| Black Alice | |
|---|---|
 Black Alice as depicted inBirds of Prey #76 (January 2005). Art by Ed Benes. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Birds of Prey #76 (January 2005) |
| Created by | Gail Simone Joe Prado Ed Benes |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lori Zechlin |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Secret Six Coven of Three |
| Abilities |
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Black Alice (Lori Zechlin) is aDC Comics character introduced inBirds of Prey #76 (January 2005). She uses her magical powers to prey on drug dealers in her hometown ofDayton, Ohio.[1]
Lori Zechlin is a teenager who lives with her father John and her mother. Neither Lori nor her father is aware that Mrs. Zechlin is addicted to prescription pharmaceuticals, which she purchases from local drug dealers. On the same day that her mother kills herself by overdosing on drugs, Lori discovers that she has the mystical ability to "borrow" the magical powers of other superheroes or supervillains. Lori (taking the name Black Alice) formulates a plan to avenge her mother's death and punish the prescription drug traffickers.[2]
Following his wife's death, John Zechlin becomes depressed and reclusive, with Lori designating herself as his caregiver. Her grades begin to slip, and she becomes alienated from her peers. Lori's best friend Dawn, jealous of her growing powers, rejects her from their social group.
Having leftGotham City following the destruction of their clock tower headquarters, theBirds of Prey are traveling the country to identify and help previously unknownmetahumans.Oracle sendsHuntress, disguised as a civilian teacher, to watch over Lori, whileBlack Canary is tasked with determining the nature and strength of her powers. Oracle turns Lori over to the care of the real Doctor Fate, where she can receive guidance in the use of her powers.[1]
InDay of Vengeance,Shadowpact recruits Black Alice to battle theSpectre andEclipso. Ater witnessing the death of the wizardShazam and the destruction of theRock of Eternity, she declines an offer to join Shadowpact, choosing to return to her father and her hometown.
Talia al Ghul,Felix Faust, andCheetah attempt to get Black Alice to join theSecret Society of Super Villains, offering both training and the chance to resurrect her mother. Alice teleports everyone to the outskirts of Dayton and states that she wants to be left alone. She returns home with her parents, her mother apparently fully resurrected, but left in a state of shock that causes her to barely speak.[3]
Lori's father turns alcoholic again due to his wife's condition, and Lori continues to be bullied at school. She summons the traveling helmet ofDoctor Fate in an attempt to tame its powers. When the helmet starts to punish everyone who wrongs her, even her loved ones, Lori realizes that she does not need more power to attain happiness and gives up the helmet.[1] When Oracle summons Black Alice to help the Birds of Prey again, she snaps when Oracle reveals that her mood swings are a side effect of theantidepressants she has been taking to restrain herself.[4]
Black Alice is later kidnapped byDarkseid's henchmen and taken to the "Dark Side Club". Dosed with will-suppressing drugs and pitted against other teenaged metahumans, she discovers that her own drugs interfere with Darkseid's. FindingMisfit similarly trapped, but almost completely brainwashed, she briefly contemplates stealing Misfit's teleportation abilities to escape. After discovering in Darkseid's files that she may be a blood relative of Misfit, Alice has a change of heart and helps the girl escape.[5]
A few weeks later, with a new school year beginning, Lori brings her rivalry to a new level. Transferring to Platinum Heights High School, she learns that Misfit is also a student, forced to attend by Oracle. While Misfit has a difficult time adapting, Lori's "exotic" lifestyle, perceived as rebellious and independent, gains the instant acceptance and adoration of the school's elite.[6]
Black Alice resurfaces again by followingDeadshot andCatman, who had been hired to capture a child molester and bring him to the father of one of his victims. Alice confronts both Catman and Deadshot asking how much they pay. Following that she fights several policemen, as a trial of sorts, easily besting by stealing the powers of various magic users. She is accepted once she reveals that her father is sick and that she needs money. Catman is troubled by the fact that Alice is not disturbed at his actions and easily tends to violence.[7]
On Alice's first official mission (taking place during the events of "Blackest Night"), she and theSecret Six are hired to free a drug kingpin fromBelle Reve. Despite being enraged at the idea of helping a drug dealer, Alice participates in the attack on the prison, using the powers ofGiganta to distract the guards while her teammates sneak in. It is revealed that the entire mission is a setup staged by theSuicide Squad to arrest the Six. Alice steals the powers of Suicide Squad memberNightshade and defeats both her andCount Vertigo. As Alice revels in her victory, a group ofBlack Lanterns attack her and the other Sixers. Her fear of them inhibits her control over her stolen powers until Bane's threat forces her to teleport the Six, Rick Flag, and Bronze Tiger to the House of Secrets. However, she brings the Black Lanterns with them and she refuses to return the power to Nightshade so she can teleportAmanda Waller to a place where she can find help. Waller knocks her out, and Nightshade takes her away only to return shortly with aManhunter android containing theGreen Lantern energy they need to destroy the Black Lanterns. Alice remains with the Six while the Squad leaves.[8]
Some time later, Alice goes with Deadshot,Scandal, andRag Doll to try to help Catman retrieve his kidnapped, and possibly murdered, infant son. All the four find are a trail of corpses Catman has left behind, the sight of which brings Alice to tears. Alice mistakenly believes that Scandal is after Rag Doll, whom she calls her "boyfriend" (while Rag Doll does not exactly feel the same way, he does care for Alice), despite the fact that Scandal is a lesbian. Alice summonsEtrigan's abilities, turning intoEstrogan, and fights Scandal. She then turns back to normal and tearfully apologizes. Alice explains that she had attempted to cure her father's asthma usingRaven's healing abilities, but unsure of how to properly use them, believes she gave him cancer by mistake.[9]
In May 2010, Alice began co-starring in a back-up feature inTeen Titans alongsideZachary Zatara andTraci Thirteen.[10] Alice appears alongside fellow teen heroinesBatgirl,Supergirl,Miss Martian,Lightning,Cyclone,Stargirl,Ravager, Misfit, andTerra as part of an all-female group of heroines gathered to battleProfessor Ivo's army of robot sirens.[11]
InThe New 52 continuity reboot, Alice's origin is altered; her power now comes from a demon who inhabited her body when she was seemingly killed in a car accident that killed her parents.[12]
Black Alice possesses the ability to temporarilyusurp the magical powers of any being regardless of how powerful they are, leaving her targets powerless in turn. While the maximum range of her ability is unknown, it is potentially limitless. Additionally, her clothes and appearance change to reflect attributes of the person whose powers she took.[13][14][7][8]
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