Gamemnae

Last updated
Gamemnae
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance JLA #69 (September 2002)
Created by Joe Kelly
Doug Mahnke
In-story information
SpeciesAtlantean
Team affiliations League of Ancients
AbilitiesPowerful magic wielder

Gamemnae is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was an enemy of the Justice League. [1] Gamemnae first appeared in JLA #69 and was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.

Contents

Gamemnae appeared in live-action in the fifth and sixth seasons of the Arrowverse television series Supergirl portrayed by Cara Buono.

Fictional character biography

Born over three thousand years ago, Gamemnae was an Atlantean, exiled at birth from Atlantis for having blonde hair - considered a curse in Atlantean culture. [1] Surviving her exile, Gamemnae went on to learn powerful magic, which she later used to not only raise Atlantis from the seas, but turn the entire population into air-breathers as opposed to the water-breathing race they had been for centuries. Convinced that it was her destiny to lead the people of Atlantis in conquest of the world, Gamemnae soon established herself as ruler of her people, gradually learning further spells to increase her power.

However, Gamemnae learned that all her efforts would be for nothing when Aquaman and the Atlanteans of the twenty-first century were banished back to the past by Tempest's desperate attempt to save the city from an Imperiex probe during the Our Worlds at War storyline. Outraged to learn that Atlantis would become a race of water-breathers once again in the future, she seduced Aquaman and tricked him into drinking a potion that turned him into a water spirit, subsequently confining him in a pool of water in the middle of Atlantis while his people were forced to work as slave labor underwater, building foundations to keep Atlantis above the water. [1]

Having read Aquaman's mind, Gamemnae knew of the Justice League that existed in the future, and also knew that they would inevitably seek to rescue their fallen comrade. Determined to defeat them, Gamemnae created her own "League of Ancients", consisting of various people in the world who might become a threat to Atlantis in the future. [1] This League's members included:

With this "League of Ancients" behind her, Gamemnae fed false visions of the future to Rama Khan, causing him to believe that he had foreseen a future where Earth would be threatened by a seven-headed hydra destroyer — the remaining members of the Justice League — and that a team would have to be assembled to defeat the threat posed by this destroyer. When the Justice League eventually arrived in the past to rescue Aquaman and the Atlanteans, the Ancients managed to prevail over the League, as their willingness to kill granted them a significant advantage, but Manitou Raven, having witnessed Green Lantern turn from the fight to save innocent Atlanteans, and "testing" Batman with his tomahawk that could not pierce the skin of a good man, realized that the League were genuinely good people and confronted Gamemnae with the truth of her betrayal. Learning that Gamemnae had used a quagmire spell to absorb the other members of the League of Ancients, thus adding to her power, Manitou used the souls of the deceased Justice Leaguers, the spell reinforced by Kyle's willingly sacrificed heart, to create a spell of containment that would trap Gamemnae in Atlantis until, paradoxically, Raven's past self broke it by traveling back to the past following a trip to the future.

Awakened in the present, Gamemnae began to drain the water from the entire world to force humanity to submit to her, only to find herself opposed by a "reserve League" created by Batman in the event the original League was killed or defeated, led by Nightwing and consisting of Green Arrow, the Atom, Hawkgirl, Major Disaster, Firestorm, Faith, and Jason Blood/Etrigan. Mocking Nightwing's attempts to stand up to her, Gamemnae absorbed Major Disaster, Zatanna and Tempest, the League's only victory being a pyrrhic one when Jason Blood sacrificed himself to free Zatanna.

Fortunately, the now-elderly Manitou, having hidden away to wait for the moment when he could act without changing history, rescued the League from Gamemnae's attack, revealing that she had formed a bond between herself and Atlantis to strengthen her power. Unable to defeat Gamemnae in the present, Nightwing, Hawkgirl, Zatanna and Firestorm travelled back in time to disrupt Gamemnae's connection to Atlantis in the past, freeing Aquaman by linking his pool to the sea; although he was still a water wraith, he now had the whole ocean to use as his body, allowing him to sink Atlantis and undo Gamemnae's 'Obsidian Age' of darkness and shame.

