Universe
Marvel Universe

Real Name
Unrevealed, likely Vera Gemini

Aliases
None

Identity
True nature unknown to Earth's general populace

Citizenship
Unrevealed

Place of Birth
unrevealed

First Appearance
Defenders #58 (1978)

Origin
Defenders #59 (1978)

The daughter of a human and a demon, Vera Gemini was scorned by both sides of her ancestry for her dual nature. She eventually came to lead the Cult of the Harvester of Eyes, dedicated to Xenogenesis, restoring to power a demon race that had ruled Earth in the distant past. Human agents were recruited, some demonstrating psychic powers and serving as Reapers of Souls (assassins) or Agents of Fortune (producing objects of value). Based out of the Mexican jungle, Vera would -via human sacrifice- return a demon to Earth, and these demons would take on human form and be integrated into society, from rulers countries to common muggers, until there would be enough demons to rule the Earth once again. Vera and her group trained the Devil Slayer (Eric Simon Payne) as a Reaper, but he quit upon learning their true intent and soon opposed them directly, becoming one of their strongest foes. Vera sent demon assassins after Payne and his wife, but the demons were driven off by Deathlock the Demolisher's aid.

Vera sent an Agent of Fortune to steal the Amulet of Agamotto from the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, as Strange' mentor, the Ancient One, had used it to defeat the Cult in centuries past; Vera's spells allowed the Agents to enter Strange's Sanctum undetected and ambushed him. Following an unsuccessful attempt to re-recruit Payne, Vera fled back to the Cult's Mexican jungle base while Payne joined the Defenders in opposing the Cult. Vera then led a ritual mass sacrifice to summon to Earth the ancient demon race leader, Belathauzer. They plotted to place each of his demon-horde into a human host body of power and influence, enabling them to conquer all of North America and from there, the world. Using the Amulet of Agamotto, Vera held open the demon realm portal, allowing their continued influx into the Earth’s dimension. Doctor Strange in astral form, entered the demon realm to regain his amulet and stop the Xenogenesis, but Vera ambushed him and used the amulet to merge several demons to his astral form, transforming him into a mindless, rampaging demon-creature. Meanwhile, the Cultist continued the ritual, hoping to gain favored positions when the demons took over; however, they instead served as the final sacrifice. When the portal to the demon realm was forced the rest of the way open, it released explosive force, which stunned the cultist, making them easy prey for the hungry demons rushing out of their dimension. Vera manipulated the demon overlords in their human forms into playing demonic roulette to decide which of them would rule. However, Vera proved to be the victor, and took command of the demon hordes. She condemned the demon overlords to the same fate as the rest of humanity.

Devil led the Defenders (Hellcat, Hulk, Nighthawk, Valkyrie/Brunnhilde) to the Mexican rain forest, where they fought the invading demon horde. Hellcat stole the Agent of Fortune’s Shadow Cloak, removing his ability to summon weapons and leaving his virtually powerless. Hellcat then ambushed Vera and dropped the Shadow Cloak over her, causing her to vanish to an unrevealed dimension, where she was apparently trapped. Valkyrie skewered the demon form of Doctor Strange with her enchanted sword Dragonfang allowing his astral form to return to its senses and its body. Strange then led Nighthawk into the demon realm, where he recovered the Amulet of Agamotto from its position in the portal, which pulled all of the demon back into their realm, and closed off the portal.