Black Orchid
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| Black Orchid | |
 Black Orchid illustrated by Dave McKean. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics/Vertigo |
| First appearance | (Linden-Thorne) Adventure Comics #428 (July-August 1973) (Black) Black Orchid Vol. 1 #1 (1988) (Suzy) Black Orchid Vol. 1 #2 (1989) |
| Created by | (Linden-Thorne) Sheldon Mayer & Tony DeZuniga (Black, Suzy) Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | - Susan Linden-Thorne - Flora Black - Suzy |
| Team affiliations | (Linden-Thorne) Suicide Squad (Black, Suzy) Parliament of Trees |
| Abilities | - Human plant hybrid with superhuman strength, speed, agility and durability - Ability to fly - Capable of reincarnation by mental transference to host bodies growing in stasis - A master of disguise capable of altering her appearance and voice - Mystical connection to the plant world through the force of nature called the Green |
Black Orchid is the name of three fictional superheroines published by DC Comics. The original version of the character first appeared in Adventure Comics #428 (July 1973).
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[edit] 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. She often spends an entire investigation impersonating an insignificant background female, such as a maid, a secretary, someone's girlfriend, et cetera, 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, the character next appeared as a backup feature in The Phantom Stranger #'s 31, 32, 35, 36, and 38–41 (1974–1976), after which the character appeared only sporadically, such as an occasional cameo in comic books as diverse as three panels in the Crisis on Infinite Earths 12-issue limited series and Blue Devil Annual #1 (both 1985), as well as Deadshot vol. 1 #1 and Invasion! #2. She also appeared in Suicide Squad as a member of the team in issues #4, 7, 11, 12, 19, and 22 (1987–1988). She also had an appearance in the non-continuity Super Friends #31.
Adventure Comics #428 proclaimed on its cover that it was an "origin issue," although almost no background on the character is given, not even her name. Until Neil Gaiman explained her origin, the character was, in fact, most famous for her lack of an origin.
[edit] Flora Black
In 1988, the character was relaunched in a three-part prestige format mini-series called Black Orchid which was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. The miniseries fleshed out the character considerably, providing an origin story which explained how and why she became known as Black Orchid. It also gave the character a civilian name in her origin sequence, Susan Linden-Thorne. Instead of being a normal super-powered human (or meta in the DC Universe), her background was changed to be that of a human-plant hybrid with ties to the Green. In this way she became related with other such human-plant hybrids as the Swamp Thing, Floronic Man, and Poison Ivy.
The original Black Orchid is killed in this miniseries, and a new one which is a "sister" of sorts to the original is introduced. She goes under the alias of Flora Black to meet with Sherilyn Sommers, her closest friend.
An on-going Black Orchid series, published under the 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 on-going series.[1]
[edit] Suzy
The grown-up Suzy is identical to her "sister" and carries on the tradition in both the DC Universe and related Vertigo titles. She has appeared in four event titles: 1999's Totems one-shot, 2001's Justice Leagues miniseries, 2004's JLA: Another Nail, 2005's Day of Vengeance miniseries, and 2006's Infinite Crisis miniseries. She is at present an ally of the Shadowpact.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The first Black Orchid had superstrength, invulnerability, flight, and was a master of disguise. The second and third Black Orchids had superstrength, flight, and can absorb nutrients from the air. The second version could generate seductive pheromones.
[edit] Film
Actress Rachel McAdams has expressed interest in playing the character in an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's story.
[edit] Awards
The 1988 limited series was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Favorite Limited Series in 1989, and for the Squiddy Award for Favorite Limited Series of the 1980s. The 1993 ongoing series was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Favorite New Continuing Series in 1993, the Squiddy Award for Most Improved Series in 1993 and 1994. Issue #8 of the series was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Favorite Single Issue Story in a Series in 1993. The trade paperback collection of the mini-series was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Favorite Reprint Volume in 1991.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Continuity Pages: Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and Black Orchid Accessed January 11, 2008
