Llyra
Encyclopedia
Llyra is a fictional character
, a Marvel Comics
super-villainess. She was created by Roy Thomas
and Sal Buscema
and first appeared in Sub-Mariner
#32 (December, 1970).
on the big island of Hawaii
. She is the daughter of Llyron, a member of the water-breathing Homo mermanus
who dwell in Lemuria
, and Rhonda Morris, a surface woman who inherited her father's oceanarium in Hawaii. Llyron was taken captive by men in the employ of Morris who were looking for marine specimens to exhibit. Rhonda Morris fell in love with the seaman, and despite the fact that neither could live in the other's environment unaided for very long, they soon were married. Llyron decided not to return to Lemuria and helped his wife find exotic fish for her oceanarium. He perished a few months after they were wed, saving his wife from a shark. Morris bore a daughter she named Llyra. The infant was capable of breathing air as well as water, and would later demonstrate certain other mutant
powers, notably the ability to alter the greenish coloration of her skin and hair to resemble her Caucasian mother's. As Llyra grew into adolescence, she developed multiple identity disorder
, and began to believe that when she changed her skin to pink, she was another person, her imaginary twin sister Laurie. Reaching adulthood, Llyra journeyed to her father's land of Lemuria, and through elaborate machinations and the use of her other mutant power to telepathically control marine animals, she usurped the throne from its benevolent ruler, King Karthon
, becoming ruler of Lemuria. Several days after her coup, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner
of Atlantis
, a friend of Karthon's, voyaged to Lemuria to seek an alliance against the surface people's ocean pollution. Finding Karthon in chains, Namor engaged Llyra in battle. Llyra dispatched some of the most formidable creatures of the deep at Namor, but Namor prevailed. Llyra was caught in a rockslide caused by a sperm whale under her command and was severely injured, apparently killed. Karthon was freed and regained the throne.
Namor returned Llyra's body to her mother for burial, but Rhonda Morris discovered that her daughter was only in a coma. Using special technology acquired from an undisclosed source, Morris resuscitated Llyra. Llyra journeyed to Lemuria to recruit mercenaries to accompany her to Atlantis where she could wreak vengeance upon Namor. Llyra and her men kidnapped the Lady Dorma
, Namor's bride-to-be, and brought her to the oceanarium owned by her mother. Llyra then used her chameleon powers to disguise herself as Dorma. As soon as the wedding ceremony was over, Llyra revealed herself, claiming that she was now Namor's wife, not Dorma. However, according to Atlantean law, even though the real Dorma was not present, it was still Dorma who was now Namor's wife. When she learned her ploy failed, Llyra fled Atlantis. Namor tracked her to her mother's oceanarium. Witnessing his approach, Llyra smashed the water-filled cylinder holding Dorma, and by the time Namor reached her, Dorma had suffocated.
Llyra escaped and became a professional subversive, and soon allied herself with Namor's enemy, Tiger Shark, and his assistant Gerard Lymondo. The three of them awakened the ocean-dwelling creature Krago to vanquish Namor and kidnapped Namor's human father, Leonard McKenzie. In the course of battle with Namor, Tiger Shark split McKenzie's skull with a lead pipe, and he and Llyra fled. Llyra abandoned the Shark to ally herself with Namor's cousin Byrrah
. The two of them kidnapped Namor's kinsman Namorita
to use as a hostage against Namor. In her scuffle with Namor, Llyra slipped into an oil spring on the ocean bottom and apparently drowned. Llyra was also shown to have fatally poisoned Namora
, (though later it was revealed that Namora was still alive). In an as yet unrevealed manner, Llyra had survived the oil spring. After lying low for a time, Llyra freed the surface criminals, the Wizard
, Sandman
, and the Trapster
from prison, to help her carry out her latest plot on Namor's life. Llyra and these criminals formed the new Frightful Four
and battled Namor and Spider-Man
. Her plot, whereby Namor was supposed to be driven insane by the acquisition of Spider-Man's spider-sense, failed and Namor took Llyra back to Atlantis to stand trial.
