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Terry Dodson | |
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Terry Dodson at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con. |
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Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Artist |
Notable works | Harley Quinn Uncanny X-Men Wonder Woman, vol. 3 |
Terrence "Terry" Dodson is an American comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work on titles such as Harley Quinn, Trouble, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and Uncanny X-Men. His pencils are usually inked by his wife Rachel Dodson, who is a comic book inker and colorist.
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Dodson began his illustration career in 1991 at Revolutionary Comics, drawing issues of Rock 'N' Roll Comics that featured illustrated bios of performers like Rod Stewart (#38) and others. He first came to mainstream prominence as the artist on Malibu Comics' Ultraverse title Mantra in 1993. He co-created the character with writer Mike W. Barr.
In early 1996, he drew a four issue Storm mini series (starring the X-Men character of the same name), which was written by Warren Ellis, inked by Karl Story and published by Marvel Comics.
Later that same year this creative team reunited for another X-Men-related limited series - the 3 issue Pryde and Wisdom title, starring Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom.
In 1998, he became regular penciller of Marvel's Generation X, where he remained until 2000 (#38-60).
In 2000, Dodson left Marvel for DC Comics where he pencilled a Harley Quinn ongoing series written by Karl Kesel.[1] He left the title a year later.
Back at Marvel in 2002, Dodson began drawing Spider-Man and the Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do, a limited series which was not completed until 2006 due to delays from writer Kevin Smith.[citation needed]
In 2003. Dodson and writer Mark Millar produced a controversial limited series titled Trouble, which was published through Marvel's Epic Comics imprint. The series which was supposedly aimed at a teenage girl audience, featured suggestive photo covers of girls in bikinis and seemed to reveal details about Peter Parker (Spider-Man)'s true parentage.
In 2004, Dodson and Millar reteamed to launch a new ongoing Spider-Man series, Marvel Knights Spider-Man. They left after a 12-issue arc.
Dodson provided covers and interior art for DC Comics' 2006 relaunch of Wonder Woman. He has also completed the first volume of Songes: Coraline, a comic strip which is edited and published in France and Spain.
Dodson is currently serving as the artist for Uncanny X-Men, a position he shares with artist Greg Land. Dodson and Land will be changing places on the title's regular art duties with Land drawing the first arc and Dodson doing the next one and so on. This is on purpose so Dodson has the time to keep working on another Songes: Coraline volume, as his contract allows him to publish on Europe. His first official stint as regular Uncanny X-Men artist began with issue #504.
Preceded by none |
Harley Quinn artist 2000–2002 |
Succeeded by Mike Huddleston |
Preceded by Rags Morales |
Wonder Woman artist 2006–2008 |
Succeeded by Aaron Lopresti |
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Name | Dodson, Terry |
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Emma Frost | |
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250x450px Art by Andy Park |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980) |
Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne |
In-story information | |
Full name | Emma Grace Frost |
Species | Human mutant |
Team affiliations | X-Men The Cabal Xavier Institute Hellfire Club Hellions Generation X Dark X-Men Frost International |
Notable aliases | The White Queen, The Black Queen |
Abilities | Telepathy Mind reading and control Memory alteration Mental bolts Induced paralysis Illusion casting Astral projection Capable of shapeshifting into a diamond form which grants her superhuman strength and durability |
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980), and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne.
An urbane, mutant telepath with a well-noted dry wit[1][dead link] initially known as the White Queen, Frost has evolved from one of the X-Men's most dangerous foes to one of its most central members.
The character placed #30 as Marvel's highest ranking female on Empire's Top 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters in 2008[2] and took 69th place on Wizard’s 200 Greatest Characters of All Time List in 2008,[3] ranking ahead of other X-Men with more extensive histories. She was ranked fifth in Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women in Comics list.[4]
Actress January Jones portrays the character in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class.
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From her initial appearance as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Frost appeared as an X-Men villain over the years. She frequently appeared in Uncanny X-Men and the original volume of the New Mutants alongside her Hellions.
In March 1986, Tom DeFalco, Mary Wilshire, and Steve Leialoha were the creative team for the four issue Firestar miniseries, where Emma predominantly appeared alongside her Hellions. This series showcased Frost as the main villain as she attempted to turn Angelica Jones into her own personal weapon.
After recovering from a coma and aiming to redeem herself upon the knowledge that her Hellions had been slaughtered, Frost played a pivotal role in the Phalanx Covenant, which saw her team up with Banshee, Jubilee, and Sabretooth in an attempt to save the next generation of mutants. This led to her becoming a main character of the spin-off series Generation X which began in November 1994 under the creative eyes of Scott Lobdell, Chris Bachalo, and Mark Buckingham. The series ended after over 75 issues (and several one-shots and miniseries) with Brian Wood, Ron Lim, Sandu Florea, and Randy Elliott ending the series. The series offered glimpses into her past before her days in the Hellfire Club, as well as introducing her sisters Adrienne and Cordelia.
After the series ended and all the X-Titles were revamped, in 2001 Frost appeared in New X-Men as a teacher for the mutant population of Genosha, which was then controlled by Magneto. After a Sentinel strike leveled the island nation, the X-Men found Frost amidst the rubble with a "secondary mutation" which hardened her skin to a diamond-like density. Using Frost as a character was suggested to writer Grant Morrison on his website by a fan. While Morrison initially had no plans to use her, the death of the character Colossus left Morrison with an opening.[5] He created Emma's secondary mutation – a super strong diamond form – as a replacement for Colossus' powers and added her to the cast.[6] Subsequently, Frost joined the X-Men. This would lead to her instigating an affair with fellow X-Man Cyclops, who was having marital difficulties with Jean Grey. This series also provided further glimpses into her past, introducing her father Winston Frost and her brother Christian.
In August 2003, writer Karl Bollers penned an ongoing series showcasing her origins titled Emma Frost. The series, which lasted for 18 issues, began during her days as a private school student and ended before her days as a Hellfire Club member. It expanded on the role of her father Winston and her brother Christian, also exploring the early days of her two sisters. Later Marvel issues would expand Emma's character history by depicting her as having past romantic histories with prominent Marvel characters, such as Iron Man and Prince Namor.[7][8]
Under Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, Emma was featured in the third volume of Astonishing X-Men. She has been a major character in the ongoing series, specifically during its third arc, "Torn," in which the authenticity of her allegiance to the X-Men is explored. She also frequently makes guest appearances in other Marvel titles, New X-Men in particular. The reduced presence of X-Men founder and former headmaster Charles Xavier in recent years has intensified her importance as one of Marvel's foremost telepaths.
In a flashback story told by Frost herself in Generation X #24, Frost details a time she spent in a mental institution after being sent there by her parents. However, the short-lived Emma Frost series depicted Frost's early years differently, having her leave home and attend college. The series was supposed to cover Frost's life from high school until her first appearance as the White Queen, however, it was canceled at issue #18. Generation X #-1 showed the first meeting of Emma Frost, Banshee, and the Dark Beast, taking place after the events depicted in the Emma Frost series.
In X-Men: Deadly Genesis, Frost is shown after the events of Generation X #-1 working as a stripper at the Hellfire Club before rising to the rank of White Queen. Frost is approached by Professor X and Moira MacTaggert to join a new team of X-Men along with other characters introduced in the series. The task proves harder than first anticipated and Xavier is met with great resistance from Frost. The event is then mentally erased from everyone's minds by Xavier.
Emma Frost was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the wealthy Winston and Hazel Frost; she is the second of three daughters and also had an older brother, Christian Frost. Winston is cold, ruthless, and domineering, often imposing impossibly high standards on his children, while Hazel abuses prescription drugs to cope with the tensions of her household. Thus, Emma obtains no emotional support from her parents or her sisters Adrienne and Cordelia, but gets along with her gay brother Christian.
At her school, she is ruthlessly teased by the other students and has difficulties with her grades. She is supported by her teacher, Ian Kendall. After some time with headaches, her telepathic powers begin to manifest, allowing her to read the minds of other students and get answers to the tests. Because she is able to glean information, Emma becomes a tutor to other students and Ian recommends her to be a teacher, something Emma's father refuses.
On her way home from school one day, Emma's car breaks down and Ian gives her a ride home. After reading his thoughts and learning that he thinks she is beautiful and intelligent, Emma kisses him. Her sister Adrienne records it and her father uses the evidence to get Ian fired. Emma begins to fight back by revealing Adrienne's secret modeling career and taking pictures of her father with a mistress. Her actions intrigue her father, who says that she reminds him of himself at her age. Her father chooses her to carry on his fortune, but after seeing her father betray her trust and commit Christian to a mental institution following a suicide attempt, Emma rejects his offer and decides to make her own way in life.[9]
After a period of homelessness, Emma meets and falls in love with a young man named Troy, who agrees to let Emma live with him. She learns that he owes a large amount of money to a local mobster named Lucien. In order to save Troy's life, Emma agrees to participate in a fake kidnapping scheme in an attempt to extort the remainder of Troy's debt from her father. However, Winston refuses to pay the ransom, and Troy is killed while valiantly attempting to save Emma from an enraged Lucien. After disposing of Troy's corpse, Lucien's thugs handcuff Emma to a pipe and seal her mouth shut with duct tape, intending to kill her later. Adrienne releases Lucien's ransom video to the media, forcing Winston to pay for Emma's safe release. Not content with the money, Lucien still decides to kill her, but by using her powers, Emma turns the thugs against one another and then forces the remaining henchman to free her.
Emma takes the ransom money and enrolls in Empire State University.[10] There, she begins to learn about mutants for the first time. She briefly dates a basketball player; however after their first date, he mysteriously attacks her and is reported. She also meets a fellow telepath named Astrid Bloom, who becomes her friend and mentor. Emma is also shocked to learn that Ian is also working at ESU and is dating her roommate. Emma, who still loves him, begins to date him and is horrified to later learn that he was caught attacking her roommate.
