Wotan is a mystical supervillain appearing in American comic books published by

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 ...

. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, first appearing in ''More Fun Comics'' #55 (1940). The character is a major antagonist to

Doctor Fate Doctor Fate (also known as Fate) is the name of multiple superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in ''More F ...

, serves as an

archenemy In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...

to various incarnations. Originally a woman of prehistoric times, the woman who would become Wotan was sexually assaulted by male members of her tribe. Turning to magic, she took revenge and became a god-like entity to her tribe while learning to extend her life through reincarnation and became curious about the source of cruelty in humanity. Evetually, in a male body, he adopted the "Wotan" name based upon Germanic and Norse mythology and gain a lust for power and knowledge, putting them at odds with Doctor Fate and other magical characters. After the

New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...

reboot, the character was then moved Earth 2 universe with a similar background; named Karel Wotan, she is cursed by Nabu when she arrogantly challenged the mystic sorcerer by turning her skin green so he can recognize her no matter whom she may reincarnate into. In a male body, he plots to usurp Nabu's power and is challenged by Earth 2's version of Doctor Fate, Khalid Ben-Hassin. The character's original incarnation would later briefly reappear in DC Rebirth. Wotan has appeared in several media, having been adapted in both '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' and ''

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 ...

'' animated series.

Publication history

Wotan first appeared in ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

'' #55 (May 1940) and was created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and Howard Sherman.

Fictional character biography

Pre/Post Crisis

The being now known as Wotan started out life as a Stone Age

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

who was raped by someone claiming to be a servant of God. She studied the black arts and became such a powerful sorceress that she was worshiped as a goddess. She later learned how to switch from body to body and then to direct her own

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

, eventually becoming the

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

being now known as Wotan.''Doctor Fate'' (vol. 2) #14. DC Comics. In the

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, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

, Wotan encountered first

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and then the sorcerer known as

where he became Fate's nemesis. At one point, he was pulled back in time with other JSA enemies by the time-traveller

Per Degaton Per Degaton is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A young version of the character was portrayed by Cory Grüter-Andrew on the first season of ''Legends of Tomorrow'', while an unknown actor portrayed his ol ...

to assist in capturing the JSA and stop them from interfering in his attempt to change the events of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. Wotan uses his magic aura to hold the JSA captive in caves beneath an island. The plan is foiled by the actions of the

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its self-titled serie ...

. When the Spectre is released from the aura and frees the other members, Per Degaton goes back in time, thus erasing everybody's memories of this event and returning them to their proper places. During the second volume of ''The Spectre'' in the eighties, he tries to take over the body of the sorceress

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a st ...

, but fails. In the early nineties, Wotan discovers the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

where the last body of the being known as

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

- God Himself - lay entombed, still seething with mystical power. While fighting the current Doctor Fate and the Justice League, Wotan enters the tower with the intention of absorbing the power, confronting God himself, and supplanting Him. Instead, he emerges blinded, his evil having been burned out by God's power. Declaring that Wotan will never menace anybody again, one of Yahweh's servants spirits Wotan away.

Earth 2

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

(a reboot of DC's continuity), Wotan is reintroduced in issue #9 of '' Earth 2'' as Karel Wotan. Her original incarnation once again as a woman, Wotan claimed to be "the mage of an organization that seeks to augment its control of magic in the world" although this was later revealed to be a lie. She is portrayed as an ancient sorcerer who started life as a female Viking and later mastered the arts of sorcery, having lived several lifetimes, both male and female. An encounter with Nabu the Wise left her skin forever green and unable to enter the Tower of Fate which held the helmet Wotan desperately sought after.

Powers and abilities

Due to centuries of sorcerous studies, Wotan is a master sorcerer and whose forte is black magic. Among their capabilities in magic includes dimensional travel, spell-casting, and has the power to transfer their soul into another body, directing their own form of

. At the height of Wotan's power, he is powerful enough to directly challenge

. In addition, Wotan is a skilled and capable scientist, having created technology considered far more advanced than anything created in the 20th century. However, Wotan possesses poor skills in hand-to-hand combat and instead relies on magical powers.

Other versions

In ''DC Universe'', the continuation 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 DC ...

'', there is a character called Wotan II who is part of a group of alien children called the Injustice Army. As the group idolized Earth's villains, Wotan II idolized the original Wotan.''Adventures of the Super Sons'' #7. DC Comics.

In other media

Television

* Wotan appeared in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "The Eyes of Despero!", voiced by

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final ...

. He attempted to break into the Library of Infinity only to be stopped by

and Batman. While Wotan managed to knock off Doctor Fate's helmet, he was caught off-guard when he was K.O.'d by Doctor Fate's punch. * Wotan is featured in ''

'', voiced by

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

. In " Independence Day",

Zatara Giovanni "John" Zatara is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He debuted as a superhero, starring in his own stories in '' Action Comics'' during the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in the fi ...

briefly appears on a display in the library of the Hall of Justice to request support after stating that Wotan is using ''The Amulet of

Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect o ...

'' to blot out the sun. Wotan later appears as a member of the

Injustice League The following is a list of fictional criminal and terrorist organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. 0-9 100 Originally based in Metropolis, the 100 kept a firm grip on the city's criminal underworld for years, ind ...

. In "Misplaced", Wotan,

Felix Faust Felix Faust is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Justice League of America #10'' (1962), created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. He is depicted as an mystic sorcerer obse ...

Blackbriar Thorn B'wana Beast Baby-Doll Bad Samaritan The Bad Samaritan (alias Zviad Baazovi) is a supervillain, and enemy of the Outsiders who first appeared in ''The Outsiders'' #3 (January 1986). He is a former Soviet spymaster who became a neutral party ...

and Wizard are summoned by

Klarion the Witch Boy Klarion the Witch Boy is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, having first appeared in '' The Demon'' #7 (March 1973) and was created by Jack Kirby. The character is typically portrayed as a powerful but mischie ...

to assist in a ceremony on Roanoke Island that apparently splits reality into two dimensions by channeling mystic energy through a gem referred to as ''Ambre Jeune Perdu''. * Wotan was mentioned in an episode of '' Stargirl''. In episode 5 of season 3, ''The Thief'', Sylvester mentioned him to Mike.

References

*'' Who's Who:The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'', volume 26 *''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Update'' '88, volume 4 *''Who's Who in the DC Universe'' 1990, #1 (this last is the first ''Who's Who'' issue to reveal Wotan's full origin for the first time). {{DEFAULTSORT:Wotan (Comics) DC Comics supervillains DC Comics characters who use magic Comics characters introduced in 1940 Characters created by Gardner Fox Fictional Vikings Fictional German people Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities Fictional characters with death or rebirth abilities Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities