Calypso Ezili | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #209 (October 1980) |
Created by | Denny O'Neil (writer) Alan Weiss (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Calypso Ezili |
Species | Human |
Partnerships | Kraven the Hunter |
Notable aliases | The Hunter of Souls The Witch |
Abilities |
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Calypso Ezili is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Denny O'Neil and Alan Weiss, the character first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #209 (October 1980). [1] Calypso Ezili is a voodoo priestess of Haitian descent. [2] She is depicted as an adversary of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. [3] She is also the occasional lover and partner of the supervillain Kraven the Hunter. [4] Calypso Ezili is known under the codenames The Witch and The Hunter of Souls. [5]
Ariana DeBose will portray Calypso in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Kraven the Hunter .
Calypso Ezili debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #209 (October 1980), created by Denny O'Neil and Alan Weiss. [6] She initially appeared as a minor character The Amazing Spider-Man #209 and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #65, where she was an ally of Spider-Man's enemy Kraven the Hunter. After Kraven's death, Calypso bewitched the Lizard into helping her attack Spider-Man in Spider-Man Vol. 1, #1-5, [7] then made guest appearances in Daredevil Vol. 1, #310-311 and Daredevil Annual Vol. 1, #9. Calypso next appeared in Web of Spider-Man Vol. 1, #109-110 and Spider-Man Annual 1997, and was killed off in a storyline that spanned The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1, #249-253.
Calypso is a nameless voodoo priestess who was born and raised in Haiti. [8] She was a psychopathic woman who was associated with Kraven the Hunter. Calypso seemed to enjoy driving Kraven into fits of rage and furthering his hatred of Spider-Man which ultimately led to Kraven's suicide in the "Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline. [9] [10]
When artist Todd McFarlane started writing the new Spider-Man comic in 1990, his opening five-issue story arc "Torment" featured Calypso as the main antagonist, whom McFarlane transformed into a dangerous threat for Spider-Man. [11] The explanation for Calypso's supernatural powers was the sacrifice of her younger sister. She used her abilities to hold Lizard in her grasp and the two nearly succeeded in murdering Spider-Man. However, the webslinger managed to beat them both and Calypso is apparently killed. [12]
Calypso resurfaces abducting Haitian refugees, turning some into zombie slaves and selling the rest back to her homeland's government. Her actions bring her into conflict with Daredevil and his Infinity War doppelganger, Hellspawn. [13] Calypso briefly enthralls Daredevil, but he is able to break free of her control, and she seemingly dies yet again when the spirits of those she turned into zombies overwhelm her. [14] Cheating death once more, Calypso flees to New Orleans, where her obsession with necromancy leads her to the resting place of Simon Garth, a self-aware zombie. Reviving Garth, Calypso tests his abilities and pits him against Hellspawn, though he eventually breaks free of her control and wanders off, leaving one of his Amulets of Damballah with Calypso. [15]
Calypso subsequently breaks into the Vault and attempts to make the incarcerated Lizard her servant again, but he resists and mauls her. [16] [17] The Amulet of Damballah, which Calypso transferred her soul into while dying, ends up in the possession of Glory Grant, who Calypso possesses. Despite interference from Spider-Man, Garth, and Shotgun, Calypso is successfully able to exhume her own corpse and revive herself with the Amulet of Damballah. [18]
Commanding a squad of savages, she later attacks Spider-Man and Alyosha Kravinoff, the son of the original Kraven the Hunter. Desiring revenge for losing Sergei, she uses her powers to drive Spider-Man and Alyosha into fighting each other. Spider-Man and Alyosha fight off her spell and shared a handshake. Alyosha says that he will hold Calypso at his mansion so she can tell him about his long-lost father. However, Alyosha kills Calypso instead. [19] [20] [21] [22]
Calypso Ezili sacrificed her sister through a ritual to gain supernatural abilities. [23] She is highly trained in the practice of voodoo, [24] being familiar with voodoo drums, potions, and charms. [25] She Ezili created a magical potion to enhance the abilities of Kraven the Hunter, to make him the best hunter in the world. [26] He was notably granted superhuman strength, speed, and senses in consequence. [27] Calypso Ezili is also powerful enough to master mind-control and resurrection. [28] She used her powers to take control of the Lizard and made him more violent. [29]
An issue of What If? which asked the question "What If Spider-Man Killed the Lizard?" had Calypso in it. When Spider-Man is forced to kill the Lizard in an alternate version of the "Torment" story-arc, Calypso approaches the Lizard's distraught son Billy Connors and offers him the chance to get revenge on Spider-Man via a potion that will make him "just like daddy". [30]
Calypso will appear in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Kraven the Hunter , portrayed by Ariana DeBose. [34]
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