CHARLES PALENTINE

Real Name: Charles "Charlie" Palene

Identity/Class: Human magic user

Occupation: Mayor, politician; former petty criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Jules, his followers; formerly demonic goblin horde

Enemies: Demogoblin, demonic goblin horde, Morbius (Michael Morbius), Venom (Eddie Brock); formerly NYPD

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Heretic," "sinner" (insults from Demogoblin), "windbag" (insult from bystander)

Base of Operations: Palentine Election Headquarters in San Francisco, California, USA

First Appearance: Venom: The Enemy Within I#1 (February, 1994)

Powers/Abilities: Charles Palentine had minor skills in sorcery, sufficient enough to understand basic occult information and summon forth demonic goblins. Palentine also utilized the enchanted Sacred Necklace of Rhan to protect himself from the goblins and fire mystic blasts.

Height: 6' (by approximation)
Weight: 200 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

History: (Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Seventeen-year old Charles Palene began writing his thoughts in a diary. On his seventeenth birthday, Palene traveled through Brooklyn, New York looking for a job. Unable to find work, Palene eventually became hungry enough to break into a bakery shop.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (fb)) - Unaware the shop was wired, Palene was soon sought after by the NYPD and he hid in a an abandoned building on Beaumont, unaware it was the Library of Rhan cult hideout, after noticing a yellow glow emanating from the building. Looking inside a window, Palene noticed a bizarre cult surrounding a woman laying on a table. Shocked, Charlie yelled out and was attacked from behind. The terrified Charlie jumped and fell through the window, disrupting the cult ceremony. Insisting he would remain quiet about what he saw, Charlie Palene told the cult to continue their ceremony and he would leave but the cult leader ordered Palene to remain. When the cultists prepared to sacrifice Charlie, he lashed out, managing to grab a necklace from the cult leader, before the arriving police officers shot the cult leader. The police then connected Charlie with the cultists and he was sent to trial for his supposed crimes, where his belongings except the necklace he had grabbed were taken away and he was sentenced to an upstate work farm for years before he escaped. Going on a spree of petty crime, unaware that his criminal success was due to the necklace he still carried, Palene often stared into the shadowy necklace until one day, the law caught up and he was arrested and sent to Alcatraz for his past crimes.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#1 (fb)) - In Alcatraz, brutal guards beat Charlie Palene and he sat in seemingly unending solitude.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (fb)) - Opting to read while in prison rather than rot, Palene finished the Mickey Spillane books in the library before moving on to the occult section, where he read an old book that featured a write-up on the ceremonial necklace he carried. Learning what he could from the book and the necklace itself, Charlie Palene inadvertently summoned forth a horde of demon goblins. Soon realizing that the necklace protected him from the goblins, Palene began wearing the necklace all the time.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (fb) - BTS) - After learning to control the goblins, Charlie Palene commanded them to dig him out of prison.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#3 (fb)) - While the goblins dug through his prison cell, Palene thought how the goblins assumed they would be rewarded for aiding Palene and how they were completely unaware of Palene's plan to seal the goblins below ground forever. Once the goblins finished freeing Palene, he did as he intended and sealed the goblins below San Francisco.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Charlie Palene erased his checkered past via occult means, changing his name to Charles Palentine.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Decades later, Palentine's goblins were accidentally freed by construction workers working on the Bart railway system.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#1) - Charles Palentine, now a politician running for mayor, spoke at a Halloween night conference, where he promised bystanders that if he were elected mayor, he would make San Franciscans proud of their city again, unaware that the demon goblins he had once summoned had escaped and were attacking people on the railway system. A man yelled that they were already proud of their city and when another man suggested that Palentine be allowed to speak, a mob quickly formed. Back at Palentine Election Headquarters, Charles Palentine spoke to a small group, promising that he would shatter the unprogressive ways of the old administration and during the speech, a high-pitched sound shattered the glass Palentine was holding. Panic quickly erupted in the room, as the guests ran for cover, but Palentine merely looked out the window towards Alcatraz Prison and was reminded of his past. After the goblin horde began venturing out of the Bart system and attacking the city, Charles Palentine spoke out against the current mayor, demanding an opening of the San Francisco tunnels and bridges to free the goblins before they engulfed the entire city.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#2) -  His political power growing daily, Charles Palentine went on television and announced his plan to continue lobbying against the sealing-off and quarantining of the San Francisco Bay area, claiming that the imposed martial law was unconstitutional. With the support of the police, Palentine stormed into the current mayor's office and took over despite the mayor's insistence that Palentine's actions were criminal. Now mayor, Charles Palentine later explained that the coming of the goblin plague was foretold as a Biblical plague visited upon their city and suggested citizens burn the vermin out with fire. Later reminiscing about his past, Palentine prepared to speak to his followers and was interrupted in his thoughts but his lackey Jules, who informed him that the people outside were getting restless. Charles Palentine then ventured out to speak with his followers, promising them that they had nothing to fear from the goblin horde as long as he were in power.

