SARIPHA
THAMES
SARIPHA
THAMES
Real Name: Ms. Saripha Thames
Identity/Class: Human magic-user
Occupation: Wicca, Folklore Historian, Professor of Nature Worship
Group Membership: Former High Priestess of a Wiccan coven
Affiliations:
Gaea
(presumptive object of worship);
Cernunnos and presumably other
Celtic Gods
and Goddesses (invoked for power);
Dr. Brian Anderson,
Daimon
Hellstrom imposter, Amelia Sefton,
Michael Taine
formerly Daimon Hellstrom (Hellstorm)
Enemies: Hellstorm, Marduk Kurios (Satan), Mindstar
Known Relatives: Daimon Hellstrom imposter (husband, deceased), unnamed child
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Formerly District University, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
First Appearance: Son of Satan#4 (June, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: Saripha has a number of minor magical abilities, and she can channel the collective power of her coven into other beings. She is also an empath.
Saripha is an albino, and is as such sensitive to bright light.
Height: @ 5'6"
Weight: @ 120#
Eyes: Pink
Hair: White
History:
(Son of Satan#4 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Anderson sent Saripha to greet the newly
arriving Daimon Hellstrom, whom he hoped to make part of the District University
faculty.
(Son of Satan#4) - On the way to their appointed meeting,
Saripha noticed Daimon's distinctive demeanor and called out to him, introducing
herself. She showed him to the special housing dorm where he would be staying.
After she left, Daimon took a nap, during which he had an extensive vision,
including an image of Saripha's corpse in an open grave; she spoke to him before
being consumed in flames.
Later, as Saripha returned to the dorm to bring Daimon to a
meeting with the faculty, she saw the room next to him explode. She rushed in to
check on Daimon and was confused to find him in his Son of Satan garb, which he
ascribed as merely ceremonial. Both she and Daimon then saw the deceased body of
Michael Taine hanging upside down, bent into the shape of an Ankh.
(Son of Satan#5) - Saripha was present as Lt. Ken Mishima and Daimon fruitlessly investigated the site of the explosion. She identified and described Michael Taine, after which she introduced Daimon to Amelia Sefton and accompanied them both to a meeting with Dr. Anderson and the other faculty. She could sense that Daimon was disturbed and hiding something, and shortly thereafter she, like everyone else present, was psychically assaulted by Mindstar.
(Son of Satan#6) - Daimon met Saripha at her home in Arlington, Virginia, across the river from Georgetown, and the two shared some of their true natures, with Saripha revealing herself to be a Wiccan and Daimon revealing himself to be the Son of Satan. Though she didn't actually believe in Satan, she believed in the urgency of the turmoil within him, and she touched his hand, offering to help.
(Son of Satan#7 (fb) - BTS) - Sensing a nonspecific danger as Daimon was fighting an extradimensional battle against Anubis, Anubi's' agent, and Mindstar, she prepared her coven to assist her in sending Daimon power to deal with the danger he faced. Not having time to drive to the coven, she prepared a magic circle in her own house.
(Son of Satan#7) - Saripha contacted the other members of her coven, telling them that she was ready and that she would need the collective power raised by the entire coven. She soon felt the power the coven was sending, and she began to chant, channeling that power to Daimon. In her chant she invoked Kernunnos and Arida. She was unknowingly observed by Proffet, the Celestial Fool, who then went to join Daimon and was struck down during the battle. Victorious, Daimon exited Anubis' realm and was drawn through the magic circle to Saripha, surprising her. Daimon told her that her ritual served to prevent his Darksoul from overtaking his body while he was projecting his astral self. She invited him to stay with her that night, and he told her for the first time in his life he felt like he needed someone: her.
(Defenders I#118 (fb) - BTS) - A demon who had escaped from Satan's realm during "Hell on Earth" (@ Defenders I#99-100) took the form of Daimon Hellstrom and "returned" to the job Daimon had left a few weeks before. The demon fooled the people at District Univeristy into believing it really was Daimon. There it learned of humankind, friendship, and of love. Even Saripha was initially fooled. At first she found that "Daimon" was warmer, more attentive, and more loving than she'd ever known him to be. After awhile, she sensed the truth, but she had already fallen in love with him, and she didn't care that he was actually a demon.
