Warrior Nun Areala
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Warrior Nun Areala collectively refers to a series of manga-style American comic books published by Antarctic Press. They were originally created by Ben Dunn in December 1994 and have endured on and off in various incranations until the present day. The story revolves around Sister Shannon Masters of the Silver Cross, a fictional military order of Warrior Nuns and Magic Priests in service of the Catholic Church. The order was created in 1066 when a Valkyrie named Auria who renounced her pagan ways and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation; ever since then, Auria, now Areala, has chosen an avatar ever generation to carry on the mission. In modern times, this has grown to a world spanning organization in the service of the Catholic Church with the current Areala, Sister Shannon Masters as the best and brightest. With her friends beside her, Sister Shannon has led the forces of good against those of evil, ever serving the Lord with faith and humility.
Ben Dunn, who attended a Catholic school, was inspired after reading a story about an order of New York nuns who studied Judo and Taekwondo. He explained the concept in Warrior Nun Areala: Rituals #4's letter column where in he wrote that "If Hell were an actual physical place with physical manifestations then they would be subject to some of the physical laws of nature would they not? Of course that would mean Heaven too would be pysical place. While this may not be so in our world it certainly is so in WNA's world. Therefore, things would progress differently. To the Vatican in WNA's world 'thou shalt kick Satan's ass!'." However, in creating the character, Dunn sought to distinguish Areala from scantily clad bad girl antiheroines with which she might be confused. Quoted in USA Today, he stressed that "I made it a very strong point that she doesn't kill people, only demons," and that "She believes everybody -- no matter how bad they've been -- can be saved." [1]
Website Comicsutra states "That's what makes Warrior Nun Areala so special. At its core, it portrays people who have unshakable faith in God and their religion... Its affection for nuns is also evident — and sometimes returned. One real nun asked about Warrior Nun Areala noted that she and her colleagues give poor children college prep-level educations — that they are superheroes. Amen, sister." [2]
[edit] Critical Reception
While Warrior Nun Areala in its various incarnations has had its loyal followers, there has been controversy over its use of religous imagery. Some, including comic book fans (including Areala fans) have charged Antarctic press with "nunsploitation" in the character of Areala. In comparing it to old standbys of "nuns with guns" such as anime/manga Chrono Crusade, Mike Toole states that Dunn's idea of a "woman who slays monsters in a habit and... a bikini" is novel but that it "just doesn't make any goddamned sense." [3].
Such sentiments also extend to members the real Roman Catholic Church. Real priests and nuns sent their letters in alternately praising and condemning the series. For example, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a speaker for Washington, D.C.'s United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that Areala's costume is "offensive. The habit is something sacred." [4] That is seen in early issues with how the upper half of Sister Shannon's battle habit would bare her cleavage and/or show erect nipples through the cloth while the lower half consists of a loin cloth, if that much in other Warrior Nuns. Dunn states the loin cloth is "for mobility." (This was resolved by having Sister Shannon's superior assign the Warrior Nuns new more modest battle habits in the second series, Warrior Nun: Rituals, to replace the previous ones that she felt were "a bit too revealing!")
However, this was addressed in an issue that bordered on breaking the fourth wall where Sister Shannon took took her ward Jason to a fan convention. There he bought a copy of "Battle Nun Areola" whereon she criticised him; he sheepishly said that it was just a comic book. Acknowledging that there were bigger problems to face and that she shouldn't take such fantasy too seriously, she decided to let Jason keep his comic. She said "Why I've never even read the book..." Indeed, despite such a strange portrayal of religion and Catholicism, the Church and its clergy are portrayed as a force for good and are shown in a positive heroic light, almost without exception. When Areala was accused of being a "bad girl" comic, Barry Lyga, who wrote the second Areala series countered, "Issue #2 had not a single punch thrown. When was the last time anyone saw a so-called 'bad girl' comic without a fight scene?" [5] In fact the same Sister Mary Ann Walsh, despite disliking Sister Shannon's battle habit, adds that the creation of Areala comes from someone with "a positive feeling toward sisters. [...] Nuns are superheroes."
In the opposite direction, there have been Anti-Christian comic book fans that have criticized Warrior Nun Areala for having portrayed the Church positivly at all. Also, while Dunn made it a point to focus on escapist storytelling, some people wrote in commenting on and requesting stories dealing with current issues in the Catholic Church. For example, Lyga's second series featured Sister Shannon asking herself if she should protect the Church from a man seeking revenge for alleged church involvement with the ratlines. One person noted that the characters' "complaints about the magic priests having more money — even though the warrior nuns, not the magic priests, are on the front lines against demons — ring true after seeing the stories last year [source quoted in 1997] about people "adopting" elderly nuns to help a convent stay afloat or articles about burial costs for nuns being subsidized by the state." [6] Or, when one of Sister Shannon's fellow nuns asked why they could not recieve the Magic Priests' training in the supernatural, she replied that it was for the same reason the Church forbids the ordination of women, something that causes controversy within the fictional Church of Warrior Nun Areala as it does in the real Church.
[edit] Origin
The story of the Warrior Nuns begins in 1066 with a Scandinavian girl named Auria who was born to a pagan father and a Christian mother. Impressed by her fighting prowess, Odin called her to serve as a Valkyrie; however, she was disillusioned when she saw that Odin would only accept warriors who had died in battle into Valhalla, even if they were wicked, and disregard good people who died peaceful deaths. In her own words, she would "not stay and serve a god of death! A god who would allow those with no honor to be his most prized warriors!" Due to this and to Loki's decietful machinations, Auria then renounced her father's gods, dedicated herself to the God, the Holy Trinity, and waged a one-woman war against Asgard. At that, Yahweh, God Almighty--in her words "the only true God"--accepted her conversion and gave the former Valkyrie the Christian name Areala.
