Medusa

Publication history

Medusa first appeared in Fantastic Four #36 (1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. She appears first in a flashback, then in costume as part of the fledgling "Frightful Four". She appears in Fantastic Four #38, 41-48 and in various subplot glimpses from #49-62. The Inhumans also appear in Fantastic Four # 82–83, with Medusa. The Inhumans are granted their first new adventure in Fantastic Four Annual #5, and a solo series in the split-book Amazing Adventures #1-10. The first four installments are written and drawn by Jack Kirby. The second four installments are written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Neal Adams. That storyline flows into the ongoing "Kree-Skrull War" in The Avengers title #94-97.

Medusa also appeared prominently in the twelve part maxi-series The Inhumans written by Paul Jenkins and illustrated by Jae Lee in the 1990s.

Medusa appears in FF by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred, which debuted in November 2012.

Beginning in May 2015, Medusa appeared as one of the main characters in A-Force, an all-female Avengers spin-off being launched by G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and Jorge Molina during Marvel's Secret Wars crossover.

In 2017, Medusa appeared in an early adventure with the Frightful Four, published as The Avengers 1.1- 5.1. This five-issue mini-series is positioned between The Avengers #16 and #17 as a side story when the evil team thinks they have killed the Fantastic Four (in Fantastic Four #38), but no one knows it. The Frightful Four publicly attack Captain America and his new team of replacements after their press conference to earn some "street cred". They are defeated in a rematch in issue 4.1. Medusa presumably flees before the team's final cameo in 5.1, where they are preparing a grave for her as a "traitor".

Fictional character biography

Medusa belongs to the race of Inhumans, a species of prehistoric earthlings mutated by the Terrigen Mists which originate from deep under the Inhuman city-state of Attilan. Medusa has a younger sister named Crystal, who later became the wife of the Avenger Quicksilver. Considered a member of Attilan's royal family, Medusa's parents chose to expose her to the Terrigen Mists, a natural mutagen that changes the biological makeup of the Inhuman race and gives them powers, when she was a child.

During her adolescent years, Medusa would often visit her distant cousin Black Bolt in his isolation cell, and learned to communicate with him through body language due to his destructive powers. Over the course of these visits, the two fell in love and eventually became engaged. Medusa attended Black Bolt's release from his cell when she was eighteen, and witnessed the first confrontation between Black Bolt and his brother Maximus.

Maximus claimed to be in love with Medusa, and throughout the comics made frequent attempts to usurp both the throne of Attilan and steal Medusa from Black Bolt. In Maximus' first successful attempt to take the throne, Medusa was knocked off of a sky-sled by Triton and afflicted with amnesia. Under the effects of this illness, Medusa left Attilan and wandered across Europe as a thief.

While still suffering from the effects of her injury, Medusa joined the super-villain team the Frightful Four and battled the Fantastic Four on three separate occasions.

She was then pursued by Gorgon on behalf of Maximus. Eventually, Medusa regained her senses and rejoined forces with the Inhuman royal family on the run. She was reunited with Black Bolt, who had been searching for her, and returned to Attilan. However, she became trapped in Attilan by the "negative zone" barrier created by Maximus. She was freed from the barrier at great cost by Black Bolt, and left the Great Refuge to visit the outside world as an adventurer. It was some time before the disastrous effects of worldly pollution on the Inhumans were known. She fights Spider-Man in his title for an issue after being manipulated by the manufacturer/promoter of a line of shampoo products. She also has been re-abducted by the Frightful Four in an attempt to manipulate her. The Fantastic Four became friends and allies and aided the Inhumans on several occasions, such as during the frequent power struggles between Black Bolt and the deranged Maximus.

Royalty

Medusa's primary role among the Inhumans is as interpreter for her liege and husband, the silent but commanding Black Bolt. As such she is an experienced state figure within the quasi-feudal system of the Inhumans' government, and is used to speaking with awareness of regal issues of protocol and comportment. This imperial attitude is usually tempered by her strong sense of morality and fairness.

