Real
Name: Marlene McKenna-DrakeMARLENE McKENNA-DRAKE
Real
Name: Marlene McKenna-Drake
Identity/Class: Human "mutant"/magic user
Occupation: Professor of Law
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Loosely associated with
Blade, Dr. Strange, Katinka, and Hannibal King;
formerly Dracula (enslaved her), Gregor Smirnoff (used her as a
pawn), Rachel van Helsing (spirit possessed her), possibly
received power from the Belonging and/or Asmodeus
Enemies: Dracula, Lilith
Known Relatives: Frank Drake (husband)
Aliases: Marlene Drake, Marlene McKenna
Base of Operations: Boston, Massachusetts; formerly Georgetown University, Washington, D. C.
First Appearance: Tomb of Dracula III#1 (Epic Comics, 1991); Nightstalkers#1 (November, 1992)
Powers/Abilities: Marlene has low-level psychic powers, granting her a certain degree of empathy and sensitivity to the supernatural. While under the influence of Dracula and his allies, she briefly gained vampire-like powers, although she never transformed fully into a vampire.
History:
(Tomb of Dracula III#1 (fb)) - Marlene sought aid from psychologist
Gregor Smirnoff, who sought supernatural power for his own
agendas. Smirnoff recognized her psychic powers and realized that
she could become part of his plans. Smirnoff sought to resurrect
Dracula, and so manipulated Marlene into contact--and
subsequently, a relationship--with another of his patients, Frank
Drake.
Within a year, Frank and Marlene were married. Smirnoff used his
"dream therapy" to guide Marlene towards an obsession
in Drake's vampire-hunting past, and in the vampire lord Dracula.
(Tomb of Dracula III#2) - Initially mistaking Marlene for the true Rachel van
Helsing, Dracula quickly realized his mistake, and decided that
she would be perfect to take as a mate, and to form a new, loyal
son. Drake, however, managed to skewer Dracula and flee with
Marlene. They barely escaped from the horde of demons summoned by
Dracula after Smirnoff again removed the spoke. Back in the US,
Dracula continued to mentally speak to and seduce both Rachel and
Marlene. Pretending to have returned to her normal state of mind,
Marlene nearly convinced Frank to release her, until Blade
stopped him. (Tomb of Dracula III#3) - Katinka tried to exorcise the spirit of Rachel and
the effects of Dracula from Marlene via blood transfusions and
various medications. Marlene/Rachel, lashed out, breaking free
and attacking those who would help her. Blade knocked her to the
ground and began beating her mercilessly, until Drake stopped
him. They renewed their efforts, but Dracula sensed what was
happening and burst in and attacked them. Drake, Blade, and
Katinka drove him off, gravely injuring him in the process. As he
fled, Marlene revived, apparently cured. (Tomb of Dracula III#4) - Dracula's power caused Marlene to develop vampiric
abilities, and she broke free from her restraints by taking a
half-bat form, and met up with Dracula in Arlington cemetery.
Drake tried to rescue her, but she fought him with all of her
might, trying to stay by the side of her lord. Frank finally
managed to break through and reach Marlene, restoring her mind.
Dracula sent his army of revived corpses after them, and they
began to drag her back to him. Blade then attacked Dracula,
sorely injuring him and causing him to call on the full power of
the souls he controlled--which destroyed him. With both Dracula
and Smirnoff gone, Marlene regained her own mind once again. (Nightstalkers#1) - Frank and Marlene visited
the New England Aquarium, where they both suffered a vision of
the release of the Demonqueen Lilith. Frank recovered quickly,
but Marlene was left in a trance-like state, completely unaware
of her surroundings. (Nightstalkers#2) - Now recovered, Marlene attempted to
dissuade Frank from working with Blade and Hannibal King. (Nightstalkers#11) - Marlene realized that Frank was back
in business again, although she didn't like it. However, she
remained supportive of him, encouraging him to use their love to
strengthen his resolve and maintain his purity of soul. (Nightstalkers#12 - BTS) - Frank worried whether his visions
were affecting Marlene. (Nightstalkers#16) - After a romantic evening together,
Marlene begged Frank to leave Borderline investigations and start
a family with her. However, Dr. Strange then summoned Drake to
help recover his "Exorcist" gun from Hydra. As Drake
left, Marlene told him not to come back. (Nightstalkers#18) - Marlene attended Frank's funeral,
after he was seemingly killed in battle against Varnae. Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman and
Gene Colan. See the comments in the entries on Dracula and
Asmodeus for explanations on how Dracula ended up back at Castle
Dracula. I may be the only one who read AND enjoyed the Legion of the Night. However,
I think Marlene would be another great addition. I'm not sure how to classify someone with
low-level ESP. They could be mutants, or they might have minor
mystical ability. Given the supernatural ties of the character,
I'd think interaction with magical forces would be more likely. On more than one occasion in the Epic Tomb of
Dracula series, Dracula breaks into a house/building, etc.,
without permission. There must be specific circumstances in which
this applies, as this is one of the most broken of all of his
rules/weaknesses. Certainly, at least in this instance, it might
be because his powers were amplified by that of the Belonging
and/or Asmodeus. Marlene dying her hair blond (or allowing it to
return to blond) after the Epic ToD series could indicate she's
still got a little bit of Rachel in her, or she could just be
like many women, and just wanted a change. CLARIFICATIONS: Appearances: Last updated: 11/10/02 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing! 
(Tomb of Dracula
III#1) - Smirnoff, using power obtained from rituals of the
Belonging, managed to locate and recover the soul of the former
vampire hunter (and lover of Drake) Rachel van Helsing, which he
placed into Marlene under his control. As Marlene began to suffer
from a series of spells and weaknesses, causing her to have a car
wreck, Drake began to suspect that Smirnoff's therapy was
exacerbating things. Frank took Marlene and fled to London, but
her condition continued to progress. As Rachel began to take
control of her, Marlene took a razor and carved up her forehead,
to match the scars on Rachel's forehead--which had been caused by
bats under Dracula's control. Smirnoff tracked them to London,
ambushed Drake, and had Marlene/Rachel lead him to the ruins of
Castle Dracula. There they found the corpse of Dracula (see
comments) and removed the silver spoke, reviving it.
Drake and/or Blade contacted Katinka, who used a series of herbal
remedies to try to help Marlene. One of these proved that Marlene
was lying, and was still possessed. Blade, meanwhile, thought
Marlene might be the bait with which they could trap Dracula.
However, three days later, the Belonging performed the grand
ritual which sacrificed their souls and granted their power to
Dracula. With this, Dracula's control over Marlene was renewed.
See either the comments in Dracula or Varnae for a discussion of
the fate of Frank Drake. He's not dead.
Marlene should not be confused with:
Tomb of Dracula III#1-4 (1991) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Al Williamson (insk), Terry Kavanagh & Mark Powers (editors)
Nightstalkers#1-2 (November-December, 1992) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers#11 (September, 1993) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Kirk Van Wormer (pencils), Bill Anderson (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#12 (October, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Vince Giaranno (artist), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Nightstalkers#16 (February, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Bill Wylie (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Nightstalkers#18 (April, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Doug Wheatley (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
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