Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)

From Marvel Database

Jennifer Kale

Gallery

Real Name

Jennifer Kale

Current Alias

Jennifer Kale

Aliases

Witch Woman; Wendy the Good Little Witch

Identity

Secret

Alignment

Good

Affiliation

Command; Witches; former apprentice of Dakimh the Enchanter, frequent ally of the Man-Thing, Korrek, Howard the Duck and member of Legion of Night

Relatives

Joshua Kale (grandfather, deceased), Andrew Joshua Kale (brother, deceased), Naomi Kale (aunt), Johnny Blaze (aka Ghost Rider, cousin), Barbara Ketch (cousin, deceased), Daniel Ketch (aka Ghost Rider, cousin), Illyana Kale (ancestor), Noble Kale (ancestor), Pastor Kale (ancestor), Magdalena (ancestor)

Universe

Earth-616

Base Of Operations

Swamp in the Florida Everglades near Citrusville, Florida

Characteristics

Gender

Female

Height

5' 6"

Weight

122 lbs (55 kg)

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Blonde

Unusual Features

None

Status

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Sorceress; former exotic dancer

Origin

Origin

Place of Birth

Citrusville, Florida

Creators

Steve Gerber, Rich Buckler

First appearance

Fear #11
(December, 1972)

History

In the years just before the Great Cataclysm, the Atlantean sorceress Zhered-Na prophesied the sinking of Atlantis. The Atlantean emperor Kamuu was furious and twice ordered Zhered-Na to cease making this prophecy, but she refused. Possibly Kamuu incorrectly believed that Zhered-Na, a practitioner of "white" magic, was like the evil sorcerer of the cult of Darkholders, who originated in pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis. Since Zhered-Na refused to recant her prophecy of doom, Kamuu banished her from Atlantis forever for blasphemy. She was set adrift in a small boat, left to the mercy of the winds and tides.

Zhered-Na spent the weeks adrift at sea in meditation, during which she had a vision of Earth's future, which she believed had been granted her by her god Valka. Finally, her boat landed on the Thurian shore, and days later she came across a colony of Atlanteans there on the mainland. She founded a cult of disciples from this colony, and over the following years taught them sorcery. She also prophesied that centuries later demons from the realm of Sominus would attempt to invade Earth, but would be opposed by the Man-Thing. Among Zhered-Na's pupils was Dakimh the Enchanter, whom she granted seeming immortality, although in fact he did continue to age at an extremely slow rate. Finally, the Great Cataclysm began. Atlanteans in the nearby colony wrongly believed it was Zhered-Na's doing and attacked her cultists. Zhered-Na herself was killed, but Dakimh and a few other disciples escaped, bearing with them scrolls containing her mystical knowledge.

In recent years Joshua Kale has served as a leader of the Cult of Zhered-Na, based in the section of the Florida Everglades that is the mystic Nexus of All Realities. The Cult possessed the sole remaining copy of the Tome of Zhered-Na, a book containing her mystical knowledge.

Kale's teenage granddaughter Jennifer took an interest in witchcraft, and, using one of his books without his knowledge, experimented in summoning a demon. She succeeded in bringing the powerful demon Thog the Nether-Spawn to Earth from the otherdimensional world of Sominus without realizing he would not be under her control. But the Man-Thing saved Jennifer's life, and Thog was forced back to Sominus. As a result of a subsequent encounter of the Man-Thing, Jennifer, and Thog, Joshua Kale realized that Jennifer had a psychic link with the Man-Thing. ^[1]

Later, Jennifer and the Man-Thing were magically transported to the otherdimensional world of Sandt, where they first met Dakimh, now an aged wizard. Dakimh pretended to want to have Jennifer and the Man-Thing killed and had the Man-Thing fight in a gladiatorial arena. But in fact he was testing the Man-Thing's powers and Jennifer's spirit, to make certain they were the beings he was waiting for. The Man-Thing triumphed in the arena, and Dakimh sent him and Jennifer back to their swamp.

