LOTUS

Real Name: Unrevealed; first name possibly Lotus; Newmark may or may not be her surname, or it may be an alias

Identity/Class: Human (Japanese, World War II to modern era)

Occupation: Professional criminal, mob leader, drug dealer; former Axis agent, curio shop owner, Buddhist

Group Membership: Leader of own criminal network (consisting of most of organized crime in Los Angeles)
    formerly the Super-Axis

Affiliations: Armed Response,Troy Donahue, Li Fong, Gamma-Burn, Goliath (Eric Josten), Trevor Madsden, Miguel, Phoenix Triads, Poison Memories, Rampage, Recession Raiders, Saburo, Samaru, Neal Saroyan, Auggie Slater, Splice, the Tong, Yellow Claw (Plan Chu/Master Plan/Golden Claw), Andrew, Charles, Flaco, Freddie, Gordo
    formerly her "samurai" guards, Reynaldo Cortizar, It the Living Colossus, Bob O'Bryan, Prince Charming, Sol Sterling, the Stone Perfs, the Super-Axis (Agent Axis, Baron Blood/John Falsworth, Master Man/Willie Lohmer, Scarlet Scarab/Abdul Faoul, Teutonic Knight, U-Man/Meranno, Warrior Woman/Julia Ratsel), Tolliver (Tyler Dayspring);
    possibly Black Talon (Samuel David Barone), Man-Ape, Mephisto

Enemies: Beast (Hank McCoy), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Captain America (James Barnes), Andrew Chord, Diane Cummings, the Crazy Eight (Auteur, Argus/Visionary, Attractive Lad, Snap, Glamour Girl, Dreamer, Buff, Stat), the Enchantress, the Falcon (Samuel Wilson), Gigantos, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Invaders (Bucky/James Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Human Torch/Jim Hammond, Miss America/Madeline Joyce, Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth, Sub-Mariner/Namor McKenzie, Toro/Thomas Raymond, Union Jack/Brian Falsworth, Whizzer/Bob Frank), Kid Commandos (Bucky/James Barnes, Golden Girl/Gwenny Lou Sabuki, Human Top/Davy Mitchell, Toro/Thomas Raymond), Jack Muldoon, Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor), Sol Sterling, the Stone Perfs, Terminizer, Tolliver, Wonder Man (Simon Williams), the Young Allies (Bucky/James Barnes, Washington Carver "Whitewash" Jones, Patrick "Knuckles" O'Toole, Henry "Tubby" Tinkelbaum, Toro/Thomas Raymond, Geoffrey "Jeff" Vandergill);
    possibly Black Talon

Known Relatives: Jerome (father, deceased), mother (deceased), Nia Noble (daughter), Admiral Peter Noble (the Fin, son-in-law)

Aliases: Lady Lotus; Lotus Newmark may be her real name or an alias

Base of Operations: Various bases in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, and Sunland, California, USA;
    formerly Hong Kong, China;
    formerly the House of Lotus, in the Chinatown section of Manhattan, New York, USA, circa 1942

First Appearance: (Lady Lotus) Invaders I#37 (February, 1979); (Lotus Newmark) Avengers Spotlight#30 (March, 1990)

Powers/Abilities: Lotus can hypnotize others via direct eye contact; she can maintain this control over vast distances, project mental images into her crystal ball, cast mental illusions and has limited powers of precognition. Exposure to lotus flowers heightens her powers; she frequently bathes for an hour in a pool of lotus petals to increase her abilities. She claims her mental discipline has also retarded her body's aging process.

    Lotus is a shrewd businesswoman and a deadly warrior. She is well educated and is extensively trained in the martial arts. Though she is not superhuman, she is exceedingly swift, able to strike with sufficient force to drive her fingertips through an adult male's ribcage.

    Lotus is willing to do whatever she needs to get a job done. She can separate her mind and emotions from her body, allowing her to use the arts carnal to manipulate others. She does not particularly care for loyalty or trust; the quality she prizes most in herself and others is reliability.

