Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Sara Pezzini (also as "Ms. Fortran")
Supporting Characters:
- Lloyd Drexler (First appearance)
- NYPD
- Det. Jake McCarthy (First appearance)
- Hugh Selzer (First appearance)
- Lt. Joe Siry (First appearance)
- Det. Michael Yee (First appearance; dies)
Adversaries:
- Kenneth Irons (First appearance)
- Ian Nottingham (First appearance)
- Silvio Gallo (First appearance)
- Blitz (Single appearance)[1]
- Tony Cugliani (Single appearance)[1]
Other Characters:
- Lisa Buzanis (First appearance) (Cameo)
- Sofie (Single appearance)[1]
- Sam Tabb (Single appearance)[1]
Locations:
- Top Cow Universe
- United States of America
- New York City, New York
- Manhattan
- Central Park West
- Chelsea
- Gramercy Park
- Greenwich Village
- Queens
- Manhattan
- New York City, New York
- United States of America
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for 1st story
In his Manhattan penthouse, business mogul and crime kingpin Kenneth Irons obsesses over a cloaked artifact, declaring its wielder will be revealed tonight and that he will own them both. In her Chelsea apartment, NYPD Detective Sara Pezzini recalls always wanting to be a cop as she dons a revealing dress to go undercover. Pretending to be a drug trafficker, she goes to the apartment of dealer Silvio Gallo. Immediately suspicious, he orders her to kill one of his men, secretly her undercover partner Michael Yee. Instead, Pezzini pistol whips Yee, attacks Gallo’s other men, and subdues him. Revealing her true identity, she reminds Gallo he killed a friend of hers and says he will not get away this time. Two more cops kick in the door, and she tells them to read Gallo his rights. In Long Island City, mobster Tony Cugliani arrives at an old theater for a tournament hosted by Irons. At the police station, Pezzini’s boss Lt. Joe Siry berates her for methods and warns she is getting reckless. Next, she and Yee interrogate Lloyd Drexler, an informant who helped them bust Gallo, and he reveals Gallo needed cash so he could pay the entry fee for Irons’ tournament. At the theater, Irons has his bodyguard Ian Nottingham display the artifact. In Greenwich Village, Pezzini and Yee examine the scene of a murder, the latest in a series in which the victims are burned from the inside out. Afterward, they drive to the theater in Long Island City, and Pezzini, still wearing her skimpy dress, cons her way inside. On stage, Nottingham unveils the artifact as the Witchblade, an ornate metal gauntlet, and invites Cugliani to try it on. When he does, it severs and incinerates his arm. Suddenly, two guards drag Yee on stage, and Nottingham orders them to shoot him. Pezzini jumps in front of Yee and takes several bullets herself. The Witchblade wraps itself around her, morphs into body armor, and heals her wounds. Irons orders his men to attack, but she incinerates them with blasts of fire, and he leaves. Pezzini consoles Yee as he dies and fears her new power.
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in:
- Witchblade Collected Edition #1 (Jul. 1996);
- Witchblade Deluxe Collected Edition trade paperback (1997);
- Witchblade Origins trade paperback (2001);
- Witchblade Compendium vol. 1 hardcover (2008) and trade paperback (2011);
- Witchblade Origins vol. 1: Genesis trade paperback (2008);
- The Complete Witchblade vol. 1 hardcover and trade paperback (2020).
Trivia
- This story takes place before Sara Pezzini and the Witchblade's first appearance in Cyblade/Shi: Battle for Independents #1.