Lilith (Marvel Comics)
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Lilith is the name of two fictional American comic book characters owned by Marvel Comics. Both characters exist in the Marvel Universe.
The first of these two to appear was Lilith, the daughter of Dracula. Like her father, she is also a vampire, although her powers and weaknesses differ from most other vampires. She first appeared in Giant-Size Chillers featuring Curse of Dracula #1 (June, 1974).
The Second is a demon sorceress who is known as the "Mother of All Demons". She first appeared in Ghost Rider, Vol. 2, issue 28 (August, 1992).
Contents |
[edit] Dracula's daughter
| Lilith | |
 Vampire Lilith by Mike Deodato |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Giant-Size Chillers featuring Curse of Dracula #1 (Jun 1974) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Lilith Dracul |
| Team affiliations | S.H.I.E.L.D. Howling Commandos |
| Notable aliases | Angel O'Hara, Lilith Drake |
| Abilities | Although a vampire, Lilith is immune to sunlight, not repelled by the cross, and not completely dependent on drinking blood. She is unable to personally kill Dracula and continues to exist until he is permanently destroyed |
Lilith is Dracula's oldest child, and is his only child by his first wife, Zofia, who was forced on Dracula by his father. After Dracula's father died, he renounced Zofia and forced her and their infant daughter to leave Castle Dracula so that he could marry the woman he truly loved. Lilith was raised by Gypsies to whom she had been entrusted after her mother's suicide. Lilith's foster-mother was the gypsy Gretchin. When Lilith was a young girl, Dracula, now a vampire, attacked and murdered Gretchin's son Arni, enraging her into seeking revenge. She cast a spell upon Lilith to make her into a vampire, but one with rather different powers: unlike conventional Marvel Comics vampires, she did not fear holy symbols, and was not harmed at all by being out in the daylight. As part of the curse, she would haunt Dracula, ever opposing him, until Dracula was finally, irrevocably destroyed. Whenever she was "killed", she would reappear by taking over the body of a woman who hated her father and wished for his death; this included the ability to shift forms and clothing between Lilith's own form and that of her "hostess".
Lilith normally appeared, when in her own form, as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and a family resemblance to Dracula, dressed in a skin-tight costume with a bat-like ornament in her hair. As a vampire, she could change forms into a wolf, a bat, or mist, and had limited control over weather, as well as the ability to command wolves, bats, and rats. Although she can drink blood, she is not dependent upon it for sustenance.
In the modern era, Lilith's spirit possessed a woman named Angel O'Hara, who had come to hate her father when he accidentally killed her husband. Lilith killed Angel's father, but allowed her to live her life when Lilith was not using their shared body. Angel was eventually physically separated from Lilith by Viktor Benzel, a distant descendant of the Gretchin; Viktor created separate bodies for Angel and Lilith.
At one point, Lilith and Dracula agreed to avoid each other, but the agreement broke down. When Dracula was stripped of his vampiric powers toward the end of the 70-issue Tomb of Dracula story-arc, he asked Lilith to bite him and restore him to vampirism, only to be refused. In an issue of the Tomb of Dracula magazine that soon followed, Lilith and Dracula fought once more, and Dracula revealed to Lilith that the curse that made her his eternal nemesis also prevented her from being able to actually kill him. Lilith was destroyed along with her father and the rest of Earth's vampires when Doctor Strange used the Darkhold's Montesi Formula to eliminate vampirism.[1] The Montesi Formula eventually weakened, and both Lilith and her father returned to life. Lilith subsequently appeared as Dracula's antagonist in the four-issue Dracula: Lord of the Undead limited series in 1998 and agent of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos in 2005.
