Veronica Cale
Encyclopedia
Veronica Cale is a fictional comic book
villain appearing in books published by DC Comics
, primarily as an enemy of Wonder Woman
. She was created by Greg Rucka
in Wonder Woman v2, #196 (November 2003). Rucka has stated his intent as creating a "Lex Luthor
for Diana".
When the book's most outspoken critic loses a debate, she arranges to have him killed at a demonstration, making it look like the book's proponents are responsible. She also uses Doctor Psycho
to inflame both crowds.
Cale is subsequently bound, gagged, and locked in a closet by Psycho who impersonates her for a brief period, before she is rescued by Wonder Woman. This does not change her opinion of the superheroine, but does have an influence on Dr. Anderson which Cale finds worrying.
She is later coerced by Circe
into applying as legal guardian of Circe's daughter Lyta as a way of removing Lyta from the Amazon island of Themyscira
. The process is stopped mid-way through once Ares
kidnaps Lyta from the island, leaving Circe to abandon her scheme with Cale.
This story plot was to have a larger part in the Wonder Woman comic but was dropped due to the Infinite Crisis
storyline. Cale's reaction to the media furor surrounding Wonder Woman's killing of Maxwell Lord
and its consequences have not been recorded.
Cale also played a role in the creation of the third Silver Swan, Vanessa Kapatelis, by buying her from Sebastian Ballesteros, the then-current Cheetah, and turning her into a cyborg to fight Wonder Woman.
She resurfaces in Week 26 of 52
as one of the abducted scientists on Oolong Island (and the only female among the group). She suffers a breakdown after unleashing the Four Horsemen upon the Black Marvel family. When Black Adam
starts his world-wide crusade for vengeance, her conflicting feelings cause her to seduce the mentally unstable Will Magnus
. When Black Adam actually arrives on the shores of Oolong Island, she attempts to take the blame for it, walking out to confront the maddened Adam. She is subsequently entirely ignored.
According to author notes in the fourth volume of the collected 52 editions, Cale was supposed to originally die at this point, casually slain by Black Adam. Further discussion changed her fate.
Subsequently, Cale leads the remaining mad scientists to form an independent collective. Their first problem is the return of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips. Cale ingests a semi-organic containment unit and uses it to absorb the Horsemen's essences. She is later seen undergoing an operation to remove the unit.
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...
villain appearing in books published 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...
, primarily as an enemy of 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....
. She was created by Greg Rucka
Greg Rucka
Gregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...
in Wonder Woman v2, #196 (November 2003). Rucka has stated his intent as creating a "Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
for Diana".
Fictional character biography
Veronica Cale is a founding partner (with her friend Leslie Anderson) in Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals. Having worked hard to get to this position she resents Wonder Woman for finding acceptance in Patriarch's World so easy, and finds her message of peace simplistic, reasoning that it is easy to preach an end to conflict if you are a superstrong demi-goddess. When Diana writes Reflections, a study of Amazon philosophy, Cale uses selected quotations from the book to spin the media against her.When the book's most outspoken critic loses a debate, she arranges to have him killed at a demonstration, making it look like the book's proponents are responsible. She also uses Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. A villainous telepathic dwarf, Doctor Psycho has traditionally been presented as an adversary for Wonder Woman...
to inflame both crowds.
Cale is subsequently bound, gagged, and locked in a closet by Psycho who impersonates her for a brief period, before she is rescued by Wonder Woman. This does not change her opinion of the superheroine, but does have an influence on Dr. Anderson which Cale finds worrying.
She is later coerced by Circe
Circe (comics)
Circe is a fictional character, a villainous sorceress and a major adversary of Wonder Woman appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological character of the same name who imprisoned Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, the comic book incarnation of Circe first...
into applying as legal guardian of Circe's daughter Lyta as a way of removing Lyta from the Amazon island of 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...
. The process is stopped mid-way through once Ares
Ares (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...
kidnaps Lyta from the island, leaving Circe to abandon her scheme with Cale.
This story plot was to have a larger part in the Wonder Woman comic but was dropped due to the Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
storyline. Cale's reaction to the media furor surrounding Wonder Woman's killing of Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.-Before the League:...
and its consequences have not been recorded.
Cale also played a role in the creation of the third Silver Swan, Vanessa Kapatelis, by buying her from Sebastian Ballesteros, the then-current Cheetah, and turning her into a cyborg to fight Wonder Woman.
She resurfaces in Week 26 of 52
52 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
as one of the abducted scientists on Oolong Island (and the only female among the group). She suffers a breakdown after unleashing the Four Horsemen upon the Black Marvel family. When Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
starts his world-wide crusade for vengeance, her conflicting feelings cause her to seduce the mentally unstable Will Magnus
Will Magnus
Doctor Will Magnus is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Showcase #37 alongside his creations, the Metal Men; he was created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru.-Fictional character biography:...
. When Black Adam actually arrives on the shores of Oolong Island, she attempts to take the blame for it, walking out to confront the maddened Adam. She is subsequently entirely ignored.
According to author notes in the fourth volume of the collected 52 editions, Cale was supposed to originally die at this point, casually slain by Black Adam. Further discussion changed her fate.
Subsequently, Cale leads the remaining mad scientists to form an independent collective. Their first problem is the return of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips. Cale ingests a semi-organic containment unit and uses it to absorb the Horsemen's essences. She is later seen undergoing an operation to remove the unit.
Other versions
In a pastiche of Golden Age stories printed as a back-up strip in Wonder Woman v2, #200, Cale is reinvented as a perfume manufacturer called Veronica Callow. When Wonder Woman refuses to promote her new perfume, Callow tries to discredit Wonder Woman by creating a robot duplicate, Superba, who commits crimes.Television
- Actress Elizabeth HurleyElizabeth HurleyElizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
was to be playing Cale in David E. KelleyDavid E. KelleyDavid Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
's television revival of Wonder Woman for NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
before not being picked up by the network.