ZSAJI
Real Name: Zsaji
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unidentified race)
Occupation: Healer
Affiliations: Avengers, The Fantastic Four (especially Human Torch), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter), the X-Men (especially Colossus)
Enemies: All villains present on the Battle World, such as Dr. Doom and the Wrecking Crew
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Formerly her unnamed home planet,
later, the Beyonder's Battleworld
First Appearance: Secret Wars I#4 (August, 1984)
Powers/Abilities: Zsaji had the ability to heal people from devastating, even near death injuries. She was shown healing She-Hulk, Spider-Man, The Human Torch, and Colossus from broken bones with no difficulty. However, there was a limit to her power. When she healed Wasp from a death-like stasis, Zsaji became weakened, and when resurrecting Colossus, she died from the effort.
She did not speak English, but she did have access to some mind-linking vapors, which could communicate thoughts and histories. It has been guessed that her power may make men that she treats become infatuated with her, however this is not confirmed, and has evidence to the contrary (see comments).
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 125 lbs.
History: (Secret Wars I#4) - After being brought to a
world created by the Beyonder to do battle with villains, the Avengers,
Fantastic Four and others, went searching for refuge, after a battle. They came
upon an alien village, and entered. The native's were fearful initially, but the
village healer, Zsaji, argued on the hero's' behalf. Zsaji healed She-hulk,
Spider-man, and Human Torch from the injuries they had received earlier.
(Secret Wars I#5) - Galactus, who was also brought to this planet by the Beyonder, summoned his massive ship. Zsaji was terrified, and Human Torch tried to calm her down, though neither one of them could understand the other. She brought Torch into her hut, and bid him to inhale some vapors. He did so, and their minds became linked, and they both saw each other's thoughts and histories. Zsaji and Human Torch kiss.
(Howard the Duck V#4) - While looking for a present for Zsaji the Human Torch found one of the Abundant Gems.
(Secret Wars I#5) - Later, in the aftermath of a battle, in which the heroes defeated the villains, Colossus lay badly injured by the Wrecker. Zsaji tried to heal him, but he didn't want her near him. She heals Spider-man instead. Then, while she is kissing Torch, Colossus sees, and pretty much falls in love with her right off the bat. He completely forgets about his girlfriend (Kitty Pryde) back home. He lets Zsaji heal him.
(Secret Wars I#6) - Zsaji come to give Colossus another treatment, and while she does, he starts confessing his fondness for her. She cannot understand, and walks away. She is picked up by Torch, and they start kissing and then walk away together while Colossus watches sadly.
(Secret Wars I#7) - After Wasp is attacked and brutalized by the Wrecking Crew, they attack Zsaji's village with a huge tank and throw out the Wasp's body. Zsaji tries to heal her, but walks away with her head down, implying that Wasp was too far gone. She was later seen walking out of the hut where the Wasp's body was. She faints, and Colossus catches her. She looked pale in the face.
(Secret Wars I#8) - Colossus ran, with Zsaji in his arms, to her hut. He took the vase which contained the mind linking vapors and opened it. He learned that she had revived Wasp, but been weakened by the extreme effort.
(Secret Wars I#9) - When Galactus becomes aggressive, Colossus leaves an unconscious Zsaji as he goes to fight. Later, when the battle was over, She runs past him and to Torch.
(Secret Wars I#10) - While Dr. Doom, empowered by draining the power of Galactus, battles the Beyonder, the shockwaves hit the Battle World. Zsaji is injured and Colossus sees her hurt through the monitors at the heroes base. He tells Human Torch that she is injured, and he is tending to Mr. Fantastic and just says that he doesn't have time for her.
(Secret Wars I#11) - The night before the heroes would go to meet with Dr. Doom, who had absorbed the power of the Beyonder, Colossus decides that he needs to see Zsaji. He leaves the base of the heroes, and goes to her. He gives her flowers and tells her he loves her. She cannot understand his words, but knows what he means. Later, when wondering whether or not to attack Dr. Doom, Professor X calls Colossus back so they can vote. He leaves her, but promises to come back.
