Swift (comics)
Encyclopedia
Swift is a fictional comic book
superhero
in the Wildstorm
universe
, published by DC Comics
. Swift first appeared in Stormwatch
#28 and was created by Jeff Mariotte
and Ron Lim
. She is currently a member of The Authority.
an woman.
When a comet passed by Earth, it activated a genetic quirk in some people that would manifest into superpowers either naturally or through special Seedlings called Activators. Swift was one such Seedling. Swift was brought into Stormwatch
as a rookie, with her powers only partially activated. Weatherman Henry Bendix
later reconfigured the Stormwatch teams, assigning her to Stormwatch Black, Stormwatch's black ops team, alongside Jenny Sparks
(with whom she had a brief romance) and Jack Hawksmoor
. It was then that Christine Trelane
offered to fully activate Swift's powers, bringing out their full potential, and she accepted.
After Stormwatch disbanded, Swift joined former teammates in The Authority. Formerly a pacifist, she has put aside those beliefs to fight for a better world regardless of the cost. She has fought all over the world, from Moscow to Mexico to Gamora Island. During the Transfer of Power storyline, Swift was replaced by Rush from Canada after being taken out of a fight by radioactive feces. Swift was brainwashed into becoming the obedient trophy wife of a television mogul who had been part of the conspiracy to replace her and her team. She was insulted at every opportunity, from having her cooking ignored to the implications she could not remember large words. Eventually she overheard the "off-button" code of the monster Three-Willied Seth and proceeded to free herself. She literally took the heads of the television mogul and his software billionaire co-conspirator. She also saved her friend Angela Spica, the Engineer
, and killed the man who had been abusing Angela.
Originally drawn flat-chested, as a plot point in the series she rapidly "developed" a more pronounced, archetypal superheroine bust size. According to Li-Min herself, this was due to her paying for very expensive breast implants, in fact she was quite boastful about them. One could surmise, due to the deconstructive, vaguely satirical nature of The Authority series, this was a joke directed at the oversized breasts usually common amongst female superheroes (including fellow Wildstorm characters Caitlin Fairchild
and Zealot
).
agents by Jenny Sparks
in 1943. The mini-series this was shown in was said to show Jenny Sparks' first meeting with the members of the Authority, indicating that the egg contains Swift. However the fetus is unnamed or given any real interaction with Sparks, and this origin seems to conflict with what was previously known about Swift's life and powers. The mini-series has several continuity errors, so whether or not Swift hatched from the egg is unclear.
, the mobile sentient spaceship that is headquarters for the Authority.
the surname
precedes the given name
. Shen is a common Chinese surname, and Li-Men is a given name. However many comic book writers do not seem to realize this, as Swift's teammates refer to her familiarly as "Shen," and she has been addressed in the second volume of The Authority as "Ms. Li-Men."
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...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
universe
Wildstorm Universe
The Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are commonplace...
, published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Swift first appeared in Stormwatch
Stormwatch (comics)
Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that...
#28 and was created by Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte is an author who currently lives in Arizona with his wife, author Maryelizabeth Hart, and family. As well as his own original work, he is best known for writing novels and comic books based on licensed properties.-Biography:...
and Ron Lim
Ron Lim
Ronald "Ron" Lim is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California.-Biography:Ron Lim's first published work was an independent comic book entitled Ex-Mutants, which he worked on from 1986-1988....
. She is currently a member of The Authority.
Biography
Swift is a bisexual Buddhist TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an woman.
When a comet passed by Earth, it activated a genetic quirk in some people that would manifest into superpowers either naturally or through special Seedlings called Activators. Swift was one such Seedling. Swift was brought into Stormwatch
Stormwatch (comics)
Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that...
as a rookie, with her powers only partially activated. Weatherman Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix, also known as Weatherman, is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. He first appeared in the Stormwatch series.-Early life:...
later reconfigured the Stormwatch teams, assigning her to Stormwatch Black, Stormwatch's black ops team, alongside Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks, also known as "The Spirit of the 20th century", is a fictional character in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series...
(with whom she had a brief romance) and Jack Hawksmoor
Jack Hawksmoor (comics)
Jack Hawksmoor is a fictional character, a superhero and member of The Authority in the Wildstorm Universe and of Stormwatch in the DC Universe...
. It was then that Christine Trelane
Synergy (comics)
Christine Trelane, formerly known as Synergy is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. She was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi as a member of Stormwatch....
offered to fully activate Swift's powers, bringing out their full potential, and she accepted.
