Origin
The Angelus entity is the embodiment of light and is the equal and opposite force of the Darkness. Both the Angelus and the Darkness are two of the most powerful entities that make up the the 13 Artifacts. Like the Darkness, the Angelus requires a human host to act through in the corporeal world. Unlike the Darkness, however, the Angelus entity forms a symbiotic bond with its host and takes complete control over its mind and body, allowing it no free will of its own. Since the Angelus is a force of light and order, it seeks to destroy anything that is dark and chaotic, while disregarding mortal rules and laws. The Angelus’ age is still unknown at this time, yet, she has stated that she and the Darkness have been at war with each other since the creation. Although, sometime during the Angelus’ past, it made a truce with the Darkness, and together they conceived a child that would later be known as the Witchblade artifact and represent the eternal balance that exists between the Angelus and the Darkness.
Lauren Franchetti
The current wielder of the Darkness, Jackie Estacado, killed the Angelus, and forced it to become hostless for the first time in centuries. Sonatine revealed that this particular incarnation had been around for 999 years. While searching for a new host, the Angelus entity was summoned by Sonatine, who had performed an ancient ritual in order to force the Angelus into joining with Appolonia Franchetti, of the Franchetti Family Mob. However, the Angelus sensed that Appolonia craved its power too much, and chose to enter her catatonic mother, Lauren Franchetti instead. Soon after, the newly reborn Angelus was fooled into thinking she had finally defeated the Darkness, after Jackie had made a copy of himself, a trick that fooled her previous incarnation many years ago. She eventually took Appolonia to an ancient temple in the Amazon rain forest and came into contact with the Magdalena, Sister Mariella who was on a mission to reforge the Spear of Destiny which had been shattered during her first encounter with the Darkness. During the battle, Appolonia chose to accept an aspect of darkness based powers granted to her by the piece of the Spear of Destiny she held. The fight soon ended with no clear victor as Lauren gave herself completely to the Angelus entity telling her daughter that they must stay away from each other, for if they met again the Angelus would attempt to kill Appolonia. Lauren‘s last conscious decision was to then flee the scene in order to avoid a further confrontation with her daughter.
The Angelus once again attempted to kill The Darkness, but also came into conflict with the new Magdalena ( Patience). During their brief fight Appolonia ran the Angelus through with the Spear of Destiny, disembodying her once again. During the time in which the Angelus remained hostless, her army sensed that the balance between the Light and Darkness had been tipped in the favor of Jackie Estacado, and began to prepare for war. The Angelus first attempted to possess Velocity, a member of Cyberforce. However, the Angelus was forced out of Velocity when she was stabbed by Cyblade‘s electromagnetic blades. The Angelus quickly fled from the scene.
Celestine Wright
The Angelus soon found and merged with the bi-polar murderer Celestine in Ryker‘s Prison. Before completely merging with Celestine, the Angelus cured her of her bi-polar disorder so that she would make a more suitable host to become the new Angelus. Meanwhile, the Angelus’ Warriors attacked Jackie Estacado and his henchmen, killing everyone but Jackie himself. After being reborn, the Angelus then tried to gain control of the “balance” also known as the Witchblade, but was distracted by the Darkness allowing Sara Pezzini time to escape and give birth to her child. After a second battle with Jackie, the Angelus came close to obtaining her victory over the Darkness but was interrupted by Sara who had regained a portion of the Witchblade and given birth to Hope Pezzini. The Angelus attempted to claim the child of Sara and the Darkness as her own when a mystical explosion occurred leaving none by the Angelus and her foes alive. The Angelus soon fled the scene and allowed Celestine to regain control of her mind and body. Celestine and the Angelus were able to co-exist as separate entities for a short time, with Celestine being granted the ability to become the Angelus when needed, yet still retaining her own free will. Celestine, however, knew that The Angelus was still fully capable of submerging her will at any time, but The Angelus had chosen not to after their encounter with Sara Pezzini‘s daughter. Together the two characters were more than just the sum of their parts, as Celestine began to regain a long sought sense of peace, The Angelus was forced to question whether or not she is merely more than a weapon of righteous wrath. The two beings were soon confronted by Celestine‘s dark past, but quickly disposed of the group of monsters before setting out to question their existences. After allowing Celestine to continue her existing, the two eventually found a job in a small bar until the Angelus’ General and Second in Command, Sabine, managed to track them down in order to convince the Angelus to return and continue the fight against the Darkness. Their talk was eventually interrupted by three mortals, whom Sabine quickly killed, until the Angelus finished off the third and ultimately chose to return to lead the her warriors into battle.
The Angelus returned and seemed to have again re-asserted her will over Celestine‘s. She quickly began to engage in a battle with a powerless Jackie Estacado and Sara Pezzini, while the three of them were caught in the middle of a fight between the Glacier and Ember stone wielders. She was ultimately decapitated by Jackie with The Blood Sword, forcing the Angelus entity to become hostless yet again.
Danielle Baptiste
Some time later, the Angelus entity was seen near Danielle Baptiste’s house, hovering around the location of her roommate Finch. After her Lieutenant, Sabine, convinced Dani to confront Sara, the Angelus entity decided that Finch would be an appropriate host and easily possessed her before flying off to confront Sara Pezzini, the wielder of the once again balanced Witchblade.
Once she arrived at the Brooklyn Bridge, however, the Angelus revealed that she had truly been interested in Dani all along and claimed that she would finally be a host who was worthy of being more than a mere puppet to the Angelus power. The Angelus also noted that she did not take Dani sooner due to her possession of the Witchblade and was thus forced to bide her time until she possessed Finch, simply as a way to reach Dani so that she could transfer her power to the former balance wielder. After Dani was healed and in possession of the Angelus power, she briefly fought and easily bested the still possessed Sara, and although the Angelus entity desperately wanted to kill the Witchblade bearer, Dani used her power to heal the Darkness within her. Dani then used her power to restore the Brooklyn Bridge to normal before teleporting everyone away to safety and leading the Angelus Warriors away from the gathering crowd.
Still in control of the Angelus power, Dani moved back to New Orleans with Finch, much to the behest of some of the Angelus warriors, including the general Sabine who later came to possess the Wheel of Shadows. The Angelus entity continues to allow Dani to keep her free will while still giving her full access to her power. However, Dani does not appear to have all of the memories that have been provided to previous Angelus bearers. It remains to be seen how long the Angelus will subvert her own persona, while giving Dani full control of her wide range of abilities along with her angelic army.
Powers and Abilities
When the Angelus is bonded with its host it grants a number of abilities including enhanced strength, speed, self-propelled flight, teleportation, various light and fire based powers, and all of the memories of the previous Angelus hosts. The Angelus is also capable of creating a variety of objects including weapons and sentient life forms out of light. The Angelus has an easier time creating humanoid life forms, including mortals when compared to the current host of the Darkness since she is able to remember how to do this every time she is reborn. The Angelus leads and is often accompanied by a number of her winged warriors she has created, however, unlike the Darkness, her warriors do not dissipate when she is hostless, and in fact continue to do her bidding until she can return to them. Since the Angelus is an entity made of light, it is weak against darkness, and can only sustain its power in the dark for short periods of time, since it drains her power at a more rapid rate.