Meanwhile, in the present, the remaining Leaguers confronted Gamemnae with the aid of the resurrected corpses of the League she had already killed; unable to absorb the dead, Gamemnae was forced to resurrect them to kill them properly, only to realize too late that this had been her enemies' plan all along. Aided by the Martian Manhunter's telepathic prompting, Blood was able to free himself from the quagmire spell by transforming into Etrigan, the Atom shrinking down to rescue Major Disaster and Tempest from Gamemnae while Manitou transformed himself into a giant to better battle the now-giant Gamemnae. As Gamemnae vowed to banish the water and send Earth into the sun, the League, aided by the sacrifice of the future Manitou, managed to keep Earth's orbit stable as the water returned; Superman, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter using the Lasso of Truth to hold Earth in place as the water returned while the Flash ran to the North Pole and absorbed the kinetic energy their actions caused to prevent it causing dangerous earthquakes and finally, an empowered Green Lantern in Ion form who cradled the world in his hands thanks to the sacrifice of Manitou's future self. As the past Atlantis collapsed, the Atlanteans returned to the present along with Manitou's past self, while the destruction of Atlantis in the past ended Gamemnae's attempt to conquer Earth, leaving her for dead and Atlantis submerged once again. [1]

Powers and abilities

Gamemnae is an expert magic wielder. Her demonstrated spells were capable of physically manipulating large numbers of people, ranging from turning the entire population of Atlantis into air-breathers to converting Aquaman into a water wraith. She was also shown to be capable of using a quagmire spell to absorb the bodies of others into herself; Jason Blood observed that few people would risk using such a spell on more than two or three people, yet Gamemnae was able to absorb half a dozen people and remain relatively stable. She was even shown to be capable of reviving the dead; when the dead Justice League were reanimated to fight her, Gamemnae was able to bring them back to life (with the goal of killing them properly).

In other media

Gamemnae appears in Supergirl , portrayed by Cara Buono. This version is a high-ranking Leviathan operative with technokinesis, electrokinesis, and a metallic form who hails from Krypton's sister planet Jarhanpur and came to Earth during the Mesozoic. Introduced in the fifth season and following Rama Khan's failure to defeat Supergirl, Gamemnae relieves him of his duties and takes over Leviathan's operations. She later assumes the alias of Gemma Cooper, a member of Obsidian Tech's board of directors and forms an alliance with Lex Luthor and LuthorCorp. Gamemnae and the Leviathan are ultimately destroyed in the season six premiere by Supergirl and her friends.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaman</span> DC Comic book superhero

Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73. Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zatanna</span> DC Comics superhero

Zatanna Zatara, commonly known mononymously as Zatanna, is a fictional magician appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in Hawkman #4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arion (character)</span> Fictional sword and sorcery superhero

Ahri'ahn is a fictional sword and sorcery superhero published by American company DC Comics. He debuted in Warlord #55, and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Jan Duursema. A powerful, immortal wizard from ancient Atlantis centuries before it sunk, the character originally starred in his own series taking place outside the main continuity of DC Comics. After appearing in Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character's history was adopted into the Aquaman version of Atlantis, revised to be a demigod serving as a member of the fictional group of cosmic entities known as the Lords of Order. The character's magical and scientific exploits and heroism in the fictional mythology of Atlantis makes him both a reverred figure and the cultural progenitor of the Homo magi race and their descendants, the Atlanteans. Depending on continuities, he also serves as an ancestor to various characters in the DC Universe, including Zatanna, Aquaman, and Ocean Master.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice Leagues</span>

Justice Leagues is a storyline which ran through six one-shot comics. Published in 2001 by DC Comics, it introduced a revamped Justice League of America. Each issue was supposedly the first of a new series featuring one of the alternate teams, although they were just one-offs. Featured Justice League were the "Justice League of Aliens", led by Superman and the Martian Manhunter; the "Justice League of Amazons", led by Wonder Woman; the "Justice League of Arkham", led by Batman; and the "Justice League of Atlantis", led by Aquaman. Cameo appearances were made by the "Justice League of Adventure" which is led by Flash ; the "Justice League of Air", led by Green Lantern ; the "Justice League of Anarchy", led by Plastic Man; and the "Justice League of Apostles", led by the angel Zauriel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphin (character)</span> Comics character

Dolphin is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer-artist Jay Scott Pike, she debuted in Showcase #79.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Manta</span> Supervillain in the DC Universe

Black Manta is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy, and debuted in Aquaman #35. He has since endured as the archenemy of the superhero Aquaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquagirl</span> Comics character

Aquagirl is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, typically depicted as supporting characters of Aquaman from the realm of Atlantis. The first two incarnations of the character, Lisa Morel (1959) and Selena (1963), were introduced as one-offs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitou Raven</span> Comics character

Manitou Raven, also known as simply Raven or The Manitou, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, he first appeared in JLA #66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Master</span> Fictional character in DC Comics

Ocean Master is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, and debuted in Aquaman #29. He is the half-brother and an adversary of the superhero Aquaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mera (character)</span> Fictional superhero character

Mera is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy, the character first appeared in Aquaman #11.

