MARCIA KING
Real Name: Marcia King
Class: Human
Occupation: Assistant DA
Group Affiliation: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: NYC, NY
First Appearance: Vigilante I #5 (April, 1984)
Powers: Marcia King was a knowledgeable lawyer.
History: (Vigilante I #5) - DA Adrian Chase brought in Marcia as a research assistant, and after he left the office she moved her way up working with the organized crime strike force until she became Assistant DA. She invited Adrian to a ball, an he was still mourning his dead wife, but she said she'd ignored romance for years, and they could both use some company, so they spent the night together. The police nabbed mob hitmen Cannon and Saber, who'd killed the heads of each other's crime families, but planned to put them into witness protection for evidence against their mobs. Adrian told Marcia he disagreed with her decision, but she reminded him he wasn't DA anymore. Adrian confronted Cannon and Saber in his identity as the Vigilante, and learned that they were planning to take over NY's crime families. He fought them, and all three were grievously injured.
(Vigilante I #7) - Adrian and Marcia went for a jog, and continued their flirtation. Judge Welles was exercising as well, and said he was sorry that Marcia's deal with Cannon and Saber had gone south since they'd escaped police custody. She chalked it up to overexuberance on her part.
(Vigilante I #9) - Marcia encouraged Adrian to take up Judge Welles' offer of him becoming a judge.
(Vigilante I #10, 11) - Adrian told Marcia he was investigating the death of his friend JJ Davis. Controller was behind the hit, and had Maria's office bugged. He was also behind the unification of the mob families that Marcia was investigating. Adrian, as Vigilante, was responsible for the Controller's death, and with Marcia urging him on he accepted Welles' offer to become a judge.
(Vigilante I #12) - . Adrian saw Maria prosecute Max Harris, who'd killed two Asian men in a hate crime after his plant was shut down to outsource to Japan. He was acquitted by a sympathetic jury, and Marcia raged that she wished she could take justice into her own hands, and Adrian wondered if she was serious.
(Vigilante I #13) - Adrian and Marcia watched proceedings against Brent Wilson. He'd been having an affair with his business partner Stephen Locke's wife Angela and had been embezzling funds from their company. Stephen died from poisoning and Stephen was charged, but Adrian told Marcia something was off, and decided to investigate himself. As Vigilante he learned that Stephen knew of his wife's affair, and committed suicide, but implicated Stephen with a note saying he was the murderer. He tried to convince Brent he could clear him, but Brent led him on a chase and shot at him, and the Vigilante ended up killing him.
(Vigilante I #14) - Marcia and Allan were at Adrian's side during a press conference, and the press asked him what he thought of as the Vigilante, but he replied that he'd never given him much thought.
(Vigilante I #15) - Marcia took Adrian to the circus, and he was happy to have a light-hearted afternoon. They went back to his place and made love, but his nightmares still haunted him, and he was soon in his gym working out to forget his pain. Hank Weston was a clown who'd attempted to rob a bank to raise money for his dying wife. He was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury, and Adrian and Marcia agreed with the decision, and Welles said they were going soft on him.
(Vigilante I #16) - Marcia was returning from a case in Brooklyn, having to commute because of a change in venue, when her subway car was stopped by a group of well-organized robbers. She refused to give up her legal briefs and received a bad beating, and was taken to Roosevelt Hospital. Adrian went to visit her, and despite her injuries she staid in good spirits.
(Vigilante Annual #1) - Adrian called Marcia, who told him her old friend Charlie Block had been framed for the murder of two of his neighbors, and she had to investigate. Adrian did his own investigation as Vigilante, and cleared Charlie's name. Marcia called him back, excited about the idea of Vigilante saving her friend.
(Vigilante I #19) - Adrian's judgeship was approved, and he answered questions from reporters with Marcia and Welles. The reporters asked about Marcia and Adrian's relationship, and Marcia would recues herself of cases Adrian would try to avoid a conflict of interest.
(Vigilante I #20, 21) - A co-worker asked Marcia about her relationship with Adrian, and she said she was drawn to his intensity and sadness, but admitted he didn't often open up to her. A new Vigilante appeared and Adrian wondered if he'd finally snapped and was going out at night in his old identity. He was in his chambers having a nervous breakdown, and Marcia embraced him even though he said he couldn't talk about what was bothering him, and she gave him the strength to serve his first day as judge. He shut himself off from her again, but her persistence in getting him to trust her convinced him of her love.
(Vigilante I #22, 23) - Marcia tried to talk to Adrian, who was drinking heavily, after he refused to explain why his apartment was destroyed. He raged at her to leave him alone, and she said she was worried he was mentally ill, but couldn't be helped unless he let her help, so she walked out on him. He begged her to stay, saying she was his tether to sanity, and they kissed. The next night Adrian grabbed a gun, wanting to pursue the new murderous Vigilante, and when Marcia saw his supply of weapons in his basement she left in fear. He told her how he lost his mind after his family's death, and the whole story about his time as the Vigilante. Adrian's confession was too much for Marcia, and she told him if he'd truly left his old life behind he wouldn't be stalking the streets for the new Vigilante. She left, telling him she wouldn't turn him in because she loved him, but he should consider the option himself. She saw the psychologist Dr. Knopf searching for a way to help Adrian, but he suggested that her recent stressors meant she was the one who would benefit from some sessions.
