Ashley K. Williams was a female version of Ash Williams from another universe. Having gained superpowers from her fateful encounter with the Deadites, Ashley traveled the multiverse, going on numerous adventures across time and space until finally landing on Earth-818793 and meeting her male counterpart of that world.
Ashley K. Williams first appeared in Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #1.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Very little is known about Ashley's early life, though she once stated she attended an all-girls school for twelve years.[1]
By her young adulthood, Ashley began working at a local Smart Stop convenience store as a way to pay for her collage, and began dating a man named Brad, known by locals as "the town mimbo".[1]
First Encounter With Evil[]
While out on a stargazing date at "lookout point", Ashley and Brad spotted a white object streak across the night sky. While the two initially believed it to be a falling star, the duo realized that the object had actually crash into the ground not far from where they were. It wasn't long until Ashley and Brad had found spot where the object had crash-landed, finding a glowing white orb at the center of a smoldering crater. Though Ashley was reluctant to investigate it any further, Brad claimed that he had heard "voices" speaking to him, beckoning him to touch the orb. No sooner than Brad grabbed the orb and held it aloft triumphantly, he was instantaneously "infected" by the glowing sphere's power, turning him into a savage white-eyed creature. As her animalistic boyfriend approached to attack her, Ashley managed to strike Brad square on the jaw with her left hand. Unbeknownst to Ashley, the direct contact of the bare skin of her fist against the possessed Brad's flesh resulted in a slow infection of this "evil virus" into her hand. Without any suitable weapons or objects to remove her infected hand, Ashley fought the creeping evil inside her with sheer willpower, and in the process, allowed her access to view the otherworldly realm in which The Dark Ones ruled, how the demons managed to influence the plane on which the living dwelled through artifacts of evil that could end all life if not kept in check. Realizing she had become a "Chosen One" to combat these forces, Ashley managed to suppress the growing darkness within her and channel it as a weapon that could be used against such evil creatures, and by saying the words "Klaatu Barrada Nikto", Ashley could morph her left hand into any object she desired.[1] Though Ashley believed she had dominated the evil forces inside her and use it to her will, this was merely an illusion of free-will organized by The Dark Ones, as Ashley would become a key player for a plot to be enacted later.
Adventures As "The Chosen One"[]
After Brad's demise and the acquisition of her new powers, Ashley began leading a life of adventures across time and space, thwarting evil in it's many incarnations. These adventures were not limited to Ashley's own reality, with multiversal escapades eventually becoming a fairly regular occurrence to her. At some point during these adventures, Ashley met a strange anthropomorphic insect-like Deadite creature which she would christen "Deadbug" (as his real name was not pronounceable by the human tongue). The while never intentional partners, Ashley and Deadbug would cross paths many times in various times and places, with two encounters of note seeing the duo meet Marie Antoinette in France when an angry mob of peasants gathered outside of the palace,[1] while another saw them meeting Amelia Earhart and asking her for directions.[2]
Lost On Another World[]
Ashley shows off her shapeshifting powers for Cleopatra (Army of Darkness Vol. 3 #1)
Eventually, Ashley ended up in Egypt, circa 30 BC in the reality known as Earth-818793, where she was quickly captured with the intent of being forced to work in the "tomb of the pharaohs" as a slave. However, during her transport to the tomb, her captors took note of her "unclean" stump on her left hand, and believed her to be a leper. Using her shape-shifting ability, Ashley morphed her hand into it's normal appearance, much to the bewilderment of her captors. Following this act of witchcraft, Ashley was taken to the palace of Cleopatra in Giza, where she offered to become the sorcerer of the royal court. After astounding Cleopatra with her origin and a display of her power, Ashley's first official assignment working for Cleopatra's court was to keep the armies of Julius Caesar in line, though her new line of work would be cut short mere moments later when Deadbug arrived at the palace posing as a candy gram deliveryman and killed Cleopatra with an asp in a box. When the guards of the palace heard Cleopatra's screams of agony as the snake bit into her neck, they gave chase to Ashley and Deadbug, forcing the two of them to flee to the pyramids just outside of Giza. As Ashley approached one of the smaller pyramids in the area, she detected a Nexus Point (a junction of mystical energy which allowed one to teleport to various moments in time and space) was inside. Fighting through a hoard of Deadites inside, Ashley arrived at the heart of the tomb where the Nexus Point, and though she originally wanted to return to her own world, she was drawn to one of the portals featuring the visage of a large chinned man fighting a group of skeletons. Sensing that this man was another "Chosen One" like herself, she jumped into the portal.[1]
Tossed through the time-stream and landing in the early 21st Century, Ashley found herself on a barren stretch of Route 66 winding through the desert of Oklahoma, missing the stranger as he drove out of state by mere seconds.[3] Not long after this, Ashley's powers would draw her to Brazil, sensing supernatural activity brewing in the jungles outside of São Lourenço.[4] While in Brazil, Ashley stumbled across a growing army of Deadite Nazis taking over a small village hidden in the wilderness of South America, led by Colonel Dieter Zoch (a recently deceased Nazi who worked as Hitler's occult specialist during World War II). Over the next six months, Ashley would strike back at Zoch's undead army with several attempts to save the village, though she barely made a dent in their numbers before being forced to retreat from the attack. After these six months, Ashley would eventually come face-to-face with the other Chosen One, the man whom she had seen in the Nexus Point portal. Using the "Klaatu Barrada Nikto" spell to tap into her inner darkness and go berserk on the Deadite Nazis, Ashley was quickly drained of this energy moments before she could attack Colonel Zoch himself, with Zoch theorizing that the dark energies of this world did not obey her as it did in her native reality. Just as Zoch prepared to execute Ashley, she was rescued by the mysterious male Chosen One. Though Zoch was aware of the other Chosen One's identity as Ashley J. Williams, neither the male or female Ash had time to explain themselves before both were thrown into separate rifts in time and space.[5]
