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Selene (comics)
Encyclopedia
Selene Gallio is a fictional character
, a comic book
supervillain
ess from the Marvel Comics
universe
. She is a mutant
, and an enemy of the X-Men
often associated with the Hellfire Club
's Inner Circle.
vol. 1, #9 (November 1983), written by Chris Claremont
and illustrated by Sal Buscema
.
, daughter of the Titans
Hyperion
and Theia
. Claiming to have already been old when mankind was just emerging, Selene was born 17,000 years ago. Her tribe's elders recognized her for what she was and commanded the entire tribe, including her own mother, to sacrifice their lives to feed her.
. Kulan Gath was active during the Hyborian Age
(before any recorded civilizations) and is known to have faced both Conan the Barbarian
and Red Sonja
. In fact, Sonja reportedly managed to kill him and his spirit would not manifest again until the modern era. Thus, Selene was active at least as early as the Hyborian age.
during the height of its empire
. She approached Eliphas
, a well-respected senator whose wife had left him for a general named Mascius. Selene offered him immortality in exchange for helping her kill and absorb every soul in Rome. Eliphas went about drawing pentagram
s and performing rituals at several locations in the city, but warned a small girl to get her family out. The girl's father alerted the authorities and Eliphas and Selene were captured before the spell could be carried out. Just before they were burned at the stake
Selene killed the guards. She then cursed Eliphas for his perceived betrayal with an eternal life of torture, transforming him into a vampire-like creature. Eliphas was buried alive for 700 years until a farmer discovered him in his field.
. She was worshipped as a goddess and worked to maintain the isolation of the town so she could maintain control. Eliphas, having at some point in time changed his name to "Eli Bard," finally locates Selene in Nova Roma, where she is worshiped as a god. Still in love with her despite her curse, Bard realizes that he must make an offering to her before he approaches her. She also was able to marry several times and have descendants, including Amara Aquilla
. Her most recent known husband was Marcus Domitius Gallio, a senator of Nova Roma.
In Nova Roma, Selene attempted to kill Amara Aquilla. She knocked Amara into a lava pool, thereby releasing her latent mutant powers, as Magma. Selene fought and defeated Magma, and plotted to turn Danielle Moonstar
into a psychic vampire like herself and conquer the world. Selene fought the New Mutants
, and was cast into lava and buried alive.
at a bar. Selene planned to seduce and murder him, but was prevented from doing this when Wolverine
manipulated a bar-room brawl between Juggernaut and Colossus
. Selene then discovered the existence of Rachel Summers
, who Selene sought to turn into her slave only to be defeated by the X-Men
. Prior to the X-Men saving her, Selene had tracked Rachel down to the home of a young man named Nicholas Damiano who had let the homeless Rachel spend the night at his place. Selene savagely murdered the young man, resulting in Rachel swearing revenge against Selene.
With help from one of her worshippers, Friedrich Von Roehm
, Selene made contact with the Hellfire Club and forced the group to take her on as the new Black Queen. Selene became critical in the X-Men's attempt to stop Kulan Gath, after he conquered New York City with a reality-altering spell though she ultimately attempted to doublecross the X-Men in order to steal Gath's talisman of power.
Selene's time with the Hellfire Club was a turbulent time, due to her contempt for Sebastian Shaw
and her quite open desire to rule the Hellfire Club as its sole leader. This led Shaw and Emma Frost
to conspire to kill Selene by manipulating and training the young mutant Firestar
to assassinate her, though this failed when Firestar realized what they were planning.
Selene and the Hellfire Club's relationship with the X-Men came to a head with Rachel Summers making an unauthorized assassination attempt on Selene. Wolverine felt honor-bound to prevent Rachel from becoming a murderer, and so, saved Selene's life by severely injuring Summers. However, Selene was enraged, and used the incident to force the Lords Cardinal to agree to hunt and kill Rachel. A battle over this issue immediately commenced between the X-Men and Lords Cardinal, but it was unexpectedly halted when it drew the attention of Nimrod
, the super-sentinel who had murdered Selene's assistant Rhoem, and who was bent on killing the X-Men and the Lords Cardinal. The Lords Cardinal and the X-Men hastily agreed to a truce, fighting well-enough to cause Nimrod to flee.
After this battle, in the pages of New Mutants, much was made about Selene having secret plans involving Nova Roma and Magma. Due to her love for Empath
, Magma left the New Mutants to join the Hellions
, only to be called home by her father to enter into an arranged marriage with a resident there. However, Magma's escort back home to Nova Roma was Empath, who ultimately decided to stay in the city with her. The two became lovers and ultimately Magma was freed from her arranged marriage plans so that she could be with him.
Writer changes and the book's transition into X-Force caused the storyline to be aborted. Furthermore, it was revealed in New Warriors
#31 revealed, via Empath, that Nova Roma was nothing more than an elaborate lie, concocted by Selene several decades prior. In a desperate bid to try and relive happier days in which she lived in ancient Rome, Selene arranged for hundreds of people to be kidnapped and taken to the jungles of the Amazon, to a city constructed per her designs. There she was somehow able to utterly brainwash her prisoners to believe themselves ancient Roman ancestors living in the Amazon. Magma was one of these kidnapped and brainwashed souls according to Empath. The city was disbanded and the residents returned to their regular lives across the globe.
