Capucine

Origin

Capucine was born in the year 1114 on the Isle of Mont St. Michel, an island monastery located in France. Due to its location the island were regularly under attack by various nations who wanted it for themselves and its leadership was constantly in change, but at the time of Capucine’s birth it was under the control of the british King Henry the first who the monks of the abbey had sworn their allegiance to.

Eventually tiring of the constant change in leadership the monks decided a plan was needed to protect themselves and their abbey from outside control, leaving the rest of the island up for grabs. After much debating on how to accomplish this they eventually found a way through a strange alchemist who offered them a way out, for a price.

The deal was this: The alchemist would teach the monks how to imbue a person with great strength, speed and 10 centuries of life, and in return the souls of these warriors would be his to do with whatever he wishes at the time of their death.

The monks eagerly agreed, however, the formula would only work on youths, thus the monks abducted two boys and a girl from the nearby village to use in the ritual, that girl was Capucine. For years they were trained and educated to fight better in defense of their beloved abbey, eventually a king arrived with his entire army and swore that he would raise the abbey to the ground if the warriors did not come with him, so the warriors agreed and served the king as his personal bodyguards, and the king’s son after that, until eventually the king was killed by rioting peasants and Capucine was free for the first time in ages, her fellow warriors had disappeared over the centuries and she was now on her own.

She traveled the world and lived her life for many years until word started spreading that there was a warrior woman out there with great strength and lifespan, and if you could kill her, her powers would be bestowed upon you. Sensing that her life might be nearing its end due to her lifestyle, but mainly the passing of time, Capucine went to Swamp Thing to ask for his help in protecting her soul if or when she will die from the Alchemist, arguing that trading her soul was not her decision. Swamp Thing agrees to help her and that point she reveals the true identity of the mysterious alchemist as Etrigan The Rhymer.

Creation

Capucine was created by writer Charles Soule and artist Kano in Swamp Thing #20.

Major Story Arcs

Sanctuarium Folium Viride

Shortly after his run-in with Superman and Scarecrow in Metropolis, Swamp Thing returned to the Louisiana marshlands to find Capucine waiting there for him. Not knowing that he was a different Avatar of the Green from the one that she had known 800 years ago, she petitioned him for protection, invoking a rule called “Sanctuarium Folium Viride” — “The Sanctuary of the Green Leaf” — that Alec was unfamiliar with.

Swamp Thing did not recognize her or the rule, but he could sense that the Green was more familiar with the situation than he was. When a pair of hunters suddenly attacks the duo, Capucine’s need for protection is revealed — there is an old legend that says anyone who manages to kill her in close combat will receive her ten centuries of life as a reward. Capucine quickly kills the two men, much to Holland’s ire as she was capable of simply disarming them. Holland then binds her with vines and tells her to wait as he confers with the Green.

The Parliament of Trees tells Swamp Thing that the rule of Sanctuarium Folium Viride was created by one of his predecessors, transporting him 800 years back in time to meet the Avatar in question, a French Swamp Thing who created the rule as a way of protecting worshipers of nature who were burned alive under suspicion of witchcraft. As they talk, the older Swamp Thing is attacked and seemingly killed by Seeder, although Alec escapes. Returning to his own time, he tells Capucine that he will protect her after Seeder is dealt with.

Powers and Abilities

Capucine is a lethal fighter, implied to have honed her skill over centuries of combat. She also bears an enchantment that grants her ten centuries of life as well as great strength and speed, although her time seems to be running short.