Hell[]
After killing the previous guardian, Ashley reveals her true nature (Army of Darkness Vol. 3 #7)
Separated from the Chosen One (unaware of his true identity as her male counterpart), Ashley found herself in a vast desert wasteland with a permanent dark crimson sky, which quickly led her to believe this to be Hell itself. After wandering the barren landscape, Ashley took note of a small wooden cabin sitting atop a hill of sand, surrounded by the bleached bones of demons and the damned. Upon arriving at the cabin, Ashley discovered it was occupied by a man introducing himself as Ashley J. Williams (though not the same Ash she had encountered in Brazil) and his half-Deadite sidekick Ted. Ash explained to Ashley that this cabin served as the gateway between Hell and the world of the living, that every version of Ash Williams was damned to share this fate of protecting the threshold from demons trying to enter the earthly plane. While the trio was sitting down to have dinner, a great tremor shook the cabin, prompting the three occupants to head outside to investigate. Finding that a hoard of hundreds of demons of every shape and size were barreling towards them, Ash prepared for the coming battle and charged his weapon, only to be stabbed in the chest by Ashley, who was now under the influence of The Dark Ones' power.[6]
Now assuming the mantel of the gateway's guardian, this level of Hell began to reform itself, now taking on the form of a dark cavern with multiple pools of water which acted like windows to moments in time. As Hell began to warp, Ashley began to run, hoping to find the first Ash (the one which she encountered in Brazil) and trying to escape her destiny as her memories of her more recent adventures became clouded. After being approached by a demon, Ashley was once again "taken over" by evil, claiming it was the will of The Dark Ones that the barriers between Hell and the world of the living be destroyed.[7]
A Fate Rewritten[]
Deadbug kills the possessed Ashley (Army of Darkness Vol. 3 #13)
While momentarily released from the hold of The Dark Ones, Ashley managed to divert the Ash Williams of Earth-818793 (who had long returned from his own jaunt across time and space) and Deadbug while they were inside a time rift, sending them to Brazil several months prior. After watching the Ash of the past go back into the separate time portal, the Ash of "the future" and Deadbug followed Ashley into the rift leading into Hell. The demon looming over the Ashley of "the future" quickly realized that her interference with her personal time-stream was an attempt to prevent the death of the previous guardian and the ensuring chaos. Once again under the influence of The Dark Ones, Ashley sent out a legion of winged Deadites to attack Ash, Deadbug, and her younger self, even joining in on the demonic attack. While battling her "younger self", the possessed Ashley was killed by Deadbug, using her dying breaths to tell them of her plot to close the time-loop and prevent this horrible fate. With her dark destiny now subverted, Ashley told Ash that she finally felt free to do whatever she wanted.[2]
What happened to Ashley following these events remains unknown.
Powers & Abilities[]
Though Ashley K. Williams believed that she was able to tame the evil infection within her and bend it to her will, this was merely a facade created by The Dark Ones, who intended to manipulate Ashley over a long period of time in order for her to "unlock" the gateway between Hell and the mortal plane. Save for her psychic detection of supernatural activity, all of these powers required Ashley to say "Klaatu Barrada Nikto" in order for them to be activated.
Ashley channels the evil within her to go berserk on the Deadite Nazis (Army of Darkness Vol. 3 #4)
- Shapeshifting: Ashley could manipulate her left hand into any weapon which she desired, or even revert it back into looking like a normal left again. Among the known weapons Ashley has morphed her hand into include a medieval-like spiked ball mace,[1] a battle axe,[1][5] a functioning chainsaw,[4][5] a sharp spear of flesh,[6] a sword,[2] as well as a doubled-in-size fist.[2]
- Light-Creation: Ashley's left hand also has the ability to generate light, which she used while she and Deadbug explored the Nexus Point pyramid in Egypt.[1]
- Dark Power Berserker: Ashley can tap into the forces of evil itself to unleash a wild berserker, which sees her eyes going completely white, and her body surrounded by flickering crackles of red lightning. Ashley could only use this power for a very short time while she was on Earth-818793, as the dark forces connected to that reality did not want her using their power.[5]
- Deadite Control: Ashley could control any Deadites within a close proximity to her, provided a stronger Deadite was not also close by. She demonstrated this power over two winged Deadites after she and Ash escaped Colonel Zoch's village, though Zoch managed to quickly regain control of the Deadites mere moments later.[5]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ashley's "Dark Power Berserker" ability is based on Ash's "Bad Ash" ability from the 2005 video game Evil Dead Regeneration.
- Ashley's hair and eye color changes across the different artists who worked on Army of Darkness Volume 3.
- In issues one to four, Ashley is depicted with green eyes and purple hair.
- The pin-up artwork featured in issue one depicts Ashley with brown hair and green eyes.
- In issue seven, she is depicted with black hair and blue eyes.
- In issues 12 and 13, she is depicted with brown hair and blue eyes.
- In issues one to four, Ashley is depicted with green eyes and purple hair.
- Ashley makes a cameo appearance in Army of Darkness Vs. Hack/Slash #1 while Ash tells of his previous adventures.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #1 (February, 2012)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #13 (February, 2013)
- ↑ Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #2 (March, 2012)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #3 (April, 2012)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #4 (May, 2012)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #7 (August, 2012)
- ↑ Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #12 (January, 2013)