Medusa is featured in the six issue series Beyond!. In the book she is kidnapped along with other famous and infamous superhumans to the artificial planet Battleworld. Medusa witnessed Venom's killing of the Space Phantom disguised as Spider-Man, leading her to believe the real Spider-Man had been murdered. Medusa passes royal judgement that Venom must undergo fifty lashes. She supersedes the authority of the Avenger's representative, Janet Van Dyne, and uses the control over her hair to create a whipping motion so fast that it produces miniature sonic booms, which Venom is especially vulnerable to. While Hank Pym tries to dissuade Medusa from continuing the punishment, Venom is able to stab Medusa through the thigh. Later on in the issue, Medusa saves the team during the sudden crash landing of their space vessel by absorbing the majority of the impact with her hair. As stated by Wasp, Medusa is the team's primary short-range offense. Eventually the team triumphs over the Beyonder and returns to Earth. At the end of the series, Medusa can be seen alongside Black Bolt attending the funeral of her Beyond! teammate Gravity. She gives Gravity's parents a precious statue, the highest honor amongst the Inhumans, in commemoration of Gravity's sacrifice.

In I Heart Marvel, Medusa stars and narrates in a one-shot vignette appearing in issue #3 of the Marvel Ai edition. Titled Silence of the Heart, the story explores the relationship between Medusa and Black Bolt. Medusa explains that her husband's silence is a burden that she also bears. Black Bolt makes an appearance at this point and the two are shown to make love as Medusa contemplates her longing to hear a moan, whisper, or laugh from him.

The title Son of M focuses on Pietro Maximoff following the events of House of M. After attempting to commit suicide, a dying Pietro is brought to Attilan by Crystal. While Gorgon protests, Medusa grants Pietro asylum in Attilan until he is fully recovered. Once healed, a depowered Pietro tries to convince Black Bolt and Medusa to allow him access to the Terrigen Mists, but Medusa firmly states that Terrigenesis is a process forbidden to outsiders and that such a process upon a human could result in drastic mutations. Pietro manages to expose himself to the Mists regardless, and receives new powers before collecting both the Terrigen Crystals and his daughter, Luna, and returning to Earth. The crystals eventually end up in the possession of a black-ops sector of the United States government. The sector's subsequent refusal to return the crystals sparks a declaration of war between the Inhumans and the United States.

Powers and abilities

Medusa possesses a long, thick head of red hair; thanks to her exposure to the mutagenic Terrigen Mist, every strand of her hair has great tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and sheer resistance far surpassing human hair. She possesses the psychokinetic ability to animate her hair for a number of feats, including elongating it to almost twice its normal length (Medusa's hair is approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) in length when relaxed), and using her hair to lift and move heavy weights (up to 1.6 tons); a portion of her hair must be used to anchor the rest at these greater weights, so that more than her scalp/skull is used as a brace.

Medusa can control the movement of her hair as if it were countless thin appendages growing from her head. A psionic field permeates her mutagenically altered hair-cells, causing mutual attraction across the gaps between strands. These relatively small forces operate in conjunction to develop larger forces. Through concentration, she can psionically move her hair in any manner imaginable. She can snap the length of it through the air like a whip (the tip of which moves faster than the speed of sound), or rotate it in a fan-like manner. She can bind persons or objects with it as if it were rope, or use it to lift objects which weigh more than she could lift with her arms. Her scalp, skull, and neck do not support the weight of an object that she lifts; it is held aloft by the psionic force coursing through the hair. Medusa can also perform delicate manipulations with her hair such as lock picking or threading a needle, and such complex acts of coordination as typing or shuffling a deck of cards. Although she has no nerve endings in her hair, she can "feel" sensations on all parts of her hair by a form of mental feedback from her psionic field.

Medusa is an accomplished thief, using her hair. Medusa is also able to retain some degree of control over her hair after it has been cut or otherwise severed from her scalp. She presumably has the typical enhanced physical abilities granted by the genetically superior Inhuman physiology. She is also highly skilled at interpreting the gestures and body language of Black Bolt, and is fluent in a special sign language she uses with Black Bolt.

