Biography

Statistics

Real Name: Nico Minoru
Aliases: None
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Adventurer
Citizenship: U.S.A.
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, CA
Known Relatives: Robert (father), Tina (mother)
Group Affiliation: Runaways
Education: High-school student

Vitals

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 102 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Powers

Sister Grimm can control the ancient Staff of One, which can only be summoned when her own blood is drawn. She is also a novice at using the Staff and sometimes messes up her commands.

(From Marvel Universe)

Character history

Runaways, volume 1 (March 2003 - September 2004)

Nico Minoru is a somewhat rebellious goth teenager whose parents, Robert and Tina Minoru, appeared to be an average American, church-going, middle-class couple. In reality, they were dark wizards who were members of a secret society known as The Pride.
When Nico and the other children of The Pride discovered the truth about their parents, they ran away from home and were determined to defy their evil legacy. Nico briefly took the codename "Sister Grimm," which was her AIM screenname.
During a battle with The Pride, Nico discovered she had inherited her parents' abilities to manipulate magical energies. She came into possession of the mystical Staff of One when her mother attempted to stab her with the staff and instead Nico's body absorbed it.
Nico's blood must be shed before the staff will emerge for her to wield, a requirement she generally achieves by using a pocket knife given to her by fellow Runaways member Chase Stein. This allows for an interesting parallel to goth culture, seeing as how stereotypical goth kids are often involved in self-mutilation. The exact extent of the staff's abilities are not known, but speculation is that it can generate a large variety of magical effects activated by Nico's simple voice commands. Nico has recently expounded on the Staff's abilities; before conjuring a spell, she must concentrate on painful memories, or memories that leave her with feelings of guilt. The only limitation to its abilities is that Nico has been unable to cast any one particular spell more than once.
Nico was involved with fellow Runaway Alex Wilder until he revealed himself to be the mole inside the Runaways who kept their parents informed of what the group was up to and where they were situated at any particular time. She was briefly attracted to a boy the Runaways encountered named Topher but later discovered he was a vampire.
When the Runaways finally confronted their parents and their powerful, extra-dimensional allies, the Gibborim, Alex revealed his true nature. He had a plan that would allow him, Nico, and their parents to survive the "Next Wave" that would annihilate humanity, but Nico rejected his advances and punched him in the face. Alex was killed by the Gibborim for his part in disrupting their ritual sacrifice. The Runaways narrowly avoided a similar fate, and Nico's parents sacrified themselves in the effort to hold the Gibborim at bay so that the children could escape. Despite his betrayal, Nico unsuccessfully tries to resurrect Alex with the Staff of One.

Runaways, volume 2 (February 2005 - present)

Following the death of their parents, the runaways are split up by California Social Services. Nico is sent to Father Flanagan's Orphanage, where she sees a psychologist. The teenagers escape their new homes to regroup and fight the supervillains that fill the void in Los Angeles left by the departure of the Pride, and Nico becomes their leader.
Nico claims to be "finished with boys", to the delight of teammate Karolina Dean, who secretly has a crush on her. When Karolina tries to kiss her, Nico tells her that she has no romantic feelings for her, but she is devastated when Karolina chooses to leave Earth with her fiancée Xavin and misses her friend deeply for months after her departure.

Nico kisses Chase after a tense moment, and both become awkward immediately after. Chase is angry and says that Gert is the best thing in his life, and Nico is callously trying to ruin his relationship with her. They decide to keep it a secret from Gert. However, Gert finds out about the kiss when the new Pride divides and distracts the runaways long enough to kidnap Molly Hayes, which leads to an intense but brief argument that ends with the two joking and making up.

After Gert dies, Nico deals with the grief by beginning a physical relationship with fellow runaway Victor Mancha.

After a battle with yet another bad artifact left behind by their evil parents, Nico believes that maybe it is time to take things a little more seriously with Victor, stating that after the likes of Alex and Topher she would like to settle down with a nice boy for a change. Before the two even have a chance to start the relationship Nico is abducted by Chase and has the Staff of One taken from her.

After being abducted, and believing she will be sacrificed to bring back Gert, Chase releases her, claiming he is going to kill himself instead. However, the Gibborim refuse the offer of Chase's soul, claiming it would not be innocent if he were to commit suicide. They attempt to take the powerless Nico as their sacrifice, but Victor - with Molly's help - saves Nico. Victor checks on her, and Nico shows her appreciation by kissing him deeply, seemingly agreeing to be his girlfriend. Nico and the Runaways retreat to the La Brea Tar Pits, but upon returning, they find Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents awaiting their return.

The Staff of One

Nico's sole weapon is the Staff of One, a magical staff which can cast any spell imaginable. There are two demonstrated limitations to the Staff of One's power. First, Nico cannot cast the same spell twice, or the spell will "misfire" and a random effect will occur. For example, the second time she tried to cast a "Fumigation" spell, the Staff teleported Nico and Karolina miles outside of Los Angeles. The sole demonstrated exception to this limitation is former runaway Alex Wilder. Alex used the Staff to cast a spell off-panel which bound Karolina's parents in power-dampening chains, and then used the same spell later on Karolina. The reason for this exception is unrevealed, although some believe it has to do with Alex's alignment.

The second limitation of the Staff of One is that it cannot be used to bring people back from the dead. Nico discovered this limitation when she tried to resurrect her former lover Alex Wilder off-panel, between Runaways vol. 1 #17 and Runaways vol. 2 #2. She revealed her attempt to save Alex after a future version of Gertrude Yorkes died in the Hostel due to internal injuries.

