RACHEL PALMER

Real Name: Rachel Palmer

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Public relations agent

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: The Avengers (Beast, Captain America, Iron Man, Jocasta, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wasp, Wonder Man), Mr. Bertolini (visited his set), Shadow Lord

Enemies: Berserker

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The Apple of My Eye", "The Bane of My Existence", "The Light of My Life",

Base of Operations: Mobile

First Appearance:  Avengers I#207 (May, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Rachel Palmer did not have any superhuman powers, but she briefly possessed two jewels that acted as keys to the Shadow World. When activated, the jewels would open a portal to the Shadow World. One jewel would open the portal and the other would close it.

History:  (Avengers I#207) - After Wonder Man finished a day of acting on the movie "Guns of the Gunman", he was confronted by Rachel Palmer, his public relations agent. She told him that if he could keep that job, it might make it a little easier to hype him as an actor. Thinking her to only be self-serving, Wonder Man stormed off, leaving Rachel behind to think of a way to prove herself to him. Thinking she might ask him to dinner, Rachel witnessed Wonder Man and the Beast responding to an emergency Avengers summon. She watched as Wonder Man and the Beast were told of a mysterious city that sprang up out of the Mediterranean and thinking she didn't need to miss such an opportunity, rented a plane and then a boat in an effort to get information on the city. When she neared the island city, a water spout destroyed her boat, knocking her unconcious at the feet of the Shadow Lord. She awoke to find the Shadow Lord watching her but the Lord quickly explained himself and his origins. As the Shadow Lord finished his story, his island city was attacked by the Avengers, who thought that the Shadow Lord was holding Rachel hostage. Despite her best efforts, a battle soon erupted between the Shadow Lord and the Avengers, which resulted in the the Shadow Lord's death. As he lay dying, the Shadow Lord (aided by Rachel) explained to the Avengers his origins and the impending arrival of the Berserker that he lived to stop.

 (Avengers I#208) - Rachel continued to explain the story of the Shadow Lord to the Avengers and agreed to tell them more, but insisted on giving the Shadow Lord a proper burial. Following the funeral, Rachel led the Avengers to the Shadow Lord's Pool of Memories, which revealed even more about the origins of the Shadow Lord and the Berserker that he had warned them about. The Avengers, with Rachel in tow, soon found the location of the Berserker, who took Rachel hostage during the subsequent battle. The Berserker then led Rachel to a hidden city where he took the jewels given to Rachel by the Shadow Lord as a symbol of the Earth-Lords' defeat. The Avengers soon arrived and engaged the Berserker once again in an effort to free Rachel from his clutches. During the battle, Wonder Man realized that the "jewels" given to Rachel by the Shadow Lord were actually the key to imprisoning the Berserker. He quickly used them to capture the Berserker once again and once the Berserker was safely returned to his Shadow World prison, he commented to Rachel that he had faked his unconsciousness. Rachel replied that Wonder Man's acting had fooled her and that perhaps there was hope for him yet.

Comments: Created by Bob Budiansky, Danny Fingeroth, Gene Colan, and Dan Green.

Given that Rachel Palmer was Wonder Man's public relations agent, I'm surprised that she wasn't seen after this story...

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Rachel Palmer has no known connections to

• Palmer, agent of S. H. I. E. L. D., @ Motormouth#1
• Palmer, Fire Department of New York, involved with the Human Torch's investigation of Firefox, @ Human Torch II#3
• Palmer, Bethany, Fantastic Enterprises, ex-wife of Jeff, assisted out of abusive relationship by Invisible Woman, @ Marvel Knights 4#28
• Palmer, Cameron, former teacher at Rudolph Giuliani High School, aided Kiden Nixon against Zebra Daddy, @ NYX#1
• Palmer, Christine, Night Nurse, aided Nightcrawler against Pazazu, @ Night Nurse#1
• Palmer, Felix, brother of Asmodeus Jones, sacrificed to the Six-Fingered Hand, @ Defenders I#96
• Palmer, Harry, infected with Brood egg and in turn, infected several others, @ Uncanny X-Men#232
• Palmer, Jeff, ex-husband of Bethany, abusive, @ Marvel Knights 4#28
• Palmer, Dr. of Earth-Amalgam, counterpart of Distinguished Competition's Atom, Project: Cadmus, @ Spider-Boy#1