MARIE LAVEAU

Real name: Marie Laveau

Identity/Class: Human Mystic/Voodooienne

Occupation: Hairdresser; Voodoo Priestess

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Cagliostro (former lover), Chthon, the Vodu (Voodoo Gods);
    Gaston and his unidentified father and grandfather (servants);
    Baron Blood (Victor Strange), Trinity Cabranes, Dragonus, Deacon Frost, Ian McNee, Night Terror (Carl Blake), Steppin' Razor, the Vampz, Varnae;
    Silver Dagger (briefly forced to serve him), Aaron Thorne;
    formerly Robert & Tina Minoru;
    see also the Catalogue of Correspondences for Chthon from Ian McNee's reading of the First Tarot

Enemies: Bambu, Bible John (John Carik), Blade (Eric Brooks), Morgana Blessing, Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Clea, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Dracula (Vlad Tepes), Agatha Harkness, Zoe Laveau, the Loa (specifically Damballah), Nico Minoru, Robert & Tina Minoru, Morbius, Rintrah, Silver Dagger

Known Relatives: Jacques Paris (first husband), Christophe Glapion (second husband);
Marie Eucharist (aka. Marie the Second), Louise Philomene, unidentified daughter (Zoe's mother; see comments) (daughters);
Francois, Archange (sons);
Charles Laveaux (father), Marguerite Darcantel (mother);
Marie Darcantel, Marie Laveaux (half-sisters);
Francois Auguste, Louis Foucher, Celestin Glapion (brothers-in-law);
Charles Trudeau (grandfather), Marie Laveaux (grandmother);
Joseph Crocker, Victor Crocker, Joseph Legendre, Alexander Legendre (grandsons);
Aldina Crocker, Esmeralda Crocker, Marie Glapion, Eugenie Legendre, Noime Legendre, Zoe Laveau (see comments), Fidela Legendre (granddaughters);
Pierre Crocker, George Legendre (sons-in-law);
"Luke Turner" (great-grandnephew);
Saint Henriette Delille (distant cousin);
several unidentified nieces and nephews (all of the above deceased);
Jacquette Laveau (ancestor)

Aliases: Good Mother, Madam Parizien, Marie Auguste, Marie Glapion, Marie the First, Marie the Second, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Widow Paris, Witch Queen of New Orleans, The Pope of Voodoo, Queen of the Lost

Base of Operations: Her tomb in St. Louis Cemetery, Louisiana (see comments);
   formerly Vieux Carré (her mansion), New Orleans, Louisiana--18th Century through the present

First Appearance: Dracula Lives#2/7 (1973-month not given)

Powers/Abilities: Marie Laveau is probably the most powerful voodoo priestess to have ever lived. She has the power to cast spells, call up the gods and demons of Voodoo and mesmerize anyone she catches in a glance. She has demonstrated prophecy, clairvoyance, astral projection, mesmerism, some degree of shape-changing, and even projection of magical bolts. She has also learned to suspend her age so that she remains eternally youthful. Her youth potion requires the blood of a vampire.
Marie has also used other magical weapons, such as the Arrows of Eros: A golden arrow can cause its target to follow madly in love and to serve the first person he or she sees. The lead arrows cause the target to passionately hate and want to destroy the first person he or she sees.
Marie owns the Black Mirror, through which she and/or others can travel back through time, although not without a certain risk.
Marie also briefly possessed the Darkhold, and had access to some of its powerful black magic spells. Among other things, she used it to summon magical/demonic warriors, form shields, teleport, etc.

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue

History:
(Historical) - Marie Laveau was an illegitimate mulatto born in Saint Domingue, Haiti in 1794. Her father, Charles Laveau, was a wealthy white planter, and her mother, Darcantel Marguerite, an African slave. Raised with Catholic teachings, she arrived in New Orleans in 1809 after a slave revolt and originally made a living as a hairdresser. She was first married in 1819 to Jacques Paris but he died mysteriously soon after the wedding. Marie was practicing voodoo and selling charms as early as 1830 and was married again around 1835 to Louis Glapion. He died soon after as well, but not before she had fifteen children from him. Of African, Indian, French and Spanish blood, she originally lived at North Rampart Street in New Orleans until 1855 when she moved into the mansion at 1020 St. Ann Street. She held voodoo rituals in the square and held a strange power over police and judges. She reportedly saved many criminals from the hangman's noose through her spells. She reportedly died in 1881, but returned to life sometime later. Her perpetual youth led many to believe that the later woman was her daughter, but her devout followers were convinced she had returned from the dead. When a hurricane hit New 0rleans in 1895, this second Marie Laveau was seen floating down river on a log singing voodoo songs.