Emma later learns that Astrid was secretly behind both the basketball player and Ian's attacks. Furious, she attacks Astrid telepathically and leaves her comatose. Though she is able to use her powers to save Ian's job, he rejects her when she confesses her powers as a mutant to him. She becomes cold towards humans after this, and later auditions as a dancer for the Hellfire Club,[11] an underground elite society. Emma discovers the plans of Edward Buckman and Steven Lang to destroy all mutants. Alongside Sebastian Shaw, Lourdes Chantel, and Harry Leland, Emma battles Lang's Sentinels. Alongside Shaw, she kills Buckman and the Council of the Chosen, then – along with Shaw – takes control of the Hellfire Club, setting themselves up as Lords Cardinal of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club.[12]
Emma Frost becomes the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. She becomes the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Frost International, which helps to fund the activities of the Lords Cardinal. Frost also becomes the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, a school for mutants which serves as a counterpoint to Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, recruiting young mutants competitively with Xavier by using a bug planted in Cerebro. Frost and the Club's agents later attempted to recruit Kitty Pryde for the Massachusetts Academy, and capture (and personally torture) several members of the X-Men, including Storm, Colossus, Wolverine, and Phoenix Frost engages Phoenix in a psychic battle in which she is overpowered and on the verge of being killed. Frost launches a last-minute attack that led the X-Men to believe she had committed suicide,[13] though in truth, she was comatose and recovering from Phoenix's attack under the care of Sebastian Shaw.[14] In another encounter with the Hellfire Club, Frost telepathically forces Kitty Pryde's parents to transfer her from Xavier's to the Massachusetts Academy. She then switches minds with Storm in order to defeat the X-Men from within their own ranks, but the process is soon reversed and the two are restored to their respective bodies.[15] She was later temporarily rendered comatose by Mastermind.[16]
During her time with the Hellfire Club, Frost continues to run the Massachusetts Academy. Frost's trainees become the supervillain team known as the Hellions while she serves as the Hellions' mentor. She recruits Firestar for the Massachusetts Academy, but then battles Firestar.[17] She attempts to recruit Doug Ramsey for the Massachusetts Academy, and captures Kitty Pryde again.[18] With the Hellions, she battles the Hellion's rival team, Xavier's New Mutants for the first time.[19] When the New Mutants are later killed and resurrected by Beyonder, they are left traumatized and withdrawn. Frost offers her assistance in telepathically restoring them to their former selves. She then coerces their headmaster Magneto into allowing them to join the Massachusetts Academy.[20] With Shaw and Selene, she invites Magneto to join the Hellfire Club.[21] She engineers a contest between the New Mutants and Hellions, and recruits Magma for the Massachusetts Academy,[22] and then has Empath accompany Magma to her home of Nova Roma.[23] Alongside Magneto, Shaw, and Selene, she battles the High Evolutionary's forces to rescue Magma.[24] She later helps Magneto search for the New Mutants when they had gone missing; alongside Magneto, Shaw, and Selene, Emma encounters the effects of the Inferno.[25] Alongside Magneto, Shaw, and Selene, she battles the New Mutants, and votes to oust Shaw from the Club.[26]
When the time traveling mutant Trevor Fitzroy unleashes the mutant-hunting robots called the Sentinels on Emma Frost and the Hellions, Emma places herself in a psychic coma in order to survive the ordeal and nearly all of her students are killed.[27][28] She later awakens in the Xavier Academy. Disoriented, she switches minds with Iceman and escapes but when she discovers the deaths of her students, Professor Xavier is able to coax a devastated Emma Frost to switch back.[29]
Emma Frost later teams up with the X-Men Banshee and Jubilee, as well as Sabretooth and Synch, to defeat the Phalanx, and rescue a select group of teenage mutants who become a superhero team known as Generation X[30] and students at the reopened Massachusetts Academy, which is now run by co-headmasters Emma Frost and Banshee. After Frost's business ventures take a bad turn, she seeks help from her estranged sister Adrienne, who is a psychometrist. Her sister offers financial assistance but demands to be co-headmistress of the school in return.[31] Emma's sister secretly plots against her and plants a bomb at the school, which kills Generation X member Synch.[31] Frost tracks down and murders Adrienne[32] and then returns to the Academy, growing increasingly distant from her students in an effort to hide her crime. Monet comes to the realization that Emma murdered her sister and informs other students that they can no longer trust her. This, combined with Banshee's increasing depression and drunkenness following the death of his long-time lover Moira MacTaggert, leads the students to leave, disbanding Generation X.[33]
Afterwards, Emma deals with her emotions from murdering her sister and travels to the mutant haven island of Genosha where she teaches at a mutant school until a genocidal Sentinel attack kills most of the island's population including all of her students; Emma survives due to the sudden manifestation of her secondary mutation: the power to transform herself into a flexible, near-invulnerable, diamond-like substance. Emma then joins the X-Men after they rescue her from Genosha, and takes on a teaching position after the Xavier Institute reforms into a regular school.[34] She starts to look after and train a group of telepathic quintuplets, the Stepford Cuckoos, who quickly become her prized pupils. Frost and the Cuckoos prove themselves when they help fight and defeat Charles Xavier's evil twin sister Cassandra Nova. As a member of the X-Men, Frost begins a psychic, non-physical, sexual relationship with Cyclops, who had become distant from his wife Jean as a result of his temporary physical and mental merger with the ancient mutant Apocalypse and added disconnection from Jean "remanifesting" the Phoenix Force. Emma and Cyclops' psychic meetings begin in the form of therapy,[35] but soon turn into a telepathic romantic affair.[36]
While quelling a riot at the school, one of the Stepford Cuckoos, Sophie, is killed and the others reject Emma's mentorship, blaming her for the death. They attempt to get revenge by telepathically contacting Jean about Emma's and Cyclops' psychic affair.[37] In the aftermath of the riot, Jean catches Frost and Summers in bed together in their minds. In a rage, she unleashes her reignited Phoenix powers and psychically humiliates Frost. Afterward, Emma is found physically shattered in her diamond form.[11] As Bishop and Sage investigate the crime, Jean uses her increasingly growing Phoenix powers to reassemble Frost's body, acknowledging that Emma has genuinely fallen in love with Scott. Revived, Emma is able to name her attempted murderer – Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos, who had mind-controlled fellow student Angel Salvadore into shooting Frost in her single flaw with a diamond bullet, under the direction of Xorn.[38]
Jean is later killed by Xorn, and a guilt ridden Cyclops is unable to move on with his life and with Emma, which results in a dystopian alternate future, which is prevented by Jean, reborn as the White Phoenix of the Crown, by urging Cyclops to start a new life with Emma.[39] Despite the criticism from their teammates and family members, Cyclops and Emma Frost become lovers, and the two take over the school after Professor Xavier steps down;[40] Emma becomes co-headmistress with Cyclops and adviser to a new team of Hellions.[41] She develops an antagonistic relationship with fellow teacher Kitty Pryde[42] and the daughter of Jean and Cyclops, Rachel Grey, who was furious at her father for starting a relationship with Emma immediately after Jean's death. However, the two seemingly reached a truce when Emma offers to help Rachel hone her telepathic abilities.[43][44]
The question of Emma's "true loyalties" are brought into focus as Emma abandoned the team during a fight to confer with a shadowy figure, revealed to be one of a group of four individuals watching from the shadows. The group contained Sebastian Shaw, Cassandra Nova, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and a cloaked figure called Perfection, who discussed among themselves Emma's impending betrayal of the team.[45] Emma's survival of the destruction of Genosha was due to Cassandra Nova creating Emma's secondary mutation as part of a scheme to infiltrate the X-Men as a sleeper agent, Nova having erased the memory of their encounter and only restoring it recently.
Following Decimation, the student population drastically decreases, and Emma, without consulting Cyclops, decides to revamp the entire workings of the school.[46]
During X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong, it is revealed that Emma's ova are the genetic templates used to clone thousands of identical female telepaths, five of which had become the Stepford Cuckoos. The encapsulated offspring, as well as Celeste Cuckoo, begin to refer to Frost as "mother" – a title whose usage she later accepts. In the end, the Phoenix (inhabiting the body of Celeste Cuckoo) destroys the thousands of additional clones, Emma is pained by the loss of her cloned children and declares revenge against the Phoenix.
Using this and other elements of Emma's consciousness, Emma created physical manifestations of Cassandra in her human form, Sebastian Shaw, Emma's younger evil self in the Hellfire Club calling itself "Perfection", and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, her former student in Genosha.
First, she began using her telepathy on Cyclops to appear as Jean/Phoenix, trying to reveal the lack of control he had over his optic blasts. Perfection noted that Emma's feelings for Summers were genuine, however. Emma's telepathy discovers that when Scott fell out of a plane with his younger brother Havok, Scott placed a deep mental block in his mind which prevents the controlled use of his powers. Encouraged by Emma, Scott revisited that moment in his life and reversed the decision. It is further revealed that Ellie, Shaw, and Perfection were actually psionic projections created by Emma under Cassandra's influence. Cassandra Nova had placed a portion of her mind in Emma's before being trapped in the body of Stuff.[47]
With Cyclops out of the way, Frost/Nova and the physical manifestations calling themselves the "Hellfire Club" assault the X-Mansion, incapacitating every X-Man except Shadowcat. Kitty manages to elude capture, and, fulfilling the role Emma asked her to in the beginning of the series, manages to capture the former White Queen. However, Kitty was eventually tricked by Nova/Emma/"Perfection" into helping Nova/Emma/"Perfection" retrieve the "Stuff" body containing the rest of Nova. A depowered Cyclops, with the help of Blindfold and Hisako Ichiki, was able to defeat the "Hellfire Club" by figuring out they were fake, while Emma herself tried to get Kitty to shoot her in order to block Cassandra's escape, but was stopped by Cyclops. Undeterred, Nova then attempted to transfer her mind into Hisako. The ending was interrupted as everyone present was teleported away by S.W.O.R.D. and onto their ship which was headed towards the Breakworld.
Emma, along with Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Beast, Shadowcat, Hisako, Ord, and Danger, were taken to deep space by S.W.O.R.D. and Agent Brand. The psychics on the S.W.O.R.D. ship did not detect Cassandra Nova in Emma's shattered psyche, effectively proving Emma's loyalty to the X-Men by her refusal to allow Nova into Hisako. Though emotionally wounded, Emma recovered fast enough to be present for the team's departure to the Breakworld. Separated, Emma, Scott, Beast, and Agent Brand discover the temple of Attur-Hei ("The Palace of the Corpse.") Joined by teammates Wolverine and Hisako (who adopted the code-name "Armor"), Emma conceded to Agent Brand's plan of separation. She and Scott left Attur-Hei on a single S.W.O.R.D. armed jet to rendezvous with the rest of the S.W.O.R.D. operatives on the Breakworld.
While flying, several Breakworld fighter jets approach, attempting to knock Emma and Scott out of the air. The couple successfully repel the Breakworld onslaught, exchanging heated words in the process. Amidst Emma's protestations that Scott was "acting as though [he knew] what [she's] been through," he finally professed his true love for Emma. Stunned, Emma could barely speak, except to utter an apology. Before her reasons behind apologizing were discussed, Scott noticed a blip on their radar. Danger appeared, utterly destroying the S.W.O.R.D. cruiser. Switching to diamond form in the nick of time, Emma is spared while Scott is mortally injured. Cradling an injured Scott in her arms, Emma sheds a tear. As the Danger Room entity approached, Emma makes a request of the machine. She asks that Danger kill her, and that "she" do so quickly.
However, this turns out to be another one of Emma's "lessons" this time aimed at Danger, who in truth seems incapable of killing the X-Men due to her core programming. Emma offers Danger a deal in exchange for her help with the X-Men's mission. As X-Men proceed with their planned attack on Breakworld weapon's installation, they are surrounded by Breakworld ships and Scott is forced to take a single battle cruiser to draw attention from the main team, being shot down and apparently dying in the process (with Emma feeling Scott's life flash before his eyes).
Scott is resurrected by their enemies, just as Colossus had been. It turns out Cyclops' sacrifice was all part of a master plan by the team undetected by way of Frost's telepathy in order to distract their opponents so the rest of the team can carry out their own duties without as much difficulty.
The arc concludes with Kitty trapped in the bullet and the team trying to find various ways to save the Earth and save Kitty. As the bullet heads toward Earth, Emma keeps in telepathic contact with Kitty, trying to reassure her, even offering to psionically sedate her, though Kitty becomes more and more certain that she will not make it out unharmed or alive. As it becomes clear that all other options have run out, Emma states that she never wanted something like this to happen and she and Kitty come to an understanding. Emma calls Kitty "astonishing" before Kitty sacrifices herself, phasing the bullet through Earth. In the aftermath, the X-Men are uncertain of Kitty's fate, believing her to either be dead or at least phased into part of the runaway bullet. Emma is devastated.
In a conversation with Iron Man, Frost announces that the Xavier Institute and the X-Men would not support the Superhuman Registration Act and remain neutral, as she fears that the registration of mutants would put them in more danger.[7]
Emma is part of the team that investigates the detection of a new mutant in Alaska. She also defends the X-Men from the Marauders and the telepathy of Sinister and Exodus. Emma is last seen with Cyclops' team of X-Men looking for Cable and then tracking down the Marauders with the Cuckoos. Later when X-Force arrives at the Marauders' hideout, Emma takes out Harpoon. During the final battle on Muir Island, she faces Exodus, distracting him in a telepathic duel long enough for Dust to enter his body and scour his lungs with her sand form, incapacitating him.
After the events of Messiah Complex, Emma and Scott vacation in the Savage Land but soon leave to answer a distress call by Archangel from San Francisco. The couple saves San Francisco from an out of control Martinique Jason. Afterwards, the Mayor of San Francisco welcomes the X-Men with open arms as their new super-hero team and Emma and Cyclops send out a telepathic message to all remaining mutants throughout the world, informing them that San Francisco is now considered a sanctuary for the remaining mutants in the world.
