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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Leonard Snart was raised by an abusive father and took refuge with his grandfather, who worked in an ice truck. When his grandfather died, Snart grew tired of his father's abuse and set out to start a criminal career. Snart joined up with a group of small-time thieves and in planning out a robbery, each was issued a gun and a visor to protect their eyes against the flashes of gunfire. This visor design would later be adapted by Snart into his trademark costume. In recent years he has added a radio receiver to them which picks up the police band to monitor local law enforcement. Snart and the other thugs were captured by the Flash and imprisoned. Snart decided to go solo, but knew he had to do something about the local hero, the Flash.[4]

Snart read an article that theorized that the energy emissions of a cyclotron could interfere with the Flash's speed. He designed a weapon to harness that power and broke into a cyclotron lab, intending to use the device to charge up his experimental gun. As he was finishing his experiment, a security guard surprised Snart. Intending to use his gun only to scare the guard, he inadvertently pulled the trigger and discovered that his weapon had been altered in a way he had never imagined. The moisture in the air around the guard froze. Intrigued by this twist of fate, Snart donned a parka and the aforementioned visor and declared himself to be Captain Cold - the man who mastered absolute zero.[7]

Snart then committed a series of non-lethal crimes, on one occasion placing the city in suspended animation in an attempt to force Iris West to marry him as he had fallen in love with her when he saw her in the prison, but the Flash got through a wall of ice and was able to reverse the process. He later fell in love with a newscaster, and competed with Heat Wave (in his first appearance) over her in a crime spree, but they were both beaten by the Flash. But after Barry Allen's death, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Captain Cold became a bounty hunter with his sister Lisa, the Golden Glider.[4]

During the events of Underworld Unleashed, Captain Cold lost his soul to Neron but Wally West brought it back to the land of the living. He soon returned to crime, this time a member of Wally's Rogues Gallery. The Rogues had first been assembled when another Flash foe, the super-intelligent Gorilla Grodd had broken them out of jail to distract the Flash. The Golden Glider had abandoned her bounty hunter career and had started partnering with a series of thugs who she dressed in a costume, armed with a copy of Captain Cold's signature Cold Gun, and called Chillblaine. Already distraught over the death of her lover, the Top, it seemed that the supposed death of her brother pushed her over the edge. But the last Chillblaine was a little smarter and more vicious. He murdered the Golden Glider, prompting Captain Cold to hunt him down, torture him and kill him by freezing his outer layer of skin and then pushing him off a high rise building. Not long after that, Snart was framed by a new incarnation of Mister Element. He used his Element Gun to simulate Cold's gun, using ice and cold to murder several police officers before Captain Cold and the Flash discovered who was actually responsible. With the death of his sister, and having killed Chillblaine and Mr. Element in vengeance, Cold has again become an unrepentant criminal. However, during a confrontation with Brother Grimm, Cold actually worked with Wally West to defeat the powerful magic user, although this was mainly because he and Mirror Master had been betrayed by Grimm and wanted revenge.[4]

Captain Cold was declared the leader of the Flash's Rogues Gallery. His skill and experience have made him a strong leader to the likes of the Weather Wizard, the new Trickster, the new Mirror Master, and the new Captain Boomerang. Len seems to have taken the young Captain Boomerang under his wing, after the elder Boomerang was recently killed. Tabloids rumoured that Captain Cold's sister, the Golden Glider, was Boomerang's mother, making him Captain Cold's nephew. This turned out to be false, however, as the new Boomerang's mother has been revealed to be Meloni Thawne, who is also the mother of Bart Allen. Despite his more ruthless nature as of late, Captain Cold's heart is not completely frozen, evidenced by having sent flowers to honor Sue Dibny, murdered wife of the Elongated Man.[volume & issue needed]

Traditionally, Captain Cold is driven by three things: money, women, and the desire to beat Barry Allen. Although not the lecher that Captain Boomerang was, Len Snart has an eye for the ladies, particularly models. When Barry Allen died, Captain Cold drifted for a while, jumping back and forth over the lines of crime and justice. He was captured by the Manhunter and served time in the Suicide Squad, worked with his sister as a bounty hunter (Golden Snowball Recoveries), and, with his longtime friend and sometimes nemesis Heat Wave, encountered Fire and Ice of the Justice League. He has teamed up with various villains over the years other than the many Rogues. These include Catwoman and the Secret Society of Super Villains. His favorite baseball team is the Houston Astros.[volume & issue needed]

"One Year Later"Edit

In the 2006 "One Year Later" storyline, he and several other Rogues are approached by Inertia with a plan to kill the Flash (then Barry Allen). Though Inertia was defeated, Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Heat Wave, Mirror Master and Abra Kadabra killed Bart with a combined barrage of their elemental weapons. He, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard seemed to express guilt, however, after learning the identity of the Flash and how young he was.

Salvation RunEdit

Captain Cold is one of the exiled villains featured in the 2007-08 miniseries Salvation Run along with his fellow Rogues: Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, and Abra Kadabra.

New RoguesEdit

The New Rogues version of Captain Cold is Chill, a unknown man who possesses a Cold Gun.

Final Crisis: Rogues' RevengeEdit

In the 2008 miniseries Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge, Captain Cold and the Rogues briefly joined Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. In Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge story, however, Cold and the rest of the Rogues reject Libra's offer, wanting to stay out of the game. Before they can retire, they hear of Inertia escaping and decide to stick around long enough to get revenge for being used.[8] Cold and his group are challenged by a new set of Rogues, formed by Libra to be their replacements. The new group, having kidnapped Cold's father, challenge the Rogues, and are defeated and killed. Cold goes to his father, talking to him about the abuse he suffered, and the fate of his sister. After the elder Snart insults him and his mother, calling them weak, Cold punches him, but finds himself unable to kill him, instead getting Heat Wave to do it.[9] The Rogues have their confrontation with Inertia, despite interference by Zoom and Libra, and kill Inertia. Libra then reveals that he needs the Rogues because Barry Allen has returned from the dead, and the Flashes are potential threats to him and Darkseid. Though shocked by the news that Allen is alive, Cold still rejects his offer of membership. After regrouping, Cold and the other Rogues agree not to retire, claiming that the game is back on.[10] In "Final Crisis" #7, someone that looks like Captain Cold appears as a Justifier and is seen fighting the Female Furies alongside the other Justifiers under Lex Luthor's control.

