FEMIZONS
Membership: Superia (leader) and her
lieutenants (Blackbird/Heather O'Gara, Iron Maiden/Melina Vostokovna, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Nightshade/Tilda Johnson,
Snapdragon/Sheoke Sanada);
and the rest--Anaconda (Blanche Sitznski),
Arclight (Philippa Sontag),
Battleaxe (Anita Ehren), Black Lotus, Bloodlust (Beatta Dubiel), Bombshell (Wendy Conrad), Chimera, Dansen
Macabre, Dragoness (Tamara Kurtz), Dragonfly (Veronica Dultry),
Elektra (? see comments), Ferocia (formerly Fera), Frenzy (Joanna Cargill), Gladiatrix (Robin Braxton), Golddigger (Angela Golden), Gypsy Moth (Sybil Dvorak), Ice Princess, Impala, Ion (Voletta Todd), Karisma (Mary Brown), Knockout (Elizabeth Rawson), Mindblast (Daniella Forte), MODAM (Olinka Barankova), Mysteria, Pink
Pearl (Pearl Gross), Poundcakes (Marian Pouncy),
Princess
Python (Zelda DuBois), Quicksand,
Screaming Mimi (Melissa Gold), Steel Wind (Ruriko Tsumura), Titania (Mary
MacPherran), Vapor (Ann Darnell), Vertigo
(Savage Land Mutates), Water Witch, Whiplash (Leeann Foreman), Whiteout,
Wrangler, Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara);
Asp (Cleo Nefertiti), Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy) and Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) were also present, but actively fought against
the others
Purpose: World takeover, placing women (specifically Superia) in charge
Aliases: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: A.I.M., Asp (Cleo Nefertiti), Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy), Alessandro Brannex (Super-Adaptoid), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), MODAM, Paladin
Base of Operations: Femizonia Island, somewhere in the South Atlantic; the S.S. Superia
First Appearance: (BTS) Captain America I#386 (June, 1991); (seen) Captain America I#388 (July, 1991)
History:
(Captain America I#386/2, 387-392) - Superia set out to bring
about the potential future of Femizonia, a world ruled by women. To do
this, she set up a base on what would become Femizonia Island. Her plan
involved using missiles launched into the upper atmosphere that would
then explode and emit Sterility Seeds, special microbiological weapons
of Superia's creation--these would sterilize all of the women of the
world. Meanwhile, Superia began to gather what she felt to be the best
and the brightest (as well as the most powerful) women in the world (or
at least those that would be interested in her plan) and bring them to
Femizonia Island; the Island would be encased within a
hermetically-sealed dome, making the women within the dome humanity's
most precious and vital resource. Her plan would lead to the nations of
the world capitulating to her every demand, in order that the human race
would survive. This in turn would give Superia control of the destiny of
the human race, and make her ruler of the world.
Superia first recruited
Nightshade to assist her in designing the technology of Femizonia
Island. She recruited Blackbird, MODAM, and Moonstone to act as her
operatives. She gathered over 10,500 civilian women, and then sent her
operatives to gather the super-villain women of the world to her side.
Included with at least some of the invitations were large sums of cash,
as much as $100,000.
The Asp, Black Mamba, and Diamondback had been defeated by Serpent
Society members Anaconda, Puff
Adder, and Rock
Python, and were aboard a Serpent
Saucer taking them to the Cobra
for punishment. MODAM interrupted this abduction, knocked out Anaconda,
and hurled Puff Adder and Rock Python from the ship. All four women were
invited, and accepted the invitation, to join her.
Approximately 50 super-villain women were brought aboard the luxury
cruise-liner, the S.S. Superia,
en route to Femizonia Island. However, shortly after arriving,
Diamondback was confronted and assaulted by Snapdragon, who wished
vengeance for their past conflicts. Snapdragon beat Diamondback nearly
to death, and threw her overboard. Diamondback drowned, but was detected
in time, and revived with CPR by other agents of Superia.
