Nemesis (Wildstorm)

For other comic book characters named Nemesis, see Nemesis (comics).

Nemesis
Charis as she appears on the cover of Wildcats: Nemesis #1
Publication information
Publisher	Wildstorm
First appearance	Wildcats: Nemesis #1 (November 2005)
Created by	Robbie Morrison
In-story information
Alter ego	Charis of the Adrastea
Team affiliations	WildC.A.T.s The Coda
Notable aliases	Ms. Adrastea, Charis Adrastea
Abilities	Possesses empathy, low-level superhuman strength, stamina, durability and longevity, and centuries of combat experience.

Nemesis is a fictional comic book character owned by DC Comics/Wildstorm Comics. She is an immortal member of the Adrastea class from Khera and a trained Coda warrior.

Fictional background

Life on Khera

Nemesis was named Charis on the planet Khera. She was born a member of the Adrastea race of people on Khera who are gifted with psychic empathy. Much like the native Titantropes of Khera, the Adrastea people were originally bred to be slaves by the more prestigious Kheran races. Over time the Adrastea race became the largest crime syndicate in Kheran society but still maintained the stigma of being the lowest class citizens until the arrival of Daemonite refugees to the planet many years later.

Growing up on the streets, Charis became an expert thief. On one occasion she stold Majestros' dagger. He later found her but was attacked by several Daemonites before he could take back his knife. Seeing the situation he was in, Charis joined the battle and defeated one of the Deamons. As a reward Charis was granted her fondest wish: to become a Coda warrior. Adrastea members were forbidden to join the sisterhood but Majestros used his political connections to allow her in. Charis was appointed to Lady Zannah of the Red Lament for training. The Coda were appalled at her very presence and they showed her no sympathy during her training. Because of this she was trained hard and became one of their best fighters.

During her training she became lovers with Majestros. When this was discovered the relationship was told to end and Majestros was chosen to mate with Zannah in order to produce an offspring. This caused bitter feelings between the three lovers.

Life on Earth

When the Kherubim/Daemonite war reached Earth, Charis was among the Coda warriors stranded there. She was assigned to infiltrate the Daemonite forces telling them that she's rejected the Kherubim and report back with her findings. When the Daemonites captured Zannah, now going by Zealot, they ordered Charis to kill Zealot in order to prove herself loyal. Zealot used her authority as a high ranking Coda member to order Charis to follow their orders and kill her. When Charis refused and battled the Daemonites she became an enemy of the Daemons as well as the Coda for not following the strict order of obedience.

During this time Charis had found a new lover, a Kherubim named Raven who was part of the Brotherhood of the Blade, an all male clan who saw the Coda as rivals. In 995 B.C. Raven betrayed Charis by murdering all 200 members of the Coda present on the Isle of Lesbos and made it seem as if Charis was to blame. Charis stole one of a pair of indestructible swords held by Raven and went into hiding as she became a wanted murderer in the eyes of all Kherubim.

Throughout the centuries Charis dodged countless murder attempts by fellow kinsmen while trying to seek revenge against Raven and clear her name. Although Charis went by many names over the years, the label "Nemesis" given to her by the Coda after her perceived betrayal remained her constant title by all.

The present

Nemesis eventually came in contact with the Wildcats in the present during another run-in with Raven. Raven was using a female child to activate sleeper agents throughout the world. Nemesis rescued the girl from him but mistakenly made it look like kidnapping in the eyes of the Wildcats in the process. Once she explained the situation the Wildcats aided Nemesis in trying to stop Raven and the Brotherhood of the Blade. She eventually was able to stab Raven in the stomach, steal his second indestructible sword, and leave him drifting in space.

Nemesis rekindled her romance with Majestros shortly thereafter.

After some time the entity Void contacted Nemesis to inform her of the on-coming cataclysmic World's End crossover event. Void transports Nemesis to a future where the majority of the Earth is destroyed by powerful metahumans. Returning to her own time Nemesis joins forces with Savant and Backlash (Jodi Slayton) in an attempt to stop that dark future from happening. This leads to the events of Armageddon and Revelations.^[1]

Nemesis appeared as a regular member of the newly established Wildcats, aiding their efforts to rebuild the world. However, during a confrontation with Majestros, in which she skewered him, she and he fell into an active volcano. Despite her swords being retrieved and Majestros' optimism, her survival was in doubt. However, during the heat of battle later on, she appeared on the scene and rescued Majestros, who had been critically injured during the fighting, and took him to his old residence in Mt. Rushmore to oversee his recovery.

During this time, Nemesis, in her decided quest to conceive Majestros' child, became pregnant. Shortly after discovering her condition, she left Majestros, seeking out the entity that saved her from death and considering it to be the best possible father to her child.

Abilities

Due to her alien genetics Nemesis is near immortal, capable of living for thousands of years without aging and also possesses low-level super-strength.

She also possesses the ability to sense the emotions of those around her, referred to as empathy (or Empath for classification), but falls more along the lines of clairsentience. This ability makes her difficult to approach with hostile intent, but also makes her susceptible to very powerful cases of emotions, like sorrow or anger, which can disrupt her concentration to the point of actually hurting her physically. This ability also has been shown to fuel her desire for vengeance, demonstrated when she touches a murder victim's body and channels their final feelings.

As a trained Coda warrior, Nemesis is a highly skilled hand-to-hand fighter as well as an expert in a wide array of weapons. While she has been known to use firearms (usually handguns), her preferred and default weapons of choice are two indestructible swords made from shards of an ancient weapon called the Creation Engine. The blades can cut through virtually all known substances. Nemesis also wears a specialized body armor (referred to as her 'Stealth Suit') that emits various sized force fields.

Collections

Nemesis' stories have been collected in trade paperbacks:

• Wildcats: Nemesis (by Robbie Morrison and Talent Caldwell, 9-issue limited series, tpb, 208 pages, 2006, ISBN 1401211054)^[2]

• Wildstorm: Armageddon (by Christos Gage and Talent Caldwell, 144 pages, April 2008, ISBN 1401217036)^[3]

• Wildstorm: Revelations (by co-authors by Scott Beatty and Christos Gage, with art by Wes Craig, 296 pages, July 2008, Titan Books, ISBN 1845769333, Wildstorm, ISBN 1401218679)^[4]

Notes

1. ^ Gage & Beatty on Wildstorm: Revelations, Newsarama, January 4, 2008
2. ^ Wildcats: Nemesis trade profile
3. ^ Wildstorm: Armageddon trade profile
4. ^ Wildstorm: Revelations trade profile

References

• Nemesis at the Comic Book DB