NOCTURNE
Real Name: Angela Cairn
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: former police detective (NYPD)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Hulkling (Teddy Altman), Puma (Thomas Fireheart), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wiccan (William Kaplan);
former partner of Jackie Kessler
Enemies: "the Mutilation Killer" (Zemo's mutate), Vermin
Known Relatives: unidentified mother
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: (Angela Cairn) Spectacular Spider-Man II#190 (July, 1992);
(Nocturne) Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13 (1993)
Powers/Abilities: Nocturne has wings enabling her to fly, and she can project her emotions into others. She can also draw the pain from others into herself, and accelerate the healing of another. She has sharp fingernails, and she can control her own hair, using it to grasp or ensnare objects or beings. She likely has enhanced human strength. She can only speak with significant pain.
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: White; formerly brown
Hair: Blonde with white streaks; formerly brown
History:
(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13 (fb)) - Being of diverse ethnic heritage (African, Cuban, Native American), Angela Cairn grew up a victim of prejudice. Her mother taught her about totems, or animals spirits. She eventually went on to become a police detective. At some point, she became very close with Jackie Kessler, her partner and dearest friend.
(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13 (fb) - BTS / Spectacular Spider-Man II#178 - BTS) - Officer Jackie Kessler was one of those killed when Venom broke out of Dr. Ashley Kafka's care.
(Spectacular Spider-Man#190) - Det. Cairn supervised the removal of Harry Osborn from the psychiatric care of Dr. Ashley Kafka, and his placement in prison.
(Spectacular Spider-Man#195) - When Baron (Helmut) Zemo's mutates abducted Vermin/Edward Wheelan, several policemen were killed. Det. Cairn criticized Dr. Kafka's care, mentioning those who had been killed when Venom had first escaped, weeks before.
(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13) - Still very broken up over the loss of Jackie, Det. Cairn investigated a series of brutal mutilations, which she thought to be caused by Venom. When she received a call announcing a lead on the killings, she followed it, only to be ambushed by another of Zemo's mutates. The mutate captured her and exposed her to Zemo's mutation process. Angela apparently died from the process, and the mutate took her out to the docks and dumped her in the water.
Days later, Angela rose from the waters, transformed along the lines of the bat totem which she had drawn for herself. She flew back to her apartment, drawing the attention of Spider-Man, who did not recognize her in her new form. Believing that Nocturne had kidnapped Cairn, Spider-Man tried, and failed, to stop her, though he did manage to tag her with a Spider Tracer. Nocturne then returned to Zemo's mansion, where she confronted and attacked the mutate. Nocturne gained the upper hand on the mutate, but when Spider-Man arrived, the mutate metamorphed into Cairn's human form, and accused Nocturne of being the Mutilation Killer. After a second short struggle with Spidey, Nocturne managed to project her image into his mind, making him realize that she was the real Cairn. Spidey punched the mutate and then Nocturne jumped on top of it, prepared to slay it. However, between Spider-Man's pleading and her own conscience, she decided not to kill the mutate.
Instead, she had Spider-Man turn over Zemo's equipment to the authorities, so that Dr. Kafka could use it to further her efforts to cure the rest of Zemo's mutates. Nocturne then flew off into the night.
(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13/2) - Nocturne took out a gang of criminals who were beating up a man, and took the man to a hospital. She then watched her own mother from a distance, debating whether to reveal that she was still alive. Deciding not to do so, due to her transformed state, she instead took one of her childhood earrings, carved from a buffalo bone.
(Amazing Spider-Man#395 (fb)) - Though she eventually accepted her new fate, Nocturne still felt the pangs of loneliness. She took some comfort as a protector of outcasts like herself. One night she found the injured form of the Puma, collapsed in an alley. Nursing him back to health, she'd found in him a kindred spirit (the Puma had at the time degenerated into a nearly mindless, feral form).
(Amazing Spider-Man#395) - Nocturne and the Puma began tracking and taking down criminals. Eventually their paths crossed with Spider-Man, and though Nocturne tried to explain what they were trying to do. The Puma was overwhelmed by his savage hatred of Spider-Man, and attacked him, slashing Nocturne out of the way when she tried to stop him.
(Spectacular Spider-Man#218) - Fighting off the Puma temporarily, Spidey swung off with the injured Nocturne, though she soon recovered on her own. The two then tracked down the rampaging Puma, and the battle between he and Spidey was quickly rejoined. Nocturne again jumped between the two, this time connecting their minds, their emotions, their sense of self, etc. This union affected the Puma positively, and he reverted back to the form of Thomas Firehart and regained his own mind. Spidey offered to take Nocturne to Dr. Kafka in the hopes that she might be able to cure her, but Nocturne just flew off into the night again.
(Civil War: Battle Damage Report) - Tony Stark considered Nocturne as a potential Initiative recruit.
(Marvel's Voices#1/5) - Nocturne and many other superhumans who belong to the LGBTQIA+ community answered Wiccan and Hulkling's call to attend a Gay Pride to create more visibility.
Comments: Created by J. M. DeMatteis and Jerry Bingham..
It was originally hinted that Jackie Kessler was actually Angela's lover but it would take seventeen years for Marvel to finally confirm Nocturne's sexual orientation in Marvel's Voices I#1/5 (April, 2020).
Nocturne is another one of the 1993 annuals characters that received their own cards and were supposedly destined for greatness. Nocturne at least appeared in another storyline after the annual, which is above average for this group of characters.
Profile by Snood
CLARIFICATIONS:
Nocturne has no known connections to
A fellow police officer and very close friend of Angela's, she was slain by Vermin when he broke out of Dr. Kafka's care.
Note: From the context of Angela's monologue, it became clear that Jackie was actually Angela's lover.
--Spectacular Spider-Man An13 (13(fb)/Spectacular Spider-Man II#178
The source of Nocturne's Native American heritage and culture. It was she who taught her about animal totems, from which Angela felt a connection to the bat totem.
She was left thinking that her daughter had been the last victim of the mutilation killer.
--Spectacular Spider-Man An13
One of Zemo's mutates, or Protoids, she(?) remained separate from the rest of the group that got involved in a plot with Vermin and Zemo himself. She sought to make a kindred spirit out of Angela, and began a series of brutal murders, knowing that Angela would expect Vermin to be perpetrating them. She then contacted Angela, pretending to have a lead to the killings, and then ambushed her and exposed her to Zemo's machines. After being defeated by Nocturne, she tried to force Nocturne to kill her.
In addition to some expertise with Zemo's mutation machine, she could metamorph into the forms of other people.
--Spectacular Spider-Man An13
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man I#395, p17, pan1 (main image)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13, p5, pan2 (prior to transformation)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13, p1, pan5 (Jackie Kessler)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13, p35, pan6 (mother)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13, p6, pan6 (mutilation killer)
Marvel's Voices I#1, p9 pan3 (gay pride)
Appearances:
Spectacular Spider-Man II#190 (July, 1992) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#195 (December, 1992) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Rob Tokar (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13/1 (1993) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Jerry Bingham (artist), Eric Fein (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#13/2 (1993) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Hector Collazo & Keith Williams (inks), Eric Fein (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#395 (November, 1994) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Larry Mahlstedt (inks), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#218 (November, 1994) - Tom DeFalco & Todd DeZago (writers), Sal Buscema (artist), Mark Powers (editor)
Civil War: Battle Damage Report (2007)
Marvel's Voices I#1/5 (April, 2020) - Luciano Vecchio (writer/artist), Chris Robinson (editor)
First Posted: 04/03/2003
Last Updated: 02/24/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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