Black Widow Anti-Hero
Real Name: Claire (last name unrevealed).
Occupation: Medium, mystic, serial murderer; former wartime vigilante.
Identity: Secret.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record.
Other Aliases: Claire Voyant, Madame Claire, Madam Satan, Spawn of Satan, Satan's Courier, "spider lady".
Place of Birth: Unrevealed.
Known Relatives: (allegedly) Debbie (sister, deceased).
Group Affiliation: Servant of Lucifer, former ally of the Invaders.
Base of Operations: Mobile.
First Historical Appearance: MYSTIC COMICS #4 (Aug 1940).
First Post-Reboot Appearance: GHOST RIDER #
History: The true origin of the mysterious woman who calls herself Claire Voyant may never be known.
According to one account, in 1928 her younger sister Debbie moved to Los Angeles following a dream to become a rich and famous Hollywood actress. After a few months, Debbie invited Claire to visit her. Taking her up on the offer, Claire met Debbie's boyfriend, a connected man named Lester Maddox. She first met Maddox at a speakeasy and instantly took a disliking to the man due to his excessive drinking; in a drunken stupor, Maddox offered Claire to participate in a threesome with him and Debbie. That night, Claire tried to warn Debbie about getting further involved with Maddox, but Debbie was too engrossed in the life of money and privilege he gave her, no matter how shady. One night, Maddox shot Debbie dead for some unknown indiscretion. Claire attempted to have the authorities bring Maddox to justice, however Lester was so well connected in organized crime that nobody dared touch him. After Debbie's funeral, Claire swore vengeance over her murdered sister's grave and accepted an offer of power from a demon who called himself Satan in exchange for her soul and service. Her first victim was Maddox, who had apparently made a deal with the devil to avoid prison time in exchange for a service he never provided.
According to another account, she was a small-time medium who in 1940 was contacted during a seance by Satan. Satan prompted her to place a curse upon her current clients, Mrs. Wagler and her adult children Patricia and James, then manipulated the hapless victims into a car crash that was intended to kill all three of them. James survived, however, and killed Voyant in revenge. After her death, Satan brought her body to his realm of Hades (presumably unrelated to the Greco-Roman underworld ruled by the Olympian god of the same name) and revived her as his supernaturally-powered operative. As an incentive, she was allowed to kill James Wagler as her first target.
In both origins described to date, Satan empowered Claire to collect the souls of those who attempted to renege on his deals and the souls of those who were corrupted and "in danger" of repenting their evil ways.
During World War II, Claire, going by the moniker Black Widow, fought against the Nazis, sometimes allying with but never joining the wartime team known as the Invaders. On at least one occasion she committed war crimes on par with those she fought against, slaughtering entire villages in Germany - except for the very young and others she deemed "innocent". On only one known occasion, she used her powers to heal an innocent who had been conned by her target.
Following the War, records of her activities are sparse. It is believed she continued killing those who either she or Satan considered "wicked". She has admitted to never staying in one place for very long, traveling the world to, in her words, "collect on the devil's deals." It is unknown how many of those she killed were truly wicked and how many were targets of convenience.
In her first recorded actions in more than sixty-five years, Claire lured a pornography "talent scout" into a compromising position in an alleyway, killing him with her death touch. She was then attacked by the similarly demonic-powered Ghost Rider, who had sensed the man's death. Although the Rider physically overpowered her, she laughed off his penance stare, claiming to no longer have a soul. She chastised the Rider for reneging on his own deal with the devil, attempting to claim his soul with her death touch, but recoiled when she found "two souls, neither belonging to Satan" (thereby confirming that the "Satan" the Black Widow serves is not Mephisto, the devil whom Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider, had made his deal with). The Black Widow then teleported away, claiming the two would meet again.
