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| Confessor II
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© Juke Box Productions
AstroFacts
| Status:
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Active
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| Real Name:
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Brian Kinney
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| Base of Operations:
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Astro City
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| First Appearance:
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Late 2001
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Personal Data
InfoDump
| Appearances (in Publication Order):
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Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #9
Astro City #1
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Event Timeline
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The Confessor
The Shadowy vigilante known as the Confessor prowled the rooftops and dark corners of Astro City from the beginning of the 1950s until his death during the Enelsian Invasion, in which he exposed Mayor Stevenson as a Enelsian plant after the Confessor himself had been exposed as a vampire. Circa 2001 the Confessor's former partner Altar Boy donned the costume, and assumed the role and mission of the Confessor.
History
The Shadowy vigilante known as the Confessor prowled the rooftops and dark corners of Astro City from the beginning of the 1950s until his death during the Enelsian Invasion. The length of his term of service is matched only by The Gentleman, as well as such mystic entities as The Hanged Man and the Old Soldier. Based out of an apparently ruined vestry in Grandenetti Cathedral and rarely leaving Astro City, the Caped Crimefighter carried out his crusade against the criminal fraternity of the City, all the while concealing his dark secret.
The length of his term of service to the city, supposed by some to be the result of more than one man assuming the role, was instead - and very publicly - revealed to be a result of Vampirism. From records held in his Vestry, it seems that the Confessor was - and if rumors among the criminal and law-enforcement communities are true - still is, one Jeremiah Parrish, who had first come to what was then Romeyn Falls as a young Priest. He had been brought to the city to oversee the importation of materials and manage negotiations and relations with the foremen and workers, many of who had been brought from South-Eastern Europe to help build Cardinal Grandenetti's magnificent monument. He was enthralled by an unknown female vampire, drained of his blood, and dumped into a waste pit. He rose again three days later, a vampire himself.
The last mention of Jeremiah Parrish is from an entry in the diary of Enzio Grandenetti himself; "The Creature that now inhabits poor Father Parrish's body has again eluded the godly efforts of those that hunt him. It seems we will now never be able to destroy him, and grant peace to his soul. We must seal him in his lair, away from those he would prey upon, as his thrice-accursed kind always do. I have set the masons to this task and hear them already about their godly work. May God bless their efforts, that we may have peace from this blasphemous creature."
The efforts of the priests and workers were unsuccessful, and Parrish lurked in the Cathedral for decades, his humanity dwindling until the emergence of the first public superheroes showed him the possibility of doing good work amongst humanity while keeping his secrets. He became a shadowy stalker, feared by the criminal fraternity, little seen and never photographed. This state of affairs persisted until the Enelsian Attack of Earth in 1997, where he sacrificed his existence to reveal the alien infiltrators. He died, staked through the heart, after killing the Enelsian spy who had disguised himself as the Mayor.
But also during 1997 he had taken on a sidekick, Altar Boy, whom the Confessor saw at Butler's defeat the villain Glue-Gun, and decided to take him under his wing. Unlike the Confessor, this teenager named Brian Kinney possessed no powers. During that summer Altar Boy could be seen at nights patrolling rooftops with the Confessor. After the Confessor's death, Altar Boy was never seen again.
In 2001, The Confessor reappeared, with his former partner Altar Boy taking up the cape of the original. Many have speculated that this is a new Confessor, while some criminals have sworn that it is still the original Confessor. But people have been able to capture photographs of the "new" Confessor.
Powers
The Vampiric powers of the Jeremiah Parrish as the Confessor, granted him preternatural strength and speed, the ability to transform himself into mist, and a resistance to conventional weaponry. In addition, he appears to have been an exceptionally capable martial artist and athlete, as well as a highly accomplished sleuth.
He also had weaknesses. As a Vampire, the Confessor had an aversion to garlic, and a vulnerability to blessed weapons, holy water and sacred symbols. Despite the pain caused by sacred symbols, The Confessor wore a cross across his chest, a curious affectation that has never been repeated. It would also be logical to expect the Confessor required regular ingestion of fresh blood, although no records of any attack by him on humans have been recorded.
The current Confessor has no powers, instead using voice modulators and tricks to inspire fear in his evil doers hearts. However, Brian Kinney is trained in martial arts, possesses keen detective skills, and maintains a rigorous physical training schedule, including four years of training around the world before donning the cowl of the Confessor.
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