Sara visits her in prison. She's got herself clean, and is sorry she missed Jake's funeral. Lisa Buzanis Daughter of one of Sara’s friends (Maria Buzanis) who was murdered by a man named Gallo, Sara’s looking out for this 16 year old. Lisa has modelled before and decides to go back into it with the Boucher model agency and ends up being drawn into a world she’s not quite sure she wants to be in, aided by Julie Pezzini. Lisa is placed in grave danger by her association with Boucher, almost dying at the hands of the Microwave Murderer. She's saved by Siry and is sorry for the way she behaved, and wants to leave the world of modelling behind. Later we find that she's living with Sara's lowlife informant Drexler, but she is at school. In #39 Lisa and Drexler are still together and Drexler helps Sara finally bring down Gallo. In #58 – 61 Lisa calls Sara as Drexler’s in the hospital following an overdose. We see her again in Death Pool hanging out with Julie again. Madame Dannette Boucher Owns and runs the Boucher model agency and takes Julie and Lisa under her wing. A spiky personality and intimidating in appearance. We learn more about her in the second arc, the most important revelations being that she was Irons' wife, Danni, and that it is she who is the Microwave Murderer, able to kill using part of the Witchblade embedded in her by Irons. We also learn that she is Bruce Wilder's mother, and therefore that Bruce is Irons' son. Microwave Murderer Responsible for the deaths of several young women in New York, burning them on the inside but leaving them unchanged on the outside. By the end of the second arc it is revealed that the murderer is Dannette Boucher using a piece of the Witchblade to kill. Selzer Internal affairs officer at Sara’s station and general creep. He’s Irons’ spy in the department and dies at the hands of his boss. Bruce Wilder Son of Ken Irons and Dannette Boucher, Bruce works mainly as an information giver and general fixer upper, it is he who keeps Takata informed about the Witchblade and organises for Sara to come to their headquarters (#13), and informs him about the White Bulls plans for revenge after the destruction of the station (#17). He also leads Jake on posing as a reporter and arranges for Notingham to work for Sonatine (#18 - 19). At the end of #19 he's shot by Siry, Siry doing what he couldn't do in #14. He also twists the situation in the Family Ties arc to his advntage, causing chaos. Takata Takata seems to be the Yakuza's boss in New York and it is he who tries to take the Witchblade from Sara in #13 and who hires Tora No Shi to carry out attacks against their enemies (#15). He clearly has a connection with Nottingham (#18) and frequently employed the services of Bruce Wilder. Jackie Estacado Mafia hit man Jackie gets a shock on his 21st Birthday when he learns he's the wielder of an ancient power called the Darkness. We first meet him in #10 and then see him again in #17 - 19. Sara is investigating him for the murder of a mobster but the two join together to prevent disaster after the acts of Sonatine and Wilder causes both their powers to inhabit the same body, that of Ian Nottingham. Jackie reclaims his weapon (#19). In his normal line of work Jackie works for the Francetti family. Appears again in #26 – 35 when he’s hired to kill the daughter of another mob boss who promises Sara and the Witchblade in return for the murder. In #36 Jackie is giving evidence against Francettis and is under Sara's protection when he's taken by a group known as the Clan Necrobi. The pair escape from this group and destroy them (Darkness #28). Eric Sketh Introduced in #26 as Sara’s fill in partner while Jake is in hospital, he’s from L.A. and works well with Sara. Later in the #26 – 35 arc we learn that Eric killed in a man in L.A. and did 6 months for it. In #35 he reveals to Sara that he has his own Witchblade – like weapon. In #38 Eric warns a concerned Jake to keep away from Sara, and then attacks him with his weapon, Jake responds by shooting Eric in the head. D. Gavin Taylor Former rock star who set up the First Church of Holy Prosperity. His big weakness is sex and he exploits his position to get as much of it as possible, he killed Jake’s ex fiancée Cynthia because she wouldn’t sleep with him. In the #26 – 35 arc Irons takes over leadership of the Church and makes it clear Gavin is reaching the end of his usefulness. It’s clear Gavin has been experimented on by Irons, and may not even be human anymore. Sex