Llyra was later broken out of prison by Ghaur
, and became the high priestess of Set
, playing a role in the events of Atlantis Attacks
. She allied with the Deviant Lord Ghaur to bring about the reign of Set. Llyra and Ghaur recruited Krang
and Attuma
for their scheme. Llyra and Ghaur then reconstructed the Serpent Crown
. Their attempted sacrifice of seven superhuman females was thwarted, and Llyra and Ghaur battled Namor, the Fantastic Four
, and the Avengers
. Llyra was teleported
away, and the new Serpent Crown was buried in a sub-sea fissure. She later reappeared, wishing to bear Namor's son as a plot to win the Atlantean throne. Unable to do so, she did the next best thing and slept with Leon McKenzie, the fully human grandson of Namor's father, Leonard McKenzie. Although neither McKenzie ever set on the throne of Atlantis, due to their bylaws the product of the union, the artificially aged Llyron
, nevertheless was a legitimate heir and temporarily took the throne before Namor regained it.
In the events during the Atlantis Rising storyline, Llyra was betrayed by her own son, Llyron, and left dead, chained within the walls of destroyed Atlantis. Prince Namor encountered her there, where she begged her to release him from the shackles. Instead, Prince Namor mercilessly left her to die.
Llyra was seen in the "Marvel Tarot" mini-series, focusing on magic-related characters. Here she had been supplanted by her rival Nagala as high-priestess of Set, as well as transformed into a guardian sea-hag due to her god's displeasure. At the end Nagala likewise falls out of favor as she loses the Serpent Crown to an intruding wizard, and the two fight over becoming Set's favored concubine.
branch of the Homo mermanus
race whose shape-changing powers are a mutant
ability. Like all Atlanteans and Lemurians, Llyra has a certain degree of superhuman strength and durability, and is able to withstand the ocean pressures. She can breathe underwater and withstand the extreme water pressure and freezing temperatures of the sea. She differs in her ability to alter her skin pigmentation to look like a human, Atlantean, or Lemurian. She also possesses a psionic control over certain orders of marine life, including gigantic sea monsters. As a servant of Set
she may also possess certain skills as a mystic.
Llyra temporarily possessed certain hypnotic powers conferred upon her by the Serpent God Set.
Llyra wears a costume of bulletproof fabric. She carries various Atlantean and surface world armaments. She occasionally employs sub-sea crafts, and once used the Wizard
's anti-gravity discs for flight.
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...
, a 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...
super-villainess. She was created by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema
Silvio "Sal" Buscema is an American comic book artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of The Incredible Hulk...
and first appeared in Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
#32 (December, 1970).
Fictional character biography
Llyra Morris was born in the Milolii AreaHonolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on the big island of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. She is the daughter of Llyron, a member of the water-breathing Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the people who live in the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
who dwell in Lemuria
Lemuria (comics)
Lemuria is the name of two fictional locations in the Marvel Universe.Lemuria had been a small continent and group of islands in the Pacific Ocean 21,000 years ago, which was ruled by the Deviants. Lemuria became the center of the Deviant empire, and the only remaining free land was Atlantis, the...
, and Rhonda Morris, a surface woman who inherited her father's oceanarium in Hawaii. Llyron was taken captive by men in the employ of Morris who were looking for marine specimens to exhibit. Rhonda Morris fell in love with the seaman, and despite the fact that neither could live in the other's environment unaided for very long, they soon were married. Llyron decided not to return to Lemuria and helped his wife find exotic fish for her oceanarium. He perished a few months after they were wed, saving his wife from a shark. Morris bore a daughter she named Llyra. The infant was capable of breathing air as well as water, and would later demonstrate certain other mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
powers, notably the ability to alter the greenish coloration of her skin and hair to resemble her Caucasian mother's. As Llyra grew into adolescence, she developed multiple identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, and began to believe that when she changed her skin to pink, she was another person, her imaginary twin sister Laurie. Reaching adulthood, Llyra journeyed to her father's land of Lemuria, and through elaborate machinations and the use of her other mutant power to telepathically control marine animals, she usurped the throne from its benevolent ruler, King Karthon
Karthon the Quester
Karthon the Quester is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Karthon first appeared in Sub-Mariner #9 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin....
