Traci Thirteen

Traci 13
Traci 13 art by Cliff Chiang
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman vol. 2 #189 (February 2003)
Created by	Joe Kelly Dwayne Turner
In-story information
Alter ego	Traci Thirteen
Species	Homo magi
Place of origin	Metropolis
Team affiliations	Superman Family Justice League Justice League Queer Night Force Oblivion Bar Sisterhood of the Sleight Hand
Partnerships	Natasha Irons Cir-El Jaime Reyes
Supporting character of	Teen Titans Superwoman
Notable aliases	Traci 13, Girl 13
Abilities	Mystical abilities which enable her to tap into the magic of a city, to perform a wide array of magical acts. Keen detective skills

Traci Thirteen, also known as Girl 13 and Traci 13, is a superhero featured in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joe Kelly and artist Dwayne Turner, she first appeared in Superman vol. 2 #189 (February 2003).

Traci is the daughter of sorceress Meihui Lan and Doctor Thirteen, a renowned investigator and skeptic of the supernatural. Despite her father's disapproval of her mystic powers, Traci eventually separates from him and embarks on her own superhero career as a sorceress. She combines her magical abilities with the detective skills taught to her by her father and Elongated Man. Throughout her appearances, Traci becomes an ally of the Superman Family and has been involved with several superhero teams, including Justice League Dark, Night Force, and Justice League Queer. The character is often written to be of Asian descent and queer, having been love interests to both Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) and Natasha Irons.

Traci 13, has made several notable appearances in animated media. She appeared in the animated film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and made her debut in the third season of Young Justice , where she was voiced by Lauren Tom. In Young Justice, her character is named Traci Thurston.

Publication history

Traci Thirteen first appeared in Superman vol. 2 #189 (February 2003), created by Joe Kelly and Dwayne Turner. ^[1]

Fictional character biography

Traci 13 is a member of the "Homo Magi," a lineage of humans with inherent sorcery abilities. Her father, Doctor Thirteen, prohibits her from practicing magic due to her mother's death caused by magical influences. ^[2] Traci relocated to Metropolis' Suicide Slum, determined to live independently alongside her pet iguana named Leeroy. There, she discovered and harnessed the "urban magic" of the city, adopting the moniker Girl 13 and becoming a sort of superhero. She crossed paths with Superboy, who developed an attraction to her, though the feeling was not reciprocated. Utilizing her magical abilities, Traci defended an injured Superman from a spectral female ninja, alongside fellow "Supergirls" Natasha Irons and Cir-El, forming a friendship with them.

Day of Vengeance

In the one-shot Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special Traci joined a large group of mystical heroes, including Doctor Occult, the Phantom Stranger, and Rex the Wonder Dog in cleaning up one of the Spectre's many rampages. The Rock of Eternity had exploded over Gotham City, unleashing multiple mystical horrors. The group soon recreated the rock, trapping the demons again.

One Year Later

Main article: One Year Later

She resides with her father in Doomsbury Mansion, the ancestral home of her family, annoyed by his skepticism and boring outlook. ^[3] Blue Beetle #16 established that Traci was raised and trained by Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue some time after her mother's death. A member of the Croatoans, the paranormal detective organization shown in 52 , she travels around the world, sometimes with her father, and sometimes solo, fighting paranormal menaces with her growing magical abilities. She has recently started a relationship with Jaime Reyes, the current Blue Beetle. As a result of Jaime becoming a full-time member of the Teen Titans, she has also begun interacting with his teammates, such as during a recent Christmas adventure. For a period of time, Red Devil appeared to feel annoyed by Traci's presence as she distracted his new friend Blue Beetle. However, after she bought him a series of much desired video games, she became quickly accepted by Eddie. She is also featured on the cover of Teen Titans vol. 3 #66 as a potential new member. ^{[4] [5]} She opted not to join however, feeling it would be too weird to be on a team with her boyfriend, despite how much fun it would be to mess with his head. She does remain an ally of the Titans, helping them when they need it, especially during the prison riot caused by Shimmer and Jinx, using her magic to disable Jinx's connection to the Earth, thus undoing her barrier spell.

Beginning in May 2010, Traci began co-starring in a back-up feature in Teen Titans alongside Black Alice and Zachary Zatara. ^[6] The feature ended in September 2010, when Teen Titans reverted to a standard 22-page format.

