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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Medusa is one of the gorgon sisters of ancient times.
History
She is a Gorgon with hair made of snakes, and a gaze that turns men to stone. This has made her an adversary to Batwoman and Wonder Woman.
Eventually, her head came into the possessing of Queen Hippolyta.[1]
Although Medusa was the only mortal among the Gorgon sisters, not possessing golden wings and claws like the others, she was considered the most beautiful, having unwillingly attracted the desire of Poseidon, the god of the sea, who seduced her. This also attracted the attention of the goddess Athena, who jealously cursed Medusa, turning her into a serpentine monster with the power to petrify anyone who looks at her.[2]
Having been an old enemy of the Amazons as they were protected by Athena, Medusa for certain periods of her immortal life was a prisoner in Tartarus. In one of her many attempts to escape through the Doom's Doorway, she ended up confronting Queen Nubia, but was eventually defeated by the magical power of Nubia's Staff of Understanding empowered by the stone gifted to Nubia by the goddesses Hestia, Aphrodite and Athena. That same power caused Medusa to return to her human form and, regretting her past mistakes, she was welcomed by Queen Nubia as an Amazon on Themyscira.[3]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Gorgon Physiology
- Gorgon Gaze: Medusa can turn living beings into stone statues with direct eye contact. (Formerly)
- Acidic Venom (Formerly)
- Size Alteration: At least once she appeared in giant size.[3] (Formerly)
- Transformation: She can change her legs into a long snake-like tail.[3] (Formerly)
- Divine Empowerment
- Amazonian Physiology
Abilities
Notes
- This character is an adaptation of Medusa, a character in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- Medusa was adapted by Kurt Schaffenberger, first appearing in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #52. However, in the Prime Earth continuity Medusa first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Batwoman (Volume 2) #11 by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, and Trevor McCarthy.
Related
- 14 Appearances of Medusa (Prime Earth)
- 9 Images featuring Medusa (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Medusa (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Medusa (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
  This character, team, or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Batwoman. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Batwoman Villains category." |
 This character is or was primarily an enemy of Wonder Woman and the Amazons in any of her various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Villains category." |