Like all Inhumans, Medusa's immune system is weaker than that of an average human. However, due to her frequent ventures into the outside world, Medusa's immune system is stronger than that of her fellow Inhumans. As such, she has attained a resistance to the pollutants of the outside world.

Cultural impact and legacy

Critical reception

Medusa has received positive reception over the years. Critics have praised her unique abilities, her status as a queen and diplomat, and her time as part of the Fantastic Four and the Future Foundation. Peyton Hinckle of ComicsVerse praised the Royals miniseries, where Medusa temporarily lost her powers and was depicted as more vulnerable.

Accolades

In 2015, IGN included Medusa in their "7 Inhumans We Want on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." list.

In 2016, ComicBook.com included Medusa in their "10 Marvel Women Who Should Come to Disney Infinity 3.0" list.

In 2016, ComicsAlliance ranked Medusa 3rd in their "Marvel's Royal Inhumans, Ranked From Worst To Best" list.

In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Medusa 17th in their "Every Member Of The Fantastic Four, Ranked Worst To Best" list.

In 2018, CBR ranked Medusa 6th in their "20 Most Powerful Inhumans" list.

In 2018, Paste ranked Medusa 9th in their "20 Members of the Fantastic Four" list.

In 2018, Screen Rant ranked Medusa 8th in their "15 Most Powerful Kings And Queens In The Marvel Universe" list.

In 2019, CBR ranked Medusa 7th in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of Royalty In Marvel Comics" list and 9th in their "10 Most Powerful Queens In the Marvel Universe" list.

In 2020, CBR ranked Medusa 9th in their "5 Marvel Women Who Should Have Their Own Solo Comic (& 5 Who Already Do)" list.

In 2021, Screen Rant ranked Medusa 5th in their "Fantastic Four: 10 Best Female Villains" list. and 6th in their "Marvel Comics: 10 Best Alternate Members Of The Fantastic Four" list.

In 2022, CBR ranked Medusa 2nd in their "10 Inhumans Who Should Join The Avengers" list, 7th in their "10 Best Fantastic Four Substitute Members" list, and 12th in their "Every Member Of The Illuminati" list.

Other versions

Various alternate universe versions of Medusa have appeared throughout the character's publication history. In Earth X, Medusa became the leader of the Inhumans after Black Bolt's death. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Medusa has green skin and snakes for hair, akin to her mythological namesake. Medusa Moonrider, a composite character based on Medusa and DC Comics character Mark Moonrider, appears in the Amalgam Comics universe.

In other media

Television

Medusa appears in The New Fantastic Four. This version is the leader of the Inhumans and a member of the Frightful Four who is genuinely evil as opposed to being forced into villainy.

Medusa appears in Spider-Man (1981), voiced by B. J. Ward.

Medusa appears in Fantastic Four, voiced by Iona Morris. This version is the queen of the Inhumans and a member of the Frightful Four, having lost her memory caused by Maximus.

Medusa appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Inhuman Nature", voiced by Mary Faber.

Medusa appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, initially voiced by Mary Faber and later by Rose McGowan.

Medusa appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Catherine Taber.

Medusa appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced again by Catherine Taber in the third season and Vanessa Marshall in the fifth.

Medusa appears in Inhumans (2017), portrayed by Serinda Swan.

Medusa appears in Marvel Future Avengers, voiced by Hiroko Ushida in Japanese and Erica Lindbeck in English.

Medusa makes a non-speaking appearance in the Spider-Man episode "Vengeance of Venom".

Video games

Medusa appears as a non-playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Nancy Linari.

Medusa appears as an unlockable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

Medusa appears as an unlockable character in Marvel Future Fight.

Medusa appears as an unlockable character in Marvel Avengers Academy, voiced by Amber Lee Connors.

Medusa appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.

Medusa appears as an unlockable character in Marvel: Contest of Champions.

Medusa appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.

Medusa appears as a non-playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Mary Faber.

Medusa appears in Marvel Snap.

Miscellaneous

Medusa appears in the Inhuman motion comic, voiced by Lisa Ann Beley.