VIENNA

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human/Spy

Occupation: Freelance spy

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: While not actually loyal to anyone, Vienna has made alliances of convenience with the CIA, MI-6, the KGB (Skarkov), US Department of Treasury (Kerwin), Caesar Cicero, the Daughters of the Dragon (Misty Knight, Colleen Wing), Heroes for Hire (Power Man and Iron Fist), Heroes for Hire (Black Cat, Humbug, Misty Knight, Orka, Paladin, Tarantula, Colleen Wing), Maxine Lavender, Shang-Chi, Sir Denis Nayland Smith

Enemies: Bloodshed, Equinox, Ghost-Maker, Goldbug, Grindhouse, Impasse, Kiley, Kogar, Shadow Slasher, Shockwave, Stoneface

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Angella Tortelli; numerous aliases assumed over the years in the field of espionage

Base of Operations: Mobile

Appearances: Master of Kung Fu#121 (February; 1983)

Powers/Abilities: Vienna is a master of espionage, including disguise, stealth, and the manipulation of others. She is extremely skilled at duping pawns and opponents into doing legwork for her, so she can swoop in and steal it out from under their noses. She is also skilled at armed and unarmed combat, and is proficient with a handgun.

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 125 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:
(Master of Kung Fu#121 (fb)-BTS) - Vienna has a long history as a master spy, and as a manipulator. She has some past history with Sir Denis Nayland Smith.

(Master of Kung Fu#121) - Disguised as a stewardess, onboard the flight from Paris to Heathrow Airport. “Accidently” drops a cup of coffee over Kiley, a guy who threatens Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi is wondering if this really was an accident or did the stewardess really help him out. Later Shang-Chi meets the stewardess at Charing Cross Road station, there he learns that it wasn’t an accident, she tries to run, but is quickly captured by Shang-Chi. She gives up and hands him a note book, claiming it’s worth a fortune. She suggest a partnership, but Shang-Chi refuses and leaves with the book, delivering the book to Sir Denis. Sir Denis and the man who ordered Shang-Chi to get the book, a MI-6 officer, is glad that Shang-Chi now has the book, but when the MI-6 officer looks in the book, it’s gibberish, and he yells at Shang-Chi, calling him a fool. Suddenly a woman appears with the book. The woman is known by the MI-6 officer as Vienna, the same woman who was disguised as the stewardess. She sells the note book to the MI-6 officer whom she calls Mr. Bess. She distract him by kissing him, and get the note book back without Mr. Bess noticing, and leaves. Not long after Mr. Bess realizes that Vienna has stolen the book again, he rushes after Sir Denis and Shang-Chi wanting to re-hired them so he can get the book back. Meanwhile Vienna goes to a phone box and calling a contact, asking him if he got the money, because she got the goods. She meets with the man and his partner in an apartment in Soho, revealing them to be KGB agents. She sells them the book, and is about to leaven when the man from the airplane whom she dropped a cup of coffee on arrives with a gun, wanting the money and the note book. He is almost successful, but then Shang-Chi comes to the rescue, and begins to fight the men. Vienna manage to get a gun, and makes the men stop fighting, and begins to leave but is stopped by Sir Denis who arrives at the same time, she hands him the gun and the note book and Sir Denis and Shang-Chi escapes, leaving Vienna with the money. Later Vienna meets with a guy whom she calls Freelander, telling him that she gave Sir Denis a false note book, and that she has the real note book with her. She sells the note book to Freelander who is revealed to work for CIA. When Freelander leaves, Vienna is about to leave as well but Shang-Chi arrives, asking her if she sold the real note book to the CIA man. She tells him that she did. She also reveals that she has no love for the Russians, because she tries to sell both the Americans and the russians the book, but is happy that the book ended in the hands of the americans, leaving the bar, the man from the airplane is suddenly appearing shooting at Shang-Chi and Vienna to get the money, he manage to shot Vienna in the arm, which causes her to loose her back with all the money, dropping it from a bridge in the water. She leaves, with the words “I know when to quit. I might even quit the whole stinking business... if it wasn’t for the money.

(Power Man/Iron Fist#91) - Posing as a nun, Vienna duped Power Man and Iron Fist into disrupting a Department of Treasury surveillance operation of Skarkov, of the KGB, allowing him to escape. She continued to manipulate them, tricking them into leading her to a spy gathering involving Stoneface. The Heroes for Hire captured Skarkov, whom she (after receiving payment form the CIA) allowed to escape. For $10, 000 dollars more, she also allowed Stoneface to escape from her, knowing that Cage and Danny were right outside, ready to grab him. Power Man and Iron Fist turned Stoneface in for the reward, but Vienna revealed that she had hired them through their secretary earlier that morning, and so, since they were technically working for her, she took that reward money, too.

(Power Man/Iron Fist#101) - Posing as Angela Tortelli, the wife of mobster Joey Tortelli, Vienna manipulated Misty Knight and Colleen Wing, the Daughters of the Dragon, into pursuing mobster Caesar Cicero. This was done to manipulate them into the struggle against Impasse, who had infected Power Man and Iron Fist with some germ warfare gun. Vienna, in turn had been paid by an unnamed foreign nation to retrieve the germ warfare gun stolen by Impasse (how's that for some out of order, back-tracking sentences?). After Misty and Colleen took down Impasse, Vienna cured all of the poisoned/infected parties--selling the vaccine for $20, 000. In addition to collecting her sum from the foreign country by preventing futher misuse of the gun, she had also received money from Cicero for protection against Impasse.

(Heroes for Hire II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vienna was offered money by the Heroes for Hire to lure a few villains into a trap for them.

(Heroes for Hire II#1) - Vienna lured several costumed villains to a meeting where she promised them new identities outside the United States. Heroes for Hire attacked the meeting, but Vienna expected them and fought them with four robots and her costumers. The villains defeated the Heroes for Hire. She offered Humbug and Tarantula money to join her villainous ways, but the newest HfH recruits didn't take her offer. Paladin, Orka and Shang-Chi arrived to help their friends and the villains were defeated. Vienna now wanted her money from Misty Knight and it was revealed that it was a sting operation and also a test for Humbug and Tarantula.

Comments: Created by Steven Grant & David Mazzucchelli

So if a writer someday needs a female spy character, who will sell her services for the highest bid, Vienna should make a comeback....

I agree 100%. She's a great character, and it's a shame she hasn't been seen in nearly 20 years. I think only Steven Grant could do her justice, though...kind of like Englehart and Mantis. Know what I mean, Vern?--Snood

She finally returned in the pages of Heroes for Hire Volume 2 and received her own handbook entry in the pages of the Civil War: Battle Damage Report.

Profile by: The Beetle and Snood

Clarifications:
No known connection to:

Angela and Joey Tortelli have no known connection to:

 

Appearances:
Master of Kung Fu#121 (February; 1983) - Steven Grant (writer), David Mazzuchelli (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Power Man/Iron Fist#91 (March, 1983) - Steven Grant (writer), Greg LaRocque (artist), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Power Man/Iron Fist#101 (January, 1984) - Steven Grant (writer), Geof Isherwood (pencils), Andy Mushynsky (inks), Linda Grant (editor)
Heroes for Hire II#1 (October, 2006) - Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti (writers), Billy Tucci (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First Posted: 10/12/2002
Last updated: 10/12/2002

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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