Dana Dearden (New Earth)

Obsession
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Dana Dearden
Main Alias	Obsession
Other Aliases	Mrs. Superman, Superwoman
Affiliation	Superman
Base Of Operations	Metropolis
Status
Alignment	Neutral
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Reporter
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5' 6"
Weight	130 lbs (59 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Brown
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	Stuart Immonen
First Appearance	Adventures of Superman #532 (February, 1996)
Appearance of Death	Adventures of Superman #574 (January, 2000)

Dana Dearden is aptly described by the aliases she's used: Obesssion and Mrs. Superman. She was a young woman obsessed with Superman.

History

Dana Dearden was a GBS employee who met Jimmy Olsen when he became an anchor for that news network. She asked Jimmy out on a date, and Jimmy was immediately taken with the attractive Dana.

One of their first dates was to Metropolis Museum of Art, which was featuring an exhibit of ancient coins which were supposed to grant their possessor super-powers. Scavenger attacked the museum, hoping to recover the coins, after coming up with a suitable distraction for Superman. The Alpha Centurion was on scene, however, and stopped Scavenger from stealing the coins--but in the confusion, Dana secretly pocketed them.

Dana continued with her relationship with Jimmy for several weeks, pretending to be completely infatuated with him, but really she had hooked up with him to get a chance to meet Superman. When "Superman's pal" didn't deliver, she broke up with him.

Once she found how to work with her new powers, Dana invited Jimmy over and beat on him until he turned over his signal watch. After slipping into a custom made costume, Dana used the watch to call Superman to her apartment. Superman found Dana had erected a sort of shrine to him. She wanted him to love her, and she called herself Superwoman. When he rebuffed her advances, she got angry and attacked him, knocking him into the harbor and setting fire to a tanker. When the tanker started blazing, Dana helped Superman rescue the crew on board. While Superman flew them to safety, the tanker exploded. There was no sign of Dana. That night on the news, Jimmy labeled her "Obsession."

Obsession battles Maxima.

After The Final Night, Superman soon was transformed into an energy being. He was then split into a Superman Blue and a Superman Red. The two Supermen went to the Fortress of Solitude to work out how they could reintegrate. They found Obsession there. She told them that the tanker explosion had left her briefly amnesic, but she eventually regained her memory and managed to track Superman to the Antarctic on a previous visit there. She then broke in and waited for him. After she told him the story, Maxima showed up, still wanting Superman as a consort. While Dana was willing to share (she called Red), Maxima had no intentions of doing so. The two women fought until Maxima used her telepathy to create an image in Dana's mind that she had killed Superman. Terribly upset, Dana fled the Fortress.

"Mrs. Superman"

Much later, Obsession resurfaced with a new costume. She turned up right after a story had broke about Superman being spotted wearing a wedding ring. When Obsession turned up in a Superman styled costume, several onlookers believed she was "Mrs. Superman." Dana was angry at Superman's "two-timing," and attacked him. Superman had to shake her to her senses when some thugs high on DMN attacked a small store. Dana helped him take down the human-turned-demons and apparently died in the process. A demonic figure appeared to claim her.

During her time in Hell, Harley Quinn recruited the deceased Dana to her gang. Obsession was wounded by a satanic bullet, weakening her powers. Dana sacrificed herself to protect the group from the Cerberus.

Powers and Abilities

Other Characteristics

• Obsession: Dana is obsessed with Superman causing her to make irrational decisions that could hurt herself and others.
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Magic Coins that grant her powers of the gods Zeus, Hercules, Mercury, and Heimdall.
  • Superhuman Strength: Strength of Hercules.
  • Superhuman Speed: Speed of Mercury.
  • Flight: Flight of Mercury.
  • Electrokinesis: Lightning of Zeus.
  • 'Superhuman Durability': Power of Zeus.
  • Enhanced Vision: Sight of Heimdall.

Trivia

• She used to have a web page dedicated entirely to Superman.

Related

• 12 Appearances of Dana Dearden (New Earth)
• 4 Images featuring Dana Dearden (New Earth)
• Quotations by or about Dana Dearden (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Dana Dearden (New Earth)

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."