Enchantress (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
The Enchantress is a DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 character who has been both a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

ine and supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

ess. She first appeared in National Comics (now DC Comics) flagship science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...

#187 (April 1966), and was created by writer Bob Haney
Bob Haney
Robert G. "Bob" Haney was a US comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons.- Early life and career :...

 and artist Howard Purcell
Howard Purcell
Howard Purcell was an American comic-book artist and writer active from the 1940s Golden Age of comics through the 1960s Silver Age....

.

More recently she is usually called simply Enchantress.

Publication history

The Enchantress ('The Switcheroo-Witcheroo' as she was bannered on the cover) first appeared in the 9-page lead story in Strange Adventures #187 (April 1966), followed by two further 8-page appearances in the same title: Strange Adventures #191 (August 1966) and #200 (May 1967), all written by Bob Haney and drawn by co-creator Howard Purcell. The first two stories were reprinted in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...

#417 (March 1972) and #419 (May 1972), her only appearances in the 1970s. Following this, the Enchantress appeared in two linked Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...

 tales in Superman Family
Superman Family
Superman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1974 to 1982 featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Superman comics...

 #204 - 205 (November/December 1980 - January/February 1981), and in a two-part story featuring The Forgotten Villains in the Superman team-up title DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...

#77 - 78 (January - February 1985). She was one of the super-characters in Legends
Legends (comics)
"Legends" was a comic book crossover story line that ran through a six-issue, self titled limited series and various other titles published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987...

#3 (January 1987) and Legends #6 (April 1987), followed by the origin of the Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...

 in Secret Origins
Secret Origins
Secret Origins is the title of three American comic book series published by DC Comics.The title began in 1961 and for one issue, all reprints. The title Secret Origins of Super Heroes went onto a second series, also reprints, which ran for seven issues from 1973-1974...

vol 2 #14 (May 1987) and the immediately following Suicide Squad series issues #1 - 8 (May 1987 - December 1987) and #12 - 16 (April 1988 - August 1988), written by John Ostrander
John Ostrander
John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...

 and Len Wein
Len Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...

; and The Spectre vol 2 #11 (February 1988).

After being ignored for eleven years, she eventually returned in Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...

vol 3 #118 (November 1999) and Day of Judgment
Day of Judgment (comics)
Day of Judgment was a DC Comics limited series and crossover storyline during the autumn of 1999. The limited series was written by Geoff Johns, with art by Matthew Dow Smith....

#1 - 5 (all November 1999), written by Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...

 with art by Matt Smith and Steve Mitchell. She next guested in another DC Comics miniseries JLA: Black Baptism #1 - 4 (May - August 2001) by Sean Smith (writer) and Ruben Diaz (art) after which Enchantress disappeared again until the Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...

miniseries #1 - 5 (June 2005 - November 2005) by Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...

, who also used her character through the first 16 issues (July 2006 - October 2007) of the Shadowpact
Shadowpact
The Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...

 series that followed directly on from Day of Vengeance. Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels.-Biography:Sturges is best known for the Eisner-award nominated Jack of Fables from DC/Vertigo...

 took up the reins from issue #17 - 25 (November 2007 - July 2008). During that time she also made appearances in the major DC Comics cross-over series Countdown, #28 (October 17, 2007) and #28 (October 24, 2007), the associated Countdown to Mystery #1 (November 2007), and one issue of Trials of Shazam!
Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel Jr. is a fictional character, a superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently in the . A member of the Marvel Family team of superheroes, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 in December 1941.Captain Marvel Jr.'s...

, #11 (March 2008).

Since the cancellation of Shadowpact, Enchantress has continued to make minor appearances in the DC Universe, including DC Universe Holiday Special (2008), and the miniseries Reign in Hell
Reign in Hell
Reign in Hell is a 2008-2009 comic book limited series written by Keith Giffen, pencilled by Thomas Derenick and published by DC Comics. The title is a reference to a line spoken by Lucifer in John Milton's Paradise Lost: "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."-Plot:During the events of...

#2 - 8 (September 2008 - April 2009). She has most recently appeared in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...

#885 (March 2010), part of a new cycle of stories by James Robinson which leads up to DC Comics Summer 2010 event 'War of the Supermen'.

Fictional character biography

Freelance artist June Moone is invited to a costume party at an old castle, and stumbles upon a secret chamber where an unknown magical being (later named as Dzamor) empowers her to fight an evil presence in the castle. Saying the words 'The Enchantress' her appearance changes from blond-haired June to black-haired and costumed Enchantress and defeats a minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...

 creature from a tapestry. Soon after she defeats a monster at Cape Kennedy
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...

 and a mirage of a demonic creature manipulated by a crook.

However, in her next appearance, the Enchantress is a misguided character fighting Supergirl, who prevents her gaining omnipotent magical power and cancelling all other superpowers on Earth, twice. Her villainous side takes over after this, and the Enchantress then continues her career as a member of The Forgotten Villains; and part of the army of supervillains during the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...

' event.

Suicide Squad

She is next recruited into the newly formed 'Task Force X', soon to be known as the 'Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...

