Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Who's Who: The White Witch

The White Witch
by Russell & Siskoid 

Real Name: Mysa
Super-Power(s): Sorcery
Planet of Origin: born on Naltor; raised on Zerox
Legion Seniority: White Witch was asked to join immediately after The Great Darkness Saga. She is Legionnaire #33.



Legion Log 
White Witch made her first appearance as The Hag, a witch who was one of The Devil's Dozen. She had been put under a spell by Evillo. However, due to the actions of her sister, Dream Girl, and the Legion, she was returned to normal. She then returned to the Sorcerers' World, Zerox. 

Several years later The White Witch was asked to help the Legion in their battle against Mordru. After he was defeated, she again returned to her studies on Zerox. It was during this time that her form evolved from a normal humanoid into something resembling a "fairy". Her skin and hair bleached out, and she became more frail.

Several years after that, Darkseid attacked Zerox during his attempt to take over the universe. The White Witch and several of her teachers were able to escape. She then joined her sister and the Legion in their battle against him. Highfather boosted her powers at this time, and as a result, she played a pivotal role in defeating the Dark God. After Darkseid's defeat, the Legion asked her to stay and she agreed to join. 

It was later revealed that from a young age, Mysa was one of the rare Naltorians who had no precognitive abilities whatsoever. When her mother, The High Seer of Naltor, died, her elder sister, Dream Girl, arranged to become an apprentice to the new High Seer. Mysa, however, arranged to travel to Zerox, where she felt she would find her destiny. She studied the mystic arts for several years; one of her teachers was Mordru. As he was building his power to take over Zerox, he sensed that The White Witch could one day match him. So he framed her with dark magic and had her banished from the Sorcerers' World. She then met Evillo, who took advantage of her depression to cast a spell on her.

The White Witch was a member for four years. During that time she became less shy and more outgoing, but she was never one of the most dynamic Legionnaires. She prided herself on her ability to prepare various spells before going on missions, for example the spell of return she used when faced with an army of Dev-Em clones. A survival spell was one of her standards, so she was often dispatched to worlds with less hospitable environments, like Tellus' methane-based homeworld or Polar Boy's incredibly warm homeworld. 

The White Witch was friendly with all of the Legionnaires, but she was especially close to her sister, as well as later members Invisible Kid II (who joined at approximately the same time as she did and trained with her), Wildfire, Tellus, and Blok. She and Blok considered themselves the "misfits" of the Legion, and spent a lot of their free time together watching holo-tapes, taking walks, and talking about human nature. 

The White Witch quit the Legion when she became disgusted with Brainiac 5's decision to use Professor Jaxon Rugarth without his knowledge or consent in the Legion's battle against the Time Trapper. She returned to Zerox, where she became one of the teachers. She also took on an apprentice of her own, a young Khund orphan. One year later she was on Zerox when the Archmage broke free and started what was later dubbed the Magic Wars. Although she and the Legion fought the Archmage, he ended up devouring the Sorcerers' World. She then rejoined the Legion to help in the reconstruction efforts.

During the so-called 5-Year Gap, after leaving the Legion, White Witch married the presumably-reformed Mordru and lived with him on the planet Tharn, at this point, a world subdued by Mordru's magic where she was subjected to mystical imprisonment and manipulation, her powers repressed until she returned to her original appearance. When the Legion reformed, she was rescued and her powers were restored. She also discovered she was the physical vessel for the disembodied soul of Amethyst, former Princess of Gemworld and one of the Lords of Order. When the Legion next battled Glorith, Mysa was turned into a teenager and went on the run with the rest of the disgraced Legion as Jewel, during which time she became attracted to Timber Wolf. This time line was soon destroyed in Zero Hour.

After the Reboot, Mysa was no longer Dream Girl's sister from Naltor, but rather, the daughter of Mordru from Zarrox, the Sorcerers' World. The only survivor of a group of sorcerers who imprisoned Mordru, she spent a century preparing for his return, including planting the seeds for Kinetix's powers and manipulating much of the girl's life to make her an ally against Mordru's return. After he indeed rose again, Mysa, who resembled The Hag at this point was reverted to the age at which she first defeated him and helped the Legion imprison him once more. She settled on Sorcerers' World and fell in love with Dragonmage, whom she has taken as an apprentice. Though she would ally with the Legion again, she would never become a member.

