Spirit Of Murder

Spirit Of Murder's History

Rose Tattoo was the spirit of murder; an ageless representation of a pure idea, who had presumably existed as long as the idea itself.

StormWatch

In the 1960's, Rose was a member of the superhuman conspiracy founded by "The High" to create a new world order. While on a mission, Rose was discovered by a young Henry Bendix (a field agent doing favors for Richard Nixon at the time) and he immediately fell in love with her. While the time between their first meeting and Bendix's restructuring of StormWatch is largely unaccounted for, Rose kept very quiet and remained obedient to Bendix until he called on her. When she initially appeared, she was in a small building in Sicily, Italy, having created a candle-lit 'altar' of dead, bleeding victims.

Rose was a member of StormWatch for some time, killing those Bendix wished, some of whom were criminals, many of whom were innocent bystanders. Rose kept to herself and Bendix had ordered the others not to talk to her.

Rose also drove a StormWatch guard mad, by seducing him and simply talking to him.

The Changers

Rose was meant to be a key player in Bendix's plan to establish his own new world order, but unfortunately The High's 50-year-old dream of a finer world got in the way. While raiding The Changers compound, Rose killed one of the Changers whilst he was in negotiations with StormWatch Black. Jack Hawksmoor (of StormWatch Black) then snapped her neck, killing her.

The Authority

Rose Tattoo would eventually find a new host. Working for Henry Bendix yet again as his personal assassin, she was responsible for the death of the Doctor, Jeroen Thornedike. Rose Tattoo was able to murder Thornedike by secreting an overdose of heroin passed into him through her bodily fluids during sex. After fighting a newly regrouped version of The Authority, the new Doctor, Habib bin Hassan, changed her from the Spirit of Murder into the Spirit of Life, and became a member of The Authority.

StormWatch Prime

However, this didn't last as during a brief scuffle between The Authority and StormWatch Prime at one of Henry Bendix's secret facility, an incarnation of Bendix caused Rose to regress into the Spirit of Murder and turn on her teammates. Once she was removed from battle however, she was convinced by William Bendix to turn on his father, whom she then murdered, destroying her body in the process. Immediately afterward she was reincarnated within a teenager called Shawna, who, it is implied, was about to murder her father.