CATHERINE

Real Name: Presumably Catherine

Identity/Class: Demon (Class Two)

Occupation: Predator

Group Membership: Demons of Hell

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Father Artemis, Senator Bill Bohannon, Desadia, Gabriel the Devil-Hunter, Andrea Gabriel, Father Lazar

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Father Artemis, Senator Bill Bohannon, the Devil, Gabriel

Base of Operations: A realm of Hell;
    formerly the Cathedral of Saint Benedict, New York City, New York

First Appearance: Haunt of Horror#2 (July, 1974)

Powers/Abilities: Catherine can possess and control human hosts. She can also call forth the darkness within others.

History:
(Haunt of Horror#2 (fb) - BTS) <17th Century> - Catherine was apparently originally a human witch who was burned at the stake. Her killers cursed her soul to centuries of restlessness.

 

 

 

(Monsters Unleashed#11 (fb)) - Catherine possessed the priest Gabriel (see comments).

(Haunt of Horror#2 (fb)) - Catherine caused Gabriel to rip out his own right eye and to mock everything he held sacred, which included hurling his crucifix into a fire. However, Gabriel managed to marshal his will against Catherine, and he grabbed the red hot crucifix from the fire, ripped open his shirt, and he pressed the crucifix to his chest, exorcising Catherine and forever scarring Gabriel.

(Haunt of Horror#2 (fb) - BTS) - Catherine allegedly possessed a number of other people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Haunt of Horror#2) <Thursday, June 13, 1974> - Catherine possessed Catholic priest Father Artemis, causing him to desecrate his church, the Cathedral of Saint Benedict.

(Haunt of Horror#2) <Sunday, June 16, 1974> - Catherine caused Artemis to curse the Lord and go off in a tirade against his God, after which she made him leap from the pulpit and break both arms and legs. His behavior and the woman's voice he used led Father Lazar to conclude that he was possessed.

(Haunt of Horror#2) <Monday, June 17, 1974> - Gabriel (summoned by Father Lazar) arrived to exorcise the demon, and he quickly recognized her as Catherine. After extensive taunting, Gabriel succeeded in convincing Catherine to leave Artemis and try to possess Gabriel. However, Gabriel's will proved too strong for Catherine to possess him, and she exploded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Marvel Comics Presents#106/4 (fb) - BTS) - Catherine possessed Senator Bill Bohannon who was a very likely candidate to become the president of the USA.

(Marvel Comics Presents#106/4) - Gabriel arrived to exorcise the demon within Bohannon, and Catherine tried to bring forth the darkness within Gabriel. When Gabriel resisted her, Catherine revealed her true identity by taunting Gabriel with an eye, causing Gabriel to attack her. Catherine initially feigned fear, but then struck back savagely and began to possess Gabriel, whose faith and resolve had faltered in recent years. However, the spirit of Andrea, Gabriel's wife, who had long resided within Gabriel's companion Desadia, then merged with Gabriel, doubling his will and power, and allowing him to banish Catherine "back to the slimy darkness."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and Billy Graham.

Given the time of Catherine's burning, she might well have been one of the witches of Salem.

Desadia mentioned the threat of the devil being president, but it was actually just A devil. I'd guess that Catherine was not actually a Hell-Lord, but just a lesser demon seeking power on Earth.

I would guess that Catherine is also the demon that possessed and slew Gabriel's wife, Andrea, but that is not confirmed.

Catherine's original human form was never shown.

Gabriel the Devil-Hunter was named Gabriel Rosetti in the Hellstorm series, but long before that, his wife's death certificate was seen, and her name was given as Andrea Gabriel. You figure it out!

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

Father Artemis has no known connection to:

Father Artemis

 

    He taught Gabriel while he trained to be a priest, but neither one liked each other. Years later when he was possessed by Catherine, Gabriel exorcised the demon from him.

 

--Haunt of Horror#2

 

 

Senator Bill Bohannon

 

    An almost sure thing for the coming presidential election, he was possessed by the demon Catherine who sought to control the USA. Gabriel exorcised Catherine, and Bohannon apparently dropped out of the race.

 

--Marvel Comics Presents#106

 

 

 

 

 

Father Lazar

 

    A priest alongside Artemis, he had a better relationship with Gabriel. When Artemis was possessed, Lazar recognized the signs and went to Gabriel for help. At Gabriel's office he was briefly possessed by another demon (Catherine?) and tried to kill Gabriel, who exorcised the demon from him.

 

--Haunt of Horror#2

 

 

 

 

 

images: (story pages only, no ads)
Haunt of Horror#2, p4, panel 2 (Father Lazar)
        p11, panel 6 (Gabriel possessed)
        p13, panel 3 (Artemis possessed)
            panel 4 (Artemis free)
Marvel Comics Presents#106/4, p4, panel 1 (Bohannon)
        p5, panel 5 (Bohannon with eye)
        p8, panel 1 (Catherine exorcised)

Marvel Comics Presents#106 (1992)

Last updated: 06/10/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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