Medusa (comics) - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Medusa belongs to the race of Inhumans, a species of prehistoric earthlings mutated by the Terrigen Mists produced deep under the Inhuman city-state of Attilan, presently located in the oxygen-rich Blue Area of the Moon. Crystal (who later became the wife of the Avenger Quicksilver) is Medusa's younger sister. Medusa was born on the island of Attilan to nutritionists Quelin and Ambur, who were both Inhumans. Quelin was the brother of Rynda, wife of King Agon. Because of that family connection, Medusa was considered a member of Attilan's Royal Family. Her parents chose to expose her to the Terrigen Mists when she was a child, though currently the Inhumans' tradition dictates that exposure to the Mists must wait until puberty.

During her adolescent years Medusa would often visit her distant cousin Black Bolt during his confinement, and she learned to communicate with him through body language. During the course of these visits, the two fell in love and became engaged. She attended Black Bolt's release from his isolation cell at the age of eighteen, and witnessed the first confrontation between Black Bolt and his insane brother Maximus the Mad. Maximus also claims to be in love with Medusa, and has made frequent attempts to usurp both the throne of Attilan as well as his brother's bride-to-be. It was in Maximus' first successful attempt to take the throne that Medusa was knocked off a sky-sled by the Trikon and afflicted with amnesia. She left Attilan, and wandered Europe as a thief.

Medusa made her first appearance in Fantastic Four #36 as Madam Medusa. At that time, she suffered from amnesia as a result from a plane crash. While wandering through Europe, she comes to the attention of The Wizard, who is seeking a worthy female to become the fourth member of his new quartet, the Frightful Four, Silver Age nemeses of the Fantastic Four. Wizard's partners, Sandman and Paste-Pot Pete, ask him how he could come up with a suitable female. Wizard says that he knows of a female and that she'd be perfect. A few weeks later Wizard meets again with his comrades. Pete asks him if he found someone with a "power great enough to match that of Susan Storm". Wizard announces that "the female that he has been considering may be even more powerful". When they see Medusa, they are most impressed. The red-haired villainess performs superbly in the Frightful Four's first battle with the Fantastic Four. Madam Medusa seizes Sue Storm with her scarlet tresses, so tightly that the girl can't move. The Wizard then wishes the helpless Miss Storm pleasant dreams, as he knocks Sue out with a can of sleep spray. The Frightful Four then attach the Wizard's anti-gravity discs to Sue, Reed, Ben and Ben's girlfriend, Alicia Masters, and send the quartet floating helplessly into the sky. If not for the lucky intervention of The Torch, who is away when the Frightful Four invade the Baxter Building, but later receives a signal for help from Alicia when she finds the fallen Sue Storm lying unconscious, Medusa and her comrades would have certainly succeeded in finishing off the Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing and his girl.

The next battle of the quartets takes place in Fantastic Four #38, "Defeated by the Frightful Four". Paste-Pot Pete now calls himself The Trapster. For a second straight time, Madam Medusa succeeds in her task of beating the Invisible Girl. She lays a trap for Sue Storm, who walks blindly into it. She lures Sue to a fashion show and pretends to be a designer who will show her wedding outfits. Madam Medusa then captures Sue with her invincible hair, while the Trapster snares the girl with his sticky paste. Medusa, along with her evil comrades, Wizard and Trapster, then abduct their helpless captive into the sky. They take her to an isolated Pacific atoll. They go underground and Wizard tells Trapster to place the girl on the floor near the detonation mechanism of his atomic Q-bomb. The Frightful Four then lure the rest of the Fantastic Four to the island, using Sue as the bait. A battle soon erupts, but as the Q-bomb is about to explode, the Frightful Four escape in their ship, leaving Susan Storm still underground near the deadly Q-bomb. Ben hears Sue's cries and Reed, Johnny and him rush to the semi-conscious blonde girl. The Fantastic Four's lives are just barely saved, thanks to Reed's idea of having Sue use her force field. However, all four of them have lost their powers. This is the first time that the Fantastic Four have been defeated in battle and Medusa's capture of Sue Storm made it all possible.

Medusa and her comrades again battle the Fantastic Four in issues #41-43. Wizard brainwashes the Thing in issue #41 and he joins the Frightful Four. The Frightful Four then easily defeat Sue, Johnny and Reed. Medusa grabs Sue with her hair and tells the Invisible Girl that it was foolish of her not to flee for her life, because now it is too late. Fortunately for her, Sue breaks free with her force field and hides inside of it. The Thing, however, threatens to knock Sue into the middle of next week and she faints before he smashes her force field. Medusa then brilliantly has Trapster place Sue in a chemically treated plastic bag, which is impervious to Sue's invisibility power, making the Invisible Girl helpless. In Fantastic Four #42, we begin by seeing Sue still helplessly imprisoned in the giant plastic bag Medusa had Trapster create. When Torch frees Sue, Medusa again initially traps Sue with her hair, but then Sue turns the tables and captures Medusa in a force field. In Fantastic Four #43, she attacks Medusa with a series of force spheres, but then Medusa counters and wraps her up in her mighty hair. She even captures the Torch in Fantastic Four #43 by soaking her hair with water and then drenching his flame. All in all, Medusa fared quite well while a member of the Frightful Four. Her team almost beat the Fantastic Four in #36. They did beat them in #38 and again in #41. The scarlet villainess defeated her blonde opponent, Sue Storm, in Fantastic Four #36 and in #38. Their fight was a tie in #41, but Medusa still bested Sue by directing Trapster to imprison her. Sue won their fight in #42, but Medusa came back and was winning in #43 when Reed stopped the fight.

She was then pursued by Gorgon on behalf of Maximus. It was some time before the disastrous effects of worldly pollution on the Inhumans was known, but eventually Medusa regained her senses and joined forces with the Fantastic Four. She was reunited with Black Bolt, who had been searching for her, and returned to Attilan. However, she became trapped in Atillan by the "negative zone" barrier created by Maximus. She was eventually freed from the barrier by Black Bolt, and left the Great Refuge to visit the outside world as an adventurer. The Fantastic Four became friends and allies and aided the Inhumans on several occasions, such as during the frequent power struggles between Black Bolt and the deranged Maximus.

Medusa has been known to join the Fantastic Four as a team member for brief periods of time. She became a temporary replacement for Susan Richards, known as the Invisible Girl at that time, when she was on leave caring for her comatose son Franklin Richards. Through her relations with the Fantastic Four, Medusa and Black Bolt have sought to achieve an understanding and peace between the races of Earth and Attilan. Nevertheless, the Inhumans have been forced to relocate their home of Attilan several times due to unwarranted human hostility.

Black Bolt would eventually become the king of the Inhumans upon the death of his parents. Medusa oversaw the moving of Attilan to the Blue Area of the Moon. Alongside the Inhuman Royal Family, she battled the Avengers under Maximus's mind control. Medusa and Black Bolt were then married and Medusa was made queen, becoming both royal consort and royal interpreter. When Medusa became pregnant, Attilan's Genetics Council argued that the pregnancy should be terminated due to the possibility of the child inheriting Maximus' insanity coupled with Black Bolt's immense and destructive power. Medusa defied the Council and fled to Earth to avoid the compulsory abortion and live anonymously in the desert until the child was born, a son named Ahura. Black Bolt reconciled with Medusa and the pair returned to Attilan and turned their infant son over to the Genetics Council. Following these events Ahura was not mentioned or seen in the Marvel Universe for several years.

Later, alongside the Inhumans and the original X-Factor, she battled Apocalypse. Alongside the Inhumans and Avengers, she also battled the Brethren.