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SABRINA MORREL

Real Name: Sabrina "Bree" Morrel

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Police lieutenant (San Francisco homicide division)

Group Membership: San Francisco Police Department, Yakuza Dragon Clan

Affiliations: Charles Xavier, Colossus (Piotr Rasputin), Dazzler (Alison Blaire), Detective Harry, Havok (Alex Summers), Iyeasu Imura, David Ishima, Pamela Kramer, Longshot, Lindsay McCabe, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Psylocke (Betsy Braddock), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Rachel Grey, Rogue (Anna Marie), Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), Storm (Ororo Munroe), Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett);
formerly Tim Walsh (deceased)

Enemies: Nguyen Ngoc Coy, Deke, Gino & Freddy (Viper's henchmen), Deterrence Research Corporation, Freedom Force (Avalanche/Dominic Petros, Blob/Fred J. Dukes, Pyro/St. John Allerdyce, Spider-Woman/Julia Carpenter, Spiral/Rita Wayword), Kingpin (Wilson Fisk), Silver Samurai (Kenuichio Harada), Yakuza, Viper (Ophelia Sarkissian);
(unconfirmed) Maggia's Commission (Mr. Moran, Mr. Roak, others) (see comments)

Known Relatives: Paul Morrel (brother), unidentified parents (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: San Francisco

First Appearance: (Unconfirmed) Marvel Team-Up I#65 (January, 1978) (see comments); (confirmed) Spider-Woman I#39 (August, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Sabrina Morrel, a Eurasian of French-Japanese descent, possesses no superhuman powers. She is a skilled and trained homicide detective, hardened after years on the job and willing to bend the rules, turning a blind eye on occasion. In addition to her police training, she is a highranking member of the Yakuza Dragon Clan, trained by oyabun Ieyasu Imura himself.

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(Spider-Woman I#46 (fb) ) - Tired of and frustrated by working within the confining limits of the judicial system, San Francisco police officer Sabrina "Bree" Morrel joined the Yakuza Dragon Clan that had its base underneath Alcatraz. Unlike the other Yakuza elements that terrorized the city, the Dragon Clan adhered to the original Yakuza principles: to protect the powerless from exploitation and oppression, while dealing with evil doers by any means necessary.

   With help from Dragon Clan oyabun Imura and the other clan members, she was slowly able to beat back organized crime. Working on the outskirts of the law, bending the rules but not breaking them, Morrel advanced her career while making the city safer.

   Upon joining the Yakuza, she received the trademark membership tattoo, shaped like a giant dragon. She was also trained in the ways of the Dragon Clan by Ieyasu Imura himself. Over the course of her training, the two became romantically involved.

   One of Bree and the Dragon Clan's greatest threats was Vietnamese black marketeer Nguyen Ngoc Coy who was building an empire for himself in San Francisco as both a respected businessman and leader of his own crime syndicate, with ties to the criminal Yakunza.

(Spider-Woman I#39 - BTS) - Nguyen Ngoc Coy was constructing a new headquarters to house his business venture, a forty floor, twin highrise christened the Carillon Towers. David Ishima worked construction on the project under supervisor Tim Walsh, who was also a police informant reporting to Morrel. 

   Walsh had discovered secret plans to construct a hidden core inside the Carillon Towers that was supposed to house the criminal Yakuza Clans working for Coy. When David Ishima also discovered the abnormalities in the building's construction, he started asking questions. Fearing for David's life, Walsh fired Ishima in hopes of keeping him safe. Later that night, Walsh was killed by Coy's operative Deathstroke, who threw him off the top floor.

(Spider-Woman I#39) - Figuring David Ishima might be involved with Walsh's death, Sabrina came to collect Ishima at his home in Yarboro Court. There, she also met his ladyfriend Jessica Drew who insisted she accompanied David. Bree took both of them to the Carillon Towers so David could confirm the victim was indeed his former boss. Morrel then started to question Ishima about his whereabout at the time of Walsh's death. In the end, she let him go but informed him he'd better get a good lawyer.

(Spider-Woman I#39 - BTS) - Sabrina knew David was innocent, but put the suspicion on him to keep the investigation going. She followed him around for the better part of the day, even ignoring a court ordered arrest warrant on Ishima. When she thought she had a private moment with him, she offered him to join the Yakuza Dragon Clan. David declined the invitation.

