Madame Xanadu

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Origin

In the Vertigo series written by Matt Wagner, Madame Xanadu's origins and lengthy life-span are slowly being uncovered bit by bit and it has been established that her real name is Nimue and she is one of the Elder Folk whose origins are traced to the days of Camelot. Her two sisters are Morgana, also known as Morgaine Le Fey, with whom she is most often in opposition with and Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake, who also seems to have no love for Morgana but her feelings towards Madame Xanadu have yet to be seen.  More of her history is revealed in the pages of Demon Knights as she and Jason Blood are shown to have a romance forbidden by the demon Etrigan and by fate.  

Madame Xanadu's Shop

A sign on the front door of the Christy Street shop says, "Enter freely - unafraid." The door always seems locked to those who are just wandering by, giving it a curious glance, but for those troubled by things beyond the ken of this world, the door is always open, no matter what the time, and Madame Xanadu waits within and greets them by name.

She waits, ready to listen, near a small round table where her tarot cards lie. The frightened travelers, coming inside, are surrounded by a comforting scent of mint-jasmine, and a curious collection of crystal jars, magical artifacts of all types, and endless rows of books containing a wealth of esoteric knowledge.

Madame Xanadu is not surprised by their arrival, and seems to already know the trouble they are in, but she makes them tell their story, perhaps to make them clarify it to themselves. She offers the guidance of the tarot cards, giving them her interpretation of their plight through the symbols of the cards, but she makes no moves to interfere. As they stumble away to face their demons, she sometimes seems to a company them, stepping in to intercede only after they have made a move to protect themselves, and the demons seem to vanish.

Madame Xanadu takes no payment for her services, but from each event she is seen leaving with a reminder of the case, which is now firmly entombed in one of the many opalescent jars that line her parlour shelves, macabre reminders of the evil that has just been overpowered by the soul of this person who came to her in need.

During the events of Day of Vengeance she was attacked by the Spectre.

Madame Xanadu seems to be the guardian of many treasures, magical artifacts that somehow make their way to her and, even when stolen from her, always find their way back to her care. Nothing is known of her origin, although she is rumoured to be of Gypsy blood and to have come from Europe in some other time. Greenwich Village residents can't remember a time when Madame Xanadu's place was not there, or any time when she looked any different. Madame Xanadu is the keeper of many secrets, the biggest secret being the truth behind her own story.

The Spectre once burned Madame Xanadu's eyes out of her. She can grow them back, but each time she does so, they wither. It seems the Spectre's curse is too powerful for her skills to overcome. However, she still "sees" what the cards are saying.

Post-Flashpoint, she has been shown during the Middle Ages to have been the lover of Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon, and will eventually fight alongside him and others in a team known as the Demon Knights. Both Xanadu and Etrigan are immortals who have witnessed an event known as the "fall of Camelot". She will also be appearing as an integral member of the Justice League Dark.

Vertigo days

Madame Xanadu's Vertigio series

Madame Xanadu's Vertigo days started in 2008, where Matt Wagner tried to create a back history for a character with fairly none. While at Vertigo her character was allowed to feature many DCU characters that most Vertigo series did not get to after the "invisible wall" of 1993 was created between DCU and Vertigo. Because of the 2010 editorial mandate to return the DCU characters this Vertigo series because causality of it and was canceled prematurely. The sales were respectable monthly for a Vertigo series, it was somewhere in the middle sales wise compared to the rest of the imprint. Because of her relation to the DCU this series was canceled. This cancelation left a bitter taste in a lot of Vertigo fans mouth since the series could still work the way it was and felt the move to cancel the series was unjust.

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In Other Media

Young Justice

Madame Xanadu in Young Justice

Madame Xanadu appears in the Young Justice television episode "Denial". She is different from that of her comic book counterpart in that she is a fake. Her shop (in New Orleans) is visited by Kent Nelson, Doctor Fate, who wishes to speak to his dead wife. He proves her a fake (with a car jack under the table and a wind machine), which he says is a shame since she had the right aura around her.