The Semblance

The Semblance is an entity from the netherwastes and a former enemy of the Inspector. It rarely appears in its true form, instead taking on the shape of various people to manipulate and torture its victims. It also contains the power to "bring reflections to life." It has a counterpart in the Everglades named Sammy Vance.

Overview[]

Pre-Neverglades Series[]

During the early years of civilization, the Semblance and the Inspector formed an unusual friendship. Both were fascinated by humanity, but the Inspector valued their fighting spirit and loyalty, while the Semblance saw them as violent little playthings. Together they placed a bet to determine whether humans were inherently good or inherently evil.
Over time, the Semblance reveled in pushing humans toward violence and evil, muddying the terms of its original agreement with the Inspector. This culminated in a face-off in Dresden at the end of World War II, where the Inspector forced the Semblance into a shadow dimension and left it prisoner there, reasoning that its influence was too dangerous to be left unchecked.

A Neverglades Halloween[]

The Semblance appears at the Inspector's Halloween party disguised as a fire-charred Mark Hannigan. It proceeds to murder Nico Sanchez and terrorize the guests at the party by bringing their costumes to life. The Semblance mocks Ruth Hannigan by hinting that part of her husband may still be alive, but Olivia Marconi wounds it before it can say any more. It takes on the shape of Rory Hannigan before disappearing back into its own dimension through a strange door.

Family Plot[]

The Semblance raises Nico Sanchez’s corpse from his grave in an attempt to intimidate Abigail Shannon and send a warning to Marconi. In the guise of Trina Lambrecht, it lures Ruth to Locklear Cemetery and tries to kill her. However, Marconi is able to subdue it with the help of Zachary Atwater and the Inspector.

Nightmare Walking[]

The Semblance animates various props and statues to murder people in town associated with Pacific High School. The Inspector realizes that it’s targeting the children (and therefore the future) of Pacific Glade. It calls off its attack when Atwater appears to be killed, making Marconi wonder if she was the real target all along. However, Atwater survives and the Semblance’s revenge scheme is thwarted.

In the Beginning[]

The Semblance constructs an elaborate illusion to show Marconi what happened when the Inspector nearly ended the human race one million years ago. It tries to convince her that siding with the Inspector will only lead to suffering (and possibly, extinction) for the entire world.

Black Valentine[]

Timothy Lancaster reveals that the CAPRA team was able to enter the Semblance’s world and free it from its prison, in exchange for its help in opening doors to find the lost Valentina Koeppel. It disguises itself as Atwater and shoots Valentina and Lancaster before they can seal it up again.

Fear No Evil[]

The Semblance unleashes a series of nightmares onto Pacific Glade, forcing the police force to enter its world to confront it directly. It disguises itself as Janine Zimmerman and attempts to lure Marconi into a trap, but Marconi anticipates this and summons her officers to ambush the Semblance and its minions. With Marconi and Ruth’s help, the Inspector is able to seal it back into the world of darkness for good.

A Thousand Glistening Threads[]

After his mind is fractured across dimensions, a piece of the Inspector becomes trapped in the shadow prison with the Semblance. The two former friends (now enemies) reflect on their history together and resume their age-old debate about the true nature of humanity. The Semblance remains entrenched in its beliefs about mankind's inherent evil, which makes the Inspector say that it is "beyond saving." It is ultimately left alone again when Olivia Marconi rescues the last fragment of the Inspector from the shadow prison.

Multiverse Incarnations[]

E Pluribus Unum[]

After winning the US presidency and bringing its own dimension to ruin, the Semblance travels to a new dimension and attempts a second takeover by assuming the role of US presidential candidate Allen MacReady. Although MacReady's campaign is sunk by journalist Norman Clancy, the Semblance from Clancy's dimension ends up winning the presidency anyway in the guise of Cate Morrigan.

Blood Moon[]

President Semblance is later recruited by the Chronicler to help take down the Inspector's dark counterpart, the Sightless. Although it pretends to be an ally to the cause, it ends up betraying the location of the resistance force, only to be killed by the Sightless anyway. (The Chronicler later implies that they only recruited the Semblance because every epic story needs to have a shocking betrayal.)

Known Powers[]

Shapeshifting (A Neverglades Halloween, others)
Manipulating reflections (A Neverglades Halloween)
Reanimating corpses (Family Plot)
Animating objects (Nightmare Walking)
Creating vivid illusions (In the Beginning)
Netherwastes traversal (Fear No Evil)