A new anti-mutant group calling themselves the "Hellfire Cult" appears in the Bay Area, committing various anti-mutant hate crimes. They are led by Emma's former pupil, Empath, as well as a mysterious red-haired dominatrix telepath who calls herself the Red Queen. After Empath discloses his experience of lusting after Emma during his days at the Massachusetts Academy, the dominatrix takes on Emma's appearance.[48] While investigating the Hellfire Cult's base, Cyclops is seduced by Emma who is wearing the Red Queen's dominatrix outfit. Later while at a Dazzler concert, when Scott mentions the event, Emma is confused by what he means. At that moment, Scott catches sight of a familiar red-headed woman on the other side of the club. When Emma asks what he saw, he cryptically tells her that his dead ex-wife Madelyne Pryor is alive.[49]
Emma has also expressed doubts about whether or not she deserves to be an X-Man, only to have veteran X-Man Wolverine assure her that she has earned her place on the team.[50] Later, when Xavier attempts to warn Cyclops about his recent encounter with Sinister, Emma manages to enter the Professor's mind undetected. During the course of their encounter, Emma forces Xavier to relive each of his mistakes and morally ambiguous decisions made under altruistic pretenses. It is also revealed that while Emma is just as angry with Xavier as Cyclops is, she also wants to help him move on with his life. Emma points the Professor in a new direction by forcing him to relive the death of Moira MacTaggert and reminding him of her last words.[51][52]
Emma Frost is seen fighting the Skrulls in San Francisco during the invasion.[53] There, the Skrulls set up a telepathy-blocking "wall" throughout the globe. Emma channels the Cuckoos' telepathy into her own using Cerebra in an attempt to locate the source of the psi-blockade but is left comatose.[54] The Cuckoos tell Cyclops that Emma is dead, unaware that Emma's telepathic mind is continuing to battle the psychic team of Skrulls. Setting a series of traps through misdirection, Emma manages to break free and shut down the psi-blockade.[55] Following the Skrulls' defeat, she is introduced as a member of a secret cabal, consisting of herself, Norman Osborn, Doctor Doom, Loki, Namor and the Hood, who are manipulating events in their favor.[56]
After waking from a nightmare, Emma is invited to join Norman Osborn's Cabal. Their first meeting is shown and their goal is to help each other accomplish their goals. When Emma points out she doesn't belong, Norman responds by pointing out who she once was and says she is an influential spokesperson for a powerful dying race. He reminds her that someone has to make a bold move on behalf of her people, and that she needs to tap into her true self and make some difficult decisions. He also claims he wants a psychic on the team because it keeps everyone else (relatively) honest. She later leaves without confirming whether she will attend.[57]
Emma begins to suspect that Scott is keeping something from her, namely the existence of X-Force. After a talk with Scott, Storm notices she is worried and Emma says she feels as if Scott is pushing her away and they are not partners and leaders and she is simply his girlfriend. Storm points out that Scott only does that if he thinks he is protecting her from something and if she truly is a leader, she should lead, eventually leading her to agree to attend the meeting called by Norman Osborn.[58]
At the meeting, it is revealed that she and Prince Namor share a romantic history. During her days as the White Queen, Sebastian Shaw sent Emma to convince Namor to join the Hellfire Club. Instead, Namor took her to his kingdom and they began a relationship. Believing Emma to have betrayed him for Namor, Shaw sent a reprogrammed sentinel to Atlantis, attacking the two and destroying the kingdom. When Namor confronted Shaw for his treachery, Selene took telepathic hold of Emma, erasing her memories of Namor, who vowed revenge on Shaw. In the present, Emma reveals that her initial battle with Phoenix unlocked her memories of Namor. She makes a pact with him, seducing Shaw and using her telepathy to make Namor believe she has executed him, while secretly telepathically incapacitating Shaw. Per their deal, Namor vows to protect mutant-kind as his own people, while Emma, more determined to fill her role as a leader of mutant-kind, contacts Scott to have Shaw captured by the X-Men for "crimes against mutant-kind."[8] Approaching him later in his cell, Emma reveals that she has captured Shaw for Namor and on the basis that the Sentinels he commissioned were ones later used by Cassandra Nova to destroy Genosha. She sentences him to remember nothing but the faces of the Genoshan victims using her telepathy.[59]
The Red Queen along with her Sisterhood of Mutants attack the X-Men with the goal of retrieving a lock of Jean Grey's hair in Wolverine's possession, with Lady Mastermind placing Emma under a psychic barricade. Jean Grey appears to Emma and helps her to break free by using what appears to be a bit of the Phoenix Force. She defeats Lady Mastermind and later attacks the Sisterhood at their base along with Storm, Karma and Dazzler.[60] Emma is later awoken in the middle of the night by Beast who states that the secrets she and Scott have been keeping from each other are going to tear everything apart.[61]
Emma Frost is appointed by Norman Osborn to lead his new team of "Dark X-Men". Marvel writer Matt Fraction indicated that her alliance with Osborn will place Emma and Scott at odds with one another, providing "a profound schism."[62] Each member is hand-picked by Norman but Emma has Namor added to the team for her own reasons.[63] The team debuts to the public as the official "X-Men" maintaining high public approval through Osborn's careful media strategy. They oust the original X-Men, portraying them as a dangerous militia.[64] Meanwhile, Emma discovers that Osborn is working with the Dark Beast, torturing apprehended mutants and feeding their powers into a machine that empowers Weapon Omega.[65] Cyclops sends X-Force on a strategic evacuation of the mutant prisoners, resulting in a planned confrontation with the Dark X-Men. As the teams prepare to face off, Emma then reveals her role as a double agent, defeating the Dark X-Men with Namor's assistance. She extends an invitation to Cloak and Dagger to join the true X-Men as they teleport to the newly created island base Utopia. Upon learning of this, Norman orders his Dark Avengers and Dark X-Men to go after Emma, Namor, and Scott.[66] During the final battle, Emma enacts Scott's final plan, to distract the invincible Sentry by taking the Void into herself. Doing so allows the Sentry to regain control and flee the battle, however Emma cannot contain the Void and it chases after the Sentry, though a sliver of it remains within her body.[67] In order to keep the sliver of the Void from utilizing her powerful psychic abilities, she must remain in diamond form.[68] Eventually, it came to the decision to extract the Void when the release of the Phoenix from the Cuckoos rendered them unconscious. With Professor X's help, they bridged Cyclops' mind to Emma. However, the Void instead took over his body, only for Scott to use the psychic training he has picked up from his years with Jean to contain the Void in an inescapable prison in his mind.[69]
Emma is targeted by Selene along with Sebastian Shaw and Donald Pierce for failing and betraying her years ago in her plan to ascend to godhood. Selene is also angry over Emma using the Black Queen name when she was working for Osborn's Dark X-Men. She sends the resurrected Hellions to attack and taunt Emma.[70] Their appearance is successful, leaving Emma in a state of shock and guilt, forcing Cyclops to order other X-Men to protect Emma who is unable to act in her horrified state. Selene's inner circle appears on Utopia to capture Warpath and retrieve Selene's stolen mystical blade. Emma recognizes Blink and stops Wolverine from killing Wither. However, Selene's inner circle succeeds in capturing Warpath and ruthlessly kill Onyxx and Diamond Lil and severely injure Angel before returning to Necrosha. Emma recognizes that the threat will not end until Selene is permanently stopped, and orders X-Force to travel to Necrosha and kill Selene and her inner circle, including Wither.[71]
During the events of Second Coming, Emma acts as moral support to Scott as well as acting as a line of communication between Scott and his Alpha Roster of X-Men.[72] When Rogue becomes aware that she has an empathic connection to Hope, she contacts Emma for help, though Emma finds that the bond is not telepathic in nature. Along with all the other telepaths among the X-Men, Emma is affected by the psionic backlash when Bastion shuts Cerebra down and informs Scott that Ariel has died in a missile strike.[73] She attends Nightcrawler's funeral along with all the other X-Men.[74] After Scott sends X-Force into the future to try to stop the army of Nimrod Sentinels invading the present, Scott informs Emma that it is a suicide mission.[75] She takes part in the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge and when Bastion destroys the bridge, she watches with concern as Hope manifests the Phoenix Force energy signature, though Wolverine tells her there is nothing she can do now.[76]
After the battle is over, the students have a bonfire to try to recover from the battle. As Emma stands around in her diamond state, Scott approaches her and asks how Hope is and if they were right in placing their faith in her as a mutant messiah. Emma tells him that it does not matter at this point, frustrating him. After Scott leaves she sees the Phoenix Force manifest around Hope, who momentarily takes on the appearance of Jean Grey, prompting her to remember that Jean had told her to "prepare". Horrified, she runs after Scott to tell him about what she saw and what she remembered. Finding him in Cerebra, Scott tells her they were right as five new mutants manifest their powers across the globe.[77]
After the events of SCHISM, Emma Frost stays on Utopia with Cyclops' team, regardless of her desire to return to a school setting where she feels she belongs. Emma also begins to fund Cyclops' team financially as Angel is no longer on the team due to being taken over by the Archangel.[78]
Emma Frost is a mutant of enormous telepathic ability,[79] and is also capable of transforming into an organic diamond state with enhanced strength and durability which suppresses her telepathy.
Since her introduction, Emma Frost's primary mutant power has been telepathy. She is capable of extraordinary psionic feats, including the telepathic standards of: broadcasting and receiving thoughts, mind-control, altering perceptions and memories, psychic shielding, astral projection, mind switching, brain engram modification, mental sedation, and induction of mental pain via touch.[43][51][52][54][55][80][81][82][83][84][85] She is also able to boost or activate a mutant's powers through access of their brain's neurological pathways, and can communicate across global distances unaided.[43][51][52][54][55][80][81][82][83][84][85] The exact level of her telepathic power has varied depending on writers and has ranged from weaker than other prominent telepaths[14][42][86][87][88][89][90] to rivaling the abilities of Charles Xavier himself.[52] She has also been referred to as a "psi of the highest order," been ranked among the five most skilled telepaths on the planet,[82] and has demonstrated the ability to overcome more powerful telepaths, such as Nate Grey,[80] or Rachel Summers, through greater experience and skill.[43][44] Later, under the writing of Matt Fraction, Emma was classified as an "omega-class" telepath".[91][92][93][94]
At the moment of the destruction of Genosha, Frost manifested a secondary mutation giving her the ability to transform her body into organic diamond.[11] In this form, Frost is translucent and retains mobility while being almost invulnerable, and able to support incredible amounts of weight, though different writers have shown varying accounts of her strength. Her diamond form was at least strong enough for her to tear out of bonds and, in a single punch, send Lady Mastermind soaring across a room and straight through a wall.[60]
Emma's diamond body is virtually tireless as she does not produce fatigue poisons and has no need for water nor food.[95] She is also numbed from emotion, pain and empathy, impervious to cold,[96] and resistant to heat in this form.[97][98][99] Despite this high level of invulnerability, her diamond form has a single molecular flaw, which if exploited – such as being shot with a diamond bullet – can cause her body to shatter.[11] Though the exact location of the flaw in her diamond body has not been stated outright, clues point to it being located in between her eyes.[100]
Frost's full range of abilities between her diamond state and regular form have been inconsistent;[95][101] however, later occurrences[102][103] depict that Frost cannot access her psychic powers in diamond form, explained by different writers as either a distinct genetic flaw[34] or suppression by her diamond form's adamantine luster.[104] Depictions have also stated that Emma has a degree of telepathic immunity while in diamond form, though the extent of this immunity has been portrayed inconsistently as well, ranging from total shielding from psychic invasion to vulnerability to psychic attack.[97][105] Her diamond form is also stated to emit low-level ultraviolet light, causing it to glow in darkness.[104]
Frost has a gifted intellect with college degrees in multiple fields, including a Bachelors of Science in Education with a minor in Business Administration from the prominent Marvel Universe's Empire State University. A superb businesswoman, Emma Frost for many years was founder and CEO of Frost Enterprises, a major multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City that rivaled Stark Enterprises and Worthington Industries and specialized in shipping, aerospace engineering and new technology R&D.
Frost is also a highly capable planner, an electronics expert, and can invent machines that grant various psionic abilities, such as "Multivac", a mutant locater capable of monitoring the psionic levels of mutants; the "Hallucinator" used to induce hypnotic hallucinations to brainwash others; the gun-like device that enabled her to exchange minds and powers with Storm; and the Mindtap mechanism which enhanced and enabled her Hellfire cohort Mastermind to project his illusions directly into the mind of the Phoenix.[13][104][106][107][108]
On occasion, it has been hinted that Frost is also a latent telekinetic. Jean Grey's displaced psyche was able to use Frost's brain to generate a telekinetic force field and fly, while it inhabited the White Queen's body.[volume & issue needed] However, Xavier clearly states that Jean's transference was so complete that she was able to also transfer her telekinesis which is why he was in awe of the feat Jean accomplished.[27] During the Onslaught Saga, Frost unwittingly levitated several kitchen utensils while having a bad dream.[109] During this time Onslaught and Nate Grey caused separate and massive damage to the astral plane causing many psi talents to act unpredictably.[volume & issue needed] When the mutant Synch "synched" with Frost's powers, he was able to use them to levitate several objects and individuals in the room. This phenomenon is then referred to as telekinesis and credited to Frost's psi powers. Synch made reference in this issue to Emma's telepathy being affected by whatever mysterious energy that twins gave off, the same energies that protected them from being affected by the telekinetic display.[110]
In addition to her mainstream incarnation, Emma Frost has been depicted in other fictional universes.
