Black Thorn is a

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character. She first appeared in ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

'' #45 (September 1987) and was created by

Paul Kupperberg Paul Kupperberg (born June 14, 1955) is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for D ...

and Tod Smith.

Fictional character biography

Elizabeth Thorne used to have a life as a partying socialite, basically a rich drunk. Her brother forces her into rehab. While happy not to be involved with the bottle anymore, she misses the thrill of life. She joins up with the CIA but soon feels constrained by the need to operate within the law. She fakes her own death and takes on the identity of Black Thorn. She begins working as a vigilante in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where she met and fell in love with

the Vigilante ''The Vigilante'' is a 1947 American Western film serial directed by Wallace Fox. The 33rd serial released by Columbia Pictures, it was based on the comic book cowboy Vigilante, who first appeared in ''Action Comics'', published by DC Comics. ...

. For a time, her own methods are more brutal than even the Vigilante's own and they often argue. However, he goes insane and begins murdering innocent people, including cops. In a brief moment of clarity, the Vigilante commits suicide. Black Thorn is devastated. She is later brought into the

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

organization by Harry Stein. There she comes into opposition with

Amanda Waller Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...

, but then pretty much everyone does. Black Thorn is sent, along with Checkmate,

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

and other operatives, to oppose Kobra's plan to kill millions of people from an orbiting alien vessel. The mission succeeds, though many on both sides die. Black Thorn is still at least semi-active, as she assists

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

and a whole host of female heroes against the forces of

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...

in New York City.''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2 #175 (December 2001)

External links

DCU Guide: Black Thorn

References

Characters created by Paul Kupperberg Comics characters introduced in 1987 DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics martial artists {{DC-char-stub