Selene (Underworld)

Selene is a fictional character from the Underworld film series. She is the main protagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale and also by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. She is loosely based off the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

Fictional character biography
Selene was born to a Hungarian family. Her father was a well-known blacksmith who helped design a fortress for a general named Viktor. The fortress was actually a dungeon intended for the imprisonment of the Werewolf, William Corvinus, condemned for his bloody and destructive behavior and to keep Vampire Elder Markus under Viktor's control. After Lycans purportedly killed her family, Selene was the only one left alive who had walked through the corridors of the fortress. However, she did not know that her family was slain by Viktor himself, and believed Viktor had saved her from the Lycans. Viktor only let her live because of resemblance to his deceased daughter. The night of her family's murder she was made into a vampire by Viktor.

Underworld
She became a Death Dealer, fighting against the Lycans for vengeance on the atrocities she believed they had committed against her family. She also exiled the Official Historian, Andreas Tanis, on Viktor's orders. Many years later (shortly before the events portrayed in Underworld) she became an object of romantic interest for Kraven, the Coven's regent, however she did not reciprocate his advances.

After a confrontation with the Lycan hitman Raze, she discovered what was supposedly a Lycan lair. She was angry when Kraven dismissed her claims, not knowing that Kraven was in league with the Lycan leader Lucian in a bid to take over the control of the vampire realm from the Elders. She tracked down Michael Corvin, who she believed the Lycans had an interest in. Against the sacred rules of The Vampire Covenant, she and Michael, who was infected with the lycanthropy virus, fell in love. She awakened Viktor from his deep slumber, believing that only he has the power to deal with the conspiracy between Kraven and Lucian. She then led a mass assault on the Lycans' underground bunker. After Michael was shot by Kraven, Selene was forced to infect Michael with her vampire strain, thus making him the first hybrid, a Lycan dominant hybrid. She also learned the truth about her family's killer from Kraven, and she struck Viktor down while the Elder was preoccupied with fighting Michael. She then retrieved Sonja's pendant, carrying on her legacy.

Underworld: Evolution
After Viktor's death, Selene and Michael went on the run from both Lycans and Vampires. She was confronted by Markus, the last surviving Vampire Elder. He was now a Vampire-Dominant Hybrid due to the blood of Lycan scientist Singe, which has seeped into his chamber. As Markus attacks her, Michael intervenes and battles him to protect her. After narrowly escaping Markus and the sunlight, Selene and Michael take refuge in a warehouse and make love. Selene finds that she has seen the pendant, that Markus was trying to get, when she was a child.

In order to find out why Markus was after the pendant, she sought out Andreas Tanis. Tanis told her the truth about her family's slaughter (they were killed after Lucian began his revolution to keep William from being freed) and revealed to her that, contrary to popular belief, Markus, not Viktor, is the original vampire. He then set up a meeting for her and Michael with Alexander Corvinus, Markus' father and the first true immortal.

Selene was angered at Alexander for not removing the threat his sons, Markus and William, posed long ago. Alexander retorted by asking her if she would murder her own son. An interruption by Markus in which Michael is seemingly killed also results in Selene's memories of the fortress to be taken by Markus through her blood. Alexander, dying from his son's attack, told Selene that the only way to defeat Markus and William would be to drink his legendary immortal blood, adding that she would become "The Future". Selene gained greater strength and new powers from Alexander's blood.

She and a squad of Alexander's Cleaners invaded William's dungeon, trying to stop the threat. They arrived too late, however, and Selene was forced to fight Markus. Markus was shocked by smelling his father's blood coursing through Selene's veins. Locking Markus in William's dungeon, Selene discovered that William had infected all surviving members of the six Cleaners escorting her, all of which have become Lycans themselves. On the verge of being overwhelmed she was saved by Michael, who was saved by his Hybrid powers and the helicopter the Cleaners used-which provided support fire with a machine gun until Markus pulled it out of the sky, causing it to crash and kill the last two Cleaners but leaving its blades spinning. She fought Markus once more, and the Elder drove his wing talon through Selene's chest. Selene, empowered by Alexander's blood, tore away the talon and drove it up Markus' skull before throwing him into helicopter blades and killing him.

After Selene defeats Markus, and Michael defeats William, sunlight lands on Selene's arm, showing that Alexander's blood has taken away the vampiric weakness to sunlight and starts a sexual relationship with Michael.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Selene briefly appears at the end of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which was also the opening scene of the first Underworld, with the audio from the scene where Kraven tells Selene that it was Viktor who murdered her family, rather than the Lycans, and that Viktor spared her because she reminded him of the daughter he condemned to death; Selene replies to Kraven, "Lies." Beckinsale did not film new footage, a scene from Underworld was used to bookend the film. Beckinsale also provided a monologue for the beginning of the film.

Underworld: Awakening
In Underworld: Awakening, Selene escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

Powers and abilities
She is proficient with many weapons, both medieval and modern. Modern firearms that she uses include the Walther P99 and a variety of automatic machine pistols. In both films, she is seen jumping from a ledge at least one hundred feet and landing without injury.

Selene frequently demonstrates superhuman physical abilities. She uses superhuman strength to pin Michael against a wall several feet off the ground, performs spectacular leaps, and strikes her enemies with tremendous force. She kills younger Vampires with just a few blows. She takes a shotgun blast to the abdomen without flinching and manhandles four police officers as if they were rag dolls. She also has the ability to hold her breath for long amounts of time, as humans needed SCUBA to make an underwater dive in Underworld: Evolution. After fortifying herself with some of Alexander Corvinus' blood, she goes toe to toe with Markus, the actual first Vampire, in his hybrid form. She was slammed against stone walls, breaking the stones, but with no ill effects. After she receives Alexander's blood in the second film she is able to withstand direct sunlight.

Underworld: Blood Enemy
In the non-canon novel Underworld: Blood Enemy, Selene is responsible for the death of renegade Lycan Leyba, tracking her down after Leyba's forces attack a Lycan weapons deal and are responsible for the deaths of both the Lycans and another member of Selene's team. During the confrontation with Leyba, Leyba briefly reflects that Selene's eyes are like 'hers' (Sonja's), but Selene never learns the meaning of this comment before she kills Leyba. Leyba's goals remain a mystery to Selene.

Underworld: The Eternal War
In the video game Underworld: The Eternal War, which is based on the first film, Selene, is a third-person shooter throughout the missions. According to IGN.Com the release dates were canceled and the game was never sold in the USA.

Action figures
Due to the impact of the films, action figures for Selene were created, all designed by Mezco. Their size is 5" in scale. They all come with display base, and accessories.