(Daredevil I#311 (fb) - BTS) - On a television talkshow, Brother Voodoo gave reports on Felicia Felix-Mentor, a woman who once wandered the streets on Haiti in 1936, even though the woman had died in 1907. (see comments)
--[Daredevil I#311 (fb)]
CALYPSO
Real Name: Calypso Ezili
Identity/Class: Human magic user;
citizen of Haiti
Occupation: Voodoo priestess
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Ani-Men (Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man), Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff), Mysterio (Quentin Beck);
formerly Lizard (Curtis Connors), Nameless One, Papa Doc, Ramon, Shotgun (J.R. Walker), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Zombie (Simon Garth)
presumably has some association with Set;
see also the Catalogue of Correspondences for Set from Ian McNee's reading of the First Tarot
Enemies: Yves Chapoteau, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Daily Bugle, Glory Grant, Guardsmen (Marty Delarosa, others), Gulyadkin the lion, Hellspawn, Dr. Ashley Kafka, Kraven the Hunter (Alyosha Kravinoff), Lizard (Curtis Connors), Mambo, Papa Doc, Ramon, Shotgun, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Zombie (Simon Garth)
Known Relatives: Mambo Ezili (sister, deceased)
Aliases: The Witch, the Hunter of Souls; briefly possessed Glory Grant
Base of Operations: New York City, New York;
formerly Haiti
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man I#209 (October, 1980)
Powers/Abilities: A deadly sorceress, Calypso is skilled in voodoo magic, specializing in using her Yoruba Spirit Drum and Bira Bells to take over the minds of others, often spurring them into violence. She has used spears, blowguns, crossbows, whips, mystic altars, mystic amulets, poisons, hallucinogenic drugs, powders, and potions to various effects. When casting enchantments, she once used a spider and a lizard to mentally influence Spider-Man and the Lizard. Calypso has successfully transferred her soul to the Amulet of Damballah, into the body of Glory Grant, and back into her own preserved corpse, restoring her own life. She has a group of followers who have helped her, and she has similarly commanded men once loyal to Kraven the Hunter. Calypso can draw power by draining the life force of others, and she often keeps those life forces in jars; when the jars are shattered, her power is depleted. She also drew power from her own sister, Mambo, after killing her, including the mental command of the zombie, the Nameless One. She sometimes calls upon the names of various gods and voodoo deities in her rituals. Calypso sometimes bases herself in a mystic Hounfort, where her power can be collected.
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Spider-Man I#4 (fb) ) - Growing up in Haiti, Calypso learned to love the mystic rituals she saw the elders perform. She devoted herself fully to learning magic, embracing evil as she learned more. As time passed, she committed her first kill and became her own voodoo master.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#209 (fb) - BTS) - Calypso became the lover of Kraven over a period of years. She admired his frequent hunts of Spider-Man.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#209) - In the Caribbean, Calypso taunted Kraven as he trained, wondering when he'd go after Spider-Man again. Kraven loaded a ship full of animals for delivery to New York City. As the freighter pulled into the docks, both Kraven and Calypso saw Spider-Man. To try and inspire Kraven back to greatness, Calypso released the animals from their cages, and they rushed into the city, causing chaos, with Kraven running after them, saving civilians and apprehending the beasts. When Kraven returned, Calypso claimed that Spider-Man had let them go; when Kraven didn't believe her, she slapped him, and Kraven briefly threatened to crush her before Kraven finally agreed to go after the hero. Kraven lured Spider-Man into the Museum of Natural History, where they battled as Calypso watched, thrilled. In the end, Spider-Man defeated Kraven, leaving him to the police.
(Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man II#65 (fb) - BTS) - Kraven and Calypso were arrested, but Kraven soon broke them out.
(Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man II#65) - Calypso played drums while Kraven battled hired men to practice his skills. She encouraged him again to regain his confidence by hunting Spider-Man. They stalked Spider-Man for weeks, then launched an attack. Calypso played the Bira Bells and Yoruba Spirit Drum to cloud Spidey's mind as Kraven attacked with weapons and traps. After Spidey seized her drum, Calypso fired a hallucinogenic dart into his ankle to aid Kraven, careful to not let Kraven see so as to not wound his pride. Kraven, baffled at the ease with which he defeated Spidey, watched as Calypso placed the Annuak Trophy Mask on the hero to humiliate him. When Kraven noticed the dart in Spidey's leg, he was furious and he rushed to save Spidey from a fall. As the police rushed in, Calypso tried throwing a spear to kill Spidey, but Kraven caught it and proclaimed that he needed to fight for his own dignity, and he couldn't love a woman who didn't understand that. Kraven was then arrested.