(Dracula Lives#2/7(fb)//Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#10/2) - At the turn of the 19th Century, men from all over the USA came to see Marie Laveau dance naked on the shores of Lake Ponchartrain in the moonlight, the serpent-god Damballah coiling sinuously around her. By day, Marie received well-bred ladies, come to purchase love potions in hopes of harnessing their men's baser passions.

   The notorious sorcerer Cagliostro came to Haiti--and thence to New Orleans--to steal Marie's voodoo secrets, perhaps even to kill her afterwards. Instead, he became her lover, and was taught the secret of his own immortality, which he himself had learned from the Darkhold. After this, so slowly did she age that, over time, many men came to believe there had actually been two Marie Laveaus--mother and daughter--both of whom lay buried at the end of the 19th Century in the City's St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

   However, age she did--for the formula given her by Cagliostro was incomplete, by accident or design--until at last, she grew to weak even to feed herself. She was cared for over the years by Gaston, and before him his father, and before him his father.

 

(Dracula Lives#2/7) - Gaston journeyed North to find a man claiming to be the reincarnation of Cagliostro, but instead found Dracula, whom he transported back to New Orleans and led to Marie Laveau. Using garlic and crosses, they held Dracula at bay while they took a sample of his blood to complete the immortality potion. The process restored Marie's youth, at the cost of Gaston's, who unwittingly took upon himself the weight of Marie's century-plus worth of years as she shed them. Marie then released Dracula and offered an alliance and relationship, but he refused, put off by her binding him by force previously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BTS - The sorcerer Silver Dagger bound Marie Laveau to her will in a plot to destroy Dr. Strange.

(Marvel Team-Up I#76-77) - Marie attempted to warn Dr. Strange, but was forced to lead him to her New Orleans mansion (alongside Spider-Man and Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel), where she led him into Silver Dagger's trap. However, as Silver Dagger focused all of his efforts against Strange and his allies, Marie stabbed him in the back, literally, critically wounding him. (Marie had simultaneously been attempting to slay Dr. Strange's physical form, which would have resulted in Silver Dagger being trapped inside the Orb of Agamotto, also freeing her from his control). As Dr. Strange left, he told Marie he was in her debt. She told him that the debt was already paid, and that he would know the manner of coinage soon enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads#4 - BTS) - Black Talon (Samuel Barone) tried to buy a bottle of the blood of Marie Laveau in the Goblet of Magic magic shop in New York.

(Marvel Fanfare I#42/2) - With the destruction of vampires by the Montesi Formula (@ Dr. Strange II#62), Marie realized that she would no longer have access to one of the ingredients required for her immortality potion. Rather than wait for a time of desperation (she thought she had 50 years to live at that point), she decided to act right away. She summoned Monica Rambeau, then known as Captain Marvel (who had been involved in the plot to destroy the vampires) to her home. She convinced Monica to assist in her recovering vampire blood from the past, and sent her through the Black Mirror to pre-Revolutionary France, @ 1784. There Monica met Cagliostro, who introduced her to Dracula. Monica obtained a sample of Dracula's blood, although he awakened, attacked, and bit her before she could escape. Monica returned to the modern era with the blood, but the effects of the Montesi Formula caused the blood to boil and explode, foiling Marie's plot.

 

(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1 (fb) - BTS) - Sorcerers Robert and Tina Minoru allied with Laveau to use her Black Mirror to observe the lineage of Clan Minoru. Terrified by what they found, the Minorus enchanted the Black Mirror to prevent its further use.