', on the offer that they could keep her villainous side in check. In her first mission she uses massive magical energy to defeat Brimstone, which sends her over the edge and she becomes temporarily truly villainous. During her tenure with the Suicide Squad, June Moone's control over her Enchantress side becomes weaker, and she wrecks at least one mission because of this; teammate Deadshot
Deadshot
Deadshot is a fictional character, a supervillain/assassin in the DC Universe and an enemy of Batman. He first appears in Batman #59 and was created by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz....

 is tasked with taking her out should she get beyond control. Eventually Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...

 diagnoses that June's loss of control is because she began using her powers before she could control them, and the only way to counteract this is not to use them until her aura, which protects her from the evil influences in magic, regains its power. Madame Xanadu gives June a necklace that she cannot remove, which together with a ring to be held by someone else creates a feedback loop preventing the Enchantress from using magic for evil as a temporary measure. June then discovers that her Enchantress persona is in fact a separate evil entity from another dimension fused with her, not simply a manifestation of magic. This entity is ripped from her by a demon called the Incubus, and shortly afterward June disappears from the Suicide Squad for unknown reasons. Nothing else is heard of June Moone or the Enchantress for eleven years.

Day of Judgment

Eleven years later, after a storm caused by war in Hell
Hell (DC Comics)
Hell is a fictional location, an infernal underworld utilized in titles published by DC Comics. It is the locational antithesis of the Silver City. The DC Comics location known as Hell is based heavily on its depiction in Judeo-Christian mythology...

, June breaks free from the Ostrander Mental Institute in New Jersey, where she has been for an indeterminate time. Refusing to join with the superheroes fighting a demon invasion on Earth and in Hell, the newly freed Enchantress is possessed by Deadman
Deadman
Deadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...

 to manipulate her into helping the fight in Hell. Once there, June's Enchantress persona is murdered by Faust
Sebastian Faust
Sebastian Faust, or simply Faust, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from DC Comics, loosely based on the protagonist of the German legend who sold his soul to the Devil. He was introduced in the 1993 Outsiders comic book series....

 as a purely evil act, the only way to reignite the fires of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

.

JLA: Black Baptism

June Moone is left in a semi-catatonic state after the removal of her Enchantress persona, and is committed to 'Elysium Fields Sanitarium' outside Detroit. Faust removes her from the sanitarium, and reunites her with her Enchantress persona - who had not been killed by him and has been masquerading as 'Anita Souleata', a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...

 working with a group of Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

-styled demons to create a gateway to Hell and resurrect Hermes Trismegestus (a mad sorceror who wanted to destroy life on Earth). When June and the Enchantress are re-combined, a new entity called Soulsinger is temporarily created, which fades away shortly after, leaving Enchantress behind - once again a separate entity, but cut off from her powers. June Moone is taken to be looked after by Doctor Occult
Doctor Occult
Doctor Occult is a fictional character, a magic user in the . Created by Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Doctor Occult is the earliest character created by DC Comics still currently in use in its shared universe fiction....

.

Day of Vengeance

Ragman
Ragman
Ragman is a fictional mystic vigilante and superhero who first appeared in the short-lived comic-book series named after him. He is one of a limited number of Jewish superheroes, and his continuity is tied to that of DC Comics' Golem, derived from the Golem of Prague of Jewish folklore.Ragman is...

 digs Enchantress out from under a destroyed forest after the Spectre, bent on killing all magical beings and places on Earth, kills nearly 700 sorcerors, only breaking off when attacked. Enchantress divines the seducuction of the Spectre by Eclipso/Jean Loring, mentally from the safety of the pocket-dimensional 'Oblivion Bar
Oblivion Bar
The Oblivion Bar is a fictional location that appears in titles published by DC Comics. It first appeared in the DC Comics series Day of Vengeance #1 , and was created by Bill Willingham and Justiniano....

', where many magical entities have gone to escape him. She then leaves to challenge the Spectre on Earth, having first created a gun that can kill her should she turn evil again, and offering it to Ragman. However, when she overloads again while channeling power from nearly everyone on Earth with magic capabilities to Captain Marvel so that he can defeat the Spectre, she is put out of action by a punch from Blue Devil
Blue Devil
Blue Devil is a superhero featured in material published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert published in Fury of Firestorm #24 . That story led directly into Blue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984...

 instead. Recovering quickly enough to devise a plan to lure the Spectre into a trap, Enchantress helps with the reconstruction of the Rock of Eternity in Gotham
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...

, after facing Doctor Occult, who has been possessed by the spirit of Envy.

During the 'Day of Vengeance', Enchantress, Ragman, Blue Devil, and a number of other magical entities form the super-team 'Shadowpact'.

