Romany Wisdom

PHASE 1

Romany Wisdom
Portrayed by Michelle Forbes
Known Aliases:	None
Affiliations:	Pete Wisdom and Amanda Sefton

Socked By:	Alasdair and Rossi
Introduction:	March 2004

Sister to Pete, Romany Wisdom is a magic user with a tendency to meddle in things she shouldn't, including the lives of her brother and 'ward', Amanda.

Romany is the elder sister of Pete Wisdom. Their parents divorced when Pete was very young, and their mother moved to the town of Hungerford (where she was later killed by the spree killer, Michael Ryan). Although their father retained custody of the children, he was generally obsessed with his work for department A-13, the Metropolitan police department of Unusual Death, and largely left Romany (a teenager at the time) to take care of Pete. Romany was somewhat resentful about this responsibility: in her youth she was wild and adventurous, exploring the forbidden with gusto. It was this rebelliousness that led her to become a member of Rack's coven for two years, before acting on a moment of distraction during a ritual to rescue the young child Rack used as a power source. Her lifestyle and history made her unsuitable to be a guardian to the child, a decision she wasn't entirely unhappy with, and Amanda was passed onto a foster family. Age has not particularly changed her ways; Romany is currently in a group marriage with two women, a man and the ghost of a former police officer, one Jack Reagan.

After finding Amanda on the streets of Brighton, several years after her rescue from Rack, Romany engineered her transfer to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsterswith the unknowing assistance of Pete. It proved to be a double-edged decision - several near-disasters led to Romany almost withdrawing Amanda from the school, including the girl's suicide attempt as a result of her addiction to her powers. When Amanda and various other students were abducted to Asgard, she came to the school to assist in locating them, which included an altercation with Alphonso de la Rocha, father of Manuel de la Rocha. Later, in an attempt to remove the influence of Selene from Manuel, the truth of Romany's involvement with Rack came out and created a schism between her and the London Coven, part of the English magic community. Romany then largely went her own way, withdrawing to work with Dr. Stephen Strange on a spell to bind Selene for once and for all. This created a gap between her and Amanda, one which has not been fully healed. Romany still meddles in the lives of her brother and Amanda, however these days she has learned some restraint, and with the events of Operation: Opening Salvo she has taken a much lower profile to avoid another kidnapping. She remains available for magical assistance, especially for Wanda Maximoff in dealing with the damage inflicted by Chthon, including aiding Wanda when she was struck down by a mysterious illness.

In October 2012, it was Romany who alerted Amanda - and the rest of X-Force - to a potential magical gang war in London, which resulted in the rescue of young magic user, Topaz.

Powers/Abilities

Romany is a baseline human, but her studies of the occult have given her some degree of power. Her abilities lean largely towards the area of auras, giving her a certain degree of insight into people and some healing abilities. She tends to be reticent about the full extent of her power.