Amanda Waller (Dark Knights of Steel)

General Waller
Dark Knights of Steel
Gallery
Real Name	Amanda Waller
Main Alias	General Waller
Affiliation	Lands of El
Base Of Operations	Castle of El
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Occupation	Army Commander
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Dark Knights of Steel
Creators	John Ostrander · Len Wein · John Byrne
First Appearance	Dark Knights of Steel #2 (February, 2022)

General Amanda Waller is the commander of the House of El's army and Queen Lara's military advisor. Although she feigns loyalty to the El's, in fact she plots to destroy them and take the throne for herself.

History

Origins

When Waller was a young, idealistic soldier in the Waynes' army, her friend Jim Gordon took her to meet the famous Captains Jonathan and Martha. Waller was awestruck by the two, who were considered heroes and legends, but they bluntly told her not to idolise them and that they were not heroes, as true heroes would not fight and kill in pointless wars that amounted to nothing more than bickering between monarchs.

Dead bodies, weapons and shattered pieces of armour began washing up on shore near the port city of Leguin, indicating that a civil war was happening in the undersea kingdom of Lemuria. The Wayne army, under the command of General "Wildcat" Grant, was dispatched to Leguin to guard the coast if the winner of the civil war was hostile to the surface. Two armies of Lemurians walked out of the waves and began fighting on the beach beneath Leguin. Grant had the army take up positions on the city walls and prepare to defend only if they were attacked. Waller said they should ride out and destroy both forces while they were distracted, but Grant refused to attack a potential ally, not knowing if either side were hostile to the surface. The leader of one of the armies magically summoned up a tsunami and sent it crashing onto the battlefield and the walls of Leguin, destroying the city and scattering all three forces over miles.

The wave deposited Waller about half a mile from the former site of Leguin. While searching the rubble and water-strewn battlefield she stumbled across Jonathan and Martha speaking to Atlanna, the deposed queen of Lemuria. Atlanna was dying and begged Jonathan and Martha to take her son and protect him. Unnoticed, Waller watched as Jonathan and Martha decided to desert the army with the boy.

Waller eventually rose to become leader of the Wayne army, and continued to serve after the Waynes were killed and Jor-El and Lara took the throne. She sees her loyalty as being to the kingdom itself and its people, rather than the ruler; and believes that the El's, and others with supernatural powers, are a threat to the security of the Lands of El. Despite this, she pretends to serve them in order to get close to them. As a royal advisor she frequently counsels pragmatic but dishonorable actions such as covert assassinations. She has secretly recruited multiple evil and dangerous individuals such as Elizabeth Arkham and Captain Cold to work for her behind the El's back, giving her a powerful force separate from the El army to use in her schemes.

War of the Three Kingdoms

Waller discovered the White Martians years before their presence was revealed to the world and made a deal with them. She would help them destroy the El's, as well as the Amazons and the weather wielders of the Kingdom of Storms; and in exchange, when the Martians took control of the world, they would spare the Kingdom of El and allow her to rule over it. In fact she planned to kill the Martians too once they had removed all obstacles to her rule.

The Martian's plan to set the three kingdoms against each other in a war that would destroy anyone whose power could threaten them almost succeeded, but failed when the Martian infiltrator Gra'z; who had impersonated Lara to murder the Amazon queen Hippolyta, was exposed on the battlefield. The three armies made peace and Queen Lara allowed the queens of the other two kingdoms inside the Castle of El over Waller's objections.

The Winds of War

Waller protested Lara forming an alliance with the Amazons and the Kingdom of Storms against the invaders; and the Bat-Prince releasing imprisoned magic users from the dungeons. She pretended that her concern was the danger that the rival kingdoms and the freed prisoners presented, and the resentment among the troops of allying with people they had just been fighting, although in reality it was because the alliance made them too strong for the Martians to overcome. However, Lara held resolute and with the aid of J'onn J'onzz, the queens fortified the Castle of El against the Martians.

Waller rode out to the Martian's hideout and confronted them for deviating from their plan and endangering her people. One of the Martians tried to attack her, but he triggered a spell of protection and burned to death before he could lay a hand on her. She told Protex she would create another opportunity for him, and that he must follow her instructions exactly from here on. She had a henchman of hers named Captain Cold, who wielded power over ice and snow, conjure a blizzard that opened a gap in the ring of bonfires protecting the castle but, by working together, the three kingdoms stopped the Martian's surprise assault and lured them into a trap. Many of the Martians were killed and the survivors were banished to the Phantom Zone.

With their plans foiled, Waller and her right hand Captain Deadshot returned to the castle. They encountered J'onn and, although Waller's thoughts were magically guarded, he was able to read Deadshot's mind and discover the secret of their treachery. J'onn attempted to arrest her but he triggered her protection spell and burned to death. He telepathically called the Bat-Prince for help and Bruce flew to the castle, arriving just as J'onn drew his last breath. Waller immediately denounced Deadshot as a traitor and killed him on the spot to save herself.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Pyrokinesis: As a result of a bargain she made with a demon, anyone who tries to harm Waller will be engulfed in inextinguishable hellfire and burn to death.
• Telepathic Immunity: Waller's thought are magically warded against telepathy.

Abilities

• Deception
• Firearms: Waller is adept at crossbows.
• Military Protocol
• Tactical Analysis
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Armor

Notes

• Amanda Waller was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne, first appearing in Legends #1. However, the Dark Knights of Steel version of Amanda Waller first appeared in Dark Knights of Steel #2 by Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri.

Related

• 14 Appearances of Amanda Waller (Dark Knights of Steel)
• 3 Images featuring Amanda Waller (Dark Knights of Steel)
• 1 Quotations by or about Amanda Waller (Dark Knights of Steel)
• Character Gallery: Amanda Waller (Dark Knights of Steel)

Footnotes

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