In the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, Emma Frost never joined the Hellfire Club and is a member of the Human High Council. She had the portions of her brain that granted her telepathy removed in order to join the ranks of the Council.[111]
In the "Age of X" reality, Emma Frost is shown as an inmate of Fortress X's X-Brig.[112]
In this reality, Emma was the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, but retreated to a technological base off the coast of India after a majority of the mutant population was wiped out. She sold her telepathic abilities in services of mutant leaders and was eventually approached by Jubilee and Magneto to save Wolverine, who was mind-wiped by the Hellfire Club's Red Queen, Psylocke. Emma managed to restore Logan's mind and joined Magneto and Jubilee in defeating Psylocke and the Hellfire Club's plans for world domination. They continued to operate out of Emma's base with other members as the "X-Men" while Emma attempted to rehabilitate Psylocke back to the side of good.[113]
In Earth-889, a steampunk era, Emma leads the "X-Society" which consists of herself, Scott, Beast, and Logan. The X-Society is heralded as a society of adventurers and called upon by the New Albion (an antiquated name for California) police to assist and investigate various occurrences. Emma consistently refuses Scott's proposals of marriage citing class differences and her desire to avoid "tedious scandal." During an investigation of parallel events of those in Astonishing X-Men's Earth-616, the X-Society pursue Subject X, who causes the Hindenburg disaster and the X-Society are blamed for the deaths of its passengers. In response, the government places the X-Society under house arrest, causing Emma to consider moving away to Europe and accepting Scott's offer of marriage.[114]
In a reality visited by the Exiles, Warlock's techno-organic virus and the Legacy virus interacted in a way to cause 75% of the population to turn into techno-organic beings known as Vi-Locks, including humans and super-beings. The remaining heroes banded together to fight the Vi-Locks and find a cure. Emma, while using a wheelchair, served as the heroes' chief means of communication by using her telepathy, since all other forms of communication were monitored by the Vi-Locks.[115]
When the Scarlet Witch changes reality into one where mutants are the dominant species ruled by the House of M, Emma Frost is a child therapist (one of her clients being Franklin Richards who was traumatized after his family died in a spaceship crash) and married to Scott Summers, a pilot. She is later sought after by Wolverine and reminded of the true reality by Layla Miller. Along with other "reawakened" heroes, she leads a confrontation against the House of M in an attempt to restore reality. Only those heroes shielded by Doctor Strange's magic and Emma's telepathy remembered the events of House of M after reality was restored.[116]
Emma Frost appears in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53 as the best friend of mutant Sophia Sanduval, also known as Chat, and mostly uses her powers for personal gains. She is also one of the few people who knows Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man and grows interested in him. She uses her telepathic powers and briefly takes on the alias "The Silencer" to see what Peter is capable of.[117] Chat begins dating Peter afterward. After Chat discovers Emma's schemes, Chat seeks Spider-Man's help, leading to a confrontation between him and Emma. Eventually, Emma confesses her crush on Peter, which she began to have after first looking into his mind and realizing his earnest heroic beliefs and motives. She also reveals that she had caused everything in an attempt to break him and Chat up, feeling that she could neither date Peter while he was with Chat, nor could she spend time with Chat like she used to. By breaking them up, Emma hoped that at least she could reclaim Chat's friendship. She makes up with Chat, who still believes her to be good, and allows herself to be arrested, while Peter and Chat go on a date.[118]
In the Marvel Noir universe, Emma is the warden of Genosha Bay, a 1930s prison where the world's most dangerous sociopaths are held without trial or due process. As a nod to the risque nature of the mainstream White Queen and the Hellfire Club, this version of Emma has a bondage fetish, relishing being tied up during a prison break and telling her captor "tighter please".[119]
After the New Exiles land on the world of warring empires, they encounter Dame Emma Frost, head of Britain's Department X and founder of Force-X. Emma uses a wheelchair in this reality as well.[120]
In a reality where villains have won and divided up America amongst themselves, Emma Frost marries Doctor Doom in order to ensure the survival of her species. Together with Doctor Doom, they rule a sector of what once was the United States of America, the only place on Earth where mutants can live without fear of persecution. She sends her lover Black Bolt to save Logan and Hawkeye from a Venom-possessed Savage Land T-Rex. She uses her telepathy to make herself look young.[121]
In issue #2, Deadpool visits a world where Emma Frost runs an orphanage for girls that includes kid versions of Jean Grey and Rogue. Here she is pursued romantically by this world's Professor Xavier, who runs an orphanage for troubled kids. During a dance hosted by the two orphanages, Xavier tries but fails to win Emma's affection.[volume & issue needed]
In the Ultimate Marvel series, Emma Frost is a former student, and girlfriend, of Professor Charles Xavier; in charge of the Academy of Tomorrow and is secretly a part of the Hellfire Club that is trying to separate the Phoenix from Jean. This version of Emma Frost is pacifistic, able to develop a diamond skin, non-telepathic, and until recently dressed much more conservatively than her mainstream counterpart. As a member of the Hellfire Club however, she has been seen wearing her traditional White Queen garb.[122]
Magneto has her killed in Ultimatum along with the rest of the Academy of Tomorrow except for Havok.[123]
In the 2010 What If? Astonishing X-Men one-shot "What if Ord resurrected Jean Grey instead of Colossus?", Jean Grey's resurrection causes friction with Emma, who believes her presence and history with the Phoenix will ensure the X-Men's demise. The two women discover that the Breakworld has predicted that Phoenix will destroy their planet. Under the deception of the psychic remnant of Cassandra Nova, Emma extracts hidden vestiges of the Phoenix Force from the remaining Stepford Cuckoos, killing them and granting her the powers of the Phoenix so that she may free Cassandra from her prison, no longer requiring Shadowcat. Emma kills Ord, destroys the Breakworld, and confronts the X-Men, killing Beast. Emma reveals her fear that Jean will proceed to take everything—including Scott—away from her now that she has returned. S.W.O.R.D. intercedes and intends to kill Emma for the destruction of the Breakworld. Jean realizes that it is actually Cassandra Nova controlling Emma. Scott manages to reach Emma with his love and she gains enough control to allow the X-Men a chance to kill her and stop Cassandra. Shadowcat pulls out Emma's heart, but is also killed when the Phoenix Force explodes from Emma's body.[124]
A teenaged version of Emma appears as Sebastian Shaw's girlfriend and one of the students at the Worthington Academy, a school for mutants shown in the X-Campus limited series.[citation needed]
In a dystopic future depicted in the final two issues of Young X-Men, an aged Emma Frost (now going by the codename "Diamondheart") is one of only four remaining mutants on "Xaviera", a former mutant safe-haven independent state and utopia. She remains on a team of X-Men with Graymalkin, Wolverine, Anole and an incapacitated and greatly aged Ink, whom she often hopes will speak. Dust suddenly appears, now greatly changed in her appearance and persona with altered powers, and proceeds to confront and easily kill each member. Emma attempts to fight her, but is quickly suffocated by Dust's whirlwind.[125]
Emma Frost appears in the Astonishing X-Men motion comic voiced by Erica Schroeder.
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It has been suggested that Diana Prince be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2011. |
Wonder Woman | |
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250x450px Wonder Woman |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) |
Created by | William Moulton Marston |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Princess Diana of Themyscira |
Species | Amazon Demigod (2011 relaunch) |
Team affiliations | Justice League Amazons of Themyscira Department of Metahuman Affairs |
Partnerships | Steve Trevor Trevor Barnes Nemesis Superman Batman |
Notable aliases | Diana Prince |
Abilities |
|
Wonder Woman | |
100x180px | Cover for Wonder Woman #1 (1942). Art by Harry G. Peter. |
Series publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | Fantasy, superhero |
Publication date | (vol. 1) Summer 1942 – February 1986 (vol. 2) February 1987 – April 2006 (vol. 3) August 2006 – July 2010 (vol. 1 cont.) August 2010 – October 2011 (vol. 4) September 2011 – Present |
Number of issues | (vol. 1): 329 (vol. 2): 226 (+ 8 Annuals, 1 Special) (vol. 3): 44 (+ 1 Annual) (vol. 1 cont.): 15 (vol. 4): |
Main character(s) | Princess Diana of Themyscira |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) | (vol. 1) William Moulton Marston, Mike Sekowsky, Robert Kanigher, Martin Pasko, Gerry Conway, Dan Mishkin (vol. 2) Len Wein, George Pérez, Mindy Newell, William Messner-Loebs, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Greg Rucka (vol. 3) Allan Heinberg, Gail Simone (vol. 1 cont.) J. Michael Straczynski (vol. 4) Brian Azzarello |
Penciller(s) | (vol. 1) Harry G. Peter, Ross Andru, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, John Rosenberger, Jose Delbo, Gene Colan (vol. 2) George Pérez, Chris Marrinan, Mike Deodato, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez (vol. 3) Terry Dodson, Aaron Lopresti (vol. 1 cont.) Don Kramer (vol. 4) Cliff Chiang |
Inker(s) | (vol. 1) Mike Esposito, Dick Giordano, Vince Colletta (vol. 2) Bruce Patterson, Andy Lanning (vol. 3) Rachel Dodson, Matt Ryan |
Colorist(s) | (vol. 2) Carl Gafford (vol. 3) Alex Sinclair |
Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941). The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.[1]
Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." [2] Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight (even though the original Wonder Woman did not have this ability), super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses animal-like cunning skills and a natural rapport with animals, which has been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.
Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains. In later decades, some writers maintained the World War II setting, with many of its themes and story arcs, while others updated the series to reflect the present day. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960). Arguably the most popular and iconic female superhero in comics, Wonder Woman is also considered a feminist icon.[2] She was named the 20th greatest comic book character by Empire magazine.[3] She was ranked sixth in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[4]
In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none has yet emerged from development hell. An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in a failed pilot for a would-be series about the character.
In May 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.[5]
Contents |
In an October 25, 1940 interview published in Family Circle titled "Don't Laugh at the Comics", William Moulton Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books.[6] This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics. At that time, Marston decided to develop a new superhero. Family Circle published a follow-up article two years later from issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was Marston's wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superheroine:
Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, co-founder of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth, whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman.[7] Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship.[8] Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation.[7] Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), scripted by Marston and with art by Harry G. Peter.
Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest and reliable than men and could work more efficiently.[9]
"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote.[1] Although Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman on the first standalone cover of Ms. in 1972, Marston, writing in an earlier time, designed Wonder Woman to represent a particular form of female empowerment. Feminism argues that women are equal to men and should be treated as such; Marston's representative of femininity is a 6-foot-tall Amazon wielding a golden lasso that forces obedience on those it encircles.[neutrality is disputed] In Marston's mind, women not only held the potential to be as good as men but to be superior to men.[original research?]
In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:
Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.
During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the female member,[10] albeit as the group's secretary, since the custom was that characters who had their own comic books would hold only honorary membership.
Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor — a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland — to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.
During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped,[11] along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Mercury."[12]
At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.
Due in part to popular demand -- including Gloria Steinem choosing to feature the original super-powered version of Wonder Woman on the cover of the first issue of her Ms. Magazine -- in the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title.
Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter relaunched the character, writing Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world.
In August 2010 (issue #600), DC Comics replaced the character's iconic stars-and-stripes singlet with a blue jacket (later discarded), red and gold top and dark pants, retaining only her tiara and lasso.[13]
In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original costume. Also, her origin is significantly changed and she is no longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods. Instead, she is a demigod, the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus.
Originally, Wonder Woman owed her abilities to the goddess Aphrodite creating Amazons superior to men, with Diana being the best of their kind.
The Golden Age Wonder Woman was later updated by Marston to be able to will a tremendous amount of brain energy into her muscles and limbs because of her Amazon training, endowing her with extraordinary strength and speed. According to her first appearance, she is stronger and more agile than a hundred of the best human athletes. In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), she is able to tear a steel door off its hinges. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at 60 mph.[14] In the same comic, she jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet. She can even type at a rate of over 160 words a minute during a test given to her. It was implied, and ultimately confirmed, that any woman who underwent Amazon training would gain superhuman strength.[15] The TV series took up this notion,[16] and in the first episode of Super Friends, Diana states to Aquaman, "...the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain." In early Wonder Woman stories,[17] Amazon training involves strengthening this ability using pure mental energy.
Her powers would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed herself to be bound or chained by a male. However the effects of this varied.[18]
In the television series, her magic belt allowed her to retain her powers when she was not on Paradise Island; removing it weakened her.[16] Also, she had no powers when she was her alter ego Diana Prince; there was no given explanation for this.