(Spider-Man I#4 (fb) - BTS) - After Kraven committed suicide, Calypso turned toward achieving even greater power, and she sacrificed her sister, Mambo, collecting her soul to become even more powerful. She gathered many more souls over the following years.
(Daredevil I#310 (fb) - BTS) - Calypso gained control of her sister's possessions, as well as her control over the raised super-strong zombie, the Nameless One.
(Spider-Man I#1 - BTS) - Calypso used her drums and enchantments to drive the Lizard into a rage. The Lizard killed several civilians.
(Spider-Man I#2) - After using the drums to cause Lizard to commit more murders, Calypso put a spider and a lizard into her spell to influence Spider-Man and Lizard into battling. The two fought savagely, the drums in their heads.
(Spider-Man I#3) - Calypso kept Spider-Man and Lizard fighting until Lizard triumphed, then Calypso called the Lizard to her. Under the influence of Calypso, Spider-Man thought he saw an undead Kraven the Hunter.
(Spider-Man I#4) - Calypso, remaining in firm command of the Lizard, seduced Spider-Man with potions and poisons, and she planned to collect his soul. As the Lizard prepared to devour Spider-Man, the hero escaped and attacked Lizard, freeing them both from Calypso's trance. Flames hit an open gas line and the building exploded.
(Spider-Man I#5) - Bleeding in the explosion, Calypso got control of the Lizard again and went after Spider-Man, who she hoped would be dead from the poisons, but the hero was ready for another fight. Choosing to cut her losses, Calypso cast a spell to collapse the building on herself to make it look as though she'd perished, and planned to fight another day.
(Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man) – As part of a massive revenge scheme against Spider-Man, Mysterio teamed up with voodoo priestess Calypso and the mutated Ani-Men to cause chaos in New York. Seemingly boosting his illusion skills with Calypso’s magic, Mysterio attacked the Daily Bugle building atop a giant ape, his illusions affecting everyone in his vicinity. When Spider-Man arrived to stop Mysterio, he was swarmed by affected reporters, preventing him from getting to Mysterio. Spider-Man defeated Mysterio, Calypso and the Ani-Men with the help of other heroes.
(Daredevil I#311 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to revive Kraven from the dead, Calypso began returning political refugees to Haiti for money, and trading the cash to a man who could help her with the resurrection. She established a Hounfort underneath the Museum of Natural History.
(Daredevil I#310) - Seeking to collect a bounty on Haitian political refugee Yves Chapoteau, Calypso used the Yoruba drums to send the Nameless One after her target. Calpyso then saw a red demonic man rushing by and she assumed him to be Daredevil, an old foe of Kraven's; not realizing he was Hellspawn, the Infinity War doppelganger of Daredevil, she ensnared the man with a whip, determined to triumph over him. The creature used claws, teeth, and a sharp tail to fight, but Calypso bit him back before blowing a poison dart of black sage to overwhelm his senses; the demon was resilient and plucked the dart out. Calypso managed to reach her drum and drive the creature into a frenzy, then she impaled it with its own severed horn and seemingly killed it. Realizing it was not the true Daredevil, she grew determined to go after the hero. Calpyso then used her drums to find Daredevil and she attacked. Daredevil had just seen the Nameless One die.
(Daredevil I#311 (fb) ) - Calypso defeated Daredevil with poison darts and a whip made of human intestines, then she introduced him to the "altar of Baron Cimeterre" and made him hallucinate. Daredevil stripped off his costume and thought he was having a heart attack. After he was pronounced dead at the hospital, Calypso had her men retrieve his body and bring him to her Hounfort, the trophy room for the souls she had collected. There, Calypso removed his soul and trapped it in a jar. She mixed Daredevil's blood with her own and painted the knotted snakes on his chest, binding him to her as her new Nameless One. She then sent the bound hero after Chapoteau.
(Daredevil I#311) - While battling Yves, Matt Murdock temporarily regained control of his mind and he later returned to work. While watching an interview with Brother Voodoo with Jay, he saw reports about a historical zombie, Felicia Felix-Mentor, and realized he needed to reclaim his soul. Brother Voodoo paid Murdock a personal visit, telling him how to defeat Calypso, but Calypso attacked Murdock first, taking over Murdock. She sent him out as the Nameless One to commit robberies, fight the police, apprehend refugees, and terrorize others, only recalling him to her Hounfort when he resisted. Calypso captured the souls of the refugees, then put them in coffins to be shipped back to Haiti. Murdock managed to shatter the urn containing his soul, then he broke apart the rest, reducing Calypso's powers and turning the refugees against her. The Hounfort collapsed all around her and she was buried in the rubble.
