Mortastic Four

Trigon is the father of Raven of the Teen Titans and an otherworldly demon with plans of interdimensional conquest. So, yeah, usual stuff. He fought the Titans early in their series, and the good guys just barely eeked a victory. He returns later in their run with one of my favorite story arcs of all time, which of course I would be happy to let you borrow. For the last twenty or so years, however, he has only appeared as a reanimated bag of bones and in a couple of episodes of the epilepsy-inducing Teen Titans Cartoon. How can a good character stay dead for so long?

Okay, I've got a special four for one. Who are these Bat Enemies?

Paternal Mort

The Fallen Angel is, as her name implies, an angel that fell from grace when she took it upon herself to slay a man who killed one of her "charges". God punished her by sending her to earth, where she continues to protect humanity. I don't have the space or inclination here to explain every way in which her series rocked, but it is worth a read if you get a chance.

The new Mort is one of the most underused villians in comics history. He is the antagonist in one of my favorite story arcs. What can you tell me about this guy:

Scarlet Garbed Mort

Tarantula (John Law) was a non super powered "mystery man" during World War II. He fought alongside the All Star Squadron using gimmicks such as suction cup boots and his athletic ability. As Randy correctly pointed out, he lived in the same building as Nightwing, but the building was burned down by one of Nightwing's enemies, and John Law tragically died in the blaze.

I really think that I have shown you this mort before, although I hardly think she qualifies as a mort, since she has stared in her own Eponymously titled series for the last couple of years. Either way, here you go. Since that picture is a little small (and because Joanna taught me how) here is a second picture of her in a less graceful moment.

Caught in the Web of the Mort

Randy gets the prize for Dream Girl, a member of the Legion of Super Heroes who had precognitive powers (for the layperson, that means she could see the future). You'd think with that power that she could have kept herself from getting trapped in the weird contraption.

New Mort. By the way, it is really hard to photoshop a spider web design and have it look normal.

Mort in Distress

Regan is right once again. Our previous Mort was the once and future Titan Jericho during the period when we discover he is not dead, but instead has been secretly possessing the body of his father Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke the Terminator. I don't want to spoil things for those of you waiting for the trade paperback of the Titans, but Jericho is back, which makes me happy. I have said before that he is my favorite comic book character behind Booster Gold and Ambush Bug. This leads me to an ancillary question. Who is your favorite super hero, and in a larger sense, what qualities make a hero one of your favorites? I'll respond to that question in my next post.

Okay, the new Mort should be an easy one (especially if you have the DC Encyclopedia), so I will expect you to tell me about her powers as well as giving me her name.