Misfit (DC Comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Misfit | |
 Misfit tries to take over for Oracle in Birds of Prey #101. Art by Nicola Scott |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Birds of Prey #96 |
| Created by | Gail Simone |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Charlotte "Charlie" Gage-Radcliffe |
| Team affiliations | Birds of Prey |
| Notable aliases | Batgirl |
| Abilities | superhuman strength teleportation healing factor |
Misfit (Charlotte "Charlie" Gage-Radcliffe) is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. She first appeared in Birds of Prey #96 as the latest Batgirl, before taking on her own identity as Misfit.
Contents |
[edit] Character history
[edit] The new Batgirl
Misfit debuts as a shadowy figure, wearing a homemade variation of the Barbara Gordon's classic Batgirl costume, accurate enough to be mistaken for the original article at night. She seems to have some proficiency with martial arts and Batarangs, as she's able to save a couple from muggers. The male of the rescued couple says "Batgirl is back!"[1]
That's enough for Barbara to send Black Canary and Huntress to find the new Batgirl. With Gypsy as a lure, acting as a damsel in distress. [2] The girl then reveals herself, and after displaying her metahuman powers of teleportation, superstrength and enhanced healing, saves Huntress from being killed, and displaying her extensive knowledge of the Bird of Prey activities, she teleports right behind Barbara to speak with her. Oracle, impressed by the young girl abilities, but deterred by her young age, shows her photos of Stephanie Brown's autopsy to dissuade her from crime-fighting. The mystery girl agrees to retire her Batgirl identity, but not to abandon her heroic activities.
[edit] Misfit
In fact, she simply applies some minor cosmetic changes to her costume, like a seagull wing instead of the batwings, and a denim miniskirt, and renames herself Misfit [3]. Her proficiency with her powers in this period seems enhanced, as she's now able to teleport between Metropolis and Southern California [4] and from Oracle's headquarters in Metropolis to an unspecified location in Russia, to aid the Birds of Prey against the Secret Six, with a visible lack of fighting skills if compared to the more trained Birds [5]
Her identity ceased to be a mystery when the new Spy Smasher discloses her real name and last known address to Oracle. Misfit is revealed to be the only daughter of a single mother. She lived in a slum in Metropolis, until a fire broke out. Misfit is apparently able to teleport herself and anything non-organic, but not to bring anything living with her. She was able to teleport to safety, but had to leave her mother to die. Alone and scared, Misfit used her powers to spy on the Birds of Prey, secretly admiring the group of female crimefighters. The Birds agree to act as a surrogate, if dysfunctional, family for the girl. [6]
Charlotte's recklessness and impulsiveness caused strain between her and her surrogate "mothers". Whilst piloting a giant robot during fight against a magical empowered teen gangster, Misfit deliberately ignored Oracle's orders not to touch a certain button on the machine. After the button was pressed, an entire slum was levelled, leaving the gangster and many innocent people dead due to Misfit's actions. Oracle cracks on the pressure, wrecked by having seemingly lost Superman's trust in her abilities, she starts to train Misfit harshly; she blames herself for having sent Misfit into field. Misfit manages to prove her worth again, defeating an enraged Black Alice [7] and saving Manhunter from a cadre of magic using villains.
Reminiscing about her dead mother, Misfit teleports back home to Metropolis, where she's kidnapped by Darkseid's henchmen, fed with experimental drugs to shatter her will and forced to fight against other metahumans. Black Alice is captured too, who considers stealing her teleporting ability and leaving alone. However, a discovery by Bernadeth that the two are related, prompts Black Alice to save her rival. Eventually, she is freed from the drugs effects, but is still left psychologically scarred [8]
The Teen Titans storyline "Titans of Tomorrow... Today!" reveals that as an adult in an alternate future timeline, Charlotte operates as the Huntress in the Titans Army, and has dyed her hair blonde and wears fishnet stockings, like Black Canary. "Dark Vengeance!" remains her characteristic battle cry. Ironically enough, in the current timeline, Misfit expresses the desire to to grow "like the Huntress, but with blonde hair, maybe". [9]
[edit] Powers and abilities
Misfit has the ability to teleport (or, as she calls it, "bounce") vast distances without error, or even needing to know the layout of her destination. So that Oracle refers to her as "the most powerful teleporter I've ever encountered."[5] Apparently, this ability also allows her to bypass security systems, as she is able to enter Oracle's home without triggering any of the many alarms, a feat not even Batman or the Martian Manhunter have been able to achieve; she also knows the real names of the Birds of Prey, information she could have only gotten by hiding in Oracle's operations center and listening to her discussions with the team.
Misfit's power is limited to herself and non-living objects in her possession, as she tells Oracle that, while she was able to save herself from the fire, she wasn't able to save her mother because, "I knew from experimenting that nothing living survived bouncing with me." [6] Black Alice uses that knowledge to teleport away with the new Granny Goodness, making her explode in the process. [8]
Misfit also has some degree of accelerated healing [2] [6]; when she is shot in the belly with a bullet intended for Huntress, she heals completely mere minutes later [2], and later she mentions "the way I don't stay wounded if I get hurt" to Oracle [6]. Dark Side is able to discern that Misfit heals faster while teleporting, as she's able to rebuild her burnt off face in a few "jumps" [8] She also appears to have some degree of enhanced strength, though this has not been confirmed. Her powers are apparently natural metahuman abilities that she was born with, as opposed to being the result of some outside influence after birth.[7]
During her tenure with the Birds of Prey, Misfit has received extensive martial arts training by Oracle. Even if still lacking the skills and the experience of her teammates, Misfit has improved enough to be able to defend herself, and even to beat off more experienced metahumans, like Livewire and other four unnamed metahuman girls [8]
[edit] References
- ^ Birds of Prey #96 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ a b c Birds of Prey #98 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ Birds of Prey #101 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ Birds of Prey #103 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ a b Birds of Prey #106 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ a b c d Birds of Prey #108 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ a b Birds of Prey #115 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ a b c d Birds of Prey #118 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
- ^ Birds of Prey #117 ({{{date}}}) DC Comics