Years later, due to Chris Claremont wishing to undo writer Fabian Nieciza's dismantling of the concept of Nova Roma, Claremont ignored said story and wrote Magma as she had been originally written. He later had Magma make cryptic references to having been manipulated into believing Nova Roma was a lie by parties unknown that sought to hurt Magma by taking away her childhood home. Furthermore, the five issue mini-series "New Mutants Forever" revealed that Claremont originally planned on revealing Magma to be Selene's granddaughter. This family connection would be stated as well (with no build-up) in New Mutants V3 #6-8, which had Selene resurrect Magma's teammate Cypher to try and kill Magma. Furthermore, it was strongly implied during "Necrosha" that Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost manipualted the Empath/Magma relationship in order to get Empath inside Nova Roma. In the event that Selene struck first and eliminated both, Empath would then use his powers to dismantle the city via convincing the residents that their lives were lies concocted by Selene.
Selene ultimately was the deciding vote to vote Sebastian Shaw out of the Hellfire Club, when tension between Shaw and the newly recruited White King Magneto
came to blows. Unknown to Magneto or Emma Frost however, Selene had decided that she no longer had any need for the Club and began plotting its destruction. Gathering an army of young mutants with help from the mutant omnipath the Gamesmaster
, known as the Upstarts
. Under her authority, the Upstarts engaged in a killing spree that led to many presumed deaths (Magneto, Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce
, and the Reavers
), mortal injuries (Emma Frost), and outright deaths (the Hellions). Selene manipulated her young followers with the promise of a game, where each murder committed would land them points that would ultimately lead to them being granted a prize, described as "being the next best thing to immortality" by the Gamemaster. However, with another writer change, Selene's involvement with the Upstarts was cut short as she herself was betrayed by Trevor Fitzroy
. Selene was kept in a torture device that repeatedly ripped her flesh from her body (to attract the attention of the Gamesmaster, who took advantage of the situation to proclaim himself the new leader of the Upstarts). She would be freed by Amanda Sefton
, though the torture left her weak and scarred.
Needing to replenish her power, Selene first attacked and killed the other surviving Externals
. Though she was opposed by X-Force
, she managed to complete the slaughter and knock out the mutants, until Cable
arrived. Selene's attempt to absorb Cable's life backfired when she touched his techno-organic arm and she was forced to flee to maintain her power. Shortly afterwards, she tried to access the power of a mystical convergence using a Runestaff made from the roots of Yggdrasil, the Norse World Tree. She came to the Exploding Colossal Man festival in New Mexico, but was again opposed by X-Force, who managed to wrest the Runestaff away from her and destroy the Colossal Man mannequin it activated. Selene missed her opportunity for ultimate power and vowed vengeance on X-Force.
She next appeared back in Brazil, where she had tracked Sunspot
, along with Deviants
posing as S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents. She lured Sunspot to her defense, and offered him a position of power in the Hellfire Club, which he refused, regardless of the illusions she tempted him with. However, Sunspot went along with Selene to stop the Deviants in the Damocles Foundation from activating a Celestial
Gatherer. Selene herself was attacked by the Sword strike team, but she managed to cast a spell that devolved them back to lizards. Along with the rest of X-Force, Selene was able to usurp control of the machinery that activated the Gatherer, but Moonstar and Arcadia destroyed the Celestial artifact before Selene could access its power.
Selene then returned to her post as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, after striking a deal with the demon Blackheart
and seemingly throwing out the rest of the Inner Circle. She offered Sunspot the position of Black Rook, which he initially refused but then accepted when Selene and Blackheart revealed that his doing so would allow them to resurrect the spirit of Juliana Sandoval, the girl who died saving Sunspot's life when he first joined the New Mutants. Sunspot had no choice to accept and become Selene's protégé.
However, with Sebastian Shaw's return to the Hellfire Club, Selene was somehow trapped inside the catacombs under the Club. However, she gained limited mobility from an alliance with Donald Pierce
. When the X-Men, including Rachel Summers arrived, during a membership change in the Hellfire Club, Selene plotted to use Rachel to completely free herself. She followed Rachel to Hong Kong via a transport portal and saved her from being corrupted by a telepathic agent of Courtney Ross
, who was trying to become the next White Queen. This move was only a prelude to Selene taking over Rachel's mind, but Marvel Girl was too strong for Selene and expelled her, keeping Selene trapped for a time beneath the Hellfire Club headquarters.
.
Selene, disguised as an old woman, befriends Wither
and they live together in Mutant Town. She encourages him to use his powers and not be afraid of his natural gifts. She then asks him if he would use his powers to save his or her life. She had been killing a large number of people by draining their life-forces, and during her last feeding her disguise was spotted by a witness. She reveals to Wither that Laurie
has died, while he was away. Later she is attacked by the police and managed to kill two of them before being shot multiple times. Wither arrives and kills the other two officers, only for Selene to drop her disguise, telling him she is immortal and that they are two of a kind and should be together. She tells Wither that she will be his queen if he agrees, then kisses him, and he consents.
is explained by Warpath
to the other members of X-Force. It is revealed he had originally planned to sacrifice the Purifiers
to Selene but changed his plans upon seeing Bastion reprogram an offspring of Magus
. Using the Technarch transmode virus he reanimated the corpses in the burial grounds of the Apache tribe that he had decimated decades earlier along with Caliban
. He presented them to Selene for the purpose of finding other dead mutants and resurrecting them by the same means, so that Bard can sacrifice them and their powers to her.
brought before her where she asks what her future holds.
