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Bliss (Wildstorm)
Encyclopedia
Bliss, also known as Nicole Callahan, is a supervillain
ess in the Wildstorm Universe
of American comic book
s. She was created by Jim Lee
and Brandon Choi
and drawn by J. Scott Campbell
in her first regular appearance. She appeared as a supporting character in the series Gen¹³
and as a castmember in the series DV8
, her most recent appearances were in Gen-Active
.
exposed the team to the Gen-Factor, a substance that endowed the team with superhuman powers. The survivors from this experiment were codenamed Gen12. I.O. hoped to use them as weapons, but Team 7 turned out to have a will of their own. A couple of years later, I.O. decided that Team 7's children could have inherited their fathers' powers and if they could raise them from childhood, they could ensure their obedience. Most Team 7 members went into hiding with their children. Stephen and his family tried to escape as well, but I.O.'s troops caught up with them in Ohio
and shot and killed Rachel; Stephen's wife. They then shot Stephen and took Nicole and her brother Threshold with them. Years later Stephen turned up alive, saying that the bullet grazed him and I.O. imprisoned him for years.
Being a witness to her parents' death at the hands of the Black Razors (a group of highly skilled I.O. soldiers), at a very young age definitely changed Nicole Callahan's life. Subsequently, I.O. took in Nicole and her brother, Matthew, to be brainwashed and trained as agents for the organization, but Nicole was always more interested in her own pleasure than obeying orders. Seeing their parents die had damaged both their minds, though; Matthew had become a psychopath, and Nicole was obsessed with controlling people. During her time with I.O., she was also sexually abused by a Project: Genesis guard named Menlove, further damaging Nicole.
Nicole and Matthew were assigned to Project: Genesis under Ivana Baiul
to act as operatives, but Nicole, now calling herself Bliss, was more interested in fooling around with guards and prisoners. When Gen¹³
escaped the project, she tried to seduce Gen¹³-member Burnout
rather than fight him. This allowed Gen¹³ member Rainmaker
to take her hostage and use her against Matthew, now calling himself Threshold. Project: Genesis was aborted and Baiul fled with Matthew, Nicole, and several subjects of the project. Baiul made Cabalitto Island their new base, a place that Nicole hated, because there were no shops or any social activities. She left the island and visited Burnout and Gen¹³ in Rome
, much to the displeasure of Rainmaker. Nicole flirted with Burnout and assisted Gen¹³ in a fight with the Vatican's superpowered humans. She left the group on friendly (if not fully trusted) terms.
Returning to Cabalitto Island, Ivana had trained the Project: Genesis subjects she had taken as DV8
. Ivana forced an implanted tracking device on her, using member Copycat
to do so, but in the process a reptilian intelligence, one of the Kindred
, that had been possessing Copycat entered Nicole's mind. Bliss caused Copycat's mind to fragment without anybody knowing. Nicole became a member of DV8, and due to her experience, she had some authority over the other members, acting as field leader whenever Threshold was unavailable. On one of these missions, she met Menlove again and killed him. Nicole tries to control the male members of her team with her powers and sex. Her brother is under her control by careful use of Bliss' purely telepathic applications of pleasurable feelings. One night stands of Bliss' tend to end up dead, a subject most her DV8 team members did not find argument with in the least.
When Ivana took control over I.O., she wanted Bliss to run DV8 for her. Bliss did not agree; she did not want a desk job, but enjoyed field work. Soon, when Threshold turned on the team and wounded Ivana, DV8 fought him off and he disappeared. I.O. agent Frank Colby took responsibility for the team, and Bliss managed to remain a field agent as she wished.
Over the next few months, Bliss started to manipulate DV8 member Evo
, pretending to be the only one who cared about him. During this time, ex-DV8 members Frostbite
and Sublime
had joined up with Stephen Callahan, who had come out of hiding. During one dinner, Stephen revealed to them that Nicole had more potential than Threshold, being able to read and speak at three months old. Around the same time, Copycat remembered what Bliss did to her and informed her teammate Freestyle
, but Bliss imprisoned them both. Sublime, Frostbite and Callahan entered I.O. and freed Copycat and Freestyle. They then fought Bliss, who now displayed telepathy on a level that even Threshold never had, and Stephen managed to free his daughter from the possessing entity. Callahan and DV8 then fought I.O. and escaped.
