Real
Name: Slade Murdock
Real
Name: Slade Murdock
Identity/Class: Extra-dimensional (Earth-Amalgam) enhanced human
Occupation: (currently) mercenary / assassin-for-hire; (formerly) international lawyer
Affiliations: Catsai (Elektra Kyle); Dark Claw (Logan Wayne); Winterstick
Enemies: The Big Question (Edward Nigma Fisk); Deadeye (Bill Lawton); Lethal (Sergei Minerva); Nuke (Bane Simpson); Thanoseid; Tombstone the Ravager; Wired (Nathan Chase)
Known Relatives: Jericha (daughter); Terra-X (daughter)
Aliases: Dare the Terminator
Base of Operations: New Gotham City
First Appearance: Assassins#1 (April, 1996); Dare the Terminator#1 (in Amalgam continuity)
Powers/Abilities: A highly skilled assassin, the acrobatic Dare was trained at first by her failed fighter father and later by the elderly woman known as Winterstick to outfight men twice her size and think her way around the smaller ones. She is proficient in the use of many weapons, but is especially deadly when armed with her sword.
While undergoing an involuntary "government experiment," Dare was exposed to radioactive chemicals that left her totally blind. But the chemicals also left Dare with enhanced strength and heightened reflexes while boosting her remaining four senses to superhuman levels. With "hypersenses" of touch, smell, hearing, and taste, almost nothing escapes Dare's perception. She has also developed an "internal radar" ability to sense the proximity and arrangement of objects as a result of the mutagenic effects of her exposure to the same radiation that heightened her senses.
History:
(Dare the Terminator#1) - Slade Murdock left the world of high-powered international
law when the rules would not allow justice. Trained at first by her
failed fighter father and later by the elderly woman known as
Winterstick, she learned to outfight
men twice her size and think her way around the smaller ones. Taking
the name Dare, she became an assassin operating out of New Gotham.
(Assassins#1 (fb)) - Dare was captured by corrupt New Gotham
mayor / crimelord the Big Question (E. Nigma
Fisk) who subjected her to a "government" experiment. Calling
her a "daredevil," the Big Question had his surgeons implant two horns
on Dare's head so that she could look more like a true daredevil. The
radioactive chemicals used in the experiment caused Dare to permanently loose
her eyesight.
(Dare the Terminator#7) - Dare battled her old nemesis the Big Question in the
villain's first on-panel appearance.
(Dare the Terminator#131) - Dare battled the expert marksman / assassin known
as Deadeye (Bill Lawton) in the villain's
first appearance.
(Mutant Titans#83) - Dare was forced to kill her daughter
Jericha during the finale of the "MUTANT
HUNT" storyline.
(The Nightmarish Dare#13) - In another altercation with Dare, Deadeye severely
damaged her right eye (resulting in her having to wear a patch) -- although
Dare had already lost her sight in an experiment involving radioactive chemicals
before this incident.
(Dare the Terminator#168) - When Tombstone the
Ravager found that having two new mercenaries in town was too
much trouble, he thought he had found a unique way to take care of this nuisance:
hire Dare to kill rival assassin Catsai (Elektra
Kyle) and hire Catsai to kill Dare. Then, with the survivor
wounded, his personal guards could complete the job. But instead of
hurling taunts upon their first meeting, the two female assassins shared
information and took the job back to their mutual employer, deciding to kill
their client instead -- the start of a long and beautiful friendship.
(Dare the Terminator#181) - Dare was unable
to help when Catsai was "killed" by rival assassin
Deadeye after a
climactic battle. But Catsai, who proved to have as many lives
as her namesake, returned to the world of the living soon after.
(Secret Crisis of the Infinity
Hour#7) - Both Dare and her partner Catsai were transported
to Apokolips by
Dr. Strangefate (Charles Xavier) to assist
in preventing the evil Thanoseid's plan
to warp reality by using the Infinity
Links. Both assassins were present when
American Girl (Carol Barnes), the former
sidekick of Super-Soldier (Clark Kent),
heroically sacrificed her life to further the heroes' cause.
(Dare the Terminator#232) - Dare battled the steroid-enhanced terrorist known
as Nuke (Bane Simpson) in the villain's
first on-panel appearance (although Nuke presumably operated behind the scenes
with Deadeye in THE NIGHTMARISH DARE
#13 -- see Comments).
(Assassins#1 (bts)) - Facing mounting rumors that he was under
the influence of the mysterious mystic known as Doctor Strangefate (who also
resided within New Gotham's Arkham
Tower), the Big Question devised
a brilliant plan to rid himself of Dare and Catsai while at the same time
save his tarnished reputation. Keeping his identity a secret, he hired
Dare and Catsai to come to Arkham Tower and assassinate the Big Question.
