Onyx (DC)
Onyx is a female comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Onyx
Whilst at the monastery, she came be raised under the care of the Exalted Master. (Detective Comics v1 #556)
She was an old member of the League of Assassins until she retired and decided to become a vigilante and later encountered Green Arrow.
Onyx performed a series of high-level martial arts maneuvers while training within an ashram, demonstrating her physical conditioning through repetitive strikes and defensive stances. She engaged in a conversation with a monk named Master Shihan, where she expressed her intention to leave the monastery to retrieve a stolen artifact known as the Wisdom Key. To accomplish this, she travelled from the monastery to Gotham City, where she utilized stealth and infiltration techniques to bypass urban security and navigate the city's rooftops. She tracked a group of thieves to their hideout and initiated a direct physical confrontation, using her collapsible fighting staff and hand-to-hand combat to incapacitate several armed opponents. During the struggle, she encountered the vigilante Batman, with whom she engaged in a brief tactical skirmish to test his abilities before clarifying her objectives. Following the altercation, she cooperated with him to recover the stolen Key, coordinating her movements and combat strategy with his to successfully secure the item. (Detective Comics v1 #546)
One day, a member of the monastery named Lars turned against the Exalted Master where he sought to claim the Wisdom Key to unlock the Book of the Ages. To do this, he launched a surprise attack where he came to poison the master with an arrow. This led to the dying master asking Onyx to seek out Oliver Queen and to bring him back to aid them. (Detective Comics v1 #556)
When a renegade monk named Lars planned to unravel the Wisdom Key in order to unlock the powerful Book of Ages, he ended up fighting Onyx and Green Arrow. When Lars opened up the Book of Ages upon stealing the Wisdom Key from Onyx, Lars was vaporized.
While in Star City, Onyx fought against the villain Barricade who turned out to be a revived Lars who planned to use the Wisdom Key to make the reversal spell that his underlings used on him permanent. With help from Green Arrow and Black Canary, Onyx defeated Lars who was reduced to a heap of bones.
Onyx returned to monastery life, but was called upon by Green Arrow as a favour for Batman where she was asked to serve as a bodyguard for influential new Gotham City undercover Batman agent, Orpheus. (Detective Comics v1 #795) As his bodyguard, Onyx was present at the moment when the gang war broke out in Gotham. (Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure v1 #1) She came to be seriously injured during a battle with the Yakuza gang. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #182) She was taken to Leslie Thompkins' clinic, where she escaped before she could be taken by police officers. (Detective Comics v1 #798) Onyx joined Orpheus and the Hill gang and started working to get the situation under control. (Nightwing v2 #97) While she was on a mission, Orpheus was killed by Black Mask. When she returned to him, Black Mask was posing as Orpheus and told Onyx to procure an special gas machine for him. She contacts Batman and "Orpheus" to report the mission but Batman scolds her after he found Orpheus fighting Zeiss and she was not there to protect him. (Batman v1 #632) Onyx returned to Orpheus' apartment at once and she discovered the dead body of Gavin King, the real Orpheus and she reports the news to Batman. However, it is already too late as Black Mask has already destroyed Batman's plan and Onyx has to go to Robinson Park to help Batman and the others. (Detective Comics v1 #799) She arrives a bit later to the battlefield, just in time to fight the dozens of criminals that Black Mask unleashed against Batman. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #184) When the battle was over, and after learning of Orpheus' death, Batman told Onyx to take the leadership of the Hill gang. (Nightwing v2 #98) However, Onyx found herself in troubles when Killer Croc's gang captured and tortured her for information about Croc's location. Onyx was saved by Batgirl's timely appearance. (Batgirl v1 #57) Afterwards, Onyx was summoned along with all the Bat-Family to fight the final battle against Black Mask at Oracle's Watchtower. Onyx and the others fough against Scarecrow, who was transformed into the Scarebeast and after the battle, Onyx disappeared to avoid being captured by the police. (Batman v1 #633)
During this time she would also have an encounter with the Red Hood who shocked her by killing numerous thugs with a minigun before stabbing her in the shoulder. She would be saved by the arrival of Batman. Onyx works for him until Orpheus was killed by Black Mask.
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Onyx was a female of African American descent with a dark complexion and a completely shaved head. Her facial features were characterized by dark eyes and a serious, disciplined expression that reflected her monastic and martial arts background. She possessed a lean, exceptionally toned, and athletic body type, with a physical build that emphasized agility and functional strength over bulk. Her attire consisted of a dark, form-fitting bodysuit that covered her torso and legs, designed to facilitate a full range of motion. Over this, she wore a sleeveless vest or tunic with a high collar, often secured by a simple belt or sash at the waist. She wore protective wraps or gauntlets around her forearms and matching wraps or boots on her feet, providing support for her hand-to-hand combat style. Her clothing was entirely functional and minimalist, lacking any decorative emblems or bright colours, which assisted in her ability to remain inconspicuous while moving through shadows. She was given the name Onyx by the people who raised her at a monastery. (Detective Comics v1 #546)
Powers and abilities
Onyx was an ordinary human being with no special powers or abilities. (Detective Comics v1 #556)
As a child, she came to be raised by the Exalted Master who instructed his students in the Ways of the East. (Detective Comics v1 #556)
Onyx demonstrated the advanced physical discipline and combat proficiency of a master martial artist trained by the League of Assassins. She exhibited exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills, utilizing a combination of precision strikes, pressure point attacks, and grappling techniques to incapacitate opponents. Her physical attributes included peak human agility, speed, and endurance, which she used to perform acrobatic maneuvers and maintain high-intensity movement during prolonged engagements. She showed expertise in the use of traditional weaponry, specifically a collapsible fighting staff which she employed for both offensive strikes and defensive blocks. Additionally, she displayed significant proficiency in stealth and infiltration, moving silently through guarded areas and utilizing shadows to remain undetected by security personnel. Her tactical awareness allowed her to analyze opponent movements and respond with efficient counter-attacks, while her sensory perception was sharpened to detect subtle changes in her immediate environment. (Detective Comics v1 #546)
She was skilled in martial arts to the point that she was able to fight Cassandra Cain. (Detective Comics v1 #796)
Notes
- Onyx was created by Joey Cavalieri and Jerome Moore where she made her first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #546 (January, 1985).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Legends of Tomorrow, Onyx Adams was referenced in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arroverse in the episode "Left Behind". Her name was seen on Rip's Shadow Record list when rescuing the stranded Sara Lance in 1960 where it said that she joined to the League of Assassins in 1743.
- In Young Justice, a teenage Onyx appeared in the setting of the animated television series during its Phantoms season in the episode "Tale of Two Sisters" where she was voiced by actress Logan Browning.
Films
- In Batman: Bad Blood, Onyx appeared in a non-speaking role in the setting of the animated film.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1985)
- Batman v1:
- Birds of Prey v1:
- Green Arrow v5:
External Links
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