The Tome of Zhered-Na somehow disappeared, and as a result, Earth was now vulnerable to invasion from Sominus. Dakimh appeared to Jennifer, and explained his true purpose to her: to save Earth from the demons. He magically garbed her as a priestess of Zhered-Na's cult and, assisted by Dakimh and the Man-Thing; Jennifer recovered the Tome from an otherdimensional world and brought it to Earth, temporarily halting the invasion. Jennifer became Dakimh's apprentice in sorcery.

Jennifer was later captured by Thog, who now intended to invade Therea, home of godlike beings, and to conquer all reality. Dakimh rescued Jennifer, and the two set out with their three allies, the Man-Thing, Korrek, warrior prince of the otherdimensional world of Katharta, and the extradimensional talking waterfowl called Howard the Duck, to stop Thog's plans. While they traversed dimensions, Howard accidentally fell back to Earth, but the other four arrived in Therea, where the Man-Thing defeated Thog.

Jennifer Kale

Dakimh continued to train Jennifer in the knowledge and use of Zhered-Na's sorcery, but her studies were seemingly halted when Dakimh was killed in battle. However, Dakimh's spirit has continued to manifest itself on the Earthly plane in a seemingly physical form, and so Dakimh is continuing to train Jennifer even in the present. Jennifer has already become a powerful sorceress, and will probably one day become the equal of Zhered-Na herself. She has also helped in defeating various mystical menaces, allying herself not only with Dakimh but with the Man-Thing, Korrek, Howard the Duck, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man.

Kale was later summoned by the mystical Omen in forming the Legion of Night, who faced the immediate threat of a Fellowship awakening the dragon Fin Fang Foom and making all reality a dream. Kale fought alongside her teammates against the nightmares of Foom, and the dragon retreated, ending the threat. The Legion decided to band together, since this was but a first step in increasingly larger occult threats.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Jennifer Kale is a highly skilled sorcerer whose knowledge and power continue to grow as her studies continue. Like most sorcerers on Earth, Kale's magic is derived from three major sources: personal powers of the soul / body / mind derived through developing one's own psychic resources (such as thought-casting), powers gained by tapping this universe's ambient magical energy and employing it for specific effects, and powers gained through tapping extradimensional energy by invoking entities or objects of power existing in mystical dimensions tangential to this one.

Jennifer Kale

Strictly speaking, Jennifer Kale does not have superhuman powers. Only the ability to manipulate mystical energy lies within an Earth-born sorcerer, not the energy itself. Theoretically, any Earth being can tap into an infinite amount of mystical energy. However, each person is limited by his or her own amount of training, discipline, knowledge and enlightenment as to the mystical arts. Jennifer Kale's progress as a student of magic has been rapid. She can already cast a wide variety of spells, most of which have not yet been depicted, and is a formidable opponent in mystic battle. When her training is complete, she will be one of Earth's most powerful practitioners of sorcery.

Dakimh is teaching Kale a kind of sorcery mastered and taught by the pre-Cataclysmic Atlantean sorceress Zhered-Na. The degree to which Zhered-Na's system of magic resembles the systems of magical knowledge followed by other sorcerers, such as Doctor Strange, is not known.

Jennifer Kale possesses a psychic link with the Man-Thing. Although her grandfather once claimed that the link had been severed, it probably still exists.

Abilities

None

Strength level

Jennifer Kale possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height and build who engages in moderate regular exercise.

Weaknesses

None known.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.

Notes

• No special notes.

Trivia

• Dead of Night Featuring the Man-Thing #2 retroactively establishes that Jennifer was an exotic dancer at a bar called the Juicy Orange in the years before she met the Man-Thing. She performed under the stage name "Witch Woman". The metal bikini that Jennifer traditionally wore during the Bronze Age was actually her stage costume.
  
  

Appearances

• Over The Edge Vol 1, No. 2 December 1995; cameo; Featuring: Doctor Strange, Silver Dagger
• Ghost Rider Vol 2, No. 77-85 September 1996-May 1997; Featuring: BlackHeart, Johnny Blaze

See Also

• Appearances of Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)
• Character Gallery: Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)
• Quotations by Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)
• Images that include Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)

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• Search News for: Jennifer Kale · Jennifer Kale · Jennifer Kale (Earth-616)
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Links and References

• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition #6 (May 1986)
• Marvel Directory