Shadowpact

Shadowpact are summoned by the Phantom Stranger
Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...

 when the town of Riverrock, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 is entrapped in a giant bubble of blood and endangered by 'The Pentacle', a team of supervillains, whose goal is to sacrifice the townspeople in order to summon the Sun King, an ancient rogue god from another dimension. Thirty-seven people perish before Shadowpact manage to defeat them; Enchantress is able to tap into the magical powers of Strega, one of The Pentacle and destroy the bubble from within. She also kills one of The Pentacle, White Bunny, on the spur of the moment after he leaves them and frees Shadowpact. Due to unexpected side effects of the magic spells needed to defeat the villains, the outside world believe that Shadowpact has been dead for a year, and they are honored with a team statue set inside a park in Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....

.

Enchantress then helps Ragman defeat an assassin sent to kill him, in the course of which they are attacked by the Wild Hunt
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground,...

 of legend and temporarily transformed into mystical hellhounds. Shortly after, her spells are all that save Jim Rook, Nightmaster
Nightmaster
The Nightmaster is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #82 , and was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti.-Publication history:...

, after he is stabbed by his own sword fighting Etrigan the Demon; staying at his side for days without sleep and keeping him alive by trading a day of her life for a day of his until he heals himself by the power of his sword. After Shadowpact are seconded to Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...

 to infiltrate Kobra's
Kobra (comics)
Kobra is the name used by two fictional supervillains published by DC Comics. The Jeffrey Burr Kobra first appeared in Kobra #1 , and was created by Martin Pasko, Steve Sherman, Jack Kirby, and Pablo Marcos...

 organization, she then helps foil Doctor Gotham's plan to destroy Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 by entering his inter-dimensional cloak and destroying most of the thousands of magical artifacts contained within. She takes an apprentice, Laura Fell, the Warlock's Daughter before they both unwittingly almost allow a race of mindless creatures 'The Unbound' to reach Earth while creating a portal to the Land of Nightshades, where Nightmaster, Nightshade
Nightshade (comics)
Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...

, and Ragman are trapped. She frees her colleagues and the inhabitants of the Nightshades Dimension by creating a magical virus to combat the mage-created virus that created The Unbound - mixing a possessed creatures' soul with the essence of Nightmaster's virtues. When Nightmaster decides to stay in the Nightshade Dimension, Enchantress kisses him. On returning to Earth, she participates in the final battle against the Sun King.

Shadowpact, including Enchantress have most recently been seen helping Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...

 return to Mirabai's dimension - where General Sam Lane (Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....

's father) has moved the main base of his secret anti-Kryptonian
Kryptonian
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman...

 'Project 7734'.

The New 52

In 2011 DC Comics canceled all their titles and relaunched 52 new comics. One of these was Justice League Dark which features a number of supernatural themed heroes including Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....

, Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...

, John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...

, and Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...

 coming together to fight an insane Enchantress who has become separated from June Moon.

Powers and abilities

Enchantress is a powerful sorceress. She appears to possess the ability to manipulate magical energy for any number of effects, from healing to teleportation, and can directly affect any non-living objects with her magic. She can also walk through walls.

A unique aspect of her power is her sensitivity to magic. She was able to link to the essence of Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...

 in the Day of Vengeance storyline, using the connection to speak Eclipso's thoughts to the rest of the group, and has also mystically tracked the Spectre by divining his magical trail. She has also been seen to remotely access another magic-user's power, as she did when she channeled the power of almost all magical beings on Earth through her to Captain Marvel to aid him in his battle with the Spectre, and again with Strega of The Pentacle.

Enchantress always has a roll of duct tape on her person. After using it to tie up and gag a prisoner, she is asked by Nightmaster why she carries it, to which she confusedly replies, 'What -- don't you?'

After the Strange Adventures run, the evil Enchantress side manifested whenever June Moone changed. Later, her evil side manifested only when was under great magical stress which overloaded her, and she returned to normal once the overload subsided. This is no longer the case since the 'Soulsinger' identity separated the evil Enchantress entity without her powers before dissipating, leaving June Moone with the Enchantress power but not the evil personality.

She has possession of Nightwitch's 'Herne-Ramsgate Cauldron', which allows her to find almost every magical creature in the DC Universe.

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint
Flashpoint (comics)
Flashpoint is an American comic book crossover story arc published by DC Comics. Consisting of an eponymous core limited series and a number of tie-in titles, the storyline premiered in May 2011...

event, Enchantress is a member of the Secret Seven
Secret Six (comics)
The Secret Six is the name of three different fictional comic book teams in the , plus an alternate universe's fourth team. Each team has had six members, led by a mysterious figure named Mockingbird, whom the characters assume to be one of the other five members.-Original Secret Six:The Secret Six...

. It is revealed she is a traitor when she turns Captain Thunder back, soon after which Billy Batson is killed. Enchantress is killed by Kal-El
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

landing on her with his feet.
  • Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1
  • Flashpoint: Secret Seven #2
  • Flashpoint: Secret Seven #3

External links

  • Enchantress entry at Tom Morrow's 'DC Universe' - http://www.angelfire.com/ar/hellUSA/Enchantress.html Profile
  • Enchantress entry at 'Don Marksteins's Toonopedia' - http://www.toonopedia.com/enchantr.htm
  • Enchantress entry at Comicvine - http://www.comicvine.com/enchantress/29-31464/
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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