He would then have Dare and Catsai killed and claim that Dr. Strangefate
enchanted them to murder the Big Question. By butchering Dare and Catsai,
the Big Question would thus cause his reputation to be reborn and prove to
New Gotham's public that he was New Gotham's true power. And even if
Dare and Catsai did manage to kill him, then at least the Big Question would
be killed in a fight and not as some magician's stooge. To make things
more interesting, the Big Question then hired three of New Gotham's top
mercenaries, Deadeye (Bill Lawton),
Lethal (Sergei Minerva), and
Wired (Nathan Chase), and instructed
them to kill Dare and Catsai when they came to Arkham Tower to make their
hit.
(Assassins#1 ) - "Political Suicide" - On their way to kill the Big Question,
Dare and Catsai got the jump on Deadeye in the lower
levels of Arkham Tower. As Dare looked on, Catsai gladly plunged
one of her sais into Deadeye's back, leaving the assassin for dead.
As the female assassins continued on their way, Dare criticized Catsai for
taking so much pleasure in stabbing Deadeye, their twelfth victim thus far
on this mission -- despite the fact that Deadeye was the one responsible
for nearly killing Catsai and permanently damaging Dare's right eye.
Little did the deadly duo know that their every move was being monitored
by the Big Question from his 107th floor Arkham Tower suite
Dare then stood guard as Catsai attempted to pry the elevator doors open with one of her sais. But as Dare used her hypersenses to "read" the surroundings, she heard the faint grunt of high-pitched breath in the elevator shaft and smelled the chemical stink of heavy explosives -- sure signs that the elevator was rigged to explode. Dare pulled Catsai away to safety just as a violent explosion engulfed the elevator doors.
When the smoke cleared, the feral assassin known as Lethal was ready to pounce on his prey. Dare avoided Lethal's initial attack by using her "internal radar" sense to track and catch his throwing blades in midair. Catsai's pet cats then tripped Lethal, but he soon recovered and began to open fire on Catsai. Catsai gracefully dodged the barrage of bullets and used her blade-tipped whip to ensnare Lethal while Dare delivered the deathstroke with her sword. The female assassins then left Lethal for dead and proceeded to climb up the elevator shaft.
Dare and Catsai were next blindsided by Wired, yet another mercenary hired by the Big Question. Wired cut the cables on which Dare and Catsai were climbing, sending the pair of assassins into a freefall. But an angry Catsai recovered from the fall and sent Wired crashing through a metal door, impaling the mercenary on his own weapon and leaving him for dead.
Dare ad Catsai finally reached the 107th floor where they were confronted by the jovial Big Question, who revealed to them that it was he who hired them to kill him. The Big Question spelled out his grand scheme: he would kill Dare and Catsai and claim to New Gotham's public that Doctor Strangefate enchanted the assassins to murder their beloved mayor. By butchering Dare and Catsai, his reputation would be reborn.
An enraged Dare leapt forward with her sword drawn. But
it was another trap -- a metal door slammed shut between Dare and Catsai,
leaving Dare and the Big Question alone in one-one-one combat. The
Big Question blocked all of Dare's attacks and then ripped the
surgically-implanted horns from her head, leaving the female assassin for
dead. Luckily, Catsai was able to prevent the Big Question's master
plan from coming to fruition.
(Assassins#2) -
"Blood is Thicker!" - The fate of Dare was revealed as Catsai received a
visit from Dr. Strangefate (Charles Xavier).
Comments: created by Dan Chichester, Scott McDaniel, Barry Kitson, and Derek Fisher
Key:
Marvel characters are listed in regular, or bold black
type.
DC characters are listed
in bold blue type.
Amalgam characters are
listed in bold purple type.
Dare (Slade Murdock) debuted in the premiere issue of her own title, DARE THE TERMINATOR. The early issues of the series, which were written by talented writers such as Frank O'Neil and J.M. Wolfman and edited by "Smilin'" Stan Schwartz, became instant Amalgam Comics classics. Fellow assassin Catsai (Elektra Kyle) was introduced into the series in DARE THE TERMINATOR# 168 and caused a tremendous sales surge for Dare's title, especially the storyline wherein Catsai "died" after a climactic battle with Deadeye (Bill Lawton) -- DARE THE TERMINATOR#181 (April, 1982). CATSAI eventually spun-off into her own limited series, penciled by Jim Balent, who unwittingly created a controversy among Catsai fans by drawing her ears too big.
But Catsai continued to appear regularly in the pages of
DARE THE TERMINATOR as well and
later issues of the series were created by the popular creative team of writer
Dan Chichester, penciler
Scott McDaniel, inker
Derek Fisher, colorist
Pat Garrahy, and editor
Kevin Berganza -- the team responsible
for the epic "Cat Up a Tree"
storyline. So when Amalgam Comics fans clamored for a new monthly series
featuring both Dare and Catsai, Chichester and company were hand-picked to
develop the new adventures of the Amalgam's Lethal Ladies in
ASSASSINS.
In case you're confused, Amalgam Comics didn't really exist beyond those seen in the few DC/Marvel cross-over. The titles you don't recognize are amalgams of similar Marvel and DC comics--Snood.