Though she was ultimately killed by Tyr, she was reunited with her mother and her father, who converted to Christianity shortly before his death, in Heaven. Now an angel of the Heavenly host, Areala was counseled by her mother to continue her work through others. That was she she saw a nun seeking to escape Viking raiders in Norway. On seeing this, she then felt no regrets at having left Valhalla and felt disgust at having been part of a pagan pantheon that would be, and was, destroyed regardless in Ragnarök. She gave the sister her name and power and, with the first Warrior Nun Areala thus empowered, the order of the Warrior Nuns was begun.
[edit] Modern Times
In modern times, the Order of the Cruciform Sword, a military order of warrior nuns, serves the Roman Catholic Church, which in Warrior Nun Areala is portrayed as literally being the instrument of God's will on Earth, and protects it from natural and supernatural threats such as demons, witches, Satanists, werewolves, oni, Evil Angels, Nazi mystics, and other monsterous slaves of the Devil, thus ensuring that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail."[7] Formally established by Pope Gregory VII sometime between 1073 and 1085, they do so with the vows of vigilance, chastity, and faith laid down by Sister Areala. (These vows differ from the more familiar vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience because the latter were set up in 12th and 13th century, long after the Warrior Nuns began.) They, alongside the Magic Priests, serve in the Vatican's secret paramilitary Silver Cross Program and are under the leadership of Cardinal Shoc with Mother Superion as his right hand woman. They, of course, have their world headquarters in Vatican City, specifically underneath St. Peter's Basilica.
Doing battle against Satan in all his forms, Warrior Nuns and their ilk seen to operate in the United States, Europe, Japan and other places around the world. For the most part, future Warrior Nuns are chosen at birth from promising orphans and receive basic training from girlhood at military academies/orphanages, such as the St. Thomas Academy in upper New York State, where the current Areala was trained. Once they complete their training and are accepted as Warrior Nuns, the young women can and often do customize their battle habits. For example, Sister Shannon's adopted sister Sasuki, a Japanese Warrior Nun, gives her uniform a Ninja motiff.
Men of their brother organization, the Order of Magic Priests, receive their training at the same academies though their training emphasizes the supernatural over combat. These powers they cultivate include but are not limited to flight, firing energy bolts, detecting demonic forces, and using Jedi Mind Trick like powers of suggestion. In a flashback to Father David's youth shows that the powers that he and his fellow Magic Priests use are gifts from God similar to the anointing of power of the Holy Spirit. However, while both they and the Warrior Nuns seem to be touched, only the Magic Priests are fully trained; Sister Shannon, for example, has the powers of exorcism and healing, two hallmark abilities of those touched by the Holy Spirit in the Bible's Acts of the Apostles, but no more. For example, no one is seen to speak in tongues. In fact, it is unlikely that, despite their name, the Magic Priests wield true magic at all because of the Bible's stance against sorcery. Comparisons between magic and miracles can be found in The Book of Acts or in The Book of Exodus. However, there are warrior priests as well such as the late "Black Hand" the Pope's personal Special forces team. There are also "Techno-Priests" specializing in advanced technology.
Yet, while they do not receive full training in the supernatural, Warrior Nuns are still trained in the martial arts and in swordsmanship and are the equals of any Army Ranger, SEAL, or Green Beret. Warrior Nuns have been traditionally equipped with Holy Swords made to slay demons, but that, in concert with their mission, often pass harmlessly through humans. However, when they pass through an especially wicked person, such as one who had made a deal with the Devil, that Sword will trigger visions of Hell inside the person's mind, sending him or her into shock. The effect varies on other non demonic beings; for example, when adventurer and were-cheetah, Brittany "Cheetah" Diggers was brainwashed by Neo Nazi Dr. Frederick Ottoman and sent to kill Sister Shannon, she was dealt a blow by Sister Shannon's sword. While she was merely left unconscious and woke up healthy and free from mind control, were-cheetahs serving Ottoman of their free will fought Sister Shannon were wounded by her sword. The Warrior Nuns and the rest of the Silver Cross Program's members may also use other relics or other religious objects of significance.
Supernatural weapons are not the only ones at the Silver Cross' disposal. Part of this is due to an almost alternate history question poised by creator Ben Dunn: if demons were to walk the Earth with mortal feet, would not the Vatican have embraced and encouraged high technology early on to counter them? As such the Techno-Priest's innovations allow the Warrior Nuns to access the finest teleportation technology, firearms, energy weapons or "rayguns", jet packs, heavy artillery and high-tech vehicles--from single passenger hover cars to supercarrier sized airships--that the Holy See can provide them. Indeed, the order includes a small navy and air force, the latter being the Black Angel Corps. The Warrior Nuns, and presumably the Magic Priests as well, have full access to the Vatican's database called Gabriel in the comic book after the angel and shown as a benevolent machine with full artificial intelligence. They can also use cybernetic enhancements, an example of which is Sister Shannon's artificial limb, and have a full Satellite array dubbed Crown of Thorns. It is used mostly for communications of course but also for teleportation. Robots are also used by the Silver Cross for heavy work and are sometimes used in conjunction with Holodeck like holograms and virtual reality for training purposes.