In the comic books, with the inclusion of Wonder Girl and "Wonder Tot" in Diana's back-story, writers provided new explanations of her powers; the character became capable of feats which her sister Amazons could not equal. Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #105 reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek and Roman gods by Athena — "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules."[12] Wonder Woman's Amazon training also gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge,[12] and the ability to speak every language known to man and beyond. She was even fluent in caveman[12][19] and Martian.[19]
Although Wonder Woman's mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath, the ability to blow jet streams or transform water into snow, which apparently came from Hercules; ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; the ability to ride the air currents as if flying, even sensing air updrafts with her fingers; telepathy, including the ability to project images; microscopic vision; the ability to vibrate into another dimension; the ability to bestow wisdom to other beings; the ability to throw her tiara with such skill it could stop bullets; and others, according to the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes.[20]
Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly according to the needs of the story. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Robert Kanigher, for example, portrayed Wonder Woman as being so strong that she, after standing atop her hovering plane and lassoing it with her magic lasso, was able to effortlessly lift Themyscira out of the way of an approaching tsunami using just one hand. As prominently featured in all existing Wonder Woman Showcase (Volumes 1 to 4) her strength and even speed seem to be limitless. She could lift and throw buildings and houses. Lasso and swirl huge items like Ferris' wheels and Icebergs. She was able to make a coin into a bridge with her strength, or drill through a mountain within seconds, as well as hurl spaceships with enough accuracy she could bowl over a whole fleet. Her fingernails could cut through a steel door.[21] She was even able to flip straight over while nearly paralyzed, and split a tree falling on her with her Amazonian boots.[22] Kanigher showed Wonder Woman as a preteen able to lift whales, push a ship away from a whirlpool, and also as a toddler able to blow so hard on her birthday cake that she sent it into orbit.[23]
In the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. She was unable to remove her bracelets without going insane. In times of great need, however, she would do just that, in order to temporarily augment her power tenfold. Since she would become a threat to friend and foe alike, she would use Amazonian berserker rage only as a weapon of last resort.[24]
Before Crisis on Infinite Earths there were two Wonder Women: the first one lived on Earth-Two; the second, on Earth-One. The first canonical appearance of the Earth-One Wonder Woman is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #80 (February 1956). Their first published meeting is Justice League of America (vol. 1) #100 (August 1972); however, their earliest meeting within the DC continuity is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #228 (February 1977), which takes place in 1943, prior to the events of the Justice League of America story.
Wonder Woman's body is a mystical creation made from the clay surrounding Themyscira. Through divine means, her disembodied soul was nurtured in and retrieved from the Cavern of Souls.[25] Once the soul was placed into the body, it immediately came to life and was blessed with metahuman abilities by six Olympian deities.
Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, blessed Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea, making her one of the physically strongest heroes in the DC Universe and the strongest female herione of all (John Byrne/ Paul Soriano from Wonder Woman)in the DC Universe.[26] She has been observed assisting in preventing large chunks of the Moon from crashing onto the Earth,[27] supporting the weight of bridges,[28] or hefting entire railroad trains.[28] and hold her own against beings such as Superman and Captain Marvel. Furthermore, unlike most of her contemporaries in Man's World, Diana is willing to use deadly force, which gives her more options to deal with opponents as circumstances dictate.
While not invulnerable, she is capable of withstanding great concussive force,[26] shrugging off high-powered rifle fire with some pain but little injury,[citation needed] being knocked through a building, and even surviving a warp-core explosion.[citation needed] She is durable enough to survive the rigors of space until she runs out of breath. While her superhuman strength affords her great resistance to blunt-force trauma, her skin can be cut by weapons if they are sharp enough. Her muscles do not produce lactic acids, giving her great stamina. This allowed her to once battle a clone of Doomsday.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, blessed Diana with great beauty and a loving heart.
Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great wisdom, intelligence, and military prowess. Athena's gift has enabled Diana to master over a dozen languages (including those of alien origin), multiple complex crafts, sciences and philosophies, as well as leadership, military strategy, and armed and unarmed combat. She can mimic voices, although it is more difficult for her to mimic a man's voice. More recently, Athena bound her own eyesight to Diana's, granting her increased empathy.[29]
Artemis, goddess of the hunt, animals, and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eyes of the Hunter ability gives Diana a full range of enhanced senses, including telescopic vision and super hearing. Unity with Beasts grants her the ability of empathy particularly that to communicate with all forms of animal life and to calm even the most ferocious of beasts.[28]
Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, granted Diana "sisterhood with fire, that it might open men's hearts to her." This power has been shown to control the "Fires of Truth," which Diana wields through her lasso, making anyone bound by it unable to lie. This ability also grants her resistance to both normal and supernatural fire.[citation needed]
Hermes, the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly. She is one of the fastest beings (obviously inferior to the Flash Family and an equal to Superman). By concentrating, Diana can mystically defy the laws of gravity and propel herself through the air to achieve flight. She is capable of flying at speeds approaching half the speed of light.[26] She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers, and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets. Her brain can process information at an incredibly fast rate. She had many speed blitz showcases mostly with Superman and The Flash. In recent Justice League stories, she even kept up with the Flash and the two also used their superspeed to save a city in The Brave and The Bold.
Diana possesses the ability to relieve her body of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming her body whole again.[30] During John Byrne's run, it was stated that this is a ritual so sacred that it is used only in the most dire of circumstances.[31]
She is able to astrally project herself into various lands of myth.[32] Her physical body reacts to whatever happens to her on the mythical astral plane, leaving her body cut, bruised, or sometimes strengthened once her mind and body are reunited. She can apparently leave the planet through meditation, and did this once to rescue Artemis while she was in hell.
All versions of Diana depict her as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusively Amazonian martial arts. Batman even noted that she is the greatest Melee fighter of all. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso.[33] She is a superior warrior who has beaten Batman, Big Barda, and Black Canary in sparring matches. The modern version of the character is known to use lethal force when she deems it necessary.[34]
Diana has an arsenal of powerful god-forged weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth.
Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts.[35] Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making Superman's ears bleed.[34] Recently, she gained the ability to channel Zeus's lightning through her bracelets as well. Zeus explained to her that this power had been contained within the bracelets since their creation, because they were once part of the Aegis, and that he had only recently unlocked it for her use.[36]
The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea.[28] It is virtually indestructible;[28] the only times it has been broken were when truth itself was challenged, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur,[37] and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity.[38] In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), Hippolyta claims that not even Hercules can break it. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. It also at one time had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding other kinds of mind control; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel.[39] Diana wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.
As early as the 1950s,[23] Wonder Woman's Golden Tiara has also doubled as a dagger and a throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang.[28] Its sharpness and mystical nature proved enough to cut even Superman.[34]
Diana once possessed the Sandals of Hermes, or talaria, which granted the wearer great speed and flight, and the ability to travel beyond the mystical veil that protected the island of Themiscyra from Man's World. They were passed on first to Artemis and later to Wonder Girl. Diana also once possessed the Gauntlets of Atlas, which magnify the physical strength and stamina of the wearer; they too were passed on.
The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using an Invisible Airplane that could be controlled by mental command. It was variously described as being either a creation of Amazon technology or the legendary winged horse Pegasus transformed into an aircraft. Its appearance varied as well; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a fighter plane. The post-Crisis or Modern Age Wonder Woman has continued to use the Invisible Plane, in the form of a small lightweight disc of alien (Lansinar) technology that, when triggered by her thoughts, transforms into a transparent version of whatever object or vehicle is appropriate for her needs. This disc was revealed to be a sentient life-form. Following the "One Year Later" continuity jump, Diana was given a new invisible plane, created by Wayne Industries, because her original invisible plane was stuck on Themyscira.
Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle, such as ceremonial golden armor with golden wings, war-skirt, chest-plate, and a golden helmet in the shape of an eagle's head. She also possesses a sword forged by Hephaestus that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom.[28]
As a recent temporary inductee into the Star Sapphires, Wonder Woman gained access to the violet power ring of love. This ring allowed her to alter her costume at will, create solid-light energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. She was able to combine the energy with her lasso to enhance its ability.
Title | Material collected | ISBN |
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Wonder Woman Chronicles, Vol. 1 | All Star Comics #8, Sensation Comics #1–9, Wonder Woman #1 | 978-1401226442 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 1 | All Star Comics #8, Sensation Comics #1–12, Wonder Woman #1 | 978-1563894022 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 2 | Sensation Comics #13–17, Wonder Woman #2–4 | 978-1563895944 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 3 | Sensation Comics #18–24, Wonder Woman #5–7 | 978-1563898143 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 4 | Sensation Comics #25–32, Wonder Woman #8–9 | 978-1401201456 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 5 | Sensation Comics #33–40, Wonder Woman #10–12 | 978-1401212704 |
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 6 | Sensation Comics #41–48, Wonder Woman #13–15 | 978-1401227340 |
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 | Wonder Woman #98–117 | 978-1401213732 |
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 | Wonder Woman #118–137 | 978-1401219482 |
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 3 | Wonder Woman #138–156 | 978-1401225247 |
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 4 | Wonder Woman #157-177 | 1-4012-3289-2 |
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 | Wonder Woman #178–184, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #93 | 978-1401216603 |
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 | Wonder Woman #185–189, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #93, The Brave and the Bold #87 | 978-1401218256 |
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 3 | Wonder Woman #190–198, World's Finest #204 | 978-1401219475 |
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 4 | Wonder Woman #199–204, The Brave and the Bold #105 | 978-1401221508 |
Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Gods and Mortals | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #1–7 | 978-1401201975 |
Wonder Woman, Vol. 2: Challenge of the Gods | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #7–14 | 978-1401203245 |
Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: Beauty and the Beasts | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #15–19, Action Comics #600 | 978-1401204846 |
Wonder Woman, Vol. 4: Destiny Calling | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #20–24, Annual #1 | 978-1401209438 |
Wonder Woman: The Contest | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #0, #90–93 | 978-1563891946 |
Wonder Woman: The Challenge of Artemis | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #94–100 | 978-1563892646 |
Wonder Woman: Second Genesis | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #101–105 | 978-1435218093 |
Wonder Woman: Lifelines | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #106–112 | 978-1563894039 |
Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #164–170, Secret Files #2 | 978-1563897924 |
Wonder Woman: Paradise Found | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #171–177, Secret Files #3 | 978-1563899560 |
Wonder Woman: Down to Earth | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #195–200 | 978-1401202262 |
Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #201–205 | 978-1401204624 |
Wonder Woman: Eyes of Gorgon | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #206–213 | 978-1401207977 |
Wonder Woman: Land of the Dead | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #214–217, The Flash #219 | 978-1401209384 |
Wonder Woman: Mission's End | Wonder Woman vol. 2, #218–226 | 978-1401210939 |
Wonder Woman: Who is Wonder Woman? | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #1–4, Annual #1 | 978-1401212346 |
Wonder Woman: Love and Murder | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #6–10 | 978-1401217082 |
Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack! | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #11-13 | 9781401215439 |
Wonder Woman: The Circle | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #14–19 | 978-1401219321 |
Wonder Woman: Ends of the Earth | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #20–25 | 978-1401221362 |
Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #26–33 | 978-1401225131 |
Wonder Woman: Warkiller | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #34–39 | 978-1401227791 |
Wonder Woman: Contagion | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #40–44 | 978-1401229207 |
Wonder Woman: Odyssey, Vol. 1 | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #600-606 | 978-1401230777 |
Wonder Woman: Odyssey, Vol. 2 | Wonder Woman vol. 3, #607-614 | 978-1401234317 |
Miscellaneous | ||
Wonder Woman 80-Page Giant No. 1 (2002) | Wonder Woman vol. 1, #28; #105; #108; #144 (80-Page Giant retro style Annual) | SC: 1-56389-818-7 |
On January 28, 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced that DC Comics's iconic heroine Wonder Woman will team up with MAC Cosmetics to create a Wonder Woman makeup collection that will be available in MAC stores in the spring of 2011. The collection includes blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, lip gloss, lipstick, mascara, mineral powder and nail polish.[40]
Wonder Woman has been released in numerous forms by Mattel including Barbie Dolls, Polly Pockets, and DC Universe Classics action figures in Traditional Costume and Blackest Night Star Sapphire Costume.
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Mark Millar | |
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Millar at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 2, 2010. |
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Born | (1969-12-24) December 24, 1969 (age 42) Coatbridge, Scotland |
Nationality | Scottish |
Area(s) | Writer |
Notable works | The Authority Superman: Red Son Wanted Wolverine: Enemy of the State The Ultimates Marvel Knights Spider-Man Civil War Ultimate Fantastic Four Kick-Ass |
Official website |
Mark Millar (born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films. In August 2007, he won the Stan Lee award at Wizardworld in Chicago.
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Millar was born in Coatbridge.[1] He has a brother, Bobby, who works at a special needs school.[2]
Millar was inspired to become a comic writer after meeting Alan Moore at a signing session at AKA Books and Comics when he was a teenager in the late 1980s. However it was not until experiencing financial problems after his parents died that he decided to drop out of university and take up writing professionally.
