This article explores the multifaceted characters of Vanessa in two distinct fictional universes. First, Vanessa from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and, second, Vanessa Fisk from Marvel Comics. While they share a name, their roles, personalities, and narrative functions diverge significantly, offering a rich comparison of character development and thematic resonance.
Vanessa (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones)
Vanessa is a Pegasus Knight hailing from Frelia in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. She is the younger sister of Syrene. She appears in Chapter 1 when Eirika arrives in Frelia. Hayden gives her three of his trusted vassals-Vanessa, Moulder, and Gilliam. Vanessa is a level 1 Pegasus Knight who joins in Chapter 2.
Role and Abilities
As a Pegasus Knight, Vanessa is a valuable unit due to her mobility and utility. She is the only flier available until Tana appears in Chapter 9. She can ignore most terrain and rescue most units to carry them over such terrain. Vanessa has high base speed and decent base strength, allowing her to contribute early on in combat. The low quality of enemies in The Sacred Stones allows her to gain experience through combat quickly. However, Vanessa does not have particularly high HP or defense and cannot usually withstand multiple attacks; bow-users will deal effective damage and will typically be able to kill her in one shot, though her bow weakness can be negated with the Fili Shield.
Vanessa promotes with an Elysian Whip, the first of which can be obtained in Chapter 8, by which time Vanessa can reliably reach level 10. Promoting Vanessa does not come at the expense of other fliers, as Cormag has an Elysian Whip in his inventory, and they can be obtained in a Secret Shop in Chapter 14. Her ability to fly over terrain will make her very useful for the game's terrain-heavy maps.
Vanessa has the option to promote to Falcon Knight or Wyvern Knight. While Falcon Knight gives Vanessa access to E-rank swords and has better defensive stats, Wyvern Knight improves her constitution by 4 instead of 1, improving her attack speed in more cases. Vanessa's base constitution is very low, and she will be weighed down by most weapons, particularly lances; promoting her to Wyvern Knight mitigates the problem. Falcon Knight Vanessa can wield swords to work around her lower constitution, but swords pair poorly with Vanessa's aforementioned strength issues, with the higher constitution making it easier for her to use strong but heavy weapons like the Steel Lance. Wyvern Knight also grants Vanessa the Pierce skill, which gives her a chance to make an attack that ignores the enemy's defense.
Read also: Vanessa Cross's inspiring transformation
Personality and Relationships
Vanessa is portrayed as a sincere and serious girl who always strives to do her best in battle. However, her sister Syrene notes that she is often too serious. She is slightly shy and harbors a crush on Prince Innes. Vanessa envies Syrene, viewing her as superior in every way, which highlights Vanessa's lack of self-confidence. Despite her insecurities, Syrene acknowledges Vanessa's "inner fortitude."
When talking, she seems to relax and be able to act less nervous. Not much is known about her life. She was the first to act when her father fell ill. When her mother and Syrene didn't know what to do, Vanessa gathered nuts, sold them in the market, and bought medicine, saving her father. Her and Syrene's parents are most likely still alive, since Syrene received the war gold Fale's amulet from her father right before Vanessa left, and her mother was present as well. Vanessa seems to be rather high in the ranks of Frelia, since she attended King Hayden's birthday ceremony and saw Innes's archery. She remained on active duty as an airborne knight in Frelia's army. At Innes's request, Vanessa moved into Castle Frelia where she continued her duties as a knight of the realm. Forde's love for Vanessa grew after the war, and although she loved him as well, she placed her duty to Frelia first. Forde moved to Frelia himself. Sisters Syrene and Vanessa returned to Frelia after the war for a long-overdue talk. They talked of love and war, of friends now gone.
Significance in the Narrative
Vanessa's role extends beyond being a mere combat unit. Her interactions and support conversations reveal a character grappling with self-doubt and a strong sense of duty. Her dedication to Frelia and her relationships with characters like Innes and Forde add depth to her story.
Vanessa Fisk (Marvel Comics)
Vanessa Fisk, whose maiden name is Marianna, is a significant character in Marvel Comics, primarily associated with Daredevil and Spider-Man. She is the wife of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, and the mother of Richard Fisk. Unlike her husband, Vanessa is not inherently villainous, and she often disapproves of his criminal activities.
Early Life and Relationship with Wilson Fisk
Little is known about Fisk's personal life and early years other than her maiden name "Marianna". Vanessa's early life was marked by hardship. Her father, a textile worker, was often absent and struggled with drinking and gambling. This behavior deeply affected her mother, whom Marianna viewed as weak.
Read also: Explore Vanessa Bauche's transformation
As an adult, Marianna worked at Scene Contempo Gallery, where she met Wilson Fisk. She found herself drawn to Wilson Fisk, who was looking over the paintings that were on display, as Fisk took time to stare closely at an all-white painting named Rabbit in a Snowstorm. Seeing that Fisk was not speaking much as he continued to stare at the artwork, Marianna noted how she would often be asked how the gallery could charge so much money for a painting that was merely various shades of white, before she insisted that it was not about the artist's name or the skill required, but simply how the artwork made a person feel.
Their initial encounters were complex. Marianna was wary of Fisk's wealth and power, but she was also intrigued by his genuine interest in her and his vision for a better New York City.
During their night, Marianna had slept beside Fisk, as he awoke due to a bad dream and looked at the Rabbit in a Snowstorm, only for him to turn back over to Marianna and embrace her, which helped Fisk sleep. Marianna managed to convince Fisk to take some more chances with his life, as she joined him in choosing a new suit for him to wear out in New York City, with Marianna selecting a grey suit with a black shirt, rather than the all black suits that he would normally wear. Marianna took great pleasure in helping Fisk step out of his comfort zone, even forcing him not to wear his father's cufflinks, but ones that Marianna picked out for him.