Manitou Dawn, known as simple Dawn or The Manitou, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She would first debut in JLA #75. The character is a recurring Native American superhero within the DC Universe and the wife of Manitou Raven. Similar to Raven, she hails from the tribe that serves as the ancestor to the Apache Tribe. Despite their initial encounter being marked by turbulence, the two characters developed a deep affection for one another and eventually married. Following her husband's departure from the League of Ancients to join the Justice League and Justice League Elite, she would accompany him and provide assistance during ritualistic endeavors. After Raven's passing, she is selected by his spirit to become the next Manitou, carrying on the legacy with her husband as her mentor and spiritual guide. Following DC Rebirth, the character is also revealed to have become a caretaker and is a member of the Sisterhood of the Sleight Hand, a mystic society dedicated to helping female practitioners practice magic under guidance and safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garth (comics)</span> Fictional superhero from DC Comics

Garth is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly associated with Aquaman and the Teen Titans. Created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon, he first appears in Adventure Comics #269 in February 1960. He was originally known as the first incarnation of Aqualad. As a young adult, the character used the alias Tempest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantis (Aquaman)</span> Fictitious place in DC Comics

Atlantis is the fictional aquatic-based civilization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics commonly associated with the superhero, Aquaman. Its depiction is most recognizable one within DC Comics, first appearing in Adventure Comics #260, and was created by Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon. Typically either a reoccurring or main setting of most Aquaman stories, the nation is characterized as being inhabited by human-like beings and creatures with biological, aquatic adaptations as well as typically following a hereditary monarchy. Atlantis is portrayed within DC Universe as being among the oldest and most powerful of civilzations on Earth due to its advanced technology and connection to the arcane forces on Earth. Beginning as a utopia, the nation would collapse to the bottom of the ocean after a cataclysmic event. Overtime, the nation's history would be embordered in conflict with regards to its succession of rulers, the nation's status as a superpower, its fictional cultural heritage, and the relationship with the global world in the modern age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rama Khan</span> Comics character

Rama Khan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in JLA #62 and was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.

Nuidis Vulko is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as a supporting character of Aquaman, to whom he is a scientific adviser. Aquaman eventually makes Vulko his regent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaldur'ahm</span> Comics character

Kaldur'ahm, or Kaldur for short, is the superhero codenamed Aqualad and Aquaman in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Brandon Vietti, Greg Weisman and Phil Bourassa for the television series Young Justice, and voiced by Khary Payton. His name is a reference to the character Cal Durham, formerly a henchman of the supervillain Black Manta who was sent to infiltrate Atlantis, but defected to the Atlanteans. While originally developed for television, DC quickly adapted the character to its mainstream comic books, with Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' re-interpreting the character. For television, creators were able to tell a story where Aqualad had known and worked with Aquaman for many years, while the comic book version had to be introduced to Aquaman and readers at the same time, meaning aspects of his backstory had to be changed.

<i>Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis</i> 2018 American film

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero comedy film. It is based on the DC Comics and Lego brands. Produced by DC Entertainment, The Lego Group and Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 22, 2018 and was released digitally, DVD and Blu-ray on July 31, 2018. It is the eighth Lego DC Comics film. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the animation but criticism for the consumerism.

"Knight Terrors" is an American comic book line-wide crossover event published by DC Comics from July to August 2023. The event is headlined by Joshua Williamson writing the opening and ending one-shot along with the core 4-issue miniseries. The event starts off in Knight Terrors: First Blood, written by Williamson with art by Howard Porter, and ends with Knight Terrors: Night's End. The entire event received positive reviews from critics, with critics praising the story and tie-ins, although there was criticism on the pacing.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Gamemnae", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 134, ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC   213309017
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.