Jennifer Kale
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| Jennifer Kale | |
 Jennifer Kale as drawn by Mike Deodato for the Witches series. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fear #11 (Dec 1972) |
| Created by | Steve Gerber Rich Buckler |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Jennifer Kale |
| Team affiliations | Witches |
| Partnerships | Apprentice to Dakimh the Enchanter, frequent ally of the Man-Thing, Korrek, and Howard the Duck |
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress in the Marvel Comics universe, created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik. She debuted in Adventure into Fear #11 (1972). She is the cousin of Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, and a founding member of the Legion of Night. She is based on one of Gerber's friends, Jennifer Meyer.[citation needed] She has appeared as a supporting character of Doctor Strange and her connection to Man-Thing is strong enough that she knows his true identity and sometimes calls him "Ted".
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Zhered-Na, who was named for Gerber's then-girlfriend, Edna[citation needed], was a sorceress in Atlantis circa 18,000 BC. Exiled by emperor Kamuu for her prophecy that Atlantis would sink, Zhered-Na was relocated to the mainland Thurian continent where she taught about her god Valka. These lessons spawned the Cult of Zhered-Na. When the star-spanning Celestials caused the Great Cataclysm, sinking Atlantis, Zhered-Na was killed by a pawn of the demonic Dweller-in-Darkness. Zhered-Na's former apprentice, Dakimh, continued her teachings and perpetuated the Cult throughout his extended lifespan. Centuries ago, an unnamed demon and angel shared the mystic knowledge of their realms with Cultis Illyana Kale, who added it to her own knowledge to complete the Tome of Zhered-Na. To prevent the knowledge's abuse, only the combination of a Kale family member and angelic and demonic agents could utilize the Tome.
Jennifer was born into the Kale family, born in the fictional town of Citrusville, Florida, and living in the Florida swamp regions. Attuned to mystical forces since birth, she began studying her family's history at an early age and eventually became an asset and ally to the Man-Thing. Jennifer learned of the Tome via her grandfather Joshua, who led the modern incarnation of the Cult. The aged Dakimh took Jennifer as his apprentice, drawing energies from the angelic realm Therea and demonic realm Sominus to use the Tome to prevent Earth's invasion by the demonic Thog. Jennifer joined the Dakimh, Man-Thing, Howard the Duck and Korrek in opposing further plots of Thog, the Congress of Realities, the wizard Klonus and barbarian Mortak, and the mad demon Bzzk'joh and his Imperium Emporium organization. Even after Joshua's death, his spirit continued to advise Jennifer. Between her efforts to live a normal life at various colleges, she has been drawn into numerous magical conflicts, including learning of her familial connection to the Ghost Rider.
Jennifer was also once sought out to help the mutant team known as X-Force. She helped against Pandemonia, who had taken mystic control of several of their other members. Based on their description of her, Jennifer identified her via her Demonic Corcordance text. Jennifer joined X-Force in confronting Pandemonia. She freed Pandemonia's mental slaves (Locus, Meltdown, Warpath, Skids, Sunspot) and, assisted by Danielle Moonstar, she banished Pandemonia back to her home dimension on the chaos plane. Jennifer examined the reality warping energies that Danielle Moonstar had recently begun to display, confirming that they were not supernatural in origin. Later, Jennifer and Dani Moonstar attended a Tai Chi course and became somewhat of friends. Again some time later, Jennifer summoned the Man-Thing and assisted X-Force against the Queen of Star Swords, the extra-dimensional counterpart of Moonstar.
Recently, the demon Marduk Kurios, one of many to use the alias Satan, duped Jennifer's brother Andrew into touching the Tome of Zhered-Na. Hereby they unleashed the curse of the Hellphyr which threatened to destroy all magical beings on Earth. Jennifer was recruited by Doctor Strange, alongside some other magical heroes to oppose this plot. During the battle, Jennifer was forced to slay her Hellphyr-possessed brother. After the battle, Jennifer refused to surrender her familial Tome to Doctor Strange, who had lied to her about his true intentions of possessing the Tome for himself. Instead Jennifer decided to remain with fellow magicians Topaz and Satana. Together, they formed the group known as the Witches, hoping to keep the world safe from mystical threats and stop would-be thieves from stealing her family book[1].
[edit] Sexuality
While Jennifer did have a boyfriend named Bernard Drabble during her time in the Legion of Night, and was originally shown with a boyfriend named Jaxon (surname unrevealed)[2], in the Ghost Rider series her cousin Danny Ketch has a vision of a life where their family never was involved in magic. In this scenario he envisions Jennifer as having a girlfriend of three years named Marie. Later during her encounter with Satana, Jennifer is questioned by her teammate as to her sexual orientation. Though she told Satana that it was none of her business, Satana makes a snide comment about Jennifer staring at her chest.
Jennifer was officially recognized as bisexual in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Mystic Arcana - The Book of Marvel Magic (2007) in the entry for Witches - the informal trio of Kale, Topaz, and Satana.
[edit] Dead of Night: Man-Thing
In Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's 2008 Marvel MAX retelling of Man-Thing's origin, Jennifer Kale is 22 years old, and Andrew Kale's legal guardian. She works as an exotic dancer in a witch-woman costume.
[edit] Notable comic book appearances
- Adventure into Fear #11-19
- Man-Thing v1 #1, 22
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #3
- Howard the Duck v1 #22-24
- Marvel Team-Up v1 #68
- Man-Thing v2 #4,
- Dr. Strange v2 #41
- Man-Thing v2 #10-11
- Marvel Comics Presents #29
- The Legion of Night #1-2
- Quasar #50
- Midnight Sons Unlimited #9
- Over The Edge #2
- Ghost Rider v3 #77-83, 86-89, 92
- X-Force v1 #85-87, 96, 100
- Witches #1-4
