Mist (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Mist is the name of two DC Comics
supervillains, archenemies of the original and 1990s Starman. For the DC Comics superhero
, see The Omega Men
.
as a Captain in the Canadian Army, winning the Victoria Cross
. He was also a scientist and created a device that turned his body into a gaseous form; he became a supervillain, first fighting the Golden Age Sandman under the name 'Johnathon Smythe', before changing his name to The Mist. In 1941 he undertook a crimewave in Opal City
and was stopped by Ted Knight, the Golden Age Starman; he vowed revenge on Starman and became his archnemesis.
He was a member of the Ultra-Humanite
's incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains
, and appeared during the late 1980s Starman series (chronicling the adventures of Will Payton), then using the name Nimbus.
The Mist had two children, Nash and Kyle.
In the early 1990s after Ted Knight had retired (following the events of Zero Hour
), the Mist planned his final revenge on Starman and sent his son, also named Kyle, to kill Knight's son David, as well as nearly killing his second son, Jack
and demolishing his home and kidnapping the elder Knight. In exchange for his father, Jack battled the younger Kyle, resulting in the junior Kyle's death, which drove The Mist mad. He was like this for some time until making a deal with the demon Neron
, restoring his sanity. This allowed him to advise his daughter on joining Simon Culp's scheme to destroy Opal, and conversely kill Culp himself when he threatened her, on the grounds he "hated dwarfs". Ultimately, he revealed he was tired and had decided to end his life, planting a nuclear bomb in Opal City set to detonate at the moment of his death and then taking poison. However he failed to destroy the city as a terminally ill Ted Knight used an advanced version of his gravity rod to lift the entire building miles into the air; the two enemies made peace just before the Mist's heart stopped, killing them both.
, prior to the consolidating of DC Comics' alternate Earths in the Crisis on Infinite Earths
miniseries. Much of this can still be considered canon where it does not contradict later established information.
1960s
June 1962 saw Earth-Two's public re-emergence of Vandal Savage
. He briefly terrorized a handful of important U.S. cities and was able to attack and incapacitate various members of the retired JSA
.(Flash 137, 6.63) This brazen attack on major American cities and on the persons of a handful of retired JSAers resulted in the re-emergence and the re-formation of the Justice Society of America. This did not have an immediate effect on the super-scientists and criminals who operated openly in the 1940s and covertly in the 1950s, but over time this curious breed of villain did begin to re-emerge.
September 1965 found The Mist working with a gang of hoodlums along the Atlantic coast in Park City. With his secret formulas and gadetry he was controlling Mrs. Dinah Lance, using the Drake Flower Shoppe as the means to gain access to the wealthy citizenry, and using his hypnotic influence to have the rich rob themselves and hand over their wealth to The Mist's henchmen.
Though Park City did have a protector in the guise of the Black Canary
, this heroine was only seen infrequently and The Mist seemed not to have been perturbed by this. Though he was using Mrs. Lance he never discovered her dual identity as the Black Canary.
By September his crime spree was advancing nicely and was baffling the local police. Finally, a local private investigator - Mr. Larry Lance (and husband to Dinah Lance) figured out the connection between those robbed and his wife's flower shop. At about this time the Lance family was visited by their friend Ted Knight
, he accidentally intercepted a hypnotic sound wave sent by The Mist. Together the three heroes went about hunting down the gang and the leader.
During this crime spree, The Mist discovered how to use his inviso-solution, sound waves and a recording of motor noises from the Park City Observatory to block star-energy from reaching Starman's gravity rod, in effect making it powerless; however, Starman had with him a newer, quasar-powered rod which proved impervious to the deactivation. In the end the Mist and his men were defeated and handed over to the police. (Brave & Bold 61, 9.65)
and Blue Devil
. She was then one of the many villains who took part in the plan to destroy Opal City during the Grand Guignol storyline; after this was foiled her father then made his own attempt to destroy the city, but as this would also kill her and her son she attempted to stop him. Her father shot and killed her, and in her dying moments she gave her son over to Jack.
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...
supervillains, archenemies of the original and 1990s Starman. For the DC Comics superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, see The Omega Men
Omega Men
The Omega Men are a fictional team of extraterrestrial superheroes who have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Green Lantern #141 , and were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton....
.
Mist (Kyle)
The first Mist's name was Kyle (last name unknown). He fought in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a Captain in the Canadian Army, winning the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. He was also a scientist and created a device that turned his body into a gaseous form; he became a supervillain, first fighting the Golden Age Sandman under the name 'Johnathon Smythe', before changing his name to The Mist. In 1941 he undertook a crimewave in Opal City
Opal City
Opal City is a fictional city set in the DC Universe. Created by James Robinson and Tony Harris, Opal City first appeared in Starman vol. 2 #0 . "The Opal" has been established as the home of several DC Comics characters, most notably several super-heroes who have operated under the name of Starman...
and was stopped by Ted Knight, the Golden Age Starman; he vowed revenge on Starman and became his archnemesis.
He was a member of the Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...
's incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains
The Secret Society of Super Villains is a group of comic book supervillains that exist in the DC Universe...
, and appeared during the late 1980s Starman series (chronicling the adventures of Will Payton), then using the name Nimbus.
The Mist had two children, Nash and Kyle.
In the early 1990s after Ted Knight had retired (following the events of Zero Hour
Zero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
), the Mist planned his final revenge on Starman and sent his son, also named Kyle, to kill Knight's son David, as well as nearly killing his second son, Jack
Starman (Jack Knight)
Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
and demolishing his home and kidnapping the elder Knight. In exchange for his father, Jack battled the younger Kyle, resulting in the junior Kyle's death, which drove The Mist mad. He was like this for some time until making a deal with the demon Neron
Neron
Neron is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in the DC Comics cross-over event Underworld Unleashed #1, , and was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter.- Publication history :...
, restoring his sanity. This allowed him to advise his daughter on joining Simon Culp's scheme to destroy Opal, and conversely kill Culp himself when he threatened her, on the grounds he "hated dwarfs". Ultimately, he revealed he was tired and had decided to end his life, planting a nuclear bomb in Opal City set to detonate at the moment of his death and then taking poison. However he failed to destroy the city as a terminally ill Ted Knight used an advanced version of his gravity rod to lift the entire building miles into the air; the two enemies made peace just before the Mist's heart stopped, killing them both.
Earth-Two version
What follows is an account of The Mist's history as it existed on the world of Earth-TwoEarth-Two
Earth-Two is a fictional universe appearing in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Flash #123 , Earth-Two was created to explain how Silver-Age versions of characters such as the Flash could appear in stories with their Golden Age counterparts...
, prior to the consolidating of DC Comics' alternate Earths in the Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
miniseries. Much of this can still be considered canon where it does not contradict later established information.
1960s
June 1962 saw Earth-Two's public re-emergence of Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
. He briefly terrorized a handful of important U.S. cities and was able to attack and incapacitate various members of the retired JSA
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
.(Flash 137, 6.63) This brazen attack on major American cities and on the persons of a handful of retired JSAers resulted in the re-emergence and the re-formation of the Justice Society of America. This did not have an immediate effect on the super-scientists and criminals who operated openly in the 1940s and covertly in the 1950s, but over time this curious breed of villain did begin to re-emerge.
September 1965 found The Mist working with a gang of hoodlums along the Atlantic coast in Park City. With his secret formulas and gadetry he was controlling Mrs. Dinah Lance, using the Drake Flower Shoppe as the means to gain access to the wealthy citizenry, and using his hypnotic influence to have the rich rob themselves and hand over their wealth to The Mist's henchmen.
Though Park City did have a protector in the guise of the Black Canary
Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
, this heroine was only seen infrequently and The Mist seemed not to have been perturbed by this. Though he was using Mrs. Lance he never discovered her dual identity as the Black Canary.
By September his crime spree was advancing nicely and was baffling the local police. Finally, a local private investigator - Mr. Larry Lance (and husband to Dinah Lance) figured out the connection between those robbed and his wife's flower shop. At about this time the Lance family was visited by their friend Ted Knight
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
, he accidentally intercepted a hypnotic sound wave sent by The Mist. Together the three heroes went about hunting down the gang and the leader.
During this crime spree, The Mist discovered how to use his inviso-solution, sound waves and a recording of motor noises from the Park City Observatory to block star-energy from reaching Starman's gravity rod, in effect making it powerless; however, Starman had with him a newer, quasar-powered rod which proved impervious to the deactivation. In the end the Mist and his men were defeated and handed over to the police. (Brave & Bold 61, 9.65)
Mist (Nash)
Nash was not initially the villain that her father or brother were, but a rather a meek, stuttering girl. During her father's campaign of revenge against Ted Knight she was in a position to kill Jack Knight, but let him go after he reasoned that she personally had no reason to kill him. However, after Jack killed her brother she underwent a major personality shift and became the second Mist, exposing herself to the same process that had transformed her father. During her first major crimewave she drugged Jack, having sex with him while he was unconscious, becoming pregnant; she would later give birth to a boy whom she name Kyle Theo, after both her father and Jack's. Again, she could have killed Jack but chose to spare him, deciding to better herself as a villain whilst Jack worked to become a better hero. She spent much time in Europe where she managed to kill the second Amazing Man, Crimson FoxCrimson Fox
Crimson Fox is a fictional character, a French comic book superhero from the DC Comics universe. Identical twins Vivian and Constance D'Aramis shared the role of Crimson Fox to allow each something of a normal life, although Vivian was much more enthusiastic about their superheroic life...
and Blue Devil
Blue Devil
Blue Devil is a superhero featured in material published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert published in Fury of Firestorm #24 . That story led directly into Blue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984...
. She was then one of the many villains who took part in the plan to destroy Opal City during the Grand Guignol storyline; after this was foiled her father then made his own attempt to destroy the city, but as this would also kill her and her son she attempted to stop him. Her father shot and killed her, and in her dying moments she gave her son over to Jack.