It is one thing to like comic books; it is quite another to believe you know everything there is to know about them. The world of comic books is a fascinating place, and no matter how much a passionate fan likes to think they know practically everything, there is always something new to learn. In our earlier films, we dissected The Darkness in depth, delving further into the roots and discussing everything in great detail. If you watched the video closely, you will notice that we mentioned “the Witchblade.”
The Witchblade, created by Michael Turner, Marc Silvestri, David Wohl, and Brian Haberlin, is the offspring of the universe’s two conflicting primal powers, The Darkness and The Angelus. The Witchblade is more akin to a supernaturally created ancient, sentient, intelligent, and powerful weapon. It usually takes the shape of a complicated metal gauntlet and is male in nature, looking for female hosts to bestow various mystical powers on in order to fight evil. Witchblade debuted in November 1995 in Witchblade Vol 1 from Image Comics’ Top Cow Productions imprint and lasted for around 185 issues. Sara Pezzini, an NYPD homicide detective, is the current Witchblade wielder. Her character first appears in Cyblade/Shi: The Battle for Independents #1 in January 1995, with an intriguing backstory dedicated to the Witchblade’s origin.
Do you think you know everything there is to know about the Witchblade, comic book fans? So get ready for today’s video, in which we will go over not only the Witchblade’s origins but also a bunch of other stuff that we are quite sure you did not know. Prepare yourself mentally for this one!
What Is A Witchblade (Artifact)?
Well, the way one looks at the Top Cow Universe, there are primarily two opposing forces – The Darkness and the Angelus. While the former symbolized chaos, the latter defined light and order. The primal forces have been at a never-ending war against each other and the solitary fact that the duo was equal in terms of power and position made them incapable of tearing each other down. So much so that they have even gone to the extent of repetitively attempting to kill each other’s wielders. That’s precisely when a truce was formed; they consummated keeping mutual interests as the primary focus and conceived the Witchblade, to create a balance in between them.
The Witchblade first crashed on earth like a meteorite and was eventually discovered by cavewoman Una, making her the first wielder of the Witchblade. Coming back to the present, it was the shrewd businessman, Kenneth Irons, who unearthed the Witchblade in Greece and also attempted to wield it but at the cost of his own hand. Yep, you heard that absolutely right! And, although Irons’ long fixation on the Witchblade eventually led him to find a way to control it, the Witchblade was quite particular about its users and whom it will allow bonding with. It goes without saying that it eventually found its way to NYPD detective Sara Pezzini and chose her as its new wielder.
So, when the Witchblade is not in use, it appears as this decorative, right-handed gauntlet; one that is covered with jewels. It develops this mutual bonding with the chosen host and the latter is capable of hearing the Witchblade. Now, when the Witchblade is in use, it stretches across the body of the host, wraps itself around, at times shredding the attire one is donning, and covers the body like both armor and weapon at the same time. In most cases, how much the armor covers solely depends on the degree of the threat. For instance, when it is fighting mere mortal beings, it will have less armor on the body than it will while facing let’s say a demon of hell for that matter. You will be enthralled to know that the armor is also able to generate extensions of itself such as swords, stabbing weapons, shields, chains, hooks, and wings. Oh, it is also highly capable of becoming temperamental if the wielder decides not to make use of it.
Starting from shooting energy blasts from either the hand or the sword to shooting projectile darts as well as whip-like grapples to attack or climb, the Witchblade can do a lot of things when wielded. Besides all of these, it is also a fantastic lock pick and is powerful enough to heal wounds that are fatal too. Yes, it can effortlessly revive the dead, forcefully show the wielder overpowering scenes of trauma, and at the same time make the wielder experience memories of the previous wielders in the form of dreams.
One of the Notable Hosts of The Artifact – Sara Pezzini
Born of Italian descent in the year 1970, Sara Pezzini always wanted to be a cop and it goes without saying that she ended up becoming one of the best homicide detectives in New York City at a pretty early age. While, Sara’s father, Vincent ‘Frank’ Pezzini was also a police officer who was shot and killed on duty, not much is known about Sara’s mother. Even Sara was oblivious to where her mother was for several years.
Her life took a full 180 degree turn when she went undercover to an auction taking place at the Rialto Theater along with her partner Michael Yee. Kenneth Irons was in possession of the Witchblade at that time and his obsession with the gauntlet made him go to extents where he was ready to let anyone for that matter bid and try it, just so that he could unlock the powers.
Disguised as an escort, Sara infiltrates the event only to discover some of the most notorious crime bosses of New York gathered there to take part in some kind of a contest that involved the wielding of the mysterious Witchblade. Michael got captured in the process and just as he was about to get shot, Sara plunged right in front of him leading to both her and Michael getting mortally wounded. While Sara lay dying on the ground, the Witchblade chose Sara to bond with it and attached itself to her. Not only did the Witchblade heal all her wounds but also gave her enough power to survive the ensuing confrontation. Sadly, Sara just could not save Michael!