    While possessing the Celestials' power gem, Lotus' mental powers were enhanced, she could fly, create force fields, generate blasts of electricity and summon earthquakes.


Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 135 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black

History: (Invaders I#39 (fb)) - Lotus was born in Japan.

(Avengers Spotlight#36 (fb) / Wonder Man II#16 (fb)) - Lotus grew up in Los Angeles, California, but when she was six, her father moved their family to Hong Kong, hoping to ascend a rung in the ladder as a jobber of imported goods, such as gray market textiles. Her father did well for the first years, not concerned with the ethical implications of working with sweatshops, etc. One day, a runaway taxicab rushed toward Lotus' family, and her father grabbed her hand to get her to safety before going back for her mother. However, her mother twisted her ankle, and her father couldn't get to her in time; both Lotus and her father watched her die (see comments).
    Lotus' father never recovered from the trauma. He spent every day at his wife's grave, begging her forgiveness while he stopped talking to Lotus. Her father began drinking heavily and ran up heavy gambling debts. Eventually, Li Fong approached him demanding payment; as punishment for his delinquency, Fong demanded Jerome either surrender two of his own fingers or his own daughter. Jerome kept his fingers and surrendered Lotus to Fong.

(Invaders I#39 (fb)/Avengers Spotlight#36 (fb)) - Fong's agents trained Lotus in academics and the martial arts. Demonstrating psychic talents, Lotus developed her abilities through constant meditation, and supplemented her powers with the sacred lotus. When she became older, Li Fong demanded...favors from her. Lotus (who quickly learned to separate her mind from her body) did not mind this treatment, as there was genuine affection between them; she felt as if he'd given her much more than he had taken. On her 21st birthday, Lotus attained enlightenment with Buddha; Li Fong complemented her on her progress and skills, granted her her freedom, and offered to give her a parting gift. She requested her father's address, and she tracked him down to Los Angeles, where she cut off two of his fingers and held his fingers in front of his face for a minute. She then drove her bare hand through his chest and into his heart, killing him.

(Invaders I#39 (fb)) - After the USA declared war on Japan in 1941, Lotus used her powers to avoid being sent to an internment camp as the Americans rounded up local people of Japanese ancestry. Lotus opened up a curio shop in Manhattan's Chinatown called "The House of Lotus." With her powers of hypnosis, she convinced her customers she was actually Chinese. Angered at how her people were being treated by the Americans, she vowed to destroy the United States, and allied with the Axis Powers.

(Invaders I#41 (fb) - BTS) - Lady Lotus captured a number of men from Chinatown and hypnotized them to serve as her samurai guard. She also hypnotized Chinese women to serve as her maids.

(Invaders I#37) - As U-Man was about to attempt an attack upon the Sub-Mariner's flagship, he was suddenly compelled away by the mental powers of Lady Lotus, who commanded him to come to her lair.

(Invaders I#38) - When U-Man arrived at the House of Lotus, Lady Lotus sent three of her samurai guards to test his strength, and was impressed. U-Man tried to fight back against her, but was powerless because of her mental abilities. She showed him an image of the Kid Commandos, and told him she was interested in their team member Golden Girl. Using her powers, she ascertained Japanese saboteurs would make an attempt at Santa Monica Pier which would fail because of the Kid Commandos. She sent U-Man to capture Golden Girl when they had beaten the saboteurs.

(Invaders I#39) - Lady Lotus had U-Man bring Golden Girl to a warehouse, where Golden Girl was treated with utmost respect, and offered tea as Lady Lotus recounted her story to her. She attempted to appeal to their common Japanese ancestry, but Golden Girl was unshaken in her commitment to America, despite what she and her father had suffered. Lady Lotus tried to take over her mind, but one of Golden Girl's blasts of energy blinded her. As U-Man and Lady Lotus' soldiers attempted to capture her, the Invaders and other Kid Commandos arrived, and Lady Lotus fled with U-Man. Meanwhile, she had some of her agents in England revive the Nazi vampire Baron Blood.