Bliss left with Evo. They went to New York City
where Bliss started to built her own crime syndicate, using Evo, who had become infatuated with her, as her enforcer. Eventually she sacrificed Evo as a scapegoat. Evo was arrested for the murder of an NYPD police officer and sent to the Purgatory Max prison for super beings in Antarctica, leaving Bliss alone, but with her powers she began to build herself a power base in New York.
Her current status due the Worldstorm Amergedon and the Gen13 reboot is in unknown
. She also possesses some psionic powers such as advanced telepathy and minor telekinesis but only uses them on rare occasions. Her natural ability as a seductress is usually the only power Bliss ever needs.
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
ess in the Wildstorm Universe
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
of American 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...
s. She was created by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
and Brandon Choi
Brandon Choi
Brandon Choi is an American comic book writer best known as one of the co-creators of the series Gen¹³ which enjoyed high popularity in the middle and late 1990s. He also wrote several other titles for Wildstorm Comics.-Biography:...
and drawn by J. Scott Campbell
J. Scott Campbell
Jeffrey Scott Campbell is an American comic book artist. He has had several pen names, including "Jeff Scott", but is best known as J. Scott Campbell...
in her first regular appearance. She appeared as a supporting character in the series Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
and as a castmember in the series DV8
DV8
DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people , initially living in New York under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.-Publication history:The series lasted 32 issues, and was a...
, her most recent appearances were in Gen-Active
Gen-Active
Gen-Active is a comic book anthology-series from Wildstorm. It was published from 2000 to 2001 and ran for six issues.It is also the term used to describe a form of superhuman beings in the Wildstorm Universe, those who possess the Gen-Factor....
.
History
Nicole Callahan is the daughter of Stephen Callahan, a former member of Team 7. Team 7's superiors, the intelligence agency International OperationsInternational Operations
International Operations is a fictional American Intelligence Agency in Wildstorm comics. I.O. first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. volume 1 #1 and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.-International Operations:...
exposed the team to the Gen-Factor, a substance that endowed the team with superhuman powers. The survivors from this experiment were codenamed Gen12. I.O. hoped to use them as weapons, but Team 7 turned out to have a will of their own. A couple of years later, I.O. decided that Team 7's children could have inherited their fathers' powers and if they could raise them from childhood, they could ensure their obedience. Most Team 7 members went into hiding with their children. Stephen and his family tried to escape as well, but I.O.'s troops caught up with them in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and shot and killed Rachel; Stephen's wife. They then shot Stephen and took Nicole and her brother Threshold with them. Years later Stephen turned up alive, saying that the bullet grazed him and I.O. imprisoned him for years.
Being a witness to her parents' death at the hands of the Black Razors (a group of highly skilled I.O. soldiers), at a very young age definitely changed Nicole Callahan's life. Subsequently, I.O. took in Nicole and her brother, Matthew, to be brainwashed and trained as agents for the organization, but Nicole was always more interested in her own pleasure than obeying orders. Seeing their parents die had damaged both their minds, though; Matthew had become a psychopath, and Nicole was obsessed with controlling people. During her time with I.O., she was also sexually abused by a Project: Genesis guard named Menlove, further damaging Nicole.
Nicole and Matthew were assigned to Project: Genesis under Ivana Baiul
Ivana Baiul
Ivana Baiul is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm. She has starred in Gen¹³ and DV8.-History:Ivana Baiul was the head of Sci-Tech, the scientific division of I.O. There she worked on creating a group of genetically enhanced soldiers for the government, a task previously done 12 times...
to act as operatives, but Nicole, now calling herself Bliss, was more interested in fooling around with guards and prisoners. When Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
escaped the project, she tried to seduce Gen¹³-member Burnout
Burnout (comics)
Robert "Bobby" Lane is the fictional superhero Burnout from Wildstorm Comics. He is best known as a member of the controversial superhero team Gen¹³.- History :...
rather than fight him. This allowed Gen¹³ member Rainmaker
Sarah Rainmaker
Sarah Rainmaker is a fictional superhero from the comic book series Gen¹³ created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell.-Character biography:...
to take her hostage and use her against Matthew, now calling himself Threshold. Project: Genesis was aborted and Baiul fled with Matthew, Nicole, and several subjects of the project. Baiul made Cabalitto Island their new base, a place that Nicole hated, because there were no shops or any social activities. She left the island and visited Burnout and Gen¹³ in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, much to the displeasure of Rainmaker. Nicole flirted with Burnout and assisted Gen¹³ in a fight with the Vatican's superpowered humans. She left the group on friendly (if not fully trusted) terms.