Over the series, the men and women of Silver Cross have met with heroes and villains of other belief systems and their relationships with them have varied. They have sisters in the Church of England's Warrior Nuns who, in World War II, worked with Druids to prevent Nazi invasion of Britain during the Blitz. Sister Shannon's own adopted grandfather was a Shinto priest and her patron, Saint Areala the Angel of War, was a being from Norse mythology before converting to Christianity. She has met and befriended Buddhist warrior nuns whose (fictionalized) Shaolin Monastery she sees as "magnificent... rivaling even the Vatican!" She has also fought against Jewish anti-hero, the Hammer, empowered by Kabbalah mysticism and has fought with heroines with Egyptian mythology motiffs. All religions--except for devil worship and witchcraft--are shown to have a degree of truth and though Sister Shannon is leery of any non-Abrahamic religion, privately seeing pagan gods as shams and hers as the one true church, she is quick to apologize for any insensitive remarks she might make concerning beliefs differing from her own. However, as in times past, when the faith of others in their gods is put to the test, faith in the Almighty God always proves the stronger. An example of this is seen when on meeting Buddist warrior nuns, Sister Shannon was asked to prove her worth by trail by combat because "only then will we know whose faith is greater." Though outnumbered five-to-one by martial artists with superhuman powers, she won quite handily.
It is said that the Warrior Nuns have a budget that rivals that of the Pentagon but it is never explained how the Church provides that much money for either the Warrior Nuns or the Magic Priests, either from the collection plate, the Vatican Bank, or somewhere else. In that Warrior Nun Areala takes place on an alternate world it is possible that world governments pay the Roman Curia Peter's pence in order to fund its mission of battling demons but that is only speculation. The closest is when one when priest asks Areala that she "not put such a strain on the Vatican's limited resources... For such a small group, you Warrior Nuns spend money like there's no tomorrow!" Regardless, the church heirarchy has repeatedly cut back funding for the Warrior Nuns and has begun to question the need for them at all and rely on the Magic Priests instead. At the moment there are only a few dozen Warrior Nuns currently active down from thousands in times past and some look at it as being "archaic, pointless and superstious ramnant[sic] of the Middle Ages," that is "nothing more then the Catholic equivalent of a kung-fu academy."[8] However, no Pope has ever cleared the decision to dismantle them. In fact, glimpses of the future show that the Silver Cross Program with its attendant Warrior Nuns and Magic Priests will continue for decades, perhaps even centuries to come.
While the story takes place in an alternate world where the Warrior Nuns may freely crossover and meet with other Antarctic Press characteers such as Gold Digger's Brittany "Cheetah" Diggers, the general public does not seem to be aware of them. Bordering as they do on being vigilantes, their relationship with law enforcement varies. American police are aware of the Warrior Nuns and at least do not challenge them. New York police have in fact worked hand in hand with New York's Warrior Nuns and other Warrior Nun Areala superheroes in certain cases. Japanese police, on the other hand, have fought with Japanese Warrior Nuns. Members of the Silver Cross are known to have participated in the Crusades and in modern times they occasionally work with the Swiss Guard.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Saint Areala, Angel of War
The ultimate founder of the Warrior Nuns. She was born in what is now Scandanavia during its Chritianization in the mid 11th century. Her father, Jalmir, was part of the Lost Hand of Tyr, a band of monster slayers dedicated to fighting the werewolf worshippers of Fenris. It was during one such battle that Jalmir met his future wife Dahlia. Though he was a Norse pagan and she was a Christian, they married and had a daughter, Auria, whom Jalmir taught swordcraft and whom Dahlia taught the Christian religion. Growing up between two faiths, she asked her father what would happen to the gods after Ragnarök; quoting one of the last lines of the Völuspá, he replied that "some say a new God will come. One so great that He cannot be named." Auria asked then asked him if this was the God her mother worshipped but he replied that he did not know. (Dahlia was confident of it.)
Later, the grown Auria fought alongside her father against one of Fenris's werewolves wherein she was injured. Impressed by her fighting prowess, Valkyries took her to Asgard to serve in their ranks. Auria accepted and trained there though, as per her mother's teachings, she evangelized by example Christ's teachings of compassion to the pagan gods. Convinced that nothing should distract him from preparing for Ragnarök, not even Tyr, her lover and her father's chief god, would listen. She rose through the ranks and was made a Valkyrie, though she gained an enemy, and rival for Tyr's affections, in her trainer and captain, Helga.
As time passed, Auria grew disillusioned with her role as a soul reaver, especially with how only those who died by violence and had "lived only for battle" could enter Valhalla as Odin's Einheriar, even if they were wicked, while all those who died peaceful deaths, even if they were good, would go to Hel. (While oathbreakers can go to Hel, lawful evil shows one can be a honest villain. Also, while it was possible for those who would fight only in defense of others to enter Valhalla, with how one had to die a violent death regardless meant that those who lived only for battle would still be more likely to go to Valhalla.) After she was sent to acquire the soul of her own father (and mother) who had been murdered due to Loki's machinations, Auria renounced Asgard and completely converted to Christianity. At this, God accepted her conversion and gave her the Christian name of Areala. Just before his and his wife's death, Jalmir renounced his pagan ways and also converted to Christianity; he died soon after but he and his wife were taken up to Heaven by flights of angels, bidding their daughter goodbye.
Thereafter, Areala waged a one woman war on Asgard, routing Helga and her Valkyries right and left to keep any more souls from falling to Odin's grasp. Tyr was sent to stop her and, with her newfound power, was only able to kill her through treachery. Reunited with her family, her mother urged her to continue her battle through others; that was when she found her avatar. Seeing Catholicism as being the true church of Christ, the avatar was a Roman Catholic nun whom she would name Sister Areala.