eventually proves his downfall; he’s arrested by Jake at an S&M club and confesses to three murders. Level 42 One half of a cult that operates/operated (?) out of the Bronx. It is a scientific organisation that is seeking to bring about a cataclysm using people known as Noble Ones – men and women with very special abilities. Level 42 find and test people who may be Noble Ones against their will in an attempt to find the true Noble Ones. They are very interested in Sara and Irons is a major part of the organisation. In #63 these guys reappear and are involved in all sorts of stuff, and are still keeping close surveillance on Sara and Ian as well as others, including Patience a.k.a. The Magdalena. During Death Pool Sara pays them a visit and smashes a lot of stuff up. The leader of Level 42 is Dr Victor Tabisch. Tora No Shi Japanese assassin hired by the Yakuza to carry out their vendetta against the police and anyone else who gets in their way. He’s a match for Jackie Estacado. We see Tora again during the mob war of #54 – 57, he’s on loan from the Yakuza to Lord Sonatine. He’s sent after Irons but is beaten to a pulp by Ian and Excalibur, and is then held by Irons and experimented on. Tora is one of the victims of Death Pool, being killed by Ian. Detective Lee Kim We first meet Detective Kim in #54 – 57 as he’s the local investigating officer in one of the murders. He takes a shine to her and asks her out in #59. They finally get on their date during the Death Pool but he sees her with Ian and digs deeper as he’s been attacked by Ian in the past. He confronts Ian at Irons place after he’s killed Tora and has to be saved by Sara, later he witnesses the murder of irons by Siry. We don’t see him again, maybe Sara’s just too much trouble! The Magdalena/Patience First appearance is in #62 – 65 where she helps Sara and Jake with their investigation into the Solites. She’s the warrior of the Catholic Church and is sent by them to fight evil as needed. She’s seen briefly in #82 where she’s been sent by the church to warn Sara off her investigation as it involves members of the church. Patience makes another appearance in #105 when she needs Sara’s help retrieving a reliquary. Detective Patrick Gleason It’s Gleason who’s assigned to investigate the attack on Sara in Witch Hunt (#80 – 85) and the two work as partners in the investigation when Sara recovers. He’s of Irish descent and lost a brother in 9/11, and works out of One Police Plaza, we see him again in #87 when Sara is reassigned there. In #96 Sara and Gleason’s relationship starts to move towards romance and in #98 the two agree to give a relationship a go. #99 sees Gleason made Sara’s permanent partner. When Sara reveals she’s pregnant in #100 he stands by her and over the course of the next few issues their relationship gets stronger. The Curator A mysterious keeper of mystical artefacts and a sort of guide for Sara. He gives Gleason the way to save Sara after her battle at the end of Witch Hunt (#80 – 85) We see him again in #86. n #92 he allows Sara to learn of the origin and nature of the Witchblade, and #94/95 he tests her with the disappearance of a statue from his shop which he asks her to recover. He presides over the transfer of the Witchblade from Sara to Dani in #103. The Enclave This group first appears in the Pez Killer (#42 - 46) arc offering Sara help with the use of the Witchblade, it's not until the end of that story she goes to see them. Once there she meets Ian again and the enclave wants to help them achieve their common destiny. When the contct Smith dies we don't see anymore of them. Captain Peyroux Sara’s new boss from #87 when she’s transferred to One Police Plaza, nothing much to say about her as yet, in #99 she makes Sara and Gleason’s partnership permanent. In #104 we discover the Captain is the mother of new Witchblade-wielder Danielle Baptiste. Danielle/Dani Baptiste Young professional dancer who we first meet in #101 when she bumps into Sara outside One PP. She’s at a crossroads in her life having graduated from her dance course and is looking for something new in her life. In #103 Dani and Sara bump into each other again at the Curator’s shop and the Witchblade again shows an interest in Dani. With Sara realising that a baby and the Witchblade aren’t going to mix Dani immediately agrees to take it on and become the new bearer. In #104 we learn that Sara’s boss, Captain Peyroux, is Dani’s Mother and then in #105 that her father lives in New Orleans. |