, becoming ruler of Lemuria. Several days after her coup, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
of Atlantis
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
, a friend of Karthon's, voyaged to Lemuria to seek an alliance against the surface people's ocean pollution. Finding Karthon in chains, Namor engaged Llyra in battle. Llyra dispatched some of the most formidable creatures of the deep at Namor, but Namor prevailed. Llyra was caught in a rockslide caused by a sperm whale under her command and was severely injured, apparently killed. Karthon was freed and regained the throne.
Namor returned Llyra's body to her mother for burial, but Rhonda Morris discovered that her daughter was only in a coma. Using special technology acquired from an undisclosed source, Morris resuscitated Llyra. Llyra journeyed to Lemuria to recruit mercenaries to accompany her to Atlantis where she could wreak vengeance upon Namor. Llyra and her men kidnapped the Lady Dorma
Lady Dorma
Lady Dorma is a fictional character that appeared in comic books by Timely Comics .A native of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, the character was Namor the Sub-Mariner's cousin and his close confidant in many of his original appearances in the 1940s, and was reintroduced in the late 1960s and...
, Namor's bride-to-be, and brought her to the oceanarium owned by her mother. Llyra then used her chameleon powers to disguise herself as Dorma. As soon as the wedding ceremony was over, Llyra revealed herself, claiming that she was now Namor's wife, not Dorma. However, according to Atlantean law, even though the real Dorma was not present, it was still Dorma who was now Namor's wife. When she learned her ploy failed, Llyra fled Atlantis. Namor tracked her to her mother's oceanarium. Witnessing his approach, Llyra smashed the water-filled cylinder holding Dorma, and by the time Namor reached her, Dorma had suffocated.
Llyra escaped and became a professional subversive, and soon allied herself with Namor's enemy, Tiger Shark, and his assistant Gerard Lymondo. The three of them awakened the ocean-dwelling creature Krago to vanquish Namor and kidnapped Namor's human father, Leonard McKenzie. In the course of battle with Namor, Tiger Shark split McKenzie's skull with a lead pipe, and he and Llyra fled. Llyra abandoned the Shark to ally herself with Namor's cousin Byrrah
Byrrah
Byrrah is a Marvel Comics character. He is a prince of Atlantis, and cousin to Namor the Sub-Mariner. He first appeared in Marvel: Mystery Comics #82.- Fictional character biography :...
. The two of them kidnapped Namor's kinsman Namorita
Namorita
Namorita Prentiss is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe, commonly known by the name of Nita. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors. She was killed in the explosion in Stamford that started the Superhero Civil War.-Publication history:Namorita first...
to use as a hostage against Namor. In her scuffle with Namor, Llyra slipped into an oil spring on the ocean bottom and apparently drowned. Llyra was also shown to have fatally poisoned Namora
Namora
Namora is a fictional character, a superhero in the . She is from Atlantis and is the daughter of an Atlantean father and a human mother. She is the cousin of Namor the Sub-Mariner.-Publication history:...
, (though later it was revealed that Namora was still alive). In an as yet unrevealed manner, Llyra had survived the oil spring. After lying low for a time, Llyra freed the surface criminals, the Wizard
Wizard (Marvel Comics)
The Wizard , also known as the Wingless Wizard, is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe...
, Sandman
Sandman (Marvel Comics)
Sandman is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A shapeshifter endowed through an accident with the ability to turn himself into sand, he eventually reformed, and became an ally of Spider-Man...
, and the Trapster
Trapster
The Trapster , originally known as Paste Pot Pete, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Publication history:...
from prison, to help her carry out her latest plot on Namor's life. Llyra and these criminals formed the new Frightful Four
Frightful Four
The Frightful Four are a group of fictional characters in Marvel Comics who serve as the antithesis to the Fantastic Four.-Publication history:...
and battled Namor and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. Her plot, whereby Namor was supposed to be driven insane by the acquisition of Spider-Man's spider-sense, failed and Namor took Llyra back to Atlantis to stand trial.
Llyra was later broken out of prison by Ghaur
Ghaur
Ghaur is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Created by Peter B. Gillis and Sal Buscema, he first appeared in Eternals vol. 2, #2 .In the Marvel Universe, he is the head of the Deviant race's priesthood.-Fictional character biography:...