The Flash: RebirthEdit

In the 2009 The Flash: Rebirth miniseries, Captain Cold is seen with the other Rogues, reading about Barry Allen's return and claiming that they would need more of the Rogues.[11] The Rogues are still debating Allen's return, with Cold saying it's time to pull out their contingency plan that Scudder came up with, stating "In case The Flash returns, break glass."[12]

"Blackest Night"Edit

In the 2009–2010 "Blackest Night" storyline, the Rogues realize that the bodies of various dead Rogues are missing and prepare to fight them. Captain Cold knows that his sister, the Golden Glider, is among the reanimated Black Lanterns but is still ready to lead the Rogues against the zombies.[13] He is confronted by the Black Lantern Glider, who attempts to use his feelings of love for her against him. However, Captain Cold manages to suppress these feelings long enough for him to fight back, freezing her within a block of ice.[14] He subsequently kills Owen Mercer by throwing him into a pit with his Black Lantern father when he learns that Owen has been feeding people to his father in the belief that consuming flesh will restore him to life, informing Owen that Rogues do not kill women and children.[15]

The Flash (Vol. 3)Edit

In The Flash (Vol. 3), Captain Cold and the Rogues visit Sam Scudder's old hideout and unveil a giant mirror with the words In Case of Flash: Break Glass written on it and release beings from a Mirror World upon breaking it.[16] However, Captain Cold is told by Mirror Master he had discovered that the giant mirror is actually a slow acting poison.[17]

The New 52Edit

In the timeline of the 2011 company-wide reboot of all its superhero titles, The New 52, Captain Cold is reintroduced as a younger man than in the previous timeline and now with his Rogues lives with a code to never kill. His origin remains the same, however, his sister Lisa has not been the Golden Glider, and is instead dying of cancer. Upon learning that the hospital does not have enough energy to power a laser that could save her life, because of an EMP seemingly caused by the Flash, Cold blames him for everything that has happened to him, including a falling out with the Rogues, and decides to break the rules of their "game" and kill the Flash. Captain Cold has undergone experiments that have given him ice-based metahuman powers, including the ability to slow down the molecules around him, creating a field of inertia that reduces the Flash's speed to human level, allowing Captain Cold to touch him and effortlessly beat him.[18] He and the Rogues are set to return,[19] but later defeated them with help from Flash, and the Pied Piper.[20]

After freeing the Trickster and attending the meeting at the Justice League Watchtower, the Rogues return to Central and Keystone City, only to see that both have been destroyed by Gorilla Grodd. Grodd returns to Central City during the eclipse, while a ceremony commemorating Flash between the humans and gorillas is occurring. Grodd proceeds to take control of Central City as its king and renames it Gorilla City. Captain Cold sees the city's cops tied up from Grodd, and proceeds to free them. He then asks Mirror Master to help him get to the hospital where his sister is being held in order to check on her. While there, the Crime Syndicate send Black Bison, Hyena, Multiplex, Plastique and Typhoon to finish Grodd's work and destroy the hospital. The Rogues are able to hold them off, only to be interrupted by Deathstorm and Power Ring, who were sent by Ultraman to deal with the Rogues for resisting the Crime Syndicate's offer to join them. After battling Deathstorm and Power Ring, Deathstorm attacks Captain Cold and is able to extract his freezing powers from his DNA. Mirror Master attempts to get the Rogues out through the Mirror World, but Power Ring destroys the mirror causing the Rogues to be separated. Captain Cold ends up at Luthor and his Kryptonian clone's location where they are also joined by Black Manta, who has retrieved Black Adam from the ocean.[21] Luthor realizes that, with the help of his clone, Black Adam, Black Manta, and Captain Cold, he may be able to stop the Crime Syndicate. Captain Cold and the rest of the squad, now joined by Batman, Catwoman, Sinestro and Deathstroke, infiltrate the fallen Watchtower, where Black Manta kills the Outsider and Cold proceeds to shatter Johnny Quick's right leg after having frozen the molecules in it with his cold gun. He then unmasks the hooded prisoner brought over from Earth-3, revealing it to be Alexander Luthor, who is their version of Shazam, Mazahs, who states he will kill them all.[22][volume & issue needed] After defeating the crime syndicate, Captain Cold is pardoned by the U.S government, and becomes a member of the Justice League, along with Luthor.

DC RebirthEdit

Snart and the Rogues first made a cameo appearance in the DC Rebirth's storylines; they are fleetingly watching a news report about the many newly created speedsters appearing throughout the city in The Flash #3. Snart quips that it is time for the Rogues to leave Central City for a while. Visually the Rogues still seem to be based upon their New 52 appearances in this cameo, though when Snart later appears in one of Flash's memory flashbacks he has resorted to an even older look. He and the other Rogues retain these costumes in their later appearances.

Snart and the Rogues make their first full-length appearance in The Flash #15, where they are attempting to steal a valuable golden statue of the god Mercury from the small island nation of Corto Maltese. The Flash arrives to stop them, but they turn out to be constructs of Mirror Master laid so that the Rogues can commit a crime spree in Central City. Captain Cold reveals what he had been working on in his absence from the city—a "black ice gun" that uses the anti-Speed Force weaponry of the terrorist group Black Hole combined with his regular freeze gun. After a fight, the Golden Glider had a chance to kill the Flash, but was talked out of it by her fellow Rogues. Despite this setback, Flash manages to finally beat Snart and the rest of the Rogues without killing them. By the end of The Flash #17, Snart appears to be ready to take over Iron Heights from the more neophyte villains, including Papercut.

In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Captain Cold and his fellow Rogues are among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by Riddler that talks about the Superman Theory.[23]

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tiebrute · 6 years ago

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BATMAN REBIRTH #1

“You’re too late! You can’t stop the seasons turning!”

#rebirthedits #batman #dc #detective comics #dcedit #dc batman #comic edit #comics #julian day #alfred #bruce wayne #duke thomas #the signal #ch: bruce wayne #ch: duke thomas #ch: alfred #img #mine #i

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Miss Martian is a White Martian known as M'gann M'orzz. She serves as a member of the Teen Titans during the year between the events depicted in Infinite Crisis and the "One Year Later" stories. On Earth, she simplifies her name to Megan Morse.

M'gann M'orzz was originally sent by rocket from Mars to the Vega system to escape the civil war between the Green Martians and the White Martians.[4] To date, it is still unknown when she came to Earth from Vega.

Initially, M'gann pretended to be a Green Martian, like the Martian Manhunter, and joined the Teen Titans. After her feelings were hurt through insensitivity and misunderstanding with her teammates, M'gann left the Titans to be a hero in Australia. Though the Titans suspected she might have been a traitor, it turned out that her accuser, Bombshell, was the actual traitor. After helping the team defeat Bombshell and proving her loyalty, she was accepted as a full member of the Titans.[5]

Miss Martian of the future, with an apparition of Martian Manhunter. Art by Alé Garza.

M'gann and Cyborg travel to Belle Reve to interrogate the depowered Bombshell. M'gann, using her telepathy on Bombshell, discovers the existence of Titans East (Bombshell is seemingly murdered by a mind-controlled Batgirl soon thereafter, but eventually recovers).[6] M'gann fights Sun Girl, who claims to be from a future in which Martians are slaves because of something that M'gann will do (Sun Girl also claims that in the future M'gann will be her slave). Unable to convince Sun Girl to tell her what she will do in the future, M'gann dives into the ocean and then hits Sun Girl with a mass of water, dousing her flames.

The Titans Tomorrow appear with Miss Martian as a member.[7] She has a different look, having embraced her White Martian heritage. Having changed her name to Martian Manhunter, she is killed by her present-day counterpart. As a result of this encounter, the consciousness of her future self has taken refuge in Megan's own mind.[8] An epilogue to the "Titans of Tomorrow: Today!" storyline depicts Miss Martian eight years in the future; she colludes with Lex Luthor and Tim Drake, the Robin of the time and with whom she is having an affair, to clone several deceased Titans, including Superboy and Kid Flash.