Sara Pezzini carried on working as an NYPD homicide detective with the Witchblade attached to her and since then has encountered countless things; things that she never knew even existed. She fought otherworldly creatures that don’t belong on Earth. She continued her struggle with the Witchblade, unraveling more about it and doing her best to control it. Some of her allies included Lara Croft, the Magdalena, Vampirella as well as Jackie Estacado. You will be quite astounded to know that two crossovers had her not only pitted against Wolverine but also the titular creatures from the Alien and Predator franchises.
Coming back to the comics, Sara was eventually assigned a new partner called Jake McCarthy and the duo developed a close relationship. McCarthy, in due course, ended up being in a coma, followed by his eventual death. Amidst all of this, Sara learned that she was pregnant and although it came as a total shock to her, she chose the baby over the Witchblade and decided to pass on the Witchblade to a young ballet dancer whom she had recently met, called Danielle Baptiste. Eventually, Jackie Estacado was disclosed to be the father of the child, and Sara gave birth to Hope.
Danielle had to end up sharing part of the Witchblade with Sara as the latter was literally on the verge of death, thus saving her life. Sara, post being host to half of the Witchblade, got into major clashes with Danielle, something that made the former exceedingly unreasonable and angry. So much so that after getting influenced by an old enemy of the Curator, she ended in a fight against Danielle and took back all of the Witchblade. It was only after Danielle was selected as the next Angelus host and Sara was purified of the dark influence that the latter was restored back to her previous, normal self.
Sara tried to redeem herself for all the things she had done post coming under the influence of the Dark-half of the Witchblade. It was then that an Internal Affairs agent called Phipps, having learned about the Witchblade’s truth, all thanks to Jake McCarthy’s diary, came face to face with Sara. He asked her either to resign or give up on the Witchblade to avoid getting exposed. No points for guessing what Sara chose.
Sara Pezzini is later seen moving to Chicago and working as a private investigator.
The Divine Powers Of The Witchblade
By now, we all know that the Witchblade being male in nature requires a female host to bond with. Well, there have been a few instances where it has bonded with a male, but that has been for a very short time span. The Witchblade decides who it wants to bond with or in other words, who is deserving enough to be its wielder. If the host happens to be unworthy or even becomes one in the process, it will straightaway cut off their right arm.
As a wielder of the Witchblade, the host is granted a host of divine powers and abilities that include superhuman strength, endurance, invulnerability, pyrokinesis, shapeshifting as well as a healing factor; one that allows her to heal fatal wounds such as gunshots, explosives as well as energy blasts. Let’s not forget how the Witchblade covers its host with adaptive armor that not only provides her protection from attacks but also lets her form weapons such as swords and blades. To add more, the Witchblade is also quite capable of reviving the dead. Also, as a wielder of the mystical artifact, the host is quite capable of communicating with the previous wielders of the Witchblade, granting the user some kind of otherworldly assistance and unfolding new secrets about it at the same time.
Witchblade In Other Media
TV Series
Based on the Witchblade comic book series, this American television series created by Ralph Hemecker aired on TNT, spanning across two seasons and generating 24 gripping episodes from 2001 to 2002. Starring Yancy Butler, Anthony Cistaro, and David Chokachi in the leading roles, the series follows the escapades of NYPD homicide detective Sara Pezzini as the wielder of the Witchblade. The mystical artifact has existed for a very long time and has been choosing its rightful host for generations. After it bonds with Pezzini, it grants her a host of powers and also has its own agendas to be taken care of.
As per Top Cow editor Matt Hawkins, the series was and in fact, still remains the highest (what?) television show to get canceled. Despite getting canceled, Witchblade made it to the list of the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for the year 2002.
Anime Series
While it is loosely based on the comic book series, mind you the 2006 anime series is not an adaptation of the original story. Right from new characters being introduced to a whole new setting, the series stands out in the crowd. Directed by Yoshimitsu Ohashi and written by Yasuko Kobayashi, the anime version is often held controversial by some fans because apparently Japanese anime studio Gonzo had declared that the leading character would be of Japanese ethnicity but won’t be amongst the earlier wielders of the Witchblade – Itagaki, Shiori-Sama or Yuka-chan for that matter. An entirely new character called Masane Amaha was introduced, which also meant a whole new story with fresh characters. However, the storyline was set in the same continuity as the comic book.
Coming back to the anime series, it featured an anime prologue for every episode that said –
“Sought by the greed of men since the dawn of humankind, but only bestowed upon the women whose fate it forever scars…the Witchblade. Is it the righteous sword of God? Or hand of the Devil himself? Now, a new bearer has been chosen. And she must discover the answers for herself. As she stands on the brink of destiny, she is forced to seek the balance between ecstasy and ruin.”
Masane is introduced in the series as the main protagonist. Having had her memory wiped out during the Great Quake that destroyed Tokyo, Masane was found miraculously unhurt and holding a baby girl in her arms. She comes back to Tokyo after six long years along with the child that she believes is her daughter – all in the hopes of leading a tranquil, trouble-free life. However, she gets inadvertently involved in a power struggle taking place between a large corporation and a government agency. As fate would have it, she learns about the mysterious bracelet on her right wrist, which was the legendary Witchblade.