 

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#14 (fb)) - Seeking an alternate source of vampire blood, Marie seduced Michael Morbius, drugged and captured him, and remutated him back into pseudo-vampire form. Marie took a sample of Morbius' blood, which proved to be in inadequate substitute for true vampire blood, and failed to have any effect whatsoever.

   Failing in this last effort, Marie spent some time in mystic rituals, searching the Earth for any hint of true vampirism. What she found was Victor Strange, the brother of Dr. Stephen Strange, who had been unwittingly partially transformed into a vampire after his death years before by his then inexperienced sorcerer brother using the Vampiric Verses spell from the Book of the Vishanti (go read the issue!). Marie tracked down Victor and mystically drew him to her New Orleans home. Marie directed Victor to feed on the blood of Morbius to nourish himself, but Victor, not realizing or accepting that he was a vampire, fled, setting her home on fire in the process (Both Morbius and Marie escaped).

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#15) - Marie tracked down Victor and shot him with a golden Arrow of Eros, bringing him under her control. As Victor and Marie began to head back to New Orleans, they were intercepted by Dr. Strange, alongside Clea, Morbius, and Rintrah. Marie, however, shot Clea with a lead Arrow of Eros, causing her to attack Dr. Strange. Using this distraction to her advantage, Marie accessed a spell from the Darkhold and teleported herself and Victor to the New York Harbor. From there, they changed plans and headed off to Haiti.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#16) - Marie ensorcelled the captain of the ship, while allowing Victor to vamp the rest of the crew, so that by the time they arrived in Haiti, she had a small vampire army by her side. Marie brought her minions to Christophe's Cathedral, but Strange and his allies, now joined by Brother Voodoo, located and confronted them. Drawing on the magical energies and the lingering souls of dead soldiers within the Cathedral, Brother Voodoo raised an army of zombies to oppose Marie and her vampires. The much larger zombie army destroyed the small band of vampires, but Strange was then forced to destroy the zombies as they raged out of control. Marie escaped again, but Dr. Strange managed to detain his brother, Victor.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#17) - In search of Marie, Dr. Strange and his allies checked her unburnt New Orleans home, where they battled a demonic creature summoned by Marie using the Darkhold, and left as a trap for them. Marie, meanwhile, infiltrated Brother Voodoo's own home. Using the Darkhold again, she summoned the creature Dragonus to fight off Strange's allies, and she managed to recapture Victor, and Morgana Blessing as well (who had been bitten by Victor and had been useful as a compass to locate him, despite Marie's cloaking spells...)

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18) - Marie continued to use the Darkhold, forming a powerful magical shield to keep Strange and his allies out, while she drew the essence of the Vampiric Verses and added them to another spell in order to resurrect the original vampire lord, Varnae. Marie intended to sacrifice Morgana and use her as the host body on which Varnae could reform, but Brother Voodoo's assistant, Bambu, sacrificed himself in her stead. It mattered little, as Varnae was successfully revived. Varnae saw no use for any mortal, other than as food, and he swatted Marie aside. The newly reformed Varnae was forced to flee from the gathered heroes, who managed to finally break through the magical shield.
Marie, Darkhold in hand, fled into the bayou, but was captured by Brother Voodoo, and the Darkhold was returned to Strange's custody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Blade: Vampire Hunter I#4-5) - Despite his previous behavior towards her, Marie again sought to reform Varnae, after his physical form had been destroyed (Nightstalkers#18). Joining forces with the vampires Night Terror and Steppin' Razor (of the Bad Seed), and Trinity Cabranes (a human woman seduced with dreams of power and glory), Marie had the vampire hunter Blade (and his ally, Bible John) captured. She drew a sigil on Blade's chest and began a ritual that returned Varnae's spirit to the Earthly plane and would allow him to take Blade's body as his own. Blade, however, broke free, knocked out Marie, and disrupted the ritual, forcing Varnae to take residence in Night Terror's body. Blade drove off Varnae, along with Steppin' Razor, who took Marie's unconscious form with them as they fled.

