Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (Amy Winston) is a superheroine published in American comic books created by DC Comics. Created by writers Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and artist Ernie Colón, she debuted in ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' #298 in April 1983.

Born into the Amethyst royal family of Gemworld, a dimension full of magic and magical creatures, her parents were killed shortly after her birth by her future archenemy, Dark Opal. She is hidden on Earth by a witch and is adopted into a family, given the name Amy Winston. Eventually, she travels to Gemworld on her thirteenth birthday, learning of her heritage and became Gemworld's chief protector by opposing the Lords of Chaos and their agents, including Dark Opal. After the events of ''Flashpoint'', the character was retroactively rebooted, having first been raised by her mother Graciel to help eventually liberate Gemworld from a tyrannical ruler. Her given birth name is Amaya while her human identity is Amy Winston. After DC Rebirth, the character's original origin is restored, albeit without significant connection to the Lords of Chaos and Order.

The character has received several media adaptations, having been featured in a short animation series featured on the ''DC Nation'' block on Cartoon Network.

Publication history

Concept and creation

Amethyst's premise was initially pitched to DC Comics under the title "Changeling", wherein its main character had been left on Earth as an infant. However, because another DC superhero formerly named Beast Boy was currently using that name at the time, Dan Mishkin decided on the alternative "Amethyst" as a replacement. This in turn inspired the jewel-themed renaming of the other characters in the series and the concept being reworked into Gemworld.

''Amethyst'' volumes

Amethyst first appeared as a special insert preview in ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' #298 (April 1983). Her original story began shortly afterward in the twelve-issue ''Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld'' limited series in 1983, written and created by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn with Ernie Colón as the artist. The initial 12-issue limited series (identified by DC Comics as a "maxi-series") establishes Gemworld, Amethyst's identity, and several of her recurring villains. The limited series was followed by a 1984 annual and a sixteen-issue ongoing series. The ongoing series was followed by the 1986 ''Amethyst Special'' one-shot and a four-issue limited series that ended the character's adventures (penciled by Esteban Maroto). There was also a one-shot with Superman in ''DC Comics Presents'' #63 (Nov. 1983).

The character re-emerged in 2005 after 18 years of sporadic appearances, in the ''Infinite Crisis'' mini-series. In 2012, Amethyst appeared as the main character of the new ''Sword of Sorcery'' as part of The New 52 line. This lasted until May 2013, when ''Sword of Sorcery'' was cancelled.

In 2019, DC relaunched the ''Young Justice'' title, with Amethyst as one of the members. A six-issue miniseries ''Amethyst'' (2020) by Amy Reeder was published the following year.

Collected edition

In 2012, DC published an ''Amethyst'' volume of the ''Showcase Presents'' series. It reprinted the character's appearances in ''The Legion of Super-Heroes'' #298, the original ''Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld'' 12-issue limited series, ''Amethyst Annual'' #1, ''DC Comics Presents'' #63, and the first 11 issues of the 16-issue ongoing ''Amethyst'' series.

Crossover appearances

Amethyst appeared in the 1997 "Convergence" crossover that ran through '' Book of Fate'', ''Night Force'', ''Challengers of the Unknown'' and ''Scare Tactics''. This story depicts an alternate Gemworld experiencing a civil war. Here, Amethyst is portrayed as a villain who wants to unify the houses in Gemworld by any means.

Fictional character biography

Amethyst is the princess of the House of Amethyst, one of several houses in Gemworld. After Dark Opal kills Amethyst's parents, the witch Citrina sends her to Earth to be raised by the Winston family. At the age of thirteen, Amethyst is attacked by Dark Opal, learns of her heritage, and returns to Gemworld, where she defeats Dark Opal and frees Gemworld from his rule.

Amethyst participates in the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', where she is blinded by a Shadow Demon. She later learns that she is a Lord of Order and battles the Lord of Chaos Child before fusing herself and Child with Gemworld.

The third volume of ''Amethyst'' takes place two decades after ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. Topaz and Turquoise, members of their namesake houses, are married and have three children: Wrynn, Donal, and Amber. The entity Mordru possesses Wrynn and becomes a powerful sorcerer. Some time later, Gemworld is transported to the main universe and renamed Zerox. Zerox is destroyed during the Magic Wars, which kills Amethyst. Amethyst is resurrected during the ''Infinite Crisis'' event, which retcons her death from continuity.''Infinite Crisis'' #2 (January 2006)

In ''The New 52'' continuity reboot, Amethyst is named Amaya and was sent to Earth to protect her from her aunt Mordiel. She later joins Justice League Dark.

Powers and abilities

Amethyst possesses a myriad of powers, including flight, spellcasting, energy manipulation, energy constructs, eldritch blasts, matter transmutation, magic resistance, atmokinesis, chronokinesis, chlorokinesis, elemental control, life creation, reality alteration, crystal enchantments, crystal generation, conjuration, summoning, size alteration, divination, hypnotism, emotion manipulation, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, dimensional travel, invisibility, illusion casting, invoking spirits, necromancy, healing others, and hyperawareness, as well as the ability to tap into other mystical sources so she can amplify her own capabilities to near-incalculable levels. She is capable enough to engage in battle with the Spectre and survive.

Other versions

An alternate timeline variant of Amethyst appears '' Flashpoint'' as a member of the Secret Seven.

In other media

Television

* Amethyst appears in a self-titled segment of ''DC Nation Shorts'', voiced by Sophie Oda. This version is a human who is magically transported into the ''Gemworld'' video game to battle the forces of Dark Opal and sports a modernized design reminiscent of magical girls.
* Amethyst makes non-speaking cameo appearances in ''Teen Titans Go!''.
* Amethyst will appear in ''Starfire!''.

Film

* Amethyst appears in '' DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year'', voiced by Cristina Pucelli. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
* Amethyst makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies''.

Video games

Amethyst appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

External links

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on April 4, 2012.

DCU Guide: Amethyst



Sequential Tart: Amethyst retrospective

TangonaT: Amethyst retrospective

ComiXology: Amethyst retrospectiveArchived
2009-10-25)

{{Young Justice
1983 comics debuts
Comics adapted into animated series
Comics adapted into television series
Comics characters introduced in 1983
DC Comics characters who use magic
DC Comics characters with superhuman senses
DC Comics child superheroes
DC Comics fantasy characters
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics limited series
DC Comics telekinetics
DC Comics titles
Fictional blind characters
Fictional characters with elemental transmutation abilities
Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities
Fictional princesses
Fictional superhuman healers
Fictional swordfighters
High fantasy comics
Magical girl characters