Madame Xanadu
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| Madame Xanadu | |
 Promotional art for Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special #1 (March 2006) cover featuring Madame Xanadu. Art by Justiniano. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Doorway to Nightmare #1 (February 1978) |
| Created by | David Michelinie Val Mayerik |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Unknown |
| Team affiliations | Sentinels of Magic |
| Abilities | Can foresee people's futures, as well as, sense/interpret magical forces, immortal |
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a mystic in the DC Comics universe.
Contents |
[edit] Character biography
[edit] Origin
Madame Xanadu was once the sorceress Nimue who cast a spell on Merlin. Merlin had the last laugh, though, as he succeeded in stripping her magic away from her. She wandered for some time before deciding that she wanted to atone for her sins. She did so by helping those troubled with the supernatural. She is descended from Gypsies, but has operated her fortune telling parlour out of Greenwich Village for many a year. She was later able to gain her immortality by besting Death in a game of cards. She however remained without any real magic might of her own, which has led her to manipulate various forces in order to gain power.
Over the centuries Madame Xanadu developed herself as an advisor, and now Xanadu often meets clientele plagued by supernatural problems. Although she can advise them, some force prevents her from directly interfering in solving their troubles. If one of her clients manages to conquer a supernatural force, she can contain that entity in jars within her fortune parlour to prevent it from causing any further trouble.
Madame Xanadu's origins will be explored further, in a new Vertigo series by Matt Wagner, with art by Amy Reeder Hadley.[1]
[edit] Interactions
When the Spectre was destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, Madame Xanadu performed a magic ritual that brought him back to existence. From that day forward she acted as the Spectre's spiritual advisor while he was bound to the soul of Jim Corrigan. At first, Xanadu tried to lead Corrigan astray in order to use the Spectre force for her own agendas.
Over the course of their affiliation however, a strange form of friendship grew between Corrigan and Madame Xanadu. Over time, Madame Xanadu was instrumental in ensuring the safety of Corrigan's soul, stopping the various rampages of the Spectre and ultimately showed up at Jim Corrigan's funeral not as an advisor or enemy, but as his friend. She even shed a tear as Jim Corrigan's soul left the mortal plane to go to Heaven.
She was also consulted by the Suicide Squad about the increasingly difficult to deal with Enchantress. She provided the Squad with a ring and necklace that could harm the Enchantress if she tried to use her powers against the ring-bearers' wishes.
Madame Xanadu also gave Timothy Hunter a reading, helping him along his path as an emerging sorcerer. She also confronted Tim's companion John Constantine, who she believes stole a magic artifact called the Wind's Egg from her.
Although Madame Xanadu, among others, has no great love for or trust in the Phantom Stranger, she is a member of the Sentinels of Magic, a loose group of mages and mystics that were called upon to thwart Asmodel's uprising in Hell. Nonetheless, she prefers to operate alone and is one of the few heroes who has outright refused to ally herself with the Stranger.
In order to gain more power, Madame Xanadu has also bartered her soul to the demon Neron, who gave her three loyal demons to do her commands in exchange. At first, they responded to every little whim of hers, almost raging out of her control. Over time, as she controls her own emotions, she has become able to control the demons as well.
[edit] Day of Vengeance
In Day of Vengeance #2, an Infinite Crisis tie in, the Spectre, unstable and believing that magic equals evil, disables Madame Xanadu, taking her eyes.
In the Day of Vengeance special it is revealed that Madame Xanadu is still blind. She has regrown her eyes 14 times, only for them to be burned out again, because the Spectre's powers are beyond the powers of Xanadu. However, Madame Xanadu's abode would be the rallying point of the offense against the Spectre, gathering the Phantom Stranger, Zatanna and Nabu.
Xanadu has also found a way around the Spectre's curse by training an adept, Daena, to read the cards for her. Through Daena, she saw the destruction of the world with the Spectre winning and destroying everything. It is at her place that Nabu began his offense against the Spectre as well as the strategy for restoring the Rock of Eternity.
[edit] One Year Later
- See also: One Year Later
Madame Xanadu's standing in the new magic order has yet to be explored in detail. However, it is known that she is still trying to cure her blindness, She assists the Shadowpact when members of their team were temporary blinded by the mystical powers of the villains known as 'the Congregation'. It was the mystical aspect that allows her to help, though some of the group are able to heal the blindness on their own.
Madame Xanadu appears in Countdown #50, operating out of "Hokus & Pokus Occult Curiosities" in Greenwich Village. She is unable to help Mary Marvel locate Captain Marvel, Jr. She does advise Mary to avoid Gotham City, because "it isn't safe for magic."
[edit] Powers and abilities
Madame Xanadu has a supernatural sensitivity to occult activities and mystic phenomena. She uses tarot cards to interpret what she senses, and is also able to tell the future of others. Xanadu can levitate objects, teleport herself, and banish minor demons. Madame Xanadu's parlour is full of magical books and objects, as well as jars containing the essences of malevolent entities. She rarely uses these objects of power, merely acting as a guardian of them. Madame Xanadu is an immortal, never aging and unable to be killed in any manner, thanks to her deal with Death.
[edit] Other versions
In the Tangent Comics series Joker's Wild, Madame Xanadu is one of three women who masquerade as a heroic version of The Joker.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Wagner Saws Madame Xanadu in Half with Vertigo, Comic Book Resources, April 11, 2008
[edit] References
- Madame Xanadu at the Comic Book DB
