Wizor was the arch-nemesis of Shade, the Changing Man.
History
Wizor was born on the planet Meta, which exists in an alternate dimension that occupies a space parallel to the dimension that the planet Earth is in. Travel between Meta and Earth is possible using specialized equipment, and is achieved by passing through a buffer zone of sorts called the Zero-Zone.
Thus far, little is known of Wizor's personal history. What is known is that as an adult, he became a member of the planet Meta's government-sponsored security organization, presumably out of sincere altruism, although it is also possible that he entertained megalomaniacal ideas even then. At any rate, Wizor rose swiftly through the ranks to ultimately become the head of the organization. In this position, he made the acquaintance of a younger field agent named Rac Shade. It is now also currently believed that this is when Wizor officially began to turn his attention towards the overthrow of government on his homeworld, as some evidence now indicates that he made a secret pact with Mira Loron, AKA THE SUPREME DECIDER, to work towards overthrow of the planetary president. Loron, who was secretly the head of a vast criminal network…even as her own daughter, Mellu, was also a field agent for the security network and Shade's fiancee…quickly agreed, probably presuming that once the coup had taken place, she would be able to either exert dominance over Wizor through extortion or to execute him and take over herself.
As this was going on, Shade was approached by the President of Meta personally to investigate possible treason within the government. The President had learned some of the details of the overthrow plot, but not who was behind it. When Loron learned of Rac Shade's investigation through her daughter, she plotted with her criminal organization to frame Shade himself for treason. This plot was successful, and in due course, Shade was a wanted man. He escaped to Earth and waged a tireless campaign to clear his name and to find the true culprits, and was ultimately able to bring Loron and her organization down with aid from the Suicide Squad. Wizor's involvement, still unsuspected at this point, was never revealed.
Some months later, Wizor made his own trip to Earth and, using a variation of the specialized equipment with which Rac Shade was able to cast realistic illusions around his own body, was able to tap into the astral plane. This enabled him to siphon off a dark aspect of the Spirit of America and combine it with a warped and condensed version of American pop culture, and to thus transform himself into the creature now called The American Scream.
As the Scream, Wizor is able to warp reality around himself in strange and disturbing ways. This creates a surrealistic effect in a localized area, causing those people within the affected area to behave in absurd ways, and often has a continuing negative effect on their psyches afterwards. Wizor uses this power to sow confusion and discontent, with his ultimate goal being to so disorient the American public that he will be able to effect a complete takeover of the nation by being able to control what makes sense and what does not. Thus far, Wizor has consistently been stopped by Rac Shade and others and was ultimately banished to the astral plane.
The American Scream has returned on occasion, battling heroes such as The Spectre and Patriot[1], or demonic threats such as Neron.[2] On those occasions, his Wizor persona has not been referred to, and he has also claimed to be "the heart of darkness which makes up this great country". Possibly, this means that the American Scream, "the dark aspect of the Spirit of America", also exists as a separate entity from Wizor.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Weaknesses
- Power Limitation: his powers affect his mind too
Notes
- Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
Related
- 25 Appearances of Wizor (New Earth)
- 2 Images featuring Wizor (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Wizor (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Wizor (New Earth)
Footnotes
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.