Megan is attacked by Disruptor of the Terror Titans, whose weapons almost separate her from her future self.[9] Megan is captured and thrown into a room with Kid Devil, who has been savagely conditioned into a mindless beast. She attempts to calm his mind with her telepathy, but a reincarnated version of Granny Goodness has found a way to inhibit her Martian abilities.

Megan finally manages to restore Eddie's rational mind, and the two escape.[10] Back at Titans Tower, Megan implies that the encounter with Disruptor has allowed her to subdue her future self's consciousness. Her future counterpart seems still able to communicate with her, but M'gann shushes her effortlessly by the simple threat of siccing the cute puppies on her, e.g. feeding her images of cuteness and love.

Later, however, Megan begins showing signs of being unable to subdue her evil self, such as appearing before the team having chalk-white skin as opposed to her usually preferred green skin. She seems as surprised at this as the rest of the team, and later finally comes to the conclusion to leave the Titans for an unknown period of time. Before leaving, however, she says goodbye to the Titans and admits to Eddie that she will miss him the most, to which he questions if she is comparing him to the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.

Teen Titans writer Sean McKeever has stated that Megan's departure from the Titans is part of a longer story he was working on and that she will return to the team at a later time.[11]

Megan appears in the final issue of the Terror Titans miniseries, having been posing as Star-Spangled Kid in The Dark Side Club's metahuman fights. She had been using her immunity to Clock King's mind control to slowly free the other brainwashed metahumans.[12]

Megan is briefly seen as part of an underground resistance cell in Final Crisis #5 (Dec. 2008). She rejoins the Titans in the aftermath of their failed recruitment drive, bringing new members Static and Aquagirl with her. In the same story, Megan hints that she has rid herself of her future counterpart's consciousness from her mind.

When Beast Boy returns to lead the Titans in the wake of Kid Devil's death, Megan is the only member of the team who is willing to support him. While the rest of the team is busy arguing with him, Megan is attacked and captured by a new villain known as Wyld. After a vigorous battle, Megan is rescued by her teammates.[13]

At some point prior to this, Megan is seen operating on a solo mission where she defeats Brick after he attempts to abduct a young girl and hold her for ransom. Seconds after flooring the kidnapper, Megan is visited by Jay Garrick, who recruits her for some unknown purpose.[14] In the finale of Justice League: Cry for Justice, it is revealed that Garrick recruited her in order to help interrogate Prometheus, who had destroyed Star City. When she attempts to read his mind, Megan is knocked out by specialized mental defenses Prometheus put in place after an encounter with the Martian Manhunter.[15]

Megan later accompanies her fellow Titans to the city of Dakota in order to look for Static after he goes missing. After Wonder Girl, Aquagirl, and Bombshell are kidnapped as well, the remaining Titans track them to an armored bunker. Megan tries to fight off a powerful metahuman gangster named Holocaust, but he is somehow able to resist her telepathic assault and knock her unconscious.[16] After awakening, Megan realizes that she had accidentally struck Raven with a mental barrage, which has now left her comatose. On the way back to Titans Tower, Raven is kidnapped by Wyld.[17]

Brightest DayEdit

During Brightest Day, Megan is asked by Batman to contact Starman after he is captured by a crazed Alan Scott. After coming aboard the Justice League Watchtower, she mentally reaches out to Starman and begins to relay information about his prison, only to transform into her White Martian form and attack the Justice League. Before Megan can injure any of her fellow heroes, she is knocked unconscious by Power Girl, who implies that she had been possessed by the Starheart, the cosmic entity that granted Alan his powers.[18]

Around this time, the recently resurrected Martian Manhunter contacts Titans Tower in order to talk to Megan, and is told by Superboy that she has taken a leave of absence from the team. He heads to Australia to find Megan and see if she has any information about a string of murders that seem to have been committed by a fellow Martian, only to find her tied up and severely beaten.[19] While tending to her, J'onn is contacted by the Entity, and Megan's wounds fully recover. She also senses that there is another Martian on Earth.[20] When J'onn asks Megan who did this to her, Megan says she was attacked by a female Green Martian.[4]

After a mission to rescue Raven from Wyld's dimension, Megan is left in a coma. Cyborg and a scientist named Rochelle Barnes take Megan to Cadmus Labs in order to find a way to help her, and Static (who had lost his powers after the battle with Wyld) comes along with her, stating that she should have a Titan by her side while she recovers. The issue ends with a note stating that the story will be resolved in a new Static solo series, which will launch sometime in 2011.[21]

No longer a member of the Titans, Miss Martian is later attacked by a teenaged psychic named Alexander, who kidnaps her and uses her as bait to lure Supergirl into a trap.[22] After defeating Supergirl, M'gann uses her abilities to help brainwash Blue Beetle and Robin into serving Alexander.[23] It is later revealed, however, that Miss Martian was never under Alexander's control to begin with; she had merely pretended to be while using her telepathy to tell Supergirl her plan. Miss Martian then forcefeeds Alexander's mind with mental feedback, distracting him enough for Supergirl to subdue him.

Along with a number of other former Titans, M'gann returns to assist the team during their final battle against Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Doom.[24] Working together with Solstice, M'gann defeats her old nemesis Sun Girl.[25]

The New 52Edit

In September 2011, DC carried out a revision of its superhero comic book line, including its stories and its characters' fictional histories, known as The New 52. In the revised stories, Miss Martian's first appearance is when Red Robin is shown watching a press conference where Lex Luthor shows off photographs of M'gann as part of a presentation about alien life on Earth.[26]

DC RebirthEdit

DC made another revision of its superhero comic book line, known as the DC Rebirth. Miss Martian appears in the revised stories. Here, she has been assigned by Martian Manhunter as the Justice League liaison to watch over the Titans.[27] The White Martian side of Miss Martian was eventually revealed to the Titans, as she couldn't contain her form after getting attacked by Beast Boy (who lost his self-control seemingly due to the energy of the Source Wall), when they were stranded on a strange planet.[28] With the Titans back on earth, Batman tells Donna Troy that Martian Manhunter's actual intention to place Miss Martians on the Titans was to protect her true nature and keep her safe.[29

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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"One Year Later"Edit

Salvation RunEdit

Captain Cold is one of the exiled villains featured in the 2007-08 miniseries Salvation Run along with his fellow Rogues: Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, and Abra Kadabra.

New RoguesEdit

The New Rogues version of Captain Cold is Chill, a unknown man who possesses a Cold Gun.