(Spider-Woman I#39) - Despite the fact that David, with a little help from Jessica and her alterego Spider-Woman, had helped apprehend the true killer, he still had to face a pre-trial hearing on his involvement in the death of Tim Walsh. Largely thanks to Bree's help, all the charges against David were dropped. When Bree congratulated him in the courtroom, she asked him to reconsider her offer, for his own good. She handed him a business card with the Dragon Clan symbol on it which he immediately tossed away, which was noticed by Jessica Drew.

(Spider-Woman I#40 - BTS) - Spider-Woman was severly injured in a fight against the superpowered assassin the Flying Tiger, hired by Nguyen Ngoc Coy. She almost drowned in the sea, but was rescued by nuclear submarine captain Paul Morrel. His ship's doctor confirmed Jessica's spine had taken a beating and was in need of extensive physical therapy. Morrel provided her with the address of a martial arts master who might be able to help her. As she bid Paul goodbye, she wondered if he was any relation to Lt. Sabrina Morrel.

(Spider-Woman I#40) - Jessica Drew became a regular at the martial arts school recommended by Paul Morrel. After a few weeks, she ran into Sabrina. Happy to see the police lieutenant, Jessica wanted to catch up but Bree rather coldly ignored her after a few pleasantries. When Jessica followed her into the locker room to ask what's wrong, she caught Bree changing and spotted the Yakuza dragon tattoo on her back, resembling the dragon on the business card Bree had given David Ishima. Jessica figured Bree was involved with the Yakuza and feared the worst.

(Avengers Annual I#10 - BTS) - Sabrina Morrel was assigned to investigate the attempted murder of an unknown woman Spider-Woman had saved. After a little digging, she discovered the woman was retired US airforce major Carol Danvers.

(Avengers Annual I#10) - Sabrina visited the Ocean Beach emergency room where Spider-Woman had dropped off Carol. She filled her in on the identity of the victim, while the attending physician informed the women that Carol was in fine shape physically, but she had the mind of a newborn infant. As Sabrina pondered this mystery, Spider-Woman discreetly called X-Men founder Charles Xavier for help.

   When Xavier and Storm arrived in San Francisco, Lt. Morrel was present during Xavier's initial telepathic examination, after having just spoken to Carol's parents. The Danvers family told Morrel that the Avengers and Ms. Marvel might know more about Carol's current predicament. Figuring New York and superheroes were out of her jurisdiction, Bree unofficially deputized Spider-Woman and asked her to visit the Avengers and report back.

(Spider-Woman I#42 - BTS) - Pamela Kramer had come to the offices of Jessica Drew, hoping to hire the private investigator to find her father. However, while she waited she was surprised by the Viper's henchmen Gino, Deke and Freddy who wanted to kidnap her. Jessica, in her Spider-Woman guise, watched how Pamela was being abducted and engaged her assailants, eventually using her venom blasts to crash their airship into a truck trailer.

(Spider-Woman I#42) - Lt. Sabrina Morrel was less than enthused about the mess Spider-Woman had caused with the crashed airship. She chided the dark angel for her actions, saying that she shouldn't get involved with police work. When Spider-Woman claimed that Bree needed her to deal with criminals ordinary police men couldn't handle, Morrel simply stated she should join the force then.

   Before they could continue their argument, Viper and the Silver Samurai swooped by in another airship and triggered the selfdestruct mechanism in their henchmen's uniforms, killing all but Gino. He was taken into custody by Sabrina, a fact she informed Jessica Drew and Pamela of later when they came to the police station while searching for Pamela's father Michael Kramer.

(Spider-Woman I#43 (fb) - BTS) - Fearing for Pamela's safety when it now seemed Viper wanted her, Jessica took the woman home. Jessica asked her friend Lindsay McCabe to watch over her while she went out and looked for Michael Kramer. As she made the rounds as Spider-Woman, Jessica remained concerned with their safety and decided to enlist Sabrina Morrel's help. Not wanting to give away her secret identity, Jessica broke into San Francisco County Jail to question Gino about his masters. She also left a note for Morrel, asking the lieutenant to check in on Pamela and Lindsay and make sure they were safe. Bree, admiring Spider-Woman's style, intentions and ability, decided to honor the request.