Selene returns to the place of her birth in central Europe, accompanied by new Inner Circle, consisting of Blink, Senyaka
, Mortis
, Wither
, and Eli Bard
. She sets her plan into motion of becoming a goddess with her Inner Circle; they go to the New York branch of the Hellfire Club, where they slaughter everyone present. Selene then targets others who she feels have obstructed, or otherwise failed, her in her quest for divinity, namely Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Emma Frost (against whom she especially holds a grudge because of Frost's use of the "Black Queen" codename when working for the Dark X-Men
), the X-Men, and Magma. Caliban and Thunderbird then lead her to the ruins of Genosha
. Selene dubs the ruins Necrosha and swears that her journey will end here. While most of the resurrected mutants attack the X-Men and Utopia, Selene is seen with Eli Bard resurrecting the massacred residents of Genosha, with Cerebro
detecting the rise of mutant numbers in millions (the first life-signs detected by Bastion's computers include Spoor
, Katu
, Unus
, REM-RAM
, Static, and Barnacle
). There is a major problem though: a lot of the deceased have been depowered, despite having been killed BEFORE M-day. Wither and Mortis explain what happened and the Coven begins to set up base at Necrosha. It turns out that Selene can't do the ritual yet, because Eli Bard lost the knife that was required to do it. She then dispatches her crew and they end up taking the knife back, capturing Warpath in the process. Once Bard gives Selene the knife and proclaims his eternal love for her, Selene stabs Eli, killing him (much to Wither's delight). Warpath is eventually rescued by the Vanisher but Selene absorbs the many souls around her, turning light blue and growing in size. She finally becomes the goddess she had sought to be for so long. Turning to her followers, she commands them to get her more souls. Warpath was able to destroy Selene by plunging his dagger into her chest, after teaching X-Force the Ghost Dance, a ritual meant to kill evil spirits such as Selene. Shocked that her moment of godhood was taken away so quickly, Selene explodes into rays of light.
Sometime after Selene's death Blink attempted to resurrect the Black Queen, but was eventually stopped by Emma Frost and a small team of X-Men consisting of Blindfold
, Pixie, Husk
, Warpath
, along with former Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange
who managed successfully to purge Blink of Selene's corruptive influence.
Selene is a "psychic vampire
" with the ability to sustain herself by psionically draining the life force of other human beings into herself. If she drains a person's entire life force, the victim dies and crumbles to dust in seconds. If Selene only drains the victim's life force partially, she achieves a measure of psychic control over her victim's mind, thereby subverting them to her will. Through unknown means Selene can also cause a human being to become a psychic vampire like herself, but be subordinate to Selene's own will. Selene's youthful appearance and vitality depends upon her absorbing the life forces of one or more people on a regular basis. This restores Selene to a youthful and healthy appearance when she has been injured, or when she over-exerts her other powers, and sustain her centuries-long life. A side-effect of this process is that Selene remembers the life of anyone she absorbs.
By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her physical strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability to superhuman levels. The amount of energy she has retained from her victims does seem to correlate somewhat with her physical strength and resistance to injury. Selene can momentarily move at superhuman speeds of around 175 miles/hour, though this requires a heavy expenditure of energy and can cause her to age rapidly and require more life energy immediately. It is not known how often Selene must drain a human's life force in order to survive. Great expenditure of power causes Selene to age rapidly, but she can rejuvenate herself by absorbing more life force.
Selene appears to be immune to most forms of conventional injury; she has survived both a knife wound and a crossbow bolt to her heart with no apparent lasting effects. While not indestructible, she once survived and recovered completely from molecular discorporation, though it took considerable time to reconstitute herself.
Selene's most direct weapon is the telekinetic
power to animate and/or levitate inorganic matter on a molecular level, by projecting part of her absorbed life force into it. She can affect nearly anything within her line of sight, and can warp and alter the molecules of inanimate matter to her whim, causing objects to wrap around and constrict others, creating lifelike humanoid structures to combat her opponents, or simply reducing objects to dust. She can use this power in more standard ways, such as creating powerful force fields around herself, and can levitate herself and others but cannot truly fly. Selene can also control and manipulate fire in a variety of ways, though she cannot create the fire herself; whether this is a facet of her telekinesis or a separate power is unclear.
Selene possesses an undefined level of telepathic
ability, though she is not as powerful as high-order telepaths such as Professor X
or Jean Grey
, and is vulnerable to psionic attack should she be directly engaged. She often uses her telepathy to blend her psychic signature into the background thoughts around her, making her difficult for other psionics to locate or track, or to induce a hypnotic trance in others, during which she slips away at superhuman speed, leaving them with the impression that she simply vanished.
Selene is able to temporarily assume the appearance of others. Like many of her other abilities, it is unknown if this is achieved through magic, telepathy, or other means.
Selene possesses considerable magical abilities and extensive knowledge of sorcery, enabling her to cast and counteract spells. While the full extent of Selene's magical skill is not known, her greatly extended lifespan has given her sufficient knowledge and experience to be considered a threat to Kulan Gath
. She was able to cast an illusion sufficient to fool Kulan Gath at his most powerful. Selene was revealed as one of several magic-users with the potential to be the next Sorcerer Supreme
after Doctor Strange
by the Eye of Agamotto
.
Selene was briefly depicted as a being of semi-substantial living darkness with the ability to appear and disappear at will and, similar to Blackheart
, imprison people in the dark energy she appears to be composed of. In more recent appearances, however, she has apparently regained her humanoid form and displays her original powers.
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 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...
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...
ess from 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...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. She is 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...
, and an enemy of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
often associated with the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
's Inner Circle.
Publication history
Selene first appeared in New MutantsNew Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
vol. 1, #9 (November 1983), written by Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and illustrated by 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...
.
Fictional character biography
Her long life is attributed to the fact that she is a 'psychic vampire', able to drain lives of others in order to extend her own. Her name derives from the ancient lunar deity SeleneSelene
In Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon"....
