Orca (DC)
Orca is a female comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
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Biography
Origin
Grace Balin was a female human born to a lower-class family as one of eight siblings with her being the youngest of them. (Batman v1 #580)
She came to earn a full academic scholarship to Gotham Gate where during her freshman year that she came to see the ocean for the first time. This led to her focus on the field of Marine Biology and Bio-Medicine where she earned a Ph.D. Dr. Balin then gained a position at Gotham City's Aquarium and 3 years later she used her skills and passion to found an after-school program for inner-city children so that they could experience the beauty of the ocean. (Batman v1 #580)
At some point, she suffered from an accident that crippled her and prevented her from conducting her research diving which she loved greatly. (Batman v1 #580)
Eventually, she began to conduct unauthorised experiments in gene therapy using orca spinal tissue to perform spinal regeneration in a human being but this work resulted in the termination of her funding. (Batman v1 #581) The termination of her funding for her research led to financial hardships as well as the threat of eviction. (Batman v1 #580) She was supposed to had been removed from the site months ago but there was disputed jurisdiction over the animals at the old Gotham Aquarium that prevented her from being evicted indefinitely. (Batman v1 #581)
Orca begins a crime spree in Gotham City by stealing a valuable diamond called the Flame of Persia from rogue millionaire Camille Baden-Smythe. After the theft, Batman becomes involved. Orca's dedication to what she perceives as justice conflicts with Batman's attempts to see that everyone is entitled to legal protection even if he dislikes them personally. Orca aims to sell the diamond and use the proceeds to help fund several projects for underprivileged people. After her attempt to sell the diamond back to Camille Baden-Smythe fails with the discovery that she had stolen the diamond originally, Orca attempts to kill her. Camille's security force shoots Orca several times, mortally wounding her. After an extensive underwater chase — Batman using an aquatic-equipped suit — she begins changing back into Dr. Balin in an underwater cavern, telling Batman that the only way that she can survive is if he gives her the rest of the chemical formula that turned her into Orca and that this would permanently transform her into Orca. Although Camille tried to forbid Batman from giving her the formula, arguing that such an action would make Batman responsible for everyone she would subsequently kill, Batman, states that they are all responsible for their actions, as well as that he refuses to allow anyone to die. Having ingested the formula, Orca swims away and resolved to continue her current career. It is revealed that the jewel was then sold to its original owner and that the money was used to build a new recreation center near the aquarium as well as to "...gentrify a derelict waterfront tenement". (Batman v1 #579)
She was later shown as being a prisoner in the Slab at a time when riots were instigated at the prison by the Joker. She was shown to escape during this time with King Shark. (Joker: Last Laugh v1 #2) Orca was later found dead in the sewers under Gotham City. At first, it appeared that she had been shot in the head by Harvey Dent's gun, although Batman was convinced Dent was not the true killer. He finds that her body has been partially eaten by Killer Croc. Orca's husband Terry was murdered by the Tally Man while he was being questioned about the disappearance of his wife by a private investigator Jason Bard. During the investigation it is revealed that Orca was working for the Penguin along with now deceased supervillains the KGBeast, the Magpie, and the Ventriloquist. Someone had contracted Orca and other supervillains to turn on the Penguin and rob one of his storage facilities. Harvey Dent catches them and instructs them to stay loyal to Penguin and to get any information they could about him. Dent is the prime suspect in their murders, but it turns out that they were orchestrated by the Great White Shark, who plans on becoming the top crime boss in Gotham. He managed to accomplish two tasks at once, weakening the Penguin's forces and transforming Harvey Dent back into Two-Face. (Detective Comics v1 #819)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Grace Balin
She was approached by Frankenstein who recruited her to join his group of monster-themed superhumans in order to help battle the threat posed by the resurrected Melmoth of the Sheeda. (Gotham City Monsters v1 #2)
At Blackgate Penitentiary, the Queen of Spades of the Royal Flush Gang came to feel her authority challenged by the newcomer Punchline. This saw her arranging for Orca to be sent to the prison to be her Ace where she was sent to badly injure Alexis Kaye. (The Joker v2 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Dr. Grace Balin was a female human who had short blonde hair and came to be confined to a wheel chair. This was until her gene therapy experiments that she conducted on herself that turned her into a humanoid orca/human hybrid. Within this state, she came to refer to herself as the Orca . (Batman v1 #581)
It was said that much of her early life was founded on hope. This combine with her passion and skills in marine biology led to her founding an after-school program for inner-city children to see the ocean. Grace also devoted her time and space to running a soup kitchen for the less fortunate. (Batman v1 #580)
It was not until freshman year at Gotham Gate that she first came to see the ocean where she became enamoured with it. (Batman v1 #580)
Ultimately, she came to sacrifice her humanity in pursuit of her goals. (Batman v1 #581)
Powers and abilities
Grace's fine academic mind led to her gaining a Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Bio-Medicine. At some point, it was known that she experienced an accident that crippled her and confined her to a wheelchair. (Batman v1 #580)
Dr. Balin's research came to focus on unauthorised gene-therapy studies with this encompassing the possibility of human regeneration of spinal cord tissues by using orca spinal cord tissues. The serum she created allowed her to be transformed into a human/orca humanoid hybrid where she gained superhuman strength, endurance, and the ability to operate underwater. (Batman v1 #581) Her sense of smell was acute allowing her to find her quarry even if visibility was low. (Batman v1 #579) Initially, the process was only temporary and she reverted back to being a human until she consumed all the serum that left her as the Orca permanently. (Batman v1 #581)
Orca was reliant on water and had to be submerged in it after long periods on land. (Batman v1 #579)
Notes
- Orca was created by Larry Hama and Scott McDaniel where she made her first appearance in Batman v1 #579 (July, 2000).
- An unrelated character called Dean Toye had the code name Orca as a member of the Aquamarines.
Alternate Versions
- In Injustice 2 v1 #1 (2017), an alternate version of Orca appeared in the Injustice reality set on a world in the Multiverse. She was shown as a member of Ra's al Ghul's Suicide Squad and lover of squad-mate Killer Croc. After getting married and becoming pregnant with Croc's child, Ra's deactivates her and Killer Croc's bombs so they can live a happy life together. However, the pair kill Ra's and allowed Gorilla Grodd to take over command of the squad to ensure their teammates' safety.
In other media
Film
- In The Lego Batman Movie, the Grace Balin Orca appeared in the animated film where she was voiced by actress Laura Kightlinger.
Video games
Appearances
- Batman v1: (2000)
- Nightwing:
- Gotham City Monsters v1:
- The Joker v2: (2021)
External Links
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