The Pentacle
Encyclopedia
The Pentacle, or Pentacle, is a DC Comics
supervillain
group, a team that served as counterparts to the superhero
group, the Shadowpact
. Created by Bill Willingham
, The Pentacle first appeared in Shadowpact #1 (July 2006).
, who opened a doorway to the bubble for them to enter and for them to find out what was going on. The Pentacle was taking over a small part of a town and was using the residents as human sacrifices to complete a spell used by Strega. As soon as the Shadowpact entered the bubble, Nightshade
ran into a member of The Pentacle, Sister Shadow, and the two quickly fought.
Meanwhile, the rest of The Pentacle became aware of the Shadowpact's presence and each member began to fight another. During each fight, it was shown that The Pentacle mirrored the Shadowpact. While all members of The Pentacle took down their counterparts, each one was to not kill them and to bring their unconscious Shadowpact member to Strega so they could imprison them. However, only one member of The Pentacle, Karnevil, didn't follow orders. Instead of bringing his counterpart, Detective Chimp
, to Strega, Karnevil tied him to a post and prepared to torture him.
When Karnevil returned to Strega without Detective Chimp, Strega demanded that he retrieved him so they could add him with the rest of his teammates. When Karnevil returned to the post, Detective Chimp had escaped and then he easily subdued Karnevil. Then, another member of The Pentacle, The White Rabbit, felt disgusted by Strega's ways of killing, so he freed the Shadowpact. Enchantress
took him out however, knowing that he still couldn't be trusted. While Enchantress and Nightmaster thought of a spell to destroy the barrier, the rest of the team (excluding Detective Chimp) took down the remaining members of The Pentacle. When Detective Chimp finally caught up with the three, Enchantress' spell took effect, which had burst the barrier. After the Shadowpact discovered Strega had gotten away, they realized that the whole time they were in the barrier, a year had passed by in the world outside of it, causing each of them to age one year, all due to Enchantress' spell.
Blue Devil then sent Jack of Fire to Hell
with his trident, while Nightshade trapped the remaining four in darkness cubes of hers and then the Shadowpact sent them to the Black Tower, a prison in another dimension.
The only member of The Pentacle who has made numerous appearances in other titles and is currently being used as a comic book villain is Karnevil. He appeared in one more issue of Shadowpact, where he managed to escape the Black Tower by beating his guard and escaping back to Earth through a portal in which goods from Earth were coming through. Karnevil has appeared in many other titles written by Bill Willingham.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
group, a team that served as counterparts to the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
group, the Shadowpact
Shadowpact
The Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...
. Created by Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
, The Pentacle first appeared in Shadowpact #1 (July 2006).
Publication history
The Pentacle first appeared in Shadowpact #1 and last appeared in Shadowpact #5. Members of the team were individually seen on occasions in the series.Shadowpact
When The Pentacle's leader, Strega, created a hemogoblin bubble barrier that was impenetrable, the Shadowpact was called by the Phantom StrangerPhantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
, who opened a doorway to the bubble for them to enter and for them to find out what was going on. The Pentacle was taking over a small part of a town and was using the residents as human sacrifices to complete a spell used by Strega. As soon as the Shadowpact entered the bubble, Nightshade
Nightshade (comics)
Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...
ran into a member of The Pentacle, Sister Shadow, and the two quickly fought.
Meanwhile, the rest of The Pentacle became aware of the Shadowpact's presence and each member began to fight another. During each fight, it was shown that The Pentacle mirrored the Shadowpact. While all members of The Pentacle took down their counterparts, each one was to not kill them and to bring their unconscious Shadowpact member to Strega so they could imprison them. However, only one member of The Pentacle, Karnevil, didn't follow orders. Instead of bringing his counterpart, Detective Chimp
Detective Chimp
In the fictional DC Universe, Detective Chimp is a deerstalker-wearing chimpanzee with human-level intelligence who solves crimes, often with the help of the Bureau of Amplified Animals, a group of intelligent animals that also includes Rex the Wonder Dog...
, to Strega, Karnevil tied him to a post and prepared to torture him.