(Vigilante I #24) - Marcia still refused to take Adrian's calls and during her sessions with Knopf he'd worked out that the Vigilante was Adrian Chase.
(Vigilante I #27) - Marcia wept, struggling with her love for Adrian and a repulsion for his lies and madness.
(Vigilante I #28) - Marcia tried mob hitman Blake Scully, but charges were dropped after evidence against him was ruled inadmissible. Her assistant Ed said at least he only killed mobsters, and Marcia reminded him that it was not their job to judge the victims. She saw Dr. Knopf and told him that she suspected her friend had killed the new Vigilante, knowing he felt responsible for inspiring the murderer, and Marcia wasn't sure if she could live with that knowledge.
(Vigilante I #29) - Adrian returned to work and ran into Marcia. She'd heard about the death of the new Vigilante and Judge Welles, and as usual Adrian refused to explain his role, but assured her what needed to happen did happen. She said she was seeking psychiatric help for the strain their relationship caused, and he was furious, worried about what she'd told him. She said she never disclosed his identity, but he worried that the brand new Vigilante that had recently surfaced might be her doctor.
(Vigilante I #31, 32) - Marcia called Adrian, who was on a drinking binge, hoping for closure. He begged for a meeting so they could try to work things out, and she reluctantly agreed. In anticipation of her lunch date King went to see Dr. Knopf, telling him it'd be the first time she really talked to her ex since he revealed he was the Vigilante. Knopf pressured her to tell him Vigilante's identity, even though he'd worked it out, telling her it was important to the trust between them. Adrian stood up Marcia for their lunch date, and she found him in his chambers drunk and slurring. She couldn't stand to see the wreck he'd become and left, saying it was goodbye for good.
(Vigilante I #34) -Adrian had been in a health club targeted by a religious zealot bomber, and was in critical condition at Roosevelt Hospital. Dave Winston went to visit him, as did Marcia, and he held her hand to comfort her. Adrian's enhanced healing abilities kicked in, and he screamed at them, mistaking the innocent gesture, accusing Dave of trying to take everything he had in life away from him. Marcia didn't know that they were at odds because Winston had adopted the persona of the new Vigilante despite Adrian's objections. Adrian told Dave he'd never be him, and told Marcia to leave him alone.
(Vigilante I #35, Vigilante Annual #2) - Adrian was indicted for the murder of Alan Welles. Lt. Stein, despite orders from his superiors, had gathered the evidence, as well as proof that Alan Welles was briefly the Vigilante. Marcia quit her position as assistant DA to act as Adrian's defense council, and he shed a tear realizing how much she loved him. Adrian went to trial, and he told Marcia was uncomfortable pleading not guilty because he had killed Welles. She believed his story that he'd killed in self-defense, but told him he couldn't reveal the true story to the jury without outing himself as Vigilante. She told Adrian he was acting like he didn't care if he was convicted, and he revealed that he'd been wracked with guilt since Welles' death. The prosecutor called Molly Williams, a homeless woman that slept near Adrian's home. Stein had found her, and she testified she saw Adrian carrying aa rug with a body in it on the night of Welles' death. Marcia cross examined it, and it turned out that Molly was mentally ill, also claiming to have seen Martians in Adrian's neighborhood, and her credibility was shot. Outside the court Stein told him his suspicion that he and Welles both spent time as the Vigilante, and Adrian couldn't help but completely open up and tell the whole story of how he became the Vigilante. When Stein was on the stand he admitted the evidence against Chase had been illegally obtained through his breaking into Adrian's home, and charges were dismissed. Adrian asked Stein why he saved him after pursuing him for so long, and Stein was convinced Chase was on the side of law and order, even if he didn't approve of his methods. Adrian told Marcia he loved her, and she said he'd better never leave her again.
(Vigilante I #36) - Adrian and Marcia boarded a flight to London, hoping to leave Adrian's past behind. The plane was hijacked by the Lebanese People's Liberation Army, and Marcia made Adrian promise to leave the terrorists to the professionals. Peacemaker boarded the plane, shooting three of the terrorists, but Vigilante, who'd heard about the situation on the police band, arrived to make sure Adrian was okay. He grabbed Peacemaker, not knowing if he was one of the good guys or not, and Peacemaker flipped out, shooting him to death before departing. Adrian blamed himself, and said that others died when he turned his back on the Vigilante, and he had no choice but to put on the mask again. Marcia begged him not to succumb to the lure of violence and madness, but he walked away from her as she wept, saying he was going to kill Peacemaker.
(Vigilante I #38) -Marcia had a nervous breakdown, and was picked up after she was seen wandering in a daze and sent to the hospital. The hospital notified Dr. Knopf, and he wondered if her witnessing the death of the Vigilante had driven her mad.
(Vigilante I #41) - Marcia was committed to the Brockman Institute, and told Dr. Knopf she blamed herself for not turning Adrian in, and felt responsible for his new bloodier career. She had another breakdown, raging that Adrian had used her and made her as insane as him.
(Vigilante I #42) -Marcia watched the news of Vigilante's latest standoff with the police from her hospital room. She knew she wanted to start living her life again, and wanted nothing to do with Adriann.
(Vigilante I #47) - Marcia was released from Briarwood, and thanked Dr. Knopf for helping her regain her sanity. A news report about the Vigilante ran, and she turned it off, saying she was moving to California and happy to forget all about him.
Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman & Keith Pollard.
Marcia King had a cameo in Vigilante I #50.
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