(Secret Wars I#12) - The heroes are all killed by Dr. Doom, with a bolt from the blue, and Zsaji comes down and views the wreckage and carrion. She uses all of her energy to resurrect Colossus, but dies in the effort. Colossus in turn, uses the machines to bring everyone else back to life. Later, Colossus cries by her grave, and almost refuses to go back to Earth to stay there.
(Howard the Duck V#4) - After Zsaji's death the Human Torch decided to keep the gem and take it back to Earth where he eventually lost track of it when the Fantasic Four's Pier Four home was destroyed during a battle.
Comments: Created by Jim Shooter and Bob Layton
The source of Zsaji's abilities is unknown, but it probably
stems from her training as a healer in her village. It is possible that her
ability is not uncommon for the healers of her people, and that it can be
learned or inherited. So whereas her abilities were uncommon, she was probably,
in my opinion, not a mutant.
--maybe, maybe not...
I'm surprised at a few characters. I never followed The
Fantastic Four very much, but I never thought the Human Torch would take
advantage of women like that. I know he was a horny young guy, but that's just
kind of wrong. He wasn't even angry when she chose Colossus over him. He really
didn't care. As for Colossus, I never thought he was that shallow. When he first
sees her he thinks to himself how beautiful she is, and then that quickly
escalates into his falling in love with her. By the time he fell in love, he had
barely said a word to her. His falling in love must have been completely based
on her appearance, and he was willing to sacrifice his relationship with Shadowcat for it.
--I'm not surprised. The Torch is often quite the womanizer, while Colossus
feels/felt emotions much more deeply. Also, Colossus and Kitty/Shadowcat were
separated by quite a few years, and they never really had much more than a
crush...or if they did, Colossus was committing a crime!
It was suggested by Wolverine however, that he did not love
her, and that the emotions that he and Human Torch felt were a side affect of
her healing power. This is intelligent, but flawed. She also healed Spider-Man,
She-Hulk and others, and none of them showed any unusual affection toward her.
Also, if she was a village healer, then there would probably be a lot more
people who she had healed following her around if Wolverine's theory was
correct, so most likely, she was just really easy. Wolverine suggested that
possibly love was completely different for her race compared to how humans view
it. I guess that's also a possibility.
--Well, she was pretty, and there's--at least--the Florence Nightingale
effect. I'd say that her power had that effect on others, perhaps men more so
then women, but it wasn't a totally overwhelming effect, like the kiss of the
Enchantress, or something like that. And the people of her village were aliens,
so their emotions may be totally different than mankind.
By the way, her bringing Colossus back to life was influenced, and probably made possible by Doom's mind not being able to cope with godhood. Klaw, who was being influenced by the Beyonder, suggested this scenario to Doom, and he made it come true unwittingly.
Zsaji was one of the main characters in Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars, a series set during the original Secret Wars, but the events were told by Deadpool and he is kind of crazy and therefore the veracity of these events are a bit questionable in regular continuity....sadly.
--Markus Raymond
Updated by Markus Raymond (Howard the Duck).
CLARIFICATIONS: None
images: (without ads)
Secret Wars I#7, p4, pan5 (main image)
Secret Wars I#4, p22, pan4 (with Human Torch)
Appearances:
Secret Wars I#4-5 (August-September, 1984) - Jim Shooter (writer), Bob Layton (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Secret Wars I#6-7 (October-November, 1984) - Jim Shooter (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Secret Wars I#8 (December, 1984) - Jim Shooter (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty, Jack Abel & Mike Esposito (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Secret Wars I#9-11 (January-March, 1985) - Jim Shooter (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Secret Wars I#12 (April, 1985) - Jim Shooter (writer), Michael Zeck (pencils), John Beatty & Art Adams (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Howard the Duck V#4 (August, 2015) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe Quinones (pencils/inks), Joe Rivera (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
First Posted: 03/29/2003
Last updated: 04/01/2016
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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