| Jennifer Kale | |
|---|---|
 Jennifer Kale. Art by Andrea Broccardo. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure into Fear #11 (December 1972) |
| Created by | Steve Gerber Rich Buckler |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jennifer Kale |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Legion of Night The Command Midnight Sons Witches |
| Partnerships | Dakimh the Enchanter Howard the Duck Man-Thing Korrek |
| Notable aliases | Witch Woman |
| Abilities |
|
Jennifer Kale is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerSteve Gerber and artistRich Buckler, the character first appeared inAdventure into Fear #11 (December 1972).[1] Jennifer Kale isJohnny Blaze's cousin[2][3] and asorceress who is part of the Cult of Zhered-Na.[4][5] She has also been a member of theLegion of Night and theMidnight Sons at various points in her history.[6][7]
The character made her live-action debut in theMarvel Cinematic Universe miniseriesAgatha All Along, portrayed bySasheer Zamata.
Jennifer Kale was originally based on one ofSteve Gerber's friends, Jennifer Meyer.[8]
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Jennifer Kale debuted inAdventure into Fear #11 (December 1972),[9] created bySteve Gerber andRich Buckler.[10]
Jennifer was born into the Kale family of sorcerers in the FloridaEverglades. Attuned to mystical forces since birth, she began studying her family's history of magic. Jennifer became an apprentice ofDakimh the Enchanter and the two of them acted as allies of theMan-Thing, a creature that protected a Nexus of All Realities centered in the Everglades.
Jennifer has been advised by her grandfather Joshua (even after his death), who had been a mystical Cult leader when alive. His spirit continued this after she left her training with Dakimh and attempted to live a normal life as a college student. Regardless of her efforts at normalcy for many years she has been drawn into numerous magical conflicts. Examples include her kidnapping byBaron Mordo,[11] discovering a familial connection to theGhost Rider,[12] and other adventures assisting the mutant team known asX-Force.[13]
Jennifer Kale was recruited byDoctor Strange, alongside fellow magiciansTopaz andSatana, to form the group known as theWitches, hoping to keep the world safe from mystical threats and stop would-be thieves from stealing her family book.[14] This team was short-lived and Kale next appeared withWundarr the Aquarian andSiege as a member of Florida'sFifty State Initiative team, in an encounter with zombies from theMarvel Zombies universe,[15] and a Skrull invasion.[16] After the Initiative Jennifer appears as part of the newMidnight Sons team, once again fighting the Marvel Zombies.[17]
Because Strange had abused his position asSorcerer Supreme, he had to seek out a successor, searching all over Earth. He managed to track down Jennifer with great difficulty, ultimately deciding that she was not the one despite his belief in her high abilities.[18]
Jennifer tried to stop theThunderbolts from using the Man-Thing as their transportation, recalling him to the swamp to fight off an invasion from the Nexus of All Realities. Eventually, she realized that the Man-Thing was willingly working with the Thunderbolts, and that she would simply need to alert him any time someone broke through.[19]
Jennifer is apparently killed byVictoria Hand who is at the time possessed byDaniel Drumm.[20] Drumm wanted to eliminate all users of dark magic before enacting his revenge on Doctor Strange and the New Avengers.[21]
Jennifer uses dark magic to return to life, but at the cost of having no skin on the right side of her face. Her resurrection is kept mostly secret from the world, butMaria Hill recruits her to supportElektra againstBullseye and theHand.[22]
Jennifer Kale held tremendous potential for wielding magic and has since honed it through many years of intensive training and tutelage. Though her training was based upon the brand of magic wielded by Zhered-Na, she has since been tutored by other sorcerers and she is also self-taught to a degree. Jennifer Kale can fire magical bolts, form shields, open dimensional portals, mesmerize people, affect the memories of others, teleport herself and others, and cast numerous spells for a variety of effects.
