Magdalena

Patience is the latest in the line of women known as the Magdalena, wielders of the Spear of Destiny and once holy protectors of the Catholic Church.

Origin

All the women that have carried the title of the Magdalena descend from Mary Magdalene and Jesus himself. They are holy warriors and protectors for the Catholic Church. The secret of their lineage was lost until recently, and threatens the fabric of the Church itself. According to a letter discovered by Cardinal Innocent, Mary Magdalene was the head apostle and wife of Jesus, a man, a prophet and a king but not more of less a son of god than any other man. Oblivious to all of this, the current Magdalena, Patience, has opted to go rogue.

It is unclear of whether the title is passed on by blood or by tradition. There is an Order of the Magdalena from which the one Magdalena is chosen and/or discovered. All of them lead secluded lives as nuns, and have little exposure to the outside world until they are called into service. The title seems to be traditionally passed from mother to daughter but not always.

Benedetta Maria Ferro

A Magdalena who appeared in the Black Sails. Benedetta was in charge of safeguarding treasures brought from the New World to holy father. Her ship was intercepted by Darkness bearer Miguel Estacado, and the two entered into a fierce battle. Before succumbing to death, Benedetta sank the ship although Miguel managed to take the Spear of Destiny from her hand as consolation price.

Unnamed Magdalena

The first Magdalena introduced in the comic recovers the Spear of Destiny from Adolf Hitler in Berlin. To do that she eliminates a number of Nazis. She first uses her powers to show Hitler the evil he has committed, which is said to be the main reason for his suicide.

Rosalia

Rosalia was called into active duty to investigate a vampire rumor surrounding a number of killings in France. Confronted with the so called vampires, she learned that they were in fact affected by a rare disease which had shunned them from society. Rosalia intended to help them but by then she had called on the agents of the Inquisition, the Garduna, who made a move to eliminate the alleged vampire coven. Rosalia had no choice but to battle with their former employers who eventually took her life.

It was later revealed that as a teenager, Rosalia was raped and gave birth to a daughter who was taken from her and brought up in a convent. This child eventually took her mother's place as the second Magdalena.

Mariella

Mariella was sent by Cardinal Innocent to kill the Darkness, Jackie Estacado even though her training was unfinished. Her first encounter with the Darkness wielder ended in disaster and resulted in the Spear of Destiny being broken. Three other sisters from the Order of the Magdalene came to assist her, but the Darkness still emerged victorious.

Mariella managed to recover from the ordeal and received word that the Spear was in a secret location in the Amazon jungle. Upon traveling to the Spear's location in order to retrieve it, she ended up facing the Angelus, Lauren Franchetti, as well as her daughter Appolonia who wielded the Spear and chose to use it for darkness. As the battle progressed, the Magdalena was able to prevail against the Angelus' warriors but could not gain the upper hand against the combined forces of the Angelus and her daughter. Lauren then chooses to give herself completely to the Angelus entity and rather than choosing to face her daughter for embracing the Darkness, she flees from the battle. Mariella apparently survived the confrontation and was successful in recovering the Spear.

Patience

The current wielder, and so far the one with the most independent spirit. Patience was raised in a convent and eventually ran away just as Kristof, a captain and designed Shepperd of the Magdalene by the Knights of Malta, was sent to retrieve her. Along with a runaway named Rowan, Patience discovered New York, and learned that she had lived a very secluded life, with very little knowledge of the outside world.

Once she was discovered, Patience revealed her skills when she squared off against Kristof. Their bout ended in a draw, and Patience agreed to hear him out. After taking her to a cathedral, he explained the destiny of the Magdalena. Although when Patience left, she found that Rowan had been kidnapped. While hesitant, Patience accepted to embrace her destiny in order to save her friend. She traveled with Kristof to the island of Malta, where she was presented with the shattered remains of the Spear of Destiny. Patience then proved her worth by regenerating the Spear anew using a drop of her blood and powers that blind all those observing the phenomenon. This more than suggested that the Magdalena's power does not come from the Spear, but rather from the Magdalena herself. The Spear of Destiny remained a perfect conduit, and welater learn that as it is considered the Spear of Longinus from christian tradition, it also shared the myth of being the same Spear of Lugh from celtic tradition.

Mathias, overseer of the island of Malta, explained to Patience that a new pagan order called the Bright Hand wanted to claim the Spear as part of their Celtic tradition. Mathias instructed the Knights of Malta to capture them, although it was later discovered that Mathias was actually a traitor and was working for the Bright Hand all along.

Patience, Kristof and the Knights of Malta traveled to Prague to stop a ritual that involved Rowan herself as a sacrifice. Patience reached Rowan as the battle raged around them. When a portal was created by the leader of the Bright Hand Rowan urged Patience to throw the Spear into it. This ended up being a trick, as the portal allowed Chernobog, a creature from another plane and a bringer of destruction, to cross into our world. Rowan was then revealed to be the daughter of the leader of the Bright Hand and was used to deceive the Magdalena as part of the plan to use the Spear in order to summon Chernobog.

Patience then cut her hands to call upon the power of her lineage. As she levitated above the battle and crossed the portal into the other plane, she found the myths of the Spear of Longinus, the Spear of Lugh and the legacy of the Magdalena together. As she was about to retrieve the Spear a snake spoke to her and revealed how tainted the truth has become, although Patience's faith actually grows stronger with the truth. With a mighty heave, Patience freed the Spear and beheaded the snake. Once she returned back to reality through the portal, she throws the Spear at Chernobog, resulting in his destruction. Her victory is praised by the fathers of the Church, but Patience knows there is more truth out there than the Church cares to admit or even reveal. She then decides to continue her duty to work as the Magdalena without them. As she turns her back on the Church, Kristoff follows her without hesitation.

Characteristics

Height: 5'10''
Weight: 140lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Powers and Abilities

The Spear of Destiny

The Magdalene is trained on several forms and styles of fighting. She's an expert on both unarmed and armed combat but favors medieval weaponry. She's an excellent sword and knife fighter, as well as considered unbeatable when she wields the Spear. She has been known to use firearms on occasion and carries one concealed handgun among the many swords, blades, knives and throwable devices she carries.

The Spear of Destiny itself seems to augment the Magdalena's power. It appears more of a perfect conduit to power the Magdalena already owns. The weapon seems to react better to true conviction than mere fanatical religious zeal. The Spear itself seems to become weak, and even breakable, should the faith of the bearer falter. The Magdalene has also the skill to show her enemies their own sins with increased intensity. This ability can break anyone's resolved - provided they feel guilt over what they've done.

It has also been proved the Magdalene's own blood has incredible power. In times of great need, it can perform miracles (it can even fuse the Spear back together) but it has always depend on the Magdalena's conscious participation. The Magdalena is also very well versed in religion, history, folklore, myth and battle tactics. Her main weakness has been her lack of street-smart senses and religious overconfidence due to her secluded life but the latest holder of the title of the Magdalena, Patience, seems to be changing all that as she has walked away from the shadow of the Church and now faces the world on her own.

forum	should get the last four magdalenas a appearence in the movie ??	DoN`t_KrAnQ_jUsT_PsYcHoO
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forum	The Movie... With Kristoff	pixelized
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news	First Born Consequences Revealed in Afermath	G-Man

Super Name:	Magdalena
Real Name:	Patience
Aliases:	Patience Benedetta Maria Ferro Mariella Sister Rosalia
Publisher:	Top Cow
Gender:	Female
Character Type:	Human
1st Appearance:	The Darkness - Volume 1 #15
Appears in:	51 issues
Birthday:
Died:	Add a new death issue...