Black Alice
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Black Alice is a DC Comics character introduced in Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005). She is a magically powered anti-hero who uses her powers to prey on drug dealers in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
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[edit] Fictional character history
[edit] Origin
Lori Zechlin was a goth teen who lived with her father and drug addict mother. Neither Lori nor her father (identified as John) suspected Mrs. Zechlin's addiction because she abused stolen prescription pharmaceuticals supplied by local drug dealers.
One day, overwhelmed by shame, Mrs. Zechlin put on her best dress, took an overdose of drugs, and drowned herself in the pool. Lori discovered the body when she came home from school. Lori discovered later that same night that she had a metahuman ability – she could "borrow" the magical powers of other superheroes or supervillains. Although she could not use the powers as well as their owners and had little control over when she could take them or how long she could use them, Lori (taking the name Black Alice) formulated a plan to avenge her mother's death and punish the prescription drug traffickers whom she saw as above the law.
Lori's father, shattered and slipping into depression, became a recluse. He tried to pretend for Lori's sake that nothing was wrong. Her mother's death also distressed Lori, but she was aware of the change in her father and assigned herself the role of caregiver. Her grades started to slip, and she became alienated from her peers. Her primary social group, a Wiccan circle, expelled her because she was emitting "black energy" after her mother's death (in actuality, the circle's leader – her best friend, Dawn – was jealous of Lori's real and growing powers).
Having recently left Gotham City following the destruction of their clock tower headquarters, the Birds of Prey were traveling the country by jet in order to identify and help previously unknown metahumans. Oracle had become aware of Lori's power, but not her specific abilities. She sent Huntress, disguised as a school teacher, to keep an eye on Lori and offer counseling, while Black Canary was tasked with keeping surveillance on all of Lori's activities. The goal was to determine the specific nature and strength of Lori's powers.
While Black Canary watched, Lori abruptly left her boyfriend, Kyle, when Doctor Fate's power manifested. She decided to use it before its subsidence, and sought out a trio of suspected drug dealers. When Lori seemed intent to use lethal force, Black Canary intervened to save the lives of the three men. Doctor Fate's power faded, and Lori fled the scene, tailed by Black Canary. Suddenly manifesting Zatanna's powers, Lori waylaid Canary and escaped.
Black Canary and Huntress united to tail Kyle in the hopes of rediscovering Lori, and instead found that Kyle was two-timing Lori with Dawn. Lori discovered the same thing shortly afterwards and prepared to destroy a shopping mall (having now manifested the powers of Black Adam) in her efforts to avenge herself on Kyle. Black Canary was able to bring her down in an all-out brawl, but it was Huntress who brought a stop to Lori's rampage by presenting a contrite Dawn.
Oracle turned Lori over to the care of the real Doctor Fate, where she would receive guidance in the use of her powers.
[edit] Day of Vengeance
Black Alice made her second appearance in the Day of Vengeance miniseries. The Shadowpact asks for her aid in confronting the Spectre and Eclipso. Over her father’s objections and reservations, she goes with the team. Despite her power and efforts, she, along with the Shadowpact and the Phantom Stranger, does little more than delay the Spectre. After witnessing both the death of the wizard Shazam and the destruction of the Rock of Eternity at the hands of the Spectre, she sees the destruction this wreaks on Gotham City and elsewhere. She declines an offer to join the team, choosing instead to return to her father and her hometown.
Later, in the Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special, she helps to combat the global prison break that Alexander Luthor, Jr. orchestrates.
[edit] Current status
One Year Later Lori is approached by Talia al Ghul, Felix Faust, and Cheetah. They attempt to get her to join the Society, offering both training and the resurrection of her mother, having exchanged the souls of many Society members to the demon Neron. The Birds of Prey attempt to intervene. A frustrated and enraged Black Alice (who almost hangs Black Canary to death using a channeled Wonder Woman golden lasso) teleports everyone to the outskirts of Dayton and states that she just wishes to be left alone. She returns home with her parents, her mother apparently fully resurrected, but living in a constant-shock state (she barely speaks, mechanically doing house chores). Her life still goes downhill, with her father turning alcoholic again due to his wife's condition, popular boys and girls bullying her and mocking her lifestyle, until she summons the traveling helmet of Doctor Fate, in an attempt to tame its powers. It is only when the helmet starts to punish everyone who wrongs her, even her loved ones, that Lori realizes that she doesn't need more power to attain happiness and sets the Helmet free, spending more time to help rehabilitate her father.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Black Alice has the ability to temporarily usurp the magical powers of any being, even ones as powerful as the Spectre, gaining all its skills and power and leaving it powerless in turn. The limit to the distance at which she can steal power of a target being is unknown, but potentialy limitless as she borrowed Alan Scott's abilities during the prison breakouts while he was in space. A limit is that in order to choose a particular target she must be able to see him/her; otherwise, she receives a random magic-user's powers whenever she activates her ability. When she steals a being's power, her clothing partially transforms to somewhat resemble that of her target. She has even shown the ability to steal the powers of two beings simultaneously.
Despite this, in the "Helmet of Fate" miniseries, she takes the powers of two heroes of her choice while in school and exudes magical abilities of her own.
[edit] Trivia
- Black Alice's appearance is that of a gothic teenage girl, except when she is manifesting her powers. Then her clothing transforms into an all-black combination of her own gothic attire and the costume of the person whose powers she is channeling.
- Various comics, including Birds of Prey and Day of Vengeance, say Black Alice is potentially the most powerful (and dangerous) teenager on the planet.
