Spellbinder (DC Comics)

Spellbinder
The Spellbinder's debut in Detective Comics #358, art by Carmine Infantino
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Billings) Detective Comics #358 (December 1966) (Unnamed) Justice League International (vol. 2) #65 (June 1994) (Moffit) Detective Comics #691 (November 1995)
Created by	(Billings) John Broome (writer) Sheldon Moldoff (artist) (Moffit). Chuck Dixon (writer) Staz Johnson (artist) Scott Hanna (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Delbert Billings Unnamed Fay Moffit
Species	Metahuman
Notable aliases	(Billings) Keith Sherwood (Moffit) Lady Spellbinder
Abilities	(Billings) Use of optical and aural devices that hypnotize people Minimal hand-to-hand combatant (Unnamed) Genuine mystical abilities (Moffit) Genuine illusion-casting powers

The Spellbinder is the name of four fictional supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics. Versions of the character have appeared on the animated series Batman Beyond and The Batman .

Fictional character biography

Delbert Billings

The first Spellbinder, Delbert Billings, first appeared in Detective Comics #358 (December 1966), and was created by John Broome and Sheldon Moldoff. ^[1] He is a painter who uses optical illusions and hypnotic weapons to commit crimes. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} Throughout his appearances, Spellbinder battles Batman and Superman before being killed by his girlfriend, Fay Moffit.

Real name unknown

A second, unidentified Spellbinder appears in Justice League International (vol. 2) #65 as a member of the government-sanctioned "League-Busters". ^{[6] [7]}

Fay Moffit

In Underworld Unleashed , Delbert Billings' girlfriend Fay Moffit kills him and gains Neron's power. She becomes the third Spellbinder, also known as Lady Spellbinder, before being killed during Infinite Crisis . ^{[8] [9] [10]}

The New 52

A fourth Spellbinder, Viktor Mironov, is introduced in The New 52 continuity reboot. ^[11] He is a Russian magician who assists John Constantine in combating the Cult of the Cold Flame before being killed in battle. ^[12]

Infinite Frontier

A fifth Spellbinder, Charles Dante, is introduced in Infinite Frontier . He is an artist, psychiatrist, and former classmate of Barbara Gordon who seeks to free Gotham City's citizens from what he sees as brainwashing. ^[13]

Powers and abilities

The original Spellbinder used a number of optical and aural devices of his own invention to hypnotize others. His fighting skills were minimal.

The second unnamed Spellbinder had genuine mystical abilities.

The third Spellbinder, also known as Lady Spellbinder, can create realistic illusions that cause real pain to the recipients. However, she is unable to use this ability if she is blinded or otherwise has restricted vision.

In other media

Television

Spellbinder as he appears in Batman Beyond

Spellbinder as he appears in The Batman

• A futuristic incarnation of Spellbinder appears in Batman Beyond , voiced by Jon Cypher. ^[14] This version is Ira Billings, the school psychologist of Hamilton High who wears a suit featuring an orange-and-black swirl design and uses a large floating "eyeball" that allows him to project mental illusions via hypnosis and virtual technology. Additionally, he constructs the addictive VR Rooms, which creates the user's greatest fantasy and eventually renders them catatonic the more they use it, for use in his crimes.
• The unnamed incarnation of Spellbinder appears in The Batman , voiced by Michael Massee. ^[14] This version has a third eye, which he acquired while meditating in the Far East and gives him the ability to induce hallucinations.

Video games

Spellbinder and Lady Spellbinder appear as character summons in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . ^[15]

Miscellaneous

Spellbinder makes a minor appearance in the novel Wayne of Gotham .

See also

• List of Batman family enemies

References

1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 279. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
2. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 113. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
3. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 324. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
4. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 329–330. ISBN   9780345501066.
5. Batman #336
6. Justice League International (vol. 2) #65
7. Justice League America #90
8. Detective Comics #691-692
9. Birds of Prey: Batgirl
10. Birds of Prey #12-14
11. Constantine #13
12. Constantine #16-17
13. Batgirls #3 (April 2022)
14. "Spellbinder Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 16, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
15. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

External links

• Cosmic Team profile
• Spellbinder (Batman Beyond) on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki
• The Batman profile at World's Finest Online