His first job as a comic book writer came when he was still in high school, writing Trident's Saviour with Daniel Vallely providing art. Saviour combined elements of religion, satire and superhero action Millar later became known for.
During the 1990s, Millar then worked on titles such as 2000 AD, Sonic the Comic and Crisis. In 1993, Millar, Grant Morrison and John Smith created a controversial eight-week run on 2000 AD called The Summer Offensive. It was during this run that Millar and Morrison wrote their first major story together, the highly controversial strip Big Dave.
Millar's British work brought him to the attention of DC Comics, and in 1994 he started working on his first American comic, Swamp Thing. The first four issues of Millar's run were co-written by Grant Morrison, allowing Millar to settle into the title. Although his work brought some critical acclaim to the ailing title, the book's sales were still low enough to warrant cancellation by the publisher. From there, Millar spent time working on various DC titles, often co-writing with or under the patronage of Morrison (as in the cases of his work on JLA, The Flash and Aztek: The Ultimate Man), and working on unsuccessful pitches for the publisher.
In 2000, Millar received his big break by replacing Warren Ellis on The Authority for DC's Wildstorm imprint. Keeping the so-called "widescreen" aspects of Ellis's title, Millar and artist Frank Quitely added a more polemic style to the story, increasing sales and gathering many awards at home and abroad.
The title was a success for Millar and Wildstorm but suffered from self-censorship from DC, which caused friction between Millar and Warner Bros, especially DC publisher Paul Levitz. After the events of 9/11, DC became more sensitive to violence and scenes of destruction in titles such as The Authority. With shipping delays and artwork alterations, Millar became increasingly frustrated by DC's objections to his over-the-top style and story content on the title. As a result of this and receiving lucrative work from DC's main competitor Marvel Comics, he announced his resignation from DC in 2001. His acclaimed Superman: Red Son story was printed after his departure, and Millar has repeatedly stated his desire to recreate the Superman character both in comic-books and on the big screen. During his sabbatical in late 2005, he mended his fences with Levitz & DC Comics.
In March 2001 Millar sold a vampire horror miniseries he wrote called Sikeside to Channel 4 in the UK. However, the department that bought it had created a program called Metrosexuality that was received so poorly that the department was informed by its superiors that the network would not make any other project commissioned by that department again, thus cancelling Sikeside's development. Millar subsequently sold the movie rights to Sikeside to his friend, movie producer Angus Lamont.[3][4]
During 2001 Millar launched Ultimate X-Men for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel imprint. The following year he collaborated with illustrator Bryan Hitch on The Ultimates, the Ultimate imprint's equivalent of The Avengers. Millar's work on The Ultimates was later adapted into two Marvel Animated Features.
After 33 issues, Millar left Ultimate X-Men. In 2004 he wrote the hit title Marvel Knights Spider-Man, and co-wrote with Brian Michael Bendis the first six issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four. He later returned to that title for a 12-issue run throughout 2005-2006, and his storylines during that period led to the creation of the Marvel Zombies spin-off series.
In 2006, Millar, joined by artist Steve McNiven, began writing the Marvel miniseries Civil War. In February 2008 he began a run on Fantastic Four, with artist Bryan Hitch.[5] That same year he also wrote the miniseries Marvel 1985,[6] with artist Tommy Lee Edwards,[7] which "is about the real world, the world we live in right now, dealing with the villains of the Marvel Universe finding us."[8] He also wrote the "Old Man Logan" Wolverine storyline, set in an alternate future.[9]
Millar was among a group of writers that included Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, Axel Alonso and Ralph Macchio, that was enlisted by Iron Man director Jon Favreau to give advice on the script. It was Millar who suggested dropping the Mandarin as the villain, and replacing him with Iron Monger, who was originally intended as a villain for the sequels.[10]
Millar announced a new British comics magazine anthology in early May 2010 to be launched later September with the name CLiNT, which would feature a sequel to Kick-Ass, as well as work from Jonathan Ross and Frankie Boyle.[11]
In 2004 Millar launched a creator-owned line called Millarworld that published the books Wanted, Chosen, The Unfunnies, Kick-Ass and War Heroes by four different publishers. Wanted, published by Top Cow Productions, was loosely adapted into a feature film by Universal Pictures, released on June 27, 2008, starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy.[12] Chosen, published by Dark Horse Comics, was described by Millar as a sequel to the Bible, and has been optioned by Sony Pictures. The Unfunnies was a funny animal horror story published by Avatar Press. Kick-Ass, which was illustrated by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel, was adapted into a film of the same name by Matthew Vaughn, and released in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2010 and the United States on April 16. In September 2008 it was announced that War Heroes had been optioned by Sony, with Michael DeLuca as producer and Millar taking an executive producer role.[13][14]
Millar indicated in 2008 that he would return to Chosen, which he revealed was only the first part in a planned trilogy, American Jesus. Moving the title to Image Comics, he will write two more miniseries to complete the story, and release a collection of the first one with the title American Jesus Volume 1: Chosen.[15]
In 2010 Millar wrote two other creator-owned superhero titles through Marvel Comics' Icon imprint, Nemesis with artist Steve McNiven,[16] and Superior with artist Leinil Yu.
On April 9, 2011 Millar was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at the IGN stage at the Kapow! convention in London to set two Guinness World Records, the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book. With Guinness officials on hand to monitor their progress, Millar began work at 9am scripting a 20-page black and white Superior comic book, with various artists appearing on stage throughout the day to work on the pencils, inks, and lettering. The artists included Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely, John Romita Jr., Jock, Adi Granov,[17] Doug Braithwaite, Ian Churchill, Olivier Coipel, Duncan Fegredo, Simon Furman, David Lafuente, John McCrea, Sean Phillips and Liam Sharp,[18] who all drew a panel each, with regular Superior artist Leinil Yu creating the book's front cover. The book was completed in 11 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, and was published through Icon on November 23, 2011, with all royalties being donated to Yorkhill Children's Foundation.[17]
Millar lives in and Glasgow.[1][2] He is a practicing Catholic.[1]
Titles published by various British publishers include:
Titles published by Trident include:
Titles published by Fleetway include:
Titles published by DC Comics and its Vertigo imprint include:
Titles published by Mavrel include:
Titles published by Marvel's Icon imprint include:
Titles published by various American publishers include:
Preceded by None |
Ultimate X-Men writer 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Brian Michael Bendis |
Preceded by None |
The Ultimates writer 2002–2007 |
Succeeded by Jeph Loeb |
Preceded by None |
Ultimate Fantastic Four writer 2004 with Brian Michael Bendis |
Succeeded by Warren Ellis |
Preceded by Greg Rucka |
Wolverine writer 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Daniel Way |
Preceded by Mike Carey |
Ultimate Fantastic Four writer 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Mike Carey |
Preceded by Dwayne McDuffie |
Fantastic Four writer 2008–2009 with Joe Ahearne (2009) |
Succeeded by Jonathan Hickman |
Preceded by Jason Aaron |
Wolverine writer 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Jason Aaron & Daniel Way |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Millar, Mark |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Writer |
Date of birth | 24 December 1969 |
Place of birth | Coatbridge, Scotland |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Green Goblin | |
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250x450px Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin, art by Luke Ross. |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | (as Green Goblin) The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) (unnamed) Amazing Spider-Man #23 (April 1965); (named, as Norman Osborn) The Amazing Spider-Man #37 (June 1966) (as Iron Patriot) Dark Avengers #1 (March 2009) |
Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Norman Virgil Osborn |
Team affiliations | Dark Avengers H.A.M.M.E.R. The Cabal Oscorp Thunderbolts Sinister Twelve Commission on Superhuman Activities Daily Bugle Hellfire Club[1] |
Notable aliases | Goblin Lord, Overlord, Scrier, Iron Patriot |
Abilities |
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The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964).
Although many characters have taken up this identity, the most well-known is the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. Osborn was originally an amoral industrialist head of OSCORP and father of Spider-Man's best friend, Harry Osborn, who took a serum which enhanced his physical abilities and intellect but also drove him to insanity. He adopted a Halloween-themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume, riding on a bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade-like "Pumpkin Bombs", to terrorize New York City. He is one of Spider-Man's most persistent foes, and many consider him to be one of the archenemies of Spider-Man,[2][3][4] being directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Spider-Man's life, such as the death of Gwen Stacy and the Clone Saga. He is also the lead protagonist of the company-wide Dark Reign storyline.
In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGN's 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[5] He also placed #11 on GuysNation's Top Villains of All Time. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin."[6]
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According to Steve Ditko, the Green Goblin, as we know him, was entirely his creation. He claims:
Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain.[7]
The Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. At this time his identity was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity. Apparently, Lee and Ditko disagreed on who he should be. According to one theory, Lee always wanted him to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted him to be a stranger, feeling this was closer to real life.[8] Ditko has refuted this rumor, however, claiming:
So I had to have some definite ideas: who he was, his profession and how he fit into the Spider-Man story world. I was even going to use an earlier, planted character associated with J. Jonah Jameson: he [was to] be [revealed as] the Green Goblin. It was like a subplot working its way until it was ready to play an active role.[7]
Ditko left the series with issue #38, before he could reveal the Goblin's identity, and Lee subsequently unmasked him in the next issue as Norman Osborn, a character who had been introduced two issues earlier as the father of Harry Osborn. John Romita, Sr., who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalls:
Stan wouldn't have been able to stand it if Ditko did the story and didn't reveal that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. I didn't know there was any doubt about Osborn being the Goblin. I didn't know that Ditko had just been setting Osborn up as a straw dog. I just accepted the fact that it was going to be Norman Osborn when we plotted it. I had been following the last couple of issues and didn't think there was really much mystery about it. Looking back, I doubt the Goblin's identity would have been revealed in Amazing #39 if Ditko had stayed on.[9]
After the Green Goblin killed Peter Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, writer Gerry Conway decided that the Goblin had to pay a heavy price. Osborn accidentally caused his own death in the course of a fight against Spider-Man. Others, such as Harry Osborn, later adopted the Green Goblin identity, and writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy.[10]
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
During the Clone Saga storyline, the Spider-Man writers were met with a massive outcry from many readers after the decision to replace Peter with his clone Ben Reilly as the true Spider-Man. Eventually, the writers decided to reveal that one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies had been manipulating events from behind the scenes. The initial plan was to use Mephisto, but they felt a more down-to-earth character was needed.[11] It was then suggested that the semi-zombified cyborg known as "Gaunt" be revealed as Harry Osborn, who had been killed in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Gaunt was a late entry to the controversial storyline, created mainly as a plot device to return Harry to life; the plan for the character included Harry regaining his humanity, taking credit for tricking Peter Parker into thinking he was a clone, and resuming his identity as the Green Goblin full-time. However, the plotline was changed by newly promoted editor in chief Bob Harras, who disliked the Harry Osborn character, and instead chose Norman be the mastermind, revealing Gaunt as Mendel Stromm. Osborn briefly reprised his original evil businessman role, minimizing his Goblin identity, in the lead-up to "The Final Chapter", which closed out the first volume of Amazing Spider-Man.
