URSULA RICHARDS

Real Name: Ursula Richards

Identity/Class: Human (source of powers unknown)

Occupation: Unknown, though Ursula was independently financially stable

Group Membership: The Psychics, the Defenders (as part of the Chorus being in Overmind)

Affiliations: Beast (McCoy), Captain America (Rogers), Daredevil, Defenders, Doctor Strange, Gargoyle (Christians), Hellcat, Nighthawk, Overmind, Scarlet Witch, Silver Surfer, Son of Satan, Squadron Supreme (Amphibian, Arcanna, Cap'n Hawk, Doctor Spectrum, Golden Archer, Hyperion, Lady Lark, Nighthawk [Richmond of Earth-S], Nuke, Power Princess, Tom Thumb, Whizzer), Sub-Mariner, Vision, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)

Enemies: Morgan MacNeil Hardy, August Masters, Professor Power

Known Relatives: Unnamed father, unnamed mother

Aliases: None known

Base of Operations: None currently;
                                     (formerly) the South Bronx in New York City, New York

First Appearance: Captain America I#264 (December, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Ursula was a powerful telepath.  The source of her powers is unknown.

History: (Defenders I#117 (fb)) - Ursula Richards grew up in the South Bronx in New York.  Her family was stricken with poverty and Ursula's mother died when Ursula was 12.  Within a few years, her father also died, and Ursula blamed the deaths of her parents on the poverty sapping their spirits.  She became determined to get out of the Bronx, and out of poverty.  She focused on school and worked many jobs to get herself through college.  By age 21, she had achieved the money, success, and freedom that she'd wanted, but she'd closed herself off to everyone around her and felt very alone.  It is unknown at what point, or how, Ursula developed her psychic powers.

(Captain America I#264 (fb)) - Ursula was contacted by Morgan McNeil Hardy, the Forever Man, who was working with the Secret Empire.  He offered her a large sum of money to participate in an experiment that would utilize her powers.  Ursula joined with Philip le Guin and two other telepaths and they were strapped in a machine that used their powers to reshape reality to Hardy's vision of what America should be. 

(Captain America I#264) - The reality kept shifting from one telepath's ideals to another, though.  Ursula's personal vision was one in which Captain America was a renowned hero, standing for all America and democracy should be.  She managed to contact Captain America through the others' visions, leading him towards Hardy.  Hardy strapped himself into the machine and burned it out, leaving him and the two unnamed telepaths seemingly dead.  Ursula and Philip, having survived, thanked Captain America and left.

(Captain America I#268 (fb)) - Ursula was placed in SHIELD custody for a time, where she realized that her experience with Hardy had caused her powers to grow stronger.  She returned to her normal life, but was recaptured by the Secret Empire and taken to Mt. Charteris in Burton Canyon, Colorado.  She and the other Psychics members would be used to start a psychic was with the Soviet Union.

(Captain America I#268) - Ursula and Philip were able to send out a psychic distress call to Captain America, and to reawaken the captive heroes Gargoyle, Hellcat, and Valkyrie.  The four heroes freed the psychics and they almost escaped, but August Masters threatened to self-destruct the base and everyone was recaptured.

(Defenders I#106) - While Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Beast, and Son of Satan responded to a distress call put out by another psychic, Mindy Williams, Ursula, Philip, Mindy, and three other psychics combined their minds into one.  The single mind possessed Kyle Richmond's (Nighthawk) form and set the self-destruct sequence off for Mt. Charteris, willing to sacrifice themselves to stop the war.  After the heroes escaped, the psychics, Richmond, Masters, and other Secret Empire operatives exploded with the building.

(Defenders I#114) - The Chorus being helped defeat Null, and then took over the body of Overmind.

(Defenders I#117) - The Chorus being went on a journey to find closure to each of the Chorus' lives.  In Ursula's form, the being returned to the South Bronx and confronted her origins and rage about poverty.  Back in Overmind's form, the being knocked over a tenement building and almost killed two children.  Ursula was prepared to move on.  This adventure put Ursula's soul to rest, and she surrendered himself to the greater consciousness she'd become a part of.

Comments: Created by J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, and Quickdraw Studios.

Urusula's mind is an official part of the Chorus being in Overmind's form, and can be seen in greater detail in the profiles for the Chorus and the Overmind.  In addition, the Chorus being was later swallowed up by Overmind's larger consciousness, so Ursula could be considered BTS for Overmind's later appearances.

Profile by Chadman

Clarifications:

Ursula Richards has no known connections to

images:
Captain America I#264, p14, pan4
Defenders I#117, p16, pan3

Captain America I#264 (December, 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), Quickdraw Studios (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Captain America I#268 (April, 1982) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Defenders I#106 (April, 1982) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Sal Trapani, Al Milgrom, Jack Abel & Rick Magyar (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#117 (May, 1983) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Jack Abel (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)

First Posted: 11/24/2005
Last updated: 11/24/2005

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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