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2007-10-26 12:29:39
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misterpace
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Bio
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In 1988, the character was relaunched in a three-part prestige format limited series called Black Orchid which was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. The miniseries fleshed out the character considerably, providing an origin story which explained how and why she became known as Black Orchid. It also gave the character a civilian name in her origin sequence, Susan Linden-Thorne. Instead of being a normal super-powered human (or meta in the DC Universe), her background was changed to be that of a human-plant hybrid with ties to the Green. In this way she became related with other such human-plant hybrids as the Swamp Thing, Floronic Man, and Poison Ivy.
The original Black Orchid is killed in this miniseries, and a new one which is a "sister" of sorts to the original is introduced. She goes under the alias of Flora Black to meet with Sherilyn Sommers, her closest friend.
An ongoing Black Orchid series, published under the Vertigo imprint, featuring the new Black Orchid, ran from 1993 to 1995. The second version of the character used pheromone manipulation as mind control to become a femme fatale, breaking and marrying millionaire Elliot Weems to claim his fortune and company business as her own. She then became the series' major villain in the closing story arc. She perished in the final issue. Her companion, a child version of Black Orchid heretofore nicknamed "Suzy", had matured over the course of the series, taking up the mantle of the Black Orchid as a young adult.
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