Final Crisis: Rogues' RevengeEdit

The Flash: RebirthEdit

"Blackest Night"Edit

The Flash (Vol. 3)Edit

The New 52Edit

DC RebirthEdit

In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Captain Cold and his fellow Rogues are among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by Riddler that talks about the Superman Theory.[23]

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Emiko is the paternal half-sister of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow who is the illegitimate daughter of his father Robert Queen and the assassin Shado. Kept secret from the Queen family by her mother, as an infant Emiko was kidnapped by Simon Lacroix/Komodo, Robert's former associate. He raised her as an assassin, believing him to be her father. Upon her debut, Emiko watches as Komodo kills Green Arrow's associate Jax Jackson, and later reports that their other hostage Naomi Singh had managed to locate where Oliver Queen currently is.[6] She later meets Green Arrow when she decides to help protect her father.[7] Later, after Green Arrow rescues Shado from Count Vertigo, she confirms to him that Emiko is her daughter with his father Robert.[8]

Emiko then appears during the Outsiders War storyline where, upon hearing that Shado is accompanying Green Arrow, she asked Komodo if it was true that her mother is still alive and is upset for having been lied to, but he tricks her into thinking that Green Arrow and Shado are only coming to take her away from him.[9] Later, after Robert Queen was injured during their pursuit of them, Emiko begins to realize the truth that she is actually his daughter, something which Shado confirms, to which an angry Emiko exacts her vengeance by killing Komodo. Upon rejecting his position to become the head of the Outsiders Arrow Clan, Oliver offers that he'll take Emiko away from all of this for a fresh start, which Shado agrees as it is her choice to make.[10]

Emiko decides to follow her brother back to Seattle as she recognizes that, unlike the rest, her brother had never lied to her[11] and when he is attacked by the Longbow Hunters, she introduces herself as the Green Arrow.[10]

DC RebirthEdit

Together with her older half-brother Oliver, she infiltrated the docks to rescue kidnapped children. Black Canary appeared to help them and Emiko revealed she was a fan of Black Canary. All three then went back to Oliver's and Emiko's apartment where Dinah stayed for the night. Later that day, Oliver and the assassin Shado, the mother of Emiko, had a fight in Oliver's apartment with Oliver getting the upper hand. Oliver ordered Emiko to get out of the apartment but she instead, to Oliver's surprise, fired an arrow into his back. Emiko told Shado she had been waiting a long time for her mother to arrive. Together they got onto a boat, took Oliver's body with them, and drove away from the bay of Seattle out on the ocean. When in the middle of nowhere, they threw Oliver's body over the rail, deep down into the ocean. They then traveled to the base built on water called the Inferno, where Shado's masters, the criminal organization called the Ninth Circle operated. After Oliver turned out to be alive, Emiko conducted a plan for the Ninth Circle to capture Dinah, to stop them from going after her mother who had fallen on bad terms with the organization after her failed assassination of Oliver. They lured Dinah to the Inferno where Emiko managed to capture her. When Emiko and Shado were supposed to kill Dinah she instead rescued her revealing that she had been a double agent all the time. Moments later she met Oliver, who had infiltrated the Inferno, and told him she had been trying to help him all the time. She had slipped a homing beacon into his pocket when she dumped him into the ocean, thus helping Henry Fyff locate Oliver. She had also anonymously contacted John Diggle and had secretly revealed the location of the Inferno to Oliver. Furious over her daughter's betrayal, Shado took Emiko hostage, taking her with her in a helicopter as the Inferno exploded. Emiko returned to Seattle, now going by the name Red Arrow, and saved Oliver, Black Canary, and the Seattle Police Department from Scott Notting and the Vice Squad. Later she becomes a member of the Teen Titans.

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Instead of taking on the mantle of Robin, which is traditionally that of Batman's sidekick, Harper Row instead adopts an entirely new superhero identity, Bluebird. Her appearance marks the arrival of the first new "Bat-family" character in Batman comics since DC relaunched its entire line in 2011 as part of its The New 52 publishing event.[4]

Publication history

Fictional character biographyEdit

In early issues featuring Harper Row, she is introduced as a streetwise young woman from the Narrows, one of the roughest neighborhoods in Batman's locale of Gotham City. She and her brother are also revealed to be from a broken family with a deceased mother and a deadbeat father who would later end up in jail.[8] With such humble beginnings, Row did not seem naturally inclined to be a hero. In fact, she made her first appearance stealing food from a Wayne charity gala.[5] However, her life changed when Batman saved her brother Cullen from being gay-bashed, although not before the bullies managed to butcher Cullen's hair with a pair of scissors.

Batman's intervention left a lasting impression on the young woman. In addition to shaving her own head in solidarity with her brother, Harper began trying to learn more about Batman in order to assist him in his fight against crime in Gotham. She even managed to discover the devices Batman uses to disable the city's security cameras, and improved them with technology of her own design.[5]

Her efforts only earned the Batman's ire; at one point he rewarded Harper's attempts at helping him by breaking her nose. The next day Harper visits Bruce Wayne at Wayne Tower and shows him plans that she thinks will help Batman. To her surprise, Bruce agrees. That night, Batman tracks Harper and apologizes to her. She tells him she may not know the details, but she knows he's going through a lot of pain (the death of Damian Wayne). She also reminds Batman what he means to the city with a touching and personal story. The issue concludes with Harper's message to Batman broadcast on Wayne Tower. It's one simple word taught to Harper by her mother before her death: “RESOLVE", which just so happens to begin with the letter “R".[8] Even saving Batman's life by pulling his unconscious body out of Gotham Bay and restarting his heart using only jumper cables and a car battery failed to win him over.[2]

In Batman Eternal, Harper stows away on board Red Robin (Tim Drake)'s plane and, over the course of the series, gains his trust. In issue #41, she suits up as Bluebird for the first time in order to rescue her brother Cullen; Red Robin and his allies Batgirl and Red Hood are caught up in a trap, leaving it up to her.[9] Despite setbacks in her relationship with Batman himself, a near-future flash forward shows that Row eventually manages to overcome Batman's reservations and joins him in fighting crime as Bluebird.[4]

During Batman & Robin Eternal, it is revealed that Harper's mother was murdered by Cassandra Cain, who it is eventually revealed was acting as an agent of 'Mother', a villain who manipulates traumatised children on the grounds that she will make them stronger through trauma (Although Cassandra had been sent to kill both of Harper's parents and only killed her mother before she found she couldn't do it). Even more shockingly, Mother had Harper's mother murdered as part of a plan to 'offer' Harper to Batman as the perfect Robin; Batman had made contact with her to try and expose her long-term agenda and believed that he was meant to kill the parents of the new Robin Mother had chosen for him, when actually he was just sent after two of Mother's other disciples as a test of his loyalty to her ideals while Harper's parents were attacked in Gotham. Despite recognising Harper's qualities would make her an ideal partner, at the time Batman simply forced her surviving father to take responsibility for his role as a parent as he didn't want to benefit from Mother's plan,[10] never revealing the truth even after Harper began working with him as Bluebird. Mother attempts to win Harper to her point of view by arguing that her own family fell apart so that she had to rise up on her own, offering to let Harper kill Cassandra Cain after revealing that Cassandra was the one who killed her mother,[11] but Harper rejects that idea, proclaiming that she grew up because her mother supported and recognised her desire for a better life rather than trying to make Harper be what her mother believed would work. Following Mother's defeat, Harper assures the returned Batman that she understands his reasons for not telling her about his history with Mother and his indirect role in her mother's death, but recent events have prompted her to go to college to receive official qualifications for her electrician skills and explore a life outside of the vigilante role, but Batman assures her as she leaves that Bluebird will always be welcome in Gotham if she decides to suit up again.[12]

DC RebirthEdit

Harper is a supporting character in James Tynion's run on Detective Comics, where she works as a medical volunteer at Leslie Thompkins' clinic, and is a friend of Cain (Orphan) and Brown (Spoiler). She also accompanies Batwoman, Spoiler, Orphan and Batwing (Luke Fox) to investigate the Victim Syndicate

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Daniel Ketch was born in Brooklyn, New York. One night, Daniel and his sister Barbara were attacked by gangsters; with his sister grievously wounded by Deathwatch, Daniel fled and hid in a junkyard, where he found a motorcycle bearing a mystical sigil. Upon touching the sigil, he was transformed into the Ghost Rider. This Ghost Rider was nearly identical to the previous, though his costume and bike had undergone a modernized tailoring. He beat the gangsters, but was unable to save Barbara, who had slipped into a coma as a result from her injury.[4] She was eventually killed by Blackout,[5] whom Ketch had acquired as a mortal enemy.