(Invaders I#40) - When Baron Blood came to, Lady Lotus directed him to the House of Lotus to join her forces. Her men provided him with a plane for transportation. After bathing in lotus petals and scented water, Lady Lotus confronted Baron Blood and U-Man, and demonstrated to Baron Blood she could control him as effectively as Dracula. She provided him with a coffin and soil from England for him to rest in, and a new costume to replace his tattered garment. She then sent Baron Blood to help Master Man and Warrior Woman smuggle into America. Despite the interference of the Invaders, Baron Blood was successful.

(Invaders I#41) - With the four costumed Axis agents assembled, Lady Lotus declared they would join forces as the Super-Axis. Warrior Woman and Master Man refused to obey a Japanese woman, but Lady Lotus drove them into compliance with hypnotic illusions. When the Human Torch arrived at the House of Lotus, wondering if there was a connection to Lady Lotus, she greeted him and took control of him with hypnosis, offering her love to him, and playing on his feelings of rejection over Spitfire being attracted to Captain America. As she kissed the Torch, she thought, "Banzai!"

Lady Lotus sent the Super-Axis and Human Torch to destroy Chicago's railroad center to hamper American supplies, and directed them mentally from a distance. When the Torch nearly killed Miss America and the Whizzer, Captain America was able to help him regain his senses. Angered at how she played with his emotions, the Torch attacked the House of Lotus solo. She sent her samurai to fight him, but he released a bright flash of light and broke her spell over them. Lady Lotus escaped during the melee. With the Super-Axis' defeat, Lady Lotus retreated into Chinatown. Days later, she chanced to encounter the Yellow Claw and his young niece Suwan in the rain. She was taken aback, thinking the Claw was only a legend. The Claw said he admired her ambition, but she had struck prematurely. The Claw promised he would conquer the United States, even if took him another decade.

(Invaders III#3 (fb) - BTS) - U-Man later had his revenge upon Lady Lotus for making him her slave by raping her. She gave birth to his daughter, Nia, who later married the Fin.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#1 (fb)) - In 1943, Lady Lotus hypnotized a mob of zoot suit-clad men into rioting at the Paramount Theater, but the Young Allies intervened and Toro broke the hypnotic spell with a flash of light, just as the Torch had done.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#2 (fb)) - While Lady Lotus fumed over how the Young Allies disrupted her plans, her servant Samaru presented her with a gem recently discovered on a Pacific island (where it had been hidden by the Deviant warlord Kro); Lotus instantly realized the gem could enhance her psychic powers. Desiring revenge on the Young Allies, Lotus caught up to them on the lots of Democracy Pictures and hypnotized a cadre of actors dressed as Nazis to attack the Allies; after hypnotizing Toro, Lotus forced him to capture his teammates.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#3 (fb)) - Lady Lotus used her gem to enthrall the remaining Young Allies, then ordered them to pilot a pair of aircraft in an attempted assault on US military installations. However, Washington "Whitewash" Jones shook off her hypnotic spell and freed Toro by using a flare gun; Toro then released the other Young Allies from Lotus' control.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#4 (fb)) - The Young Allies returned to battle Lady Lotus and during the fight, her gem began to cause an earthquake; Toro blasted the gem with fire, knocking it down a crevice opened by the earthquake where it vanished from sight. Lotus and Samaru fled, but Lotus hoped to eventually retrieve the gem.

(All-New Invaders#4 (fb) - BTS) - <July, 1944> The Super-Axis (Agent Axis, Lady Lotus, Master Man, Scarlet Scarab, Warrior Woman, U-Man) defeated the Invaders at the coast of Crete and watched Namor flee.

(All-New Invaders#4 (fb) ) - The Super-Axis had the Invaders at their feet and were going to kill them, but Namor returned with an army of sea monsters, including Gigantos to defeat them.

