Morgaine le Fey (DC Comics)
Morgaine le Fey | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | The Demon #1 (September 1972) |
Created by | Jack Kirby |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Morgaine le Fey |
Species | Homo magi |
Team affiliations | Council of Immortals |
Abilities |
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Morgaine le Fey is a
Fictional character biography
Morgaine le Fey is the ancient
After several centuries of manipulating humans and taking many lovers (including Julius Caesar), Morgaine sets her sights on Uther Pendragon, High King of Britain. Her advances are rejected, as Uther only has eyes for Igraine, the wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. Seeking to meddle in their lives, Morgaine assumes a magical glamour and disguises herself as one of Igraine's daughters, but this causes her to be exiled from the Elder Folk. Her sister Vivienne gives her shelter on the isle of Avalon.[2] Following the Flashpoint event which alters the timeline of the DC Universe, this history appears to have been revised. In the Demon Knights series, Morgaine and Nimue are biological daughters of Igraine, who is herself identified as a Fae (perhaps of the Elder Folk).
In the early 6th century, Morgaine trains her sisters
In the waning days of Camelot,
In
Also in Pre-
Morgaine later attempts to steal Wonder Woman's eternal youth, not realizing that Wonder Woman has already given it up. Her spell backfires and she disintegrates into dust. She retains enough magic for a resurrection, however, and returns to battle the Demon and Wonder Woman on many occasions.
Morgaine returns in the series
While her bid for godhood is disrupted, she nonetheless acquires magical might to enslave the Earth by infusing an already powerful supervillain team with the might of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, giving them a measure of control over reality. As she is part of this Dark Arcana team, as the High Priestess, she has also this measure of control, allowing her to bring Europe and most of Asia Minor under her control, and ultimately lead the forces of good back to America for a final showdown of the powers of the Arcana.
This bid also fails, as the divinely-empowered Trinity of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman return from their exile and destroy the Dark Arcana's reality-based powers, vanquishing Morgaine's control over Europe. Morgaine, during the part of the series where she enjoys the massive power boost, is portrayed as a power-drunk menace, scorching the Earth as she walks; her powers are used so recklessly and dangerously that even her Dreambound soldiers defect and join forces with the heroes in a plan to bring her down. Ultimately, she seeks the aid of Krona, first, to enslave, and later, to destroy the Earth, as she preferred to have it blasted to nothingness than allow it to remain outside of her control. When this alliance failed, Morgaine offered Krona the soul of Enigma's daughter, causing him to turn on her. Morgaine is defeated, and she is imprisoned in a stone idol, which is placed in the custody of Jason Blood.
During the Brightest Day crossover, Mr. Terrific mentions that Morgaine is among the dozens of magical beings driven insane by the Starheart. According to him, Morgaine was spotted in New Mexico, where she was going on a rampage.
Morgaine appears as a member of Hawkman & Hawkgirl's group The Immortals, advising Kendra Saunders/Lady Blackhawk to use the brain of Anti-Monitor to destroy the Dark Multiverse.[4]
Powers and abilities
- Morgan le Fey is a sorceress skilled in the use of black magic. She has cast spells that are able to control even the strongest of supernatural beings. She was able to transport Wonder Woman to another dimension (the Nether Plane) and fight her for her Amazonian fighting skills. By using a device, she was able to magically view individuals from miles away.
- She is immortal, although she claims to have lost this ability. As shown in the Wonder Woman comic, she must "steal" immortality from other immortals to maintain her youth. After Merlin robs her of her youth and beauty, she wears a golden armor to shield her withered and ancient body. Morgaine also possesses a machine capable of binding beings and stealing their immortal lifeforces.
- Other powers include magic immunity, immunity to telepathy, immunity to power theft through the use of her armor, cancellation of magic and annulment of divine powers.
Other versions
Camelot 3000
An alternate version, with her name spelled Morgan Le Fay, appears in the maxiseries Camelot 3000, where characters from Arthurian myth have no contact with DC superheroes in present day. She organizes an alien invasion to Earth after magically transporting herself to another planet, which also leaves her in the year 3000.
Just Imagine...
In Stan Lee's Just Imagine..., Morgana serves as a secondary antagonist alongside Reverend Darrk in building his Church of Eternal Empowerment. She is also the mother of Adam Strange.[5]
In other media
Television
- Morgaine le Fay appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe, voiced by Olivia d'Abo:
- Introduced in the Justice League episode "A Knight of Shadows", this version was Jason Blood's lover, to whom he betrayed Camelot to during its invasion, only for her to betray and poison him in turn. In the present, she manipulates Martian Manhunter into stealing the Philosopher's Stone in exchange for her resurrecting the Martian race, and uses it to convert London into a massive castle, with her son Mordred as the ruler. After reading Etrigan's mind and seeing firsthand Morgaine's betrayal of him, J'onn comes to his senses and destroys the stone, realizing she will not keep her word.
- Morgaine le Fey appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Kids Stuff", where she aids the Justice League in fighting Mordred after he steals the Amulet of First Magic and banishes all adults on Earth to another dimension.
- Morgaine le Fey appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Tatyana Yassukovich.
Video games
- Morgaine le Fey appears in the DS version of Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame.[6]
See also
- Morgan le Fay in popular culture
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Madame Xanadu #20
- ^ Trinity #21
- ^ Dark Nights: Metal #2
- ^ Just Imagine: Shazam! #1
- ^ "Batman: The Brave And The Bold Video Game, DS Gameplay Featurette | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos". GameTrailers.com. 2010-08-10. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2011-01-27.