THE DARKHOLD REDEEMERS:-These guys were created as part of the "Midnight Sons" offshoot of the main Ghost Rider book, back when Danny Ketch was one of the hottest characters in the entire Marvel line, which sounds insane saying it now. But yes, Ghost Rider in the '90s was so huge that he soon added the original Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Morbius (a Spidey villain turned heroic), The Nightstalkers (three older Vampire characters), Doctor Strange (getting a line-shift over to something trendy, as he hadn't been big in a while) and these guys to his own line. The Midnight Sons fought Lilith and her band of demons, Dracula and others, while the "Redeemers" (never actually named that on their comics- one character basically tagged the group this as a joke) sought to destroy all of the pages of The Darkhold, the magic book of spells forged by Chthon centuries ago. Vicky Montesi was their leader (and had the magic powers to detect the sinful pages), and they had a big of a "ragtag group" going.
-Unfortunately, the Midnight Sons line hit both the Comic Bust and Ghost Rider's fall as a big-name character (which hit him HARD- he went from a jewel in a dynastic crown and one of the top guys in the entire industry to basically a nobody), and every book was soon cancelled save the main one (which didn't last long either). And so this almost Vertigo-seeming book (a bunch of trenchcoat-wearing, non-tights-having normal humans having obscure adventures with vile magic?) was gone and forgotten, to be a mere eyeblink in the history of comics. I've never read an issue (or even seen an appearance by the characters- I dismissed them right away thanks to the lame Marvel Cards they got, along with the stupid name), but the thing I find most interesting is that it's very X-Files... but X-Files made it's debut a FULL YEAR after this book came out. Go fig.
VICTORIA "VICKI" MONTESI
Created By: Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Leader
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 4 (71)
STRENGTH 0
STAMINA 2
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5
DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:Athletics 3 (+3)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Magic) 2 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Treatment 2 (+6)
Advantages: Equipment 2 (Pistol +4), Ranged Attack 2
Powers:"Darkhold Detector"
Features 1: Knows When The Darkhold is Accessed [1]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Uncontrolled, Limited to Darkhold-Related Events) [1]
Senses 3 (Detect Darkhold Pages- Ranged 2) [3]
Concealment 5 (All Senses) (Flaws: Limited to N'Garai Demons) [5]
Offense:Unarmed +5 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Pistol +4 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3
Defenses:Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +6
Complications:Motivation (Destroying the Darkhold)- Victoria is the latest in a long line of Montesis, devoted to destroying Chthon's vile book.
Prejudice (Lesbian)- Victoria's revelation of being in love with another woman led her father to disown her.
Responsibility (Born of Chthon)- Vittorio Montesi was sterile, and utilized the worst possible means to carry on his legacy- he created a daughter using the pages of the Darkhold. This leaves Vicki permanently linked to the Elder God Chthon.
Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 6 (71)
-Vicki was a Darkhold-detecting Doctor with little combat training at first, and had way fewer uses than most of her teammates except for the ability to sense when a Page of the Darkhold had been used. She was interesting in that she was an out-of-the-closet lesbian in a comic from *1992*, and that she went from a "normally-dressed woman" to a leather-clad sexpot at some point, judging by the Marvel Cards. Vicki had a lot of rough luck thanks to her douchebag of a father, who both created her from the Book of Sin itself, but disowned her when she revealed her sexual orientation. Once her book was cancelled, she got immaculately-pregnant thanks to Chthon, and nearly gave birth to him in the Earthly Plane until Doctor Strange and her innate goodness combined to threaten his life if he did so. Vicki survived, but was never seen again. Fifteen years later, who knows where she ended up?
-Vicki was a borderline non-combatant who sorta learned how to fight to defend herself from demons, though nobody would mistake her for a powerhouse- she's basically a really smart, Doctorly HYDRA Goon at this point.
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SAM BUCHANAN
Created By: Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Scully/Non-Believer
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers, Interpol
PL 5 (63)
STRENGTH 1
STAMINA 2
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5
DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 2
Skills:Athletics 3 (+4)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Interpol Agent) 3 (+6)
Insight 2 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 2 (+5)
Advantages: Benefit (Interpol Agent), Equipment 2 (Pistol +4), Ranged Attack
Offense:Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Pistol +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3
Defenses:Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +3
Complications:Responsibility (Interpol)- Buchanan has been charged by Interpol to protect Vicki Montesi.
Relationship (Victoria Montesi)- Sam developed a crush on his partner, but it was not to be.
Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (63)
-Sam Buchanan looked like Fox Mulder (minus the sleepy, bored David Duchovny eyes) but acted more like Dana Scully, disbelieving in the supernatural (though seeing as how they're in the mainstream Marvel Universe, I'd question how). Sam packs a bit more muscle than Vicki overall, but is still way below the kind of Demons that the Darkhold can unleash.
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PROFESSOR LOUISE HASTINGS
Created By: Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Professor
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 2 (55)
STRENGTH -1
STAMINA 1
AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 2
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5
AWARENESS 4
PRESENCE 3
Skills:Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Archaeology) 5 (+10)
Expertise (Magic) 5 (+10)
Insight 5 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+7)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Advantages: Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Wealth), Ritualist, Well-Informed
Offense:Unarmed +2 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +0
Defenses:Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +5
Complications:Responsibility (Occult Investigator)
Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (55)
-Louise was the "Smart Guy" of the group, having the most knowledge about various subjects. She wasn't much of a fighter (but was a surprisingly-good shot with a gun, the Appendix to the Marvel U states), but her mind was her best tool.
---
JINX (William Hastings)
Created By: Christopher Cooper & Rurik Tyler
First Appearance: The Darkhold #9 (June 1993)
Role: The Muscle
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 7 (80)
STRENGTH 2
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0
AWARENESS 0
PRESENCE 3
Skills:Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Magic) 6 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 3 (+3)
Persuasion 1 (+4)
Advantages: Power Attack, Ranged Attack, Ritualist
Powers:"Magic Trainee"
Illusion 4 (All Senses) (20) -- [22]
AE: "Right-Eye Beam" Blast 8 (Diminished Range -1) (15)
AE: "Conjurer" Create 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Continuous) (13)
Immunity 1 (May Tap Into Darkhold Magic Without Losing Soul) [1]
Offense:Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Blast +5 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3
Defenses:Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4
Complications:Responsibility (Innate Power)- Jinx's power is untested and dangerous.
Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 23 / Defenses: 7 (80)
-Jinx, the grandson of Louise Hastings, was introduced later on to shore up the roster, and he seems a lot more "Super-Hero-y" than his partners. He has an innate mystical potential that was getting realized under Modred's teachings, and joined the Darkhold team to save them from Sam Buchanan's boss in Interpol, who was secretly a Darkholder follower of Chthon. He ended up going to the Vatican to be trained by Victoria's dad, and then disappeared along with the rest of the cast of this series. Jinx has some minor abilities, and a unique Immunity/Feature to Darkhold Soul-Stealing, and is a bit more in-shape than his partners judging from some pictures, but is ultimately minor-league as far as mystics go, being PL 6.5 on offense.
by Arthur Eld » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:19 am 
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