Supervillain Origins: The Enchantress
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VOICE OVER: Dan Paradis
Script written by Craig Butler
She has awesome magical abilities – but does she use them for good or for evil? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of DC comic's Enchantress. Not to be confused with Marvel's Asgardian villainess of the same name. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character's past.
Special thanks to our users Godslayer79 submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
She has awesome magical abilities – but does she use them for good or for evil? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of DC comic's Enchantress. Not to be confused with Marvel's Asgardian villainess of the same name. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character's past.
Special thanks to our users Godslayer79 submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
Script written by Craig Butler
She has awesome magical abilities – but does she use them for good or for evil? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of DC comic’s Enchantress. Not to be confused with Marvel’s Asgardian villainess of the same name.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1966's Strange Adventures #187 and was expanded upon in 1987's Suicide Squad #8 and 2011's Justice League Dark #1.
The "Switcheroo Witcheroo," as the Enchantress was called early in her career, is one of the more ambiguous characters in the DC Universe. She has at her command tremendous magical abilities, enough to rival the likes of Zatanna or Doctor Fate. But to what purpose does she put those powers – to promote justice or to strengthen the wicked?
While her moral ambiguity became central to the character in later iterations, it was not present in her first appearance in 1966. As her origin story opened, freelance artist June Moone was traveling with her boyfriend, Alan Dell, to a party in a mysterious castle. The appearance of a griffin and a gargoyle shocked them but was easily explained. The party was a costume party.
June and Alan decided to seek out costumes for themselves, but suddenly strange things began to happen. Someone struck an ancient gong, causing the image of a minotaur on an old tapestry to glow in an eerie manner. June, who had become separated from Alan, fell through a secret panel on a wall and found herself in a hidden room.
The room was filled with spooky figures, including a giant red head with arms, seated on a throne. June assumed at first that the room was decorated in this manner for the party, even after the strange red head began speaking to her. Take a hint lady.
The head told June that an ancient evil had been aroused that night and that it was up to June to stop it. June was instructed to speak the words "The Enchantress." When she did, her appearance changed and she gained incredible magic powers. Walking through a wall, she returned to find the guests at the party in a panic and trying to escape. The commotion threatened to make the roof collapse, so the Enchantress used a spell to enlarge a suit of armor to hold up the ceiling.
Before she could get the guests to safety, the hands of the minotaur emerged from the tapestry and began attacking the partygoers. The Enchantress subdued the creature, then figured out that it was the striking of the gong that brought forth the evil in the castle. By striking the gong a second time, the Enchantress banished the black magic. After the guests were safely outside the castle, the Enchantress returned to her June Moone identity – and learned that the effects of her magic would instantly vanish when she was no longer the Enchantress.
Although the Enchantress was clearly on the side of good in her debut, over time she eventually began behaving more like a villain. By 1987, June Moone joined the Suicide Squad because the leaders of that group promised they could help her control her "evil self." Whereas in her origin story, June and the Enchantress seemed to share the same consciousness, it was now clear that the two were distinct and separate entities. Visiting the mystical Madame Xanadu, June learned that her problem was the result of using magic without knowing proper shields and safeguards. As a result, every time the Enchantress used magic, she became more and more twisted and inclined to evil. Madame Xanadu devised a necklace that could be used to keep the Enchantress under greater control while a permanent solution to the problem could be found. It never was. When the Enchantress was revamped as part of DC's New 52 makeover in 2011, the idea of June and the Enchantress as separate entities was confirmed. In the first Justice League Dark storyline, Madame Xanadu had succeeded in separating June and the Enchantress into two beings that could exist on their own. However, this caused both personalities to become unstable and so they had to be rejoined.
The Enchantress has had an interesting career in comics and has emerged much more as a villain than a hero in recent years. But June Moone, her host body, continues to be on the side of good – so who knows how the Enchantress will be portrayed in the future?
Are you a fan of the mystical Enchantress? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
Supervillain Origins: The Enchantress
She has awesome magical abilities – but does she use them for good or for evil? Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of DC comic’s Enchantress. Not to be confused with Marvel’s Asgardian villainess of the same name.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1966's Strange Adventures #187 and was expanded upon in 1987's Suicide Squad #8 and 2011's Justice League Dark #1.
The "Switcheroo Witcheroo," as the Enchantress was called early in her career, is one of the more ambiguous characters in the DC Universe. She has at her command tremendous magical abilities, enough to rival the likes of Zatanna or Doctor Fate. But to what purpose does she put those powers – to promote justice or to strengthen the wicked?
While her moral ambiguity became central to the character in later iterations, it was not present in her first appearance in 1966. As her origin story opened, freelance artist June Moone was traveling with her boyfriend, Alan Dell, to a party in a mysterious castle. The appearance of a griffin and a gargoyle shocked them but was easily explained. The party was a costume party.
June and Alan decided to seek out costumes for themselves, but suddenly strange things began to happen. Someone struck an ancient gong, causing the image of a minotaur on an old tapestry to glow in an eerie manner. June, who had become separated from Alan, fell through a secret panel on a wall and found herself in a hidden room.
The room was filled with spooky figures, including a giant red head with arms, seated on a throne. June assumed at first that the room was decorated in this manner for the party, even after the strange red head began speaking to her. Take a hint lady.
The head told June that an ancient evil had been aroused that night and that it was up to June to stop it. June was instructed to speak the words "The Enchantress." When she did, her appearance changed and she gained incredible magic powers. Walking through a wall, she returned to find the guests at the party in a panic and trying to escape. The commotion threatened to make the roof collapse, so the Enchantress used a spell to enlarge a suit of armor to hold up the ceiling.
Before she could get the guests to safety, the hands of the minotaur emerged from the tapestry and began attacking the partygoers. The Enchantress subdued the creature, then figured out that it was the striking of the gong that brought forth the evil in the castle. By striking the gong a second time, the Enchantress banished the black magic. After the guests were safely outside the castle, the Enchantress returned to her June Moone identity – and learned that the effects of her magic would instantly vanish when she was no longer the Enchantress.
Although the Enchantress was clearly on the side of good in her debut, over time she eventually began behaving more like a villain. By 1987, June Moone joined the Suicide Squad because the leaders of that group promised they could help her control her "evil self." Whereas in her origin story, June and the Enchantress seemed to share the same consciousness, it was now clear that the two were distinct and separate entities. Visiting the mystical Madame Xanadu, June learned that her problem was the result of using magic without knowing proper shields and safeguards. As a result, every time the Enchantress used magic, she became more and more twisted and inclined to evil. Madame Xanadu devised a necklace that could be used to keep the Enchantress under greater control while a permanent solution to the problem could be found. It never was. When the Enchantress was revamped as part of DC's New 52 makeover in 2011, the idea of June and the Enchantress as separate entities was confirmed. In the first Justice League Dark storyline, Madame Xanadu had succeeded in separating June and the Enchantress into two beings that could exist on their own. However, this caused both personalities to become unstable and so they had to be rejoined.
The Enchantress has had an interesting career in comics and has emerged much more as a villain than a hero in recent years. But June Moone, her host body, continues to be on the side of good – so who knows how the Enchantress will be portrayed in the future?
Are you a fan of the mystical Enchantress? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
