Known Relatives:  Loki (father, condemned to Limbo by Thor), unidentified mother (deceased), Thena (cousin), Thor (uncle)

Aliases:  Hag

Base of Operations:  Volcanic island base, near Equator (Earth-982);
    formerly Asgard (Earth-982)

First Appearance:  Avengers Next#1 (January, 2007)

Powers/Abilities:  Sylene was an extremely powerful sorceress, able to command a wide range of spells. Like her father, Loki, she was able to disguise herself easily, appearing in both female and male forms. Other spells allowed her to form and command zombie versions and energy-based duplicates of other beings, reanimate a version of Ultron, and draw power from super-beings in order to transform Earth into a new version of Asgard. While she exhibited some of the enhanced physical durability and power of her Asgardian heritage, she preferred to use sorcery in combat, firing a variety of force-bolts and employing other forms of offensive and defensive magic.

History:

(Avengers Next#3/Last Hero Standing#5 (fb) - BTS ) - Selene was orphaned when her father, Loki, was condemned to Limbo by Thor, as punishment for his attack on the Avengers. Her mother's fate was not revealed.

(Avengers Next#3/Last Planet Standing#2 (fb) ) - Sylene, Thena, and others fled when Galactus destroyed Asgard.

(Avengers Next#1) - Sylene appeared in disguise as Hag, an old crone. Partnered with Ulik the Troll (also somewhat "disguised" in a pimp-like suit), she hired the teleporting thief, Warp, to steal genetic samples of past and present Avengers members from Avengers Mansion. Using magic to animate the samples, she sends an army of zombie-clone heroes to attack the Avengers, serving as a distraction while Ulik and Warp broke into the mansion to kidnap Kevin Masterson (Thunderstrike, de-powered following destruction of Asgard) and steal the head of an Ultron robot. Spider-Girl spotted Hag controlling the zombies, and engaged her in combat, distracting her and causing the zombie spell to dissipate. Hag then teleported away to safety.

(Avengers Next#2) - Still in her Hag disguise, Sylene schemed to use the latent power of the captured Kevin Masterson, as well as the other Avengers, for unspecified purposes. Transported by Warp to a hidden underground storage facility, she used the Ultron head stolen from Avengers Mansion in a spell to free the ultra-powerful Ultron Extreme model from stasis.

(Avengers Next#3) - Still disguised as Hag, Sylene worked to draw the Avengers to her volcanic island base, using Kevin Masterson as bait. When the Avengers arrived, accompanied by Katherine Power, Spider-Girl, and Thena, they were attacked by Ulik, Warp, and Ultron Extreme. The Avengers freed Kevin Masterson, but on the flight home, it was revealed that he was actually Hag in disguise. After revealing herself, she detonated the Quinjet.

(Avengers Next#4) - Hag and Ulik held the Avengers, Katherine Power, Thena, and Spider-Girl all captive, storing them in stasis tubes. Hag created a set of energy-duplicates of the heroes, drawing out their "ethereal energy," and sending them out to create more such duplicates. She revealed that she planned to use them to gather power, supplementing her own magical abilities, and allowing her to recreate Asgard on Earth, destroying human civilization in the process. While Ulik battled Mainframe, Hag explained her plot to Thena, before casting off her magical disguise to reveal herself as Sylene, daughter of Loki. The spell she was weaving required the sacrifice of both an Asgardian (Thena) and a "changeling," but the plan to use Kevin Masterson was foiled when Warp, not happy with destroying the world, teleported him away. Sylene then decided to use J2, instead, casting him and Thena into a magical pit at the base of a volcano, and began to recreate Asgard, transforming Earth's cities and people into the various realms and individuals of her own world.

(Avengers Next#5) - While her energy-duplicates attacked the Avengers Mansion, Sylene tended to her world-transformation spell in her volcano island base. Warp transported Jarvis and Kevin Masterson to the base, where Kevin attacked the sorceress, using a remote-controlled set of old Iron Man armor and the Grim Reaper's energy scythe. Jarvis managed to reverse the magic behind the energy-duplicates, causing them to dissipate, and freeing the other heroes from their comas. Sylene battled the Avengers, Katherine Power, and Spider-Girl; meanwhile, J2 managed to free himself and Thena from the magical pit where Sylene had placed them, nullifying the magic that was recreating Asgard. After Thena reactivated Kevin Masterson's Thunderstrike powers, he was able to stun Sylene, and the heroes teleported away just before Mainframe crashed his body-storage satellite into the volcano. The heroes discussed Sylene's fate, with American Dream noting that, as a god, she may well have survived the explosion, and could not safely be presumed dead.

Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco, Ron Lim, Scott Koblish.

Sylene and Ulik appear as a "hag" and a "troll"; this is almost certainly an in-joke reference to Hag and Troll, members of the Deathspawn (Ghost Rider III#23). Also, the fact that Kevin Masterson uses the Grim Reaper's energy-scythe against Sylene is likely a reference to the different versions of the Legion of the Unliving that he created.

Sylene's Earth-616 counterpart could be Tess Black.
--Will U