Supervillainy A-To-Z: L is for Lady Lamia

I used to game with my ex-wife a lot when, well, she wasn't my ex but my current...I mean my wife. I mean when we were married. And even before that. What's that called? Pre-wife?

*Sigh* Sorry. I'll start again.

There was a time when I used to game with players who were very different from those I have now. The group was more diverse, in interests, background, gender and pretty much every other way possible. They were also the greatest of friends and, as such, I could get away with a lot of stuff I can't get away with now.

A sexy female villainess appealed to my old group in ways that my modern group wouldn't appreciate. The male players were often interested in knowing how and why the lovely but lethal femme fatale had ended up on the wrong side of truth and justice. The female players were all too certain (and often quite right) that the male PCs would become ensnared by the slinky and sinister sirens and the Superheroines would need to save their spandex covered butts. My ex-wife was a big fan of adding a little romantic tension and angst to an RPG campaign and I have to say, it often worked out really well.

I love a good bad girl myself and this one, one step past the typical one if I do say so myself, is one of my favorites...

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LADY LAMIA
 

 

  

True Identity: Unknown

 

Editor's Note: In the Crusaders Vanguard Annual #3, Blind Faith reads Lady Lamia's mind. In addition to other questions and answers pertaining to the plot, the young psionic mutant searches for her true identity or name. All he gets back is "Lamia" before she is able to resist his mental intrusion. Fans are split on whether she was able to give him false info or if her name truly is Lamia.

Description/Appearance: Most of the time, Lady Lamia remains well hidden, operating behind the scenes in one of her many lavish desert hideouts. She is rarely seen. When she does need to go 'into the field', she appears to be a strikingly beautiful, human woman of mixed or indeterminate ethnicity, often garbed in a skintight, snake skin 'cat suit'. She stands 5' 10" and is estimated to weigh about 130-140 lbs.. Her skin is a deep tan color, her eyes a bright emerald green and her hair dark brown with black and red-brown highlights.

This is, of course, an illusion. It has been revealed that from the waist down, Lady Lamia is a snake creature, covered in deep, golden-brown to dark gold scales. From the top of her head to the end of her tail she is approximately 12-15 ft. in length. Her upper body retains the look of her normal human guise.

It is assumed that in truth, this too is a further illusion. There are reports that her form and appearance, devoid of mystic glamour, is quite hideous. Allusions to this fact can send her into a bloody rage. She is very vain about her lost looks if the legends are to be believed.

Origin and Background: There is very little concrete data on the origin of Lady Lamia. This, combined with notes provided by the Crusaders member Godspeed, actually lend credence to her claims that she is in fact the mythical creature of Greek mythology.

In the myth, Lamia was a Queen or noble woman of what is now Libya. She became a mistress of the god Zeus, causing Zeus' jealous wife, Hera, to kill all of Lamia's children (except for Scylla, who is herself cursed) and transform her into a monster that hunts and devours the children of others. Another version has Hera merely stealing away all of Lamia's children and it being Lamia herself, losing her mind from grief and despair, who starts stealing and devouring others' children out of jealousy, the repeated monstrosity of which transforms her into a monster on its own.

In still another take on the story, and one that may very well be true (or what Lamia believes to be true), Hera slays Lamia's children prompting Lamia to seek out men to enslave and reproduce with, in an attempt to replace her murdered brood. When Zeus learns of Lamia's 'wanton ways', it is he who curses her with her monstrous form. Lamia certainly has a great hatred of Zeus, Hera and their relatives and descendants.
 
Powers and Abilities: Lady Lamia is a sorceress of the mind, able to cloud people's thoughts and make them see what she wants them to see.

Lamia is quite adapt at creating illusions and they are extremely effective and powerful ones. Unlike some illusions that lack smell or taste for example, Lamia's work by telling her opponent's brain that what they are experiencing is real.

In addition to illusions and astral projection, Lady Lamia's snake-like body has a number of abilities all its own. She can mesmerize people with a hypnotic gaze and her bite contains a paralyzing poison. While the gaze works better and lasts longer on men, it will effect women as well. As for the poison, apparently holding an olive branch or fig leaf with transfer some of the poison to those plants, lessening its effect on the victim.

Lady Lamia is herself immune to all known snake poisons and does not age.

Personality and Motivations: Separating fact from folklore is difficult with Lady Lamia but what is known for certain is that she has a mind for vengeance against the ancient gods of Olympus and a thirst for power. She will always seek to improve and increase her repertoire of mental magic and any spell that may be able to restore her to human form. Lamia will also never pass up an opportunity to harm or kill one of the Olympian Gods or their descendants.

Somewhat hedonistic and bored due to her immortality, Lamia passes the time with thefts of priceless artifacts from the past and conquests of handsome, young men. She is especially fond of seducing Superheroes, either for the challenge or to have them serve as minions at some later time. She is somewhat addicted to the thrill of the hunt, lavish partying and drinking and other such pursuits. Often it takes much of her willpower to know when the time for fun is over and it's time to get down to business.

Finally, her mythic nature gives her a terrible reputation which she neither denies nor completely admits too. For example, did she actually go around eating children? Does she now? Even other villains have been known to give her a wide berth (with the exception of Master Plan who, it should be noted, she finds fascinating as a result).

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Lady Lamia was originally created for Villains & Vigilantes and has been used in Champions, Mutants & Masterminds and, believe it or not, my D&D-But-Not Dungeons & Dragons universe.

Lady Lamia for ICONS:

 

Today, April 18th, 2013 was the 75th Birthday of Superman, commemorating his first appearance in Action Comics #1 on this day in 1938.

 

 

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