Devonne (comics)

Devonne
Devonne in Nightmares on Elm Street #3 (1991)
Publication information
Publisher	Innovation Publishing
First appearance	Nightmares on Elm Street #3 (1991)
Created by	Andy Mangels
In-story information
Partnerships	Freddy Krueger
Notable aliases	The Springwood Killer

Devonne is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street comics. She is a secondary antagonist and is the accomplice to Freddy Krueger. She was created by Andy Mangels. Devonne is a main character in Innovation Publishing's limited series Nightmares on Elm Street, written as a woman who is damaged from her traumatic childhood that assists Freddy in the real world.

History

The Springwood Killer

Devonne first appears in issue three of Nightmares on Elm Street. She is a murderer known as the "Springwood Killer". She follows Alice Johnson home and startles her. She begins talking to her son Jacob before she makes Alice uncomfortable and they go inside. Jacob expresses that he that he can read peoples minds and that he thought Devonne was interesting. Alice tells him to stay away from her saying that "she makes me feel creepy."

Devonne with her infamous silver hammer

While driving, Devonne pulls over to pick up a hitchhiking man whose car broke. She flirts with the man and tells him to go lay in the bed in the back of the van. She then picks up a hammer that she had hid up front. She sneaks up behind him and bashes his head in repeatedly, killing him.

Devonne licks blood off of her fingers and Freddy appears. It is revealed that Devonne is collecting souls for him as long as he gives her the ability to control her dreams. Later, she goes to kidnap Jacob who tells her that he'll show her where his dad his.^[1]

In issue four of Nightmares on Elm Street, Devonne is driving Jacob to the graveyard so he can show where his father is located. On the way there, Jacob says that he know that Devonne is faking her southern accent to deceive people and that she doesn't really like him. He says that in the end she will like him because both her and Freddy need him. Jacob takes her to her father's grave, tricking her, he attempts to summon him but his efforts are ruined by Freddy. During a nightmare it is revealed that Devonne was severely abused as young child by her parents. One day she turned on the stove filling the house with gas and went outside with Jacob who entered her nightmare.

Devonne faces off against Nancy and Neil

When her mom lit a cigarette the house blew up killing her parents instantly. Devonne has a vision of her mother's corpse coming to life on the stretcher threatening her which causes her to scream out "You'll never punish me again" revealing to her neighbors that she's the one who caused their deaths. Freddy lures Jacob away from her which leaves Devonne trembling out of her fear. Freddy summons her telling her to go kill Alice and anyone near her and then sends her back to the real world.^[2]

In issue five, Devonne tracks down Alice and Yvonne at the Mercy Hospital. She walks in the hospital shooting everyone in her path. She threatens a nurse with her hammer to tell her where Alice is then proceeds to smash her jaw. Devonne then checks each of the rooms upstairs and before she can check the last one a cop appears and tells her to drop her weapon. She is shot in the shoulder and then proceeds to shoot the officer down who falls through the rooms glass window. She walks into the room and Yvonne grabs his gun and shoots her once again.^[3]

In the sixth and final issue of Nightmares on Elm Street, Devonne is dying but not completely as she believes that she will join Freddy in his dream realm. She stands by Freddy's side as he attempts to lure Jacob into being a part of his plan of bringing him back to life until Nancy Thompson stops him. When Freddy's undead army begins to attack Nancy, Neil Gordan and Alice, she realizes that he was only using her when the undead begin to attack her and he refuses to make them stop, saying "you played your part." She then helps Neil and Nancy battle Freddy after it becomes clear to her that she was just another one of "Freddy's playthings."^[4]

Development

Characterization

Devonne is written as a severally mentally damaged woman who suffers from the aftermath of her abuse she went through from her a parents as a child. After murdering her parents she descended into madness but felt loved by Freddy Krueger and put a lot of trust into him thinking he'd help her control her dreams. She shows some form of humanity when she helps the protagonists defeat Krueger when he revealed that he was merely using her. Just like Freddy uses his notorious bladed glove, Devonne uses a silver hammer as her main weapon.^[5]

Reception

The character has generally been well received with some critics calling her a lively addition to the franchise. Gavin Jasper praised the character saying:

"There’s a wild card introduced who brings some life into an otherwise lifeless cast named Devonne. She is basically Freddy’s agent in the waking world, helping him out of desperation. When she was a child, she burned down her home to kill her abusive father, but her mother died as well and Devonne’s been broken since. Not only is the incident the only thing she dreams of, but when she talks to people in real life, all she sees is them as skinless, much like how she last saw her mother. She figures that if she kills people for Freddy, Freddy will grant her at least one night of peaceful dreaming.^[6]

While reviewing issue four, Matt Molgaard praised the depth of the character. He said:

"Devonne’s traumatic past is the true focus of this issue, and it pushes readers to a point in which they’ve got to decide, to like or not to like. That’s the question. No child wants or deserves to be abused… but taking retaliatory actions to the degree of murder is pretty gnarly. There’s big success in character exploration and reader connection in this issue, and that gets big kudos from me."^[7]

References

1. "Nightmares on Elm Street #3". Nightmare On Elm Street Companion. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
2. "Nightmares on Elm Street #4". Nightmare On Elm Street Companion. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
3. "Nightmares on Elm Street #5". Nightmare on Elm Street Companion. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
4. "Nightmares on Elm Street #6". Nightmare on Elm Street Companion. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
5. "Devonne's Silver Hammer". Lair of Horror. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
6. Jasper, Gavin (October 31, 2016). "Nightmare on Elm Street Comics: A Nightmarish History Lesson". Den of Geek!. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
7. Molgaard, Math (June 27, 2016). "Paying Nothing, Loving Every Bit of Marvel and Innovation's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' Comics!". Horror Novel Reviews. Retrieved October 2, 2016.