Following the "Civil War" story arc, Warren Ellis began writing Thunderbolts,[12] and Osborn was brought into the title as the director of the team. He was one of several characters offered to Ellis, who picked him because, according to Thunderbolts editor Molly Lazer, "[t]here was something about Norman, his instability, and his fixation with Spider-Man that Warren liked, so he’s in the book!"[13] Ellis admitted not being very familiar with the character, saying, "all I remember of the Norman Osborn character was from the Spider-Man reprints my parents used to buy me when I was very young, and Norman Osborn was this guy with a weird rippled crewcut who was always sweating and his eyes were always bulging out of his head. That guy as a Donald Rumsfeld-like public governmental figure... [Joe Quesada] talked me into writing the book while I was still laughing."[14] Lazer confirmed that the new team was answerable to the Commission on Superhuman Activities, giving him the opportunity to do what he wanted: "He's a free man with a lot of power .... And his agenda, well, it's not that secret. He wants to get Spider-Man."[15]
Writer Christos Gage took over for the Secret Invasion tie-in stories,[16][17] which ended with Osborn taking credit for the defeat of the Skrulls, after he killed the Skrull queen Veranke.[18] This allowed the character to be placed into an influential position in the aftermath, Dark Reign. Although the dark turn at the end was always part of the plan for the storyline, Brian Michael Bendis, Secret Invasion's writer, says that Osborn was picked for the leading role because of the changes implemented by Ellis: "While I was putting it together, Warren [Ellis]'s Thunderbolts run made it very clear that if one would choose to do so, Norman was on track to head toward this kind of storyline, very organically, very in-character, and very much within the realm of what was going on."[19] Bendis stated, "Norman's team is made up of people who are outstanding at what they do. These are bad-ass, hardcore get-it-done types. They'll close the door and take care of business, and he's dressing them up to make them something that the people want."[20]
Meanwhile, Andy Diggle took over the writing of Thunderbolts.[21] He introduced new characters to serve as Osborn's black ops team, explaining, "Norman selected agents with stealth, infiltration and assassination skills rather than overt flying-and-fighting type powers"[22] and "now that he's reached a higher level, he's reconfiguring the Thunderbolts into something much more covert and much more lethal: his own personal hit squad."[23] Diggle's Osborn is still mad: "To quote the movie Speed, he's 'crazy, not stupid.' He's clearly fiercely intelligent and a natural born leader, with the ego and competitive drive to succeed against all odds. He also just happens to be crazy as a shithouse rat." He describes his take on Osborn: "I think the secret to understanding Norman is that he doesn't realize he's the villain. He thinks he's the hero. He truly believes that he deserves public adulation, and it bugs the hell out of him that so-called 'superheroes' are getting it instead of him."[24]
Osborn next starred in the five-issue miniseries Osborn that was a tie-in to the "Big Time" storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man,[25] by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Rios, looking at the character's life in prison. [26]
Norman Osborn, the son of industrialist Ambrose Osborn, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Although Ambrose was a brilliant student in the fields of science, he was also an alcoholic who lost control of his company and was abusive toward his family. In one incident, Ambrose locked Norman in one of the Osborn family's empty estates in an attempt to toughen him. It was in that darkened mansion that Norman felt haunted by a "green, goblin-like" creature that was "waiting to pounce on him."[27] All of these events had a severe impact on Norman, planting the seeds of the megalomaniac he would eventually become. Norman would stop at nothing to regain the wealth that his father had lost.
In college, where he studies chemistry and electrical engineering, Norman Osborn meets his sweetheart Emily, gets married, and eventually has a son who he names Harry. In his adulthood, he co-founds a major firm with his former professor Dr. Mendel Stromm called Osborn Industries, of which he is owner and president. However, Emily becomes ill and dies when Harry is barely a year old.[28] This tragedy pushes Osborn to work harder, leading him to emotionally neglect Harry. Hoping to gain more control of Osborn Industries, Norman accuses Stromm of embezzlement and has him arrested. Osborn then searches Stromm's possessions, discovering an experimental strength/intelligence enhancement formula.[29] When Osborn attempts to create the serum, it turns green and explodes in his face. The accident greatly increases his intelligence and physical abilities, but also drives him to destructive insanity.
Osborn adopts the bizarre identity of the Green Goblin—based on the monster he feared in his childhood—with the goal of becoming boss of the city's organized crime. He intends to cement his position by defeating Spider-Man. As the Green Goblin, he would bedevil Spider-Man many times but fail to achieve his goal. He first assembled the Enforcers and claimed he was shooting a film about Spider-Man for which Spider-Man would be paid $50,000. Spider-Man battled them in the desert, first thinking they were actors. Finally they battled him in a cave and were defeated. However Spider-Man then was attacked by the Hulk, who was hiding there. Spider-Man hid from the Hulk, then turned the Enforcers over to the police, while the Goblin escaped. Later the Goblin encountered Spider-Man again, but left after the Human Torch got embroiled in the battle. He tried to take over a mob led by 'Lucky' Lobo, and led Spider-Man to their base, hoping the leader would be defeated, but they were defeated and arrested by Spider-Man. Spider-Man battled the Goblin again, but he escaped. The Green Goblin revealed his identity to a criminal called the Crime-Master and vice versa. However a rivalry developed between them. They tried to take over gangs, and the Green Goblin succeeded in knocking out Spider-Man just before he attended a meeting of numerous criminals. Hoping to use this to persuade the gangs to join him, he took Spider-Man in. But Spider-Man recovered and defeated the crooks, but the Green Goblin flew away and the Crime-Master escaped by using gas to delay Spider-Man. Later when the Crime-Master tried to attack the Daily Bugle offices, he was shot by the police. He tried to reveal the identity of the Goblin, but died just before he could. It was then revealed he was 'Lucky' Lobo.[30] Stromm returns and attempts revenge with an army of robots, but apparently dies of a heart attack after someone apparently tries to shoot him through the window.[31] Osborn discovers that college student Peter Parker, a classmate of Harry's, is Spider-Man after exposing Spider-Man to a gas that weakens his spider-sense with the aid of a gang of ordinary crooks, and allows him to be observed. Osborn captures Parker after knocking him out with an asphyxiation grenade, catching him off-guard at home and concerned for Aunt May. The Green Goblin bound Peter with a steel rope and took him to his waterfront base. He then ties him to a steel chair with the intention of torturing Peter with suspense, revealing his identity to the world, and killing Peter while he is completely helpless and at his mercy. He reveals his true identity and origin to Peter, who stalls Osborn long enough to free one hand. Seeing this, The Green Goblin releases Spider-Man for what he intends to be their climactic battle. Spider-Man defeats Osborn, who loses his memory after being knocked into a mass of electrical wires, and destroys the Goblin costume in the resulting fire.[32]
Osborn is troubled by repressed memories, which he takes as hallucinations, of the Green Goblin and Spider-Man. A presentation on supervillains by NYPD Captain George Stacy restores Osborn's memory, but after a brief return to his Green Goblin persona, in which he abducts Parker's friends and threatens Parker's elderly Aunt May, he is exposed to one of his own "psychedelic bombs", inducing another amnesia spell.[33] In The Amazing Spider-Man #96, Osborn stumbles upon an old Green Goblin hideout which again restores his memory. The Goblin battles Spider-Man in this and the following two issues, until Spider-Man leads Osborn to see his son Harry Osborn hospitalized, overdosed on drugs. The shock causes Osborn's amnesia to return yet again.
In issue #121 (June 1973), his memory having been regained, the Green Goblin throws Parker's love, Gwen Stacy, from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge (as given in the text).[34][35] She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."[36] The following issue, the Goblin appears to accidentally kill himself in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man when he is impaled by his Glider.
Years after Gwen's death, it is revealed that Osborn had a one-night stand with Gwen after she's overwhelmed by his charisma which in turn leads to her pregnancy with his twin children, Gabriel and Sarah. Osborn thus has three motives for killing Gwen; revenge against Spider-Man, to prevent her talking of their affair and creating a scandal, and to take their children to raise by himself thus becoming his ideal heirs. The only person who knew of their liaison and the existence of their children was Mary Jane Watson, who despises Osborn for his immoral behaviors long before discovering he's the villainous Green Goblin.[37]
The Green Goblin formula endowed Osborn with a healing factor that allowed him to circumvent his otherwise certain death. Osborn, no longer suffering from bouts of amnesia, escapes from a morgue and goes to Europe, where he can move freely and unnoticed. He becomes the leader of the Scrier cabal, which he utilizes to carry out revenge on Parker using Seward Trainer, Judas Traveller, the Jackal, and Mendel Stromm, who is now the cyborg-like Gaunt, as his pawns. It is this group of individuals who become crucial in duping Parker during the controversial[38] 1990s storyline the "Clone Saga", in which a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by the Jackal and dubbed Ben Reilly, returns to New York City. Osborn reemerges in Parker's life, and initially convinces Parker that Parker is the clone and Reilly the original. When Parker learns the truth, Osborn kills Reilly, the real clone.[39] It is later revealed that he also raises his illegitimate children, Gabriel and Sarah, while in Europe and tells them that Peter Parker is their father and murdered their mother as Spider-Man.[40]
The returned Osborn devises a contrived story to explain his absence and regains control of his business. He even uses a Goblin stand-in so as not to be suspected of being the Green Goblin. He also crosses paths with Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, and initiates a hostile takeover of the latter's corporate empire in retaliation for raiding the Goblin arsenal and identity. Osborn joins a cult hoping to receive great power but instead goes further into madness.[41] Osborn comes to see Parker as the son he had always wanted and attempts to have Parker take on the Goblin mantle using physiological torture but ultimately fails.[42] Osborn's next plan involves using a drunken Flash Thompson to drive a truck into Midtown High School, resulting in an accident that causes Thompson brain damage. This successfully enrages Parker into what Osborn anticipates will be a climactic battle. During this confrontation, an emotionally weary Parker tells Osborn he is tired of this roundelay, and declares a truce.[43]
Osborn's identity as the Green Goblin is revealed to the public through an investigation by the Daily Bugle after Osborn murders one of its reporters. After a battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage, Osborn is arrested and sent to prison for the first time.[44] Regardless, Osborn masterminds a plot that forces Spider-Man himself to help him escape.[45] Osborn escapes to Paris but is apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.[46]
Osborn attempts to distance himself from his Green Goblin persona after being prescribed medication. During the "Civil War" over the Superhuman Registration Act, Osborn is appointed director of the superhero team the Thunderbolts, now tasked to apprehend anyone who resists registering. During the "Secret Invasion" by the shape-shifting alien race the Skrulls, Osborn kills the Skrull queen Veranke, leader of the invasion, by shooting her. He leverages this widely publicized success in defeating the Skrulls to replace Tony Stark as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he in turn replaces with H.A.M.M.E.R., a paramilitary force he uses to advance his agenda.[47] Osborn simultaneously formed an alliance called the Cabal with Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki, and the Hood,[48] but this 'alliance' quickly falls apart when Namor and Frost betrayed the Cabal to aid the X-Men.
His attempts to exert his authority were increasingly jeopardized by various superheroes. This includes Tony Stark tricking Osborn into attacking him while Stark was suffering from brain damage in his original suit of armor- thus showing Osborn brutally assaulting a man physically and mentally incapable of even attempting to strike back-,[49] and the New Avengers using a tracking device Osborn had planted in Luke Cage to trick Osborn into blowing up his own house.[50] Osborn then creates a rationale to invade Asgard, claiming it poses a national security threat. During a pitched battle with several superheroes, the Sentry causes Asgard to fall to Earth. Stark removes the Iron Patriot's armor remotely, revealing a maddened Osborn wearing green facepaint with yellow paint to create a goblin-like look. He tells them they are all dead as the Void is released.[51] Osborn knocks out Captain America and tries to escape, but is captured by Volstagg, and is incarcerated in The Raft penitentiary, where he blames his Green Goblin alter-ego for ruining his chance to protect the world.[52]
When transferred to a secret government base somewhere underwater, Osborn quickly began taking steps to ensure his release from prison where he meets June Covington and Ai Apaec. He uses a 'Green Goblin Cult' he has assembled to stage a break-out with the aid of various corrupt senators so that he could turn himself in after eliminating most of his fellow inmates, creating a new impression of him as a 'champion' of the judicial system that he may use in future.[53] He was subsequently broken out of prison when the government attempted to relocate him to another prison in preparation for his trial, despite the efforts of the New Avengers to prevent any such attack, due to most of the men in the prison belonging to his group.[54] With his followers explaining the public perception of him as a voice for the 'disenfranchised' who do not believe in Captain America's right to take charge, Osborn sets out to assemble a new team of Dark Avengers, concluding that what he has learned in prison will make it far easier for him to use the team 'properly' this time. While planning to regain his Iron Patriot armor, Norman Osborn recruits Barney Barton to become his new Hawkeye, recruits Hulk's son Skaar to become his Hulk, has Superia become his new Ms. Marvel, has June Covington become his Scarlet Witch, has Ai Apaec become his new Spider-Man, has Gorgon become his new Wolverine, and has A.I.M. rebuild Ragnarok to serve as his Thor.[55] In the team's first fight with the New Avengers, Norman Osborn demonstrates a new level of strength where he manages to throw Luke Cage in a considerable distance.[56] With both Avengers teams occupied, Norman declares himself the new head of world security, ordering that the Avengers be arrested and charged with various war crimes.[57] However, despite possessing the power of the Super-Adaptoid, Osborn's plans are defeated when all of the Avengers attack him at once, the multiple powers his body has absorbed overloading his system, leaving him in a coma with apparent brain damage while H.A.M.M.E.R. is disbanded, leaving A.I.M. and Hydra to pick up the remnants of his resources as Osborn is taken to prison once again.[58]
Norman Osborn was turned into the Green Goblin by a chemical solution he had devised based upon a formula originally conceived by Professor Mendel Stromm. The process granted Osborn superhuman agility, strength, speed, stamina, and dexterity, as well as a "healing factor" that allows him to quickly heal even from such lethal bodily damage as being stabbed through the chest by large blades.
