Trance (Wildstorm)
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Trance is a character from the Gen¹³ comic book series, published by Wildstorm. He was created by Brandon Choi and J. Scott Campbell and first appeared in . He is a super-villain, leader of a group called the Freaks, whose first appearance was in Gen¹³ #9 (February 1996).
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[edit] History
Little is known about Trance before he came into conflict with the superhero group Gen¹³. His exact origins and motivations are unknown. but he once stated that his main goal was revenge upon Damocles. Initially he tried to use his hypnotic powers on Freefall, but was interrupted by Damocles' bounty hunters and forced to hide. He also knew about Queelocke, Gen¹³'s "pet", and was interested in the creature for its teleportation-ability.
Shortly after he made a deal with the Daemonite lord, Defile, exchanging information on the whereabouts of John Lynch for information on International Operations-leader Miles Craven. What he wanted with this information remains unclear.
When he next appeared he was no longer alone, he had gathered a group of Gen-Actives and other superpowered beings. Using his powers to keep the group, known as the Freaks, under control. During this first fight with Gen¹³ he took control of Caitlin Fairchild, the groups leader, and lured her teammates into a trap where they were forced to fight the Freaks. The Freaks defeated Gen¹³ and Trance had intended to place them under his control, adding them to his group when Queelocke opened a portal bringing in Gen¹³'s reinforcement: their housekeeper Anna. At first Trance thought this was a joke, but Anna turned out to be an android with superhuman strength. Trance's powers didn't work on her and he was forced to flee, taking his Freaks with him. Fairchild was freed from his control and has hated Trance ever since for forcing her to nearly kill her friends.
Afterwards the Freaks and Gen¹³ fought several times until the law caught up with Trance. He was taken prisoner and the Freaks disbanded, each going their own way. He was imprisoned in Purgatory Max, a maximum security prison for superhumans located in Antarctica. He remained there until the supervillain Baron Tödt and his Axis broke in and released all the prisoners. Purgatory Max exploded shortly after, a trap set by the Baron for the superhero team Wildcore, but Trance had managed to escape before it was destroyed. He found himself alone in the Antarctic wastelands where he eventually stumbled across Ariel, a woman with wings. Using his powers to take control of her, the two used her powers of flight to return to civilization, and soon Trance gathered his Freaks again (this time without Baby Doll).
Trance and his Freaks then took control of a small town but were eventually defeated by Genevieve Cray, a female clone of Deathblow and the former DV8-members Frostbite, Sublime and Copycat.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Trance can hypnotize humans with a single glance. His hypnotic powers are very strong: even strong-willed superhumans like Caitlin Fairchild fell under his spell and are willing to kill and die for him. His control over others can be broken when he loses concentration or consciousness. In case of the Freaks, his control over them seems to be far stronger and permanent.
[edit] Freaks
- Phobia: Phobia looks like a little girl, but she has the ability to make a person hallucinate his greatest fears. She has a love/hate relationship with Trance. She used to be his favourite lacky and feels betrayed when he focuses on others.
- Albino: A superhuman contortionist. Albino hates Trance, but has no choice but to obey him due to his mind-link with the team.
- Siren: A creature made completely of water, she appears to be a water nymph. Her song has hypnotic qualities. She is completely devoted to Trance, even without his hypnotic abilities.
- Baby Doll: Actually two creatures in one: The giant, undead Baby is superhumanly strong, but has little intelligence. Inside him, lives Doll, who can appear through a hole in his chest. Doll is intelligent and guides Baby. He uses chains to trap his opponents. After Trance was sent to Purgatory Max, Baby Doll went to New Orleans to live with a witch doctor. When Trance reformed the Freaks, Baby Doll was not included.
- Ariel: A woman who looks like an angel. She has wings, allowing her to fly, and she can change her feet into bird-like claws. She also can survive injuries no normal human could survive (she once caught a knife aimed at Trance in her throat and she didn't seem bothered by it at all.) Ariel is the newest member of the Freaks and fell under his control when they both escaped Purgatory Max.
[edit] Miscellanea
- It is suggested in the Gen¹³ article, that many of Gen¹³'s early adventures were inspired by the X-Men's run by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. If this is true, then Trance is probably based on X-men villain Mesmero.
- Ariel was the only 'Freak' to appear later, she was created by writer Eric DeSantis and artist Trevor Scott and first appeared in Gen-Active #5.
- Trance's appearance is likely based on that of musican Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails. The outfit he wore during his first apprance in Gen¹³ #1 is identical to the one Reznor wore in the video for the song "Closer". This resemblance was so strong that letters from fans printed a few issues later actually asked if Trance *was* Reznor.
