LULLABY

Real Name: Felicity Hopkins Cross

Identity/Class: Human mutant/mutate see comments

Occupation: Super powered criminal; formerly a Babysitter

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Adam, Philippe (two of her "drones")

Enemies: Sabena (Harold Cross's former wife), Sleepwalker

Known Relatives: Harold Cross (husband)

Aliases: Felicity Hopkins, Felicity Cross, Mrs. Harold Cross

Base of Operations: The Songbird, a private yacht in a marina on the east side of Manhattan, and her penthouse; formerly Parsippany, New Jersey.

First Appearance: Sleepwalker#9 (February 1992)

Powers/Abilities: Lullaby has a hypnotic voice that can induce sleep, even through a telephone line or recorded message. While the victims are asleep they will obey her every command. She is skilled at rhyming though her level of skill in that area is debatable!

Limitations: The effect of her voice only lasts approximately 24 hours, after which time she needs to give her victim a "refresher rhyme". Beings who do not need sleep (Sleepwalkers, Robots, etc) are immune to her power.

History: (Sleepwalker#9(fb)) - Teenage babysitter Felicity Hopkins discovered she had the ability to sing any child to sleep and control them. She became the most in demand babysitter in Parsippany and then worked her way up until she was working for real estate tycoon Harold Cross and his wife Sabena. Lullaby then found out her powers extended to adults too and had Harold divorce Sabena. She then had Harold marry her without signing a pre-nuptial agreement, and they had an exquisite honeymoon in Tahiti. But soon having a mindless drone as a husband became boring. On the way back home from their honeymoon she told Harold to jump from the roof of their penthouse.

(Sleepwalker#9) - Lullaby and her husband returned home from their honeymoon to be mobbed by the press. While she deflected their questions, Mr Cross went to the top of their penthouse and jumped off. Sleepwalker noticed and warped a window out to slow his descent. Sleepwalker delivered Mr Cross safely to the ground only to be hounded by the humans. Only Lullaby thanked him for his efforts, and asked for a number where she could contact him. Sleepwalker gave her Rick Sheridan's home number and left. The following day Rick received a message intended for Sleepwalker, and fell prey to one of Lullaby's songs:

Rest your eyes,
fall asleep,
from the waters of the night,
you swallow deep
on the west side,
I await,
at the marina on the right,
you'll find your fate,
come to me,
sweet song-bird,
hear my voice,
your guiding light,
obey my word

Rick fell asleep and followed her instructions. Sleepwalker rose out of his mind noticing something felt different. He followed Rick to Lullaby's boat, the Songbird. Lullaby was shocked to see Rick instead of Sleepwalker and he wasn't even her type! But Sleepwalker appeared demanding to know what she had done to him. Lullaby gave Sleepwalker an account of her origins and how she had tried to kill Harold. As the protector of the mindscape advanced on her, she ordered Rick to jump in front of a speeding car should Sleepwalker try and stop her. Lullaby used her power on Sleepwalker, not realising he would be immune to her power. However Sleepwalker pretended to be under her control to avoid putting Rick in danger. Lullaby left Sleepwalker and Rick alone while she enjoyed the night in the company of Adam and Philippe. The next day she took Sleepwalker on a crime spree. Later on still she announced to the press that Sleepwalker would be her bodyguard. At that moment the police arrived to arrest them and Lullaby had Sleepwalker attack them. They returned to the Songbird and Lullaby was about to give Rick a refresher rhyme when Sleepwalker offered to drown him. Lullaby was impressed, believing Sleepwalker cared about her, but decided killing Rick was unnecessary. She told Rick to return home and forget all that had happened. Once Rick was out of harms way, Sleepwalker revealed that he had been playing along. Once he had realised Rick's trance could end he had offered to drown him as an excuse to get him out of harms way. When she asked Sleepwalker why he hadn't fallen prey to his power he reminded her that his race never sleeps! Sleepwalker dropped Lullaby and the stolen loot off at a local Police headquarters.

(New Avengers Most Wanted Files - BTS) - Lullaby was reported as having remained in prison since her initial capture.

Comments: Created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins

Lullaby's power surfaced in her teenaged years with apparently no exposure to anything that might have triggered her powers. So until somebody revives the character and reveals she was bitten by a radioactive babysitter I'm assuming she is a mutant as she fits the description perfectly! Although it is unknown what happened to her, their encounter led the media to believe Sleepwalker was in cahoots with her. This brought the O.I.E. (Office of Insufficient Evidence) down on Sleepwalker. Whilst thinking of this predicament Sleepy mentions her in#10, and we see a mental image of her in the mindscape in#13.

With Lullaby's skill at singing it's a shame she didn't put it to more creative use. I'm not too sure about her lyrics, and her rhythm seems a bit off, but these days producers can make even the direst artists sound good! Mind you it could lead to legions of brainwashed teenage fans...

Just a little piece of Sleepwalker trivia for you: Rick Sheridan's home number (as given to Lullaby in#9) was 718-555-7891.

As far as characters who speak in rhyme go, at least Lullaby didn't speak like it all the time. If she ever wanted to form a team of rhyming villains she could look for Droog and Tokkots.

Other Master's of the Obscure reminded me of various rhyming characters:

The DC Universe's Demon (Jason Blood) and Wheelie of Transformers Generation One fame.  The Amalgam character Speed Demon (Blaze Allen) [Flash (Barry Allen), Demon (Jason Blood/Etrigan) / Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)] spoke in rhyme as a nod to his DC Universe source character.  But I can't recall if Kid Demon (Wally West) [Kid Flash (Wally West) / Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)] did as well. --Skullogeist

Greeneggs, Mayor of Here, a city in the realm known as Here and There (@ Defenders I#115(?)) spoke in rhyme.  None of the other speaking-part Here/Thereians did (although since Annham always whispered we really don't know if he was rhyming or not) -- Ronald Byrd

The Master Key who accessed Wormholes for the Warheads Kether Troop spoke in rhyme when opening portals.--Snood

Nightmare's former servant Doggerel spoke in rhymes too.
--Markus Raymond