(Blade: Vampire Hunter I#9) - Marie sent two vampires, the Vampz, to attack Blade, while she investigated his ally Bible John, whom she described as "preordained as my own personal adversary." Blade destroyed the Vampz as Marie watched via her connection to them. She admitted a taste for Blade, although she decided to keep her distance from him as he had been becoming the focus of a number of dark magical forces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Blade: Crescent City Blues) - Now allied with the vampire Deacon Frost, Marie called on the power of the Loa, and united her legion of zombies with Frost's vampires in a plot to take over New Orleans. Brother Voodoo opposed her, but was initially overwhelmed by her vampire allies. Upon regaining his freedom and his strength, he confronted her again and managed to turn the Loa against her. He told them that she did not respect them, and so Damballah manifested itself and crushed her in its coils

 

 

 

 

 

(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1) - After the apparent deaths of Robert & Tina Minoru, Marie Laveau confronted Nico Minoru to have her remove the enchantment from the Black Mirror. After a short battle in which she seemed to overpower Laveau, Nico used her own blood to break the enchantment, but after receiving from one of her ancestors the message "You will always be one of us from one of her ancestors," Nico was startled and dropped the Mirror, which shatters, revealing "the Last Chronicle of Chthon," a page from the Darkhold. Laveau then ambushed Nico, took the page, warned Nico to heed the advice she had received, and departed.

(Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1/3) - Marie Laveau arrived at the Cornerstore on Creation, delivering to Ian McNee "the Last Chronicle of Chthon," noting it to be a gift, then left, presumably knowing that Chthon (posing as Oshtur) was going to use the page in his plot to reconquer the mortal plane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Strange Academy#13 (fb) - BTS) - People often came to her crypt to be granted wishes by drawing an X on the door, turning around three times, knocking on the door and then yelling out the wish. If a wish was granted, the person had to return and leave an offering of some kind for Marie.

(Strange Academy#13 (fb)) - After Zoe Laveau died from using magic granted to her by Gaslamp, her parents brought her to Marie Laveau's crypt in New Orleans and wished for Zoe to be returned to life. The spirit of Marie granted them their wish and Zoe was brought back to life through numerous snake bites, but even Marie couldn't fix the damage done to Zoe by the spoiled magic she had used and she remained zombie-like.

(Strange Academy#13) - Zoe visited Marie's grave with her friends from Strange Academy and told them how she was resurrected by a wish granted by Marie. She saw Marie's spirit when they left.

(Midnight Suns#3) - Marie's spirit confronted Agatha Harkness and Zoe Laveau when they entered her crypt. She was angered by the fact that Zoe brought Agatha, an old enemy of the Laveau family, to her crypt. Agatha insisted that she did not try to disturb Marie, but was only there for the Black Mirror, but Marie knew about Agatha's scheme to gain more power. Before she could reveal more, Zoe banished Marie's spirit with a blast from a magic staff.

(Blood Hunt#4 - BTS) - Doctor Doom was aware that Marie had prepared Blade years ago to become the host of Varnae's spirit, which made him the ideal vessel and ultimately led to Varnae being able to possess Blade.

Comments: Adapted for comics by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.

    In Blade: CCB, Marie disclosed a long-time rivalry between herself and Brother Voodoo.

    There is no reason that Marie Laveau's first encounter with Dracula could not have preceded the modern era, occurring in real time, in 1973. This is unclarified.

    My notes list another appearance for Marie: Dr. Strange III#33, but I don't see her in it. Maybe it's a typo or something, but can anyone tell me if I missed an appearance? Thanks.

    Marie Laveau's former 1020 St. Ann Street residence is a popular local haunted house in New Orleans. Her tomb at St. Louis Cemetery is a shrine to many of her modern-day followers and supporters. Her spirit has been seen at both locations.

    There is even a song, "The Witch Queen of New Orleans"...I'll have to dig it out of my Time/Life seventies collection to identify it. (the song is by Redbone and can be found on Youtube)
So I guess you could list a one-eyed snake and a three-legged dog as affiliations and Handsome Jack as an enemy.
--Ronald Byrd

   Check Wikipedia for more information on the historical figure of Marie Laveau.