Meanwhile, Captain America and Paladin followed a trail from the violent
scene of Diamondback's disappearance to the cruise-liner. They were
discovered and assaulted by Blackbird, MODAM, and Moonstone, but
succeeded in defeating all three. However, when they attempted to sneak
aboard the S.S. Superia, they
were detected by Ferocia, and attacked en masse by the super-villainess
army. They held their own for awhile, but eventually a group of
super-strong women got hold of Paladin and threatened to tear him apart,
so Captain America surrendered as well. The two were taken to Superia
and subjected to her feminization treatment, which would transform them
into women. (I kid you not!)
The Asp and Black Mamba disagreed with Superia's plans, and rightly
suspected that their friend Diamondback had been assaulted by one of the
other Femizons. They freed Captain America and Paladin, and split up to
stop Superia and find Diamondback. Captain America and Black Mamba made
it into the nerve center of Superia's operations, and he relayed a
message to Avengers Mansion. They were then discovered by Superia, who
challenged Captain America to single combat, to determine who
was...superior. After a short, inconclusive battle, Cap deflected one of
Superia's blasts into the air, where it struck and damaged the Island's
dome. Although Superia's missiles had already been launched, she was
forced to flee to remotely deactivate the bombs, or everyone inside the
dome would be sterilized as well. Cap, Paladin, and their female allies
left aboard the Avengers Quinjet which arrived shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Quasar located Superia's missiles and transported them to
Uranus (still funny, no matter how old I get), where they would do no harm. The majority of the
super-villainesses apparently went their separate ways.
(Captain America I#394/2, 395, 395/2) - Superia placed a
bounty on the heads of the women who assisted in her defeat, causing the
Asp and Black Mamba to be attacked by Battleaxe, Golddigger, and Steel
Wind while at a bar. Asp and Mamba were joined by Impala, who helped
them fight off the attack and flee.
(Captain America I#411-414) - Superia was left with a small group of allies, who now formed the core of the Femizons: herself, Blackbird, Iron Maiden, and Snapdragon. These four attended the AIM Weapons Expo on Boca Caliente, with the plan of taking over the Island and using their profits to finance Superia's further plans of worldwide conquest. Superia met with Alessandro Brannex, the head of AIM, and blasted a hole through his chest. She was quickly subdued by MODAM, who had returned to AIM and refused to aid Superia. Brannex was revealed to be an adaptoid, and he recovered from the assault. Blackbird and Iron Maiden flew to help Superia, while Snapdragon was confronted by Diamondback, who had been toughened by recent experiences and sought revenge for her near-drowning. Diamondback killed Snapdragon, while MODAM blasted Blackbird into submission, leaving the Iron Maiden unable to stop her as she took off with Superia. Captain America took a sky-sled from AIM and attacked MODAM, forcing her to drop Superia into the water.
BTS - Superia recovered, but apparently dissolved the Femizons.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald and Rik Levins.
For the record, in Savage Tales I#1/2 (the first appearance of the Femizons of the future), the catalyst that triggered the formation of Femizonia was said to have taken place "at the end of last century." Since that story took place in the 23rd Century, "last century" should refer to the 22nd century (2100s) or possibly the 21st century (2000s). That means that Superia's plans were off by 100-200 years...which may be why her plot was foiled.
The OHotMU I#11 detailed the events that created the world of Femizonia, but named the date as the end of the 20th Century. The two sources are not mutually exclusive, and it is possible to integrate them. For more information, see the Femizons of Thundra.
OK. I don't recognize every single one of these women, and can't name all of them. Please let me know whom I missed--and if you could give a page and panel so I can check it, that would be great.
Thanks to Ronald
Byrd, for the identification of
Elektra.
--I guess that has to be Elektra, because it looks like she's got a
sai. I tell you who it looks more like, though: Letha
(who'd been dead for awhile at that time)--maybe it's Mystique; or
maybe the Chameleon, or it could be the first appearance of the Dead
Ringer, or any other metamorph. Either of the guys might have
been hoping to hang out in the women's locker room...
...and catch a glimpse of Pink Pearl...mmmm...Pink Pearl...
Just kidding--Snood.