[edit] Bibliography
- Dr. Strange vol. 2 #62 (“death”)
- Dracula Lives #10-11
- Dracula: Lord of the Undead #1-3
- Ghost Rider vol. 3 #82-85
- Giant-Size Chillers featuring Curse of Dracula #1
- Marvel Preview #12, 16
- Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #1-6
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #18
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005
- Spider-Man Unlimited vol. 2 #20
- Tomb of Dracula vol. 1 #60, 66-67
- Tomb of Dracula vol. 2 #3, 5-6
- Uncanny X-Men Annual #6
- Vampire Tales #6
- Witches #2
[edit] Mother of All Demons
| Lilith | |
 Demon Lilith and a Lilin demon by Mike Deodato |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Ghost Rider (vol. 2) #28 |
| In story information | |
| Notable aliases | Bat Zuge, Kiskillilla, Mother of the Lilin |
The demon Lilith is an ancient demon goddess and sorceress. She gives birth to demons called the Lilin which have lives of their own, but always remain obedient to their mother.
[edit] Fictional character biography
She is an immortal having lived in the city of pre-cataclysmic Atlantis, one of its few survivors. Over the centuries, she gave birth to many of her children (the Lilin), including Creed, Pilgrim, Fang, Doc, Meatmarket, Skinner, and Nakota. Trapped in the leviathan Tiamat by Atlantean sorcerers, she used her vast magics to influence outside affairs. While thus imprisoned, she encountered Dan Ketch's spirit, and then appeared in a vision to Blackout.[2]
She was finally released from her ancient imprisonment by two unknowing scientist explorers. Discovering that her Lilin children had been scattered across the dimensions centuries ago and that many of them were destroyed by Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze, she soon made enemies of them. She recruited the Lilin and Blackout, and sent Blackout, Creed, and Pilgrim to abduct John Blaze's son, Craig Blaze.[3] She sent the Lilin Fang to attack Morbius.[4] She witnessed Ghost Rider and John Blaze's battle with Steel Vengeance.[5] Alongside the Lilin, she abducted Doris Ketch, Jack D'Auria, and Arthur and Stacy Dolan.[6] She transformed the Darkholders' ninjas and sent them to kill Victoria Montesi. Alongside the Lilin, she battled Ghost Rider, John Blaze, and the Darkhold Redeemers.[7] She then sent the Lilin Skinner to attack Ghost Rider and John Blaze.[8] She then hired the Nightstalkers to kill Ghost Rider and John Blaze.[9] Alongside the Lilin, she again battled Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Morbius, the Nightstalkers, and the Darkhold Redeemers.[10]
After many attempts to kill the two, her enemies list grew to include Doctor Strange, Morbius the Living Vampire, the Witches, the Nightstalkers and the Midnight Sons just to name a few. In her first attempt she and her children were killed. Many months later her children were reborn this time allied with Centurious, the man without a soul. Their goal was to claim the mystical artifact called the Medallion of Power, and kill it's inheritors, John Blaze, Daniel Ketch, and Vengeance. Lilith and her offspring betrayed Centurious and allied with his most hated enemy, Zarathos. However the Midnight Sons banished Lilith and her offspring to the shadowside. Zarathos was later turned into stone and killed. Lilith returned to the stoned Zarathos saying she abandoned her old offspring and replaced it with his offspring, promising vengeance for the both of them. This has yet to be seen.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Lilith's powers include superhuman strength, durability, and stamina. She has the ability to manipulate the forces of magic for a variety of effects, including energy manifestations and others as yet unrevealed. Additionally she is able to summon her demon children to Earth's dimension and the more demons she "births" the more her physical strength increases. [1]
[edit] Bibliography
- Darkhold #1, 15
- Dr. Strange vol. 3 #60
- Ghost Rider vol. 3 #28, 30-32, 41-44
- Marvel Comics Presents #143-144
- Midnight Sons Unlimited #4
- Monsters Unleashed #1
- Morbius #1, 13-16
- Nightstalkers #1, 14
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005
- Spirits of Vengeance #1-3, 13-17
- Vampire Tales #4
- Witches #1-4
[edit] In other media
- Lilith is mentioned in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance when the player asks Vision about who resides in Mephisto's Realm.
- Lilith is a Boss in the Ghost Rider video game.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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