Dr. Penny Jones is a character in George Romero's Empire of the Dead. She is the younger sister of Barbara and Johnny.
George Romero's Empire of the Dead (2014-2015)[]
Act 1[]
Penny was in New York City, which has been turned into a haven for survivors, run by Mayor Chandrake. She was there in hopes of studying the zombies, particularly those who were "tamed" and was introduced to Paul Barnum, a zombie hunter and wrangler. Penny is brought to the arena, where she is shown just how dangerous zombies are by putting her close to one. She also witnesses fights between zombies for food, as well as spying on the V.I.P suite, witnessing Ronald Chandrake, New York's Mayor, watching her as well. It's then one of his guards escort her and Paul to the V.I.P. suite, where she meets Ronald in person. Penny then accompanies Paul to a local bar, where they share a gin, where she tells him the story about her siblings Barbara and Johnny. It's then that a zombie to burst through the door and Penny wasting it with her gun. Barnum however, takes her gun and is arrested, leaving her in the clear to return to her everyday life.
Penny reunites with Paul, who reveals they had him just fill out a form for what transpired. She is also witness to Xavier stopping a purse snatcher on the street and Penny requests that she be placed in her custody. She then goes to the Dakota, where she meets up with Chandrake again, who offers her a position as a personal trainer, only for her to decline, but gain custody of Xavier. She then watches as Xavier is trained in combat in the arena, where she allows her zombie to be pitted against another. She watches as Xavier kills the zombie and complies to dropping her weapon. Sometime later, while Penny is on duty, Melody Cooper is brought into the hospital, after being bitten by 2 vampires. She is truly perplexed as to what happened to her, as she never saw these kind of wounds before. Sometime later, Penny is seen, trying to show Xavier flashcards, but she shows no interest, which makes Paul suggest something more challenging. He recommends basketball, which she allows and proves successful. Xavier wants to play more after an hour, however Penny tells her no and she seems to comply, but ends up freeing herself from her chain and going off on her own.
She is later seen, fatigued and looking for answers as to why the zombies are so different. Chandrake then scares her unintentionally, but he also assures her he will finance a proper lab in the hospital for her. At the same time, putting the moves on her and almost bite her before Paul stops him and she falls asleep. Both men tend to her and sometime later, she's sharing another drink with Paul, who asks if Chandrake did anything to her, which she denies. Later, she is met with a woman named Sally Cooper, who is looking for her daughter Melody, which is the same woman that was brought in prior. She assures Sally that everything is being done for her and everything is being done to find out what happened to her. She later is found by Xavier, who is with Jo, a little girl she saved in Alphabet City. She brings Penny to the subway, where she finds a horde of new zombies, all of which are like her. As a result, Penny goes to Paul and they give them sanctuary at the arena. At the hospital, Penny is seen trying to wake Melody to see if she wants to eat, only for her to go crazy, then pass out. She is dumbfounded as to what could have caused Melody to do that, despite all of the medical knowledge she possesses.
Act 2[]
Penny is seen beneath the arena, where she and Paul oversee the training of the newcomers, as a way to teach them discipline. Chandrake and his wives arrive and witness Jo embracing Xavier, which astonishes them. Ronald also makes it clear to Penny that he is attracted to her, which angers both Paul and Lilith. She is then taken home via police escort. Sometime later, Penny is performing her rounds, finding that Melody had not only got out of bed, but had fed upon blood that was in a nearby fridge and Penny is made aware of this, thanks to Sally. Sometime later, after Melody is restrained to her bed, Penny reveals to Sally that her daughter's blood cells are not only low, but also destroying themselves and even she's dumbfounded. With that, she goes to Paul to consult him about the patient and how she's turning into a vampire. She is later visited by Chandrake, who ends up seducing her long enough to bite her and feed from her forearm.
Paul comes to see her, working hard in her lab, comparing her blood from that of Melody's. She would also go onto pay a visit to Chandrake's penthouse, where she is greeted by Lilith, who says to her that she is his wife, leading her to leave, as she had fallen in love with a married man. She would then go to Paul, telling her about her meeting with Lilith. Paul also explains to her how his dad was once a lion tamer, but ended up backed into a corner of a cage, where a zombie killed him. He then goes into a jealous rage, demanding to know if Chandrake did anything to her and how long she was with him alone, only for her to end up not knowing. Penny is later approached by Paul, who makes her aware of the kidnapping of children by people on buses and that she should keep Jo safe. As a result, Penny goes to see Xavier and Jo outside the arena, but Jo is being pulled into a bus by a guard, who then shoots Xavier in the head, leaving Penny to tend to the wounded zompire.
Act 3[]
Hell-bent on saving Xavier, Penny brings her into the I.C.U, where she finds that the bullet went right through her right cheek and out the back of her head, completely missing her spine and brain. Despite the reservations on behalf of her colleagues, Penny was determined not to let Xavier die. Following Xavier's surgery, Penny comes to see her, realizing that she hasn't taken her hand off of Jo's bag, which she tries taking from her, only for her to growl at her. Sometime after, Paul arrives to check up on the two, where he tries taking Jo's bag, only to make her growl. She backs away, but also notices her wound was almost practically healed. Penny also reveals her wound was pretty much healed, making Paul reveal that vampires heal fast. As a result, likely bitten by a vampire before becoming a zombie, making her a hybrid of the two. She is then visited by Chandrake, making him aware of the kidnapping of Jo, which he is investigating, but she also makes it clear that she is as well.
Now aware of Jo's whereabouts, Paul returns to the arena, where he tells Xavier and Penny that he knows where Jo is and that he plans to use the zombies as a way to rescue her. Paul has arranged buses as transport to the compound for the zombies, who are convinced by Penny to trust both her and Paul, leading them to climb aboard. Near Tarrytown, Penny lets Xavier know that they need to place their helmets on to protect them, leading Xavier to shout "Klash", ordering the others to put on their helmets. Arriving at the government farm, Paul drinks a container of rat blood, fooling the vampires that he's legit and allowing the buses through, but he spits it out and a clash between zompires and vampires breaks out. They are able to find the guard that shot Xavier and kidnapped Jo, but before anyone can do damage to each other, Penny tries talking them down. Lulling the guard into a false sense of security, long enough so to shoot him in the head. Penny then goes tend to Paul, who ducked behind a bunch of crates, telling him that they have everything they needed.
Characteristics[]
Physical Appearance[]
Penny is a Caucasian female, likely in her late 20s-early 30s, around 5' tall, with blond hair and hazel eyes. She wears several outfits throughout the comics, such as her casual attire and even her scrubs and doctor's coat.
Personality & Traits[]
Unlike her older sister, Penny is much more calm and collected. Since she's a doctor, it's likely that she has seen some things that would otherwise freak out others. While she is compassionate, she can also be tough, as she took out a zombie that busted through the window of a bar and even went as far as killing one of the guards at the government farm without a moment's hesitation.
Skills & Abilities[]
- Medicine: As a doctor, Penny is well versed in the fields of medicine and healing. She isn't just able to heal her fellow human beings however, as she was able to do what she could for Xavier, following her injury.
- Marksmanship: While she's a healer, Penny is not a pushover either, as she's not afraid to take up arms if necessary.