The Magdalena is a fictional superheroine created by Joe Benitez, David Wohl and Malachy Coney for Top Cow Productions. Publication history The Magdalena first appeared in The Darkness #15 (June 1998) and only appeared in two brief series. The Magdalena has been featured in The Darkness, Witchblade, Tomb Raider, and Vampirella, and in its own series of twelve issues from April 2010 to April 2011. Fictional character biography The Magdalena is the title of a series of women descended from Jesus Christ via his marriage to Mary Magdalene. The Magdalena inherits great powers from the royal bloodline and acts as a warrior in the defence of the Catholic Church . The Roman Catholic Church has been the Magdalena's employer since the Middle Ages, raising her from childhood and training her until she is ready to carry out her role. The Inquisition, a secretive and powerful council of cardinals, oversees the Magdalena's activities and decides her missions. Sister Rosalia Sister Rosalia was a former Magdalena who died when she was 33 years old. She was raped as a teenager by a masked assailant. She became pregnant as a result of the assault and gave birth to a girl. The child was stolen from her and raised in an unidentified convent. In her last mission, she was sent to investigate vampirism in France. She was informed that vampirism is a retrovirus that forces vampires to consume blood to restore their hemoglobin. She decided that they were not evil and aided their escape. She was killed by the soldiers of the Inquisition, the Garduna, for trying to prevent them from slaughtering the vampires. It was hinted that Rosalia might have been infected with the virus and would rise three days after her death, mirroring the Resurrection of Jesus. Sister Mariella Mariella, the adult daughter of Rosalia, was sent to kill Jackie Estacado with the Spear of Destiny, but unbeknownst to her she still wasn't fully trained and wasn't able to differentiate between right and wrong. After the Sisters of the Order of Magdalene performed the ritual which gave Mariella the ability to divine a person's sins, she and her Sisters were overpowered and defeated by Jackie, who made an example of them by crucifying them in the church. After recovering from her crucifixion and the fight with Jackie, Mariella learned where the Spear of Destiny was and prepared to retrieve it. While doing