WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #2's "The Bloody Bride," on sale now from DC.
In Annabelle Comes Home, the scary doll was the star of the show, but the Bride also staked out her place as one of the scariest demons in The Conjuring Universe. When Annabelle got out at Ed and Lorraine's home, she summoned demons to her aid, including the Bride, with all hell literally breaking loose as the Bride possessed Daniela. While the day was saved, details into the entity's background weren't fully provided back then,
But in The Conjuring: The Lover #2, Che Grayson, Juan Ferreyra and Becca Carey reveal the dark origin of the Bride, a woman scorned and who remained intent on vengeance. In "Tales from the Artifact Room: The Bloody Bride," we see a pale woman advising Mariah Walker in a shop to buy a wedding dress in Los Angeles. She doesn't say anything, she just points down a shopping aisle, where Mariah finds an elegant dress that looks as good as new. It's less than $200 so it fits her budget, and it's a shockingly perfect fit on short notice.
Mariah's wondering who's the designer as the tag says Quinn Lane, but she takes it home nonetheless, proud as ever. However, after researching to find out Quinn was a killer, she starts getting nightmares, with flashbacks showing Quinn as the first person who wore the dress. The circumstances were horrific, though, because just before her wedding, Quinn caught her groom-to-be cheating.
She was heartbroken and played coy after he lied about having errands to run. However, she ultimately stabbed him -- along with a few others -- and removed his eyes before the wedding. This all ties into the Warrens' case files where the dress would possess brides and cause them to murder their wouldn-be husbands. It's never confirmed if these other guys are innocent or cheaters, but it's clear the dress loves taking lives to sate the gap in Quinn's soul.
It culminates with Mariah on her wedding day in the future, not getting sleep and feeling mentally shattered. She's seeing shadows with the Bride and her bloody knife out of the corner of her eye, but her mom just tells her rest up. By the time she's near the pulpit ready to commit, however, things take a dark turn as Mariah's boyfriend removes the veil to see Quinn's bloody face. This indicates she's taken over totally, possessing Mariah to stab him in front the ceremony.
We don't see the kill, but it's implied, since the dress finds its way back to the California store, where a new young lady starts looking at it. Quinn's ghost is there too, silent and pointing the lady towards the dress. Ironically, she sees the tag reading Mariah Walker, so she'll probably end up doing her research to figure out -- just like Mariah did -- that this dress was previously owned by a killer.
The story ends there, foreshadowing the seven kills to come, but it doesn't explain why Daniela was possessed in Annabelle Comes Home and how the dress magically moves around. Interestingly, Daniela was a teen who lost her dad, but not a bride. With that in mind, it's odd the Bride would take her as a vessel to hunt Judy Warren and Mary Ellen. Either way, we now have insight as to why the Warrens blessed the dress and locked it away. It's all because Quinn's hate spilled over and her revenge-driven spirit simply wouldn't rest after being wronged.