The Tome of Zhered-Na is named after the antediluvian sorceress who foretold the end of Atlantis, and the Tome allegedly possessed all the mysticism known to man and demonkind at the time of its creation. For speaking this truth, Zhered-Na was banished and set adrift upon the sea. While she floated, her god, Valka, whispered secrets to her about the world and the world of the future. After many weeks she landed at Thuria and founded the Cult of Zhered-Na. She lived and taught there until she was slain by the demonD'Spayre. Atlantis met its fate that same day. Two spirits rescued the wisdom of Zhered-Na and decades later gave it to Illyana Kale, the descendant of a cult member. Kale was inspired then to write the Tome. Certain deities felt that too many secrets were contained inside the Book, so they placed the demon Hellphyr inside its pages to ward away unwelcome users. When the Book was recently opened and Hellphyr was released, Illyana's descendant Jennifer Kale joined with fellow witches Topaz and Satana to stop the demon and save the Tome. The Tome of Zhered-Na is currently with Jennifer Kale. Though presumably less powerful than theDarkhold or theBook of the Vishanti, it is nonetheless powerful enough to strike awe into theSorcerer SupremeDoctor Strange and was sealed so only a member of the Jennifer Kale lineage could access it, and only then assisted by a representative of divinity and a representative of the Underworld.
Adam Barnhardt ofComicBook.com called Jennifer Kale "one of Marvel's most popular horror characters."[23] Bradley Prom ofScreen Rant asserted, "She was initially introduced as a supporting character to Man-Thing but she’s developed to be a hero of her own right."[24] Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Jennifer Kale a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.[25] Eric Diaz ofNerdist included Jennifer Kale in their list of "Marvel Witches We Want to See" inAgatha All Along.[26] Nitish Vashishtha ofSportskeeda ranked Jennifer Kale 5th in their "10 Strongest Marvel Witches" list.[27]
Alternate versions of Jennifer Kale appear inWhat If?:
An alternate version of Jennifer Kale appears inRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa's 2008Marvel MAX retelling of Man-Thing's origin (which is supposed to beRoderick Krupp's interpretation of the story — Krupp is considered highly untrustworthy byUlysses Bloodstone[30]). Jennifer Kale is 22 years old, and 10-year-old Andrew Kale's legal guardian (they were much closer in age in the original material). She works as an exotic dancer as the Witch Woman, which also doubles for her witch's-garb when she is actually casting spells.[31] She helps to save some amateur documentarians from mutates created in the Super Soldier Experiments, but not fromEllen Brandt leading forces ofA.I.M., although she is able to protect herself and Andy from A.I.M. using a magic chalk circle.[32]
An alternate version of Jennifer Kale appears in theSecret Wars storyline. She is from Earth-11234 and resides on theBattleworld domain ofWeirdworld. She is the Queen of theMan-Things that reside in the Forest of the Man-Things. After a brief conversation with the two warriors, the Swamp Queen forcedArkon andSkull the Slayer to face their fears in order to survive it and become her allies against le Fay. However, only Skull the Slayer accepted the offer to become her ally while Arkon continued to look for his kingdom of Polemachus.[33] Arkon eventually joined up with the Swamp Queen's forces which now include a resurrectedCrystar, Warbow, an army of Eyemazons, an army of Hawksqutaches, an army of Man-Wolves, and an army of Savage Elves. Both the Swamp Queen's forces and the forces of Morgan le Fay fought each other. When Battleworld fell apart, neither side was victorious and Weirdworld appeared on Earth-616 in theBermuda Triangle.[34]
During an incident inWeirdworld that destroyed the normal flow of time, a common occurrence on Weirdworld, the Swamp Queen had a romance withDeadpool that lasted for years. Deadpool threw this relationship away to kill a target that was hiding on Weirdworld.[35]
Jennifer Kale appears in theDisney+ /Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseriesAgatha All Along, portrayed bySasheer Zamata.[36][37] This version is a witch specializing inpotions who, after suffering a magical block, cannot use her powers. She is also a beauty guru, social media influencer and owner of Kale Kare, a cosmetics establishment which has been involved in multiple lawsuits for damage to health. Kale had her powers bound byAgatha Harkness, though she believed a doctor was to blame. Over a century later, in 2026, Kale was approached by Harkness to join hercoven to walk the Witches' Road. Hoping to regain her powers, Kale accepted. Enduring a series of harrowing trials, Kale soon learned the mysterious teenager accompying them wasBilly Maximoff, son ofScarlet Witch. As they approached the end of the road, Kale was left as one of the only survivors. In the last trial, she learned that it was Harkness who bound her. Infuriated, Kale freed herself by renouncing Harkness and thus regaining her powers. Exiting the Road and emerging in Westview, Kale flew away.