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Laurie Neal

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Laurie Neal
Laurie Neal
Reality: Earth-616
Aliases: Laurie Simpson; Laurie Simpson Neal
Type: Minor character
Status: Deceased
Race: Vampire
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Place of birth: Boston, Massachusetts
Died: 1920s/30s?
Place of death: Harrow's Point, Maine
Base of Operations: Harrow's Point, Maine
Relatives: Frank Neal (husband); Angelica Neal (daughter)
First: Tomb of Dracula Magazine #4 ("Angelica")
Final: Tomb of Dracula Magazine #4 ("Angelica")
Creators: Roger McKenzie; Gene Colan; Tom Palmer

Laurie Neal is a fictional character who is part of the Tomb of Dracula comic book franchise published by Marvel Comics during the 1970s and 80s. She was introduced in the first story in the fourth issue of the Tomb of Dracula comic magazine, cover date April, 1980, entitled "Angelica".

Biography[]

Laurie Simpson Neal was the wife of lighthouse keeper Frank Neal and the mother of young Angelica Neal. The Neals had a troubled marriage, owing largely to Frank's decision to take up the position of lighthouse keeper of Harrow's Point, Maine after the untimely death of the previous keeper. Laurie did not support the decision and resented the fact that Frank uprooted them from their home and relocated them to Maine. She wanted Frank to accept a position working at her father's bank, but Frank refused.

Within an evening of moving into the lighthouse, Laurie discovered that her daughter had fallen prey to a vampire. The local physician, Doctor Chowder, administered a blood transfusion with Laurie as the donor and saved Angelica's life. That same evening, the Lord of all vampires, Dracula, insinuated his way into the Neal home. Unable to finish off Angelica (due to some well-placed crucifixes and garlic), he instead sated his thirst on Laurie. The substantial blood loss, both from the attack and the transfusion, proved too much for Laurie and she died soon after. Three nights later, she awakened in her coffin as a vampire. Her husband Frank as well as Doctor Chowder and the local bishop Father McFarland restrained her in her coffin while Frank drove a stake into her heart. Chowder initially handed McFarland the stake, but he refused to do the act, mistakenly believing that Laurie had been buried alive, but Frank, who saw her corpse knew otherwise, so he took the stake from McFarland's hand and did the deed [1]

Abilities[]

Powers[]

Had Laurie continued to exist, she would have developed all of the powers of a traditional vampire. However, she was destroyed before her proficiency in such abilities could ever be realized.

  • Vampirism: Vampirism is the act of turning a human being or animal into a vampire. Despite its roots in European folklore, vampirism exists in nature, and there are many such creatures who are actually born as vampires. Pathologically, vampirism is likened to a virus, carried in the saliva of predators. The vampire enzyme is carried through a victim's bloodstream and within seventy-two hours, mutates the subject's physiology, creating new parasitic organs. By and large, this action can only be perpetuated by a vampire himself, but there has been occasion when a human has been turned into a vampire through an act of black magic such as a curse. The creation of the very first vampire, Varnae, was conducted in such a fashion when the sorcerer Thulsa Doom cursed him more than 20,000 years ago. Early traditions held that vampire could turn a human into a vampire by drinking their blood to the point of death, at which point, the victim would then be forced to consume an unspecified volume of the vampire's blood. In three days time, they would then rise as a vampire themselves. As vampires continued to evolve over the years however, the rate at which the process takes place has evolved as well. Newly made vampires possess all of the same abilities as the one who turned them, but at significantly lower power levels. At the onset, young vampires are almost always subservient to the whims of their master, but as they age and grow more powerful, the vampire becomes more independent, sometimes even turning against the one who made them.
  • Immortality: Vampires are immortal creatures whose bodies cease to physically age beyond a certain point. Theoretically, a vampire can live forever providing that it continues to gain nourishment through the act of drinking blood and it is not destroyed.
  • Shape-shifting: Vampires can transform into a variety of animals through an act of will. The most common forms are that of a bat, which enables a vampire to easily evade weaponry and provides them with a means of escaping a dangerous situation. They can also transform into a wolf, which also has numerous advantages. Some vampires can also become immaterial, shifting into the form of a fine mist. This also allows them to move about undetected and renders them impervious to traditional weaponry. In both bat and animal forms, a vampire maintains his intellect, while also possessing the characteristics and advantages of each animal.
  • Flight: In bat form, a vampire is capable of winged flight. This is not an ability they normally possess in their human form.
  • Echolocation: In bat form, a vampire has full mastery over his normal senses, but can also use sonar like a bat for navigation in darkened areas.
  • Claws: In wolf form, vampires possess sharpened claws. Many also possess this in human form.
  • Superhuman strength: Most vampires possess superhuman physical strength anywhere from 10 to 20 times greater than they possessed in their mortal lives. The vast majority of known and recorded vampires are capable of lifting from 1,000 lbs to 4,000 lbs. A vampire's enhanced strength also enables them to perform other superhuman feats such as leaping great distances. Supplementing their strength, vampires are naturally heartier than normal humans and can withstand severe physical exertion with no ill effects. It is unknown if vampire strength levels differ between pure bloods and turned vampires.
  • Superhuman durability: With the exception of certain restrictions, vampires are essentially invulnerable to most forms of bodily harm, including the effects of disease, and the natural cellular mitosis that comes with aging. Vampires are not living creatures, and as such, they do not require oxygen to breathe. Vampires can exist without undue stress in oxygen free environments such as being submerged under water or buried beneath the earth. Excessive force will cause physical damage to a vampire, but their bodies will regenerate damaged tissue providing they can supplement themselves with regular supplies of blood.
  • Superhuman reflexes: A vampire's reflexes, agility and reaction time are many times greater than a normal human being. At maximum optimal capacity, a vampire can move more quickly than the human eye can perceive.
  • Claws: Many vampires possess sharpened claws upon being turned into a vampire. Their claws are extremely strong and durable and their effectiveness is in proportion to the strength and power level of the vampire.
  • Fangs: Vampires possess two pairs of upper and lower fangs. These fangs are as much a tool as they are a weapon for a vampire uses them to pierce the throat of their victims so that they may then excise the blood from their veins for consumption.

Weaknesses[]

As a vampire, Laurie Neal possessed all of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities as any other vampire.

Notes & Trivia[]

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 #4; "Angelica"


Character
This article relates to characters featured in the Tomb of Dracula comic book franchise.
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