Clarisse Van Ripper was a woman that opened her home to the children of the street in her town of Sleepy Hollow. Van Ripper was viewed as an outstanding citizen and deemed pride of the community. However, the town did not realize that Van Ripper had a dark secret. She was abusing and torturing the children that came to her home. A young boy saw Van Ripper torturing a boy tied to her table and she gave chase. Van Ripper fell down her staircase and suffered serious injuries. Van Ripper was forever wheelchair bound and could barely whisper. She would sit next to her window and watch the children play outside throughout the years. She hated them for their youth, vitality and feelings until the
Dwarf appeared next to her bed and offered her a dark envelope. The envelope contained a page from the
Darkhold and it granted her wish to feel and walk again through the eyes of a hellspawn demon. Van Ripper accepted the conditions and was thrilled to feel alive again when the demon would kill the children. The killing attracted the attention of
Ghost Rider and
Johnny Blaze. They fought the demon when it came after some children playing in the snow. The demon was wounded by Blaze's hellfire shotgun and fled to Clarisse Van Ripper's home. They believed the demon was coming after Van Ripper so Ghost Rider wrapped his chain around its waist and Blaze blew off its head with a shotgun blast. Blaze and Ghost Rider realized that Clarisse Van Ripper was responsible for all the murders by controlling the monster. Ghost Rider gave Clarisse Van Ripper the Penance Stare so she could feel the pain of all her victims and the feelings of vengeance would echo inside her head over and over again.
Creation
Clarisse Van Ripper was created by
Howard Mackie and
Klaus Janson in 1993 and first appeared in
Midnight Sons Unlimited # 1.
Powers & Abilities
Clarisse Van Ripper was able to control a powerful demon through a spell from the Darkhold pages. She was able to see and feel through the eyes of that demon. The hellspawn monster possessed superhuman strength, durability and resistance to injury.
Log in to comment