When Karnevil returned to Strega without Detective Chimp, Strega demanded that he retrieved him so they could add him with the rest of his teammates. When Karnevil returned to the post, Detective Chimp had escaped and then he easily subdued Karnevil. Then, another member of The Pentacle, The White Rabbit, felt disgusted by Strega's ways of killing, so he freed the Shadowpact. Enchantress
Enchantress (DC Comics)
The Enchantress is a DC Comics character who has been both a superheroine and supervillainess. She first appeared in National Comics flagship science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures #187 , and was created by writer Bob Haney and artist Howard Purcell.More recently she is usually called...
took him out however, knowing that he still couldn't be trusted. While Enchantress and Nightmaster thought of a spell to destroy the barrier, the rest of the team (excluding Detective Chimp) took down the remaining members of The Pentacle. When Detective Chimp finally caught up with the three, Enchantress' spell took effect, which had burst the barrier. After the Shadowpact discovered Strega had gotten away, they realized that the whole time they were in the barrier, a year had passed by in the world outside of it, causing each of them to age one year, all due to Enchantress' spell.
Blue Devil then sent Jack of Fire to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
with his trident, while Nightshade trapped the remaining four in darkness cubes of hers and then the Shadowpact sent them to the Black Tower, a prison in another dimension.
Current whereabouts
The Pentacle is currently no longer and has not been together again since they've been imprisoned. Jack of Fire, The White Rabbit, Sister Shadow and Bagman have not been seen since they were sent to the Black Tower, never appearing in another issue of Shadowpact or any other comic book series again. Strega quickly returned in the Shadowpact series. She freed a warlock named Doctor Gotham and together they tried to summon a Sun King. Strega believed many humans would have to be sacrificed for the summon to work, however she was deceived by Dr. Gotham, who knew only one person had to be sacrificed, so he gave Strega cancer that quickly advanced, killing her within minutes. She was never seen in another issue of Shadowpact and has not ever been seen in any other series since.The only member of The Pentacle who has made numerous appearances in other titles and is currently being used as a comic book villain is Karnevil. He appeared in one more issue of Shadowpact, where he managed to escape the Black Tower by beating his guard and escaping back to Earth through a portal in which goods from Earth were coming through. Karnevil has appeared in many other titles written by Bill Willingham.
Membership
- Strega — the leader of The Pentacle and a counterpart of the Shadowpact member, EnchantressEnchantress (DC Comics)The Enchantress is a DC Comics character who has been both a superheroine and supervillainess. She first appeared in National Comics flagship science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures #187 , and was created by writer Bob Haney and artist Howard Purcell.More recently she is usually called...
. Strega is a sorceress and most of her spells are powered by blood, which is why she is always needing human sacrifices. She is skilled at necromancyNecromancyNecromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
and has longevityLongevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
. - Jack of Fire (Jack Cassidy) — the counterpart of the Shadowpact member, Blue DevilBlue DevilBlue Devil is a superhero featured in material published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert published in Fury of Firestorm #24 . That story led directly into Blue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984...
. Jack has demonic strength and durability and can create blasts of fire. He claims he is Blue Devil's older brother, and that they have a sister named Mary. Jack also says that his parents were pulled out of heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and put into Hell because of the deal Blue Devil made with NeronNeronNeron is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in the DC Comics cross-over event Underworld Unleashed #1, , and was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter.- Publication history :...
. Jack shows a strong hatred for Blue Devil. - The White Rabbit — the counterpart of the Shadowpact member, NightmasterNightmasterThe Nightmaster is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #82 , and was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti.-Publication history:...
. An albino, he possesses a sword that is enchanted, which he is highly skilled with. It can cause unconsciousness with even a light scratch. Despises mass murder. - Bagman — the counterpart of the Shadowpact member, RagmanRagmanRagman is a fictional mystic vigilante and superhero who first appeared in the short-lived comic-book series named after him. He is one of a limited number of Jewish superheroes, and his continuity is tied to that of DC Comics' Golem, derived from the Golem of Prague of Jewish folklore.Ragman is...
. Bagman can transform into goo, then absorb and digest matter. - Sister Shadow — the counterpart of the Shadowpact member, NightshadeNightshade (comics)Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...
. She can transform into varied shadow creatures. - Karnevil (Jeremy Karne) — the counterpart of the Shadowpact member, Detective ChimpDetective ChimpIn the fictional DC Universe, Detective Chimp is a deerstalker-wearing chimpanzee with human-level intelligence who solves crimes, often with the help of the Bureau of Amplified Animals, a group of intelligent animals that also includes Rex the Wonder Dog...
. Karnevil has no powers, but he is a sociopathic teenager who is obsessed with murder. He claims he died and went to Hell but the demons returned him to life because he was too much trouble for them.