(Avengers Spotlight#30 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus established a drug-selling crime network in California, working out of a front company known as Lotus Realtors in Beverly Hills.

(Avengers Spotlight#34 (fb) - BTS) - As the trade of cocaine derivatives continued to decline, Lotus positioned her organization to dominate the West Coast market for synthetic recreational substances.

(Avengers Spotlight#33) - A doctor lost his license after performing a few unnecessary surgeries to cover a gambling debt to Lotus, who kept him on retainer for medical services.

She worked with a street gang known as the Stone Perfs.

(Avengers Spotlight#30) - Lotus criticized (and scratched) Stone Perfs member Slice after he drew attention to them by leaving their neighborhood and going to Hollywood to get revenge on the Blanks gang. As the Stone Perfs had encountered Hawkeye, Lotus told him they would repair the situation by further attracting the Avengers attention so they would focus on the Stone Perfs to the exclusion of all else. The Stone Perfs then ambushed Hawkeye, nearly killing him.

Three weeks later, a recovered Hawkeye in a redesigned costume began arresting Stone Perfs members.

(Avengers Spotlight#31) - Lotus sent her lawyer Auggie Slater to bail Stone Perfs member Prince out of jail. Allegedly impressed by the way he had stood up to Hawkeye, she saw him as someone she could use to her advantage. Lotus sent Prince and Reynaldo Cortizar to ambush Hawkeye. Prince fled the scene after Hawkeye stunned Cortizar, however, Cortizar nearly succeeded in killing Hawkeye before being slain himself by the Terminizer.

(Avengers Spotlight#32) - Lotus criticized Prince for failing to take out Hawkeye himself, and then she easily overpowered him and stabbed her fingers into his abdominal muscles, punishing him for his failure and attitude, and warning him she could have just as easily have killed him.

(Avengers Spotlight#33) - Lotus' unlicensed doctor treated Prince's wound, after which Auggie took him for a makeover. As the Terminizer continued to execute Stone Perfs, Lotus decided the group had become a liability. She instructed Prince to help her kill his former gang members.

(Avengers Spotlight#34) - Prince led the Stone Perfs to a meeting in the Korman Quarry in the Mojave Desert. Lotus' agents dropped firebombs into the Quarry, killing all of the other members, after which Prince left evidence to frame the Terminizer for the murders. Lotus gave Prince a physical reward to help him get over the trauma from killing his former friends. She then had Slater tell Prince she wanted him to run her synthetic narcotics projects.

(Avengers Spotlight#36) - Lotus took Prince to her mansion in Beverly Hills, showing him her father's fingers and telling him of her past. The next day, Prince got into trouble with Hawkeye and fled, stealing Hawkeye's skycycle and crashing it at Lotus' mansion. Furious, Lotus slashed open his face and told him if he was gone in the next 30 seconds then she would report he had died in the crash (meaning she would have killed him then and there).

 

(Wonder Man II#21 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus found Andrew when he was a washed-up shell of a man. She taught him about survival, about turning the world's cruelties into one's own strength, and she made him her second-in-command.

(Nomad II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus made an alliance with Tolliver which went sour; both sides lost a great deal and there were bad feelings between the two as a result.

(Wonder Man II#1 - BTS / #17 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus had part in sending Goliath (Josten) on a rampage as part of her preparation of the population for the need for Armed Response.

(Wonder Man II#3 - BTS / #17 (fb) - BTS ) - Lotus had part in sending Gamma-Burn on a rampage as part of her preparation of the population for the need for Armed Response.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#2 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to recover the gem she lost in 1943, Lotus made overtures to controlling Global Studios, formerly Democracy Pictures.

(Wonder Man II#2 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus began working as a film producer. She and her men sought to take over a studio in which Helen Eve worked.

(Wonder Man II#2 - BTS) - The Enchantress, a.k.a. Helen Eve, took control of Wonder Man and sent him to destroy expensive mechanical dinosaurs on Lotus' set, intending to cause increases in Lotus' insurance rates, causing her film to be put on the shelf and leaving her vulnerable to the Enchantress.

