Black Orchid (character)
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Black Orchid is the name of four
The character has undergone numerous changes in her biography and powers over the years. Initially, her identity was a mystery, and her primary power was mastery of disguise, often impersonating background female characters. Various speculations about her origins were presented, but ultimately refuted.
In 1988, writer
The character was relaunched again in 1993 as Flora Black, with the ability to manipulate pheromones and control minds, making her a femme fatale. This series saw Flora's demise and a younger version, Suzy, taking up the mantle of Black Orchid.
In the 2011 reboot of DC's continuity, The New 52, a new version of the character named Alba Garcia was introduced. Alba is a former army private whose arms were amputated, and she transforms into a purple Swamp Thing-like creature. Her powers seem to involve the ability to shape-shift and manipulate elemental forces.
Throughout all the different versions, the powers of the Black Orchid character have varied but generally include super strength, flight, durability, and the power of disguise or shape-shifting.
Development
DeZuñiga found the most obvious inspiration for the Orchid's garb from her flower namesake, Cymbidium canaliculatum, a plant resplendent with dark black-purple petals and sepals. It was a Golden Age Quality Comics hero that would further serve as a muse for the artist. DeZuñiga described brainstorming the design concept, "I read the character description and [recalled that] in the ’40s there was this character called the Black Condor, but [since] that was a male superhero, I took some ideas and revised [it] to a female form."[2]
Fictional character biographies
Susan Linden-Thorne
Although she has a number of superpowers (including flight, super-strength, and invulnerability to bullets) her main ability is a mastery of disguise.[3] She often spends an entire investigation impersonating a seemingly insignificant female background character (e.g. a maid, a secretary, someone's girlfriend) and the other characters only discover her involvement at the end of the story upon finding the bound and gagged woman she impersonated, and an abandoned disguise with her calling card, a black orchid.
After appearing in Adventure Comics #'s 428–430, a backup feature starring the character ran in The Phantom Stranger #31–32, 35–36, and 38–41 (1974–1976). Black Orchid subsequently appeared sporadically, including occasional cameos in the Crisis on Infinite Earths 12-issue limited series, Blue Devil Annual #1, Deadshot #1, and Invasion! #2. She had a slightly larger role in Suicide Squad as a member of the team in issues #4, 7, 11–12, and 22 (1987–1988). She also had an appearance in the non-continuity children's comic book Super Friends #31.
While Adventure Comics #428 proclaimed on its cover that it was an "origin issue", almost no background on the character was given, not even her name.
In Blue Devil Annual #1, the usually reliable Madame Xanadu and Phantom Stranger provide competing origins for Black Orchid. Xanadu identifies her as Madeleine Moorcock, and her origin is a parody of Daredevil, while the Stranger identifies her as Paula Porter, whose origin parodies Spider-Man.[citation needed]
Her appearances as an auxiliary member of the Suicide Squad are generally limited to brief rescues or bits of spying. Perhaps the most revealing issue is #19, in which she does not actually appear, but a black orchid is found as evidence that she has been tapping into Task Force X's mainframe computer, which arouses suspicion, as she is there as support rather than as a rehabilitated criminal. Her disappearance was eventually noted by the Squad.
In 1988, the character was relaunched in the three-issue
Susan Linden had been killed by an abusive husband named Carl Thorne, whom she met while a croupier in
Flora Black
The surviving Black Orchids, both having the consciousness and limited memories of Linden, become as mother and daughter, one being significantly smaller and younger than the other, and although the younger is initially more aware of Linden's memories, these swiftly degenerate. The elder goes under the alias of Flora Black to meet with Sherilyn Sommers, her closest friend.[12]
An ongoing Black Orchid series, published under the newly created Vertigo imprint, featuring the new Black Orchid, ran for 22 issues from 1993 to 1995. Written by Dick Foreman, it saw the second version of the character use pheromone manipulation as mind control to become a femme fatale, breaking and marrying millionaire Elliot Weems to claim his fortune and company business as her own. She then became the series' major villain in the closing story arc, before perishing in the final issue. Her companion, a child version of Black Orchid heretofore nicknamed "Suzy", had matured over the course of the series, taking up the mantle of the Black Orchid as a young adult. Suzy features prominently in The Black Orchid Annual #1, part 2 of Vertigo's Children's Crusade crossover. The Annual was published between issues #4 and #5 of the ongoing series.[13]
Suzy
The grown-up Suzy is identical to her "sister" and carries on the tradition in both the
An unidentified Black Orchid recently appeared in the weekly Trinity series, as a member of an alternate universe Justice League.
Alba Garcia
A new Black Orchid resembling the original (with a slightly modernized costume) appears in The New 52, the 2011 reboot of DC's continuity.[14] In this new timeline, she is assigned to the Justice League Dark by Steve Trevor and is an agent of ARGUS. Her name has been revealed to be Alba Garcia, formerly an army private whose arms had been amputated.[15] She transforms into a monstrous purple Swamp Thing-like creature during her time in a magical alternate dimension where each member of the Justice League Dark suffers differently due to the effects of the new environment. The transformation possibly suggests that she is linked to an elemental force analogous to "the Green", considering Swamp Thing's physical form manifests due to his connection to the Green.
Powers and abilities
The first Black Orchid had super strength, durability, flight, and was a master of disguise. The second and third Black Orchids had super strength, flight, and could absorb nutrients from the air. The second version could also generate seductive pheromones and was seen to change her eye pigmentation, commenting that skin, hair, and eye color were easy for adjust (presumably linking back to her predecessors' disguise ability).
The New 52 version of the character seemingly possesses all of these abilities, as well as the power to change shape at will, providing a modern explanation for the elaborate disguises of the original. Her manipulation of the Red and the Green allow her to change form, and stretch her body to extreme lengths.
Other versions
JLA: The Nail
In the
Flashpoint
The original Black Orchid briefly appears in the 2011 limited series Flashpoint: Secret Seven.[17] She is a member of the original Secret Seven who had been killed years earlier. Black Orchid apparently returns from the dead to contact her former teammate Shade, the Changing Man, but is ultimately revealed to be a monster who had merely assumed Orchid's form.[18]
In other media
Television
- An unidentified Black Orchid makes a non-speaking appearance in the teaser for the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Mask of Matches Malone!". This version possesses botanokinesis.
- Black Orchid was going to appear in an episode of Constantine before the series was cancelled.[19]
Film
- Black Orchid appears in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) film Justice League Dark, voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey.[20][21] This version is a manifestation of the House of Mystery's magic with a desire to experience human nature.
- Black Orchid makes a minor appearance in the DCAMU film Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.[22]
Miscellaneous
- An unidentified Black Orchid makes a cameo appearance in DC Super Hero Girls as a student of Super Hero High.
- The Susan Linden-Thorne incarnation of Black Orchid, via an altered version of the cover of her debut appearance in Adventure Comics #428, appears as an Easter egg in Fallout: New Vegas.[citation needed]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
- ^ Eury, Micheal (2011). "Back Issue!" (52): 40.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Markstein, Don. "The Black Orchid". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Very little was known about the Black Orchid, even after writer Sheldon Mayer and artist Tony DeZuniga presented her so-called "origin issue" in Adventure Comics.
- ^ The Phantom Stranger (vol. 2) #40–41
- ^ Super Friends #31
- ^ "Interview With Neil Gaiman, 1989"
- ^ Suicide Squad #19
- ^ Black Orchid #1
- ^ Black Orchid #2
- ^ Black Orchid #3
- OCLC 213309015
- ^ The Continuity Pages: Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and Black Orchid Accessed January 11, 2008
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Justice League Dark #14
- ^ JLA: The Nail #3
- ^ "Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1 (Preview)". ComicBookResources.com. May 27, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ^ Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1
- ^ Schaefer, Sandy (October 16, 2014). "David S. Goyer Talks 'Constantine', Justice League Dark & DC TV Show Crossovers". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ^ Perry, Spencer (July 26, 2016). "Justice League Dark Featurette Reveals Matt Ryan Returns as Constantine!". Superhero Hype.
- ^ O'Shaughnessy, Colleen [@VOColleen] (November 30, 2016). "Sweet trailer for #JusticeLeagueDark movie! That's me at the end, talking to #batman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbA8TKIeJ7g&sns=tw … via @youtube" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Ayala, Nicolas (May 27, 2020). "Justice League Dark: All 32 Brutal Deaths In Apokolips War". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2023.