, daughter of the Titans
Titan (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
Hyperion
Hyperion (mythology)
Hyperion was one of the twelve Titans of Ancient Greece, the sons and daughters of Gaia and Ouranos , which were later supplanted by the Olympians. He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, and the Titan of the east...
and Theia
Theia
In Greek mythology, Theia "goddess" or "divine" , also called Euryphaessa "wide-shining," was a Titan...
. Claiming to have already been old when mankind was just emerging, Selene was born 17,000 years ago. Her tribe's elders recognized her for what she was and commanded the entire tribe, including her own mother, to sacrifice their lives to feed her.
Hyborian Age
Selene was revealed to have been an old enemy of the sorcerer Kulan GathKulan Gath
Kulan Gath is a fictional character, a villainous magician who was created at Marvel Comics as a foe of Conan the Barbarian and who was later fully integrated into the Marvel Universe and in 2006 was used in Dynamite Entertainment's revamped Red Sonja series....
. Kulan Gath was active during the Hyborian Age
Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age is a fictional period within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, in which the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian are set....
(before any recorded civilizations) and is known to have faced both Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
and Red Sonja
Red Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
. In fact, Sonja reportedly managed to kill him and his spirit would not manifest again until the modern era. Thus, Selene was active at least as early as the Hyborian age.
Rome and Eliphas
Selene came to reside in RomeRome
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...
during the height of its empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. She approached Eliphas
Eli Bard
Eli Bard is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain from the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Purifiers and an enemy of the X-Men.-Fictional character biography:...
, a well-respected senator whose wife had left him for a general named Mascius. Selene offered him immortality in exchange for helping her kill and absorb every soul in Rome. Eliphas went about drawing pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
s and performing rituals at several locations in the city, but warned a small girl to get her family out. The girl's father alerted the authorities and Eliphas and Selene were captured before the spell could be carried out. Just before they were burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
Selene killed the guards. She then cursed Eliphas for his perceived betrayal with an eternal life of torture, transforming him into a vampire-like creature. Eliphas was buried alive for 700 years until a farmer discovered him in his field.
Nova Roma
In relatively recent times, Selene was trapped for centuries in the Amazon in the Romanesque town of Nova RomaNova Roma (disambiguation)
Nova Roma could refer to:* the concept of New Rome in Western Civilization* Constantinople, which was often considered a second Rome* the town of Nova Roma, Goiás, Brazil...
. She was worshipped as a goddess and worked to maintain the isolation of the town so she could maintain control. Eliphas, having at some point in time changed his name to "Eli Bard," finally locates Selene in Nova Roma, where she is worshiped as a god. Still in love with her despite her curse, Bard realizes that he must make an offering to her before he approaches her. She also was able to marry several times and have descendants, including Amara Aquilla
Magma (comics)
Magma is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics series New Mutants, also associated with various X-Men-related comics. She was created by author Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, and debuted in New Mutants #8...
. Her most recent known husband was Marcus Domitius Gallio, a senator of Nova Roma.
In Nova Roma, Selene attempted to kill Amara Aquilla. She knocked Amara into a lava pool, thereby releasing her latent mutant powers, as Magma. Selene fought and defeated Magma, and plotted to turn Danielle Moonstar
Danielle Moonstar
Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche and later Mirage, is a fictional Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men....
into a psychic vampire like herself and conquer the world. Selene fought the New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
, and was cast into lava and buried alive.
Becoming the Black Queen
Selene directed her worshippers to undertake tasks that eventually allowed her to leave Nova Roma. Selene made her way to New York City, where she encountered JuggernautJuggernaut (comics)
The Juggernaut is a fictional character that appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #12 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby....
at a bar. Selene planned to seduce and murder him, but was prevented from doing this when Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
manipulated a bar-room brawl between Juggernaut and Colossus
Colossus (comics)
Colossus is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
. Selene then discovered the existence of Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
, who Selene sought to turn into her slave only to be defeated by the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Prior to the X-Men saving her, Selene had tracked Rachel down to the home of a young man named Nicholas Damiano who had let the homeless Rachel spend the night at his place. Selene savagely murdered the young man, resulting in Rachel swearing revenge against Selene.
With help from one of her worshippers, Friedrich Von Roehm
Friedrich Von Roehm
Friedrich Von Roehm, also known as the Black Rook is a Marvel Comics supervillain, and an adversary of the X-Men.Von Roehm possesses a hereditary ability that is likened to lycanthropy. Von Roehm undergoes a transformation from his ordinary human form through a process mentally activated by Selene...
, Selene made contact with the Hellfire Club and forced the group to take her on as the new Black Queen. Selene became critical in the X-Men's attempt to stop Kulan Gath, after he conquered New York City with a reality-altering spell though she ultimately attempted to doublecross the X-Men in order to steal Gath's talisman of power.
Selene's time with the Hellfire Club was a turbulent time, due to her contempt for Sebastian Shaw
Sebastian Shaw (comics)
Sebastian Hiram Shaw is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an adversary of the X-Men.A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength...
and her quite open desire to rule the Hellfire Club as its sole leader. This led Shaw and Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
to conspire to kill Selene by manipulating and training the young mutant Firestar
Firestar
Firestar is a fictional mutant superhero in the . Debuting in 1981 on the NBC animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, she has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, which allows her to generate intense heat and flames, and to fly...
to assassinate her, though this failed when Firestar realized what they were planning.