(Spider-Woman I#43) - Sabrina went to Jessica's home in 1 Yarboro Court. When she rang the doorbell, a frantic Lindsay McCabe quickly pulled her inside after confirming Bree was a friend. Lindsay and Pamela had been growing increasingly worried someone might be after them. Bree did her best to lighten the mood and ease the tension, even if she annoyed Lindsay McCabe by questioning Jessica's decorating style. Bree remained well aware of the looming threat: after securing the perimeter and loading her gun, she prepared for the worst.

   All the while, she mused to herself she really could have used back up, but with the Dragon Clan away on a mission to Hawaii and her officers no match for Viper or the Samurai, she had to deal with this matter alone. A few hours after her arrival, just as Pamela and Lindsay were having dinner, Viper entered the premises looking for Pamela. Viper immediately knocked Sabrina's gun out of her hand, but the Yakuza trained detective turned the tide by grabbing one of Viper's own guns and shooting her with it before the terrorist was able to knock her out.

(Spider-Woman I#43 - BTS) - Bree and Pamela discovered a seriously injured Lindsay McCabe after she'd thrown herself and Viper off the roof. Viper had been able to escape, but Lindsay was near death. They quickly took her to Franklin Hospital's emergency care unit.

(Spider-Woman I#43) - When Jessica came home from her mission to rescue the Judas Man and to reunite him with his daughter, she found the place ashambles. After a few calls, she learned where Lindsay was and rushed out there. Before seeing her friend, Jessica cursed out Sabrina for betraying her trust and failing to protect Lindsay. Sabrina tried to apologize, but Jessica would hear nothing of it (see comments).

(Spider-Woman I#44) - Suspicious of Bree, Jessica Drew tailed her for the better part of a day as Spider-Woman. She was her unseen shadow as Sabrina muddled through a 14 hour, non stop working day before she ambushed the lieutenant in her own appartment. Despite being more than a little surprised, Bree immediately pulled her gun when she sensed an intruder, relaxing slightly when she saw it was Spider-Woman.

   The vigilante was in no mood to talk, even venom blasting the drink Bree was about to pour herself when Spider-Woman brought up the Viper investigation. Wasting no more time, she jumped Bree, tore off her top to expose the Yakuza tattoo and demanded to know whose side she was on considering Viper has strong connections with international crime syndicates, including the Japanese Yakuza. An emotional Sabrina swore that things were not as she thought they were, even giving her word of honor. Spider-Woman departed, but not before making clear to Sabrina that she would pay if it became clear she was involved with Viper.

   When Spider-Woman left, Sabrina fell to the floor sobbing. Now that her ties to the Yakuza were even suspected, Bree had no choice but to report this to Imura and the clan...which would lead to Spider-Woman being dealt with permanently.

(Spider-Woman I#45 - BTS) - In the wake of Spider-Woman threatening her, Morrel put two and two together and figured out that she and Jessica Drew were one and the same. Bree then ordered members of the Yakuza Dragon Clan to follow her in both guises.

(Spider-Woman I#45) - Thanks to the involvement of Spider-Woman and the Impossible Man, the police was able to catch Michael Scungili. According to Sabrina, he was the youngest member of the nastiest gang of heist artists ever seen in San Francisco. After Scungili was hauled off, Morrel learned of Impy's existence and his quest to find his missing wife, the Impossible Woman. Spider-Woman asked Morrel if she could keep Impy's involvement out of the official report, figuring it would be hard to get him to deliver convincing evidence.

   Spider-Woman then confronted Bree about the limo she noticed kept following her, claiming her associate Jessica Drew had experienced the exact same thing. Bree denied any involvement on the part of the police, claiming she didn't know who might be after her. Spider-Woman noticed Morrel's heartbeat jumping slightly, indicating she was lying.

   With the Impossible Man still on the loose, Spider-Woman didn't have time to pursue the matter and took off, leaving Morrel to wonder what she would do. Sabrina was aware that she'd been caught in a lie and considered her options in dealing with Jessica Drew. Finally, she decided Jessica should learn of the Yakuza Dragon Clan and either join them, or die by their hand.

