LORI
LORI
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Unrevealed (mystic spirit);
Possibly
Native
American (presumably Hopi) or Anasazi spirit
Occupation: Guardian
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Ghost Dancer (Nathaniel Great Owl), Ghost Dancer (James Owl), Mike, Patti
Enemies: Manitou demon and its Clowns, Iktomi
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Numerous, unspecified
Base of Operations: Presumably one of the Secret Worlds
First Appearance: Dances with Demons#1 (September, 1993)
Powers/Abilities: Lori had a number of magical powers, only a few of which were glimpsed. She could transform into a giant eagle, gaining its ability to fly and its sharp beak and talons, and she could also transform into a human-eagle hybrid, to directly battle others. She could sense the presence of certain beings, most notably James Owl/Ghost Dancer. She could temporarily heal others, prolonging their lives, but eventually the injures would return and take them. Via meditation, she could heal herself from grave injuries. She could conjure her own clothing at will, and she could share memories and images with others on contact.
History:
(Dances with Demons#1 (fb) - BTS) - The mystic known as Lori--her origins
unrevealed--served as Nathaniel Great Owl (Ghost Dancer)'s guardian and
companion.
(Dances with Demons#2 (fb)) - Lori and Nathaniel became lovers, as well.
(Dances with Demons#1) - The Manitou demon and his demons confronted
and slew the
weakened Nathaniel in a New York subway. The Manitou then tore off Ghost
Dancer's head, questioning why it hadn't received his power and where he was
hiding his soul, at which point an eagle (Lori) burst forth from his chest and escaped, despite the
Clowns' efforts to stop it. She teleported away, though one of the Clowns
grabbed her leg and was transported along with her. Reappearing above South Central Los Angeles, Lori
was wounded by the Clown before casting it to the alley
below.
Sometime later, Lori crashed through the window of James Owl,
grandson of Nathaniel and successor to the title of Ghost Dancer. Weakened by
recent events, she returned to human form and introduced herself. She tried to
explain what was going on, but James didn't believe her and ran out the door,
only to run into the Clown that had pursued her there.
(Dances with Demons#2 (fb)) - Transforming into a hawk-hybrid, Lori savagely tore into the Clown, slaying it. Frightened, James ran off.
(Dances with Demons#2 - BTS) - Lori traveled to the house of James' friend Mike and waited for James to arrive.
(Dances with Demons#2) - Lori met with James after his arrival. She comforted him when he suffered nightmares, and she attempted to convince him of his legacy and of the threats they would face. Still disbelieving, James took off again and returned to his own house. There he found the Manitou, who had slaughtered his parents, and Lori sensed as he transformed into Ghost Dancer for the first time.
(Dances with Demons#3 (fb)) - Manitou easily overpowered Ghost Dancer until Lori arrived and jumped into the fight. She was no match for the Manitou, but James then had a flash of his grandfather's memories, and Nathaniel took over the Ghost Dancer's form and fought for him. Nathaniel cast off the Clowns swarming over him and rescued Lori, who in turn temporarily healed Mike after he had been skewered by one of the Clowns. As James returned to his own form and mind, Lori led he and Mike to escape by motorcycle, and they headed to the Grand Canyon, or Sipapu as the Hopi called it.
(Dances with Demons#3 (fb) - BTS) - Lori left James in Mike's care for a time so she could heal herself from her injuries at the Manitou's hands.
(Dances with Demons#3) - Upon Lori's return, James finally accepted her training. She told him of the Hopi legend of three worlds before the present one and then sent him on a Visionquest to find a totem, a fragment of the secret worlds that would reveal itself to his inner eye.
(Dances with Demons#4) - Meanwhile, Patti, possessed by Iktomi, Manitou, and the
Clowns, was forced to follow the psychic trail to James, after which they
erupted from her form. Mike and Lori held off the Clowns, but the Manitou then
slew Mike. Lori turned into her eagle form and dove at the Manitou, who smashed
her to the ground with a single blow, though he knocked her into Iktomi, who
fell from a ledge to the canyon floor far below. The Manitou demon then turned
towards Lori, promising to enjoy her death; in order to delay the Manitou from
reaching James before he had completed his training, Lori endured--even
prolonged--his torture.
Accepting the mantle and power of Ghost Dancer, James
consumed the Manitou. Dying, Lori passed her essence into Patti, saving Patti's
life. Patti became James/Ghost Dancer's new companion and guardian. The two then
vanished, to parts unknown...
Comments: Created by Simon Jowett and Charlie Adlard.
The Manitou demon called Lori, "little eagle spirit," but that's about as much as identification of her nature as we get.
After Lori crashed through James' room, she was naked and on all fours. I'm not sure why he didn't just agree with everything she said or asked of him.
My impression looking at the entry is
that she's a mortal mystic, most likely one who's retarded her aging by
mystical means. The eagle was the totem spirits of Manabozho (Manitou)
who has an entry on my site here:
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mythguide/manabozho.html.
She could also be a fictional goddess like Amora or Skurge.
--Will U
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
Dances with Demons#1 cover
#2, p4, panel 3 (eagle-hybrid form)
p20, panel 2
Other Appearances:
Dances with Demons#1-4 (September-December, 1993) - by Simon Jowett (script), Charlie Adlard
(art), Garry Russell (editor)
Last updated: 07/02/06
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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