DC Rebirth

During the 2016 DC Rebirth event, a newer version of Traci 13 was introduced. The character seemingly retains some of her earlier history in her previous version, being the daughter of the witch and homo magi Meihui Lan and Doctor Terry Thirteen, a well-known ghost hunter and skeptic. Unlike prior versions, the Thirteen family is depicted as being a family line of detectives and investigators who generally are irrationally skeptical of the supernatural. It is also expressed that in this continuity, while the exact circumstances are unknown in how her mother died, her father blames Traci and forbids her from using her magical abilities. When he suddenly disappeared, she became a freelance problem-solver specializing in the supernatural in Metropolis. She was later reunited with her father, who was revealed to have been possessed by demons shortly after her mother's death. ^[7]

Superwoman (2016- 2017)

Traci first appears in the Who Killed Superwoman storyline, warning Steel, Natasha, and Lana of Lena Luthor's plans, who has since taken the identity of "Ultrawoman", converted her body into a mechanized chassis, and worked to discredit her brother, Lex Luthor (now known as the "Superman of Metropolis"), whom have used her parapalegic condition (in which he inadvertently contributed to due to his arrogance in the past concerning her treatments) to his advantage as her contributions to LexCorp was kept secret with Lex gaining all the credit. Creating Bizarro Superwoman as her servants, she began causing havoc in Metropolis, prompting Taci 13's attention due to the nature of her powers making her have an affinity for its well-being, including becoming with concerns with acts that damage the city itself. ^[8]

Traci later appears in the Midnight Hour storyline, with Natasha and Traci having been dating and Traci's powers having weakened. She helps the Superman Family and Maxima fight the entity known as M1dn1ght, a computer program made by Lena Luthor previously was given sentience by Superwoman unintentionally through her powers, using her powers to investigate the connection between the program and Lena. She informs the team of the connection as M1dn1ght uses black holes to kidnap Metropolis civilians. M1dn1iht manages to capture Superwoman, revealing her origin as a program made to save Lena should she be captured as a failsafe, before Superwoman escapes. Later, Traci uses her powers in order to send Superwoman into the "Void" a digital dimension of computer code in order to battle M1dn1ght once more, who has since worked to instead gain independence from Lena's programming. Not long after Steel and other citizens were saved by Superwoman and M1dn1ght temporary merging of the minds, Traci is mentioned to be working with the Superman Family in monitoring Metropolis's police scanners for criminal activities. ^[9]

DC Universe (2018- Current)

In between her appearances in Superwoman and Raven: Daughter of Darkness, it is mentioned in the 2018 Titans Special series by Natasha that both Traci and Nastasha had broken up. In the Raven: Daughter of Darkness series, Traci is later approached by Baron Winters in order to enlist her help against the Shadowriders, a group of entities who are hunting people who can use magic. While skeptical due to his reputation (from her father's account), she eventually briefly joins Winter's Night Force (consisting of familiar young magic users: Raven, Klarion the Witch Boy, Zach Zatara, Black Alice and newcomers Skye, and Robert Diaz) in order to combat the magic murdering villains and reveals herself as a fan of the Teen Titans hero, Raven. ^[10]

Characterization

Sexuality & romances

The character was originally presented as a heterosexual character, as her only relationship was with Jaime Reyes prior to the rebooted continuity post Flashpoint. ^[11] This depiction is consistent with other media versions of Traci, as she appears in both Young Justice and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract as a love interest to Jaime Reyes. When reintroduced in DC Rebirth, the character's history was retroactively rebooted with a new background, presenting the character in a relationship with fellow Superman Family hero, Natasha Irons. ^[9]

Powers and abilities

Traci 13, as a member of the homo magi race, possesses inherent magical abilities and is classified as a "Magician", making her proficient in casting spells. ^[12] Compared to peers like Black Alice and Zachary Zatara, Traci 13 demonstrates a higher level of skill in mystical aptitude and understanding. ^[13]

Her expertise lies in "urban magic," a form of magic that enables her to tap into the mystical energies present within a city to perform magical feats. ^{[13] [7]} In recent iterations of her character, her urban magic abilities grant her a deep understanding of scientific concepts and technical skills. She exhibits proficiency in areas such as comprehending binary code and integrating her powers with technology. ^[9] Traci 13's magical abilities can be further enhanced through the use of magical artifacts. Primarily, she wields the Staff of Arion, a powerful artifact created by the sorcerer Arion. By focusing her concentration, she can manipulate the arcane energies of the staff to cast spells with considerable power, allowing her to confront formidable magical entities such as Eclipso. ^[11] In addition to her magical prowess, Traci 13 possesses acute detective skills. ^[7]

Other versions

Terri Thirteen

A character named Terri Thirteen briefly appeared in the series 52 as a member of the Croatoan Society. It is believed this character was actually Traci, but misnamed Terri due to editorial oversight. ^[14]

