Marlene Alraune

Origin

Marlene's father Dr. Peter Alraune was murdered by mercenary Raoul Bushman while they were in Sudan, Marc Spector another mercenary saved Marlene from Bushman but Bushman left Specter to die in the desert. The workers of Dr. Alraune took Spector's inert body to the tomb of Pharaoh Seti III. Spector revived and then he and Marlene went back to the US where Spector became the crime fighter Moon Knight and then she became his girlfriend and trusted ally.

Creation

Marlene first appears in Marvel Spotlight (1971) # by Don Perlin and Doug Moench.

Major Story Arcs

Resurrection of Moon Knight

Sometime after the death of Moon Knight, Marlene was compelled to return to the Grant Mansion. With Frenchie as her escort, they find a statue of Khonshu that explodes revealing the revitalized body of Marc Spector, who Marlene refers specifically to by his Steven Grant identity. Unfortunately, Marc can tell that visions he had while dead were coming partially true and needed to embrace the Moon Knight identity to protect Marlene.

Unfortunately, not long afterward, Moon Knight would cross a moral line that he thought he never would. He had killed Bushman and injured his legs so badly, he could only walk after grueling physical therapy. Instead, as self-punishment, he isolated himself from the world in a cheap apartment, relying on a wheelchair, and pushing his loved ones away including Marlene, who he had struck in anger.

Reunion with Moon Knight

After hearing the Frenchie was in the hospital not long after his first meeting with Marc since his self-isolation, Marlene sought out Moon Knight. Although he wanted to show off how he could walk again, Marlene did not care. She did not believe it was a coincidence that Frenchie was assaulted the same night he had met with Marc. Unfortunately, The Committee was targeting Marc, and Marlene had gotten roped into his crazy world again. With Marc injured after a confrontation with Taskmaster, Marlene and Marc’s former maid and butler get Marc back to the Grant Mansion and his cache of Moon Knight costumes and equipment, where Marlene could tend to his wounds.

The tough love that Marlene dished out helped Marc come to terms with his selfishness. Opening himself back up to the world allowed him to return to Moon Knight and his old relationships. However, Marlene tried to keep him away. She was living a nice quiet life with a new boyfriend Taylor. Unfortunately, after the two of them were assaulted in the street and Marlene was forced to use the tricks Marc taught her to fight back, the trauma guided Marlene into an affair with Marc. Its transition to relationship was rocky as Marc was still reeling under the guilt of killing Bushman and acting erratic. It wasn’t until Marc faked his death to avoid the Superhero Registration Act and cleared his mind in Mexico that they could make an honest go of their relationship again.

Shadowland

When Daredevil was forced to take over as The Hand leader, he was corrupted by The Beast and ruled New York without mercy. This included allying with The Profile to get the best of Marc. Profile hired Randal, Marc’s brother, to be a new Avatar of Khonshu, The Shadow Knight. Looking for Marc, he found Marlene and beat her severely, causing her to lose the baby she was carrying.

Motherhood

Marlene would long be estranged from Marc after he leaned into his Mr. Knight identity, an even more dangerous version of Moon Knight. Unbeknownst to his, his Jake Lockley identity had rekindled a relationship with Marlene. Over the course of their affair, they had fathered a child, Diatrice. A new rival named Sun King found this information and used it to his advantage to manipulate Marc by revealing the daughter and kidnapping Marlene. Marlene was used as bait to lure Moon Knight to Sun King's island headquarters. They would fight with Marc proving the victor. Marlene would help tend to his injuries and give their relationship another try for the sake of their daughter.

Unfortunately, when Khonshu forced Marc to take on the Avengers because he didn't trust them to stop Mephisto from ending the Earth's great legacy powers, Marlene fled to France with her daughter. She realized Marc would never be able to settle down and their lives would always be in danger. She was forced to come out of hiding when Jack Russel kidnapped their daughter, believing her to be the weapon spoken about in a prophecy. She needed the help of Marc and his new operation, the Midnight Mission, to save her from danger.

Marc was able to distract Jack long enough for him to miss the window to fulfill the prophecy, at which point, he let Diatrice go. Unfortunately, with their location in France compromised, Marlene revealed to Marc that she would need to find a new hideout, one she would not be sharing with Marc.

Character Profile

• Height: 5'8"
• Weight: 130 lbs
• Eye Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Blonde
• Citizenship: American
• Marital Status: Divorced from Eric Jules Fontaine, Married to Marc Spector (estranged)
• Occupation: Former museum employee, corporate executive, social worker, secretary, archeologist
• Known Relatives: Peter Alraune (father, deceased), Peter Alraune Jr (brother, deceased), Diatrice Alraune (daughter).

Variants

Warp World

When Gamora moved the Earth into the soul gem by folding it together and merging people into one character, Marlene was combined with Mary Jane Watson to become Marley Jane Watson. She was the CEO of Parker Industries and the love interest to the superhero, Arachknight (a merger of Spider-Man and Moon Knight)

The Luminary

In a What If..? story, Moon Knight died in his fight with Bushman leaving a void for a new hero priest of an Egyptian god. Ra, the Sun god, would seek Marlene out, granting her new abilities but a similar costume as Moon Knight as The Luminary.