(Wonder Man II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Unaware Wonder Man had attacked her set under the control of the Enchantress, Lotus assumed he was aware of her criminal activities (perhaps due to his connection to Hawkeye), and she plotted against him.

(Wonder Man II#4) - Lotus and Andrew arranged a fake meeting with Wonder Man via his agent, Neal Saroyan. She then sent Splice to ambush and kill Wonder Man, though he was defeated. She decided not to immediately spring Splice from the authorities, but rather to allow him to stew for awhile while she looked into other alternatives.

(Wonder Man II#10 (fb) - BTS) - Andrew told Saroyan Lotus' organization had been innocent dupes of the Maggia and they were not responsible for his attack.

(Wonder Man II#6) - After Wonder Man and the Beast defeated Rampage, Lotus had Andrew arrange his bail, defense, and employment, though she instructed Andrew to be sure to keep her name out of it.

(Wonder Man II#10 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus' agents bailed out Splice from prison.

(Wonder Man II#10) - Lotus' men trailed Wonder Man, reporting as he approached a Cambodian Buddhist temple. Lotus was suspicious Wonder Man knew she was connected to the Hong Kong Phoenix Triad which ran a Vietnamese gang in the same neighborhood. With Splice still out of action, she ordered the activation of Armed Response. To make it appear Armed Response was necessary, she first sent Flaco and Gordo to use rocket launchers to attack Beverly Hills. She also sent a squad to question the monks Wonder Man had visited, but they were incinerated by Angkor.

(Wonder Man II#11) - Lotus' agents reported the battle between Wonder Man and Angkor, annoying Lotus, who wished all apocalyptic paranoia to be focused on her supposed gang attacks in Beverly Hills. She hoped Angkor might slay Wonder Man, ridding her of her rival, and she would then send in Armed Response against him.

(Nomad II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus sent her agent Troy Donahue to Las Vegas to take part in the "Dead Man's Hand," the dividing up of the empire of the recently toppled Kingpin.

(Nomad II#4 - BTS) - Donahue attended the meeting, but ran into trouble from Bushwacker, Deadpool, and Nomad--it was Deadpool (sent by Tolliver to slay Lotus' agent) who killed him.

(Wonder Man II#13) - Frustrated by the Beverly Hills attacks not making as big an impact as she had intended, Lotus had Andrew send out another group for more assaults.

(Wonder Man II#16) - Lotus' agents assaulted Beverly Hills. Meanwhile she romanced movie producer Sol Sterling in exchange for his financial backing of Armed Response. She then flirted with her agents, after which she had them execute Sterling to prevent him from using his knowledge of her true activities against him. Armed Response prepared to fly in to put an end to the attackers, but Wonder Man arrived first, beating the attackers savagely.

(Wonder Man II#17 (fb) - BTS) - Armed Response stopped a series of Lotus' agents assaults on Beverly Hills.

(Wonder Man II#17) - Lotus (with her involvement kept secret) used Armed Response as a protection racket, advertising its services for a price to prevent attacks similar to what had been going on in Beverly Hills. She then sent both Rampage and Splice to end Wonder Man's perceived threat to her activities; Wonder Man fought them off. Armed Response slew several of Lotus' agents to prevent their revealing her involvement in the other attacks.

(Wonder Man II#18) - Lotus listened to her agent Andrew's advice not to send Rampage after Wonder Man to prevent others from connecting Rampage's armor to Armed Response. Lotus instead made plans to involve him in a film they were making out of town in order to keep him from interfering with her activities. She then made the offer, via Neal Saroyan, for him to star in his dream role: MacBeth. Meanwhile, Armed Response continued to advertise its services, earning support across the city of Los Angeles.

(Night Thrasher: Four Control#2 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus was employed by Trevor Madsden to kidnap Andrew Chord so Madsden could use him to leverage Dwayne Taylor into backing him in his attempted takeover of the Taylor Foundation.