Selene and the Hellfire Club's relationship with the X-Men came to a head with Rachel Summers making an unauthorized assassination attempt on Selene. Wolverine felt honor-bound to prevent Rachel from becoming a murderer, and so, saved Selene's life by severely injuring Summers. However, Selene was enraged, and used the incident to force the Lords Cardinal to agree to hunt and kill Rachel. A battle over this issue immediately commenced between the X-Men and Lords Cardinal, but it was unexpectedly halted when it drew the attention of Nimrod
Nimrod (comics)
Nimrod is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #191 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr. Hailing from the "Days of Future Past" timeline, Nimrod is a powerful, virtually...
, the super-sentinel who had murdered Selene's assistant Rhoem, and who was bent on killing the X-Men and the Lords Cardinal. The Lords Cardinal and the X-Men hastily agreed to a truce, fighting well-enough to cause Nimrod to flee.
After this battle, in the pages of New Mutants, much was made about Selene having secret plans involving Nova Roma and Magma. Due to her love for Empath
Empath (comics)
Empath , is a fictional mutant in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Empath was created by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema and first appeared in New Mutants #16-17 as a member of Emma Frost's original Hellions.The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men #193 , Firestar #2-4...
, Magma left the New Mutants to join the Hellions
Hellions (comics)
There have been several groups of fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe who have been known as the Hellions. These groups were rivals of various teams of younger mutant heroes in the X-Men franchise....
, only to be called home by her father to enter into an arranged marriage with a resident there. However, Magma's escort back home to Nova Roma was Empath, who ultimately decided to stay in the city with her. The two became lovers and ultimately Magma was freed from her arranged marriage plans so that she could be with him.
Writer changes and the book's transition into X-Force caused the storyline to be aborted. Furthermore, it was revealed in New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
#31 revealed, via Empath, that Nova Roma was nothing more than an elaborate lie, concocted by Selene several decades prior. In a desperate bid to try and relive happier days in which she lived in ancient Rome, Selene arranged for hundreds of people to be kidnapped and taken to the jungles of the Amazon, to a city constructed per her designs. There she was somehow able to utterly brainwash her prisoners to believe themselves ancient Roman ancestors living in the Amazon. Magma was one of these kidnapped and brainwashed souls according to Empath. The city was disbanded and the residents returned to their regular lives across the globe.
Years later, due to Chris Claremont wishing to undo writer Fabian Nieciza's dismantling of the concept of Nova Roma, Claremont ignored said story and wrote Magma as she had been originally written. He later had Magma make cryptic references to having been manipulated into believing Nova Roma was a lie by parties unknown that sought to hurt Magma by taking away her childhood home. Furthermore, the five issue mini-series "New Mutants Forever" revealed that Claremont originally planned on revealing Magma to be Selene's granddaughter. This family connection would be stated as well (with no build-up) in New Mutants V3 #6-8, which had Selene resurrect Magma's teammate Cypher to try and kill Magma. Furthermore, it was strongly implied during "Necrosha" that Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost manipualted the Empath/Magma relationship in order to get Empath inside Nova Roma. In the event that Selene struck first and eliminated both, Empath would then use his powers to dismantle the city via convincing the residents that their lives were lies concocted by Selene.
Selene ultimately was the deciding vote to vote Sebastian Shaw out of the Hellfire Club, when tension between Shaw and the newly recruited White King Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
came to blows. Unknown to Magneto or Emma Frost however, Selene had decided that she no longer had any need for the Club and began plotting its destruction. Gathering an army of young mutants with help from the mutant omnipath the Gamesmaster
Gamesmaster (comics)
Gamesmaster is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #283 .-Fictional character biography:...
, known as the Upstarts
Upstarts (comics)
The Upstarts were a group of fictional comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics with strong ties to the Hellfire Club. They first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #281 and were created by Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio.-Fictional team biography:...
. Under her authority, the Upstarts engaged in a killing spree that led to many presumed deaths (Magneto, Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce
Donald Pierce
Donald Pierce is a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #132. He was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Donald Pierce is a cyborg.-Fictional character biography:...
, and the Reavers
Reavers (comics)
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe the Reavers are a team of criminal cyborgs. The most significant team of Reavers were dedicated to the destruction of the mutant X-Men, and a number of them especially wanted to take revenge on one particular X-Man, Wolverine. The name was originally used by...
), mortal injuries (Emma Frost), and outright deaths (the Hellions). Selene manipulated her young followers with the promise of a game, where each murder committed would land them points that would ultimately lead to them being granted a prize, described as "being the next best thing to immortality" by the Gamemaster. However, with another writer change, Selene's involvement with the Upstarts was cut short as she herself was betrayed by Trevor Fitzroy
Trevor Fitzroy
Trevor Fitzroy is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men, in particular Bishop. Created by Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #281 .Fitzroy hails from the same dystopian future as Bishop...
. Selene was kept in a torture device that repeatedly ripped her flesh from her body (to attract the attention of the Gamesmaster, who took advantage of the situation to proclaim himself the new leader of the Upstarts). She would be freed by Amanda Sefton
Amanda Sefton
Amanda Sefton is a fictional character, a witch in the Marvel Universe. She is the foster sister and former lover of Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler of the X-Men....
, though the torture left her weak and scarred.
Needing to replenish her power, Selene first attacked and killed the other surviving Externals
Externals
The Externals were a fictional group of X-Men antagonists and subspecies of mutants.-Background:All of the Externals were originally portrayed as immortal and important, playing an extremely major role in the future and Apocalypse's rise to power , but eventually most were killed off. Only Selene,...