(Venom: The Enemy Within I#3) - Mayor Palentine commanded San Francisco citizens to take action against the invading goblins by setting the streets on fire. Having investigated the goblins and found the Diary of Charlie Palene, Venom and Morbius returned to the city to find it covered in flames and goblins. Venom soon recognized Palentine's signature on his election headquarters sign as matching Palene's from the diary and realized that the politician Palentine and petty criminal Palene were the same man. Storming Palentine's hotel, Venom and Morbius interrupted Palentine's musing about his impending control of California and soon, the United States itself. When Venom demanded the necklace, Palentine used it to fire a mystic blast that hit Venom, forcing Morbius to enter the fray, only to be launched out of the hotel window by another blast. Venom responded by attempting to retrieve the necklace using webbing but the necklace burned away the webbing and Palentine laughed, remarking that no one could harm one who held the Sacred Necklace of Rhan. The returning Morbius then tackled Palentine, knocking the necklace from his neck but Palentine, who had learned to manipulate the necklace even when not wearing it, blasted Morbius with a sonic blast. Unfortunately for Palentine, Demogoblin erupted from the hotel floor, followed by the goblin horde, and snatched the necklace away from Palentine. Demogoblin then took control of the goblin horde and unleashed them on Palentine, announcing that it was time for Palentine to meet his destiny. Using the necklace himself, Demogoblin grew to giant size and led the goblins to the Golden Gate Bridge, where he pushed the goblins into the water, drowning them. Once the goblins had disappeared below the water, Demogoblin hurled the Sacred Necklace of Rhan into the river as well, where it hit the water and disappeared in a cloud of mystic smoke.

Comments: Created by Bruce Jones and Bob McLeod.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Charles Palentine has no KNOWN connections to:

Jules

Jules was a lackey of Charles Palentine who assisted with his political career. During one of Palentine's impending speeches, Jules visited Palentine to inform him that the supporters were growing restless. Palentine told Jules he would be there momentarily.

--Venom: The Enemy Within I#2

The Sacred Necklace of Rhan

The Sacred Necklace of Rhan was a mystic artifact dating back centuries, if not further, with information about it written in some of the oldest occult books. In the modern era, young Charlie Palene saw a yellow glow emanating from the Library of Rhan and when he investigated, he saw a cult preparing to sacrifice a young woman, with the cult's leader wearing the Sacred Necklace of Rhan. Accidentally interrupting the ceremony, Palene was to be sacrificed himself but he lashed, inadvertently grabbing the Necklace from the cult leader's neck moments before the leader was killed by police gunfire. When Palene was put on trial, all of his possessions aside from the seemingly worthless Necklace were taken from him and he was sent to a work farm before he escaped. Going on a successful petty crime spree, Palene took to gazing at the Necklace, which seemed to contain moving shadows, and eventually, Palene found information about the Necklace in an old occult book in a prison library. Using the book in conjunction with the Necklace, Palene then summoned a horde of demon goblins and quickly learned that the Sacred Necklace protected him from the goblins. Taking to wearing the Necklace at all times, Palene had the goblins dig him out of prison before sealing the goblins below ground and eventually erasing his criminal past and changing his name to Charles Palentine. Still wearing the Necklace at all times, Palentine eventually learned how to manipulate it even when he was not wearing it but when the goblins escaped the underground, they drew the attention of vigilantes Venom and Morbius, who investigated the goblins and learned of Palentine's connections to them. Confronting Palentine, Venom and Morbius fared poorly against the Necklace-wielding Palentine until Demogoblin also joined the fray and snatched the Necklace from Palentine. Demogoblin then unleashed the goblins on Palentine and used the Necklace to grow to giant size and lead the goblins off the Golden Gate Bridge, where they drowned. Demogoblin then hurled the Necklace off the Bridge and it disappeared in a puff of mystic smoke upon hitting the water.

The Sacred Necklace of Rhan was capable of summoning demonic goblins, projecting mystic energy blasts and allowing its wearer to grow to giant size.

--Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (#3,

images: (without ads)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#3, p16, pan1 (Charles Palentine, main image)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#2, p13, pan3 (Charles Palentine headshot)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#2, p19, pan5 (younger Charles, as Charles Palene)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#2, p21, pan3 (Jules)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#3, p15, pan1 (Sacred Necklace of Rhan)

Appearances:
Venom: The Enemy Within I#1 (February, 1994) - Bruce Jones (writer), Bob McLeod (pencils, inks), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#2 (March, 1994) - Bruce Jones (writer), Bob McLeod (art), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Venom: The Enemy Within I#3 (May, 1994) - Bruce Jones (writer), Bob McLeod (pencils), Harry Candelario (inks), Danny Fingeroth (editor)

Last updated: 10/23/16

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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