(Daredevil Annual I#9/4 (fb) - BTS) - Calypso survived by hiding inside a coffin until she was dug free. She kept the Hellspawn's devil horn. Hearing about the Zombie, a man named Simon Garth who kept his soul after death, she went to investigate.
(Daredevil Annual I#9/4) - Calypso paid Papa Doc to learn about the origins of the Zombie, then she tried paying him to resurrect Zombie, but the man refused. When seducing Papa Doc didn't work either, she killed him with the devil horn, then drained his life force, and stole his Talisman of Damballah, then she used both to resurrect Zombie. Wanting to test the Zombie, she also resurrected Hellspawn and had the two men battle. When Zombie ate some of Hellspawn's flesh, Hellspawn turned on Calpyso, even destroying her drum when she tried to play it, then Hellspawn fled. The Zombie possessed enough will to shatter the urn that contained the soul of Papa Doc, then he lumbered off.
(Web of Spider-Man I#109) - In Colorado, Calypso seduced a Guardsman named Marty with a love spell to sneak inside the Raft. There, she fought several Guardsmen, killing many (including Marty) and using hallucinogenic gas pellets against the rest. She found Curtis Connors in a cell and forced a transformation into the Lizard, but he seemed immune to her magics; he gutted Calypso and fled.
(Spider-Man Annual '97 (fb) - BTS) - Dying, Calypso transferred her soul to the Amulet of Damballah.
(Web of Spider-Man I#110) - Calypso's body was taken to the morgue.
(Spider-Man Annual '97 (fb) - BTS) - Calypso's followers stole her body from the morgue and placed her in a healing coffin which was buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery, a known supernatural spot; her body was preserved while her wounds healed. The Amulet with her soul was taken to Haiti, and Calypso began to look for a like-minded human host that she could possess. In Haiti, a new designer drug that made obedient slaves out of others for a time was being shipped to the United States. One shipment was put on the ship, the Caribbean Queen, along with a group of Haitian refugees, one of whom was wearing the Amulet. Calypso possessed the refugee and ordered her to give the amulet to a tourist, Glory Grant, in whom she sensed a deep hatred for Spider-Man. Calypso began sporadically possessing Grant, forcing her to inject her cousin Ramon with the designer drug, turning him into an obedient zombie servant. Glory possessed no memories of events when Calypso was in control of her. Later, the boat sank, the result of sabotage.
(Spider-Man Annual '97) - Back in New York City, the Amulet of Damballah remained around Grant's neck as she interacted with her friends, but men attacked her to get the Amulet, and Ramon held them off. The men attacked a second time but Shotgun, an armed C.I.A. agent, saved her, then he accompanied Grant back home, determined to arrest her, as he suspected she was behind the sinking of the boat. Spider-Man and Zombie (who was seeking the Amulet) burst through the window in a fight, and Shotgun intervened, giving Calypso, through Glory, a chance to cast a spell. She grabbed a gun and ordered Spider-Man to leave. Grant formed a connection with Shotgun and invited him to spend the night on her couch. That evening, Calypso took over Grant, put on her own Kraven costume, and seduced shotgun. The next day, Grant joined Shotgun on a salvage dive to the Caribbean Queen, where Shotgun sought to recover the designer drug, but Zombie attacked them again. Shotgun was trapped under an anchor in the water as Calypso shot Zombie with a harpoon and then escaped.
(Spider-Man Annual '97 - BTS) - Calypso, as Glory, attacked Dr. Ashley Kafka at the Ravencroft Institute, where she ranted about needing Spider-Man to free the man in the ocean while saying he'd killed her love, Sergei. She freed the drugged Ramon and rushed off.