(Spider-Woman I#46) - Bree Morrel learned that Nguyen Ngoc Coy had put a hit out on Jessica Drew. She helped save Jessica and her boyfriend David Ishima from Coy's Yakuza hit squad. Both Jessica and David fainted from their injuries and Bree took them to the base of the Dragon Clan. David's wounds were tended to before Imura ordered an unnamed underling to take Ishima home and stand guard over him.

   Bree was on hand to greet Jessica as she came to. She took Jessica on a brief tour, before introducing her to Imura. He explained to the dumbstruck Drew that his clan was actually working against the criminal Yakuza elements, before asking her to participate in preventing an assassination attempt on Coy and the Kingpin (Fisk) by the Deterrence Research Corporation who hoped to start a gang war. Jessica agreed to and inevitably succeeded in her mission, even beating a Mandroid in the process.

   In the aftermath of the confrontation, Jessica met with Bree and Imura. She explained what had happened and once again refused membership in the Yakuza Dragon Clan. Morrel and Imura saw Jessica off.

(Uncanny X-Men I#206) - Lieutenant Morrel ran into Storm (Ororo Munroe) moments after she had defeated a wanted gang of muggers. Her officers initially suspected Ororo might be part of the group, but Morrel knew better. She thanked Storm for her assistance and assured her that no matter what others might say about mutants or the X-Men, she was glad to have the team around.

   Morrel and her officers interrupted the confrontation between the X-Men and Freedom Force. Spider-Woman (Carpenter) and the Blob (Dukes) tried to push her aside, claiming they were assigned to take the X-Men in. Morrel wasn't impressed with their posturing and coldly told them the X-Men hadn't committed any crimes, were considered civic heroes and that Freedom Force had acted without official sanction, making an arrest impossible without the proper documentation. After Spiral teleported Freedom Force away, Morrel subtly pointed out it might be best if the X-Men left the city as soon as possible.

(Uncanny X-Men I#222 - BTS) - As the X-Men's fight with the Marauders spread throughout San Francisco, the police department got involved. Lieutenant Morrel and her men rushed downtown where they met Havok and Psylocke. The two X-Men decided to go with them to find the others.

(Uncanny X-Men I#222) - On their way to the waterfront, sirens blaring, Sabrina sarcastically remarked that at least the X-Men's visits were never dull. Her colleague Harry was less amused, but was told to lay off by Bree who then quizzed the X-Men about the Marauders and their involvement with the team and Madelyne Pryor. To get some answers, Psylocke used her telepathy to contact Dazzler and Rogue who were still on the beach, guarding the Marauders' leader Polaris (possessed by Malice). Dazzler decided to recharge her lightpowers by absorbing all the ambient sound around her, which caused widespread panic and chaos.

   When the X-Men and Morrel caught up with her, Sabrina wondered if Dazzler was a rookie at the hero game, just as Polaris woke up and resumed her attack. Morrel ordered Harry to get to the car and call for backup, but Polaris ripped the vehicle apart with her magnetic powers before he could comply. Her fellow Marauders Arclight, Harpoon and Vertigo arrived to help out, keeping everyone disoriented. Harry tried to shoot Polaris, who used her magnetic abilities to deflect the projectile, hitting Morrel instead. Arclight then created a diversion, allowing the Marauders to leave.

(Uncanny X-Men I#224) - Sabrina Morrel, still not fully recovered from getting shot by Polaris, thanked Havok and Longshot for assisting her officers in stopping a gang of kidnappers. She then warned them, strictly off the record, that a federal taskforce was in town looking to arrest the X-Men. As the two mutants took off, Havok told Bree it was too bad there weren't more good people like her.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont, Steve Leialoha & Bob Wiacek.

Her creator Chris Claremont seemed incapable of getting Bree Morrel's last name straight, often adding an additional L whenever he deemed it appropriate.

It's interesting to note that in Spider-Woman I#43, Jessica openly blamed Bree for failing to protect Lindsay and Pamela Kramer...forgetting that she requested Morrel's aid as Spider-Woman, well before it was obvious to the lieutenant that Jessica and Spider-Woman were the same person. While this might be a simple slip up on Claremont's part, it could also be an intended, but never used storypoint leading up to the revelation.