In addition to these physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already-above average intellect, making him a bona fide genius capable of making breakthroughs in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, physics and applied chemistry. The Goblin formula is also said to have driven Osborn insane; defects in his personality were strongly augmented by the serum, resulting in dangerous mood-swings and hallucinations.
The Green Goblin is armed with a variety of bizarre devices. He travels on his bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", an incredibly fast and maneuverable rocket glider equipped with various armaments. Other weapons the Goblin uses include incendiary Pumpkin Bombs, smoke- and gas-emitting grenades resembling ghosts and jack-'o'-lanterns, razor-edged boomerang-like throwing weapons, resembling bats, and gloves woven with micro-circuited filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity at nearly 10,000 volts. He wears a green costume underneath bulletproof chainmail with an overlapping purple tunic. His mask has a built-in gas filter to keep him safe from his own gasses.
The Goblin Glider's controls and microprocessor are located behind the head of the glider. The pilot is attached to the glider via electromagnetic clasps on the wings of the glider. It has great maneuverability and is steered mostly by leaning, but manual controls are available behind the head of the glider. The Green Goblin later added radio-linked voice controls to his mask. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and it can support about 400 lb (180 kg), though it could lift far more for brief periods. Flying at top speed with a full load and a full fuel tank would deplete its fuel supply in about an hour.
The glider possesses a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a flamethrower and a pumpkin bomb dispenser/launcher.
A grenade used by the Green Goblin, the Pumpkin Bomb resembles a miniature Jack-o'-lantern and, when thrown ignites almost soundlessly and produces enough heat to melt through a 3-inch (76 mm) thick sheet of steel. The Goblin carries these and a variety of other weapons in a shoulder bag he calls his "Bag Of Tricks". The Green Goblin has a range of other "Pumpkin Bombs" at his disposal, including smoke-and gas-emitting bombs. Some release hallucinogenic gases, while others emit a specially created mixture that neutralizes Spider-Man's spider-sense for a limited period of time. All of these are covered in a light plastic mantle that flutters like a ghost when thrown.
During the events of the "Dark Reign", Osborn created a new identity, the Iron Patriot (an amalgam of Captain America and Iron Man), to cement his standing as a hero. As the Iron Patriot, he utilized a version of Iron Man's armor. The armor featured superhuman strength, enhanced durability, flight, magnetic impact blasts, heat seeking missiles, miniaturized lasers, flamethrowers, and a communications system housed in his helmet which allowed him to interface with any U.S.-controlled satellite or computer network. While the original Iron Man armor utilized repulsor technology, Osborn's design does not; Stark destroyed all but one repulsor, and stated that "Oz is too stupid" to make his own repulsor-based weapons system. The star shaped Uni Beam projector on his chest, because of its shape, also has a less powerful output than that of the original Iron Man model.[59]
Following his time in prison, A.I.M scientists converted Osborn into a Super-Adaptoid, capable of absorbing the abilities of any mutant, mutate, alien, android or otherwise by touching them. In this form he possessed considerably increased strength and durability; where he was once approximately as strong as Spider-Man, he now possessed sufficient strength to overpower and throw Luke Cage a significant distance away from him.[60] He could also levitate, and he was able to defeat the Vision in an aerial conflict between the two.[61]
He is known to have absorbed the abilities of Luke Cage, Vision, Red Hulk, and Protector, and it is suggested that he also absorbed the abilities of his current Dark Avengers. In his final form, his body grew to the Hulk's size, and like Hulk he was capable of creating shockwaves by hitting the ground or smashing his hands together. His durability was sufficient to withstand the combined attacks of all the Avengers, and he demonstrated remarkable healing abilities, recovering in seconds after Daisy Johnson used her powers to make his heart explode. He could also turn intangible by manipulating his density, as the Vision does.
However, Osborn had no control over his Super-Adaptoid abilities; he would automatically absorb the powers of any superhuman he touched, even if he didn't consciously want to. He was also limited in how many powers his body could hold, as the A.I.M. scientists warned him that absorbing too many powers at once could overload his systems. In the end, he inadvertently absorbed the abilities of all the Avengers and New Avengers when they all touched him at once, and the unstable combination of their multiple different powers caused significant damage to his body chemistry, resulting in him becoming comatose.[62]
Norman Osborn has consistently been depicted with several unusual weaknesses related to his psychosis and to his personality. He suffers from manic depression. He has a pronounced narcissistic personality disorder co-morbid with severe anti-social psychopathic traits and in some depictions, multiple-personality disorder (For some of his early appearances he and the Goblin were separate personalities, his Goblin side disdaining his human weaknesses while his other side was primarily motivated by his concern for Harry, although his anger over his son's failing health as 'Norman' helped to provoke his transformation back into the Goblin, his other side never reappearing after he was believed dead). He is also highly sadistic, showing a complete lack of empathy for the lives of innocent people who stand between him and his objectives. These weaknesses have often been referenced in stories featuring him and exploited by his enemies.
In Thunderbolts Norman Osborn is shown to be severely manic depressive.[63] This has been referenced several times in a myriad of Spider-Man stories. When he is not under the direction of a psychiatrist and taking medication, he has dangerous mood swings. At the apex of his mania, he is paranoid, delusional, and suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations, including hearing the voice of his Green Goblin persona and seeing its face in the mirror rather than his own. Previously, Osborn's arrogance caused him to refuse to submit to psychiatric treatment unless forced to; he viewed mental illness as an imperfection and therefore would not admit that he is mentally ill. In later conversations with the Sentry, Osborn revealed that he had come to accept his own mental illness.
There are many examples of Osborn's pronounced superiority complex, to the point that he will rarely, if ever, admit that he has made mistakes, transferring blame for his shortcomings to others or claiming that he was better than he was; even before his accident, he spent more time providing Harry with gifts or outings rather than actually being there for his son or trying to listen to his problems, and nevertheless claims that he was still a good father. Having become the Goblin, he generally views other people as dim-witted pests, lacking in creative vision, unworthy to be graced by his presence. He goes out of his way to remind others of their personal failures and shortcomings and to remind those in close relationships with him, such as his son, that they are incapable of measuring up to his achievements. When he first learned Spider-Man's identity, he claimed that when Spider-Man had defeated him in their previous battles, none of those victories counted because Spider-Man had only beaten his lackeys or been rescued by the intervention of other super powered beings such as the Human Torch, despite the fact that he always departed the battles after Spider-Man's victories rather than trying to defeat his foe himself.[64] He also missed the opportunity to lead the original Sinister Six because he felt that joining the group would mean admitting he needed the help of others to rid himself of Spider-Man.[65] Although he later formed the 'Sinister Twelve' when Spider-Man sent him to prison, he expressed anger at Mac Gargan for acquiring the Venom symbiote rather than using the new Scorpion suit provided for him simply because Gargan wasn't doing what he wanted despite Venom being more powerful than the Scorpion.[volume & issue needed] When he participated in the mystical ritual known as the Gathering of Five, he appeared convinced that he would automatically receive the gift of power from the ritual – which would bestow upon the participants power, immortality, knowledge, madness and death, respectively – only to receive the gift of madness instead,[66] subsequently requiring an elaborate cocktail of drugs to restore himself to a semblance of sanity. During his time in charge of H.A.M.M.E.R. he was provoked into attacking Asgard by his Goblin side because his ego couldn't allow himself to consider the possibility that the Asgardians wouldn't threaten his power[67] Later events revealed that Loki at least slightly influenced Osborn's decision to further Loki's own goals.[volume & issue needed] During his attempted takeover of Earth's superhuman security defenses, he was shown reflecting that humans are all barbarians who require the strong like him to control them, dismissing the Avengers as no better than him despite the obvious distinction between Osborn's demands for power and the straightforward respect that the general public have for the Avengers.[volume & issue needed]
It has been shown that since having suppressed the rampaging Green Goblin personality and becoming the more dominant personality, Osborn has proven to be just as (if not more) evil and cruel. Osborn has demonstrated a high degree of sadism. While he was in prison, a guard once asked him for his advice in helping his critically ill wife; Osborn's advice led her to a quicker and more agonizing death. As director of the Avengers, he allowed Bullseye to continue to function as an Avenger, even after Bullseye allowed over thirty innocent bystanders to be killed during a skirmish with a supervillain.[68] As director of H.A.M.M.E.R. he directed his officers to shoot down an airplane full of innocent people just to see whether his enemy, Pepper Potts, was powerful enough to rescue the passengers with her Rescue variant of the Iron Man armor.[69] Because these actions threatened the hero persona he had carefully crafted some in the media began to see him for what he really was, and many of his highly-credible former enemies spoke out against him. His Goblin persona vied for control of his body, as depicted in the January 2010 issue of Dark Avengers, where he is shown writhing on the floor and imploring, apparently to himself, "Why won't this face come off...?", and finally took over when Osborn's Iron Patriot armor was defeated by Captain America and Iron Man at the end of the "Siege" arc.[70]
While Norman was presumed dead, several other villains and one hero took up the mantle of the Green Goblin. A few other villains also created separate Goblin mantles.
As a fictional character, the Green Goblin has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series. Each version of the character is typically established within its own continuity within parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. Various versions of the Goblin are depicted in works such as Marvel's Ultimate line and Earth X.
The Green Goblin has appeared in many Spider-Man related media.
In television, the Green Goblin appeared in the 1960s Spider-Man animated TV series voiced by Len Carlson. and in the Spider-Man episode "Revenge of the Green Goblin." He also appears in the 1980s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon with Norman Osborn voiced by Neil Ross and Green Goblin voiced by Dennis Marks. The Green Goblin also appears in the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series, again voiced by Neil Ross. A Counter Earth version of the Green Goblin appears in the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series voiced by Rino Romano. Green Goblin appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man with Norman Osborn voiced by Alan Rachins and Green Goblin voiced by Steven Blum. Norman Osborn is the main antagonist for Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man.
The Green Goblin is the main antagonist in the feature film Spider-Man (2002), which starred Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn. In the film, Osborn is a leading scientist specializing in cybernetics engineering, and has successfully created the advanced flightsuit and jet-propelled, heavily-armed "glider" later used to wreak havoc as the Goblin. OsCorp's failure, however, in creating an effective "super-soldier" serum for the U.S. Military prompts them to threaten the firm with the loss of their funding. Without enough time to do proper human trials, Osborn tests the procedure on himself, gaining extremely enhanced strength, stamina and reflexes but being driven insane as a side-effect and developing a split personality: his id emerging as the Goblin. He wields pumpkin-shaped grenades of varying effect and wears a green and purple outfit with a grotesque Goblin-faced mask, and this version of the suit is covered in plated armor and circuitry. He is later killed when he fights Spider-Man in an abandoned atrium, and is impaled by his own glider. Dafoe reprised his role in hallucinatory sequences in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, haunting his son Harry Osborn (James Franco) with guilt and inferiority.
On set photos for the upcoming 2013 film Iron Man 3 feature actor James Badge Dale, who plays Eric Savin wearing armor similar to the Iron Patriot suit.[71]
The first video game appearance of the Green Goblin was the 1982 Atari 2600 Spider-Man game. He also appeared in Spider-Man arcade game.[72] and in video game adaptation of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon. He makes a small cameo in the 2000 Spider-Man game for PSX, as the player can find his lair inside a crane in one of the levels. The Goblin appears in the 2002 Spider-Man video game based on the film with Willem Dafoe reprising his role as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the game. He briefly appears in the 2005 Ultimate Spider-Man video game voiced by Peter Lurie. He appears in the game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, voiced by Roger L. Jackson. Green Goblin appears in the Nintendo DS version of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. He appears as a playable character in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Armin Shimerman. Also The Noir version of the Green Goblin appears in the final Noir chapter of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions voiced by Jim Cummings.
The Iron Patriot armor appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as part of a downloadable costume pack, as a costume for Iron Man.[73] Additionally, on the Daily Bugle stage, Oscorp has a banner. In addition, whilst still not appearing, one of Firebrand's alternate costumes is based on Green Goblin.[74]
Iron Patriot is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin appears as the main villain in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, a two-act rock'n'roll Broadway musical, directed by Julie Taymor, with music by Bono and The Edge. Norman Osborn (played by Patrick Page) is mutated into the Green Goblin after a horrible lab accident gives him superhuman strength alongside mental instability. Here, the Green Goblin flies through the use of wings rather than a mechanical glider. His wife is Emily Osborn (played by Laura Beth Wells), who dies as a result of the lab accident that creates the Green Goblin. The show opened at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York City on 14 June 2011 to generally negative reviews, although critics praised Page's performance as the Green Goblin.[citation needed]
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