(Night Thrasher: Four Control#1 - BTS) - Lotus sent the gang known as the Poison Memories to kidnap Chord.

(Night Thrasher: Four Control#2) - Night Thrasher confronted Lotus, overpowering her. Lotus confirmed his suspicions of who had arranged the kidnapping in order to prevent further fighting which would damage her valuable possessions.

(Wonder Man II#19) - The Crazy Eight spied on Armed Response, learning they were actually just a protection racket, information which they caught on film. They were caught in the act by Armed Response, but narrowly managed to escape. They passed the tape on to Beverly Fairfax, a news anchorperson. After the news was aired, Lotus romanced Splice and then sent him to take out the Crazy Eight.

(Wonder Man II#20 - BTS) - Rampage and Splice assaulted the Crazy Eight, a group of people mutated by and affiliated with Wonder Man.

(Wonder Man II#21) - As Lotus acted as dominatrix to a powerful L.A. councilman, Andrew interrupted, telling her Wonder Man was foiling Splice and Rampage's efforts against Crazy Eight. Not wanting Wonder Man to ruin her plot, she instructed Andrew to send in Armed Response to assist Splice and Rampage. Wonder Man defeated the first two and intimidated Armed Response into backing down by threatening to kill them all.
    Lotus responded to this defeat by instructing Andrew to take the blame for Armed Response and all related activities.

(Wonder Man II#24) - (see comments) - After another one of Lotus' sets was demolished by Wonder Man (in battle with demons of Mephisto), she contacted Mephisto, organizing a new Masters of Evil (Black Talon, Goliath, Man-Ape) to oppose Wonder Man and his temporary allies, Blackheart and the Grim Reaper.

(Wonder Man II#25) - (see comments) - Lotus sat atop Mephisto's lap as he teleported Wonder Man and the Beast to Hell. She revealed her involvement in a number of his recent struggles, including Goliath, Rampage, Angkor, and Armed Response. However, when Blackheart and the Grim Reaper arrived alongside an army of demons, Mephisto casually gave Lotus to the Black Talon as a sacrifice to gain the power to help against the invading demons. The Black Talon ripped out her throat, seemingly killing her.

(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#3 (fb)) - Lotus contacted Bob O'Bryan, allegedly to work on a new film, but she used the contact to put him under her spell. Via weeks of concentration, she helped him to reform It the Living Colossus, whom she intended to use as muscle for her extortion ring.

(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#1) - Two months later, Lotus was notified when Wonder Man and the Beast arrived in Los Angeles, and she made plans to use Bob O'Bryan and It to deal with him.

(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#2) - Bob O'Bryan spied on Wonder Man for Lotus, after which she deployed Armed Response against Wonder Man and the Beast. The two defeated their attackers and later ran into Lotus at a literacy benefit (she had planned to tail him after the charity and then send It after him). Wonder Man was shocked to see her as he had seen her die, but she feigned ignorance (though she was surprised to hear him announce her past crimes). She signaled O'Bryan to reform It and direct it to attack Wonder Man.