. Though she was opposed by X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
, she managed to complete the slaughter and knock out the mutants, until Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
arrived. Selene's attempt to absorb Cable's life backfired when she touched his techno-organic arm and she was forced to flee to maintain her power. Shortly afterwards, she tried to access the power of a mystical convergence using a Runestaff made from the roots of Yggdrasil, the Norse World Tree. She came to the Exploding Colossal Man festival in New Mexico, but was again opposed by X-Force, who managed to wrest the Runestaff away from her and destroy the Colossal Man mannequin it activated. Selene missed her opportunity for ultimate power and vowed vengeance on X-Force.
She next appeared back in Brazil, where she had tracked Sunspot
Sunspot (comics)
Sunspot is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero most commonly associated with X-Men-related groups the New Mutants and X-Force....
, along with Deviants
Deviant (comics)
The Deviants are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe. They are an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials, and wage war against their counterparts, the Eternals...
posing as S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
agents. She lured Sunspot to her defense, and offered him a position of power in the Hellfire Club, which he refused, regardless of the illusions she tempted him with. However, Sunspot went along with Selene to stop the Deviants in the Damocles Foundation from activating a Celestial
Celestial (comics)
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
Gatherer. Selene herself was attacked by the Sword strike team, but she managed to cast a spell that devolved them back to lizards. Along with the rest of X-Force, Selene was able to usurp control of the machinery that activated the Gatherer, but Moonstar and Arcadia destroyed the Celestial artifact before Selene could access its power.
Selene then returned to her post as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, after striking a deal with the demon Blackheart
Blackheart
Blackheart is a fictional demon in the . The character was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr., and first appeared in Daredevil #270...
and seemingly throwing out the rest of the Inner Circle. She offered Sunspot the position of Black Rook, which he initially refused but then accepted when Selene and Blackheart revealed that his doing so would allow them to resurrect the spirit of Juliana Sandoval, the girl who died saving Sunspot's life when he first joined the New Mutants. Sunspot had no choice to accept and become Selene's protégé.
However, with Sebastian Shaw's return to the Hellfire Club, Selene was somehow trapped inside the catacombs under the Club. However, she gained limited mobility from an alliance with Donald Pierce
Donald Pierce
Donald Pierce is a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #132. He was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Donald Pierce is a cyborg.-Fictional character biography:...
. When the X-Men, including Rachel Summers arrived, during a membership change in the Hellfire Club, Selene plotted to use Rachel to completely free herself. She followed Rachel to Hong Kong via a transport portal and saved her from being corrupted by a telepathic agent of Courtney Ross
Courtney Ross
Courtney Ross is a fictional character from Marvel Comics originating in the Captain Britain comics as Brian Braddock's college girlfriend. She was created by Chris Claremont and drawn by artists Herb Trimpe and Fred Kida...
, who was trying to become the next White Queen. This move was only a prelude to Selene taking over Rachel's mind, but Marvel Girl was too strong for Selene and expelled her, keeping Selene trapped for a time beneath the Hellfire Club headquarters.
After M-Day
Selene was one of the few mutants to retain her powers after the events of M-DayDecimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
.
Selene, disguised as an old woman, befriends Wither
Wither (comics)
Wither is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has been a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute, a member of the Hellions training squad, and a supervillain as a part of Selene's Coven.-Early life:Kevin Ford developed his mutant...
and they live together in Mutant Town. She encourages him to use his powers and not be afraid of his natural gifts. She then asks him if he would use his powers to save his or her life. She had been killing a large number of people by draining their life-forces, and during her last feeding her disguise was spotted by a witness. She reveals to Wither that Laurie
Wallflower (comics)
Wallflower is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad therein. After the events of M-Day transpired, she was one of a handful of mutants to keep...
has died, while he was away. Later she is attacked by the police and managed to kill two of them before being shot multiple times. Wither arrives and kills the other two officers, only for Selene to drop her disguise, telling him she is immortal and that they are two of a kind and should be together. She tells Wither that she will be his queen if he agrees, then kisses him, and he consents.
Eli Bard's offering
Selene's relationship with Eli BardEli Bard
Eli Bard is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain from the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Purifiers and an enemy of the X-Men.-Fictional character biography:...
is explained by Warpath
Warpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
to the other members of X-Force. It is revealed he had originally planned to sacrifice the Purifiers
Purifiers
The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a fictional paramilitary/terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe and enemies of the X-Men...
to Selene but changed his plans upon seeing Bastion reprogram an offspring of Magus
Magus (Technarchy)
The Magus is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.The Magus is a techno-organic patriarch of an alien civilization, and should not be confused with another character called Magus who is associated with Adam Warlock.-Publication history:...
. Using the Technarch transmode virus he reanimated the corpses in the burial grounds of the Apache tribe that he had decimated decades earlier along with Caliban
Caliban (comics)
Caliban is a mutant character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Caliban's first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #148 , written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum.-Fictional character biography:...
. He presented them to Selene for the purpose of finding other dead mutants and resurrecting them by the same means, so that Bard can sacrifice them and their powers to her.
Necrosha
One week before the event of Necrosha, Selene has the recently resurrected DestinyDestiny (Irene Adler)
Destiny is a Marvel Comics fictional character, known as an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141...
brought before her where she asks what her future holds.
Selene returns to the place of her birth in central Europe, accompanied by new Inner Circle, consisting of Blink, Senyaka
Senyaka
Suvik Senyaka is a fictional mutant villain character in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Fictional character biography:Senyaka is a mutant recruited by Fabian Cortez as a member of a second group of the Acolytes. On their first mission, this new team of Acolytes attacked the Our Mother of The Sacred...
, Mortis
Lois London
Lois London is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the Dazzler. She first appeared in Dazzler #22 , and was created by writer Danny Fingeroth and artist Frank Springer...