In her next recorded activity, she killed a casino owner in Las Vegas, Nevada. This brought her into conflict with occult investigator Daimon Hellstrom, who had recently moved to the city. During this altercation, the Black Widow recognized Hellstrom as the son of Satan, ending the fight by kneeling in supplication to her master's kin, relating how her sister's murder led her to her own deal with Satan, and how each soul she claimed for him was one he'd made a deal with; none of her kills were truly innocent (or so she claimed). She agreed to a truce between herself and Hellstrom, where any time she was in Las Vegas she would inform him of her target before acting, to give him time to investigate before she acted.
The Black Widow was later seen among the superhuman heroes and adventurers who opposed the Zodiac Cartel when the Zodiac formed a force dome over Manhattan Island. During this time, she flirted with Captain America, reminding him of an unrecorded incident between them in Germany. During this fight, she used her death touch on the Zodiac member and alleged founder Taurus, revealing him as industrialist Cornelius van Lundt, claiming his soul belonged to Satan. This killing put her in conflict with most of the other adventurers involved and the authorities, but she teleported away to Hades.
The Black Widow was last seen receiving new orders from Satan: to find and if necessary arrange for another candidate to become a Black Widow. Whether this means Satan plans to replace her or has other plans requiring a second Black Widow remain to be seen.
Age: between 94 and 106 (actual), 24 (physical).
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Blue; red when using her powers.
Hair: Blond.
Uniform: Black bodysuit with a white spider emblem on her stomach and abdomen and purple spider web design on the arms and legs, black boots, and a red knee-length cloak with a hellfire motif.
Strength Level: The Black Widow possesses superhuman strength, enabling her to lift (press) roughly 1 ton under optimum conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: In addition to her superhuman strength, the Black Widow possesses a number of powers gifted to her by Satan.
Her primary power is her death touch, which leaves a brand in the shape of a spider where she touches her target. When she uses her death touch, her target's soul leaves the body and is sucked into a black portal to Hades; only she and other mystics can see this portal. She is also able to see auras surrounding people indicating their innate tendencies; she sees folks like Captain America and Spider-Man as having white or blue-white auras, while most of her targets have dark red or even black auras.
Her body is incredibly resilient. She does not bleed, and takes no damage from most pistol bullets. According to her, she is already dead, making her immune to poisons, disease, and environmental hazards. She does not need to breathe, eat, drink, or even sleep. In addition, she heals at an accelerated rate, and has regrown severed limbs in minutes.
The Black Widow no longer has a soul, so she is immune to effects that target the soul, like the Ghost Rider's penance stare.
Apparently, even before her deal with Satan, Claire was a trained mystic, posing as a spirit medium. Satan enhanced her raw mystical power to unknown levels. Among her recorded feats, she is able to fly, travel between Earth and Hades with relative ease, fire bolts and create shields of eldricht energy, create realistic illusions in the minds of others, and read others' surface thoughts. She is also able to change into her uniform from regular clothes in seconds.
Other Abilities: Before her deal with the devil, Claire Voyant was apparently a skilled psychic medium and fortune teller. She is only moderately skilled at hand to hand combat. In addition, the Black Widow is adept and using her beauty, charm, and sensuality to get what she wants.
2,187 points
| ST: 15/35 [50*] | HP: 15 [0] | Speed: 7.50 [0] |
| DX: 12 [40] | Will: 18 [25] | Ground Move: 6 [-5] |
| IQ: 13 [60] | Per: 14 [5] | Air Move: 15/30 [0] |
| HT: 18 [80] | FP: 18 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Threshold: 30 | ||
| Dmg: 1d+1/2d+1 (4d-1/6d+1) | BL: 45 lbs. (245 lbs.) | |
| Dodge: 11 | Parry: 10 | DR: 10* |
| Block: 11 | ||
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Hell [2]; Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Affliction (Death Touch) 19 (HT-18; Armor Divisor (∞), +300%; Melee Attack: Reach C, -30%; Demonic, -10%) [684]; Appearance (Beautiful) [12]; Body/3 [30]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Damage Resistance 10 (No Signature, +20%; Tough Skin, -40%) [40]; Detect Alignment Aura (Switchable, +10%; Demonic, -10%) [20]; Doesn't Breathe [20]; Doesn't Eat or Drink [10]; Doesn't Sleep [20]; Empath 4 [20]; Empathy [15]; Energy/3 [60]; Enhanced Move (Air) 1 (Air Move 30/60 mph; Demonic, -10%) [18]; Flight (Demonic, -10%) [36]; Immunity to Soul-Searing [5]; Injury Tolerance (Unliving) [20]; Lifting ST +20 (Costs 1 FP, -5%; Demonic, -10%) [51]; Magery 1 [15]; Magery +2 (Demonic, -10%) [18]; Mind/3 [60]; Occultist 4 [40]; Regeneration (Very Fast: 1 HP/sec) (Demonic, -10%) [90]; Space/2 [40]; Spirit/3 [60]; Striking ST +20 (Costs 1 FP, -5%; Demonic, -10%) [85]; Supernatural Durability [150]; Unfazeable [15]; Unkillable 3 (Demonic, -10%) [135]; Voice [10]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
Perks: Cloaked [1]; Fearsome Stare [1]; High-Heeled Heroine [1]; Quick-Change Uniform [1]; Sexy Pose [1].
