Warrior Nun Areala is a manga-style American comic book character created by Ben Dunn and published by Antarctic Press, first appearing in Ninja High School #37 in March 1993 as Shanna Masters.
The story later revolves around Sister Shannon Masters, a member of the Order of the Cruciform Sword, a fictional military order of Warrior Nuns and Magic Priests in the service of the Catholic Church. In the comic, the order was created in 1066, when a Valkyrie named Auria renounced her pagan ways and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation. Ever since then, Auria, now Areala, has chosen an avatar in every generation to carry on the mission. In modern times, this mission has grown into a global organization in the service of the Catholic Church, with the current Areala, Sister Shannon Masters, the best and brightest of all. With her friends beside her, Sister Shannon has led the forces of good against those of evil, ever serving the Lord with faith and humility. Appearing on and off for 20 years since her first appearance, Warrior Nun Areala is creator Ben Dunn's favorite character.Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 2, #6
Over a series of storylines, Sister Shannon Masters' cast, powers, and trappings have gradually expanded, creating an entire society within the Church. There has been some controversy regarding the character of both religious and non-religious people: the former for appropriating Catholic imagery and the latter for how the comic book unapologetically shows the Catholic Church as a force for good. The franchise was expanded with a 2020–2022 television series and an in-development feature film trilogy continuation, both starring Alba Baptista.
Publication history Creation The creation of Areala was inspired by the martial arts pursuits of the nuns of Fraternité Notre-Dame, or the Fraternity of Our Lady, a traditionalist Catholic organization. In 1991, a chapter was established in New York City's East Harlem to found a soup kitchen. It was in New York that Sister Marie Chantel, who had been a black belt in judo, learned taekwondo under a Hell's Kitchen martial arts master. Her fellow nuns, including the mother superior, also learned self-defense, hearing that the neighborhoods were dangerous, though they insist that their martial arts training is mostly for sport and that they have had no problems with the surrounding neighborhoods. Their story was picked up and reported by The New York Times."Black Belts and Blessings for East Harlem Nuns", The New York Times, by David Gonzales. February 2, 1994
Ben Dunn, who attended Catholic schools, was inspired by The New York Times article. In an interview, he said: "Other superheroes, you never know what their faith is. Batman or Spider-Man or Superman, they do all these great things, but what do they believe in?""Super sister fights evil", USA Today, by Leslie Miller. May 5, 1997. His interest in understanding the impacts of religious affiliations on superhero characters led him to write Warrior Nun Areala from this unique perspective. However, Ben Dunn does not consider the story a Christian comic book, as it avoids directly calling readers to repentance or propagating the faith. Rather, the series makes use of Christian imagery and Christian-based speculative fiction.
Part of this was due to the power Ben Dunn sees the Vatican as possessing. At one point, he wrote that it may not speak of itself as being a world power, but it is. That is because, despite being the smallest country on Earth, the Vatican's influence on world affairs is disproportionately large by its moral and spiritual authority as the headquarters of Earth's largest religion. With over a billion adherents, a headquarters that is a sovereign nation, a leader that is a world leader, it is a force in the world. Thus, it was only a small step to grant the (fictionalized) church a military force that would serve as Heaven's proxy if demons were to attack. In further explaining the concept, he added: "If Hell were an actual physical place with physical manifestations, then they would be subject to some of the physical laws of nature would they not? Of course, that would mean Heaven too would be a physical place. While this may not be so in our world it certainly is so in WNA's world. Therefore, things would progress differently. To the Vatican in WNA's world, 'thou shalt kick Satan's ass!'".Letter column, Warrior Nun Areala: Rituals #4 However, in creating the character, Dunn sought to distinguish Areala from scantily clad bad girl antiheroines with which she might be confused. He was also desirous of creating a true hero, not an anti-hero: "I made it a very strong point that she doesn't kill people, only demons... She believes everybody – no matter how bad they've been – can be saved".
Publication The first appearance of the character Sister Shannon Masters was in Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1, #1. Beginning in December 1994 and ending in April 1995, a three-issue limited series established the fictional world of Areala, several key characters, and her origin story. She was shown having just completed her training in a time when there had been no demonic activity for years, and the Warrior Nuns were in danger of being disbanded. Despite her lack of experience, she was assigned to fulfill a mission in New York City where Satan's minions of Earth were planning an assault on Heaven. She successfully foiled their plans.