Marianna had then stood by Fisk, as they went outside the New York State Supreme Court Building and gave a speech in front of all of the New York media, including WHiH World News. Marianna had looked at Fisk with pride, as he told the people of New York that they must not bow down in fear to the actions of the masked man, as Fisk had gained huge approval.
Role in Kingpin's Life
Vanessa's presence often serves as a moral compass for Wilson Fisk. She frequently urges him to abandon his criminal empire and seek a legitimate life. Her influence is so profound that Fisk has, on multiple occasions, considered leaving his life of crime for her.
Read also: Weight Loss Guide Andalusia, AL
After the Kingpin had a near-death experience, Vanessa gave him an ultimatum; he had twenty-four hours to get out of crime, or she would leave him. The Kingpin was about to kill Spider-Man when the deadline passed, and Vanessa forced him to choose between Spider-Man's life or their life together. The two went into retirement in Japan.
Tragic Endings and Resurrections
Vanessa's life is marked by tragedy. She has been a target of Fisk's enemies, suffering near-death experiences and periods of amnesia. Her death has been faked, and she has been resurrected through various means, reflecting the comic book trope of characters returning from the dead.
Kingpin started a gang war against the mob in New York to rescue Vanessa. The mob bosses attempted to ransom Vanessa in exchange for the evidence against them Kingpin had intended to turn over to the authorities, but during the exchange, Kingpin used a sonic device to stop the criminals, and found Vanessa bound and gagged in a building. However, Lynch fired an explosive at Vanessa, in an attempt to deprive Kingpin of the thing that kept him retired and bring him back as the Kingpin of Crime. She was buried alive in the rubble and presumed dead, although she did not actually die.
Weeks later, Matt Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil, found Vanessa in the sewers. Being buried alive had left Vanessa amnesiac and mentally unstable, and she ended up taken in by a mutant who lived in the sewers. Daredevil ultimately used her as leverage to force Kingpin to order his puppet Randolph Cherryh, newly elected to the office of Mayor, to resign and to confirm to the media that he was indeed a mob puppet.
Ultimately Vanessa recovered, and she remained in Europe. When Kingpin was the victim of an assassination attempt orchestrated by her son, Vanessa arranged for Kingpin to be shipped out of the country to recover from his injuries, and cut a deal with his fellow mob bosses to divide up his recently rebuilt crime syndicate in exchange for a truce. Murdering her son had a physical toll on Vanessa, causing her to lose the will to live, which along with the injuries she sustained when she was buried alive, resulted in terminal organ failure.
Vanessa faked the death of Foggy in an attempt to provoke Murdock into killing Kingpin while they were both in prison. Though Daredevil refused this deal, Vanessa went ahead and arranged for the murder of Leland Drummond, the corrupt FBI director who outed Matt in order to advance his own career within the FBI. To discredit his outing of Daredevil, the murder was made to look like a suicide and a false suicide note was planted at the scene, claiming that Drummond killed himself after it became apparent that his scheme to frame Matt Murdock was about to be exposed. Shortly afterwards, Vanessa died and Murdock was guilted into serving as the Kingpin's lawyer, getting the charges dropped on the grounds that the evidence was too tainted to bring him to court. Kingpin is later seen at her grave where he breaks down emotionally.
The new Jackal "reanimates" Vanessa in an attempt to coerce the Kingpin into allying with him in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy. While initially receptive, the Kingpin responds by killing Vanessa after she declares their son can be revived as well, while declaring, "That wasn't my wife. Mayor Fisk planned to revive Vanessa by obtaining the Tablet of Life and Destiny and its sister counterpart the Tablet of Death and Entropy. Upon getting his hands on both tablets, Fisk uses its abilities to revive Richard Fisk as Kingpin realized that Vanessa would not be pleased with her resurrection.
Alternate Versions
Vanessa Fisk appears in various alternate universes within Marvel Comics, each with different storylines and characteristics. For example, in Marvel Zombies 3 #2, she is secretly kept alive by a zombified Kingpin. In Punisher Max, her marriage with Wilson Fisk collapses after their son is killed, leading her to seek revenge. In Ultimate Spider-Man, she is unaware of her husband's criminal activities until she witnesses him fighting Spider-Man.
Adaptations in Other Media
Vanessa Fisk has been adapted into various television series and films. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), she is portrayed by Ayelet Zurer in Daredevil (2015-2018) and is set to return in Daredevil: Born Again (2025). In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), she is voiced by Lake Bell.
Comparative Analysis
Role within the Narrative
- Vanessa (Fire Emblem): Functions primarily as a combat unit with a developing personal story.
- Vanessa Fisk (Marvel): Functions as a moral anchor and a catalyst for Kingpin's actions, often driving the plot through her relationships and tragic circumstances.
Personality and Character Development
- Vanessa (Fire Emblem): Serious, sincere, and somewhat insecure, but demonstrates inner fortitude and dedication to her duty.
- Vanessa Fisk (Marvel): Complex, evolving from a wary art dealer to a woman deeply entangled in the criminal underworld, grappling with her husband's actions and her own moral boundaries.
Relationships
- Vanessa (Fire Emblem): Strong relationships with her sister Syrene, Prince Innes, and Forde, which highlight her loyalty and personal growth.
- Vanessa Fisk (Marvel): Primarily defined by her relationship with Wilson Fisk, which is central to her character arc and the overarching narrative.
Thematic Resonance
- Vanessa (Fire Emblem): Embodies themes of duty, self-improvement, and overcoming personal insecurities.
- Vanessa Fisk (Marvel): Explores themes of morality, corruption, and the impact of crime on personal relationships and identity.