Empress (comics)
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| Empress | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Young Justice #16 (January 2000) |
| Created by | Peter David Todd Nauck |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Anita Fite |
| Team affiliations | Young Justice Shadowpact |
| Abilities | Vocal coercion Teleportation Vodou practitioner |
Empress is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Young Justice #16 (January 2000).[1]
Fictional character biography
Anita Fite is the daughter of Donald Fite, of the All Purpose Enforcement Squad, who, with his partner Ishido Maad, hounded Young Justice throughout the team's early days. (The partners' names, Fite 'n' Maad, are a deliberate pun by Peter David on the phrase "fightin' mad"; the name Anita Fite is also a pun – "I need a fight".[citation needed]) She is usually written as speaking with a Haitian patois.
She first appeared in the pages of Young Justice, saving Wonder Girl from dying of a poisonous snakebite.
Shortly afterward during Young Justice's visit to the Olympics to support their former teammate, Cissie King-Jones, she met the team out of costume, and her father (who claimed to not know of her superheroic activities) let her secret identity slip ("Empress" having been a childhood nickname her mother had given her).[1]
It was revealed that Anita had become a superheroine due to the inspiration of Cissie King-Jones, the former Arrowette. Anita had seen Cissie stop a thief in a mall, and was so impressed that she began to use her natural abilities to fight for good. There was tension at first between Cissie and Anita - Cissie thinking that Anita had simply wanted to replace her in Young Justice - but the girls quickly came to an understanding and became friends.
Anita remained a member of Young Justice for the rest of its run, even through the death of her father, by Agua Sin Gaaz, the same villain who had killed her mother years before. Gaaz retreated to the island of Zandia, a haven for supervillains. Due to an invasion force of dozens of teenaged superheroes, Anita, Maad and a few others were able to bring her parents back in a fashion, reincarnated into infant bodies. She became a guardian to them, with the help of friends and her father's partner. During her time in Young Justice, she even developed a certain friendship with Li'l Lobo during his time on the team.
In January 2006, Empress appeared as backup in the fight to save Gotham City from wild magic in the Infinite Crisis special follow-up to Day of Vengeance, although a coloring error depicted her as caucasian. Anita appeared again in Infinite Crisis #6, when the world's mystics joined together at Stonehenge to usher in the new age of magic by summoning the new Spectre and his host.
Anita is seen hanging out with Cissie and Cassie.[2] Anita and Cissie appear again,[3] helping Cassie realize that she has at last gotten past Superboy's death. Both Anita and Cissie appear at the end of the Wonder Girl mini-series, both back in costume as they help Wonder Girl defeat the Furies alongside Robin, Supergirl and several other allies.[4][5]
Anita appears in Final Crisis along with Mas Y Menos and Sparx in a failed attempt to launch the League of Titans. The four are defeated by Mirror Master and Doctor Light.[6] She next appears in the pages of Supergirl #33 (July 2008). After her parents-turned-infants are kidnapped, Empress seeks out Supergirl to help her retrieve them. However, it is revealed that Empress was in truth leading Kara to a trap, in order to get her parents back. Fortunately, Anita double-crossed the villain and aided in saving Kara and her parents.[1]
Powers and abilities
Empress can telepathically command people to do simple actions (like forcing someone to stand still or shut up) through a piece of the Anti-Life Equation she holds in her brain. She is also an accomplished Vodou practitioner, which she learned from her mother and grandmother, allowing her to teleport and perform other spells.[1] She is an accomplished fighter with her sword baton ("Emperor's Stick").