(Defenders I#118 (fb) - BTS) - Saripha eventually married the demon and became pregnant with the demon's baby.
(Defenders I#118 (fb) - BTS) - Saripha and the demon sensed as Daimon was returning to District University. She prepared her coven, herself, and her husband, and they plotted to exploit the real Daimon's doubts, fears, and lack of purpose to drive him away.
(Defenders I#118) - Saripha greeted the real Daimon upon his
arrival at District University, initially pretending to mistake him for the
being she had come to love, embracing, hugging, and calling him "darling." After
encountering the imposter, Daimon confronted Saripha at her home, forcing her
to probe his mind and realize that he was not her Daimon. The imposter then
rushed in and escorted Saripha to the other room so she would not be harmed in
the imminent battle. Saripha prepared a ritual, calling upon the "goddess of
fertility and the horned god" to aid her husband in their hour of need. Her
power backed the power of the imposter in his struggle against the real Daimon,
but eventually Daimon regained his confidence and channeled his full power
against his foe, defeating him and forcing him back into his demon form. Saripha,
too, screamed in pain from the magical backlash, but she then ran into the other
room to her husband's side, begging Daimon not to kill him, because she loved
him.
After Saripha had explained what had happened, the demon took
another human form, and he and Saripha prepared to begin anew in another place.
(Hellstorm#1 (fb) - BTS) - "Satan" located the demon and promised it Daimon's full power if it obeyed his commands. The demon led a cult, the Black School, in human sacrifice.
(Hellstorm#1) - Saripha learned of her husband's activities in
the Black School and requested Daimon's aid in stopping him. Daimon refused to
help her, but tracked down the imposter for his own reasons. Gabriel Rosetti had
attempted to stop the imposter, but had been overpowered by it, and nearly
became the next sacrifice. Saripha emerged from the crowd, crying for her
husband to stop, but he screamed, "Get away, witch!" and slapped her to the
ground. Saripha was the only one who understood what was happing when the real
Daimon arrived and stopped the imposter from killing Rosetti. Daimon skewered
the imposter with his trident, and "Satan" appeared and revealed that he had
manipulated Daimon into helping him. The "kiss from the hellfire trident" was
the only thing that could return the escaped demon imposter to Hell.
Saripha protected the initial intended sacrifice victim, the
homeless May, and made sure that Gabriel was alright before yelling at Daimon for
killing her husband. When he told her that her husband was a demon, she slapped
him and said, "And what are you?! I loved him, Daimon. You wouldn't know what
that means. Your father corrupted him. And YOU took him from me. Demon? Who are
you to judge?...Murderer..."
Comments: Created by John Warner, Craig Russell, and Sonny Trinidad.
Thames, like the river...pronounced Temms, or something like that.
Subsequent artists have not pictured Saripha as an albino, but I'm just impressed they remembered her at all! In Defenders I#118 by J.M. DeMatteis and Don Perlin, she was blond and red-lipped, and her name was spelled Seripha. Hellstorm#1, by Rafael Nieves and Michael Blair, followed the example of Defenders I#118.
Another perfect candidate for the Legion of Night.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:
images: (not counting ads)
Son of Satan#4, p4, panel 1 (body, green suit + hat)
panel 5
(face, green hat)
last page, panel 3 (face close-up)
panel 4
(body, blue suit)
#7, p6, panel 1 (ritual circle)
Appearances:
Son of Satan#5 (August, 1976) - John Warner (writer), Craig Russell & Sonny Trinidad (pencils), Sonny Trinidad (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Son of Satan#6 (October, 1976) - John Warner (writer), Ed Hannigan & Sonny Trinidad (pencils), Sonny Trinidad (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Son of Satan#7 (December, 1976) - John Warner (writer), Sonny Trinidad (artist), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#118 (April, 1983) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Andy Mushynsky & Al Milgrom (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Hellstorm: Prince of Lies#1 (April, 1993) - Rafael Nieves (writer), Michael Bair (artist), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
First Posted: 06/19/2005
Last updated: 06/20/2005
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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