DARE THE TERMINATOR is an amalgam of Marvel's DAREDEVIL (Marvel's Daredevil debuted in DAREDEVIL (vol. I)#1) and DC's DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR.
Frank O'Neil is an amalgam of Frank Miller (writer of Marvel's DAREDEVIL) and Dennis O'Neil (writer of DC's AZRAEL, BATMAN, and DETECTIVE COMICS).
J.M. Wolfman is an amalgam of J.M. DeMatteis (writer of Marvel's DAREDEVIL) and Marv Wolfman (writer of DC's DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR and THE NEW TITANS).
"Smilin'" Stan Schwartz is an amalgam of Stan Lee (editor of various Marvel Comics titles) and Julius Schwartz (editor of various DC Comics titles).
Jim Balent is an Amalgam Universe version of Jim Balent (artist of DC's CATWOMAN).
Dan Chichester is an Amalgam Universe version of Dan Chichester (writer of Marvel's DAREDEVIL).
Scott McDaniel is an Amalgam Universe version of Scott McDaniel (penciler of Marvel's DAREDEVIL and DC's BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS).
Derek Fisher is an Amalgam Universe version of Derek Fisher (inker of Marvel's GREEN GOBLIN).
Pat Garrahy is an Amalgam Universe version of Pat Garrahy (assistant editor of Marvel's DAREDEVIL and colorist of DC's BATMAN).
Kevin Berganza is an amalgam
of Kevin Dooley (editor of
DC Comics) and
Eddie Berganza (editor of
DC Comics).
ASSASSINS#1 attributes
Dare's (Slade Murdock) missing right
eye to an altercation with Deadeye (Bill
Lawton). But the Amalgam Comics
Trading Card Set claims that "Slade lost an eye after a long and
grueling battle with the strange shape changing addict,
Nuke, although she'd lost her sight to
radioactive chemicals in a government experiment years before." Presumably,
this is the same Nuke (Bane Simpson) who
appears in BRUCE WAYNE: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
#1 as an agent of the criminal organization known as
Hydra. This is supported by the
fact that Nuke debuted as an enemy of Dare in
DARE THE TERMINATOR#232 (although
Bane Simpson has never demonstrated any "shape changing" abilities -- other
than his size increase after injecting himself with the Venom steroid).
It is possible that the event that led to the loss of Dare's right eye was
a collaborative effort between Deadeye and Nuke. Since Dare had already
damaged her eye by the time of DARE THE TERMINATOR
#168, and since Nuke did not make his first on-panel appearance
until DARE THE TERMINATOR#232,
it is most likely that he operated behind the scenes.
Special thanks to penciler Matthew
Haley for identifying Dare (Slade
Murdock) as one of the characters present at the death of
American Girl (Carol Barnes) in
SECRET CRISIS OF THE INFINITY HOUR
#7.
Special thanks to Ivan Schablotski for providing me with the Amalgam Comics Trading Cards that I didn't already have!
Jericha was one of
Dare's (Slade Murdock) two metamutant
daughters and the sister of
Terra-X. Presumably, she was also
a member of the team known as the Mutant
Titans. Unfortunately, Dare was forced to kill Jericha in
MUTANT TITANS#83 during the finale
of the "MUTANT HUNT"
storyline.
Jericha is an amalgam of Karma (Xi'an (Shan) Coy Manh) of the Marvel Universe and Jericho (Joe Wilson) of the DC Universe.
-- Assassins#1
Tombstone the Ravager was
a New Gotham underworld figure.
When he found that having both Dare (Slade Murdock)
and Catsai (Elektra Kyle)
in town as assassins was too much trouble, he though he had found a unique
way to take care of this nuisance: hire each to kill the other. Then,
with the survivor wounded, Tombstone the Ravager's personal guards could
complete the job. But rather than attempt to kill each other, the two
female assassins shared information and decided to kill Tombstone the Ravager
instead.
Tombstone the Ravager is an amalgam of Tombstone (Lonnie Thompson Lincoln) of the Marvel Universe and Ravager (Bill Walsh) of the DC Universe.
-- Amalgam Comics Trading Cards#35, 57
Winterstick is the elderly
woman who taught Dare (Slade Murdock)
how to be an assassin, although she was not doing well in the final issues
of DARE THE TERMINATOR.
Winterstick is an amalgam of Stick (Daredevil's trainer) of the Marvel Universe and Wintergreen (Deathstroke's confidant) of the DC Universe.
-- Assassins#1
Profile by Skullogeist
If you like the Amalgam stuff, Skullogeist recommends these two sites:
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Center.htm
http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/amalgam.html
CLARIFICATIONS:
Also assume that the Amalgam characters have no other connection to any others than whom they are Amalgamated, unless specifically mentioned.
Dare is an amalgam of:
No known connections to, and not to be confused with:
Jericha has no known connection to:
First Posted: 07/19/2003
Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me
know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
Last updated: 07/19/2003
All characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc or DC Comics.
All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
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