Gilded Lily
Encyclopedia
Gilded Lily is a fiction
al supervillain
featured in the Marvel Comics
series Alpha Flight
.
Disambiguate: silent film of 1921 starring Mae Murray; "1935 film starring Claudette Colbert" ; also, a Shakespearean phrase, from "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily/To throw perfume on a violet" (Salisbury: Act 4, Scene 2 of "King John").
of great talent and a student of Diablo. Lily was initially seen to be a woman in a gold
en mask
, golden gloves, and a fur coat that covered her slender body to her feet. She had lived for an inordinate length of time, her makeup (on her mask) and hair were very much in the style of the 1920s particularly Louise Brooks
.
Visited by her "nephew" Walter Langkowski
(Lily was unlikely to be an actual aunt due to her age), Gilded Lily intended to turn Walter to gold. She had done this with a great many men in the past; somehow their conversion to gold allowed her to add their life energy to her own, in effect achieving immortality
. As she was about to do the same to Aurora
, Sasquatch intervened. Lily attempted to escape, but when Sasquatch grabbed her, Lily's fur coat came undone revealing that Lily's body had been replaced with a very basic metal frame with arms, and in place of legs she had wheels, much like a Segway HT. Lily's mask was removed in the ensuing struggle. Her mask was seemingly what was keeping her alive, on its removal, Aurora was shocked to see Lily's withered face. Soon after the mask's removal, Lily's robotic frame, along with what was left of her original body crumbled to dust.
Her mansion became the base of operations for Alpha Flight, but in time it was shown that though her body had been destroyed, her spirit continued to survive, eventually merging with Maison Alpha
. She came to consciousness and realized what had happened to her house, using its facilities to strike back against Alpha in revenge. She could only manifest as "alchemical mists," so she used her electrical alchemy to summon Diablo from a New York penetentiary, forcing him to create a potion that would allow her to possess the body of Aurora. Aurora, however, was able to grab the potion herself and force Lily to take it, which cancelled out the potion Lily was using to sustain her own life, killing her.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al supervillain
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...
featured in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
series Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
.
Disambiguate: silent film of 1921 starring Mae Murray; "1935 film starring Claudette Colbert" ; also, a Shakespearean phrase, from "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily/To throw perfume on a violet" (Salisbury: Act 4, Scene 2 of "King John").
Fictional character biography
Gilded Lily was an alchemistAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
of great talent and a student of Diablo. Lily was initially seen to be a woman in a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
en mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
, golden gloves, and a fur coat that covered her slender body to her feet. She had lived for an inordinate length of time, her makeup (on her mask) and hair were very much in the style of the 1920s particularly Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
.
Visited by her "nephew" Walter Langkowski
Sasquatch (comics)
Sasquatch is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:Dr...
(Lily was unlikely to be an actual aunt due to her age), Gilded Lily intended to turn Walter to gold. She had done this with a great many men in the past; somehow their conversion to gold allowed her to add their life energy to her own, in effect achieving immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. As she was about to do the same to Aurora
Aurora (comics)
Aurora is a fictional character, a Canadian superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the twin sister of Northstar and the former lover of Sasquatch. She has also been in a relationship with Wild Child....
, Sasquatch intervened. Lily attempted to escape, but when Sasquatch grabbed her, Lily's fur coat came undone revealing that Lily's body had been replaced with a very basic metal frame with arms, and in place of legs she had wheels, much like a Segway HT. Lily's mask was removed in the ensuing struggle. Her mask was seemingly what was keeping her alive, on its removal, Aurora was shocked to see Lily's withered face. Soon after the mask's removal, Lily's robotic frame, along with what was left of her original body crumbled to dust.
Her mansion became the base of operations for Alpha Flight, but in time it was shown that though her body had been destroyed, her spirit continued to survive, eventually merging with Maison Alpha
Maison Alpha
-Publication history:Maison Alpha first appeared in Alpha Flight #79 , and was created by James Hudnall and John Calimee.Maison Alpha received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #4.-Fictional description:...
. She came to consciousness and realized what had happened to her house, using its facilities to strike back against Alpha in revenge. She could only manifest as "alchemical mists," so she used her electrical alchemy to summon Diablo from a New York penetentiary, forcing him to create a potion that would allow her to possess the body of Aurora. Aurora, however, was able to grab the potion herself and force Lily to take it, which cancelled out the potion Lily was using to sustain her own life, killing her.