Inertia is the name of two separate but related fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

Various incarnations of Inertia

The first Inertia was a character from

Earth-712 The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the prev ...

(the world of the faux JLA characters known as the

Squadron Supreme The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

). Like most of the newer characters created for the Squadron Supreme mini-series, Inertia's counterpart in the Detroit Justice League was

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. Her powers were based on the use of

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acc ...

against the enemy. The second Inertia was a member of the rebooted ''Squadron Supreme'', from the ''

Supreme Power The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

'' universe, also known as

Earth-31916 The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

Inertia (Squadron Supreme)

Fictional character biography

Edith Freiberg had the power to absorb and redirect kinetic energy (motion). After being recruited by

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...

to the team of superpowered "

Redeemers The Redeemers were a political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War. Redeemers were the Southern wing of the Democratic Party. They sought to regain their political power and enforce ...

", she was one of the Redeemers who joined the Squadron Supreme's "Utopia Program" in hopes of stopping it. Inertia was then revealed to have joined the Squadron Supreme as a double agent. During her time in the Squadron Supreme, she developed a romantic relationship with Haywire. Alongside Nighthawk's Redeemers, she attacked the Squadron Supreme. During the encounter, she battled

Power Princess Zarda, commonly known as Power Princess, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Multiple versions of the character have appeared, each from alternate realities in Marvel's multiverse. Publication ...

, but was defeated by

Doctor Spectrum Doctor Spectrum is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There have been five versions of the character to date—three supervillains from the mainstream Marvel Universe belonging t ...

. Alongside the Squadron Supreme, Professor Imam, and

Master Menace Master Menace is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Two different versions of the character appear in two separate (but related) continuities, ''Squadron Supreme'' and ''Supreme Power''. Both bear ...

, Inertia attacked the

Nth Man Nth Man is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Thomas Lightner first appeared as Blacksun in '' Marvel Two-in-One'' #21-23 (November 1976-January 1977), and was created by Bi ...

, a universe-absorbing entity that was encroaching into the

universe. Inertia died after an attempt to use her powers against the Nth Man backfired, as he was too large an entity for her to absorb the kinetic energy from, and her body was overloaded by a surge of energy that caused her to disperse in a pink haze.''Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe'' Graphic Novel

Powers and abilities

Inertia had the ability to transfer "inertia" (actually momentum) from one person or object to another.

Inertia (Supreme Power)

Edith Freiberg is a lesbian Army private, first introduced in '' Squadron Supreme: High Command'' where she is seen trashing a bar and attacking several men (using her powers to redirect kinetic energy) before being introduced to the public as part of the

. She is portrayed as having problems with men and with authority and in issue #4, her back story is fleshed out. Edith's father was the head of an ultra-conservative church and a highly prejudiced and abusive man. Her powers manifested at a young age when a nurse trying to give her a vaccination could not get the needle through her skin. Her father believed this was a sign of demonic power and, unable to hurt 'Eddy', would beat her mother for any of Edith's perceived transgressions. In high school, she was attacked by three boys from her school. While she could easily have defended herself, Edith was aware that this would only result in her mother receiving a beating and so she did not attempt to defend herself. The stress of this event and her inability to use her powers when she most needed to left her in a catatonic state for some time. Despite this, her father refused to believe she had been beaten (citing the lack of injury), instead accusing her of being promiscuous. Edith's mother soon discovered that her husband was having an affair and confronted him. Edith's father accidentally caused a car accident that killed Edith's mother and attempted to cover up the event to save his reputation. Edith recovered after hearing the news, finding and killing her father—then killing the boys who had raped her. During 'Operation Long Walk' (the Squadron's mission in the Middle East), Edith finds a young girl whose mother and older sister were beaten and then stoned to death by four male relatives on the pretext of erasing the shame of the rape ("honor killing"). The girl had apparently been hiding to avoid a similar fate. Using Emil Burbank as a translator, Edith finds the relatives and buries them up to their necks. She then tears a steel bar off a nearby railing, gives it to the girl, and walks away. The girl apparently kills them. So far, her behavior has been shown to be erratic and possibly psychotic. Stanley Stewart ( The Blur) has attempted to reach out to her, and Edith has thanked him for his concern, but she still refuses his offer of friendship.

References

External links

Marvel Heroes Classic Roleplaying Game page on InertiaMarvel.com page on Inertia
{{Squadron Supreme Characters created by Mark Gruenwald Comics characters introduced in 1986 Fictional lesbians Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics LGBT superheroes Squadron Supreme