After the Threeboot, little is known of the White Witch, except that she a member of Mekt Ranzz's Wanderers and loyal to him.

After Infinite Crisis, White Witch's original history has more or less been reestablished. Imprisoned on Sorcerers' World some time after the Magic Wars, she was rescued during Final Crisis and her magic was instrumental in summoning Legions from other time lines to fight Superboy-Prime and Mordru. The latter becomes so unstoppable, Mysa is forced to use one of his own dark spells against him, stealing his life-force and magic. Mysa re-emerges as the Black Witch with a black costume and hair, using her increased powers to defeat most of the villains single-handedly. Though remaining with the Legion for a time, she eventually returned to Sorcerers' World, with Blok at her side, to claim Mordru's throne.

The White Witch appeared in The Legion of Super-Heroes animated series near the end of its run. She was voiced by Lauren Tom.

Important White Witch Stories: 

Adventure Comics #350-351
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 6)
 
The White Witch makes her debut as The Hag

Adventure Comics #371
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8)
The White Witch helps the Legion defeat Mordru

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #291
 (reprinted in LSH: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe)
The Legion asks The White Witch to help them fight Darkseid

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #295
(reprinted in LSH: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe)
The White Witch joins the Legion

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #298-299
The White Witch's first mission as a Legionnaire

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #307
White Witch bonds with Invisible Kid II while training at Legion Academy

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #314-315
The White Witch's origin is revealed

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #324-325
The White Witch fights against The Dark Circle

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #20
The White Witch goes to her first Halloween party

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #27
The White Witch returns to Zerox, but only temporarily

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #29
The White Witch is one of the first Legionnaires to visit Hykraius

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #34
The White Witch is too weak to battle Universo

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #50
The White Witch journeys to Polar Boy's super-hot planet

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #50
The White Witch quits the Legion because of a disagreement over morals

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #55
The White Witch chooses not to return to the outside world

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #63
The White Witch helps the Legion defeat the Archmage

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #6
Mysa is psychologically tortured by her husband Mordru

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #7
The Legion frees Mysa from Mordru's influence

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #17
The White Witch is back in action, against the Khunds, after a pep talk from Bouncing Boy

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #43-48
The White Witch is inhabited by the spirit of Amethyst and battles Mordru

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #53
Glorith de-ages Mysa

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #54
Mysa's new look and personality premiere as she becomes Jewel

Legionnaires #18
Jewel call on the power of Amethyst to fight the Time Trapper as Zero Hour closes in on the time line

Legionnaires #33
Reboot Mysa is the Hag, a character instrumental to the origin of Kinetix

Legionnaires #42
Mysa continues to use Kinetix to her Mordru-fighting ends

Legionnaires #49
More is revealed of Mya's origins

Legionnaires #50
After a battle with Mordru, Mysa's youth is restored to her

Legionnaires #71-74
Mysa enrolls the Legion in a fight against Elementals

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #25-30
The Threeboot White Witch is a member of the Mekkt Ranzz's Wanderers

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2
Blok rescues the White Witch from Mordru's clutches

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2
The White Witch summons Legionnaires from other time lines

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5
Mysa becomes the Black Witch after absorbing Mordru's power
Adventure Comics (v2) #4
Blok follows the Witch to Sorcerer's World, where he frees her from dark
influences; she gives him a new look and he stays with her as consort and adviser

Adventure Comics (v2) #525
The Black Witch struggles with her dark side and comes out in control

Legion of Super-Heroes (v7) #20
The Black Witch fights Validus on Sorcerers' World
 
Legion of Super-Heroes animated series (2006-2008)
The White Witch, voiced by Lauren Tom

1 comment:

  1. I have always been a fan of Mysa, finding her demure shy persona an interesting one to have in a team of loud brash heroes.

    Seeing and remembering all of these twists and turns in her life have reminded me she has had a relatively complicated history!

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