Real Name: Domini (last named
unrevealed)DOMINI
Real Name: Domini (last named
unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human, probable magic user
Occupation: Former Cultist
Group Membership: Former High Priestess of the Church of the Damned
Affiliations: Former pawn of Anton Lupeski; confidant of Dracula; rapport with the Golden Angel who merged with Janus; sought help from Nightstalkers (Blade, Frank Drake, Hannibal King)
Enemies: Varnae
Known Relatives: Dracula (husband), Janus (son), father (deceased)
Aliases: The Bride of Dracula
Base of Operations: Currently unrevealed; formerly the Dark Church
First Appearance: Tomb of Dracula I#45 (June, 1976)
Powers: Domini possessed minor extra-sensory perception, including clairvoyance and prescience. She possesses a mystic bond to her son Janus, who was conceived through the use of a spell. Domini resurrected Janus after he was killed, by merging him with the Golden Angel.
Her greatest asset was her influence on Dracula. She could convince him to stop in mid-attack and let a victim go free.
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 125 lbs.
History: The nature of Domini's quasi-mystical abilities are unknown. Domini was raised in a convent, because her father seemed to care nothing for her and had no desire to raise her himself. She was uncomfortable in the convent, and made numerous escape attempts, but always being caught and returned by her father.
Seeking a man who could take her away from the loneliness and pain, she found Anton Lupeski, who brought her to his satanic cult, the Church of the Damned. Wanting to rebel against her upbringing, she clung to the cult, and Lupeski's teachings. She soon realized that the dark ways of the cult were not what she wanted either, but she had not the will to fight against the coercion of Lupeski and the others. She was forced to participate in the Church's dark, evil rituals. Attempting to escape mentally since she couldn't physically, Domini allowed herself to become a virtually mindless slave of Lupeski.
Domini was set up to become a human sacrifice, with which the cult would summon the demon they worshipped. Chancing upon this ritual, the vampire-lord Dracula saw it as a chance to gain an army of human followers, and suddenly appeared before the cult, posing as their demon. Dracula demanded that Domini not be killed. Lupeski then offered Domini to him as a bride, and, entranced by her beauty and nature, Dracula accepted.
Dracula and Domini were wed three days later at the ceremony held by the cult. Lupeski soon after held a ceremony in which he someone cast a spell enabling the vampire-lord to impregnate Domini. Having learned of the plans for this Domini's father infiltrated the ritual, killed several cult-members, and attempted to stop the events. Dracula quickly overpowered and unmasked him, allowing Domini to recognize him. Wishing to drive a rift between Domini and Dracula so he could control her himself, Lupeski prevented Domini from telling Dracula who the man was until after he had already killed him.
Nonetheless, Domini became pregnant and gave birth to the son of Dracula, whom they named Janus. Shortly after this, Lupeski, resenting that Dracula had taken control of his cult, and wanting to gain control of Domini and Janus, allied himself with Quincy Harker's band of vampire hunters in a plot to slay Dracula. Domini learned of this, but for reasons of her own, kept the information to herself, and instead met with Lupeski in private. She confronted him with her knowledge, but he frightened her into remaining silent, making her fear Dracula would punish her for not telling him instantly.
The vampire hunters, armed with silver bullets, ambushed Dracula at a ceremony celebrating Janus as the Church's new master. However, when Lupeski fired on Dracula, he turned to mist to escape the bullet, which passed through him and struck Janus, killing him. Dracula, enraged, killed Lupeski, but Domini stopped him from killing the hunters, allowing them to escape.
Domini knew Janus was not gone from her life. The night after he was buried, she went to his grave and somehow mystically resurrected him, merging him with the spirit known only as the Golden Angel. Transforming into adult form, the merged Janus/Angel made several attempts to slay Dracula, despite Domini's efforts to dissuade him.
Domini sensed when Dracula and Janus were called before a demon calling itself Satan and succeeded in opening the portal to that realm in an effort to help them. However, she was forced to flee when the house she was in suddenly burst into flames and burnt to the ground. When Dracula was returned to human form by that demon, Domini convinced the vampire hunters to leave him in peace.
After Dracula was temporarily destroyed by Harker, Janus returned to Domini. The Golden Angel spirit left him, returning him to infant form. She gladly accepted her infant son back into her life.
At five years old, Janus was kidnapped by the vampire lord Varnae, who was among the first of those resurrected when Dr. Strange's vampire-eradicating Montesi Formula began to wear off. Domini sought the help of the Nightstalkers' Borderline Investigations to find him, but the group's headquarters, Blade's house, had just burned down following an attack by a HYDRA Dreadnought. She soon found the group at Nighstalker Frank Drake's home, and convinced Blade to search for her missing son. Blade discovered Janus had been kidnapped by Blade's old vampire-hunting ally Taj Nital, who had since become a vampire. Nital was destroyed and Drake and Hannibal King seemingly killed along with Varnae and Dracula's clone, Bloodstorm, when Blade and Drake destroyed Varnae's temporary headquarters. Janus was not found. Domini attended Drake and King's funeral with Blade.
Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan.
Holy unresolved plotlines, Batman! Janus and Domini are two fascinating characters that definitely deserve some closure, at the least. I'm sure some other source can put together a better (or at least more organized) bio than this, but I just wanted to get it out there.
Dracula said that Domini means "Belonging to God."
Frank Lovece (the Nightstalkers writer, who brought back Janus and Domini in Nightstalkers) rewrote the last paragraph of this profile.
Appearances:
Tomb of Dracula I#45-55 (June, 1976 - April, 1977) - - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks)
Tomb of Dracula I#57 (June, 1977) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks)
Tomb of Dracula I#59-64 (August, 1977 - May, 1978) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks)
Tomb of Dracula I#66-67 (October-November, 1978) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks)
Tomb of Dracula I#70 (August, 1979) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks)
Nightstalkers#16 (February, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Bill Wylie (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Nightstalkers#17 (March, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Ed Murr (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Nightstalkers#18 (April, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Doug Wheatley (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
First Posted: 09/04/2001
Last updated: 09/04/2001
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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