Medusa (Prime Earth)

Medusa is one of the Gorgon sisters of ancient times. She is a Gorgon with hair made of snakes, and a gaze that turns men to stone. This has made her an adversary to both Batwoman and Wonder Woman.

History

Origin

She 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, 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]

Gotham City

This section of the history takes place during the New 52, between the events of Flashpoint and DC Rebirth. It was later revealed that much of Wonder Woman's history from this time was an elaborate illusion created by the Gods of Olympus to keep her away from Paradise Island. All or part of this section may have been part of that illusion and no longer valid in Rebirth.

In the 21st Century, she created a network bearing her name Medusa in order to free her mother Ceto from the bottom of the sea near Gotham City. The organization came into conflict with Batwoman, who enlisted the aid of Wonder Woman. Medusa ended up dying by petrifying herself by looking at her own reflection in a shard of mirror held by Batwoman.^[3]

Eventually, her head came into the possessing of Queen Hippolyta.^[4]

Tartarus

Medusa spent certain periods of her immortal life as a prisoner in Tartarus. In one of her many attempts to escape through the Doom's Doorway, she ended up confronting Queen Nubia. The Queen defeated her with the magical power the Staff of Understanding empowered by a stone gifted 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.^[5]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Gorgon Physiology (Formerly)
- Gorgon Gaze: Medusa can turn living beings into stone statues with direct eye contact.
- Acidic Venom
- Size Alteration: At least once she appeared in giant size.^[5]
- Transformation: She can change her legs into a long snake-like tail.^[5]
Divine Empowerment: Initially as part of Athena's curse and later as a blessing for being accepted among the Amazons of Themyscira, Medusa gained some divine gifts.^[5]
- Immortality
- Superhuman Durability
- Superhuman Strength

Abilities

Charisma: An unintentional ability of hers was the mesmerizing beauty that seduced Poseidon and caused Athena's jealousy.^[2]
Leadership
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Notes

This character or object is an adaptation of Medusa, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to, religious texts, myth, and/or folklore. 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.