, Wither
Wither (comics)
Wither is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has been a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute, a member of the Hellions training squad, and a supervillain as a part of Selene's Coven.-Early life:Kevin Ford developed his mutant...
, and Eli Bard
Eli Bard
Eli Bard is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain from the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Purifiers and an enemy of the X-Men.-Fictional character biography:...
. She sets her plan into motion of becoming a goddess with her Inner Circle; they go to the New York branch of the Hellfire Club, where they slaughter everyone present. Selene then targets others who she feels have obstructed, or otherwise failed, her in her quest for divinity, namely Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Emma Frost (against whom she especially holds a grudge because of Frost's use of the "Black Queen" codename when working for the Dark X-Men
Dark X-Men
The Dark X-Men are a Marvel Comics comic-book team. They made their debut during the crossover between Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men written by Matt Fraction, as part of the broader Dark Reign storyline. Each member but Namor has been handpicked by then–H.A.M.M.E.R...
), the X-Men, and Magma. Caliban and Thunderbird then lead her to the ruins of Genosha
Genosha
Genosha is a fictional country that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South...
. Selene dubs the ruins Necrosha and swears that her journey will end here. While most of the resurrected mutants attack the X-Men and Utopia, Selene is seen with Eli Bard resurrecting the massacred residents of Genosha, with Cerebro
Cerebro
In the Marvel Comics universe, Cerebro is a device that the X-Men use to detect humans, specifically mutants. It was created by Xavier and Magneto, and was later enhanced by Dr. Hank McCoy...
detecting the rise of mutant numbers in millions (the first life-signs detected by Bastion's computers include Spoor
Spoor (comics)
Spoor is a fictional comic book character appearing in Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #300 and was a member of the Acolytes. His real name was established in Excalibur #89...
, Katu
Katu
Katu Kath was a fictional character who first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #300.-Fictional character biography:He was a member of the Acolytes, a fanatical group of mutants...
, Unus
Unus the Untouchable
Unus the Untouchable is a fictional character from the comic book X-Men and part of the Marvel Comics Universe. A mutant, Unus is named for his ability to consciously project a force field which protects him from harm.-Origin:Angelo Unuscione was born in Milan, Italy...
, REM-RAM
Rem-Ram
REM-RAM is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe who first appeared in X-Men: Magneto War #1.-Fictional character biography:...
, Static, and Barnacle
Barnacle (comics)
Barnacle is a fictional mutant from Marvel Comics who first appeared in X-Men: Magneto War #1.-Fictional character biography:Barnacle is one of the newer Acolytes that debuted during the Magneto War....
). There is a major problem though: a lot of the deceased have been depowered, despite having been killed BEFORE M-day. Wither and Mortis explain what happened and the Coven begins to set up base at Necrosha. It turns out that Selene can't do the ritual yet, because Eli Bard lost the knife that was required to do it. She then dispatches her crew and they end up taking the knife back, capturing Warpath in the process. Once Bard gives Selene the knife and proclaims his eternal love for her, Selene stabs Eli, killing him (much to Wither's delight). Warpath is eventually rescued by the Vanisher but Selene absorbs the many souls around her, turning light blue and growing in size. She finally becomes the goddess she had sought to be for so long. Turning to her followers, she commands them to get her more souls. Warpath was able to destroy Selene by plunging his dagger into her chest, after teaching X-Force the Ghost Dance, a ritual meant to kill evil spirits such as Selene. Shocked that her moment of godhood was taken away so quickly, Selene explodes into rays of light.
Sometime after Selene's death Blink attempted to resurrect the Black Queen, but was eventually stopped by Emma Frost and a small team of X-Men consisting of Blindfold
Blindfold (comics)
Blindfold is a fictional character, a mutant and a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 #7 and was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.-Fictional character biography:Blindfold is a...
, Pixie, Husk
Husk (comics)
Husk is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. Guthrie is a superhero associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Husk has the ability to remove one layer of skin - or "husk" - revealing an epidermis of a different composition beneath...
, Warpath
Warpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
, along with former Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
who managed successfully to purge Blink of Selene's corruptive influence.
Powers and abilities
Selene is both a mutant and a powerful sorceress. She possesses a wide range of superhuman abilities, but it has never been clearly defined which of these are her actual mutant abilities and which are skills derived from magic or other sources.Selene is a "psychic vampire
Psychic vampire
A psychic vampire is a person or being who claims to feed off the "life force" of other living creatures. Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction...
" with the ability to sustain herself by psionically draining the life force of other human beings into herself. If she drains a person's entire life force, the victim dies and crumbles to dust in seconds. If Selene only drains the victim's life force partially, she achieves a measure of psychic control over her victim's mind, thereby subverting them to her will. Through unknown means Selene can also cause a human being to become a psychic vampire like herself, but be subordinate to Selene's own will. Selene's youthful appearance and vitality depends upon her absorbing the life forces of one or more people on a regular basis. This restores Selene to a youthful and healthy appearance when she has been injured, or when she over-exerts her other powers, and sustain her centuries-long life. A side-effect of this process is that Selene remembers the life of anyone she absorbs.
By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her physical strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability to superhuman levels. The amount of energy she has retained from her victims does seem to correlate somewhat with her physical strength and resistance to injury. Selene can momentarily move at superhuman speeds of around 175 miles/hour, though this requires a heavy expenditure of energy and can cause her to age rapidly and require more life energy immediately. It is not known how often Selene must drain a human's life force in order to survive. Great expenditure of power causes Selene to age rapidly, but she can rejuvenate herself by absorbing more life force.
