DEVI BANNERJEE
Real Name: Devi Bannerjee
Identity/Class: Human, civilian of India
Occupation: United Nations representative
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Avengers
(Black Knight/Dane Whitman, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff,
Captain America/Steve Rogers, Captain Marvel/Monica Rambeau, Falcon/Sam
Wilson, Hercules/Heracles, Iron Man/Tony Stark,
Namor the Sub-Mariner/Namor MacKenzie, Rage/Elvin Haliday, Sandman/William Baker, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, Sersi/Silvia Sersi, Spider-Man/Peter
Parker, Quasar/Wendell Vaughn, Thor/Thor Odinson,
Vision/"Victor Shade"), Avengers West Coast (Hank Pym, Hawkeye/Clint
Barton, Living Lightning/Miguel Santos, Mockingbird/Bobbi Barton,
Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Spider-Woman/Julia Carpenter,
Tigra/Greer Nelson, USagent/John Walker, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff,
Wasp/Janet Van Dyne, Wonder Man/Simon Williams), Daredevil (Matt Murdock),
Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Susan
Richards-Storm, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Nick Fury,
Stan Lee, Namorita (Namorita Prentiss), Raymond
Sikorski, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) Wolverine (James
"Logan" Howlett);
also celebrities including George Bush Sr.,
Barbara Bush, Prince Charles and Lady Diana (see comments)
Enemies: None (although
she probably didn't appreciate Doctor Doom briefly holding her hostage)
Known Relatives: Unrevealed
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: United Nations Plaza, New York
City
First Appearance: Avengers I#329 (February, 1991)
Powers/Abilities: Ms. Devi Bannerjee did not possess
any known superhuman abilities. A trained diplomat and negotiator, she
was seemingly unphased by meeting superhumans and other noteworthy
people.
Height: 5'6" (by approximation)
Weight: 125 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Avengers I#329 - BTS) - Following the United States government's decision to revoke the Avengers' security clearance, Captain America called a special meeting of the general membership to discuss the situation. Over the course of two days, the Avengers debated and voted on a new charter, while Captain America secretly kept United Nations representative Devi Bannerjee informed about the team's progress. Satisfied a conclusion was about to be reached, Ms. Bannerjee travelled to the newly constructed Avengers Headquarters.
(Avengers I#329) - After another late night vote on the charter, several of the assembled Avengers became increasingly agitated at the apparent impasse of voting on a charter, without the assurance the federal government would even approve it. Captain America then called the meeting to order and introduced Devi Bannerjee, yielding the floor to her. Considerate of the late hour, Devi quickly came to the point and relayed the offer the United Nations had extended to the Avengers: if the team would amend their rules to allow for a truly international membership, the UN would offer to adopt the team as a special unit of their peace-keeping force, assignable only to cosmic, extraterrestrial, occult, subterranean, sub-oceanic menaces, invasions, limited incursions, infestations and enchantments not instigated, abetted or sanctioned by a current member nation. Taking a moment to let all this sink in, the Avengers accepted Bannerjee's proposal with a resounding "yea".
(Avengers I#332) - On Thursday, March 21st, 1991 UN representative Devi Bannerjee, along with the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, Stan Lee and several other dignitaries and ambassadors attended the official opening ceremony for the new Avengers Headquarters on 890 Fifth Avenue. The festivities were rudely interrupted when Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) took over the building's security systems, placing it under total lockdown while infiltrated the building with a series of Doombots, placing it under total lockdown while he addressed the assembled crowd.
(Avengers I#333 - BTS) - Doom allowed Bannerjee and the other non-superpowered guests to leave Avengers Headquarters before continuing his plan to force the team to hand over the secret to their dimensional travelling.
Comments: Created by Larry Hama (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks).
Having the Avengers become part of the UN Peace Corps was
treated as a minor story point, but it should have been a major issue.
The charter proposed by Bannerjee clearly stated the Avengers could only
take action if a threat wasn't instigated, abetted or sanctioned by a
member nation. This meant that, officially, they had to sit on their
hands whenever Namor or Warlord Kro would go on the warpath, after all
Atlantis and Lemuria were part of the UN. If a supervillain would have
been clever enough to either arrange asylum or an ambassorial title in
any of the (in 1991) 166 member states, they could potentially operate
unopposed by the team in much the same way Doctor Doom's status as
Latveria's ruler offered him diplomatic immunity. This situation would
soon prove untennable, particularly when the UN ordered the Avengers not
to go to Genosha (during 1993's Blood
Ties crossover). Afterwards, the whole UN charter idea was
quietly ignored, even when Geoff Johns sort of revived the idea during
his 2002 run when he had the United Nations acknowledge the heroes as
their own country.
In Hindi mythology, Bannerjee's first name Devi is a mortal woman
thought to be a reincarnated goddess.
Devi Bannerjee was listed among the Avengers Associates (her
first name misspelled as "Deri") in The Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe A-Z#1 (2008).
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Devi Bannerjee should not be confused with
images: (without ads)
Avengers I#329, p4, pan3 (main image)
Avengers I#332, p3, pan1 (with the Bushes, Charles & Diana)
Appearances:
Avengers I#329 (February, 1991) - Larry
Hama (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Howard Mackie
(editor)
Avengers I#332 (May, 1991) - Larry Hama
(writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
Avengers I#333 (June, 1991) - Larry Hama (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Tom Morgan & Reggie Jones (inks), Howard
Mackie (editor)
Last updated: 02/05/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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