Real Name: Jessie Drake
Identity/Class: Human mutant
Occupation: Unrevealed;
former student
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Professor X (Charles Xavier), Typhoid Mary, Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett)
formerly Steel Raven (Aranda Charboneau)
Enemies: Fortress, Steel Raven
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile;
formerly the Fortress in Upstate New York
First Appearances: Marvel Comics Presents I#150 (late March, 1994)
Powers/Abilities: Jessie is an empathic metamorph.
She takes on the physical and emotional
characteristics of those around her. She will become more
physically masculine or feminine based on those around her.
She can also increase the fear response in others and make them see illusions.
History:
(Marvel Comics Presents
I#151) - Jessie Drake is a mutant. Although born physically male, she
considered herself trapped in a boy's body. Her mutant ability allowed
her to adopt a feminine form in the presence of other women.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#150) - Dr. Zachary Hoffner sent Steel Raven to bring Jessie to the Fortress for study. Professor X sent Wolverine to retrieve Jessie, to help her come to term with her powers. Wolverine convinced Typhoid Mary to infiltrate the Fortress in order to free Jessie. Typhoid was captured, but later broke Jessie out and escaped to a women's shelter. In her man-hating Bloody Mary persona, Bloody Mary flipped out when she realized that Jessie was physically a boy, who only had a girl's form when she was around a woman. Bloody Mary smacked Jessie to the ground and left her behind.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#151) - Jessie found Mary wandering through the streets after her fight with Wolverine. She told Mary about the nature of her powers and said that she wanted to help her. Jessie told Mary that she liked being a girl and she like she was trapped in a boy's body. She also told Mary that Wolverine was right, that there was still another persona in Mary and this persona was the best of all. Mary turned back into Mary Walker and went with Jessie to the psychiatric office where Dr. Hunt, Mary's last psychiatrist, worked. Mary opposed Dr. Unt while Jessie turned into a copy of a patient who seemingly hated anything (probably Tourette's syndrome). After Mary had spoken to the media, she took Jessie at her hand and left the psychiatrist with her.
(Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1/5 (fb) - BTS) - Jessie Drake got caught and returned to the Fortress where they continued their experiments on the young mutant.
Jessie got out (probably when the Fortress was closed down, but possibly earlier).
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1/5 (fb) - BTS) - Years later Jessie was targeted again by Steel Raven, who tried to kill her.
(Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1/5) - Jessie returned to the abandoned Fortress facility to search for information on Steel Raven, but only found old patient files.
When Black Cat, who
was also targeted by Steel Raven, arrived at the facility to also look
for information on Steel Raven, Jessie believed her to be Steel Raven
-- presumably due to the platinum hair and similar buil -- and used her
powers to increase the Black Cat's fear response that made her see
ghost-like creatures. Black Cat used her electromagnetic lenses to see
through the illusion and found Jessie, whom she mistook as Steel Raven
as well because Jessie had turned into a replica of Black Cat due to
her empathic metamorph power.
Black Cat tackled Jessie, who turned back to her Jessie form and made her realize that they were both looking for information on Steel Raven. Jessie apologized for the psychic assault and told Black Cat about her past experiences at the Fortress. Black Cat decided to give Jessie some new memories about the Fortress by blowing up the facility with C4.
Upon leaving Black Cat suggested to Jessie that they should work together to track down Steel Raven because Jessie's powers could be useful. Black Cat invited Jessie out for Italian food. Jessie wasn't sure if Black Cat was asking her out on a date or just wanted her help to exact revenge on Steel Raven, but she gladly took the offer.
Comments: Created by Ann Nocenti and Steve Lightle.
Thanks to Markus Raymond for pointing out the appearance in Marvel Comic Present#151.
Jessie's last name was revealed in Typhoid's profile in OHOTMU A-Z HC#12, which also confirmed her mutant nature.
Profile by Snood. Marvel Voices: Pride update by Markus Raymond.
Clarifications: Jessie Drake should not be confused with:
images:
Marvel Comics Presents I#150, p7, pan6 (Jessie main image)
Marvel Comics Presents I#150, p15, pan4 (Jessie head shot)
Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1, p14, pan3 (using powers)
Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1, p15, pan1 (full body, with Black Cat)
Appearances:
Marvel
Comics Presents I#150-151 (Late March-Early April, 1994) - Ann Nocenti
(writer), Steve Lightle (artist), Michael Kraiger (assistant editor),
Richard Ashford (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12 (March, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike O'Sullivan, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Rob London, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, David Wiltfong, Jacob Rougemont, Chris Biggs, Rich Green, Kevin Garcia, Jeph York, & Mark O'English (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1/5 (August, 2021) - Leah Williams (writer), Jan Bazaldua (artist), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
First Posted: 09/07/2001
Last updated: 09/09/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check
out the real thing!
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