Selene appears to be immune to most forms of conventional injury; she has survived both a knife wound and a crossbow bolt to her heart with no apparent lasting effects. While not indestructible, she once survived and recovered completely from molecular discorporation, though it took considerable time to reconstitute herself.
Selene's most direct weapon is the telekinetic
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
power to animate and/or levitate inorganic matter on a molecular level, by projecting part of her absorbed life force into it. She can affect nearly anything within her line of sight, and can warp and alter the molecules of inanimate matter to her whim, causing objects to wrap around and constrict others, creating lifelike humanoid structures to combat her opponents, or simply reducing objects to dust. She can use this power in more standard ways, such as creating powerful force fields around herself, and can levitate herself and others but cannot truly fly. Selene can also control and manipulate fire in a variety of ways, though she cannot create the fire herself; whether this is a facet of her telekinesis or a separate power is unclear.
Selene possesses an undefined level of telepathic
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
ability, though she is not as powerful as high-order telepaths such as Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
or Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
, and is vulnerable to psionic attack should she be directly engaged. She often uses her telepathy to blend her psychic signature into the background thoughts around her, making her difficult for other psionics to locate or track, or to induce a hypnotic trance in others, during which she slips away at superhuman speed, leaving them with the impression that she simply vanished.
Selene is able to temporarily assume the appearance of others. Like many of her other abilities, it is unknown if this is achieved through magic, telepathy, or other means.
Selene possesses considerable magical abilities and extensive knowledge of sorcery, enabling her to cast and counteract spells. While the full extent of Selene's magical skill is not known, her greatly extended lifespan has given her sufficient knowledge and experience to be considered a threat to Kulan Gath
Kulan Gath
Kulan Gath is a fictional character, a villainous magician who was created at Marvel Comics as a foe of Conan the Barbarian and who was later fully integrated into the Marvel Universe and in 2006 was used in Dynamite Entertainment's revamped Red Sonja series....
. She was able to cast an illusion sufficient to fool Kulan Gath at his most powerful. Selene was revealed as one of several magic-users with the potential to be the next Sorcerer Supreme
Sorcerer Supreme
Sorcerer Supreme or Sorceress Supreme is a title granted in the fictional Marvel Universe to the "practitioner of the mystic or magic arts who has greater skills than all others or commands a greater portion of the ambient magical energies than any other organism on a given world or dimension". By...
after Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
by the Eye of Agamotto
Eye of Agamotto
The Eye of Agamotto is a fictional mystical item in the Marvel Comics universe. The artist Steve Ditko, drew inspiration from the real world charm called 'The All Seeing Eye of the Buddha', known among Buddhists as "The Amulet of Snail Martyrs", a Nepali symbol meant to protect its wearer against...
.
Selene was briefly depicted as a being of semi-substantial living darkness with the ability to appear and disappear at will and, similar to Blackheart
Blackheart
Blackheart is a fictional demon in the . The character was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr., and first appeared in Daredevil #270...
, imprison people in the dark energy she appears to be composed of. In more recent appearances, however, she has apparently regained her humanoid form and displays her original powers.
Television
- Selene appears in the Wolverine and the X-Mens episode "Shades of Grey", voiced by April StewartApril StewartApril Stewart is an American voice actress. She is best known for providing the voices of several female characters on the animated cartoon TV series South Park alongside fellow voice actress Mona Marshall. Born and raised in Truckee, California, Stewart started acting at the age 12. Her father,...
. She appears as a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. In the episode "Foresight" Pt. 1, she and the Hellfire Club end up fighting Cyclops in order to prevent him from disrupting a ritual that would transfer the Phoenix Force from Jean Grey to the Stepford Cuckoos. She uses her psychic vampirism on CyclopsCyclops (comics)Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
, but displays none of her other powers in her brief appearance.
Film
- Kevin GreviouxKevin GreviouxKevin Grevioux is an American actor, screenwriter, and comic book writer. He is most known for his role as "Raze" in the Underworld movies.-Biography:...
stated that the character of SeleneSelene (Underworld)Selene is a fictional character from the Underworld film series. She is the main protagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale and also by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. Selene was created by...
in his movie "UnderworldUnderworld (2003 film)Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
" is loosely based on Marvel Comics Selene.
Video games
- Selene appears as the final boss of GambitGambit (comics)Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
's stage in the 1992 video game, Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge.
- She also appears as a boss in the SNES game Wolverine: Adamantium RageWolverine: Adamantium RageWolverine: Adamantium Rage is a 16-bit platform-action video game released for both the Super NES and the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was published by Acclaim and developed by Teeny Weeny Games, while the Super Nintendo version had LJN as the publisher, and Bits...
.
- In X-Men Legends II: Rise of ApocalypseX-Men Legends II: Rise of ApocalypseX-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is an action role-playing game released in 2005 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, N-Gage, PlayStation Portable, and GameCube video game consoles as well as the PC...
, Selene (voiced by Jeannie EliasJeannie EliasJeannie Elias is a Canadian American film and voice actress.-Anime Roles:* Blood+ - Young Haji, Nahabi, Additional Voices* Ergo Proxy - Kitty* Naruto - Kaori-Non-anime Roles:...
) is one of the many characters to make a cameo. She is a captive in ApocalypseApocalypse (comics)Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
's citadel, and the X-Men free her as part of a deal they made with Sebastian ShawSebastian Shaw (comics)Sebastian Hiram Shaw is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an adversary of the X-Men.A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength...
earlier in the game. Selene promises to give them information, but upon being freed reveals she had no information, and had only said that so the X-Men would help her.
External links
- Selene at Marvel.com
- Selene at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Selene:The High Priestess
- "Selene - la belle dame sans merci" at UncannyXmen.net