Ketch later learned the origin of Zarathos from the mystical dream lord Nightmare,[6] who believed the entity to which Ketch was bound was Zarathos reborn and freed from the Soul Crystal. Ghost Rider denied this, though others, including Mephisto, believed otherwise.[7]

Alliances and deathsEdit

When Ghost Rider becomes a part of the team the Midnight Sons, he dies twice. The first person who killed Ghost Rider was the vampire hunter Blade, who was at the time possessed by the mystical book the Darkhold.[volume & issue needed] He was soon revived by the Darkhold Redeemers, along with everyone else killed by Blade.[volume & issue needed] The second time Daniel Ketch was killed was by Zarathos,[volume & issue needed] but, as previously, was resurrected.[volume & issue needed]

Ketch and Johnny Blaze later learned they were long-lost brothers and that their family was the inheritor of a mystical curse related to the Spirits of Vengeance.[volume & issue needed] Danny Ketch seemed to die by the hand of Blackout,[8] but the Spirit of Vengeance to which he had been bound through the bike's talisman lived on.[volume & issue needed] During this time Ketch's only existence remained inside a void and he was only able to communicate with Ghost Rider via the spirit world.[volume & issue needed]

RebirthEdit

In Peter Parker: Spider-Man #93, Ghost Rider is seen being summoned forth on the streets of New York, his powers out of control due to lacking a host. He encounters Spider-Man and Ketch, who tells him that he is Noble Kale, and should be in Mephisto's realm. The trio contend with a bomb created by a group of terrorists who wish to incinerate the city. Although Ghost Rider takes possession of the bomb, he lacks the strength to contain the impending explosion, and thus Ketch rejoins with him to become Ghost Rider once more, and aids Spider-Man in neutralizing the threat.[9]

This Ketch/Kale hybrid version of Ghost Rider eventually becomes the King of Hell in a brokered arrangement with then-ruler Blackheart. In return for Ghost Rider coming to Hell and marrying two hand-picked demon brides, Pao Fu and the Black Rose, Blackheart will free the Ketch line from the curse. Kale accepts. On the night after the dual wedding, Black Rose betrays Kale and tries to kill him. When she fails, Blackheart revealed that the entire arrangement had been a plan to kill Kale and destroy his soul. Black Rose is revealed to be Roxanne Simpson, the supposedly dead wife of Johnny Blaze. In response, Kale kills Blackheart, becomes King of Hell, and learns he is in fact the angel of death.[10]

Ketch slipped into a coma in the mortal plane and was later revived by his dead mother, Naomi Kale-Blaze, and brother, Johnny Blaze, and goes on to live a seemingly normal life. However, his longtime girlfriend Stacy Dolan learns she is pregnant with Ketch's child and runs away.[11]

2000sEdit

In the 2008 miniseries Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, Ketch is tormented that his life has fallen apart due to his family curse, and thus has the Noble Kale Ghost Rider exorcised from his body by the technomancer Mary LeBow. Ketch falls into a deep alcoholic depression. He is repeatedly approached by Mister Eleven, a talking crow who gives him "doses" of the Ghost Rider power and reveals to him the history of the Spirits of Vengeance and how some past Ghost Riders were unable to cope with the Rider's power, which drove them insane and burned out their souls.[12] Mister Eleven also explains that Verminus Rex, from Blackheart's old Spirit of Vengeance, is hunting other Spirits of Vengeance. Ketch vanquishes Rex, and absorbs the spirits Rex had taken in the past, but this drives Ketch insane. Zadkiel intervenes and absorbs the other Spirits of Vengeance from Ketch's soul, upon which Ketch becomes a knight in Zadkiel's service.[13]

2010sEdit

In a 2014 story, Ketch is briefly consulted by Otto Octavius regarding his old foe Blackout, who had just kidnapped May Parker. After informing Spider-Man of Blackout's abilities and weaknesses, Ketch tells him how evil and cruel the half-demon is, referencing Barbara's death at his hands. He advises Spider-Man to kill Blackout if he gets the chance.

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atasha Irons is the daughter of John Henry's brother, Clay, and Clay's wife Blondel. She is introduced in the first issue of Steel's solo series, where she is initially portrayed as being 13. Like the rest of her family, she knew about Steel's secret identity all along. Contrasting sharply with her brother Jemahl, Natasha is shown to be very level headed and practical. By issue #14, she is shown to be working (presumably as an intern) for a U.S. Senator. She appears to have aged forward to be about 16 somehow. Nat is a supporting character throughout Louise Simonson's run on the series. She is kidnapped by Hazard and Steel has to rescue her. She also uses the drug Tar to help fight at her uncle's side briefly. She is later kidnapped by the villain Plasmus and apparently kills him by shattering once Steel froze the villain (although he later turns up alive). Natasha was devastated at the loss of her beloved great-grandmother, Bess Irons, but is the only one of her family who stays with Steel when he moves to Jersey City (see the Steel entry for more details of the Irons family).

With Christopher Priest at the helm of Steel starting with #34, Nat was radically altered. She was transformed into a more stereotypical modern teenager with a flippant attitude. All trace of her previous work for a U.S. Senator was never referenced. During this time she also meets and befriends a teen named Paul, whom she dubs "Boris". Her father also makes a return as the villain Crash. When an assassin named Skorpio poisons Nat, Crash has to turn himself in so that he can give a blood transfusion and save his daughter. He is never seen nor heard from again.

Nat later goes with Steel to Metropolis when he opens up Steelworks there. She becomes his assistant, even reprogramming Superman's Kryptonian robot Kelex to speak hip hop slang. For a time she is dating a local boy, Boris.[2]

The new SteelEdit

Natasha as Steel. Art by Pascual Ferry.

When the Entropy Aegis of Darkseid traps John, Natasha designs a suit of armor that uses the Aegis' power, teleports to Apokolips, and fights Doomsday with the help of Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, and the pre-Crisis Supergirl.[3]

John is too injured to continue operating as Steel. Having intended to pass his legacy as Steel on to Natasha, John made a new, more advanced suit of armor for her to use.

When Natasha hears that Superman has been injured by a ghostly ninja, she dons her armor and becomes the new Steel. She teams up with Cir-El and Girl 13 to stop the ninja. During the adventure, she uses her hammer to fire an electric pulse into Superman's heart to start it again.