(Spider-Man Annual '97) - Back in Calypso's costume, Grant ordered Ramon to dig up her grave, and she opened the coffin to reveal Calypso's healed and preserved corpse inside. Just as Calypso was ready to transfer her soul back to her own form, Zombie attacked, wanting the Amulet. Spider-Man intervened and held off Zombie long enough for Calypso to complete the transfer of her soul back to her body, and then she immediately fled.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#249) - Calypso waited at the grave of Kraven when she saw him standing there majestically. She revealed herself to him, saying it was fate that they were together, but the man pushed her aside. She didn't realize that this was Alyosha Kravinoff, the new Kraven the Hunter, son of the original.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#250) - Calypso snuck into Kraven's home and waited for him. When he returned, he kissed her and they spent hours together in his bed. Only after did he laugh and reveal that he was the son of the original. Calypso, furious and humiliated, departed and promised revenge.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#252 (fb) - BTS) - Calypso recruited a group of tribesmen who had been loyal to Kraven.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#252) - With the tribesmen, Calypso attacked Alyosha's home, blowing part of it up as she arrived, and she found him talking to Spider-Man, making her even more furious. Calypso used her magic and drums to take over the minds of both men. She caged them, released their rage, transported them to the grave of Sergei, and ordered them to battle to death in the rain.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#253) - Calypso rejoiced as Spider-Man and Alyosha battled in the rain, but Spidey broke free of her control and hit her with a spear to the shoulder. Alyosha's pet lion, Gulyadkin, stalked Calypso, but Alyosha intervened. He apologized to Calypso for his deceit and for not coming to her with questions about Sergei; he stated he believed Spider-Man that Sergei had taken his own life. Calypso chose to leave peacefully. Later that night, Alyosha snuck into Calypso's home and killed her and her tribesmen.
Comments: Created by Denny O'Neil and Alan Weiss.
"Jay" is almost certainly in homage to Jay Leno.
Felicia Felix-Mentor is a historical person. Learn more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie
I mean, Calypso could so easily return to life, given that she has done it before. Also, maybe Alyosha only hurt her and didn't kill her. She'll be back some day.
The story that bothered me most...she seemingly had sex with Alyosha and thought he was Sergei? That's some soap opera level grossness right there.
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man info taken from Proto-Man's "Mysterio's Revenge Scheme" profile.
Thanks to Loki for providing the main image from the Gamer's Guide to the Marvel Universe 1992 Character Update.
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Calypso should not be confused with:
|
|
(Daredevil I#311 (fb) - BTS) - On a television talkshow, Brother Voodoo gave reports on Felicia Felix-Mentor, a woman who once wandered the streets on Haiti in 1936, even though the woman had died in 1907. (see comments) --[Daredevil I#311 (fb)] |
|
(Daredevil I#311) - Brother Voodoo promoted his book Do you Voodoo, I do on Jay's talkshow and talked about the history of zombies. (see comments) --Daredevil I#311 |
|
images: (without ads)
Gamer's Guide to the Marvel Universe 1992 Character Update, p7 (main)
Amazing Spider-Man I#209, p2, pan2 (with Kraven)
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man II#65, p3, pan1 (playing drums)
Spider-Man I#4, p6, pan1 (with Lizard)
Daredevil I#310, p17, pan8 (vs. Hellspawn)
Spider-Man Annual '97, p25, pan3 (possessing Glory Grant)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#249, p3, pan5 (at gravesite)
Daredevil I#311, p14, pan3 (Jay)
Daredevil I#311, p14, pan4 (Felecia Felix-Mentor)
Appearances:
Amazing Spider-Man I#209 (October, 1980) - Denny O'Neil (writer), Alan Weiss (penciler), Janson, McLeod, Rubinstein, Wiacek (inkers), Al Milgrom (inker/editor)
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man I#65 (April, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (penciler), Jim Mooney (inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Spider-Man I#1-5 (August-December, 1990) - Todd Macfarlane (writer/artist), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man (1992) – Dwight Zimmerman (illustration script development), Howard Bender (layouts, pencils, illustration coordinator), Rich Yanizeski, Brian Clopper, Alex Morrissey, Brian Buniak (pencils), Don Heck, Mike Esposito, Marie Severin (inks)
Daredevil I#310-311 (November-December, 1992) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Scott McDaniel (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Daredevil Annual I#9/4 (July, 1993) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Scott McDaniel (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Web of Spider-Man I#109/2 (February, 1994) - Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Suviak (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Eric Fein (editor)
Web of Spider-Man I#110 (March, 1994) - Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Suviak (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Eric Fein (editor)
Spider-Man Annual '97 (1997) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Shawn McManus (penciler), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#249 (September, 1997) - Mark Bernardo (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#250 (October, 1997) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green, Al Milgrom (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#251 (November, 1997) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#252 (December, 1997) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Mike Deodato Jr (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#253 (January, 1998) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 04/01/2019
Last updated: 01/30/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!