Count Vertigo
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Count Werner Vertigo is a DC Comics supervillain. First appearing in World's Finest Comics #251 (July 1978), Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal family that ruled the small eastern European country of Vlatava, that was taken over by the Soviets, and would later become devastated by the Spectre.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Starting his career
Count Vertigo first appeared in Star City, where he attempted to steal back the jewels his parents had sold when they escaped to England after the war. The victim of a hereditary inner ear defect that affected his balance, Vertigo had a small electronic device implanted in his right temple that compensated this problem. Tinkering with the device, Vertigo learned he was able to affect other people’s balance as well, distorting their perceptions so that they literally couldn’t tell up from down, an effect known as vertigo. This would bring him in conflict with the heroes Green Arrow and Black Canary.
[edit] Running with the Suicide Squad
He would later come to join the Suicide Squad in exchange for a shortened prison sentence, and it was revealed that he was plagued by bipolar disorder. After the Suicide Squad disbanded for the first time, Count Vertigo was captured by Vlatavan rebels, who wished to use his powers to overthrow the current Vlatavan government. They used a variety of drugs on him, each with a differing effect on the Count, as he would for example suddenly see himself as an Angel of Vengeance, sent to wreak havoc on the current rulers. Although he largely believed himself master of his own will, his mood swings were completely suspect to his captors.
He was captured by Poison Ivy when the Suicide Squad came in and resolved the conflict and Kaligari (then-ruler of Vlatava) was murdered. Count Vertigo was Poison Ivy's slave for a long period of time, during which he grew to hate Poison Ivy and frequently threatened to kill her when he was free of her control. Amanda Waller was able to free Vertigo of her control so that he could stop a group of missiles hitting Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem at the behest of the villain Kobra.
Vertigo succeeded, and it turned out that as he went into rehab and expunged the chemicals that had been pumped into his body by both Ivy and the rebels, that he was unwittingly cured of the disorder that had plagued him for so long. This was something he found hard to deal with and he approached Deadshot, one of his teammates, hoping that Deadshot would be willing to end his life.
In the meantime, he was also approached by members of the Vlatavan government, who sought to see Count Vertigo reclaim his rightful place as ruler. He declined, stating that he wasn't fit to rule at this point, as he wasn't even sure if he wanted to live or die.
Although willing, Deadshot warned him to think it through, because Deadshot would not hesitate, and Vertigo had better be sure this is what he wanted. The running subplot would ultimately culminate in the last pages of the first volume of the Suicide Squad, in which Deadshot and Vertigo stood across one another, Deadshot ready to kill him. Count Vertigo realised that this was ultimately an indirect suicide, and that would ruin his chances for the afterlife. Deciding for now that he would deal with the disease that now indirectly plagued him, he walked away from the duel.
Vertigo also resolved his grudge with Poison Ivy. During the War of the Gods crossover, he was perfectly willing to let her die when he found her abandoned on an Amazonian island. Still, Ivy was saved, and Count Vertigo would later reluctantly work alongside her in the Suicide Squad, leaving their grudge be.
[edit] The destruction of Vlatava
Ultimately, Count Vertigo did return to his homeland in order to ensure that he would once more become the country's rightful ruler. While his forces were at war with the government's army, the Spectre appeared, and already unhinged, was horrified by the slaughter that occurred. In a fit of rage he deemed the entire country and its inhabitants to be full of sin and decided to cleanse it, leaving behind only Vlatava's president at the time and Count Vertigo.
[edit] Grudges and a new Injustice Society
Working for the American government for a while, Count Vertigo eventually sought out his old enemy Green Arrow and after the two had a fight, Count Vertigo decided to leave the vendetta behind and focus on more positive prospects, getting his life back on track. Afterwards he showed up as a member of the new Injustice Society. He still maintains contact with various government agencies that employ metahumans.
[edit] Infinite Crisis and One Year Later
Count Vertigo has been seen among Lex Luthor's ranks in the Secret Society of Super Villains in the pages of Infinite Crisis. He appears "One Year Later" in the revamped Checkmate title as part of its regular cast as the White Queen's Knight under White Queen Amanda Waller.
[edit] Powers and abilities
His "Vertigo Effect" has long since been internalized through circumstances that have not yet been revealed. He uses his power to disrupt his enemies' balance. In hand-to-hand and melee combat, Vertigo uses his power to disorient his opponents. He also uses the Vertigo Effect to disrupt the aim of gunmen, snipers and the like. The exact range of the power is as of yet undeterminded seeing as how on one mission, guards watching him in action on camera were also affected by his power.
This odd ability is also capable of disrupting guidance systems on missiles, vehicles and detection systems of all kind (lasers, cameras, pressure sensitive floor plates, infra-red, thermal and night vision). Count Vertigo also wears magnetic boots through which he can walk walls or ceilings. He also has the ability of flight.
[edit] Appearances in other media
A character loosely based on Count Vertigo, simply called Vertigo (voiced by Michael York), was seen in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode "Off Balance," where Batman has to escape with Talia al Ghul from his castle. He is defeated when Talia rings the castle's bells. The bells are so loud that Vertigo jumped off the tower into the river, where he presumably died. Her father, Ra's Al Ghul makes a first, brief appearance at the end of the episode.