As part of the Superman/Batman "Public Enemies" arc, false news of Batman and Superman's capture by the forces of President Lex Luthor is leaked to draw out their various associates into attacking the White House. Cir-El, Natasha, Krypto, Superboy and the Batman Family do exactly that. Natasha is neutralized early in the incident, staying back to try to rescue Cir-El and Superboy from a crushing deathtrap. Instead, Batman saves them.

Natasha is briefly seen in a cameo role during the events of "Infinite Crisis".

StarlightEdit

In 52, Natasha has a violent falling out with her uncle John, over John's disgust over what he feels is the self-absorbed narcissism of the DC Universe's superhero community. When Natasha discovers that the Teen Titans (whose roster was devastated by the events of Infinite Crisis) are holding an open call for new members, John forbids Natasha from going and instead insists she continue the clearing out debris from the battle of Metropolis. When Natasha refuses, John dismantles her armor, and she is left powerless. John also makes it clear that she will have to build her own armor if she wants to be a super-hero.[4]

Natasha as Starlight.

Soon, Natasha attempts to rebuild her armor, with little success. When she learns that John had his DNA rewritten by the exo-gene, Natasha wrongly assumes John chose to have his DNA altered and snaps.[5]

After a fierce argument with her uncle, Natasha applies for Luthor's "Everyman Project" and becomes one of the first official subjects.[6] When John, looking for Natasha, threatens to kill Luthor at a Lexcorp party, Natasha appears, along with a team of super-powered people in Luthor's employ, and beats him severely. From that point, she is estranged from her uncle, who makes numerous attempts to contact her, which she rebuffs. Gifted with new skills, Natasha is given the codename Starlight.[7] While in battle, she witnesses her friend Eliza Harmon (a.k.a. Trajectory) killed by a new Blockbuster. Natasha is finally contacted by John on New Year's Eve, who forces her to rethink everything that Luthor has told her. After the "Rain of the Supermen," in which Lex Luthor deactivates the powers of each Everyman hero outside of Infinity, Inc. (causing many to plummet from the sky; this forms the basis of the title pun on "The Reign of the Supermen" storyline), Natasha realizes that her uncle was right all along.[8] She then begins working as a double agent within Luthor's organization. However, she is found out and beaten by Luthor, who has acquired superpowers.[9]

Steel and the Teen Titans launch an attack on LexCorp and manage to rescue Natasha. However, Lex stripped her of her Starlight powers.[10] Later, she is seen escorting Luthor into custody, wearing a new set of armour made for her by her uncle.[11] The duo restore Steelworks, and Natasha is later seen, during the World War III assembling a nanotech payload missile to fire over Black Adam, although the missile is stolen by Booster Gold.[12] Natasha survives the battle, and resumes working at Steelworks.

VaporlockEdit

The new Infinity, Inc. series reveals that the Everyman Project has had a lingering effect on its subjects. Natasha now has the ability to dissolve into a cloud of gas, although she has difficulty controlling it.[13] Her uncle suggests she adopt the codename "Vaporlock."[14] In the final issue, of the series all the Infinity Inc members are prisoners in the Dark Side Club.[15] By the end of the Terror Titans miniseries they are released thanks to Miss Martian.[16]

"Jenny" Blake and Project 7734Edit

After being released from the Dark Side Club, the members of Infinity Inc. take new names and infiltrate a government project named Project 7734. The goal of the project is simple: the death of Superman. Towards that end, the government project has placed satellites in space that fire magic lasers, plucked the powerful Atlas from the time stream, release Metallo, and brainwashed people.

Natasha is not sure whom to trust as part of Project: Breach (the brainwashing of Captain Atom). She visits Earth to tell Jimmy Olsen, who has been looking into Project 7734, about Captain Atom and leaves just before Jimmy is found and shot by Codename: Assassin. In the Captain Atom back-up story in Action Comics, Captain Atom remembers who he is, revealing his real name and rank along with the "Codename: Captain Atom". Joining others of Project 7734 (such as Codename: Superwoman and Codename: Metallo), Natasha is part of the team that takes down Captain Atom to brainwash him before they are attacked by the natives of the magical world where Project 7734 is located. The natives want her to help them with Captain Atom.

Following this, Natasha is shown helping Steel rescue civilians during the Reign of Doomsday event. Doomsday attacks Natasha in order to draw Steel's attention, and though she escapes unscathed, Steel is ultimately beaten into submission and captured.[17]

DC RebirthEdit

In the "DC Rebirth," continuity, Natasha is back to using her armor and no longer has any of her Vaporlock abilities.[18] Here she was in a romantic relationship with Traci 13, but they broke up [19] (though it's not confirmed whether she's a lesbian or bisexual). Following the No Justice event, she becomes a member of the new incarnation of the Titans.[20]

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Jack Ryder is a former Gotham City resident and is the host of a political talk show. He is fired after criticizing his own sponsors on-air and refusing to change his behavior or apologize. Knowing Ryder is a decent detective, Chief of Network Security Bill Brane hires the former talk show host as one of his investigators. Brane reveals that CIA contacts have asked him to help find Dr. Yatz, a scientist recently captured by local gangster Angel Devlin who is working with communist powers. Ryder decides to infiltrate a masquerade party at Devlin's mansion and visits a local costume shop. The clerk explains he mainly sells costumes for children but offers Ryder "leftovers" from adult orders. Ryder cobbles together the costume involving yellow tights, green trunks, and red gloves and boots. He completes the disguise with yellow make-up, a green wig, and a red sheepskin rug he decides to use as a cape. At the costume party, Ryder fights some of Devlin's henchmen, suffering injuries in the process, and then discovers the kidnapped Dr. Yatz. The scientist injects Ryder with a chemical serum designed to accelerate healing while also granting great strength and stamina. He also hides a tiny device of his own creation in Ryder's wound, saying it is the safest way to keep the technology hidden from Devlin. The device, he explains, can "rearrange the molecular structure of matter," making clothing or items weightless and invisible until needed. By activating the device now hidden beneath his skin, Ryder is able to instantly cause his yellow and red costume to vanish or reappear instantly.

As Yatz then destroys the evidence of his work, Devlin's men arrive and shoot him dead. In costume, Ryder escapes Devlin's party but is blamed for the chaos. Police arrive and one of the cops refers to the yellow-costumed intruder as a "creeper." Deciding he likes the name, Ryder later attacks and defeats Devlin's gang. He then reverts to his civilian guise and informs Brane and the police of Devlin's involvement in Yatz's death. Ryder then decides to continue secretly operating as the Creeper whenever he needs to fight crime. In his private life, he continues acting as a WHAM-TV network security investigator for Brane. A month after first becoming the Creeper, Ryder is assigned to help WHAM-TV weather correspondent Vera Sweet, who has been threatened. The two initially dislike each other, but over time they develop a flirtatious relationship.

Although the Creeper fights crime, he is frequently considered a villain himself by news media and authorities. During his first adventure involving a costumed villain, a man called the Terror, Ryder realizes that Yatz's implanted device has two side-effects: when he is the Creeper, it prevents his costume and make-up from being removed from his body, and when he is Ryder his superhuman powers become dormant, leaving him vulnerable.