Soon after, with the defection of their worshippers to another god heralding their doom, the Norse gods faced Ragnarök. Odin then called Areala whose body he had kept preserved; admitting that even the most evil warriors were among his Einheriar, he explained that he had not done so to reward bad behavior. Rather, it was because he wanted every warrior he could to stem the greater evil of Ragnarök. Seeing that she was needed, Saint Areala the Angel of War fought alongside the Norse gods at the battle in order to contain it. She did so when she bid Tyr goodbye and singlehandedly slew Surtr the fire giant.
With the Norse gods having destroyed themselves and their entire cosmos having ceased to exist, Areala formally began her service to the God prophesied to come after Ragnarok, "the God so great that He cannot be named." She gave her name and power to her avatar, Sister Areala, thus beginning a line that endures to this day.
Empowered by God, Saint Areala the Angel of War is shown to have vast superhuman strength, stamina, and resistance to injury. She was also trained in martial arts and swordplay by her warrior father, a Valkyrie captain, and a war god, and has defeated all the aforesaid in battle. As part of her Valkyrie power she is also a rider of winged horses, can render herelf invisible to living mortals, and see what kind of lives mortals lived. However, it is unknown if she can still collect souls. Regardless it is known that she can fly and can go back and forth from Heaven to Earth at will. Since she is pure spirit she cannot be killed. Having drunk Mímir's water, she, while not omnicient, has far reaching knowledge of past, present, and future events.
Mostly, she works with her avatars and fights evil through them, chiefly her original avatar and friend, Sister Areala who confirms or rejects her patron's current choice of vessel. She does so by guiding, empowering, and advising them, something to which Mimir's wisdom is priceless. She highly approves of her current vessel, Sister Shannon. Though not specifically stated, it can be assumed that when not working through her avatar, Areala relaxes in Heaven with her parents and perhaps the original Sister Areala and the Warrior Nuns.
[edit] Sister Areala (Original)
Sister Areala, or more accuarely the original Sister Areala, was the first Warrior Nun, founder of the Warrior Nuns, Saint Areala's first Avatar, and, though dead, is still a major player in the battle between good and evil. She--birth name unknown--was first seen in Norway in the year 1066 fleeing a convent under attack by Viking raiders. While trying to hide from the attackers who would kill and/or rape her they both beheld what she thought was an angel and what they thought was a Valkyrie. This was Areala, once Valkyrie and now Angel, who declared this nun to be her avatar and "the instrument of our Lord's vengeance." She touched the nun who was suddenly filled with superhuman power and great ferocity; she then turned and struck down the vikings.
The confused nun then later spoke with Areala who told her her life story and formally chose her to carry her name and power saying "You are to be the first to carry on my work. Through you and with you, we shall battle the forces of evil and protect the innocent." Now filled with understanding, the nun accepted her new name,Sister Areala, and formally accepted her responsibility. Seven years--or more--later, she went on to found the Order of the Cruciform Sword, or Warrior Nuns, under Pope Gregory VII with their vows of vigilance, chastity, and faith (though the exact words of the vow differs in some comic books). She presumably fought many monsters and saved many lives before her death.
However, though long since dead, Sister Areala is still active in the affairs of her Warrior Nuns. (She has a paternal (maternal?) view of women in her order as "her" Warrior Nuns.) She welcomes dead Warrior Nuns into Heaven and presumably makes them comfortable as reward for a job well done. Not only that but when Saint Areala, the Angel of War, chooses a new avatar, Sister Areala will wait for the person to have a near death experience. She will then consult with her Warrior Nuns who are already in Heaven before deciding whether or not to confirm Saint Areala's choice. If the choice is right, she will awaken the sister's latent power and send her back to Earth to serve as her patron's new avatar through whom Saint Areala may serve the Lord. (Though not specifically mentioned, it can be assumed that if the person is not a worthy avatar for her patron, Sister Areala will not send her back to Earth but allow her to remain in Heaven for having tried her best regardless.)
In near death experiences, Sister Areala has met her patron's current avatar, Sister Shannon, at least twice and has given her advice as the situation dictates. With how it is both a name and a title, the current Warrior Nun Areala may also be called Sister Areala. Also, all known Warrior Nuns Areala have had red hair, like their founder and her patron.
[edit] Sister Shannon Masters
Of all the Warrior Nuns, the most famous of them is their founder, the original Sister Areala who renamed herself after the angel Areala who chose her as her avatar. Since then, every few decades, a new Sister Areala comes along when a sister of the order has a vision of the original Sister Areala or the angel Areala during a near-death experience. Afterwards, the angelic Areala will periodically meet with her avatar, giving her needed advice or information. The current Warrior Nun Areala, is Sister Shannon Masters.
An American, Shannon Masters was born in 1959 and was orphaned at the age of four where on she was left at the steps of a convent, the Our Lady of the Virgin Mary. (Also, since that would make Sister Shannon 48 years old as of 2007, her birthdate may be retconned at a future date.) After showing exceptional academic and athletic abilities, she was chosen for the Silver Cross Program and was raised to be a Warrior Nun at upper New York State's Saint Thomas Academy. Growing up at the Saint Thomas Academy, she wrestled with feelings of self worth over how she had been orphaned. However, she over came those doubts and found a purpose for her life in her service to the Church as did her her adopted sister, Sasuki Yoma of Japan. While Sister Shannon's birth parents are unknown, she was adopted early on into the Yoma family; thus her experience at the academy was more of a boarding school. It was while she trained there under a young Mother Superion that she first met and befriended the future Sister Sarah, her best friend; Father David Crowe, her future love interest; and Shotgun Mary. After being trained at the academy by Mother Superion, she received final training from her at Vatican City.