Flashpoint

Traci appears in the 2011 Flashpoint crossover event, as revealed on DC's blog. ^[15] In this reality, Traci rescues her father from Paris before it is destroyed by the Atlanteans, though she feels guilty she was unable to save her mother and siblings. She discovers that her father and superheroes from around the world are preparing to take drastic action to stop the Amazons and Atlanteans. She still remembers details of how reality should be, and meets Madame Xanadu for advice. When she tries to stop the heroes from launching nuclear weapons, her father drugs her and proceeds to start the countdown. ^[16] Traci teleports to find help, but is unsuccessful, and returns to face her father. Doctor Thirteen magically attacks her, apparently having learnt the art of black magic. ^[17] Failing to defeat her father, Traci decides to teleport to Western Europe to sacrifice herself. Doctor Thirteen arrives and finally accepts his daughter back. But when Traci is impaled by Amazons, Doctor Thirteen becomes enraged and begins a killing spree. Traci is restored to life from her spiritual connection to Earth and manages to stop her father by showing him the planetary consciousness. As the nuclear weapons are about to be activated, Doctor Thirteen uses his magic to destroy them. Traci rescues her father and teleported them back to Earth. It is revealed that they have both used up all of their magic. ^[18]

In other media

Television

• Traci Thirteen appears in Young Justice , ^[19] voiced by Lauren Tom. Introduced in the third season, this version is Traci Thurston, a member of the Team who is in a relationship with Jaime Reyes. In the fourth season, Thurston becomes a student under Zatanna and joins her Sentinels of Magic, during which the group becomes Doctor Fate as part of a rotation agreement between Zatanna and Nabu.
• In October 2017, The CW announced a one-hour drama series based on Traci Thirteen and her father Dr. Terrance Thirteen, titled Project 13, was in development, with Elizabeth Banks attached as an executive producer. ^[20] The project never came to fruition.

Film

Traci Thirteen appears in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract , voiced by Masasa Moyo. This version works at a soup kitchen.

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. 311. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
2. Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 438. ISBN   978-0-345-50108-0.
3. Tales of the Unexpected #1
4. Blue Beetle vol. 7 #17
5. "TEEN TITANS #66". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
6. "TEEN TITANS #83". Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
7. The DC comics encyclopedia : the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe. Matthew K. Manning, Stephen Wiacek, Melanie Scott, Nick Jones, Landry Q. Walker, Alan Cowsill (New ed.). New York, New York: DK Publishing. 2021. ISBN   978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC   1253363543.
8. Jimenez, Phil (2017). Who killed Superwoman?. Emanuela Lupacchino, Jackson Herbert, Joe Prado, Matt Santorelli, Ray McCarthy, Jeromy Cox. Burbank, CA. ISBN   978-1-4012-6780-3. OCLC   980600325.
9. Perkins, K. (2018). The midnight hour. Stephen Segovia, Sami Basri, Federico Dallocchio, Max Raynor, Art Thibert, Josh Reed. Burbank, CA. ISBN   978-1-4012-7852-6. OCLC   907328030.
10. Wolfman, Marv (2019). Raven, daughter of darkness. Issue 7-12. Pop Mhan. [United States]. ISBN   978-1-4012-8964-5. OCLC   1158965953.
11. Rogers, John (2007). Blue Beetle. Road trip. Keith Giffen, Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, Duncan Rouleau, Casey Jones, Guy Major. New York, NY. ISBN   978-1-4012-1361-9. OCLC   144226063.
12. Lotowycz, R. (2021). The DC Book of Lists: A Multiverse of Legacies, Histories, and Hierarchies.
13. Ogle, Rex (2010). Teen Titans #83-#87. DC Comics.
14. "Traci Thirteen - Girl 13 - DC Comics - Blue Beetle ally". Writeups.org. 28 February 2015.
15. Hyde, David (8 April 2011). "FLASHPOINT FRIDAY: Why is Traci 13 the most important girl in the world?". The Source. DC Comics. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
16. Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1 (June 2011)
17. Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #2 (July 2011)
18. Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #3 (August 2011)
19. Melrose, Kevin (July 21, 2017). "Who Is Young Justice's Mysterious New Member, Thirteen?". Comic Book Resources . Valnet Inc. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
20. Otterson, Joe (October 19, 2017). "CW Developing DC Comics Adaptation 'Project 13' With Elizabeth Banks Producing (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved October 27, 2018.

External links

• DCU Guide: Traci Thirteen Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine