Who's Who #5

Well, here we are, the fifth issue of Who's Who, and quite an issue it is! Thirty-two entries, and an art gallery of Earth-Two heroes, with a full range of heroes, villains, groups, places, and this time, we get to add an event entry. And we get to introduce a new artist, Wekhter, so welcome aboard! Everyone really came through with some great work, and I'm proud to have shepherded the work to the final stage. I've also tried something new, peppering entries with links to other entries as well, so let's hope I get that done properly.

So once more, a big thanks to everyone who contributed in all the various ways, and I now say that having compiled two of these in a row, I'm ready to pass the Who's Who torch on to the next person, and look forward to what new elements can be brought. In the meantime, though, kick back, dig in, and enjoy the grand vista of the entire multiverse of action we have to present here on DC2 and DC3, and please go to the letters page and let all our great creators know just how much you appreciated their work. I know I do.

Take care
Don

Picture by Mischief, colors by Boris Mihajlovic
Words by Jay McIntyre

Batman (Maximum! imprint)
Real Name: Bruce Wayne
Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Occupation: Owner and Chairman of Wayne Industries.
Known Relatives: Martha Wayne (mother; deceased), Thomas Wayne (father; deceased).
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Gotham City.
Height: 6' 1''
Weight: 209 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black.

Powers & Abilities: Bruce Wayne has no superhuman powers, but possesses the strength and stamina of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive daily exercise, and is an extremely capable hand-to-hand combatant with a wide knowledge of martial arts, having spent years in training. His focus on physical development was at the cost of more cerebral training, and only after he began his career as the Batman did he begin to focus on his investigative and forensic education.

History: The story is well-known: Bruce Wayne was with his parents for a fun night in Gotham City when a killer took Thomas and Martha away from him. He swore to gain revenge on the criminals that prey on people like his family, and set out to make himself a perfect physical specimen. He set out on his mission, developing his body and learning a variety of martial arts that he blended into his own unique style. An enraged and grief-stricken young Bruce wouldn't understand during this time how important it would be to develop scientific skills to battle crime. When he returned home, he met up with Alfred, the son of his parents' old butler, who had been like a brother to him during his hard childhood. Alfred also loved the Wayne family, and agreed to the mission that Bruce had set before himself, being a sparring partner during training, as well as acting in the field occasionally, when another pair of eyes, ears or hands is needed. Bruce Wayne's public persona is not that of the bored playboy, having not dwelled on that part of his mission. Instead, Gotham City knows him as a shattered, sad man who never recovered from the death of his parents, and grief and world-travel has left him unable to run his family business effectively. Instead, most of the real work is done by his CEO, Lucius Fox.

The criminal element of Gotham did not take the news of the Batman seriously at first, instead viewing his presence as a poor joke. As he gained their attentions with several successful and painful busts, however, they instead saw him as nothing more than a rival criminal, a competitor to the criminal Consortium that runs Gotham and hired the super steroid-charged Bane to kill him. It was during this initial conflict with the Consortium, and his clash with Bane, that proved to Bruce the need to develop his mind, and build his investigative and forensics skills up to the level of his physical prowess.

During all of this he also caught the eye of Captain James Gordon; the tough-as-nails leader of Gotham's SWAT, and just about the only honest cop in the city. Gordon sees Batman as a half-mad criminal who must be taken down as well. While the corrupt elements of the GCPD view Batman as a primary target, however, Gordon was forced to realize that Batman was more useful upsetting and impairing the Consortium, and now views him as a weapon to fight this criminal element in a way he normally couldn't, before the time comes he has to put Batman down as well. Gordon has called upon the services of a private investigator to try to discern Batman's identity, to gain further leverage over him.

Bruce Wayne was present to witness the murders that orphaned Dick Grayson, and took the youngster into his home, to train him as an apprentice. Alfred has initially disagreed with this arrangement, worried for the potential security risk that comes with adding another person to a secret. Over time however, Dick has begun to soften this position.

The Future: What none of them yet realize is that the man who murdered Dick's parents, the former chief clown of Haly Circus, has just awoken from a coma, a reborn Joker; the clash between them is inevitable. Throw in a criminal psychologist interested in Bruce Wayne, Gordon still trying to discover his identity, the private eye on the case having a fixation for riddles, and Batman's future looks to be busy and interesting indeed. Beyond that lays a most unsuspected killer, and also a young woman with a penchant for cats and burglary.

First Appearance: MAXIMUM: BATMAN! #1

Art by Wekhter
Words by James Steel

Cassandra Cain (Earth-Five)
Real Name: Cassandra Cain
Alias: Formerly Kasumi
Status: There are no known legal records of Cassandra Cain
Occupation: None at Present
Known Relatives: David Cain (Father)
Group Affiliation: Former member of the Teen Titans, Fearsome Five and the League of Assassins
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 5’ 3”
Weight: 115 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Powers & Abilities: Cassandra possesses peak physical prowess for her age, height and build, and is trained extensively in the martial arts, making her one of the foremost melee combatants on the planet.

History: Cassandra Cain was born to be a weapon. Raised in a world of silence for the first five years of her life, Cass was trained to fight by her father, David Cain, forged into a weapon to be used by the League of Assassins.

However, when she was twelve, she accompanied Cain on one of his missions. It was there when she first encountered death. Seeing her father’s victim die before her deeply effected the girl. Cain picked up on this, attempting to slow down her training but the damage was already done. The young woman began to question the League and her place in it, until finally a mission brought her face to face with Kid Eternity. The hero convinced her to change her ways and she eventually joined the newly-formed Teen Titans. Her time with the team was short-lived though, as her father came looking for her. While Cass managed to convince him to let her stay, she choose to leave the team, partly in case Cain changed his mind and partly because she finally wanted to find out who she was, and not who others wanted her to be.

The Future: As Cass searches for her place in the world, she runs into a former masked hero.

Showcase Issue: ULTIMATE TEEN TITANS#4
First Appearance: Outsiders/Teen Titans #1 (as Kasumi); Outsiders/Teen Titans #3 (as Cassandra Cain)

Art by Trevor Yarmovich
Words by Susan Hillwig

Cinnamon (Earth-One)
Real Name: Katherine Manser
Aliases: Chay-Ara, Miss Liberty/Bess Lynn, Moon Fawn (reincarnations of her spirit)
Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record (deceased in the modern day)
Occupation: Gunfighter
Known Relatives: David Manser (father, deceased), Gabrielle Manser (mother, deceased)
Base of Operations: The American West, late 1800s
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 110 lbs.
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green

Powers & Abilities:Cinnamon possesses no superhuman powers, except possibly the certainty that her spirit will reincarnate into a new life after her death. Most of Cinnamon’s fighting abilities are self-taught, with unconscious knowledge from her previous lives giving her an edge that belies her size and gender. She has been handling guns since childhood, and is an above-average marksman. Though she relies mainly on typical 19th Century weaponry, she also carries razor-sharp replicas of her father’s badge (similar to Japanese shuriken), which have served her well as a holdout weapon.

History: In 1857, the soul of the ancient Egyptian priestess Chay-Ara (see Hawkgirl) was reincarnated once more, this time in St. Roch, Louisiana as Kate Manser. Doted on by her lawman father, who nicknamed her “Cinnamon” for her flaming-red hair, Kate’s childhood was somewhat sheltered; despite her father’s profession as sheriff, plus the fact that the Civil War was raging not far from where she was growing up, she knew little of the consequences of violence. All that changed in the summer of 1865, when her father arrested a man who was part of a outlaw group of ex-Confederates. On what the townsfolk later dubbed “Black Sunday”, the outlaws rode into St. Roch and proceeded to burn down the town, starting with the church -- eight-year-old Kate was able to escape the burning building, but her mother and the rest died in the flames. Distraught over the horror around her, Kate ran to the sheriff’s office to find her father, only to witness the outlaws brutally murder him in the street, then trample his body with their horses as they rode off with their freed compatriot. Hours later, the surviving townsfolk found her sitting next to his body, her small fingers desperately trying to pull free the star-shaped badge that had been driven into his chest by the horses’ hooves.

With so many children orphaned on Black Sunday, Kate’s plight was not considered unique, and like many others, she landed up in an orphanage in nearby New Orleans. Perhaps it was simply the trauma of what had occurred, or even the unconscious stirring of memories from a previous life, but whatever the reason, Kate refused to let go of what had happened to her parents, and vowed to make the outlaws pay for destroying her formerly-idyllic life. As the years passed, the other children learned to steer clear of the redheaded girl who fought dirtier than any boy in the orphanage, and who snuck out late at night to shoot targets in the woods with a stolen revolver. She even made copies of her father’s badge and filed the edges to razor-sharp points, intent on driving each one into the hearts of the four Confederate outlaws, just like they’d done to her father.

Ten years later, on her eighteenth birthday, Kate Manser left the orphanage and began the arduous task of tracking down the outlaws. It wasn’t until 1877 that she located the first one, and she discovered that carrying out her revenge was more difficult than she’d ever imagined. Luckily, she was soon joined in her task by Jonah Hex, who helped her refine her raw skill until it was up to the job (see Jonah Hex), and the first of the outlaws on her list fell by her hand. A year later, not long after she’d dispatched a second member of the “Black Sunday” group, Kate ran into Jonah again, along with four time-lost members of the Justice League -- among them was the current Hawkgirl, who was cousin to Kate’s future incarnation of Sheira Saunders. Though neither was aware of the truth, Kate nevertheless got the feeling that there was a connection between the two of them, and the encounter made her contemplate for the first time what sort of life lay ahead for her once her vengeance was complete. For the time being, however, Kate continues to search for the remaining outlaws, occasionally coming to the aid of others along the way.

The Future: Cinnamon’s search will come full circle in more ways than one when the trail leads her back to St. Roch, and she crosses paths with her soulmate Prince Khufu...better known as Nighthawk!

First Appearance: WEIRD WESTERN QUARTERLY #10

Art by Jina B
Words by Samantha Chapman

Deathstroke (Earth-Five)
Real Name: Slade Wilson
Alias: The Terminator
Status: Citizen of the United States, wanted for several counts of murder and terrorism
Occupation: Assassin
Known Relatives: Adeline (wife, estranged); Grant, Joseph (sons), Rose (daughter)
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Many hidden locations around the country
Height: 6’2’’
Weight: 240
Eyes: blue (one missing)
Hair: white

Powers & Abilities: Slade Wilson is gifted with superhuman agility and an enhanced tactical mind, granting incredible perception and reaction speed, results of the military experiment he went through. He is a swordmaster and a very skilled martial artist. He has also spent years training himself in espionage and 'black ops wetwork', making him a dangerous assassin. His arsenal is well-stocked with guns of all kinds and a number of other weapons, all of which he knows well how to use.

History: Slade Wilson has always been a man of action. At 17, he lied about his birthday to join the U.S. Army, quickly rising through the ranks to become a decorated and respected soldier. Ever-obedient, Slade participated in a top-secret military experiment, to change him into a super-soldier. The resulting illness left him discharged from the army left on bedrest with his young wife Adeline (herself a highly-ranked officer) to care for him. When he recovered, Slade was a changed man—more powerful than ever, though he kept his powers secret, and left with a generous pension and nothing to do.

He took up hunting, his trophies bringing in more money as his family grew, with the birth of his first son. The Wilsons became quite wealthy, and Slade became more desperate for a challenge. He began to hunt people, taking assassination jobs and building a reputation. He created Deathstroke to hide his pursuits, and by the time Adeline discovered what her husband had become, two more children had grown into teen-agers.

One late night, Slade returned from a mission to find the house empty, except for his wife, and her gun. She told him that she knew everything; she had arranged with the Birds of Prey to have their children hidden from Slade, and had returned to kill him herself. Slade was furious, but Adeline would not give up the kids’ location. The confrontation finally culminated in the gunshot that took Slade’s left eye. He recovered, but his wife had disappeared. A few weeks later, Slade’s oldest son Grant, then sixteen, sought out his father and joined him in his work as the Ravager. Slade still does not know where his wife and other two children are.

Today, Deathstroke is more dangerous than ever, having no one to protect. He continues to search for Rose and Joseph, but focuses more on his work.

The Future: Slade has a plan for revenge against the people who took away his kids—the old Birds of Prey! He’ll have to be patient, it will take a lot of time, but he knows what he has to do. Keep an eye out, Teen Titans!

First Appearance: ULTIMATE OMAC #2 (mini-series)

Art by Ramon Villalobos
Words by Charlie Wilkins and Don Walsh

Doctor Occult and Rose Psychic (Earth-One)
Real Names: Richard Occult and Rose Psychic
Aliases: Doctor Occult: The Ghost Detective; Rose Psychic: Rose Spiritus
Status: Citizens of the United States of America, with no criminal record.
Occupation: Private investigators; specializing in the supernatural
Known Relatives: None known
Group Affiliation: Allies to a number of different groups, but no formal memberships
Base of Operations: House of Mystery
Height: Doctor Occult: 6'1”; Rose Psychic: 5'7”
Weight: Doctor Occult: 189 lbs.; Rose Psychic: 140 lbs.
Eyes: Doctor Occult: Gray; Rose Psychic: Violet
Hair: Doctor Occult: Black; Rose Psychic: Black

Powers & Abilities:Richard Occult and Rose Psychic are both attuned to the mystical fields of the world, and adept in the use of magicks long since forgotten by the mundane world at large. Occult can focus the magical energy he commands with the Sigil of Seven, an artifact given to him by his mentor, Zator. Rose Psychic is a sensitive, able to sense psychic impressions and emotions. She is also often a calming influence on those around her, though whether or not this is a power of hers, or just her charisma, remains a mystery.

History: On New Year's Eve, 1899, two children were to be sacrificed to the demonic alien entity called Koth by a Satanic cult. For some reason their pure, untainted souls failed to appease the demon, and instead he stole away with the souls of those that had already been tainted by sin, those of the cult themselves. When he turned his attention back to the babies-- they had vanished, stolen away by Zator, disciple of the group known as "The Seven". Hidden away in a dimensional refuge where "The Seven" resided, they were deemed worthy of mystical training, and so Zator spent years tutoring his charges in the ways of magic, until they reached a point where he could teach them no more, at which point, they journeyed out into the world outside. After their return to America, circa the early 1930s, Doctor Occult opened up his own detective agency, specializing in crimes of a mystical nature.

During this time, Richard and Rose each built reputations for themselves as the “Ghost Detective” and a powerful psychic. They traveled the world dealing with various manifestations of mystical evil. They traveled separately, rarely if ever being present together, leaving no impression of their true connection. Doctor Occult most often challenged evil directly, at the side of various allies and wielding the Sigil of Seven as a powerful weapon for good. Rose would be more subtle, as befit her abilities, cautiously investigating cases and forging bonds with agents that she used to bring down evil. It wasn't until some time in the Forties that their true relationship was revealed, and that despite appearances, they'd been working in concert in their crusade against mystical threats. After that time, the two worked more often in unison, including one disastrous séance in Gotham City that could have been much worse if not for their presence.

Twenty years ago, the fallen angel known as Yeter'el was seeking the destruction of New York, and to do so, was ritualistically murdering men and women at certain points across the city. These murders were brought to the attention of Doctor Occult, and so Rose Psychic and he journeyed to the city, and faced down the malevolent monstrosity-- only to be defeated. Doctor Occult was caught off-guard and run through the chest, leaving Rose Psychic standing against Yeter'el, who was moving in for the kill toward the fallen Occult. Knowing that she could not defeat the creature, instead she made a bargain: her soul for her love, and the demon had to accept, only to find the powerful magician chaining the demon to Doctor Occult's soul, imprisoning the fallen angel there, while ensuring Rose's safety until Occult could figure out a way to break the deal

For twenty years, Doctor Occult wandered the Earth, seeking a way to save Rose, while all that time, Yeter'el whispered into his mind, driving him to the brink. During this time, Occult rendered the demon known as "Old Scratch" human, using a shard of his own soul, and helped the two Flashes, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick, expunge a speed-demon from Kid Flash's soul. It was during this time that the hero community realized how terrible Richard Occult's suffering was when he resorted to ancient blood magic to free Wally West. After Jay Garrick's apparent death, Doctor Occult thought he found new meaning to his life-- he did not believe Garrick had fallen, and chose to search the world for the Golden Age speedster. What he found instead was a dark conspiracy involving the corruption of Kid Eternity, and so, with occasional assistance from The Shade, Madame Xanadu and Jim Corrigan, he battled succubi, vampires, old gods, his enemy Old Scratch, black dogs, and Death itself, until he was freed from the spell that chained Yeter'el to his soul, and came to understand that now was the time to journey into the realms of Hell itself, and rescue his wife before eternal horrors could be inflicted upon her.

Doctor Occult journeyed into Hell, side-by-side with The Shade, and eventually reached the Pit, and with great effort, saved Rose. It was then that a deal had been made, and could not be broken-- someone had to stay here, to suffer, or else evil would bubble up and boil over on the Earth above. Opting to stay, he allowed The Spectre to steal away with Rose, taking her to the world up above, and for one year, he must reside in Hell, at the tender mercies of the daemonium with the knowledge that one year in Hell can last an eternity.

The Future: Now freed from the underworld, Rose Psychic must return the favor for her soul-mate, and save Doctor Occult from suffering, traveling the world to find new kinds of evil and new kinds of magic to challenge the ancient lords of Hell in the name of an eternal power...love

First Appearance: (Doctor Occult) THE FLASH #9; (Rose Psychic) DC2 SPECIAL #1: AN ARKHAM CHRISTMAS CAROL

Cartography by James Steel
Words by James Steel, Samantha Chapman and Don Walsh

Gotham(Earth-Five)
Gotham County was formed in 1643, when the Massachusetts General Court passed down a ruling to join up the local communities into a regional political entity to ensure government services and representation. It received its name after Gotham City, the largest and most influential of the county's townships. Gotham County is famous as the area that Elbridge Gerry districted into a salamander-like shape in 1812 that gave rise to the word gerrymandering.

Gotham City itself dates back to 1633. Originally a small fishing and logging town, its fortunes rose and dropped with the rise and fall of the fishing and whaling industry. It was a depressed township falling into decay like much of the county when Andrew Wayne, great-grandfather of current C.E.O Bruce Wayne, started Wayne Enterprises shortly after the end of World War II. He focused the company on public uses for the technologies coming out of the war. The city grew in response, and the region began to form an industrial corridor through the Fifties and Sixties, but the efforts of Thomas Wayne and his advisors helped to foresee future trends, and shifted Wayne Enterprises away from industry, and into technology and electronics (even changing the name to WayneTech in the early Eighties). This shift helped to forge a “high-tech” corridor from Nashua, New Hampshire down to Boston, Massachusetts, and increased the fortunes of the county as a whole, and the city in particular.

As Gotham City grew, some of the smaller villages became suburbs of Gotham, and even larger towns were nearly absorbed. Between many infrastructure projects driven by Gotham City, and the relative growth for all of the area, it is often difficult for anyone outside of natives to tell when one town or city ends and another begins. With the abolition of Massachusetts' county system, most people have taken to calling the entire area Gotham, adding to the belief that Gotham City actually encompasses the entire geographic location of Cape Anne and the North Shore of the state. To most, even those who live in the city proper, it is all Gotham. Neither city nor county...it is just Gotham. For good or ill.

Arkham, Massachusetts
The former city of Arkham was nearly destroyed in a massive fire back in the Thirties. The remains have slowly been divided into Gotham City, Salem and Essex, as the remains of the township were abandoned. However much of the town's center remains empty and unused, slowly reclaimed by nature. No one is quite sure why the town collapsed so completely following the fire, though older refugees can sometimes be tricked into crazy whisperings about something dark and unnatural at that time, though they will quickly then grow silent and haunted.

A - Arkham Asylum
Doctor Jeremiah Arkham established Arkham Asylum in the early 1900s, in hopes of combating the unusual rate of insanity among the residents of the town and its outlying areas. Today, the asylum is all that remains of the township, and has been taken over by the Commonwealth as a maximum security sanitarium housing only the criminally insane. Dr. Hugo Strange runs Arkham today, and all of his staff works hard to combat their reputation for lax security and "revolving-door" crime. Notable criminals currently in residence include Harvey Dent, Nora Fries, and the enigmatic Clown Prince of Crime known only as the Joker.

B - Poison Ivy’s House
Several years ago, research company Darkwood Labs had an experiment go wild, destroying the facility that once sat on this spot, and giving birth to Poison Ivy. The land continues to give off fumes that are toxic to normal humans, forcing the Commonwealth to quarantine the area. More than ten minutes exposure will inflict respiratory distress, leading to unconsciousness within another ten minutes, and greater exposure will result in death. Poison Ivy, immune to this toxic gas, contracted a small ranch-style house in the middle of the land, where she tends her plants with the inoculated Harley Quinn.

Downtown
Since the creation of WayneTech (formerly Wayne Enterprises), the downtown area has seen rapid growth. Containing mainly office buildings and apartments, it features much of the colonial-gothic architecture for which the city is renowned.

C – Clocktower
This tall building overlooks the downtown area, making it the perfect roost for the Birds of Prey. Here is Oracle's base of operations, filled to the brim with her computers and technology, and fitted for her chair. From this location, she can monitor crime and danger, and direct the action of all of her Birds. Barbara Gordon's less-conspicuous apartment is in the same building, on a much lower floor.

D - Gotham P.D. Central
The Gotham City Police Department (one of the oldest in the country) is headquartered here, under the leadership of Commissioner James Gordon. Despite superhero activity in the city, the police are a proud and productive force, the good cops working tirelessly against crime and corruption, even when it all-too-often rears its head within their own ranks. Despite a (somewhat deserved) reputation for corruption and incompetence inflated by a hostile media and political machines, the members of GCPD have always fought to be an example for their city. Notable officers include Captain Sarah Essen, Detective Sergeant Harvey Bullock, and fomer Detective Sergeant Renee Montoya.

E – Gotham Central Park
Gotham City's largest open space, and a favorite afternoon and tourist destination. The park contains lawn areas for outdoor movies, wooded space with hiking paths, walking and bike trails, and a small lake. The Central Park Pavilion boasts 6,000 seats, and is used as a stage for concerts, traveling shows and the annual appearance of Haley's Circus. The park officially closes at 11pm, but police and superhero surveillance keep a close watch to cut down on criminal activity.

F - Renee’s Apartment
Renee Montoya, otherwise known as Batgirl, lives in a small fourth-story apartment with windows facing alleys and walls; a cramped space, but one that affords her all the privacy she needs to use her own home as home base. Rather than take up room in the Batcave or Clocktower, she keeps her costume and equipment hidden, always ready to spring into action. The most incriminating weapons are still kept at Oracle's base, but all the rest that she needs is here at home.

G - Wayne Tower
The largest building in Gotham City, Wayne Tower holds the main offices and design labs of WayneTech. The company has been the driving force behind the expansion of Gotham, both city and county, with a full quarter of it’s citizens employed in either Wayne Tower or one of the dozens of other WayneTech buildings or subsidiaries, across Massachusetts. Since Bruce Wayne took over as CEO it has focused on computer and medical technology, and entered the field of non-lethal weapons and technology for police forces around the world.

East End
The oldest part of Gotham City, the East End is home to its many factories and docks. While it still has a thriving theater district, the rest of the area is run down, home to many of Gotham’s poor.

H - Ace Chemical Factory
Owned by Oswald Cobblepot, this factory is best known as the birthplace of the Joker. Five years ago, a battle with the Batman found both combatants here, and the man who would become the Joker was submerged in a vat of chemicals that permanently altered his skin, hair, and sanity. The chemical plant has had very little good press in the years since, despite the effort put forth by Cobblepot to produce “green” solutions to problems once solved with harsh mixtures.

I - MCI-Blackgate
Located on a rocky island at the mouth of the bay, Massachusetts Correctional Institution-Blackgate is a maximum security prison, home to some of Gotham County's worst criminals. There are visiting hours offered, but the difficulty of reaching the island by ferry and the magnitude of the crimes often committed by Blackgate residents make for very few visitors. Security is tight, and all threats are taken with extreme seriousness.

J - ”Crime Alley”
Formally called Park Row, this small street is the location of the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne many years past, and Max and Claire Kelly much more recently. What was once a part of a well-respected neighborhood has become known for crime and tragedy, and is now to be avoided by residents (despite a rise in tourism that sadly only helps maintain the increased crime rate). This is worsened by the fact that it still provides the quickest route from the theater district to some of Gotham's best hotels in the Downtown area, an enticing prospect for visitors.

K - Selina Kyle’s Apartment
Despite her success as a city councilor, Selina Kyle has chosen to keep this tenth story apartment in one of the East End’s better apartment complexes. Living here along with her assistant Holly Robinson, Selina feels this allows her to keep in better touch with those citizens she’s trying to help in the first place. The apartment itself is a simple two-bedroom affair, its interior decoration showing Selina’s love of felines.

Kane Acres
Kane Acres is the city’s newest development, only about twenty years old. It is mainly a residential area, also containing the city’s zoo, as well as its main mall, and Gotham University.

L - Gotham City Zoo
A popular attraction for tourists and residents alike, the Gotham Zoo has had its share of problems over the years. Despite the efforts of various animal-themed Gotham villains to free their creatures of choice, the zoo has always enjoyed the patronage of citizens looking to relax. Current exhibits include a netted bird sanctuary, donated by Oswald Cobblepot, an African landscape, and a daily show with trained lemurs and monkeys.

M - Jim Gordon’s House
As police salaries go, the Commissioner is pretty well off, and has been in the same lovely home for the whole of his daughter's life. With Barbara's independence established, and with the sad passing of his wife, Jim has been left to keep the house by himself, though Barbara visits as often as her disability allows. He has converted many of the now-unnecessary rooms to studies and work spaces, filling the house with his passions to keep him company.

Oceanside
Oceanside holds the city's wealthier neighborhoods, many of whom live along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The southwestern area contains a number of quiet neighborhoods.

N - Brown Residence
A single story home located in the Oceanside neighborhood near to the East End is the home of Stephanie Brown, secretly the heroine known as Spoiler and her father Arthur, formerly the host of the popular Gotham-based game show, Cluemaster. When Arthur was temporarily imprisoned for a short-lived crime spree his Aunt Harriet moved in to care for Stephanie. She still lives with them to this day.

O - Cobblepot Manor
About a decade ago, Oswald Cobblepot purchased this entire island in the east part of Gotham, building a large three story, fifty-room mansion here. The mansion is located on the southern tip while the rest has been transformed into a bird sanctuary, home to a number of rare and endangered species. Oswald lives here with a handful of servants, as well as his assistants Dawn and Holly Granger.

P - Sherwood Florist
Sherwood Florist is a two-story building owned and operated by Dinah Lance, the current Black Canary. She has a small group of employees, including Stephanie Brown. Above the florist shop is Dinah’s apartment. Dinah keeps the few costumes and other crime fighting supplies she uses as Black Canary in a hidden room located off of her bedroom.

Q - Wayne Manor
Stately Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, his ward Carrie Kelly, and their butler Alfred Pennyworth. The large mansion sits on the edge of the city, in an area filled with about half a dozen other mansions, all owned by some of Gotham’s more influential citizens. Unknown to the people of Gotham it is also the location of the Batcave.

First Appearance: ULTIMATE BATMAN AND ROBIN #1

Art by Jamie Rimmer
Words by Don Walsh

Green Lantern Corps (Earth-Five)
Roster: Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Green Lantern I (Alan Scott), Green Lantern II (Hal Jordan), Jade Flash (Jesse Chambers), Sentinel (John Stewart), Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris), Torchbearer (Kyle Rayner), Zorya Utrenyaya, “Morning Star” (Valentina Vostok); Warrior (Guy Gardner, honorary member)
Base of Operations: Gotham City (home to founder and coordinator Alan Scott; various members operate out of their own cities world-wide)
Status: Active; privately run organization with no official government sanctions

History: Alan Scott faced a turning point following the funeral of his beloved wife, Molly Mayne Scott. After seven decades of being Green Lantern, he was now seemingly immortal and in his prime, and a living power battery no longer in need of recharging his powers, but also worn after all those years of fighting all manner of evil. While he mourned in isolation following her burial, he bore witness to a number of events that showed his power was still needed. His crusade was more necessary than ever, but the world had grown in complexity even as it seemed to shrink in distance with all the modern technology. With effort, he discovered he could forge a dozen power rings to give to worthy individuals, to create a corps of Green Lanterns to help him in this crusade.

He turned to the daughter of an old ally, Jesse Chambers, and convinced her to take up a power ring and try again to live up to the ideals of her parents, Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. He also contacted John Stewart, a government agent he'd befriended years earlier. When he found Jesse, she was being rescued by Guy Gardner, and when he saw Guy form his own, limited power ring, Alan charged it up and drew him into the dangerous mystery that loomed ahead of them. In time, these four came across Valentina Vostok, a Russian intelligence agent; Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi, research scientist in Japan; and Hal Jordan, test pilot from California. By the time these seven people had uncovered the villainous manipulations of telepathic futurist Hector Hammond, and shut down his plot to turn the world into Hammond's own view of a meritocratic utopia under his rule, Alan had his first five recruits. Gardner offered to stay an honorary member if his help should be needed (and when wouldn't it be, in Gardner's view).

The Corps members then selected personalized names and looks, and returned to their various homes. They would take up the crusade for justice, both in their individual regions, as well as teaming up in various combinations. Meanwhile, Alan looks for another seven members to take up the duties, and two of them appear to be coming from areas the original Green Lantern was not prepared for.

The Future: Slacker artist Kyle Rayner stumbles over a frightening chance to prove himself worthy of his own power ring, in the face of Hector Hammond's revenge contingency. Meanwhile, Alan faces an even greater decision: whether or not to grant old enemy Star Sapphire a ring in order to give her a chance for redemption, with two questions hanging in the air. First, can she be trusted, and second, even if she can be, can the ring override the gem's desires?

First Appearance: ULTIMATE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1

Art by Wekhter
Words by Samantha Chapman and James Steel

Krypton (Earth-Five)
Humanity is not alone in the universe. Far away, as recently as a decade ago, there was a bright, flourishing planet called Krypton, filled with life and science and wonders that Earthlings can only dream of today.

The People: Kryptonian physiology is very similar to humans, when Kryptonians are under their natural red sun wavelengths. The people of Krypton were generally peaceful, preferring a calm and passive state to any type of warfare or panic. At the time of the Tragedy, Kryptonians had been on the planet for tens of thousands of years, and knew enough about their history to chose to live as a united planet, rather than a divided one. Like all sentient species, there had been violence and war in the past, but the end of the Kryptonian age was a happy one. Physically, Kryptonians displayed as much variation in heights, weights and colorations as humans do. Like humans, Kryptonians were very social beings, and thrived on competition and interaction.

Technology: Krypton had a more technologically-advanced society than present-day Earth. Most obviously, Krypton knew how to travel at faster-than-light speeds, allowing them to begin to colonize the empty planets in their system. They used geothermal and kinetic energy from the core of their planet as a source for power, a method that kept energy costs cheap and innovation easy, but that had dire consequences that no one could have predicted. Kryptonians used technology in much the same way that humans do; they made great advances in holographic projection, and applied those to the arts of filmmaking and virtual gaming; they used electricity to power small vehicles, and to provide light that could compare to that of the daytime. Communication was nearly instantaneous over wireless devices (although meeting in-person was a sign of professionalism and respect within the scientific community). In general, technology was well-received and widely-accepted, and men and women of science were highly-respected. Unlike humanity, new advances and innovations rarely rattled the calm and science-loving Kryptonians, sometimes blinding them to the negative sides of their research.

The Tragedy: After generations slowly siphoning energy from the core of the planet, Krypton itself began to rebel. The delicate balance of energy and heat was thrown off, and parts of the planet’s upper mantle began to cool and crack, damaging the outer crust irreparably. This put tremendous strain on Krypton's entire stability, and caused it to tear itself to shreds. Despite the valiant efforts of Jor-El, the first scientist to identify the problem, and his son Kal-El, the people were unwilling to believe that their home could be in such danger. When Krypton had finally endured too much, the planetary collapse, then explosion, nearly wiped out the Kryptonian race. Those living on the planet could not have survived. The resulting debris spun out toward the close colonies, decimating the populations on neighboring planets as well. Where full cities once stood tall, only small areas of habitable land remained. Argo, the largest of the colonies, was the most successful survivor, and has become a new homeworld for the refugee colonists who were lucky enough to find ways off-world. Only this small fraction of the Kryptonian population remains, trying desperately to rebuild, but knowing their people will never again reach the heights from which they've fallen.

Notable Kryptonians: Jor-El, Kal-El, Lyla Lerrol, Zor-El, Kara-El

The Future: Non-existent for the homeworld, the colonists struggle to keep the ragged survivors of the race going as they wait for word from their one lone scout, a vibrant young woman who's found herself trapped on Earth...and becoming its greatest champion!

First Appearance: LAST SUN OF KRYPTON #1 (mini-series) (Krypton); ULTIMATE SUPERGIRL #1 (Argo)

Art by Roy Flinchum
words by Charlie Wilkins

Mr. Punch (Earth-One)
Real Name: Unrevealed
Status: Unrevealed
Occupation: Criminal Mastermind
Known Relatives: None known
Group Affiliation: The 100
Base of Operations: Formerly Gotham City, currently mobile
Height: 5'7”
Weight: 165 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black

Powers & Abilities: Mr. Punch is a criminal genius, showing a heightened intellect that rivals the greatest in the superhuman community. Not only has he shown an inability to feel pain, he also displays regenerative qualities, able to recover from injuries within minutes. He has also displayed some moderate levels of superhuman strength, and has some knowledge of hand-to-hand combat.

History: Little is known about Mr. Punch, leader of the 100. The criminal organization went through a shift in power recently; the old guard, those who comprised "The Hundred" or "El Ciento," were ejected forcibly by one hundred new men and women, all sharing one goal-- total control over the criminal underworld. Working with unrivaled efficiency, they were building to an all-out gang war against the Four Familes of Gotham (Falcone, Thorne, Maroni and Cobblepot) but that was stalled. Instead, with the death of their operative Blackguard, Mr. Punch decided that the Secret Society of Super-Villains would have to be broken into pieces, and then the 100 could assume their position at the top of the underworld. As such, the 100-- all one hundred operatives-- journeyed to Hub City, and are now lying in wait, ready for a full-scale war with the Secret Society.

The Future: Who is Mr. Punch? What does he wants? And how will he go about it? It all unfolds in the first six issues of Secret Society of Super-Villains!

First Appearance: Secret Society of Super-Villains#1

Art by Mischief
Words by Pat Owen

Ocean Master (Earth-One)
Real Name: Orm Marius
Alias: The Supreme One (OGRE name)
Status: Royal citizen of Atlantis, and wanted fugitive from justice
Occupation: Usurper, formerly head of the royal guard of Poseidonis
Known Relatives: Orrin (a.k.a Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, half-brother); Merganys (mother)
Group Affiliation: Current leader of the Oceanics, secretly head of OGRE
Base of Operations: Deep within the ocean depths
Height: 6'2
Weight: 185 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black

Powers & Abilities: Ocean Master is born with the standard Atlantean abilities to withstand extreme pressures of the ocean, breathe underwater freely, and superhuman strength when hydrated derived from the vast oceanic pressures he lives under. He can swim at tremendous speeds, greater than the typical member of his race. His primary piece of equipment is a staff that is able to fire energy blasts.

History: Orm Marius grew up always striving to eventually take what he believed to be his rightful place on the throne of Poseidonis. He spent his young life training and preparing for the day that he dreamed would eventually come when he took the crown. Years later, when the new king was to be named, he lost to his younger half-brother, Orin (see Aquaman), who had grown up on the surface. Bitter and angered, Orm stumbled upon his mother, a sorceress named Merganys. She twisted his spiteful feelings into the belief that he deserved to be at the throne and it was a fluke that Orin was crowned. Orm left Poseidonis and spent a long time planning and plotting how to enact his revenge. Taking the name Ocean Master, he took control of the off-shoot civilization of Atlanteans known as the Oceanics. He also began a secret organization on the surface known as OGRE, under the alias of the Supreme One. He used OGRE in order to restore the magicks his mother had lost long ago. It was then that he finally began to unleash his real plan on Atlantis. Merganys created a near perfect clone of Orin named Thanatos whom Orm sent to assassinate his royal half brother. During the attack, Orm revealed his identity as the Ocean Master to his brother, which shook Aquaman to his core. After a quick rescue from Aqualad, Ocean Master and Thanatos retreated but the usurper's plans were only just beginning. Ocean Master formed his own alliance of the seas' worst to make a direct assault on the Poseidonis itself in order to finally take the throne.

The Future: Ocean Master gets what he has always dreamed of...sort of.

First Appearance: (as the Supreme One) AQUAMAN #10; (as Orm, Ocean Master) AQUAMAN #14

Art by Trevor Yarmovich
Words by Brian Burchette

Red Tornado (Earth-One)
Real Name: None
Alias: John Smith, Reddy
Status: As an android, Red Tornado possessed no legal status; currently deactivated
Occupation: Hero
Group Affiliation: The Outsiders
Base of Operations: Las Vegas, Nevada
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 325 lbs
Eyes: None
Hair: None

Powers & Abilities: Red Tornado's android form can generate cyclones of various sizes and strengths, that he has used in offensive combat and to carry himself great distances. As an android, he possesses superhuman strength and endurance, as well as some resistance to damage.

History: The android with a soul was created by renegade scientist T. O. Morrow for the crime boss, Vito Bertinelli, who planned on using him as a weapon against his long time enemy, Anthony Scarapelli. During the opening night of the Star Fish Casino, Red Tornado first attempted to kill Scarapelli, but soon found himself conflicted and ended up trying to kill both Bertinelli and Scarapelli. He was stopped by Batgirl (see Batwoman) and the Outsiders; he turned away from his original programming and joined the team, becoming fast, close friends with Barbara Gordon.

During an alien invasion by the Star Conqueror, Red Tornado sacrificed himself to stop a nuclear strike by the United States Government. However, before his body was destroyed he was able to download his memories into the brain of Barbara Gordon. When it was discovered by his comrades that he still lived, they went searching for a new body for him. It was then that they discovered his original body had come from the world of Apokolips; Reddy (as his team-mates liked to call him) had been created from an Animate of Doctor Bedlam's. They returned to the third world and retrieved a new body for him, and with the help of Dr. Morrow and Zatanna (see Zatanna), were able to separate the two heroes again.

However some of what was Red Tornado still lingered inside the mind of Batwoman and when it was revealed that Barbara Gordon had unconsciously murdered Vito Bertinelli, under the influence of Red Tornado’s original programming, Red Tornado chose to shoulder the blame so not to shatter the world of the woman he had grown to care very much for. Announcing himself as the killer and admitting that he was still unable to purge that particular part of his programming, Tornado asked to be deactivated until the Outsiders could find Dr. Morrow and eliminate the problem.

The future: The story of Red Tornado is far from over, but when and where he will reappear depends on Batwoman’s search for the elusive Dr. T.O. Morrow.

First Appearance: The NEW OUTSIDERS ANNUAL #1

Art by Jamie Rimmer
Words by Jay McIntyre

Rose Wilson (Earth-One)
Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record, still a minor
Occupation: None
Known Relatives: Slade Wilson (a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator, father); Adeline Kane (mother); Joseph Wilson (brother); Grant Wilson (brother)
Group Affiliation: Formerly operative for Deathstroke, the Terminator, formerly member of Teen Titans.
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 5' 4''
Weight: 126 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White/ash-blonde

Powers & Abilities: Rose Wilson possesses limited precognitive abilities, enabling her to see flashes of the future, though with little control. She is highly-trained in the martial arts, and particularly skilled with the quarterstaff.

History: Rose Wilson was the last child born to Slade Wilson, the assassin better known as Deathstroke the Terminator (see Deathstroke) and his now ex-wife, Addie Kane. By the time she became pregnant with Rose, Addie was already on the outs with Slade and withheld knowledge of the pregnancy from him. For many years, Addie played an elaborate game of deception, up to and including suggesting that Rose's father was actually Floyd Lawton, the rival assassin known as Deadshot.

Eventually, though, after a clash with Deadshot, Slade discovered his daughter's identity and took her with him, training her in his arts and ways. Originally she was simply to be his ally in the field; later, after an attempt to buy off one of the Teen Titans failed, Slade decided to use Rose instead, to infiltrate the Titans for him and help him take them down when the time was right.

What Slade did not anticipate was Rose bonding with the Titans, confiding in Nightwing (see Nightwing), and siding with the Titans against him. Her mother and one of her brothers helped her escape in the confusion.

The Future: As part of Addie's new plan for her daughter, Rose and her brother Joseph will join Titans West.

First Appearance: ROGUES GALLERY # 2

Art by Alex Vasquez
Words by David Charlton

The Spectre (Earth-One)
Secret Identity: James Brendan Corrigan
Alias: The Spirit of Vengeance
Status: Avenging hero
Occupation: Former police officer, GCPD
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: The Justice Society of America (former member)
Base of Operations: Manhattan
Height: 6' (as Corrigan)
Weight: 180 lbs (as Corrigan)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Red
Powers & Abilities: As Corrigan, the power of flight and intangibility only, along with an intuitive sensitivity for the arcane, but as the Spectre, also physical invulnerability, super-strength, teleportation, telepathy, size-control and matter manipulation.

History: In December of 1938, veteran beat cop Jim Corrigan was killed in the line of duty by gangster “Gat” Benson, but his soul was not destined to rest in peace: Corrigan’s outrage and need for justice was so strong, it roused a slumbering Spirit of Vengeance. Bonded together as the Spectre, the avenging spirit embarked on a divine mission of retribution tempered with mortal compassion.

For many years he served with the Justice Society of America, and the war-time All-Star Squadron, but the longer he spent bonded with the Spectre, the more distant Corrigan felt from his humanity. As a result, the Spectre became more ruthless and more powerful, unfettered by mortal compunctions.

When the JSA disbanded in 1951, Jim Corrigan longed to lay down his burden as the Spirit of Vengeance and refused the call of the Spirit of Vengeance. Yet he was not allowed to rest. He walked the Earth, haunted by the Spectre, for a purpose that had not been revealed to him.

Recently, when Nemesis, the personification of the end of the universe was awakened by the Syrinx, the Spectre rose up to oppose her, but was cast down and has not been seen since. Shortly after, the mystical agent of the Lords of Order, Doctor Fate was attacked by an unknown enemy and also disappeared, leaving behind his magical artifacts.

The Future: Fearing an unknown but obvious menace, the ghost of Jim Corrigan has taken up the Helm of Nabu, the Amulet of Anubis and the Cloak of Nergal and has began embarked on a mission to find the Spectre and Doctor Fate, once again fighting alongside the Justice Society of America.

First appearance: (as Jim Corrigan) JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #3; (as the Spectre) WONDER WOMAN #8