Grace Choi

Infobox superhero
character_name = Grace


caption =
publisher = DC Comics
debut = "Outsiders" vol. 3, #1
(August 2003)
creators = Judd Winick (writer)
Tom Raney (artist)
alter_ego =
full_name = Grace Choi
species =
homeworld =
alliances = Outsiders
partners =
supports =
aliases =
powers = superhuman strength, durability and regeneration.

Grace Choi is a fictional character, a superhero, published by DC Comics. She first appeared in "Outsiders" vol. 3, #1 (August 2003), and was created by Judd Winick and Tom Raney.

Character history

Origin

Grace Choi is a tall Chinese-American woman with metahuman strength who sports tattoos styled along Pacific First Nations lines on both of her arms. Her height is estimated at around 7 feet, which would make her among the tallest heroes of the DC Universe. Grace, who doesn't "take crap" from anyone, has developed a very long list of ex-lovers (amongst them Green Arrow and, apparently, Plastic Man). She also had a casual sexual relationship with Arsenal.

Grace's history was explored in detail in the "Outsiders: Most Wanted" arc, in which it was revealed that she was one of the surviving victims of a prostitution ring that exploited abducted and runaway children as its "merchandise". Upon reaching puberty, Grace used her then-nascent metahuman powers to escape, and spent the next several years living independently, until her recruitment into the Outsiders.

There seems to be more to Grace than what has so far been revealed: when the team is captured by the Brain and Monsieur Mallah in "The Outsiders" #39, they remark on how Grace has been enhanced more than "her kind" usually is. The Outsiders are confused by that remark, leading Mallah to laugh and comment: "You mean they don't know what you are?" The meaning of Mallah's remark is not revealed then; however, Nightwing has intimated that he does have some inkling as to her true nature.

Joining the Outsiders

In her first appearance in "Outsiders" (vol. 3) #1, she was the bouncer for the metahuman nightclub Chaney's in Metropolis; Arsenal recruited her for the newly-formed Outsiders. Even if she and Arsenal were old friends, she wasn't very keen on joining until he told her the Outsiders job would pay her three times more than her bouncer job.

Her relationship with the other Outsiders was a difficult one from the start, with her constant chastising of the others, most notably the android Indigo. She continually questioned the team's effectiveness and their role in the overall heroing scheme, which caused her to be on the outs with leader Nightwing at times.

Her casual attitudes towards sexuality also led to insults by others, most notably Thunder. Nonetheless, she earned the group's respect and in return respected each of the other members' capabilities, sometimes even pushing them farther than they thought they could go. (Such as when Grace, with the help of Thunder, was able to catch a crashing jet.)

During the team's battle with the demonic villain Sabbac, Grace's face was badly burned, but her power of regeneration allowed her to heal within hours. Her brutal methods in dealing with her opponents were exemplified in this battle, as she sought payback against the villain.

"One Year Later"

Grace Choi remains a member of the Outsiders, and assisted in toppling the regime of Mali. She gets along quite well with the team's newest member, Captain Boomerang II, and the two have been involved in the somewhat questionable interrogation of some soldiers, involving torture. It has been revealed that Grace has been secretly involved in a lesbian relationship with Thunder, Anissa Pierce. After an unsuccessful mission in North Korea involving Checkmate, Nightwing hands over the Outsiders to Batman who elects to decide on his own roster coinciding with the relaunch of "Batman and the Outsiders".

Grace features in the "Amazons Attack" limited series where during an attack on the United States by the Amazons, she encounters the Bana Amazons. One of its members tells her that she is actually part of their tribe, the explanation for earlier allusions by others to "her kind". ["Amazons Attack" #5] This did not though clearly explain Grace's metahuman status as the Bana Amazons have only peak human level strength and conditioningFact|date=April 2008 while their Themyscirian Amazon cousins possess true metahuman strength. In the aftermath of the war, Batman assigns Wonder Woman and Grace to a cleanup mission which serves as an audition for his Outsiders roster. Grace identifies herself as half-Amazonian and displays a deep knowledge of Bana-Mighdall history. Batman and Wonder Woman accept that she is a Bana, and this is confirmed when Grace successfully handles a bomb engineered so that only women with Bana DNA might control it. ["Outsiders - Five of a Kind: Wonder Woman/Grace"] Diana and Grace end their joint mission describing each other as cousins.

Pleased with her performance, Batman welcomes Grace as the final member of his Outsiders. Despite being angry that Thunder "washed out" during Batman's try-out and has been excluded from the team, she accepts. She then invites Thunder back onto the team without Batman's permission.

Powers and abilities

*Grace Choi possesses metahuman levels of strength, heightened durability and endurance as well as regeneration and increased healing.

References

External links

* [http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=grace2 DCU Guide: Grace]