Though a rookie, Sister Shannon training was completed and she was sent home to New York City where she patrolled two sectors from her assigned parish, Saint Thomas Cathedral in Manhattan on the grounds that she was assigned to an area where there had not been demonic activity since the Purge of 1985. Replacing Sisters Sanguine and Hannah, she soon saw demonic activity surge in New York City after her arrival. (A stock situation in comic books wherein the supervillains can appear only after a hero shows up.) She soon received her calling from the first Sister Areala after she was nearly killed in a battle with minions of Satanist and arms dealer Julius Salvius. On recognizing her as the Chosen One of that generation, the original Sister Areala gave Sister Shannon her name and awakened her latent power. It was made official when the Areala confirmed her as her avatar after a battle against the avatar of mad valkyrie Helga.
Now, Sister Shannon Masters patrols the region and in addition to being the Warrior Nun Areala, she is acknowledged as one of the best and bravest of the order. The other sisters look up to her and she tries to be an effective role model. However, while she is very devoted she initially lacked much combat experience and shows it with the cybernetic arm that replaces her original left arm she lost while combatting Julian's attempts to free Lucifer. Julian claims to have been an ancient Roman was who was cursed by the Christians and may be inspired by Julian the Apostate. When out of combat, Sister Shannon trains, instructs future Warrior Nuns, and (before he left) looked after her ward/"son" Jason, or pray since, as a nun, she is very devout. She is also very sensitive concerning the portrayal of the Church; she, for example, does not like The Flying Nun or in joke-parody Battle Nun Areola. She often dresses in her religious habit, though like a magical girl she would originally utter a command when going into battle, in her case "Hail Mary! Mother of God!" at which her battle habit would appear. Since getting her bionic arm, however, she can use a button to activate the Shard of Omens to summon her battle habit and weapons, though she can still use a voice command to teleport her clothes.
Kind, cheerful, and generous, Sister Shannon has since become an exemplary member of the Warrior Nuns, and has championed many assaults against the Forces of Hell on her own. She has faithfully served the church alongside her mentor Father Terrance Gomez, her on-and-off love interest Father David Crowe, her charge Jason, her superior Mother Superion, her rival Shotgun Mary, her best friend Sister Sarah, and Lillith the Demon Princess. She has also crossed over with and befriended Avengelyne, Glory,and "Bad Girl" vigilante Razor. She is closest to Razor whom, after both were splattered with demon gore from head to toe after a battle, she cheerfully teased and ask if she "can't take it."
While now as a grown woman Sister Shannon does not smoke, she may or may not have been a smoker in her teenage years at the academy.
[edit] Sister Shannon's abilities and weapons
Trained since roughly the age of four, Sister Shannon, like other Warrior Nuns, is master a martial artist and swordswomanan, and an Olympic games level athlete. (She is sometimes drawn with muscularity bordering on that of a female bodybuilder.) She is also trained in other weapons such as the Bō and hand lasers, and is a skilled scuba diver, paratrooper, and hovercar pilot. Her own speeder bike like two seater hovercar is called "Angel Wings." She also has full access to the Vatican's resources. She also speaks fluent Japanese and some Chinese, presumably Standard Mandarin.
In keeping with her character, her attacks have Catholic inspired names such as Virgin Kick, Virgin Shield in which her cybernetic arm will create a forcefield to shield herself, or Holy Rosary Attack, at which her rosary's beads wil separate and fire themselves at the enemy. She also wields other miraculous abilities such as the ability to instantly heal others, an ability called "the healing hand," and is an exorcist. It is likely that all Warrior Nuns have these abilities as Shotgun Mary said that they would have the same abilities as the Magic Priests if they were only fully trained. (By extension, this means that if Sister Shannon were so trained, she would be able to fly, use mind control, or even fire energy bolts.) As the Warrior Nun Areala, she can also call on her patron's power thereby dramatically increasing her own.
Sister Shannon's armor and sword are unique, both of which originally belonged to Areala the Angel of War who, as Auria, first possessed them as one of Odin's Valkyries. When she renounced her pagan ways, God acepted her conversion and stripped her and her weapons of their heathen energies and imbued them with His power. This was symbolized by how Odin's symbol, a sword of violence, was burned away from the armor and was replaced with the Christian cross of sacrifice.
The God Armor or Armor of God grants superhuman power on those who wear it and if damaged, it will repair itself; it also has a self defense mechanism. When seen by the Norse gods, they noticed that it had been imbued with power beyond any known in Asgard; wanting that power, Loki tried to take the armor for himself. For merely touching it, he was reduced to a smoking heap. Worried at what it could do to a pagan god, Odin had the Armor of God sealed away. However, by 1209, and likely earlier, it was in the possesion of the Catholic Church for use mostly by the Warrior Nun Areala. In modern times, its chief user is Sister Shannon though with how its user risks madness and how it makes her sword lethal to anyone, human and demon alike, Sister Shanon will only use it in time of great need.
As for Sister Shannon's sword, it too belonged to Areala and was sealed away, to be later reclaimed by the Church. The Christianized blade is now called the Sword of Antioch, likely named after the city of Antioch due to its role in early Christianity. It, like most holy swords, slays demons and passes through most humans, leaving them unharmed. If the person is evil, the person will feel pain and be traumatized by images of Hell. Unlike other swords like it, it, independent of touch, can also force visions of past crimes on human criminals and/or servants of evil. Even if that person was not aware of what he or she was doing, they will be forced to relive their crimes and see them for what they were; thus, said criminals will feel guilt and repent.