Returning to Cabalitto Island, Ivana had trained the Project: Genesis subjects she had taken as DV8
DV8
DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people , initially living in New York under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.-Publication history:The series lasted 32 issues, and was a...
. Ivana forced an implanted tracking device on her, using member Copycat
Copycat (Wildstorm)
Copycat is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm Comics. She is a member of the super human team DV8.-History:Gem Antonelli, a native of Los Angeles, was part of a series of experiments carried out by International Operations under the control of the director of the Department of Science...
to do so, but in the process a reptilian intelligence, one of the Kindred
Kindred (comics)
The Kindred is a group of humanoid animals. They were introduced in a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Image Comics in 1994. Its writers were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth, who was also the artist. A second mini-series was published in 2002 under the Wildstorm...
, that had been possessing Copycat entered Nicole's mind. Bliss caused Copycat's mind to fragment without anybody knowing. Nicole became a member of DV8, and due to her experience, she had some authority over the other members, acting as field leader whenever Threshold was unavailable. On one of these missions, she met Menlove again and killed him. Nicole tries to control the male members of her team with her powers and sex. Her brother is under her control by careful use of Bliss' purely telepathic applications of pleasurable feelings. One night stands of Bliss' tend to end up dead, a subject most her DV8 team members did not find argument with in the least.
When Ivana took control over I.O., she wanted Bliss to run DV8 for her. Bliss did not agree; she did not want a desk job, but enjoyed field work. Soon, when Threshold turned on the team and wounded Ivana, DV8 fought him off and he disappeared. I.O. agent Frank Colby took responsibility for the team, and Bliss managed to remain a field agent as she wished.
Over the next few months, Bliss started to manipulate DV8 member Evo
Evo (Wildstorm)
Evo is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm Comics. Real name, Michael Heller, was a member of the super human team DV8.-History:Michael Heller was one of the few young men and women selected to be part of Ivana Baiul's Gen¹³ project at International Operations...
, pretending to be the only one who cared about him. During this time, ex-DV8 members Frostbite
Frostbite (Wildstorm)
Frostbite, is a character from the DV8 comic book series, published by Wildstorm.-History:Leon grew up with his mother in West Memphis, Arkansas. The identity and fate of his father is so far unknown. Leon went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., but quickly found himself in finacinal trouble...
and Sublime
Sublime (Wildstorm)
Sublime is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm Comics. Her real name is Rachel Goldman, and she is a member of the super human team DV8.-History:...
had joined up with Stephen Callahan, who had come out of hiding. During one dinner, Stephen revealed to them that Nicole had more potential than Threshold, being able to read and speak at three months old. Around the same time, Copycat remembered what Bliss did to her and informed her teammate Freestyle
Freestyle (Wildstorm)
Jocelyn Davis also known as Freestyle is a character from the comic book series DV8. She first had a background appearance in Gen¹³ #7, by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee and J...
, but Bliss imprisoned them both. Sublime, Frostbite and Callahan entered I.O. and freed Copycat and Freestyle. They then fought Bliss, who now displayed telepathy on a level that even Threshold never had, and Stephen managed to free his daughter from the possessing entity. Callahan and DV8 then fought I.O. and escaped.
Bliss left with Evo. They went to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where Bliss started to built her own crime syndicate, using Evo, who had become infatuated with her, as her enforcer. Eventually she sacrificed Evo as a scapegoat. Evo was arrested for the murder of an NYPD police officer and sent to the Purgatory Max prison for super beings in Antarctica, leaving Bliss alone, but with her powers she began to build herself a power base in New York.
Her current status due the Worldstorm Amergedon and the Gen13 reboot is in unknown
Powers and abilities
Bliss' main power is the ability to stimulate a person's neural system to an incredible state of ecstasy or agony, even to the point of cardiac arrestCardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
. She also possesses some psionic powers such as advanced telepathy and minor telekinesis but only uses them on rare occasions. Her natural ability as a seductress is usually the only power Bliss ever needs.