James
Gordon (grandfather)
MELISSA JENKINS
Real Name: Melissa Jenkins
Identity/Class: Human vampire
Occupation: Unknown
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: James Gordon and his grandson James Gordon
Known Relatives: Lucifer (father, unseen)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed
First Appearance: Vampire Tales#1/4 (August, 1973)
{prima apparizione in Italia: Il Corriere della Paura#2/2
(luglio, 1974) Editoriale Corno}
Powers/Abilities: She possessed all the usual powers of a vampire such as immunity to aging, shapeshifting into a bat, the need to drink human blood, retractable, long canine teeth, superhuman strength slightly above peak human level.
Weaknesses/Limitations: The light of the sun was deadly to her. Without human blood her strength decreased.
History: (Vampire Tales#1/4 (fb)) - Melissa Jenkins was a vampire.
Around the end of the 19th century Melissa was in love with
James Gordon. Melissa never confessed her secret to her lover, but when Gordon
rejected her she lost control and assaulted him, attempting to kill him and
drink his blood. Gordon succeeded in restraining her and imprisoned her in
her own coffin, swearing that if she ever returned from her grave he, too, would
return. He had the coffin buried under cement and clay.
(Vampire Tales#1/4) - About 80 years later, in a full moon night,
Melissa's prison crumbled and she escaped. Her first thought was
revenge against James Gordon. She replenished her strength by killing a woman and
drinking her blood, then wore the dead's clothes.
Transforming into a bat to better scout the city, so new to
her, she finally found a familiar figure: Jim Gordon. She realized that he was
Gordon's grandson, but went on with her revenge. She knocked at Jim Gordon's
door and attacked the young man. Struggling in the garden, in
the middle of a storm, Gordon saw a human form on the roof, wearing ancient
clothes. Melissa's teeth were near to Gordon's throat, but the man on the
roof launched down a big piece of wood, which impaled Melissa. Within a few seconds
she was turned into dust, finally dead.
Comments: Created by Gardner Fox (writer), Bernet (pencils and inks).
While struggling with Gordon's grandson
Melissa claimed that his strength was nothing compared to the strength of a
vampire. But when she struggled with Gordon's grandfather, she was
overpowered and tied by him. This let me to believe that Gordon was already more than
a normal human while alive.
John McDonagh points out that the name "James Gordon" seems to
be derived from the prose series the Whisperer, featuring Commissioner James
"Wildcat" Gordon, which debuted in 1936.
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Melissa Jenkins has no known connections to
James Gordon has no known connections to
James Gordon was a human mutate, who could come back from death. He also was as strong as a vampire.
At the end of the 19th century James Gordon
had a relationship with Melissa Jenkins, but he did not love her, so he
terminated the relationship with her and fell in love with another woman.
Melissa could not accept to be left and tried to kill Gordon
and transform him into a vampire. Gordon restrained her and imprisoned her in
her own coffin, swearing that if she ever escaped her grave, he would do the same.
He died, but about 80 years later Melissa
managed to escape from her coffin.
Gordon, now a living skeleton wore his ancient clothes from
80 years ago and kept his word. While his grandson was grappling with the
vampiress Melissa, James Gordon went up onto his house's roof and broke a wooden stake
attached to an antenna. He launched it down and it went through Melissa's chest, killing
her. James then disappeared again.
--Vampire Tales#1/4 (Vampire Tales#1/4 (fb), Vampire Tales#1/4
James Gordon was a normal human.
James Gordon lived in the same city where his grandfather had lived.
One night, during a storm, Gordon received a visit by a beautiful woman. The woman told him what Gordon's grandfather had done to her 80 years ago, then attacked the young Gordon. While the two were grappling in the garden, Gordon spotted a humanoid shape on the roof. The skeleton launched down a stake made of wood and steel. Gordon managed to dodge the deadly projectile, but Melissa did not. Killed by the stake she turned into dust and the skeleton disappeared, leaving Gordon wondering if everything was real or a dream.
--Vampire Tales#1/4
images: (without ads)
Vampire Tales#1/4, p1, pan4 (Melissa, main image)
Vampire Tales#1/4, p2, pan2 (Melissa, head shot)
Vampire Tales#1/4, p7, pan5 (James Gordon, skeleton)
Vampire Tales#1/4, p2, pan5 (James Gordon, head shot)
Vampire Tales#1/4, p6, pan1 (James Gordon, grandson)
Appearances:
Vampire Tales#1 (1973) - Gardner Fox (writer), Bernet (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
First Posted: 09/02/2010
Last updated: 09/03/2010
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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