She also has an enhancement in her cybernetic arm. Sister Shannon lost her original left arm early in her career in a battle against demons; she survived and recieved an artificial limb. Aside from her cybernetic arm increasing her strength to the point that she can punch through steel walls, erect an energy shield, it can also generate a hologram to make it look like a real arm. (Writers vary on this. She is sometimes shown to be have two prosthetic arms, one for combat and one for non-combat. Other times it is just one all purpose arm that can disguise itself as a real arm.) A gem inset in it, the Shard of Omens, can "reveal things unknown to man," absorb etheral energy, and summon the God Armor, the rest of her weapons, and/or her battle habit. The Shard has also been shown to fire energy beams though Sister Shannon has no control of that. It may also be upgraded for other tasks. She removes her cyborg arm when going to sleep--presumably to recharge--and re-attaches it in the morning.
[edit] Sister Shannon's Family
Unlike some, Sister Shannon Masters is seen to have an extended family. While her birth parents are not mentioned, she is part of a Japanese family that was headed by an old Shinto priest or Onmyōji named Ota Yoma. (A possible pun with how youma is the Japanse equivilent of monster and how he fought oni, Japanese demons.)
In his youth he served as an captain in World War II's Imperial Japanese Army as a psychic soldier. Early in the Warrior Nun Areala, Yoma tells Shannon that during the war he met and fell in love with a Warrior Nun, Sister Alicia (a.k.a. The Crimson Nun). He confessed to Shannon that he and Sister Alicia stayed together at his house, disregarding their duties, and Sister Alicia her vow of chastity, until the atomic bombing of Hiroshima wherein Captain Yoma left to battle the oni that had been awakened by the first blast. Ota also related that Sister Alicia then left as well, never to see him again until 1948 when she left their young daughter, Sakura, in his care. Later, in Warrior Nun Areala Vol.3 Issue #5, Areala learns from Sister Alicia's associate Father Odysseus Clifton that Ota's story is untrue. It is not revealed why Yoma told Shannon this fabricated story or who the real mother of Yoma's daughter was. He has since died in battle against the oni, Lord Akuma.
After Sakura grew up, whoever her mother was, she gave birth to Sasuki and apparently adopted Shannon. Despite likely being raised in Shinto, both Sasuki and Shannon converted to Catholocism early on ultimately becoming Warrior Nuns, much to their grandfather's dismay. Yet despite the fact that their grandfather belonged to another religion, they loved him regardless. Shannon and Sasuki are very close though they live worlds apart, one in Japan and the other in the United States. Despite being alone in her beliefs, Sister Sasuki is a devoted Kirishitan who sees Christianity as the only way of revitalizing Japan's spiritual soul.
Sasuki and Shannon both knew and loved the now dead Sister Alicia as their grandmother though they wondered at how their grandfather allowed her to keep her faith. Also, while Sister Alicia is dead, she has met her adopted granddaughter in heaven during Sister Shannon's first near-death experience. While it can be assumed that she does love Shannon, she urged the original Sister Areala to send her back to Earth on the grounds that she could still do much for the Lord. Her granddaughter has also researched her World War II exploits as the Crimson Nun, arch-foe of Nazi super-villains.
[edit] Father Terrance Gomez
Father Terrance Gomez is the Pastor of Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan where Sister Shannon is stationed. He is her mentor, friend, and confidante. He trains her in the Danger Room like training facility beneath the church. Though not a Magic Priest, he is in touch with the Church's Silver Cross paramilitary programs. He is also seen to be quite able to take care of himself when monsters attack or try to infiltrate his parish. He is a lifetime comic book collecter of mostly Antarctic Press Comics, going to comic book conventions even at his age; he allegedly buys comic books for parishioners. In his youth he was a Chaplain in the Vietnam War.
[edit] Father David Crowe
Father David Crowe is a member of the Order of Magic Priests, the church's elite band of demon hunting spell casters. Raised and trained at New York's St. Thomas Academy as was Sister Shannon, the two of them have had feelings for one another since childhood. However, due to the vows they both swore as part of their duty they have never consummated their relationship. Even so, Sister Shannon is quite open in admitting her feelings--she calls him David--and even though Father Crowe tries to downplay his love, he is quite protective of her. He will often work with Sister Shannon and often wears his trademark sunglasses.
Father David Crowe is one of the more powerful and influential of the Magic Priests and has shown his skills even as a boy. As a boy, he was at head of his class and on his first try he flew and took young Shannon flying over the academy. Now, as a man, he can fly from Rome to New York City, though that tires him. He has stood up to foes such as the Hammer, a Jewish mystic of the Kabbalah with decades more experience, and hordes of demons. In other, less martial areas, he will write articles for the fictional Jesuit Monthly and often works with the hulking Father Stone.
When Jason was shown to be a potential Magic Priest, Father David recommended he be admitted into the Silver Cross and took the boy under his wing.
[edit] Jason
Jason was Sister Shannon Master's foster son. He was brought to Saint Thomas Church by Shotgun Mary who found being prepared for use as a human sacrifice by devil worshippers. An amnesiac, Jason has no memory of his life before this. He was taken to St. Thomas Church where Father Terrance Gomez took the boy in. Afterwards, with the two of them living in the Church rectory, Sister Shannon raised the boy as her own. However, she admitted to herself that it was not a very normal childhood she was giving Jason, not with his being raised by a sword swinging Warrior Nun. Aside from occasionally serving as her child sidekick, she would teach him right from wrong, and take him to buy ice cream or to comic book conventions.
It was at one comic book convention that he was revealed to have superhuman powers. With that, a very enthusiastic Jason was taken in by Father David Crowe to be trained as a Magic Priest. Yet when Sister Shannon saw the boy she had taken and raised leave her, she could not help but cry.
