SOPHIA LATTA
(see comments)

Real Name: Sophia Latta

Identity/Class: Human vampire;
    early 20^th century at least (see comments);
    Italian citizen

Occupation: Predator;
    any previous occupation is unrevealed

Group Membership: Vampires of Earth

Affiliations: The Brothers Cormone and their friends

Enemies: Salino (deceased);
    at least formerly Bernardo Latta

Known Relatives: Bernardo Latta (brother), unidentified mother and father (deceased)

Aliases: "Harlot," "slut"

Base of Operations: At least formerly a set of old Roman ruins in Tamora, Sicily

First Appearance: Vampire Tales#8 (December, 1974)

Powers/Abilities: As a vampire, Sophia had superhuman strength and required regular blood meals to survive. She typically obtained such blood via biting a victim in the neck with her enlarged canine teeth and penetrating the jugular vein. She preferred male victims, and she apparently chose to feed on small amounts on multiple men, keeping them alive and feeling that they loved her (and that she loved them in return).

    Further, feeding on a human victim would turn that victim into a vampire, depending on the extent of the feeding and other circumstances.

    Those she vampirized may or may not have been subservient to her.

    When fully fed, she could likely heal rapidly from non-fatal wounds. 

    She presumably had the standard vampire vulnerabilities, including vulnerable to sunlight, religious icons, garlic, a wooden stake through the heart, and silver.

    She may have been able to grow large bat-like wings from her back while retaining her normal arms (see comments).

    She may or may not have been able to transform into a bat, a wolf and/or mist.

    She may or may not have been able to mesmerize others with a gaze.

History:
(Vampire Tales#8 (fb) - BTS) - The parents of Sophia and Bernardo Latta perished under unrevealed circumstances.

(Vampire Tales#8 (fb) - BTS / Unabridged Vampire Appendix (see comments)) - Sophia was raped by Salino.

    To avenge her and his family's honor, Bernardo slew the man.

(Vampire Tales#8 (fb) / Unabridged Vampire Appendix) <10 years before the main story, in the early 20^th century (see comments)> - Despite insisting that he had done his duty, Bernardo was tried convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

    Sophia cried out for her brother, insisting that they could not do this to him, but he told her not to cry but rather to be brave and that he would be home again in 10 years.

(Vampire Tales#8 (fb) - BTS) - At some point while Bernardo was in prison, Sophia had an accident and became sick (presumably she was bitten by a vampire, but that is unconfirmed), and she became a vampire.

    Dwelling in a set of old Roman ruins, Sophia somehow led the Cormone brothers and their friends to visit her there. She presumably would feed on their blood, but she was careful to not drink so much that they would die from her feedings.

    Likely using some degree of mesmerism, she caused the men to love her and feel that she loved them in return, and so they visited her every night, staying until morning when she presumably retreated to avoid sunlight (perhaps even entering a trance-like state).

    The Cormone brothers and their friends spoke publicly over their love for and from Sophia, causing rumors to spread that she was having sexual relationships with them all (and perhaps she was). Sophia was considered a harlot and a slut by many of the locals.

(Vampire Tales#8 - BTS) - Released from prison after the completion of his sentence, Bernardo returned to Tamora and sought out Sophia.

    Hearing accusations of her having multiple lovers, Bernardo tracked down and slew the Cormone brothers and their friends.

    A waitress (and apparently a prostitute) told Bernardo where he could find Sophia, but when she told him that his sister's sins were surpassed only by the devil, Bernardo slew her as well.

(Vampire Tales#8 (fb) - BTS) - That night, Sophia waited and looked for her friends to no avail. She was distressed to learn that Bernardo had killed them

(Vampire Tales#8 - BTS) - Traveling to the old Roman ruins and finding them vacant, Bernardo bathed in the nearby river to cleanse himself from the gore from his murders.

(Vampire Tales#8) - Standing on the river bank, Sophia greeted Bernardo, telling him that she had heard him but had been looking for her friends.

    She continued that she was distressed to learn that he had killed her friends. Bernardo told her that he had not had a choice as they had defiled her and dishonored her name.

    Sophia explained to him that he had it all turned around, and that she had changed since he had gone to prison. She continued that there had been an accident and a sickness, and that no one could defile her now that she was a vampire.

    As he screamed, she bit down on his neck and drained his life.

    Before he died, he realized that he was not the only Latta who understood the joy of vengeance.

(Unabridged Vampire Appendix - BTS) - Bernardo presumably subsequently arose as a vampire.

Comments: Created by Carla & Gerry Conway and Joe Staton.

    The cover showed her with giant bat-like wings extending from her back while in otherwise human form. She did not have wings in the story, but it may be that she could extend or retract the wings at will; alternatively, it may just be artistic license.

    Sophia was presumably AT LEAST 13-years-old when she was assaulted, I'd have guessed more like 17-18 or older, but some women mature more quickly. She was 10 years older when Bernardo returned, but she also would have stopped aging once she was vampirized...and we don't know when that was.

    Stories that occur without any direct ties to the modern Marvel Universe are typically considered to have occurred at the time of publication and outside of the sliding timescale. However, the story references men living only to the age of 50 and the judge makes a point of noting it to be the 20^th century during the trial). Based on this the Vampire Appendix (unabridged version) noted the time of Bernardo's murdering of the rapist to be in the early 20^th century. Was that around 1901 or 1915 or 1930, who knows?
    And then Sophia became a vampire some time between that point and the point when Bernardo returned 10 years later. So, based on the timing of the murder for which Bernardo had been imprisoned, his return and encounter with Sophia could be anywhere from 1911 to 1940. There wasn't any mention of major events like World War I or II, but this was also a small town in Sicily, so I don't think that automatically excludes any time period.
    The abridged Vampire Appendix was printed in Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1, and a link was provided for the unabridged version.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sophia Latta should be distinguished from:

• ALAN LATTA - circa 1867, discovered meteorite NWA 931--[Spider-Man Family#1]
• other "Sophia" or "Latta" characters, groups, items, events, races or places...

First posted: 10/25/2024
Last updated: 10/25/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other 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!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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