History
Odessa Drake was raised with the traditions of the New York branch of the Thieves Guild, a secret society of criminals whose influence had greatly waned in prior decades. Following the death of her father, Castillo Drake, Odessa continued her father's search for immortality, succeeding when she made a deal with a demon.[1] After stepping into leadership, she set out to return the Guild to prominence. Her tactics were ruthless, and consisted mostly on the assassination of other criminals in debt with the Thieves Guild.[2] As an attestation of the Thieves Guild's rebirth and a reminder of their power, Drake orchestrated the theft of pieces of equipment and gear from members of the superhero community.[3]
As a member of the Thieves Guild, the Black Cat knew of their plan, and believed crippling the superhero community was too extreme of a measure since the safety of the general public depended on it. Felicia enlisted Spider-Man's help to infiltrate the Upstate New York safe house where the Guild was guarding the stolen goods. Odessa became aware of the Black Cat's plan and confronted her and Spider-Man of her betrayal.[2] Drake offered Felicia to make amends if she joined their side, but she refused, prompting Odessa to order her henchmen to take her down and kill Spider-Man. Odessa eventually tried to send Spider-Man and Black Cat into their magically-secure vault alongside their loot. Spider-Man managed to use one of the stolen items, Ms. Marvel's phone, to alert the heroes, prompting Drake and the Thieves Guild to flee before the spell was complete. Despite their plan to keep the loot having failed, Drake was satisfied that the heist successfully put the Thieves Guild back on the map.[4]
Some time after Knull's failed invasion of Earth, Odessa was approached by Black Cat, who informed her that the latter's mentor, the Black Fox, had stolen the Guild's gift of immortality by offering the Deed to Manhattan to the Gilded Saint. Drake eventually agreed to help Felicia, on the agreement that Black Fox would be taken out of the picture in exchange. The Guild's priests opened a portal for Felicia to enter the vault where she convinced the Gilded Saint that Black Fox would cheat the deity out of their deal by rigging the Manhattan Deed to incinerate itself. Believing Black Fox to be responsible for the loss of his prize, the Gilded Saint pulled him into the vault as punishment, saving Manhattan. During a celebration that night, Odessa met Felicia on the roof, where they discussed whether or not they could really maintain a relationship with each other, with Hardy stating that one night was all they needed before the two kissed, later having a one-night stand.
One month later, Felicia came to Odessa again, revealing that the former's mother was dying of cancer, and requested that she be given immortality through joining the Thieves Guild's inner circle. While expressing her sympathy for Hardy's situation, Odessa refused, stating that she had already bent the rules for Felicia's sake too many times, causing Hardy to storm off angrily, claiming she would find another way to save her mother. Another month later, Odessa would help Black Cat escape pursuit from Nick Fury, Jr. by threatening to fire a rocket at the helicopter he was in, forcing him to pull back. She and Felicia then had a brief discussion, Drake warning Hardy that the nature of her plan was dangerous, and that she worried for her, with Felicia brushing her off and claiming that once the job was done, that would be the end of it.Attributes
Powers
Notes
- Odessa was mistakenly drawn without her tattoos in Black Cat #12.
Trivia
- Odessa Drake is one of the wealthiest people on the American East Coast.[3]
- According to Black Cat's mentor Black Fox, Odessa has romantic feelings for the Black Cat.[1]
- In Black Cat (Vol. 2) #3 Odessa was shown to be one of Felicia's former lovers.
- Odessa pronounces the name of Spider-Man as "Spiderman" without using the hyphen, which irritates him.
See Also
- 15 appearance(s) of Odessa Drake (Earth-616)
- 2 minor appearance(s) of Odessa Drake (Earth-616)
- 5 mention(s) of Odessa Drake (Earth-616)
- 15 image(s) of Odessa Drake (Earth-616)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Odessa Drake (Earth-616)