Disadvantages: Bloodlust (9) [-15]; Callous [-5]; Dependency (Ambient Magical Energy; Very Common; Constantly) [-25]; Duty to Satan (15) [-15]; Loner (12) [-5]; Stubbornness [-5].
Skills: Acting (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Boxing (A) DX+1 [4] – 13; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 18; Current Affairs/TL8 (People) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 14; Dancing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Detect Lies (H) Per+6 [2] – 20†‡; Fast-Talk (A) IQ+2 [2] – 15§; First Aid/TL7 (Human) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 14; Flight (A) HT-1 [1] – 17; Forced Entry (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Fortune-Telling (Astrology) (A) IQ+7 [2] – 20†‡; Fortune-Telling (Palmistry) (A) IQ+7 [2] – 20†‡; Fortune-Telling (Tarot) (A) IQ+7 [2] – 20†‡; Gambling (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Hidden Lore (Demon Lore) (A) IQ+4 [2] – 17#; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Intimidation (A) Will+0 [2] – 18; Musical Instrument (Keyboard) (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Observation (A) Per+1 [4] – 15; Occultism (A) IQ+5 [4] – 18#; Psychology (Human) (H) IQ+3 [2] – 16†; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 14; Sewing/TL7 (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Sex Appeal (Human) (A) HT+7 [2] – 25§¥; Shadowing (A) IQ+0 [2] – 13; Shield (Force) (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Speed-Reading (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Stealth (A) DX+1 [4] – 13; Streetwise (A) IQ+0 [2] – 13; Thaumatology (VH) IQ+5 [2] – 18¶; Throwing (A) DX+1 [4] – 13.
Realm Magic Skills: Body (VH) IQ+1 [2] – 14¶; Energy (VH) IQ+1 [2] – 14¶; Mind (VH) IQ+3 [8] – 16¶; Space (VH) IQ+1 [2] – 14¶; Spirit (VH) IQ+5 [16] – 18¶.
Starting Spending Money: $40,000 (100% of Starting Wealth).
* Includes +20 from Enhanced ST.
† Includes +4 from Empath.
‡ Includes +3 from Empathy.
§ Includes +2 from Voice.
# Includes +4 from Occultist.
¥ Includes +4 from Appearance.
¶ Includes +3 from Magery.
Role-Playing Notes:
The Black Widow is cold, callous, and ruthless, enjoying her work as the devil's debt collector and enforcer. She has long stopped caring about anyone or anything, and has "bought off" any "good" disadvantages she may have had in the past.
Design Notes:
1. Magery 1 includes the price of Magery 0. It just looked odd putting them both on the sheet separately. The Demonic modifier on Magery 2 indicates that Satan can severely restrict her raw mystic power at his whim.
2. Yes, the Satan that empowers the Black Widow is the same Satan that fathered Hellstorm and Satana. Whether this Satan is Marduk Kurios – like in the mainstream comics – or some other entity remains to be seen, but he is not Mephisto.