[edit] Sister Sarah
A fellow Warrior Nun, Sister Sarah is Sister Shannon's "girlfriend" and have known each other since childhood at the academy. (Slight goof on part of Antarctic Press. A flashback scene of the academy shows young Sister Shannon with "Bernadette." With how the only known nun by that name was a demon disguised as a black woman--Sarah's skin color--, Shannon's childhood friend could not have been "Bernadette." Logically speaking, it would have had to have been Sarah.)
They grew up together and recieved final training together in Vatican City under Mother Superion. However, while Shannon took the path of a foot soldier, Sarah took to the air and became a part of the Silver Cross's air force, the Black Angels Corps. She, however, will also serve as a ground fighter, often alongside her best friend.
Sister Sarah is also one of the few African Americans in the series; this caused some controversy in the letter columns. Yet while a casual observer would claim that she is an example of tokenism, it is actual historical accuracy with how little of the Black church is Catholic. According to to The Complete Idiot's Guide to... Understanding Catholicism, despite the fact that Catholicism is the largest religion in the world for people of African descent--200,000,000 worldwide--, less than six percent of African Americans are themselves Catholics.
[edit] Mother Superion
She is the head of the Order of Warrior Nuns and handles the day to day work. She is very stoic and quiet; despite this she sincerely does care for her pupils. She has known Sister Shannon since Shannon was a child and trained her herself. She in fact was responsible for her assignment to New York City despite the reservations of Silver Cross members over her relative inexperience. Mother Superion stated that that was because she saw in Sister Shannon tremendous potential even to the point of being the next Areala. From time to time she will personally lead assaults on evil forces and is never seen without her goggles. Her eyes are not seen.
[edit] Father Goth
Perhaps the Vatican's most powerful Magic Priest, Father Goth is a force to be reckoned with. Grim and taciturn, he grew grimmer (and got scars and cybernetic eye) when he returned after being thought dead when, in the "Masada Incident" of 1989, he disappeared fighting a "type 7 demon in the vortex." In addition to flight, mind control, and other standard power, he can cross dimenisions, and wields a crozier called the Staff of Enoch. He uses it as a Quarterstaff or a Bō and can also use it to fire energy bolts. It is capable of various other effects. Idolized by his fellow clerics and other religous, he is never seen without his trademark jet black Greatcoat mixing metal studs and leather straps with his clerical clothing. He in younger days was a teacher at the Saint Thomas Academy where he taught the future Father David Crowe.
However, despite his grim attitude, he is known to smile now and again after having "saved the day."
[edit] Cardinal Shoc
While he co-leads with Mother Superion and he has his own superiors to answer to such as Cardinal Stark, Cardinal Shoc is the supreme commander of the Silver Cross Program. He is very grim and bears various scars on his face. He also wrote the procedure book, literally.
[edit] Shotgun Mary
Mary--last name unknown--was raised in the same orphanage/academy as were Sisters Sarah and Shannon Masters and Father David Crowe. Rebellious even as a girl who smuggled cigarettes onto orphanage grounds, Shotgun Mary was a Warrior Nun before she left the order. She left to protest the preferential treatment of the Magic Priests who, aside from being better funded, received full training in the supernatural powers that both they and the Warrior Nuns have. She feels that if her fellow Warrior Nuns had been fully and properly trained in their powers, that her many of her sisters would still be alive.
At the moment, Shotgun Mary is a bad girl vigilante who fights human criminals as freely as she does monsters. Gruff and hard-edged, she wears sunglasses and leather jackets, smokes, rides a motorcycle, and uses firearms to get her point across. When fighting monsters, it is not known whether she uses silver bullets or bullets made of frozen Holy water. (Warrior Nun snipers have used them with success against demons.) However, common ammunition seems to be enough.
Sister Shannon remembers her from their childhood days at the academy and despite their differences, she gets along well enough with her cafeteria catholic rival.
[edit] Lillith the Demon Princess
Lillith the Demon Princess represents the kinder, gentler side of Hell. From her we learn that there are many competing demon factions and not all obey Satan. Confirming that Satan cannot stand against Satan lest his kingdom fall [9], there have been various fratricidal Civil Wars in which even "the accursed devils" fight Satan out of their own self interest. In fact, when Julius Salvius planned to free the Devil from his dungeon in the lowest pits of Hell, Lillith's leader Orcus sent her to Earth--or the Prime Material Plane as demons call it--to keep this from happening. The logic was that if the Satan were to be freed, then he would rally the damned by charisma or force and lead them all in a fight against God, a fight that Orcus knows cannot be won.
Unlike her fellow demons, Lillith has a remarkably human body, though she was likely born a demon. Orcus says that she was too young to remember the the War against Heaven and thus was born after the Fall and was never a fallen angel. Aside from opposing Satan, Lillith seems to care for innocent life (the damned are another matter). She will also occasionally work with Sister Shannon against common enemies, regardless of Sister Shannon's paranoia. It is unknown whether she has met her namesake, the original Lilith who is said to exist, but it is known that she hates Ouiji. Once while seeking a way to Earth, she saw that the only available portal was a Ouiji board; it was an experience she found very degrading. She wears a cape which she can turn into bat wings for the sake of flight, can heal injuries quickly, and can turn her fingernails into long talons
Lillith is somewhat similar to the Udon portrayal to Morrigan Aensland, succubus of Darkstalkers fame.
