Empress (real name Anita Fite) is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

, a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

ine in the

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. She first appeared in ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'' #16 (January 2000). Empress was created by

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

and

Todd Nauck Todd Nauck ( ) is an American comic book creator, comic book artist and writer. Nauck is most notable for his work on ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,'' ''Young Justice'' and his own creation, ''Wildguard (comics), Wildguard''. Career Nauck's ...

Fictional character biography

Anita Fite is the daughter of Donald Fite, of the All Purpose Enforcement Squad, one of the Young Justice team's early enemies. She grew up learning

Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is ...

from her mother and grandmother. Her mother was killed when she was young by the villain Agua Sin Gaaz. Empress first appears in ''

'' #16, where she saves

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the ...

from dying of a poisonous snakebite. Shortly afterward, during Young Justice's visit to the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

to support their former teammate, Cissie King-Jones (Arrowette), she meets the team out of costume. During this meeting, her father reveals to the team that Anita has been operating as a superhero under the name "Empress", a childhood nickname from her mother. Anita reveals she had been inspired to become a superheroine after witnessing Arrowette stop a thief. Anita was so impressed that she began to use her vodou skills to fight for good. After this, Empress joins Young Justice, remaining a member for the rest of the run. In ''Young Justice'' #24 (October 2000), Agua Sin Gaaz returns and kills her father, then retreats to the island

Zandia Brother Blood is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first iteration, Sebastian Blood VIII, is a power hungry priest and the head of the Church of Blood, as well as the eighth person in the ...

, a haven for supervillains. Young Justice invades the island and successfully defeats Gaaz. Empress' parents are reincarnated into infant bodies during this arc, with Empress becoming a guardian to them. In January 2006, Empress appears as backup in the fight to save

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...

from wild magic in the ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...

'' special follow-up to ''

Day of Vengeance ''Day of Vengeance'' is a six-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics. Publication history ''Day of Vengeance'' is one of four lim ...

'', although a coloring error depicted her as

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

. Anita appears again in ''Infinite Crisis'' #6, assisting the world's mystics at Stonehenge in summoning the new

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

and his host, in order to usher in the new age of magic. Anita made a number of minor appearances in the ''Wonder Girl''

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

in 2007-2008, helping Wonder Girl come to terms with the death of

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

. Toward the end of the mini-series, Empress appears in costume, assisting Wonder Girl and several other Young Justice alumni against the

Female Furies The Female Furies are a group of women warriors and supervillains appearing in comics published by DC Comics. All of them are New Gods who serve Darkseid. They operate directly under Granny Goodness, who trains all of Darkseid's soldiers. Publica ...

. Anita appears in ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely b ...

'' along with Mas Y Menos and Sparx in a failed attempt to launch the League of Titans. The four are defeated by

Mirror Master Mirror Master is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a recurring foe of the Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors. Three individuals hav ...

and Doctor Light.''Final Crisis'' #1 (July 2008) She next appears in ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' vol. 5 #33 (July 2008). After her parents (still in their infant bodies) are kidnapped, Empress seeks out

to help her retrieve them. It is revealed that Empress is leading Supergirl into a trap on the orders of the supervillain, in exchange for the safe return of her parents. Empress then double-crosses the villain and aids in saving her parents and Supergirl.

Powers and abilities

Empress holds a piece of the

Anti-Life Equation The Anti-Life Equation is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula for total control over the minds of sentient beings that is sought by ...

in her mind, which allows her to telepathically command people to perform simple actions. Her mother and grandmother taught her vodou, and she is an accomplished practitioner, able to use magic to teleport and perform other spells. She is a capable fighter with her sword baton, called the "Emperor's Stick".

References

External links

World of Black Heroes: Empress Biography
{{Young Justice Characters created by Peter David Comics characters introduced in 2000 DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics characters who use magic DC Comics telepaths Fictional Haitian people