During his early adventures, the Creeper regularly fights a shape-shifting terrorist name Proteus. At one point, Proteus reveals that he is motivated by being overwhelmed by how corrupt he finds society. He had hoped to find a friend in the Creeper and had spared his life before, but then concluded the yellow vigilante is actually an enemy after learning he is secretly Jack Ryder. While attempting another attack on society, Proteus seemingly kills himself and the Creeper muses whether he has lost both an enemy and a friend. Following this, the Creeper continues operating in Gotham City and Jack Ryder becomes a television reporter for WHAM-TV. He winds up teaming up with other superheroes often, most frequently aiding Batman. During an encounter with the Joker, the Creeper is rendered temporarily amnesiac and is tricked into helping the Joker plant a bomb, only realizing the truth at the last moment. He then brings the Joker to justice, not as the Creeper but as Jack Ryder.

Post-Crisis RevisionEdit

Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, much of DC Comics history is revised. The Creeper is given a new origin and interpretation as well. In the new continuity, Ryder is not a talk show host or TV reporter initially. Instead, he is a newspaper journalist working for the Herald Examiner and known for exposing corrupt criminal operations. Investigating the home of criminals during a masquerade party, he is ambushed and knocked out. The criminals knew he intended to investigate them and have decided to humiliate him before taking revenge. They drug him with a hallucinogen, one said to cause psychosis if used in too strong a dose, dress him up in a yellow and red costume with a green wig, and present him to the masquerade party as a jester called "the dancing creep." Drugged and confused, Ryder attempts to escape but is severely beaten. He is then taken some distance away, shot, and left for dead.

Ryder awakens in the home of Dr. Emil Yatz, a German immigrant and scientist who discovered the journalist dead near his estate. Yatz explains he used his experimental "inorganic matter transference" technology to heal and revive Ryder. Yatz explains he was rejected by the scientific community and became a science fiction writer before finding a sponsor. He created a device that can map the atomic structure of inorganic objects and then "swap" them with others, rending one temporarily invisible and intangible. Yatz realized his criminal sponsors intended to kill him soon, and when he found Ryder he decided to hide his powerful device inside the man's body. Attaching the power source activated the device now in Ryder's forearm under his skin, healing the man. After destroying his scientific notes, Yatz explained that the device's "sub-atomic matrix" has been imprinted with Ryder's costume since he was wearing it when the scientist attached the power source. Now realizing Ryder also had a drug in his system, Yatz warns the drug may have been imprinted as well, meaning Ryder will once again be in a drug-induced state if he activates the device. The criminals arrive and murder Yatz before the scientist can say more. Touching his forearm, Ryder activates the Yatz device and becomes the costumed, chaotic Creeper, bringing the criminals to justice with physically enhanced abilities and healing. He later wakes up at his typewriter, having no real memory of his activities as the Creeper but knowing his alter ego will be an effective weapon against crime.

Death and RebirthEdit

The Creeper appeared in the Eclipso: The Darkness Within crossover that happened in various DC Comics annuals in 1992. Tricked into being mentally controlled by the dark diamonds of the demonicEclipso, the Creeper is later freed by Bruce Gordon, the villain's longtime adversary. In the self-titled Eclipso comic book series, the Creeper, Gordon, and Gordon's wife Mona make a foray into a South American territory Eclipso has conquered. Later, the Creper joins government operative Amanda Waller and several heroes to fight against Eclipso. Called the Shadow Fighters, the group included Major Victory, the original Steel, and Wildcat II. In Eclipso issue #13, some of the Shadow Fighters venture into Eclipso's territory and engage the villain in battle. Eclipso uses his power to possess several hyenas, using them to track down the Creeper and literally tear him apart limb from limb, apparently killing him. The remains, along with those of other fallen heroes, are stolen from Eclipso's control by surviving Shadow Fighters.

Years later, the new series The Creeper Volume 1 reveals that the Creeper's healing ability increased in order to compensate for the damage inflicted by Eclipso, allowing him to heal and resurrect. He also now exhibits a weaponized laugh that can cause pain and even stun opponents. The experience of death and resurrection is traumatic for Jack Ryder, who becomes a patient to the psychiatrist Dr. Solos. While undergoing therapy, Jack Ryder considers the possibility that he has inherited his mother's mental illness and may have only mistakenly believed the Creeper's personality is a result of drugs and a scientific device. He later realizes that he has conflicting memories of the Creeper's origin. In one version, he remembers buying costume leftovers before infiltrating a masquerade party. In another version, he remembers being drugged and shot before Dr. Yatz resurrected him. He realizes the different versions of this origin include elements that don't make much sense to him and concludes that none of these memories are accurate, that he has repressed the memory of his origin and his mind created other scenarios he found more acceptable. Ryder discovers Dr. Solos is actually his old enemy Proteus in disguise and learns the villain is somehow connected to his origin. Further information is not revealed, as The Creeper Vol.1 is canceled.

Post-Infinite Crisis RebootEdit

Following the crossover Infinite Crisis, several areas of DC Comics continuity are revised again. Jack Ryder is a former journalist who now works as the host of a controversial political and news commentary TV show You Are Wrong!, where he regularly challenges criminals and politicians and often praises costumed vigilantes. Later on, Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Outsiders reveals that in the new history, Ryder briefly dated Gotham photojournalist Vicki Vale when he was younger. His ex-girlfriend Vera Sweet is now a producer and on-air reporter for the same network. When he realizes others are becoming suspicious of his connection to the notorious Creeper, Ryder pretends to be disillusioned by that particular vigilante, promising $1million to the person who catches the Creeper and brings him to face the law.

The Creeper's new origin story is soon revealed in a flashback in the mini-series The Creeper Volume 2. Years earlier, Ryder is interested in the work of scientist Dr. Vincent Yatz, who is combining stem cell therapy and microscopic nanotechnology to create a revolutionary "nanocell" treatment called "smart-skin." This technology enhances a human body's regeneration, not only healing wounds but even preventing scarring and restoring burns. Local mobsters come to Yatz's lab to steal this new technology and Ryder accidentally interrupts when he arrives. Unable to escape but determined to keep the mobsters from taking his discovery, Yatz quickly injects the last sample of smart-skin, still somewhat unstable, into an unwilling Ryder. Believing that Yatz will create more nanocells if forced to, the criminals shoot Ryder in the head and throw him into the ocean. The smart-skin activates and revives Ryder, transforming him into a yellow-skinned superhuman with green hair and a mane of thick, red hair growing on his back and shoulders. The Creeper has Ryder's knowledge but acts as a separate personality. After the Creeper transforms back into Ryder, the TV host discovers he can still hear the Creeper's voice in his head, allowing them to communicate.

Batman encounters the Creeper while on patrol and then investigates the Dr. Yatz case, discovering in the process that this new yellow-skinned vigilante is really Jack Ryder. Ryder and the Creeper learn that Yatz secretly intended the smart-skin to be a weapon and that tests on human subjects repeatedly resulted in mutated monsters. To achieve better results, Yatz took on a silent partner who introduced his own chemical "nerve agent" to the smart-skin, which resulted in Ryder's unique transformation into the Creeper. The silent partner is revealed to the Joker, and the "nerve" agent used was a version of his Joker venom, known to normally alter skin and hair color in victims while inducing temporary madness and uncontrollable laughter before killing them. In exchange for helping Yatz improve his results, the Joker wants to use the man's technology to create an army of maniacal, super-strong, near-invincible soldiers. Seeing the successful results with Ryder, the Joker refers to the Creeper as "family." A similar batch of smart-skin is then used to turn dozens of others into maddened, yellow-skin soldiers with green and red hair.