[edit] Helga/Nebelhexa
Helga was the Captain of the Valkyrie, Odin's woman warriors. She trained Auria, the future Areala, to be a Valkyrie and enjoyed "hazing" her pupil. However, after Auria bested her in combat, even before gaining a Valkyrie's strength, she nursed a grudge against her. This grew after Auria fell in love with Tyr, whom Helga wanted for herself. It climaxed when Auria/Areala renounced Odin and Areala humiliated Helga in battle before her warriors, leaving her a scarred and bloodied face. She swore revenge and has tried to keep that vow. Even as Areala has her avatar, so does Helga, the Nebelhexa. Over the centuries, Warrior Nuns Areala and the Nebelhexas have done battle as cowgirls in the Wild West, swordswomen in the Three Musketeer's France, as a Christian knight and a quasi-Muslim jihadist in the Crusades, and presumably many others.
Helga, the sole forgotten survivor of Ragnarök, has thus vicariously clashed with her old enemy time and again but she has lost time and again because, in Areala's words "... NONE may withstand the power of God!" That is seen with how Helga once nearly killed her latest Nebelhexa by overloading her with power in hopes of killing (the original) Areala's Sister Shannon. She died after Shannon said "My power comes from the Almighty! And His is a power you cannot equal!"
In German, Nebelhexa can mean "fog witch."
[edit] Goofs
Dunn wrote that he never meant his comic books to be anything but escapist fantasy. Thus they should not be judged to harshly for goofs concerning religious history and theology but they do appear.
- In Warrior Nun Areala: Rituals, Sister Shannon worked alongside Serina of the Sehkmet, a group serving the gods of Egypt. While pagan gods mentioned in the Bible[10]; Dagon[11], Baal[12], Zeus[13], Hermes[14], Artemis[15], Ashtoreth[16], Molech [17], Chemosh [18] etc.; are mostly demonized, literally in the case of Baal-Zebub [19] [20], the gods of Egypt are singled out. That is because their worshippers enslaved God's people even after God had sent Joseph, son of Jacob, to save Egyptian lives during a great famine. This enmity is made clear with how He said He would wreak His judgment on all the gods of Egypt[21] with the Ten Plagues. While the Warrior Nuns might look to the example of Biblical figures such as Daniel who befriended non-Jews and work with representatives of other religions, with how the God of the Jews is also the God of the Christians, a reprentative of the gods of Egypt--Serina of the Sehkmet--would be THE LAST person the Warrior Nuns would ever willingly work with.
- In Areala Angel of War #2 a goof is seen in how Auria's mother is seen praying the rosary. According to Wikipidia, the earliest known quasi rosary did not appear until 1075, after both their deaths.
- In Warrior Nun: Ressurection #1 we are told that after her parents died, Shannon was left at the doorstep of Our Lady of the Virgin Mary Convent. Our Lady is a Christian title for Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. A more appropriate name would be "Our Lady, the Virgin Mary" or being that the convent is Catholic, "Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary."
- Her command for summoning her battle habit and weapons is "Hail Mary! Mother of God!" The words from the Hail Mary are "Holy Mary, Mother of God..."
- In Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1 #3, the original Sister Areala sees the dying Sister Shannon and says that "She cannot enter heaven yet, even though she has earned her place..." While Catholicism emphasizes good deeds more than other Christian denominations because "faith without works is dead" [22], it still asserts that even though humans are "created [...] to do good works" it is faith in Jesus that is the key to salvation. [23]
- Saint Areala is dubbed the Angel of War. Saint Michael is the Angel of War.
- In Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection #1, there is a flashback to July 22, 1209, when the Areala of that time, Sister Mary of Aquilonius, took Béziers as part of Pope Urban III's crusade to free the Holy Land from the "infidels," or Muslims. She renounces when she sees civilians murdered in a church. While there was a crusade in 1209, the Albigensian Crusade, and the described massacre did take place in Béziers churches in July 22 of that year, it did not take place in medieval Palestine at all, but rather Europe. (Béziers is a French town.) Yet Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection #3 shows another flashback to that time wherein Sister Mary fights a scimitar wielding Muslim warrior amidst a flaming city, presumably Jerusalem, and her prologue specifically states her goal was to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule. Also, Pope Urban III died in 1187, twenty two years before 1209. Sister Mary could have fought in the Albigensian Crusade in France. Or she could have fought in the Third Crusade which began in 1189 under Pope Gregory VIII in which Christian Crusaders did make it all their way to the Holy Land where they fought Saladin and his Muslim warriors. (Interestingly, Pope Urban III, the Pontiff under whom Sister Mary allegedly fought, is said to have died of a broken heart when Saladin defeated Christian warriors in July of 1187 at the Battle of Hattin just before that Crusade began.) Or she could have fought under Pope Innocent III in the Fourth Crusade which was sent to take Jerusalem and took place from 1201-1204, and is thus near the date of 1209, and did see the deaths of many Christians--Eastern Orthodox--at the hands of Crusaders and did see the capture of a great city, Constantinople. However, it is very unlikely that she could have fought in all of them.
- Sister Shannon's base is sometimes called a church and sometimes a cathedral.
[edit] Trivia
- In the comic book, Sister Shannon is assigned to Saint Thomas Church, or Saint Thomas Cathedral, in New York City's Manhattan. Ironically, there actually is a Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan, but it is Anglican rather than Catholic.
- There was a failed attempt to make a anime series based on Warrior Nun Areala. Only a brief intro exists; it can seen on YouTube.
- A toyline was also made.
- The Warrior Nuns official name is the Order of the Cruciform Sword. This may be a reference to the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, a military order sworn to protect the Holy Grail in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
[edit] See also
Anime, manga, comic books, and films have further explored the idea of the Vatican creating a secret military order to combat monsters.