In the Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up#4 (July, 1986) the entry for Marvel Team-Up I#65 states the following:
An unnamed "mystery woman" (first appearance; it is possible that she is Sabrina Morrel, who appears for the first time in Spider-Woman I#39, but this is unconfirmed)

The mystery woman's appearances went as follows:
(Marvel Team-Up I#65) - An unidentified mystery woman eavesdropped on Maggia's Commission members Roak and Moran when they hired Arcade to assassinate Captain Britain (Brian Braddock). She planned to stop them.

(Marvel Team-Up I#66 - BTS) - The mystery woman slew the complete Commission, crippling the European branch of the Maggia for months.

While it seems a stretch at best that the woman in Marvel Team-Up was Sabrina Morrel (the women is in London, not San Francisco, and seems to be a vigilante, not a cop), it's definitely noteworthy. Thing is, the Index didn't identify her as a different Sabrina Morrel (the comics themselves didn't identify her at all), but as the same one as the one from the Spider-Woman series. It seems an unlikely match to say they were the same person, but then this was also Claremont we are dealing with, and he did occasionally throw in such unexpected and unlikely back-story twists. He may well have intended to have Sabrina be something other than a San Fran cop to begin with, then modified her to fit her into Spider-Woman when he took over writing that, as wanted to make use of the character he had originally planned to follow up on elsewhere. Or maybe her work against the Maggia in MTU was tied with her being part of the Dragon Clan? An initiation, for example - "we're sending you to London, where you will have no personal connections to help you out / where our local agents are all too well known to our enemies, to spy on and thwart the local Maggia. If you do well, then you will become a full member of the Clan."
--Loki

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sabrina "Bree" Morrel has no known connections to

Detective Harry

San Francisco police detective Harry (last name unrevealed) was a plain clothes SFPD officer who drove the cop car carrying lieutenant Morrel and the X-Men Havok and Psylocke. Harry had trouble stomaching the fact that Morrel was even talking to members of what he considered dangerous mutant outlaws who should have been arrested on sight. Morrel, aware of the X-Men's track record, told him to lay off.

Later, Harry, Bree and several unidentified cops were on the beach when the X-Men's fight against the Marauders (Polaris/Malice, Vertigo, Harpoon and Arclight) escalated. Vertigo caused all her opponents to lose their balance, but Harry managed to recover relatively quick and figured out that Polaris was in charge. Hoping that taking her out would ensure victory, he fired his .44 Magnum at her, unaware the green haired woman controlled magnetism. Polaris altered the bullet's trajectory, causing Harry to inadvertently hit his boss Bree Morrel in the shoulder instead.

--Uncanny X-Men I#224





images: (without ads)
Avengers Annual I#10, p3, pan1 (main image)
Spider-Woman I#40, p14, pan5-6 (tattoo)
Spider-Woman I#43, p9, pan2 (packs heat)
Spider-Woman I#46, p7, pan2 (gun)
Uncanny X-Men I#206, p15, pan6 (versus the blob)
Uncanny X-Men I#222, p12, pan1 (Detective Harry)

Appearances:
Spider-Woman I#39 (August, 1981) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Spider-Woman I#40 (October, 1981) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Avengers Annual I#10 (August, 1981) - Chris Claremont (writer), Michael Golden (pencils), Amando Gil (inks), Chris Claremont, David Anthony Kraft (editors)
Spider-Woman I#42 (February, 1982) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Dennis O'Neil, Ralph Macchio (editors)
Spider-Woman I#43 (April, 1982) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils, inks), Dennis O'Neil, Ralph Macchio (editors)
Spider-Woman I#44 (June, 1982) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils, inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Spider-Woman I#45 (August, 1982) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha (pencils, inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Spider-Woman I#46 (October, 1982) - Chris Claremont (writer), Steve Leialoha, Trina Robbins, Brent Anderson (pencils), Steve Leialoha (inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#206 (June, 1986) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#222 (October, 1987) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Dan Green (inks) Ann Nocenti, Terry Kavanagh (editors)
Uncanny X-Men I#224 (December, 1987) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Ann Nocenti, Terry Kavanagh (editors)

First Posted: 10/17/2013
Last updated: 03/22/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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