The Original Human Torch and Toro fought an unidentified "Voodoo Priestess" in All-Winners Comics#17 (Winter 1945) who could be Marie Laveau. Since Marie Laveau has been seen with both Caucasian and dark skin colour and uses a serum to keep her youth,whatever the skin colour or age of the unnamed "Voodoo Priestess" in that Human Torch story is won't exclude Marie Laveau from being her.
--Gammatotem

The real Marie Laveau's grave is in St. Louis Cemetery in New Orleans. The same presumably applies in the Marvel Universe. In the real world people actually go to her grave and make wishes as described in Strange Academy#13.

It is pretty shocking that she apparently died in the Marvel Universe and we never even saw it. We saw her ghost a few times so it seems like she actually found her end at some point...or it is just her astral form or another kind of spirit form she uses to interact with others.

Interestingly enough Zoe calls the family crypt in New Orleans her grandmother's crypt in Midnight Suns#3. This is Marie's crypt! Does this mean that Zoe is Marie's granddaughter and Zoe's mother is one of Marie's daughters? Maybe we will learn more in the future.

Marie turning Blade into a vessel for Varnae finally paid off in the Blood Hunt crossover in 2024.

    All of the historical information is courtesy of Will U.

Marie Laveau got her own entry in OHotMU Horror 2005 and a subsequent update in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC#6.

Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond (Strange Academy and so on).

Clarifications:
Marie Laveau should not be confused with, but is related to:

images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC#6, Marie Laveau profile (main; refurbed version of Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1, p21, pan5 )
Dracula Lives#2/7, p12, pan6 (Marie Laveau rejuvenated)
Marvel Team-Up I#76, p14, pan2 (Marie Laveau meets Strange)
Marvel Fanfare I#42, p26, pan1 (Marie meets Monica Rambeau)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#17, p9, pan3 (Marie has a drink)
Blade: Vampire Hunter I#4, p18, pan4 (Marie marks Blade as vessel of Varnae)
Blade: Vampire Hunter I#4, p18, pan3 (head shot)
Blade: Crescent City Blues, p18 (Marie Laveau does voodoo)
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1, p25, pan2 (delivering Darkhold page)
Midnight Suns#3, p3, pan4 (Marie's ghost)

Appearances:
Dracula Lives#2/7 (1973) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Gene Colan (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks)
Marvel Team-Up I#76 (December, 1978) - Chris Claremont (writer), Howard Chaykin (pencils), J. Aclin & Juan Ortiz (inks), Bob Hall (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#77 (January, 1979) - Chris Claremont (writer), Howard Chaykin (pencils), J. Aclin & Juan Ortiz (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Marvel Fanfare I#42 (February, 1989) - Dennis Mallonee (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Bill Sienkiewicz (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#10 (November, 1989) - Roy & Dann Thoms (writers), Jackson Guice (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#14-15 (February-March, 1990) - Roy & Dann Thoms (writers), Jackson Guice (pencils), Jackson Guice (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#16 (April, 1990) - Roy & Dann Thoms (writers), Jackson Guice (pencils), Jackson Guice & Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#17 (May, 1990) - Roy & Dan Thomas (writers), Jim Valentino (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18 (June, 1990) - Roy & Dann Thoms (writers), Jackson Guice (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Blade: Vampire Hunter I#4-5 (October-November, 1994) - Ian Edginton (writer), Douglas Wheatley (pencils), Steve Moncuse (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Blade: Vampire Hunter I#9 (March, 1995) - Terry Kavanagh (writer), Douglas Wheatley (pencils), Steve Moncuse (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Blade: Crescent City Blues (March, 1998) - Christopher Golden (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Mark Pennington (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1 (October, 2007) - C.B. Cebulski (writer), Phil Noto (artist), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm#1: Ian McNee story (October, 2007) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads#4 (December, 2021) - Peter David (writer), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Danny Khazem (editor)
Strange Academy#13 (January, 2022) - Skottie Young (writer), Humberto Ramos (artist), Nick Lowe (editor)
Midnight Suns#3 (January, 2023) - Ethan Sacks (writer), Luigi Zagaria (artist), Tom Groneman (editor)
Blood Hunt#4 (August, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 06/13/2002
Last updated: 10/03/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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