WITCH HUNTER

Real Name: Maria DeLorentti

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-93060/Ultraverse) human mutate (1930s to current era)

Occupation: Paranormal investigator and assassin

Group Membership: Seventh Sign

Affiliations: Gabriel Frost, Zachariah Frost

Enemies: demons (Qualaero, others), vampires, witches ("Daughters of the Moon" coven, others), wraiths

Known Relatives: Anna (sister), Alexus (sister), mother (name unrevealed)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile on Earth-93060;
   initially only Salem, Massachusetts, USA

First Appearance: Witch Hunter#1 (April, 1996)

Powers/Abilities: Witch Hunter is long-lived and has been trained in many forms of hand-to-hand combat. She is learned in the supernatural. Her body developed "metabodies" that resist supernatural harm and provide very quick regenerative abilities; this has kept her ageless since she turned 21 years old. She is armed with a sanctified sword that she can instantly summon for use in battle. Her right arm is an armored prosthetic. She despises supernatural beings, especially demons, and is eager to kill them. She has no problems with athletic activity in high heels.

Height: 5'6" (by approximation)
Weight: 135 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Light gray (formerly black)

History:

(Witch Hunter#1 (fb)) - In 1936 in Salem, Massachusetts, Maria DeLorentti, on the cusp of her 21st birthday, was enjoying dinner with her poor mother and sisters Anna and Alexus when malevolent ectoplasmic wraiths, linked to the house, again accosted them, more brutal than before. Zachariah Frost, agent of the covert paranormal group Seventh Sign, leapt in as Maria was about to be violently pulled through a portal by the wraiths. Zachariah's sword collapsed the portal, but Maria sacrificed her arm while Alexus was lost, Anna left comatose and her mother dead. She swore holy vengeance and Zachariah invited her to join the Seventh Sign once she recovered.

(Witch Hunter#1 (fb) - BTS) - The supernatural attack left Maria infected, but her immune system developed "metabodies" to counter it, leaving her immune to supernatural harm and with a highly elevated regenerative system. Maria gained an armored prosthetic arm, its abilities unrevealed. She became an active agent of the Seventh Sign, taking up Zachariah's sword as a weapon, and kept serving them for decades. Although now no longer aging, her hair went light gray.

(Witch Hunter#1) - Witch Hunter tracked down the female vampire coven "Daughters of the Moon", killing a sentry vampire on the way, to save Zachariah's grandson, Gabriel Frost (also a Seventh Sign agent). Unwilling to lose Gabriel due to the impending ceremony, she surrendered and let the vampires drink from her. But her metabody-charged blood was poisonous to the vampires and all perished except the Witch Queen. Maria killed her with her sanctified sword, then released Gabriel.

(Angels of Destruction#1) - Maria ruminated on her past and family loss, as well as her hatred of supernatural entities, before confronting the disguised demon Qualaero, who had demonically enslaved people in a nightclub. Hoping to evade execution, he tempted Maria with an offer to show her key others' souls to learn life lessons. Calling her "Angel" and asking for a lesser penalty of banishment, he promised to keep her safe as she glimpsed at the lives of three female powerful "ultras" (super-humans): Topaz, Amber Hunt, and Shuriken, and then even her comatose sister Anna. But he tried to renegotiate the deal after she briefly bonded with the three ultras. Angered, she destroyed him with her sword.

Comments: Created by Laurie Sutton (writer), Joyce Chin (pencils), Barb Kaalberg & Maria Beccari (inks).

Both issues were one-shots. Witch Hunter is one of the last characters created in the final days of the Ultraverse.

The Seventh Sign history was described in a text-only one-pager in Witch Hunter#1 by Mark Paniccia and Keith Planit.

It's claimed the holy weapons were gifts from angels. In Ultraverse: Future Shock, the sword of an alternate future Maria DeLorentti could open portals to neighboring realities; it's likely this version could too. The cover to Witch Hunter#1 shows her holding a gun.

The editorial response in Angels of Destruction was that "Witch Hunter was originally created to be a regular series before the Malibu implosion" (the first issue was apparently very well received); the series would've likely included more on the Seventh Sign and supernatural aspects. Just one of so many untold tales of the Ultraverse.

I'll attribute her sexualized uniform as an intended distraction against certain opponents.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Witch Hunter has no known connections to:

• Angel of Destruction - alternate version of Maria DeLorentti from an unidentified future timeline @ Ultraverse: Future Shock
  
• any of the other multitude of  "Witch" or "Hunter" characters

Zachariah Frost

Dr. Zachariah Frost was an agent of the covert group Seventh Sign, but was frustrated in his role as observer. Witnessing malevolent wraith attacks on the DeLorentti family in 1936, he leapt in when Maria was about to pulled through a portal and used his sword to close it. He invited her to join the Seventh Sign to avenge her family, later passing on his holy sword to her when she became an agent.

   Eventually he had a grandson, Gabriel Frost. When the adult Gabriel was kidnapped in the current era for sacrifice by a coven of vampire witches, Zachariah provided remote advice to Witch Hunter for his rescue.

--Witch Hunter#1

Qualaero

Qualaero was an insidious demon who fed on human souls, but was particularly fond of those of "ultras" (super-humans). However, past encounters with ultras who could fight back taught him to avoid them. He had the power to glimpse into the souls of others.

   In a debonair human disguise, he demonically enslaved a nightclub when Witch Hunter found him. Calling her "Angel" (for unrevealed reasons), he offered her glimpses into other powerful females (Topaz, Shuriken and Amber Hunt) to learn life lessons. After that, he dashed Maria's hopes to contact her comatose sister Anna, so Maria popped him like a boil with her sword when he turned into his short demon form.

--Angels of Destruction#1

Seventh Sign

The Seventh Sign (or simply 7S) was a covert US government organization, founded at the USA's beginning, that investigated and regulated the paranormal. Past Commanders-in-Chief included George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, although some presidents chose not to take on the role. As the USA thrived economically, Seventh Sign's scope expanded to protecting the world. Based underground in Salem, Massachusetts, it divided the world into seven zones, each protected by a Master Agent, each armed with a powerful and unique holy weapon. Zachariah Frost, Gabriel Frost and Maria DeLorentti were all Seventh Sign agents.

--Witch Hunter#1 (Angels of Destruction#1 - BTS

wraiths

Malevolent serpentine wraiths, linked to the DeLorentti's house, terrorized the occupants in the mid-1930s; each visitation became more violent. The Seventh Sign organization only observed and did not want to interfere. While ectoplasmic, they could take slithering form and kidnapped Alexus DeLorentti and almost Maria before Agent Frost severed the portal with his holy sword.

--Witch Hunter#1

images: (without ads)
Angels of Destruction#1, cover (main image)
Witch Hunter#1, p, pan (headshot, black hair)
Angels of Destruction#1, p38, pan2 (cleaning sword)
Witch Hunter#1, p14, pan1 (Frost)
Angels of Destruction#1, p5, pan7 (Qualaero, human disguise)
Angels of Destruction#1, p37, pan4 (Qualaero, demon form)
Witch Hunter#1, last page (Seventh Sign logo)

Appearances:
Witch Hunter#1 (April, 1996) - Laurie Sutton (writer), Joyce Chin (pencils), Barb Kaalberg & Maria Beccari (inks), Hajime Sorayama (cover), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Angels of Destruction#1 (October, 1996) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Leonard Kirk (pencils & inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First posted: 10/25/18
Last updated:10/25/18