Sepulcre

• Sepulcre is occult investigator Jillian Woods, also known as Shadowoman. For the most part, Jillian exists in shadow form, all that remains of her soul. She can tap into the Darkforce, allowing her to generate darkness, create shadowy constructs, phase through solid matter, melt into shadows, and fly. She is also virtually immune to physical harm.
• When she was a child, Jillian’s father abandoned her and her mother, who ended up taking a lot of low paying jobs and a lot of boyfriends. After she finished high school, Jillian left home and attended the University of San Francisco (thankfully, she qualified for financial aid.). She became fascinated with the occult and attended a lecture given by Dr. Anthony Druid. In a strange twist of fate, it turned out that their souls had known each other long ago when Jillian’s soul inhabited an alchemist and Druid’s soul inhabited a British princess. Unfortunately, the alchemist had been slain by the British princess' brother for having defiled her. Jillian and Dr. Druid became romantically involved after the two of them realized the truth about their shared history.
• Then, one day, Dr. Druid took possession of several mystic artifacts once owned by Magnus, who had once been a mentor to Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman. A demon was released by one of the items, and it promptly assaulted Jillian, killing her outright. However, Dr. Druid restored Jillian by using the Bride of Slorioth statue to retain her soul. This was how she received her Darkforce powers. Strangely enough, Jillian was totally unaware that she had been killed by the demon. However, every time she asked him how she got the way she was, Druid promptly cast her back into the Bride of Slorioth statue, where she was housed whenever Druid didn’t need her.
• Not long afterward, Jillian took the name Shadowoman and joined Dr. Druid’s group of occult investigators, Shock Troop. She later helped him reorganize the Secret Defenders. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Dr. Druid and Shadowoman, the statue that housed Jillian also contained the dark side of Dr. Druid’s soul. It was this dark side that explained to Jillian exactly what Anthony Druid had done to her. She emerged from the statue, furious as hell that Druid had lied to her. Jillian attacked Dr. Druid, but he managed to convince her to spare him by telling her that their next mission would free them from her curse (among other things). The still irate Shadowoman changed her name and appearance and started calling herself Sepulcre from there on out. As Sepulcre, Jillian helped Druid take on both the original Defenders and Slorioth himself. It should be noted that Sepulcre took on the Silver Surfer and bested him in battle.
• However, the real threat turned out to be Dr. Druid’s dark side, which attacked Jillian and the original Defenders. During the battle, Druid dissolved Jillian’s form. After the Living Tribunal and the Vishanti helped defeat Dr. Druid and Slorioth, a character named Joshua Pryce tried to restore Jillian to life. When she begged him to let her die, Pryce responded by telling her, “Better to live, forever a Shadowoman...than to die a Sepulcre!”. He then restored her to life.
• When last seen, Jillian helped Lindsay McCabe and Julia Carpenter, the second Spider-Woman, rescue Jessica Drew, who had been a prisoner of the Void-Eater. This story was the last one written by Mark Gruenwald before his death. Something else to mention: Marvel editor Tom Brevoort co-wrote all of Jillian's appearances in SECRET DEFENDERS!
• SIDE NOTE: As Shadowoman, Jillian wore Jessica Drew’s old Spider-Woman costume, an outfit given to her by Dr. Druid, who found it when he obtained a number of items owned by Magnus, Jessica’s former mentor.
• SEPULCRE'S LIST OF APPEARANCES:
• Quasar#45-46, 50
• Secret Defenders#15-25
• Sensational Spider-Man Annual 1996

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