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History

Family Origin[]

Victoria Montesi was the apparent daughter of Vittorio Montesi, a priest assigned to work in the Occult Archives in Vatican City. The Montesi priests were given special permission to marry and have children (a papal decree by Pope Eugene VIII in the 12th century A.D.) due to their strong resistance to the corruption of the Darkhold, a collection of scrolls (later bound together by the church and given the moniker "The Book of Sins") penned by the Elder God, Chthon.[2] The Montesi family was instrumental in finding what came to be known as the Montesi Formula, a page in the Darkhold which could destroy all vampires.[3]

Her father was sterile,[4][5][verification needed] but judging that an heir was needed more than ever to continue the family's fight against evil, he gave in to the corruption of the Darkhold and made a bargain with Chthon for a daughter,[citation needed] using a spell of fertility from the Darkhold. Instead of impregnating her mother with Vittorio Montesi's seed, Chthon used the spell to birth his own daughter into the world. Victoria consequently sensed the Darkhold pages being used, as she was one with their power.[4][5][verification needed] Chthon's plan was to use her as a means to be reborn into Earth's dimension and make a mockery of her family's mission.[6]

Early Life[]

She grew up in Italy unaware of her true nature. She rejected her father's teachings about the Church and the Darkhold, while he in turn rejected her for being a woman and a lesbian, unfit in his eyes to carry on the Montesi name. Vicki became a doctor, but faced further discrimination for being a "mongrel" with an American mother. Assassins were sent by Lilith (Mother of Demons) to kill her, for Victoria was one of the fated Nine who would oppose Lilith.

Victoria's lover Nash Salvato was seriously wounded in a bomb blast meant for Victoria, leaving her paralyzed for life. After her own injuries, Vicki found she experienced visions of the Darkhold whenever its pages were being used. Realizing her father's teachings were true, she decided to oppose the Darkhold.[7]

Victoria Montesi (Earth-616) from Darkhold Pages from the Book of Sins Vol 1 7 001

Darkhold Redeemers[]

Victoria formed the Darkhold Redeemers with Louise Hastings and bodyguard Sam Buchanan. They were further assisted by Modred the Mystic during his periods of clarity. However, they were unhappy with his self-centered goals and moments of being untrustworthy.[8]

Darkhold Pages from the Book of Sins Vol 1 14

Victoria eventually learned the facts that she was not a Montesi, her father being sterile, and her true origin as the Daughter of Chthon.[4][5] Worse still, when Lilith and her Lilin attacked, Victoria suddenly realized she was pregnant. Doctor Strange deduced that this was Chthon's plan all along, to be reborn on Earth. Strange placed Victoria into stasis in order to prevent her pregnancy from coming to full term.[6]

Chthon's forces came for Victoria and brought her out of stasis. She began to deliver the baby. However, by attempting to take the form of Victoria's baby Chthon left himself vulnerable. Doctor Strange was able to stop the powerful Elder God, showing him that there was purity within even Victoria, a being made from his dark essence. The Midwife also assisted Strange as her duty to preserve life was greater than serving Chthon.[9]

Children of the Midnight Sun[]

Now able to live a normal life, Victoria was believed to have returned to Italy. At some point Victoria joined the Children of the Midnight Sun, an organization dedicated to opposing the Darkhold Cult. When the cult attacked a village in Punjab, India, Victoria rescued a young boy named Yuvraj Singh, who became her close friend and ally for several decades.[10]

When she received word that the Darkhold had resurfaced and been acquired by the symbiote-powered serial killer Carnage, who had been altered and empowered by it. Getting in touch with Claire Dixon, the FBI agent formerly in charge of the operation to capture Carnage, Victoria offered to sponsor her team's efforts.[11] When Claire was captured by Carnage and bonded to a Darkhold-corrupted symbiote, Victoria assumed direct leadership of the team, though the other members expressed doubts over her mysterious past.[12]

The team was soon joined by Jubulile van Scotter, a young woman who assisted Kasady on her boat when she found him adrift, unaware he was a homicidal lunatic. Jubulile had also been merged to a symbiote in a failed attempt from Carnage to control her before she escaped from him.[13] Jubulile's symbiote also caused her to share a psychic bond with Carnage.[14]

Montesi's team finally located Carnage after the maniac delved deep into a mysterious uncharted island. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, as Carnage had already reached an ancient temple where he started a ritual to summon Chthon.[15] Armed with her own symbiote, the Toxin symbiote from Brock, and the Raze symbiote from Dixon, Jubulile confronted Chthon when he arrived. Montesi retrieved the Darkhold from Carnage and used it to further empower Jubulile with the psychic energies of the entire world. This final power-up allowed Jubulile to banish Chthon. When the dust settled, the anti-Carnage task force disbanded. Their members bid farewell to each other and parted ways. Montesi refused to accompany Manny Calderon, with whom she shared a mutual affection, stating it was her responsibility to deliver the Darkhold to the Children of the Midnight Sun. When Manny wondered if she would see Victoria again, Montesi assured her time had many stories to tell.[16]

Attributes

Power Grid[19]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Some Training:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/None:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

  • The Montesi family was believed to be uniquely incorruptible when faced with the Darkhold. Victoria demonstrated the additional abilities of being able to sense when spells were cast by the Darkhold,[7] and was invisible to the N'Garai demons summoned from the book.[17]
  • However, Victoria's abilities were actually derived from her heritage as the Daughter of Chthon. Her body acted as a gateway through which Chthon's power was being channeled to the Darkhold, allowing non-mystically trained individuals to use the pages. The N'Garai ignored her because they considered her Chthonspawn as well, not because she was invisible or protected.[4]
As a result of her being Chthonspawn, Victoria's aging has slowed to the extent that she has appeared to be roughly thirty years old for the last four-to-five decades.[14]

Notes

See Also

Links and References

References

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