Batman and the Creeper defeat the Joker and his operation with Yatz. Batman creates a chemical agent that can cure Ryder of the Creeper and offers it to the TV host. Ryder decides to throw away the cure and instead forms a truce with his alter ego, agreeing to let the Creeper out from time to time to fight criminals. This ends the flashback mini-series, and the Creeper shows up sporadically in other DC Comics stories, encountering Eclipso again and helping to fight the Sinestro Corps. During the crossover Final Crisis, Batman is believed killed. It is then revealed that Batman prepared for this eventuality by leaving instructions to recruit a team of heroes he trusts, tasking them to act as a new version of the Outsiders. The Creeper is recruited into this new team, though this version of the team lasts only a year. Later, Batman is revealed to be alive.

Reign in HellEdit

During the Reign in Hell miniseries, the Creeper was presented as a demon that co-inhabited the body of Jack Ryder rather than an identity he assumed due to scientific experimentation. The story shows the Creeper demon separating from Jack Ryder, having been recalled to Hell by Lilith, the mother of all Earthborn atrocities. It is later revealed that the Creeper demon is just one of a similar-looking species of demon. The Reign in Hell miniseries had many internal continuity errors that made its place in DC Comics canon questionable and the idea that the Creeper was a demonic entity was not repeated afterward.

The New 52Edit

In 2011, DC Comics created a new version of its universe called the New 52. In this timeline, the Creeper is first seen in a brief cameo when he is considered as a candidate for a new United Nations-sanctioned Justice League International team.[11] In Phantom Stranger #7 (2013), Jack Ryder is introduced as a talk show host at Morgan Edge's network who recently quit his job. After encountering the Phantom Stranger, Ryder is killed by a monster attacking Metropolis.[12] The Presence, in the form of a dog, notes that Ryder's story is not over, that he was not led to his death but rather to his destiny.

In Katana #3 and #4 (June 2013), it is revealed that the New 52 version of the Creeper is a malicious and fearsome-looking oni who regularly "rides" human hosts in order to cause chaos and violence. Unlike previous incarnations, this Creeper is a villain (though why he would be considered for membership in Justice League International earlier is never explained). This oni is revealed to be locked inside Soultaker, the mystical sword of the hero Katana, along with many other souls of enemies the blade has defeated over the centuries. When the villain Killer Croc breaks the sword, all the souls are released, including the Creeper who reveals that he sometimes whispered to Katana through the sword, pretending to be her dead husband. Seeking out a new body to "ride," the Creeper discovers the recently deceased Jack Ryder and decides to possess it.[13]

The relationship between this oni Creeper and Jack Ryder is further explored in Justice League Dark #23.1 (subtitled Creeper #1), part of the Forever Evil crossover.[9] The story reveals the Creeper's past in feudal Japan and describes him as a wild being who "justifies cruel temper tantrums under the guise of spreading chaos." Although his appearance in the series Katana indicated the Creeper was defeated by Katana herself and that he has possessed Jack Ryder's body before, the origin revealed in Justice League Dark contradicts this by revealing the oni demon has been trapped inside of Soultaker since the days of feudal Japan, passing the time by tormenting the other imprisoned souls, and that he never and could never have met Jack Ryder before meeting him after being freed. Possessing Ryder's body results in Jack Ryder being resurrected, unaware that he now shares his body with an oni demon who occasionally takes over his form and uses him to cause chaos and death. Ryder is confused by his occasional blackouts but continues working as a TV reporter for the show Life After Death.

DC RebirthEdit

The 2017 initiative DC Rebirth altered DC Comics continuity yet again, removing much of the New 52 changes and restoring several stories and ideas from comics published before 2011. Post DC Rebirth, the Creeper is reintroduced with his more classic appearance, once again the product of experimental science rather than a demon inhabiting a human host. While investigating a series of murdered criminals down in Chicago, Jack Ryder becomes the Creeper to battle a Deathstroke copycat, then is recruited by Bizarro to join the Red Hood's team of Outlaws. In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Creeper is shown to have been captured by Kobra's cult until he is retrieved by Black Adam.[14] He and Black Adam later attack Israel

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Lisa Snart is a figure skater, known by the alias Lisa Star, who has help in her career from her secret coach and lover, The Top, a foe of Flash Barry Allen who dies from complications stemming from a duel with the scarlet speedster. Furious over his death, Snart vows revenge, adopting an orange ice-skater's costume, a mask, and ice skates which create their own ice flow, which allow her to effectively skate on air. She also has diamonds and jewels that can be used as explosives or hypnotic devices. The Golden Glider seeks revenge against the Silver Age Flash for several years and frequently collaborates in her heists with her brother, who is very protective of her.[3]

After the death of Barry Allen, Snart retires from crime (she blames Allen himself for the Top's death, not his successor Wally West). She and her brother embark on a career as mercenaries, forming the Golden Snowball Recovery Company. Eventually she returns to crime, with a series of partners, all code-named "Chillblaine", whom she supplies with a replica of her brother's cold gun. The last of these was described as more intelligent and ruthless than his predecessors, and he kills Snart[4] with the weapon she gave him, then holds Keystone for ransom with the aid of Doctor Polaris. Flash just barely manages to defeat them. Chillblaine is then killed by Captain Cold in retaliation.[3] Her death has been a constant source of grief for her older brother.[3]

In Blackest Night #1, The Black Lantern Corps reanimates her and she, along with her fellow Black Lantern Rogues, attack Iron Heights Penitentiary,[5] but Cold is able to maintain control of his emotions long enough to destroy the Black Lantern Glider.[6]

The New 52 and RebirthEdit

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Lisa Snart's murder has been written out of continuity and she is alive. In this continuity, she is dying of a brain tumor,[7] she survives after the tumor is removed, but expresses shame over her brother's actions.[8] Later, she mysteriously appears in South America, going by the name "Glider" and apparently wielding metahuman abilities. She is shown recruiting Weather Wizard for some unknown purpose after his battle with the Flash.[9] She recruits Heat Wave, The Trickster and Mirror Master to join her faction to exact revenge on Flash,[10] but is stopped with the help of Pied Piper, and her brother.[11]

Lisa and the Rogues later make their peace with Snart as they help him stop Gorilla Grodd, which leads The U.S government to pardon them. Lisa is revealed to be in a relationship with Mirror Master, who she managed to bring back to their dimension at great risk to herself. Afterwards she ends up in a deep coma until Pied Piper revives her, to come to the Rogues aid when The Secret Society of Super Villains and The Royal Flush Gang attack.

Lisa and the Rogues make their first cameo appearance, in the DC Rebirth storyline, in The Flash #3 watching a news report about the many newly created speedsters appearing throughout the city. They later make their first full-length appearance in The Flash #15, attempting to steal a valuable golden statue of the god Mercury from the small island nation of Corto Maltese. The Flash arrives to stop them, but they turn out to be constructs of Mirror Master created to fool The Flash so they can commit a crime spree in Central City before the Flash stops them.

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