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Hello everyone!
And welcome to an all-new episode of MajestiComic.
In the past, we have brought you videos on The Darkness and The Angelus, as well as their
offspring, the Witchblade.
Today, we bring you another of Top Cow Productions' most famous figures: a fierce female warrior
called The Magdalena.
Created by Malachey Coney and Joe Benitez, The Magdalena first appeared in The Darkness,
Issue number 15 in June of 1998.
She has appeared in many other comic lines as well, such as Witchblade, Tomb Raider,
and Vampirella, and she has even had two of her own solo lines.
While she is often compared to The Darkness, The Angelus, and The Witchblade, though, The
Magdalena is one of the only major characters in their universe who is not possessed by
an ancient force.
Instead, she is descended from one.
In biblical times, it was believed (in spite of what many staunch Catholics believe) that
Jesus Christ may have been married to a woman named Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene was believed to have been one of the only women who followed Jesus on his
travels with his apostles, and she is mentioned more often in the Bible than any of those
twelve male apostles.
Her presence has always been controversial in the church, because many say that, in spite
of the fact that she is now considered to be a saint, she was a repentant prostitute,
or a wayward woman who was promiscuous.
In Top Cow's story, though, regardless of what her past might have been, Mary Magdalene
was married to Jesus Christ, and not long after he was crucified and rose from the dead,
she bore his child, a daughter named Sarah.
Sarah was the first in a long line of what would become known as The Magdalenas, women
trained by the Catholic church and the Knights of Malta to be warriors who protect and serve,
not just the church, but humanity as well.
Every generation there is a new Magdalena, who takes over after the previous Magdalena
dies in battle.
For over two thousand years, this mantle has been handed down from daughter to daughter,
and these women have fought against supernatural entities that threaten our world.
Aside from being skilled in combat, The Magdalena is endowed with a very special gift.
She is able to look deep into the heart of a person, and to show the person what she
sees there.
This allows them to acknowledge their sins, and gives them the chance to repent them.
Overseen by both the Catholic church and a secret society called The Inquisition, The
Magdalena uses this gift to save people.
And if that doesn't work, she is also armed with an artifact of incredible value and power
– the spear that was used to pierce Jesus' side when he was crucified, called the Spear
of Destiny.
While the Inquisition works to erase all traces of each Magdalena from history, there are
three main Magdalenas who help shape the world of Top Cow's The Darkness and Witchblade.
The first of these three is Sister Rosalia, who was sent by the Inquisition to investigate
what she was led to believe was a coven of evil vampires in France.
These vampires were thought to be responsible for the deaths of many people, but when Rosalia
arrived and met with them, she discovered that things were not as they seemed.
These creatures were not the vampires from scary storybooks, they were just people who
had a terrible disease that made society shun them.
These vampires did drink blood, but only from willing victims.
Rosalia, as The Magdalena, saw that they were not really evil and tried to help them, but
before she could, The Garduna, agents of the Inquisition, came and attempted to kill the
vampires.
Rosalia was then forced to fight against her own employers, who ultimately killed her.
It was hinted, though, that perhaps she had been infected by the vampires' disease,
and would rise three days after her death, just as her ancestor, Jesus, had done.
Long before Rosalia died, though, the continuation of the Magdalena bloodline was ensured when
she gave birth to a daughter named Mariella.
Mariella was the product of a rape that Rosalia suffered as a teenager, and she had been being
trained for duty by the Church when her mother died.
She was sent out into the field before her training was complete, and thus was not battle-ready
when she began her first mission: to kill Jackie Estacado, the wielder of The Darkness.
During their battle, Jackie broke the Spear of Destiny, dealing a devastating blow to
the Magdalena.
Even though some other sisters from the order came to help Mariella fight The Darkness,
the Darkness won out, and the spear was lost.
Jackie then crucified all of the women who had come to fight him to make an example out
of them, and left them for dead in the church.
Somehow, though, Mariella survived, and later went on to face the opposing force of The
Darkness, the Angelus, to get back the spear she had lost.
This time she was successful, and the Magdalena line continued on.
The current Magdalena, Patience, is much different from her earlier counterparts.
Created by Brian Holguin, Patience grew up in a convent, but escaped not long before
her official training was set to begin.
An agent named Kristof was sent from the Inquisition to find her, and he eventually tracked her
to New York, where she was living with a homeless girl named Rowan.
Until she met Rowan, Patience knew nothing about the world outside of the convent.
What she learned, though, made her even more reluctant to trust Kristoff when he appeared
on the scene to tell her about her destiny as the Magdalena.
The two fought, and Patience's powers manifested for the first time.
Although she hadn't had any training yet, she was more than a match for Kristoff, a
highly-trained captain.
Their battle ended in a draw, and Kristoff explained Patience's destiny to her.
At first, she was having none of it, but soon found herself embracing said destiny when
Rowan was kidnapped.
Kristoff then became her mentor, instructing her in the ways of the Magdalena, before he
took her to where the now-broken remains of the Spear of Destiny lay.
Using a drop of her blood and her own incredible powers, she returned the spear to its original
state, and proved, not just that she was worthy of being a Magdalena, but that the power had
never come from the spear – it had come from inside the woman wielding it.
Armed with the weapon that was her birthright, Patience heads to Prague, where she tries
to stop a ritual in which her friend Rowan is being used as a human sacrifice.
She soon discovers, though, that it was all a trick, and that Rowan was being used to
lure the Magdalena there so that her spear could be stolen for an ancient ritual.
Over the course of this mission and others, Patience discovers that the Church is hiding
more than it is revealing to her, and that maybe her destiny is not to serve them, but
to serve other people who need help.
The Inquisition is corrupt as well, so she only works with them from time to time, unlike
some of her predecessors.
Patience is extremely strong as the Magdalena, and some of this strength comes from her independence,
and her ability to think for herself instead of just following orders from the Church,
The Inquisition, or others.
This particular Magdalena appears in several other famous comic book stories as well, and
associates with the likes of Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider, and Sara Pezzini, wielder of
the Witchblade.
She is even present to help protect Sara from The Angelus when she gives birth to the child
she concived with Jackie Estacado, wielder of The Darkness.
The Magdalena has existed for many centuries and touched many lives, so it is no wonder
that her story weaves its way throughout all of these other tales.
Unlike The Darkness, The Angelus, or The Witchblade, The Magdalena chooses her own destiny, driven
only by the forces inside her own mind and body.
She is no longer just a guardian for the Catholic Church, she is a protector of the human race,
and she will fight to her last breath to keep hope and humanity safe from harm.
What are your thoughts on The Magdalena?
Let us know in the comments section!
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Thanks for watching!
Until next time.
Bye!
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