(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#3) - After It stunned Wonder Man and the Beast, Lotus had Bob make It take the two of them and flee. Wonder Man and the Beast pursued them; while Wonder Man battled It, the Beast confronted Lotus, who tried to hypnotize him. Trained against mind-control by Xavier, the Beast easily resisted her mental assault and took her out with a nerve pinch. Bob regained his own mind and ceased It's attack, and Lotus was blindfolded and taken away by the police. She denied knowledge of the Black Talon or the events he had seen in Hell, but she vowed to see him dead (permanently!) for exposing her covert empire.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#1 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus was incarcerated at the Rocky Mountain Federal Penitentiary in Colorado with special dampening technology used to dull her psychic powers; but when a fellow inmate was about to be released from prison, Lotus removed the dampener, placed it on the other inmate, hypnotized the inmate to believe she was Lotus Newmark, then used her hypnotic powers to pass as the released inmate, allowing her to walk out of the prison.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#1) - Lotus attended the funeral of Washington "Whitewash" Jones, unaware the mourners included James Barnes, whom she had fought as Bucky, and who was now Captain America. Barnes recognized her and began an investigation. While Lotus gloated from her Hollywood base over outliving Jones, Barnes discovered the deception in the Colorado prison.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#2) - Lotus' workers at Global Studios finally unearthed her lost gem. However, Captain America had ascertained her location and fought her; evading the Captain, Lotus boarded an airplane bound for the Pacific island where the gem was first discovered.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#3) - With the aid of Saburo, grandson of Samaru, Lotus found the temple where the gem was unearthed, unaware Captain America was still following her. After examining the hieroglyphs on the walls of the temple, Lotus was attacked by Captain America, but she again fought him off with the gem's power, attempting to bury him alive inside the temple. Returning to her airplane, Lotus set a course for the City of the Space Gods in the Andes.

(Captain America: Forever Allies#4) - Lotus and Saburo landed in the City of the Space Gods, but noticed Captain America pursuing them aboard a jet; with the gem's power, Lotus took the jet apart then imprisoned Captain America within a force field. When the Captain queried how Lotus had remained so young over the decades, she claimed "Vitality is a gift of my own mental enlightenment!" Lotus seemingly placed the Captain under her mental control and entered the City of the Space Gods to find the twin to her gem. Lotus used the Captain as her minion to avoid boobytraps and bring the matching gem to her, but the Captain had only feigned compliance and instead destroyed the second gem. With the gem's destruction, Lotus' own gem took flight and placed itself in the setting where its twin formerly resided. Boobytraps began to destroy the building, but the Captain placed an improved psionic headband on Lotus' head, then carried her to safety. Outside, Lotus found the Falcon, Black Widow and "Texas Jack" Muldoon had arrived to help the Captain arrest her; Muldoon promised to see that Lotus would face an international tribunal for her crimes.

Comments: Lady Lotus created by Don Glut, Alan Kupperberg, Rick Hoberg and Chic Stone; Lotus Newmark created by Steve Gerber, Al Milgrom, and Don Heck.


Lady Lotus was not fully identified as Nia Noble's mother in the New Invaders series; this information was confirmed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004. --Michael Hoskin
    Invaders#2 (November, 2004) has Nia say (in response to a "Have we met?) "No, but you knew my parents. I'm certain you remember Lady L--" (and then Thin Man cuts her off).
    Given that Lady Lark is exceeding unlikely (as a native of Earth-712, home of the Squadron Supreme) and Lady Luftwaffe hadn't been created yet, seems pretty convincing evidence, especially given the notation in the following issue, where Nia calls U-Man father, and U-Man counters "One moment of brutal pleasure inflicted upon your mother does not make me your father..."
    Not spelled out, but pretty strongly implied, I'd say.--Snood

    Allan Jacobsen told me he intended as much, but the series didn't last long enough for him to get into Nia's origins (likewise the reference to "the children" which was never explained; he told me there was a story behind it).--Michael Hoskin

    Lady Lotus was inspired by Fah Lo Suee and Terry and the Pirates villain the Dragon Lady, the two great archetypes of scheming Asian femme fatales. Additionally, in Captain America: Forever Allies her minion Samaru seems to be a masculine corruption of Sax Rohmer's femme fatale Sumuru.

    Lady Lotus and Lotus Newmark weren't revealed to be the same person until Captain America: Forever Allies#1. There are some minor discrepancies between their origins--when Lady Lotus told her origin to Golden Girl, she claimed to be from Japan; when Lotus Newmark told her origin to Prince Charming, she claimed to be from Los Angeles. Lady Lotus seemed to be Chinese, but explained she used hypnosis to disguise her Japanese identity, while Lotus Newmark seemed to be from a Chinese family. Lotus may have been lying about certain details on either occasion. Both versions identify her as completing her training and journeying to the USA at age 21.