In the crossover event Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways, series author Zeb Wells established that Nico does not need to speak English words to cast spells; Nico cast a teleportation spell using a Latin phrase supplied to her by the Vision.

Only Nico can summon the Staff, but anyone can cast spells with it. When not in use, the Staff retreats into her body, which Nico describes as "feeling like I have something in my eye, but instead of my eye, it's... it's my soul."

To summon the Staff, Nico must be bleeding and then recite the incantation "When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge." The Staff always emerges from the center of her chest, passing through any clothing she is wearing without damaging the clothing or Nico, however the Staff will damage anyone or anything directly in its way. For example, the Staff emerges after the vampire Topher begins to drain Nico's blood and pierces directly through the center of his chest.

Spells cast so far

Once Nico has shed blood and the Staff of One has emerged from her body, she can cast a wide variety of spells but she cannot cast a spell more than once. A list of the spells she is known to have cast so far follows:

Vol. 1

- "Freeze" - Gertrude Yorkes' mother freezes in place.
- "Freeze" - The spell backfires the second time, producing pelicans instead.
- "Smoke" - The Staff of One emits thick black smoke.
- "Away" - Nico teleports away.
- "Mud" - Mud shoots out of the end of the Staff of One.
- "Burst" - Two spray paint cans explode.
- "Rock and Roll" - An earthquake shakes the Hostel, causing a massive cave-in.
- "Waterproof" - A protective bubble forms for the runaways to sit inside and travel underwater.
- "Float On" - Chase's parents levitate.
- "Dance" - Alex cancels a paralysis spell cast by Nico's parents.
- "Bondage" - Alex wraps Karolina in chains that negate her powers.
- "Hands Off" - Nico destroys the Fistigons.
- Unnamed Resurrection Enchantment - Nico unsuccessfully attempts to resurrect Alex Wilder off-panel. Occurred off-panel between Vol. 1 #17 and #18, revealed in Vol. 2 #2 Vol. 2

- "Deconstruct" - The villain Wrecker splits into several pieces.
- "Flashback" - Nico sees an alternate future through the mind of a future version of Gert.
- "Rockstars" - The Staff of One fires an energy bolt.
- "You Suck" - Turbo's turbines suddenly work in reverse.
- "Insulation" - Nico prevents Victor Mancha from using his electromagnetic abilities.
- "Shine on, You Crazy Diamond." - Ultron is encased in a diamond. The spell's title refers to the song by Pink Floyd.
- "Fumigation" - Nico uses this spell in an off-panel fight against the Tarantula.
- "Fumigation" - Nico tries to use the spell again against Swarm three weeks after her fight with Tarantula, but it backfires and teleports her and Karolina a few miles outside Los Angeles.
- "Acid Rain" - A cloud of acid rain forms above the Hostel's security daemons.
- "Old Lace to Old Yeller" - Old Lace transforms into a small dog.
- "Hellfire" - The Staff of One shoots a fire blast at Spider-Man.
- "Dreamtime" - Spider-Man falls into a deep sleep.
- Unknown Incantation - Nico creates a flying carpet.
- "Sunburst" - The Staff of One fires a light blast at Cloak impostor.
- "Detox" - The Cloak imposter vomits the Mutant Growth Hormone out of his system (Cast By Chase Stein).
- "Get to Work" - Chase's list of things he wants to do when he turns 18 turns into a wrench.
- Unnamed Transformation Spell - Chase turns into a fish off-panel.
- "Revelations" - Nico dispels the glamour disguising Geoffrey Wilder as Alex Wilder.
- "Shut Up" - Nico creates a spinning "beam" that sends Chase flying.
- "Pixies, Find The Leak" - Nico creates pixies to find out how the new Pride is spying on her friends.
- "Forget" - Young Geoff Wilder forgets about his experience with the second Pride.
- Unknown - Nico undoes the spell that brought Geoff Wilder from 1985 to the present, returning him to his original time.
- Unknown - Nico ironically shrinks Mole Man off-panel.
- "Caffeine Injection" - Nico gives Molly a second wind while fighting a giant monster.
- "Now Here Comes The Sweet Talk" - Nico changes Xavin's voice into that of the wife of an antiques dealer, who had turned himself into a demon through the use of a charm from Nico's parents.
- "Get Lost" - Nico blinds Kate Bishop during a fight.
- "Chill Out" - Nico stops the fighting between her friends and the Young Avengers, but the spell also freezes the Hostel.
- "Wake Up" - Nico wakes Stature and Patriot after they had been tranquilized and knocked out, respectively, in the battle with Noh-Varr.
- "Prodigium Effodio" - Nico teleports the Young Avengers and the Runaways into the control center of The Cube; Latin for "Excavating Monster" (the Young Avengers and Runaways appear within a large monster).
- Unknown - Nico imprisons the Silver Bullet Gang in a cage made of red beams.
- "Be Quiet" - Chase significantly decreases the volume of Nico's voice.
- "Yeah, Pretty Soon, I'll Just Be A Bad Dream" - Chase makes Nico fall asleep.
- "Going Down" - Nico and the runaways phase through the roof of a building.
- "Crash" - The Kingpin's army of ninjas fall to the floor and lay inert.

( Wikipedia.org )

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