After Stormwatch disbanded, Swift joined former teammates in The Authority. Formerly a pacifist, she has put aside those beliefs to fight for a better world regardless of the cost. She has fought all over the world, from Moscow to Mexico to Gamora Island. During the Transfer of Power storyline, Swift was replaced by Rush from Canada after being taken out of a fight by radioactive feces. Swift was brainwashed into becoming the obedient trophy wife of a television mogul who had been part of the conspiracy to replace her and her team. She was insulted at every opportunity, from having her cooking ignored to the implications she could not remember large words. Eventually she overheard the "off-button" code of the monster Three-Willied Seth and proceeded to free herself. She literally took the heads of the television mogul and his software billionaire co-conspirator. She also saved her friend Angela Spica, the Engineer
Engineer (comics)
The Engineer is the name of two fictional characters in the . The current Engineer, Angela Spica, is a member of the Authority, first appears in The Authority #1 and was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch.-The First Engineer:...
, and killed the man who had been abusing Angela.
Originally drawn flat-chested, as a plot point in the series she rapidly "developed" a more pronounced, archetypal superheroine bust size. According to Li-Min herself, this was due to her paying for very expensive breast implants, in fact she was quite boastful about them. One could surmise, due to the deconstructive, vaguely satirical nature of The Authority series, this was a joke directed at the oversized breasts usually common amongst female superheroes (including fellow Wildstorm characters Caitlin Fairchild
Caitlin Fairchild
Caitlin Fairchild is a fictional comic book superhero, who appears in the Wildstorm series Gen¹³. She was created by writers Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, and artist J. Scott Campbell.-Early life:Fairchild is the daughter of Alex Fairchild of Team 7...
and Zealot
Zealot (Wildstorm)
Zealot is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm.Artist Mike Deodato loves the character of Zealot so much that when he took over as artist of the comic book Wonder Woman he used Zealot's physical appearance as a template for the then new character Artemis of...
).
World's End
The 2008 Number of the Beast Wildstorm miniseries described the devastation of Earth, and set the scene for a new Authority ongoing series, World's End, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. In this series Swift acts for the devastated Authority as a messenger and transmitter, using her powers and a code of coloured balloons as a communications channel while the Authority attempt to help survivors. She finds herself followed at all times by a flock of birds confused by the new, harsher, environment.Possible origin
Jenny Sparks once encountered a large egg, guarded by Tibetan monks for generations, prophesied to hatch a winged woman at the end of the millennium and usher in a golden age of love and peace. The egg's incubation was not uneventful - it had to be rescued from NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
agents by Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks, also known as "The Spirit of the 20th century", is a fictional character in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series...
in 1943. The mini-series this was shown in was said to show Jenny Sparks' first meeting with the members of the Authority, indicating that the egg contains Swift. However the fetus is unnamed or given any real interaction with Sparks, and this origin seems to conflict with what was previously known about Swift's life and powers. The mini-series has several continuity errors, so whether or not Swift hatched from the egg is unclear.
Powers And Abilities
When her powers were only partially activated, Swift had a line of feathers that ran along the underside of her arms. This allowed for only limited flight. After being fully activated by Christine Trelane, she has the ability to grow wings from her back at will as well as claws and talons on her hands and feet. Consequently, she is called the "fastest winged mammal on the planet." She has flown fast enough to catch superspeedsters. Enhanced strength and durability are shown, including an incident where Swift flew straight through a person, causing them to explode in all directions. She has some birdlike enhanced senses; apart from superior hearing and eyesight, she is able to feel or "read" the air to locate moving things. She can also retract her claws and talons and shed her wings, which eventually decompose into liquid, although she no longer does this since joining the Authority. She has also demonstrated excellent cooking and singing skills. Swift is the navigator for The CarrierThe Carrier
The Carrier is the fictional base of operations of The Authority, a Wildstorm Comics superteam. It is a shiftship, a ship capable of moving through the Bleed, the red space which separates alternate universes in the Wildstorm multiverse. It is long, high and two miles wide. It is powered by a...
, the mobile sentient spaceship that is headquarters for the Authority.
Other Notes
In East AsiaEast Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
the surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
precedes the given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
. Shen is a common Chinese surname, and Li-Men is a given name. However many comic book writers do not seem to realize this, as Swift's teammates refer to her familiarly as "Shen," and she has been addressed in the second volume of The Authority as "Ms. Li-Men."