, and became the high priestess of Set
Set (Serpent God)
Set is the name of a fictional demon-god within the continuities of Conan the Barbarian and Marvel Universe.He is apparently an amalgam of the name of the Egyptian god Set and the appearance and characteristics of the Egyptian monster Apep and the Greek mythological figure the Lernaean Hydra. This...
, playing a role in the events of Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks was a comic book super-hero crossover storyline which ran through most of the summer annuals published by Marvel Comics in 1989....
. She allied with the Deviant Lord Ghaur to bring about the reign of Set. Llyra and Ghaur recruited Krang
Krang (comics)
Warlord Krang is a fictional character, in the Marvel Comics universe. He was a high-ranking member of the Atlantean military.-Fictional character biography:...
and Attuma
Attuma
Attuma is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He is an Atlantean nomadic warlord who is the nemesis of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and is the father of the superhero Andromeda. He believes he is the prophesied conqueror of the Atlantean Empire...
for their scheme. Llyra and Ghaur then reconstructed the Serpent Crown
Serpent Crown
The Serpent Crown is a fictional mystical power object which has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It exists within Marvel's main shared universe...
. Their attempted sacrifice of seven superhuman females was thwarted, and Llyra and Ghaur battled Namor, the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, and the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
. Llyra was teleported
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
away, and the new Serpent Crown was buried in a sub-sea fissure. She later reappeared, wishing to bear Namor's son as a plot to win the Atlantean throne. Unable to do so, she did the next best thing and slept with Leon McKenzie, the fully human grandson of Namor's father, Leonard McKenzie. Although neither McKenzie ever set on the throne of Atlantis, due to their bylaws the product of the union, the artificially aged Llyron
Llyron
Llyron is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:He is the son of Llyra, and was genetically accelerated in age by Llyra so that he might take the crown of Atlantis. His mother Llyra was a Lemurian/human hybrid and a foe of Namor. She decided to...
, nevertheless was a legitimate heir and temporarily took the throne before Namor regained it.
In the events during the Atlantis Rising storyline, Llyra was betrayed by her own son, Llyron, and left dead, chained within the walls of destroyed Atlantis. Prince Namor encountered her there, where she begged her to release him from the shackles. Instead, Prince Namor mercilessly left her to die.
Llyra was seen in the "Marvel Tarot" mini-series, focusing on magic-related characters. Here she had been supplanted by her rival Nagala as high-priestess of Set, as well as transformed into a guardian sea-hag due to her god's displeasure. At the end Nagala likewise falls out of favor as she loses the Serpent Crown to an intruding wizard, and the two fight over becoming Set's favored concubine.
Powers and abilities
Llyra is a member of the LemurianLemuria (comics)
Lemuria is the name of two fictional locations in the Marvel Universe.Lemuria had been a small continent and group of islands in the Pacific Ocean 21,000 years ago, which was ruled by the Deviants. Lemuria became the center of the Deviant empire, and the only remaining free land was Atlantis, the...
branch of the Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the people who live in the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
race whose shape-changing powers are a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
ability. Like all Atlanteans and Lemurians, Llyra has a certain degree of superhuman strength and durability, and is able to withstand the ocean pressures. She can breathe underwater and withstand the extreme water pressure and freezing temperatures of the sea. She differs in her ability to alter her skin pigmentation to look like a human, Atlantean, or Lemurian. She also possesses a psionic control over certain orders of marine life, including gigantic sea monsters. As a servant of Set
Set (Serpent God)
Set is the name of a fictional demon-god within the continuities of Conan the Barbarian and Marvel Universe.He is apparently an amalgam of the name of the Egyptian god Set and the appearance and characteristics of the Egyptian monster Apep and the Greek mythological figure the Lernaean Hydra. This...
she may also possess certain skills as a mystic.
Llyra temporarily possessed certain hypnotic powers conferred upon her by the Serpent God Set.
Llyra wears a costume of bulletproof fabric. She carries various Atlantean and surface world armaments. She occasionally employs sub-sea crafts, and once used the Wizard
Wizard (Marvel Comics)
The Wizard , also known as the Wingless Wizard, is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe...
's anti-gravity discs for flight.