Hypnota (also sometimes Hypnotic Woman) is a fictional character appearing in

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 ...

publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero

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 ...

. Created by writer

William Moulton Marston William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen name Charles Moulton (), was an American psychologist who, with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth Holloway, invented an early prototype of the lie detector ...

and artist

Harry G. Peter Harry George Peter (March 8, 1880 – January 2, 1958) was an American newspaper illustrator and cartoonist known for his work on the ''Wonder Woman'' comic book and for Bud Fisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Biography Harry George Peter ...

, the character debuted in 1944 in ''

'' (volume 1) #11 as a stage magician and human trafficker with powerful superhuman mind-control abilities. The gender presentation of her stage persona, Hypnota the Great, was that of an ostensibly male figure in Orientalized Middle-Eastern costume, complete with a false mustache and goatee. Though initially appearing to disguise her gender to deflect criminal suspicion (a genderplay trope Marston incorporated into several other foes he created to battle Wonder Woman, including

Doctor Poison Doctor Poison is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superheroine Wonder Woman. A sadistic bioterrorist with a ghoulish face, she first appeared in 1942’s ''Sensat ...

and the

Blue Snowman The Blue Snowman is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. Created by writer William Moulton Marston and artist Harry G. Peter, the character de ...

), Hypnota made subsequent

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

appearances in her masculine stage garb; even after her supposedly "true" gender identity was revealed, she chose to present as a man – a move that might be understood in the 21st century as

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

. The

Modern Age The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

Hypnota, renamed Hypnotic Woman, has abandoned her false facial hair and is now written and drawn as a

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of ''transgender''. The prefix ''wiktionary:cis ...

woman, albeit one who wears a somewhat masculine costume similar to her Golden Age look: a closed-front vest,

salwar Salwar or Shalwar is cloth worn from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately. It is the lower-garment of the Shalwar kameez suit which is widely-worn in South Asia. It is known for its lively hues, rich fabrics, and embroidery. It ...

and a man's

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

A stage

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

who conceals her gender via masculine costume and false facial hair, Hypnota was accidentally shot in the head during the rehearsal of one of her act's illusions. Experimental surgery saved her life, but it also released a "blue electric ray of dominance" from her "mid-brain", granting her the ability to mesmerize others with a glance. Hypnota uses this new talent both in her stage act and in crime, including the selling of her mesmerized victims to slave merchants from the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. Hypnota hypnotizes her twin sister, Serva, into becoming her assistant on stage and in crime. When Saturn's slave trade in Earthlings is banned as part of a peace treaty with

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, Hypnota, hoping to revitalize her source of revenue, steals America's contingency defense plans against the ringed world in order to foment hostility and break the treaty. Her warmongering efforts attract the attention of

. Hypnota battles Wonder Woman with the unwilling aid of Hypnota's twin sister Serva. Hypnota hypnotizes Wonder Woman a number of times, making her publicly humiliate herself and help her in her crimes and warmongering. Finally Wonder Woman breaks free of Hypnota's control and frees Serva from hypnosis, stopping Hypnota with the aid of a mirror that causes Hypnota to hypnotize herself. Hypnota, like many of Wonder Woman's enemies, is sentenced to prison on the Amazon penal colony Transformation Island. She, Blue Snowman, and 6 other super-villains later escape and pool their talents as Villainy Inc. Led by the Saturnian slaver

Eviless Eviless (also sometimes Saturna) is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. A slave driver from the planet Saturn, she had several Golden Age cl ...

, they become the evil eight. Hypnota rehypnotizes Wonder Woman temporarily during a fight with her, but her control is broken once again. The evil eight are again defeated by Wonder Woman. Whether or not Hypnota's masculine garb, which concealed her true gender throughout most of her first appearance and which she retained in her second appearance, is to be taken as anything more than a stage affectation is unclear.

Post-Crisis

In the

Post-Crisis "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Ma ...

, Hypnota is referred to as "Hypnotic Woman".

Future State

Hypnota, now calling herself again Hypnotic Woman is a member of

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 ...

's Justice Squad, using her powers of illusionism to disguise herself as Wonder Woman.

DC Rebirth

After the events of

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...

, Hypnota was briefly seen in a jailbreak with other members of the Suicide Squad from the Future State universe.

Powers and abilities

Hypnota could project "blue hypnotic rays" from her eyes and hands, which could control the minds of anyone who fell under the rays' influence.

Other versions

Wonder Woman: Black and Gold

Hypnota appears in the anthology series ''Wonder Woman: Black & Gold''. In the story "Love Failed" by Andrew MacLean, Hypnota is depicted as an elderly illusionist who forms a self-help cult known as the Guiding Light. After Wonder Woman's friend Theresa is inducted into the cult, she confronts Hypnota on the psychic plane. The battle results in Wonder Woman stripping Hypnota of her power and leaving her in her chamber.''Wonder Woman: Black and Gold'' #4 (2021). DC Comics.

References

External links

Hypnota
Gay League Profile {{Wonder Woman Characters created by William Moulton Marston Comics characters introduced in 1944 DC Comics characters who have mental powers DC Comics LGBT supervillains DC Comics female supervillains DC Comics metahumans Golden Age supervillains Fictional cross-dressers Fictional hypnotists and indoctrinators Fictional stage magicians Wonder Woman characters Characters created by H. G. Peter