Belladonna

Origin

Colleen MacGrath is the daughter of Nolan and Alana MacGrath, living in Wexford, Ireland in the 10th century AD. She was about to be wed to her beloved Donovan O'Connor. Both are powerful families and the marriage will unite Ireland. On her wedding, vikings invaded the village and killed every member of the wedding party. Colleen discovered that they were betrayed by the Irishman Kildare, who didn't want a Christian high king. Kildare killed Colleen. Buried, she was visited by the Celtic goddess of war and death, Morrigan. The goddess resurrected Colleen to exact her revenge on the vikings. Colleen renamed herself Belladonna.

Her enemies know a different story however, probably purely fictional and made to instill fear in her enemies. This tale has her mother as a shield maiden of Götaland, who was one day suddenly overpowered and raped by dozens of invaders. The invaders destroyed her village and left her for dead. Taking what survivors there were, she set off by boat in pursuit for revenge. More than two years later, her boat ran aground on Færøyene with only the child on board. No one was sure what the child had been eating, but there were some guesses. They called the child Belladonna. She was adopted by an old norseman, either as daughter or concubine or both. By the time she was a girl, she could best any man in the settlement.

Creation

After being asked by her friend William Christensen, Brian Pulido went to work for Avatar. He created several characters, including Belladonna. He said about her:

"I wanted to create a character who could stand up to Lady Death."

Major Story Arcs

On Samhain, Belladonna revisits her old village Wexford and takes out the Viking warlord who were present at the slaughter of her wedding. She poisons War Tooth, who then warns his warlord Snake Tongue. Belladonna has followed War Tooth and, with the help of crows and owls, take out the vikings and kills Snake Tongue herself.

She lures Skull Splitter and Kildare to her family castle. With his magical powers, Kildare nullifies Belladonna's ability to control animals. As Skull Splitter gains the upper hand, trusty servant Clancy knocks out Kildare. With her powers renewed, Belladonna sents animals to distract Skull Splitter. With his attention elsewhere, she kills him. Wolves, sent by Belladonna, kill Kildare. With her revenge complete, Morrigan sents Belladonna back to her grave.

In 851 AD, Belladonna was the leader of a group of shield maidens, invading the lands of the Picts.

In 971 AD, the vikings return to Wexford, Ireland, although this time as undead zombies. Morrigan resurrects Belladonna to save her village once again.

Belladonna is resurrected once more in 1225 AD, when a local thief gained control over gargoyles by an ancient artifact. Mistaking Lady Death for her enemy, she briefly fights her. Morrigan, the celtic goddess of war and death, sets things straight. They join forces and manage to defeat the thief.

Powers & Abilities

Belladonna has the ability to let animals do her will. The extent of this power is unknown, but so far she has commanded crows, owls, wolves, bears and oxes.