Talisman (Marvel)
Talisman is a female comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Elizabeth Twoyoungmen was a female human born as the daughter of Michael Twoyoungmen and his wife Kathryn Twoyoungmen. Her father was considered the best doctor in Canada with the family living in Calgary. During this time, the young Elizabeth came to make friends with Heather Hudson where she played games with her. When she was 4 years old, her mother fell ill and had to stay in the hospital with Elizabeth's promising her that he would make sure she got better. However, despite all his medical knowledge, he was unable to find a means of saving her and Kathryn Twoyoungmen passed away. This resulted in the young Elizabeth lashing out at her father for her mother's death. (Alpha Flight v1 #5) As a college archaeology student, Elizabeth was excavating the site of the original Fort Calgary when she discovered a skull. When she touched it, an apparition appeared that only she could see. (Alpha Flight v1 #14) Frightened, she sought out her father, whom she recognized as Shaman despite a spell he had cast to prevent himself from being so recognized. Together they investigated the skull, determining that it was the source of ancient anger or ancient evil. (Alpha Flight v1 #18)
Meanwhile, a young woman named Emily Stang was tending to her great-grandfather, Lucas Stang, when she was attacked by a mystical force manifesting itself through scrambled eggs as eggs were both a symbol of new life and a symbol of potential life unfulfilled. Shaman and Elizabeth traveled to the site of the manifestation, and Shaman seemingly defeated it. However, the force again manifested itself, this time through Lucas, and possessed Emily. As the possessed Emily attacked Elizabeth, Shaman identified it as Ranaq the Devourer, one of the Great Beasts of the North. Under Ranaq's barrage, Elizabeth found herself growing stronger until she was able instinctively to turn the force of Ranaq's attack back against it. Shaman launched an attack on Ranaq as well, and together they drove the beast out of Emily, saving her life. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth reached into Shaman's mystical medicine pouch at his bidding and withdrew a coronet that was the Coronet of Enchantment. Placing it on her brow, she was transformed into Talisman, with the power to manipulate vast magical energies and command the spirits of nature to do her will. She then became a member of Alpha Flight. (Alpha Flight v1 #19) She was horrified to later learn that she was unable to remove the coronet without enduring unbearable, agonizing pain. (Alpha Flight v1 #20) During a period of heavy internal friction within the team, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen accompanied her teammates to West Edmonton Mall to confront the villainous assemblage known as Omega Flight. Clad in her mystical vestments and empowered by the Coronet of Enchantment, she wielded her vast sorcerous abilities to counter the physical and technological threats posed by the team's rivals. Throughout the engagement, she displayed a growing sense of arrogance and detachment, her personality increasingly influenced by the immense spiritual power she commanded. She utilized her mastery over the spirits of the earth to manipulate the environment against her foes, yet her focus remained sharply critical of her father, Shaman, whose perceived failures continued to fuel her resentment. Despite the chaos of the public battle, she remained a formidable tactical asset, standing her ground against the high-tech onslaught of Box and the other members of the criminal cabal while asserting her dominance as the team's primary mystical protector. (Alpha Flight v1 #24)
During a diplomatic and investigative journey to the Arctic Circle, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen stood alongside her companions to confront a mysterious, god-like power that had manifested in the frozen wastes. She utilized her mystical sensitivity to analyze a massive, emerald citadel that had risen from the ice, correctly identifying that the structure and the gifts it bestowed—such as the sudden healing of injuries and the granting of superhuman abilities—were not divine in nature, but rather the result of a complex magical deception. As the influence of the Trickster God Loki became clear, she resisted the seductive allure of the 'gift' and worked to anchor her allies against the mental and spiritual manipulations affecting them. Throughout the ordeal, her cold and increasingly haughty demeanor caused friction with the visiting X-Men, yet she remained steadfast in her duty, using her mastery over the spirits to navigate the treacherous, shifting architecture of the citadel and protect the group from the dangerous side effects of the unnatural transformation. (X-Men and Alpha Flight v1 #1) In the final stages of the confrontation within the Arctic citadel, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen continued to exercise her formidable mystical authority as the X-Men and Alpha Flight struggled against the unintended consequences of the Trickster God's 'gifts'. She remained one of the few individuals capable of maintaining her original identity and perspective, using her sorcery to reveal the hollow nature of the fountain's power and the high cost it extracted from those who accepted its boons. Despite the growing animosity from those who wished to keep their newfound abilities, she stood firm in her conviction that the magic was a corruptive force. She ultimately assisted in the rejection of the divine interference, helping to facilitate the return of the various heroes to their natural states. Throughout the resolution, her cold and abrasive attitude further strained her relationship with her father, Shaman, as the weight of the Coronet of Enchantment seemed to further distance her from her own humanity. (X-Men and Alpha Flight v1 #2)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After gaining magical powers, she came to operate under the name of Talisman. (Alpha Flight v1 #19)
As a child, she came to hate her father as she had believed he broke his promise to her in ensuring that her mother would get better during the time she was ill. (Alpha Flight v1 #6)
From her father, she came to be a member of the Sarcee Tribe of Native Americans. (Alpha Flight v1 #6)
Powers and abilities
She was the product of prophecy of three hundred generations that was realised in her. Elizabeth was said to be the embodiment of a great and powerful force for good. In that role, she was the breaker of dark spells and was to be the 'One Who Binds All Evil'. It was said that if properly developed then her power might one day rival that of the Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange. (Alpha Flight v1 #19)
Talisman possesses vast supernatural powers as a result of her descent from forty generations of Sarcee shamans, and was once described as "a mortal channel through which the gods can fight", as well as "a director of forces, not a combatant". Her father, Shaman, has stated that her powers when properly developed would rival even that of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. Primary among her powers is the ability to command the Spirits of the Land to do her bidding, meaning she is literally part of the Spirit World itself. While Shaman could only implore the Spirits for help, Talisman can command them outright. She has the ability to tap into mystical forces and to manipulate them for a variety of effects, including levitation, astral projection, exorcism, matter manipulation, the ability to see prophetic visions, telepathy, teleportation over vast distances, opening inter-dimensional portals, animating the undead, generating wind blasts and lightning, summoning air spirits, calling forth spirit animals, creating magical shields of light, and generating blasts of magical energy. She also has the ability to perceive various mystical phenomena. She possesses considerable knowledge of the mystic arts of the Sarcee.
Most of Talisman's powers stem from the ancient Coronet of Enchantment, which she wears on her forehead. However, even without the Coronet, she has shown to possess the ability to absorb and redirect magical energy used against her, but the Coronet greatly amplifies her powers. Talisman cannot remove the Coronet without it causing her severe mental pain (and it took a great effort from others to remove it). However, if someone else wears it, returning the Coronet to the true owner would spare them the pain. When out of costume, Talisman can use an illusion to hide the presence of the Coronet.
Notes
- Talisman was created by John Byrne where she made her first appearance in Alpha Flight v1 #5 (December, 1983).
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- Alpha Flight v1: (1983)
- Doctor Strange Annual:
External Links
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