Origin
The daughter of Terry and Brenda Greaves. Brenda died when Epiphany was 8, two years later her father sent her to alchemy school, to benefit his organised crime.
Creation
Epiphany was created by Peter Milligan and Giuseppe Camuncoli and first appeared in issue #256 of the Hellblazer series.
Major Story Arcs
Hooked
Epiphany’s help is enlisted by John Constantine in an attempt to get his ex-girlfriend, Phoebe, to fall back in love with him. She agrees and creates the love potion for him, but his attempts to win back his ex’s affections go horribly awry when a demon, whom he had also used the potion on in a con, kills her. John then returns to Epiphany again for help, this time requesting that she make a resurrection potion. Epiphany, harboring affections for John, hesitantly agrees, warning him that the user must be pure. Of course, things go wrong when John tries to use the potion, and every person in the cemetery is revived, except Phoebe. The two try to fight off the horde of zombies, but one kisses Epiphany and she collapses into a magically induced coma, leaving John to defeat the rest.
Long Crap Friday
Epiphany’s father, Terry, blaming John for his daughter’s condition, threatens to kill him if he doesn’t wake her. John makes contact with Epiphany’s unconscious mind, finding that this was a self-induced coma where she could escape and live as a girl during a time before her dad sent her to alchemy school. John tries to convince her that she has a real life to live, but she expels him from her psyche. Just as Terry and his thugs are about to beat John to death, Epiphany wakes up and John’s life is spared.
India
While John Constantine is in India in pursuit of purity for a second attempt at resurrecting his dead lover, he receives aid from an Indian mystic who says purity is a lost cause for him, but he will reunite John with “his young woman” if he helps him defeat a demon. Epiphany is then contacted by the same mystic directing her to go to there to find John. With the help of Epiphany’s research and alchemy skills, the two defeat the demon and save India from “Kali Yuga”. As the mystic said, he reunites John with Phoebe, but only in spirit. He uses Epiphany to channel Phoebe’s spirit where she tells John that he must move on and that he’s holding her spirit back.
No Future
After returning from India, Epiphany stays at John’s flat, who was hesitant at first but agreed, concerned that if she went home, her dad would make work in his criminal labs. Epiphany then accompanies John to visit his old friend, Faeces, who enlists his help in restoring power back to a possessed punk idol. While he contemplated helping his mate, he gets attacked by skinheads and Epiphany comes to his rescue. As John recovers at his flat, she hooks up with a young punk in an attempt to make him jealous. Conflicted about his feeling for her, John returns to Faeces’ and stops Epiphany, then agrees to help his friend. Epiphany drunkenly propositions John for sex, but he refuses and the two end fighting, with her asking him to stay out of her life.
Sectioned
Next we see Epiphany, she is defending herself from a crazed John who attacks her at her lab, and ruins her face. She whips up an ointment that will fix her deformity, however she doesn’t achieve her desired results. After breaking and sneaking into her lab, it’s revealed that Carew, Epiphany’s old classmate, is in love with her and put a curse on John. Having cut off his own thumb and remembering hurting Epiphany in a state of insanity, John elicits the help of Shade to set things right. Shade however, seems to not be fully sane either, distraught with jealousy over John kissing his own love, Kathy, years ago. Shade states that Epiphany looks like her and quickly becomes obsessed with her. Once John’s sanity is returned, Epiphany tricks Carew into coming over and John ends up killing him. He then admits his feelings towards her, and states that the curse was designed to kick in if he ever started wanting or caring for her. She asks how anyone could want her with her face messed up, and Shade states that he might be able to help, but he’ll have to take her back to Meta with him. John tells her that her face is fine, and they then share their first kiss. Epiphany contemplates leaving with Shade, stating she has nothing to stay for, and John exclaims that if she stays they could get married. Without saying yes or no, Epiphany leaves to Meta with Shade.
Bloody Carnations
Back on Meta, an unstable Shade fixes Epiphany’s face in an attempt to turn her into his lost love Kathy. Shade reveals to her a world dedicated to Kathy that he made for her to live in. Aggravated, Epiphany attempts to trick him into sending her home, but he soon realizes it and she threatens to hurt him as well as herself if he didn’t send her home. While she’s at Meta, John shops for their engagement rings and the demon Nergal conspires to thwart their relationship, so that the demons may continue taking pleasure in John’s misery. After threatening self-harm, Shade shunts Epiphany back to Camden in the year 1979.
Trapped in the past, Epiphany visits her mother and tries to explain to her that after Terry’s three years in jail he’s changed. Brenda thinks that Terry and Epiphany are seeing each other and ignores Epiphany’s warning. Distraught and at a loss as to how to return home to her proper time, Epiphany seeks out the young John Constantine, who is more her age. She accompanies him on an unsuccessful attempt to exorcise a demon from a musician. She suggests that she may be able to brew something that will work, and while creating the potion the two end up sleeping together– Something she hasn’t yet done with her John. Meanwhile back at home, John attempts to stay faithful against encroaching succubi and tries to summon Shade to rescue Epiphany by cutting his thumb off, but is unsuccessful in both. Epiphany and Young John make their second attempt at exorcising a demon from the musician, and this time with the help of her concoction, they’re successful. They celebrate with drinks and more sex, then begin working on a way to get Epiphany home. The two use sex magic to create a circle then square it, which opens a portal that Epiphany’s John walks through. She immediately kisses him, which sends Young John into a rant, of which she tells him to shut up about the man she’s going to marry, then proceeds to ask John his proposal still stands. He replies that he wouldn’t be there if it didn’t. Young John continues to mouth off, so John punches him and the three share a few last words before John and Epiphany return home.
Hellblazer Wedding
When John and Epiphany arrive home they are nearly crashed into by Chas while under the influence of Nergal. After Chas crashes, the two visit him in the hospital where they invite him and his wife, Renee, to their wedding. John asks Epiphany to share some of his demon blood to protect her from Nergal, but she refuses. John then gives her two sinister looking rings to choose from, which she considers to be a final test about whether she wants to marry someone like him or not. While she thinks it over, John notices one of her dad’s henchmen outside, and deduces that they’ll be getting a visit from her father soon. As John predicted, Terry and a couple of goons come to his flat where he uses a protection spell to inflict them with hallucinations. In an attempt to escape a particularly frightening illusion, Terry tries to jump over their balcony, but before he can do so, Epiphany pleads for John to stop the spell. They then tell Terry that they are getting married. Epiphany then spends time getting ready for the wedding. She invites Renee to go dress shopping with her, then has a bachelorette rooftop get together with some friends. At her wedding, John arrives late and during the ceremony Gemma, John’s sister, exclaims that something is wrong. John urges the priest to continue and when they finally kiss, Epiphany notices that something is off with John. The reception is crashed by Nergal attempting to kidnap her, but her ring protects her from him. John comes to her rescue but is quickly dispelled by Nergal. When it seems a though hope is lost, another John emerges from the shadows and defeats him. John explains that he used his evil twin as an unwitting decoy, and he and Epiphany have a proper exchange of vows.