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Decay (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
Decay is a fictional character
owned by DC Comics
. She appears as a villain in the Wonder Woman
comic book
series.
, the minor god Phobos
(god of fear) journeyed to the Cavern of the Gorgons where he molded a statuette from malevolent matter scoured from Medusa
's heart. He then arranged for the item to be delivered to the Kapatelis
residence, a friend of Wonder Woman. It was here that Wonder Woman, also known as Diana, was rooming as she oriented herself to life off of her island home Themyscira
.
As Phobos arranged, once the statuette (named Decay) was delivered, it came to life in the hands of Vanessa Kapatelis. Decay then forcibly aged Vanessa by decades by touching her, then destroyed the Kapatelis home in her first attempt to kill Diana. Failing that, Decay gleefully went on the destructive rampage in the city of Boston
with Diana in pursuit. After a dangerous battle which resulted in Wonder Woman being aged as well, Diana realized the proper way to defeat the monster. She snared Decay in her Lasso of Truth
, which is also tied to the renewing power of Gaia
, Goddess of the Earth. Bombarded with this power, Decay was reduced to dust while Diana's youth was restored. A short time later, Diana obtained a magic ointment to restore Vanessa's youth as well.
Decay was resurrected by Dr. Julian Lazarus's Virtual Reanimator, which brought the demon of destruction back to life with its experimental proto-matrix material, Wonder Woman missing the resurrection because she was occupied fighting a duplicate of Doomsday
that Lazarus's machine had unintentionally created earlier. While Decay's body was merely an artificial effigy, the demon's spirit possessed the copy of her former self as her own. But before Decay could secure the power source needed to maintain her imitation of life, Diana shattered the virtual clone into a million pieces.
and be defeated, returning to Pendergast. He attempted to kill her for her failure and she instinctively lashed out, turning him into a hulking monster of decay. He set himself upon Chicago
and began to melt and consume matter, battling Supergirl, before Psi would appear and revert him back to his human form. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982).
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
owned by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. She appears as a villain in the Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series.
Fictional character biography
To win the approval of his father AresAres (DC Comics)
Ares is a fictional character, a supervillainous God appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological figure of the same name, he is the god of War and one of the major adversaries of Wonder Woman. He first appeared in Wonder Woman #1, volume 1, published in...
, the minor god Phobos
Children of Ares (comics)
The Children of Ares are fictional DC Comics deity characters based on Greek mythology. They are frequent opponents of Wonder Woman.-Golden Age:...
(god of fear) journeyed to the Cavern of the Gorgons where he molded a statuette from malevolent matter scoured from Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
's heart. He then arranged for the item to be delivered to the Kapatelis
Julia Kapatelis
Julia Deneiros Kapatelis is a DC Comics fictional character created by writer/artist George Pérez for the Wonder Woman comic book series.-Childhood:...
residence, a friend of Wonder Woman. It was here that Wonder Woman, also known as Diana, was rooming as she oriented herself to life off of her island home Themyscira
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
.
As Phobos arranged, once the statuette (named Decay) was delivered, it came to life in the hands of Vanessa Kapatelis. Decay then forcibly aged Vanessa by decades by touching her, then destroyed the Kapatelis home in her first attempt to kill Diana. Failing that, Decay gleefully went on the destructive rampage in the city of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
with Diana in pursuit. After a dangerous battle which resulted in Wonder Woman being aged as well, Diana realized the proper way to defeat the monster. She snared Decay in her Lasso of Truth
Lasso of Truth
The Lasso of Truth is a fictional weapon wielded by DC Comics superheroine Wonder Woman, Princess Diana of Themyscira. It is usually referred to as the Magic Lasso or Golden Lasso and forces anyone it captures to obey and tell the truth....
, which is also tied to the renewing power of Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
, Goddess of the Earth. Bombarded with this power, Decay was reduced to dust while Diana's youth was restored. A short time later, Diana obtained a magic ointment to restore Vanessa's youth as well.
Decay was resurrected by Dr. Julian Lazarus's Virtual Reanimator, which brought the demon of destruction back to life with its experimental proto-matrix material, Wonder Woman missing the resurrection because she was occupied fighting a duplicate of Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
that Lazarus's machine had unintentionally created earlier. While Decay's body was merely an artificial effigy, the demon's spirit possessed the copy of her former self as her own. But before Decay could secure the power source needed to maintain her imitation of life, Diana shattered the virtual clone into a million pieces.
Powers and abilities
Decay is a skilled fighter possessing the powers of flight and invulnerability. Her touch causes any living thing she comes in contact with to rapidly age, eventually causing death. Decay's breath is equally deadly, and can crumble a target to dust.Daniel Pendergast
A delusional researcher at the Institute for Higher Psychokinetic Study, Daniel Pendergast observed modern society as "decay" and manipulated psionic Gayle Marsh into becoming the super-villainess Psi to help him destroy civilization under the ambiguous definition of wiping out "decay." Psi would trade blows with SupergirlSupergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
and be defeated, returning to Pendergast. He attempted to kill her for her failure and she instinctively lashed out, turning him into a hulking monster of decay. He set himself upon Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and began to melt and consume matter, battling Supergirl, before Psi would appear and revert him back to his human form. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982).