Painkiller Jane is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

created by

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti sta ...

and

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

for

Event Comics Event Comics was an American independent comic book publisher founded by veteran artists Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999, at which point it was contracted to form the Marvel Knights imprint for ...

in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Cre ...

, and

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossover ...

. After

Event comics Event Comics was an American independent comic book publisher founded by veteran artists Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999, at which point it was contracted to form the Marvel Knights imprint for ...

, the character was exclusively written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by various artists as it jumped from publisher to publisher. The series relaunched at

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...

with the first mini-series selling out. After that Icon- an independent label for creator owned work at

Marvel comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, published two mini-series. The character then came back to PaperFilms, a company owned by Jimmy Palmiotti and

Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Har ...

where it is currently published. Painkiller Jane has been published all over the world in at least 8 languages to date. The comics have been the basis for a television film and series.

Fictional character history

Jane Vasko begins as an undercover police officer attempting to infiltrate the Fonti Mob. After gaining the trust of mob boss Joey Fonti, she is given the assignment of passing a message on to rival gang member Adam, not realizing that an explosive device has been planted on her. As she meets her target, the explosion causes significant injuries, but Adam is uninjured. Through mysterious means, he manages to revive Jane, giving her superhuman regenerative powers in the process. Leaving her life as a police officer behind, she becomes the vigilante Painkiller Jane. The validity of this origin is unclear, as a completely different origin has been presented in the first ''Painkiller Jane'' miniseries, and the Dynamite Comics' miniseries contain references to both versions of the characters' origin.

Powers and abilities

Jane Vasko is virtually indestructible. With Jane's exceptional regenerative abilities, minor injuries heal in seconds, and do not even slow her down; more major ones tend to take a few minutes. She has recovered from multiple gunshot wounds, explosions, chemical weapons assault, axes buried in her spine, even a shotgun blast to the face (which simply knocked her off her feet for a bit). However, the healing power does not stop the injuries from hurting, which is where her new name came from. On the offensive side, she has no real powers except for being a tough woman to kill. Other than that, she is a skilled fighter and master of undefined martial arts, as well as a master marksman with her weapons of choice, a pair of handguns.

Bibliography

*''22 Brides'' #1-4 (Mar. 1996 - Jan. 1997) *''Painkiller Jane'' #0-5 (Jan. - Nov. 1997) (#0 printed in Jan. 1999) *''Painkiller Jane'' vol. 2, #1-3 (Mar. - Aug. 2006) *''Painkiller Jane'' vol. 3, #0-5 (Apr. 2007 - Mar. 2008) *''Painkiller Jane: The Price of Freedom'' #1-4 (Nov. 2013 - Jan. 2014) *''Painkiller Jane: The 22 Brides'' #1-3 (May - Oct. 2014) *''Painkiller Jane: Trust The Universe'' graphic novel (Aug. 2019)

Crossovers

*''

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

/22 Brides'' #1-2 (Dec. 1996 - Apr. 1997) *''The Ash Files'' #1 (Mar. 1997) *''Painkiller Jane vs.

Darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low ...

'' #1 (Apr. 1997) *''

: Crossover Gallery'' #1 (September 1997) (pin-up only) *''No Justice, No Piece'' #1 (October 1997) (short-story anthology; back inside pin-up only) *Vampirella/Painkiller Jane #1 (May 1998) *''Painkiller Jane/

'' #1 (Aug. 1998) *''Painkiller Jane/

Darkchylde Darkchylde is an American comic book character created in 1996 by Randy Queen. It was originally published by Maximum Press, and later by Image Comics, through Homage Comics, a publishing imprint of Wildstorm. Subsequent projects would be publi ...

'' #1 (Oct. 1998) *'' The Punisher/Painkiller Jane'' #1 (Jan. 2001) *''

Terminator 2 ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is a 1991 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong, it is t ...

'' #6-7 (Jan. - Mar. 2008) (crossover with vol. 3 #4-5) *''The CBLDF Presents: Liberty Comics'' #2 (Oct. 2009) (short-story anthology)

In other media

Television

* ''Painkiller Jane'' was made into a made-for-television movie and broadcast on the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

in December 2005. The film stars

Emmanuelle Vaugier Emmanuelle Frederique Vaugier (, ; born June 23, 1976) is a Canadian film and television actress. Vaugier has had recurring roles as Detective Jessica Angell on ''CSI: NY'', Mia on ''Two and a Half Men'', Dr. Helen Bryce on '' Smallville'', F ...

as Jane Browning. The film differed significantly from the comics, notably in regard to the character's origin, but led to a subsequent television series. * The Sci-Fi Channel original series based on the character starred

Kristanna Loken Kristanna Loken (born October 8, 1979) is a Norwegian American actress and model. She is known for her roles in the films '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), ''BloodRayne'' (2005) and ''Bounty Killer'' (2013) and on the TV series ''P ...

as Jane Vasco. The series' pilot aired in Friday, April 13, 2007. The name of the heroine in the show was more similar to the original comic name of Jane Vasko, as opposed to the Jane Browning character from the television film. The series received lukewarm reviews. ''Painkiller Jane'' did not return for a second season. The final episode aired on September 21, 2007.

References

External links

* *
Painkiller Jane comics
at

{{Icon Comics Comics characters introduced in 1996 Comics characters with accelerated healing 1997 comics debuts Dynamite Entertainment characters Dynamite Entertainment titles Fictional bisexual females Fictional women soldiers and warriors LGBT superheroes American comics adapted into films Comics adapted into television series Icon Comics titles Vigilante characters in comics