She appears to be wearing a metallic bra like Letha's,
and since both Poundcakes and Screaming Mimi were there, I'd say it's
a mis-colored Letha... or maybe a new member of the Grapplers
wearing a modified version of the old Letha's costume. And I'm
surprised they forgot to include the Man-Killer,
who'd fit right in with this group.--Ron Fredricks
Any of the Femizons not having entries elsewhere or in
sub-entry below received their own profile.
See Superia for the information to
flesh out her reasons for creating Femizonia Island.
Improved images by Ron Fredricks.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Superia's Femizons are to be distinguished from:
Femizonia Island, the base of Superia's Femizons, is to be distinguished from:
Chimera has no known connection to:
Now that's a lot of Chimeras!
|
Chimera Chimera (real name unrevealed) was first seen aboard the S.S. Superia, and nothing is known of her past. She participated in the en masse assault on Captain America and Paladin. She is a metamorph, able to grow wings, claws, etc. The extent of her abilities is unrevealed. (Prime Eternal identified her for me. Her name and powers were identified in the letters page of Captain America I#400.) --[Captain America I#387], 389 ([387, 388], 389, 390, [391, 392] |
|
|
Mysteria Mysteria (last name Winters)
was of unspecified origin. She was a petty thief based out of Las
Vegas. Her powers were most likely derived from her pair of
"Mist-Sticks" (get it?--Mystics), and she was said to use
fog generators in her crimes. She was first seen aboard the S.S. Superia and participated in the en masse assault on Captain America and Paladin. When Captain America and Black Mamba first confronted Superia, she sent Mysteria, Arclight, Bombshell, and Wrangler after them. Mysteria tried to ambush Cap, but he threw Wrangler into her, and Mysteria inadvertently took out Wrangler instead. She obscured his vision with a cloud of mist and tried to ambush him again, but Cap took her out with a sweep of his shield, and one of her Mist-Sticks incapacitated Bombshell in the process. She could release a thick, opaque mist that obscured anything within it. The mist was also lacking any oxygen and could suffocate those trapped within it. Her Mist-Sticks released a powerful electric charge which could cause temporary motor paralysis on contact. --[Captain America I#387], 389 ([387, 388], 389-392 Vagabond (Priscilla Lyons) pretended to be Lisa Winters, the alleged sister of Mysteria in the USAgent mini-series, as her cover story in her Scourge persona. Some additional comments on Mysteria provided by Cary: As she had blonde hair, and used special fx [sic] worthy of Quentin Beck (alias Mysterio), I'll say it was actually Judith Klemmer working undercover for SHIELD. And, that she really IS the daughter of the same temperamental fx artist who, once upon a time, almost framed himself into prison with one of his tantrums. P.S.--Mysteria's clumsiness might've been subconscious. Not too long ago, Daredevil volunteered to be temporarily brainwashed for a real deep-cover SHIELD mission to Paris. Judith Klemmer might've had to undergo similar hypnotic preparation for spying on Superia (It would be just like Nick Fury to call such a process "Preparation H."). But, even so, she still recognized Cap on an instinctive level and acted uncoordinated, accordingly. Well, that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it! Yours truly: Carycomix@aol.com |
|
images: (without ads)
Captain America I#390, p2-3
(Femizons main image)
Captain America I#391, p2, pan2 (Femizonia Island)
Captain America I#390, p3 (close-up:
possibly Elektra?)
Captain America I#390, p4, pan5 (Chimera attacks with claws)
Captain America I#390, p2,
pan4 (Chimera flies with wings)
Captain America I#392, p9, pan2 (Ice Princess attacks with
icicle)
Captain America I#392, p5, pan1 (Mysteria attacks with Mist-Sticks)
Captain America I#392, p2, pan5 (Mysteria)
Appearances:
Captain America I#387-392 (early July
- late September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins
(pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#411-413 (January-March, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald
(writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Mike Rockwitz
(editor)
Fear Itself: The Home Front#1/1 (June, 2011) - Christos Gage (writer),
Mike Mayhew (artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
First Posted: 10/20/2001
Last updated: 03/03/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!