LILI
PENROSE
LILI
PENROSE
Real Name: Lili Penrose
Identity/Class: Human magic user
Occupation: Sorceress
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Formerly Orleans Cooper
Enemies: Gambit, "Fast" Jack Jessup, Morgan Penrose
Known Relatives: Morgan Penrose (uncle, deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New Orleans, Louisiana
First Appearance: Gambit IV#1 (November, 2004)
Powers/Abilities: Lili has magical abilities, enabling
her to project magical bolts and mystically bond others, at least under certain
circumstances. She also has some degree of occult knowledge and some access to
the occult library of her uncle, Morgan Penrose. She has no compunction about
manipulating or killing others, gladly using sex as a tool, and even bragging
about eating someone's heart.
She is now blind.
History:
(Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) -
Lili learned of the occult from her uncle, Morgan Penrose, despite his efforts
to keep her away from it.
(Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) - Lili allied with Orleans Cooper (a demon posing as a mutant, and the head of New Orleans organized crime) to obtain the powerful (and allegedly first) tarot deck, the Inficio Aquilus. They agreed to manipulate the mutant Gambit and his rival thief "Fast" Jack Jessup to get the cards for them. Both Penrose and Orleans planned to betray each other.
(Gambit IV#1 (fb) - BTS) - Lili contacted Gambit to arrange to purchase his services as a thief. Liking to live dangerously, Gambit suggested they meet at Club Orleans (though he was unaware of her alliance with Cooper).
(Gambit IV#1) - Lili met with Gambit at Club Orleans. Gambit kissed Lili so that Orleans would not realize they were conducting business, of which he would want a piece. Lili discretely gave Gambit a large down payment and revealed that she wanted him to steal a deck of cards.
(Gambit IV#2 (fb) - BTS) - Lili gave Gambit the address from which she wanted him to steal the cards.
(Gambit IV#2 - BTS) - Gambit met with Madame Camille & Genevieve D'aubigne to learn the security system of the cards and found that it was owned by Lili's uncle, Morgan Penrose. Further, Gambit's friend, Dan Downs revealed that the cards were a tarot deck with supernatural powers of apocalyptic proportions.
(Gambit IV#3 / Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) - Lili attended
Morgan's showing of the
Inficio Aquilus.
Gambit got past Morgan Penrose's security in secret, but then Lili ambushed and
seduced him, pretending to be a little drunk, turned on by him, and refusing to
take no for an answer. Lili did this to keep Gambit distracted so he wouldn't
see the big picture.
Afterwards, partially regaining his composure, Gambit
successfully stole the deck of cards but was then ambushed and incapacitated by
Jessup, who stole the cards.
(Gambit IV#4) - Lili met with Orleans, sitting on his lap as he ignored a call from Jessup, figuring Jessup and Gambit would take each other out of the conflict.
(Gambit IV#5 - BTS/ Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) - Duping Orleans' agent Alphonse into believing the entire team of X-Men were in town, Gambit terrified him into stealing the Inficio Aquilus from Orleans, replacing it with the "Spongebill Squareshorts" special edition of Uno cards, and then leaving town.
(Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) - Suspecting Lili might be allied with Orleans, and knowing the Inficio Aquilus cards were indestructible and that one of the cards was powerful and primal enough to blind anyone who looked at it, Gambit had Wolverine look at the cards until he found that particular card (Wolverine would heal himself from the injury). The card thus identified, Gambit glued (?) it, face out, to his chest as a safeguard.
(Gambit IV#6 (fb) - BTS) - Lili slew Morgan Penrose and planned to devour his heart as part of the ritual to gain the power of the Inficio Aquilus.
(Gambit IV#6
(fb) - BTS) - Gambit brought the
Inficio Aquilus
cards to Chez Penrose to learn the truth about Lili, and
she ambushed him with a bolt of magical energy and then mystically bound him in
the air above a pentagram.
(Gambit IV#6) - Lili revealed how she had manipulated Gambit
and told him that she would eat his heart since he had screwed up her plans. He
told her how he had taken out both Orleans & Jessup, and asked her to reconsider
her actions. She refused and stabbed him in the chest with her sacrificial
dagger, which bent in half upon hitting the magical card. Ignoring Gambit
telling her she was making a big mistake, Lili assumed Gambit's chest was
protected by kevlar, and she tore open his shirt, only to have her eyes explode
and her face fry as she looked upon the forbidden card. She screamed in agony
and lost control of her magical bonds,
then leapt at Gambit as he poured a mixture of hydrochloric acid and holy water
on the cards to dull their power, but he slapped her unconscious with a mystic
tome partially charged with kinetic energy.
The police, summoned by Genevieve and Camille, then arrived,
and Lili was presumably taken into custody, given that the events had been
recorded by Genevieve and Camille.
(Gambit IV#7 (fb) - BTS) - Lili was held, raving, in a padded room.
Comments: Created by John Layman, Georges Jeanty, and Don Hillsman II.
Orleans Cooper calls Lili "My love," which could either be a friendly reference or an indication that they became lovers. Since she had just jumped on his lap and put her arms around him, I'm going with the latter. She obviously had no problems using the arts carnal to get what she wanted.
Genevieve D'aubigne, who had a crush on Gambit, later (in Gambit#9) sent footage of Gambit's affair with Lili Penrose to Rogue to get him in trouble.
It's possible that the dagger Lili used on Gambit was the Benin Dagger, but they didn't look the same. Then again, different artists for issue #6.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
Gambit IV#1, p20, panel 4 (face)
#6, p2 (full body)
p19, panel 2 (face burnt)
Appearances:
Gambit IV#1-2 (November, 2004) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler),
Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike
Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#3 (December, 2004) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler),
Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike
Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#4 (January, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler),
Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant editors), Mike
Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#5 (February, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Georges Jeanty (penciler),
Don Hillsman II w/ Dexter Vines (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant
editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Gambit IV#6 (March, 2005) - by John Layman (writer), Roger Robinson (penciler),
James Pascoe w/ Don Hillsman II (inker), Stephanie Moore & Sean Ryan (assistant
editors), Mike Marts (editor).
Last updated: 07/21/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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