Black Alice (Lori Zechlin) is a DC Comics character introduced in Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005). She uses her magical powers to prey on drug dealers in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio.[1]
| Black Alice | |
|---|---|
 Black Alice as depicted in Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005). Art by Ed Benes. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005) |
| Created by | Gail Simone Joe Prado Ed Benes |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lori Zechlin |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Secret Six Coven of Three |
| Abilities |
|
Fictional character biography
editOrigin
editLori Zechlin is a teenager who lives with her father John and her mother. Shortly after her mother dies from a drug overdose, Lori discovers that she can steal the superpowers of others and plans to take revenge on the drug dealers responsible for her death.[2]
Black Alice later encounters the Birds of Prey, who bring her to Doctor Fate so she can learn to control her powers.[1]
Day of Vengeance
editIn Day of Vengeance, Shadowpact recruits Alice to battle the Spectre and Eclipso. After the Spectre kills the wizard Shazam and destroys the Rock of Eternity, Alice declines to join Shadowpact.
In Infinite Crisis, Alice helps combat a global prison break orchestrated by Alexander Luthor Jr.
The Society
editTalia al Ghul, Felix Faust, and Cheetah approach Alice and resurrect her mother in exchange for her joining the Secret Society of Super Villains, but she refuses. Alice later obtains Doctor Fate's helmet, but gives it up when it begins punishing anyone who wrongs her.[1][3]
Alice later becomes addicted to antidepressants, which interferes with Darkseid's attempts to suppress her will.[4][5][6]
Reign in Hell
editIn the Reign in Hell storyline, Alice travels to Hell to retrieve a stolen portion of her powers. She steals Satanus' power and inadvertently allows his sister Blaze to gain control of Hell.
Secret Six and Blackest Night
editDuring the Blackest Night event, Alice joins the Secret Six.[7][8] In May 2010, she began co-starring in a back-up feature in Teen Titans alongside Zachary Zatara and Traci Thirteen.[9][10]
New 52
editIn The New 52 continuity reboot, Alice is an orphan who gained her powers after being possessed by a demon during a car crash that killed her parents.[11]
Powers and abilities
editBlack Alice can temporarily steal the magical powers of any being regardless of how powerful they are, leaving her targets powerless in turn. While the maximum range of her ability is unknown, it is potentially limitless. Additionally, her clothes change to reflect attributes of the person whose powers she took.[12][13][7][14]
In other media
edit- Lori Zechlin makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Teen Titans episode "Things Change".
- Black Alice appears in DC Super Friends #19. This version is a student of Headmaster Mind's supervillain school who possesses the ability to duplicate magical powers instead of stealing them. Following a fight with the Super Friends, Alice defects to them, vowing to return to regular school and become a hero when she grows up.
References
edit- ^ a b c Wallace, Dan (2008), "Black Alice", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 49, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
- ^ 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. 41. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Birds of Prey #115–116 (April–May 2008)
- ^ Birds of Prey #118 (July 2008)
- ^ Birds of Prey #121 (October 2008)
- ^ Birds of Prey #97 (October 2006)
- ^ a b Secret Six (vol. 3) #16 (February 2010)
- ^ Secret Six (vol. 3) #21–22 (July – August 2010)
- ^ "DCU | Comics". Archived from the original on 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ^ Wonder Woman #600 (August 2010)
- ^ Secret Six (vol. 4) #10
- ^ Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005)
- ^ Day of Vengeance #5 (October 2005)
- ^ Secret Six (vol. 3) #18 (April 2010)