Psi (comics)

Last updated
Psi
Psi (DC Comics character - The New 52 version).jpg
Interior artwork from Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #4 (March 2014, DC Comics), art by Neil Edwards.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982)
Created by Paul Kupperberg (writer)
Carmine Infantino (artist)
In-story information
Full nameGayle Marsh
Team affiliations Suicide Squad
Black Lantern Corps
Abilities
  • Psychic
  • Psychic ability to trigger fear in others
  • Telekinesis
  • Telepathy
  • Energy projection
  • Energy absorption
  • Flight

Psi is a DC character created by Paul Kupperberg and Carmine Infantino for The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982).

Contents

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Her real name is Gayle Marsh. At the age of twelve, she developed psychic powers, primarily psychokinesis. After her parents died she was raised by the scientist David Pendergast who was preparing to fight a new menace called "the Decay". In college, she took the alias of Psi and fought Supergirl several times, thinking that Supergirl was the Decay. The truth was that David Pendergast was an extension of her own fears. Realizing that the Decay was David and herself, she put a stop to Pendergast and herself.

Post-Crisis

Psi’s first appearance in the Post Crisis DC Universe was with the Suicide Squad. She had no memory of her real name or history, as an unknown event "has nearly shattered her psyche". [1]

She joined in order to gain help from the Suicide Squad in restoring her lost memory and accompanied Rick Flag and a similarly untested team for a mission in Central America, but she was killed by the Rocket Red Brigade. As she lay dying, she remembers her real name, Gayle Marsh, as well as her mother and father. Her allies, Mister 104, the Thinker and the Weasel are also killed on the mission. [1]

During the events of Blackest Night , Psi's corpse is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps alongside several other fallen Suicide Squad members. [2] Psi is apparently destroyed by the Manhunter's self-destruct mechanism unleashing an explosion of Green Lantern energy that eradicates the Black Lanterns. [3]

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Psi is reintroduced as a prisoner in "The Circus", the Detroit station for A.R.G.U.S. operations. Steve Trevor and Killer Frost visit her cell to see if she can disrupt the Firestorm Matrix in order to free the imprisoned Justice Leagues. When Psi touches him however, Trevor is flooded with images, which he realizes connects everything he already knew, based on the clue Madame Xanadu told him, and tells him how to save the Justice League. One of the visions that Psi showed Steve Trevor was that Wonder Woman's lasso is in the possession of Cheetah. [4]

Other versions

Psi appeared in the digital first comic book Adventures of Supergirl series. [5] This version of Psi was a Kryptonian psychic who was an employee of Fort Rozz prison, working as its "dream mistress", controlling the dreams of its prisoners in order to secure their mental health. She lost her physical form when Fort Rozz crashed, and was manipulated by a villainess named Facet Jens into becoming an enemy of Supergirl, though eventually she was redeemed once Facet's true intentions were revealed.

In other media

Psi appears in the episode "Triggers" of the third season of Supergirl , portrayed by Yael Grobglas. Her primary psychic ability is to trigger incapacitating fear in others, either by making them relive a traumatic event or confronting a fearsome element. Nicknamed "Psi" by authorities, Gayle Marsh was "a law-abiding citizen of Skokie, Illinois" until she "snapped" and began robbing banks. Supergirl tries several times to apprehend Psi, but the criminal stops her by making her relive the trauma of being sent away from Krypton just before it exploded and being lost in the Phantom Zone. Supergirl ultimately manages to overcome her fears enough to resist Psi's attacks and capture her. Psi makes a return in "Fort Rozz" where she, along with Saturn Girl and Livewire, is recruited by Supergirl for a team to infiltrate the Kryptonian prison Fort Rozz to gain information on Reign. During the mission, she inadvertently uses powers on Saturn Girl after a blow to the head. Psi later saves Supergirl from Reign using her powers after Livewire sacrifices herself to save Supergirl. After returning to Earth Psi gives Supergirl her condolences for Live Wire's death. Supergirl in return asks that Psi be given a better room during her incarceration which prompts Psi to smile at her. In the episode "Alex in Wonderland", Alex in her virtual reality experience as Supergirl has an offscreen fight with Psi. She is arrested by the D.E.O. even though Psi's face isn't shown.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supergirl</span> Fictional superheroines in DC Comics

Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her first appearance in Action Comics #252 and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phantom Zone</span> Fictional dimension in the DC Universe

The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283, and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. It was frequently used in the Superman comics before the continuity was rebooted in the 1980s, after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and has appeared occasionally since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brainiac (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and first appeared in Action Comics #242 in July 1958. Brainiac is usually depicted as an extraterrestrial android or cyborg who serves as one of Superman's greatest enemies and a major adversary of the Justice League. He is known for shrinking and stealing Kandor, the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton, and is even responsible for Krypton's destruction in some continuities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Girl</span> Fictional character

Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58. Power Girl is the cousin of the superhero Superman, but from an alternate universe in the fictional multiverse in which DC Comics stories are set. Originally hailing from the world of Earth-Two, first envisioned as the home of DC's wartime heroes as published in 1940s comic books, Power Girl becomes stranded in the main universe where DC stories are set, and becomes acquainted with that world's Superman and her own counterpart, Supergirl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn Girl</span> Fictional DC Comics character

Saturn Girl is a fictional superheroine appearing in American DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Saturn Girl is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Imra's "Saturn Girl" title refers to her homeworld of Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn.

Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters from DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, Like flight. Detective Comics, Inc. trademarked the name to prevent competitors from using it. As was the practice, a publication produced solely for legal purposes was created with the title of Superwoman. The cover was a reproduction of More Fun Comics #73 with the interior being a reprint of the third issue of Action Comics. The first true appearance of Superwoman was in Action Comics #60.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Douglas (actress)</span> British actress

Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest (1983–85), and Jinda Kol Rozz in one episode of Supergirl in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Henshaw</span> Fictional character

Henry "Hank" Henshaw is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and normally goes by the name Cyborg Superman. While originally featured primarily as an enemy of Superman, he has in recent years also been an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxima (DC Comics)</span> Character from the DC Comics Superman titles

Maxima is a fictional comic book character in DC Comics. In her original incarnation, she was a morally ambiguous queen from the planet Almerac who is known for searching for mates among Earth's superhuman male population to be wedded as her king, and became obsessed with Superman for a time. She has also worked as a superheroine member of the Justice League. In her recent incarnations, she is re-introduced as a younger princess of Almerac and ally of Supergirl. Unlike her previous version, she is gay and struggles with following Almerac's traditions in continuing the royal line with finding a male mate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livewire (DC Comics)</span> Fictional supervillain in the DC comics universe

Livewire is a supervillainess appearing in multimedia produced by DC Entertainment, and American comic books published by DC Comics. Created for Superman: The Animated Series, the character appeared in March 1997 in Superman Adventures #5. Her first mainstream comic book appearance was in DC Comics' Action Comics #835.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Banshee</span> DC Comics Supervillain

Silver Banshee is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as an opponent of Superman but also as the arch enemy and most popular nemesis of Supergirl. In television, she has been portrayed by Odessa Rae in Smallville and Italia Ricci in the Arrowverse series Supergirl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)</span> Superhero appearing in DC Comics publications and related media

Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, and Kara Danvers, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino. Danvers first appeared in Action Comics #252 's "The Supergirl from Krypton" story. Kara is the biological cousin of Kal-El, who went on to adopt the name of Clark Kent and the superhero Superman. Her father, Zor-El, is the brother of Superman’s father, Jor-El. During the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics, Superman editors believed the character's history had become too convoluted, thus killing Supergirl during the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and retconning her out of existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald Empress</span> Fictional supervillain

The Emerald Empress is the name of several, fictional super-villains appearing American comic books published by DC Comics. The characters associated with the name name are often portrayed as a prominent adversary of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The first incarnation of the character appeared in Adventure Comics #352.

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

Hellgrammite is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an enemy of Superman.

Insect Queen is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

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

Decay is the name of three fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The first was an enemy of the pre-Crisis Supergirl, while the second appeared as a villain in the Wonder Woman comic book series. The third version appeared in the New 52 as a enemy of Superboy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supergirl in other media</span>

The fictional superheroine Supergirl has been adapted into pop culture several times since 1984. This includes a feature film and several animated and live-action television programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thara Ak-Var</span> Comics character

Thara Ak-Var is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, created by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. The character first appeared during the Superman: New Krypton storyline in Superman #681. She is the latest character to take on the role of Flamebird. Along with the new Nightwing, Thara is the feature character in Action Comics beginning with issue #875. Thara Ak-Var's name is a reference to Ak-Var, who was the second pre-Crisis Flamebird, and his wife, Thara.

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

Reactron is a fictional supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary of Supergirl.

References

  1. 1 2 Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1 (1988)
  2. ↑ Suicide Squad #67 (January 2010)
  3. ↑ Secret Six (vol. 3) #18 (February 2010)
  4. ↑ Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #4
  5. ↑ White, Brett (December 15, 2015). "DC Announces "Adventures of Supergirl" Digital Series From Gates, Bengal". Comic Book Resource. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
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.