This was then followed by other Warrior Nun Areala mini-series, some written by Ben Dunn and some not, such as Rituals (1995–1996), Scorpio Rose (1996–1997), and Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 2. Published every two months, they expanded the world and provided more information and depth concerning the characters. There were also one-shots such as crossovers with heroines of other companies such as Glory and Avengelyne. At the time there were other mini-series set in the Warrior Nun Areala universe that were not directly related to Sister Shannon Masters but instead widened the scope of the fictional world. Focusing on other Nuns of her order from the past, present, and future; they include but are not limited to Crimson Nun (1997), Warrior Nun Frenzy (1998), and Warrior Nun Dei (1997–1999). There was also an ongoing anthology series, Warrior Nun Black and White that focused on the whole of the Warrior Nun universe.
It was not until 1999 that Sister Shannon gained her own series. The miniseries Areala: Angel of War which detailed the original Areala and Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection led up to it. Running from 1999 to 2001, it was simply titled Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 3. It concerned an ongoing threat by Areala's most persistent foe, Helga, as she tried to destroy the Vatican itself in a battle that put to the test the promise that the gates of Hell would not prevail. Though the series ended with the death of Sister Shannon, she later returned and appeared in another series, Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 4. This was written mostly by Craig Babiar.
The current series is Warrior Nun Lazarus.
Sister Shannon will be appearing in an upcoming War of the Independents tie-in issue, centering on her and Sean Koury's Bounty Hunter character, as well as appearing in War of the Independents itself. She can be seen on the cover of issue one, as well as in the group shot at the end of the issue.
Third party publications Ben Dunn sold the rights to Areala during the 2000s in order to fund his wife's operation. The media rights were picked up by Perfect Circle Productions, which then later sold them to Netflix. The comic book rights were picked up by another company and it is currently published by Avatar Press. Dunn stated that he does not regret the rights being sold, is glad that the character still appears in comics and appreciates that his name is in the credits of the latest movies and shows. However, in 2025 in a Facebook post he stated, "One of my biggest regrets in life was to have to sell the rights to WARRIOR NUN AREALA to Avatar Press otherwise I'd do a special anniversary comic."
Sister Shannon Masters Her story begins in 1066 when the original Sister Areala was met by the angel who would become her namesake. An American, Shannon Masters was born after 1959 and was orphaned at the age of four whereon she was left at the steps of the Our Lady of the Virgin Mary convent.Since that would make Sister Shannon 48 years old as of 2007 and since the series employs a floating timeline--for example, Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 2 #6 was published in May 1998 but refers to events happening in Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1 # 2 published in April 1995 as having happened a year ago--, her birth date will likely be retconned at a future date. Even so, there are still potential time discrepancies concerning her childhood. In one story, Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 2 #6, she said she was lived in Japan until she was eleven but later it was revealed in Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection #3 that she stayed at the St. Thomas Academy for sixteen years which would have made her twenty-seven, hardly the teenager both words and pictures portray her as. She stayed there until she was adopted by the Yoma family of Japan. She lived in Japan with the Yomas until she was eleven years old, but, after showing exceptional academic and athletic abilities, she was chosen for the Silver Cross Program and was raised to be a Warrior Nun in Upper New York State's Saint Thomas Academy. Thus, her experience at the orphan school was more of a boarding school.
Growing up at the Saint Thomas Academy, she wrestled with feelings of self-worth over how she had been orphaned. However, she overcame those doubts and found a purpose for her life in her service to the Church as did her adopted sister, Sasuki Yoma of Japan. It was while she trained there under a young Mother Superion, then Sister Katherine, that she first met and befriended the future Sister Sarah, her best friend; Father David Crowe, her future love interest; and Shotgun Mary. It was at this time that she visited Quagmire High School, also called Ninja High School, though at the time she had yet to take her vows and was referred to simply as Shannon and not Sister Shannon. After this, she received final training from Mother Superion at Vatican City.
Though a rookie, Sister Shannon's training was completed, and she reported to the New York City archdiocese. There, she patrolled two sectors from her assigned parish, Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan on the grounds that she was assigned to an area where there had not been demonic activity since the Purge of 1985. Replacing Sisters Sanguine and Hannah, she soon saw a sustained surge in New York City's demonic activity after her arrival (a stock situation in comic books wherein the supervillains can appear only after a hero shows up). She soon received her calling from the first Sister Areala after she was nearly killed in a battle with minions of arms dealer Julius Salvius. On recognizing her as the Chosen One of that generation, the original Sister Areala gave Sister Shannon her name and awakened her latent power. It was made official when the Areala confirmed her as her avatar after a battle against the avatar of mad valkyrie Helga.
Characters Characters Portrayed by Television series Season 1 Season 2 Ava Silva Alba Baptista colspan="2" Sister Mary Toya Turner Sister Lilith Lorena Andrea colspan="2" Sister Beatrice Kristina Tonteri-Young colspan="2" Father Vincent Tristán Ulloa colspan="2" Jillian Salvius Thekla Reuten colspan="2" Mother Superion Sylvia De Fanti Adriel William Miller
Controversy