    The story arc in Wonder Man II#22-25 had a couple errors in it, including the appearance of the ghost of Martha Williams (Wonder Man's mother), who was still alive at the time of the story. Because of this, and that Wonder Man didn't remember his mom still being alive in those stories, the information contained therein has been called into question. It's possible the Lotus seen in Wonder Man II#24-25 was just an illusion of Mephisto or Blackheart, or someone else, for uncertain purposes. It is also possible it was the true Lotus, mentally enslaved by one of the above, and it is also possible it was the true Lotus with her true alliances actually revealed. Lotus was legitimately surprised when Wonder Man revealed he knew her involvement with Armed Response, but what it means is uncertain. It is possible she was indeed slain by the Black Talon, but subsequently resurrected by any of a number of beings.
    My impression from reading Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#1-3 is it was not actually the true Lotus in Wonder Man II#24 & 25, but nothing was confirmed or clarified.

    Avengers Disassemble? The story with Wonder Man losing control of his ionic powers and attacking the other (West Coast) Avengers in Wonder Man II#19 was called Avengers Dissemble.

    According to Wonder Man II#16, it was actually Li Fong (or his agents) who killed Lotus' mother. The origins aren't really contradictory, but they do seem to be slightly different. In the Wonder Man origin, Li Fong was more abusive to her. Lotus certainly is prone to lie to serve her own ends, so it's not clear whether all information she revealed is 100% true, and which information about Li Fong is closest to the truth.

I may well have missed an appearance or two in Wonder Man. Let me know, and I'll add them, thanks.
The chronological placement of the Nomad and Night Thrasher issues is based on the information on the Marvel Chronology Project.

Lady Lotus is seen demonstrating her ability to communicate with others telepathically starting in Invaders I#37 (2/79) with U-Man (on page 30 panel 6) and in every issue after with Baron Blood (Invaders I#40 (5/79) page 3), the Super Axis & Human Torch (Invaders I#41 (9/79) page 11 panel 5; with U-Man, page 14 panel 1; with Baron Blood, page 16 panels 1 & 2; with Master Man, page 17 panels 1 & 2, page 24 panel 6, page 25 panel 1; with Super Axis). Plus in Invaders I#41 (9/79) she told Master Man & Warrior Woman that she used her psychic power to compel both of them to cross the very Atlantic Ocean (page 7 panel 1).
--Gammatotem

Lotus Newmark received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#2 (2007).




Profile by Snood and Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
 

Lady Lotus/Lotus Newmark has no known connection to:


"SAMURAI" GUARDS

Lady Lotus hypnotized a number of Chinese people (at least three) to don samurai armor and serve as her personal guard at the House of Lotus. When she dispatched them against the Human Torch, he removed her spell with a sudden flash of light.

Each samurai wore a suit of armor and wielded a katana.

The only "samurai" identified by name was Wing.

--Invaders I#38 (40, 41













images: (without ads)
Captain America: Forever Allies#4, p12, pan4 (Main Image - Lotus, holding power gem)
Captain America: Forever Allies#2, p19, pan4 (Headshot - Lotus)
Invaders I#39, p7, pan1 (young Lotus, developing her powers)
Invaders I#37, p17, pan1-2 (Lady Lotus, summoning U-Man)
Invaders I#40, p6, pan5 (Lady Lotus, bathing in lotus petals)
Avengers Spotlight#32, p9, pan1 (Lotus Newmark)
Avengers Spotlight#32, p9, pan3 (Lotus Newmark)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update, p38 (Lotus Newmark)
Captain America: Forever Allies#4, p12, pan3 (Lotus, using power gem on Captain America)
Invaders I#38, p9, pan3 (one of Lady Lotus' "samurai" guards confronts disguised U-Man)


Appearances:
Invaders I#38 (March, 1979) - Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg, Don Heck (artists), Chic Stone (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Invaders I#39-40 (April-May, 1979) - Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg (artist), Chic Stone (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Invaders I#41 (September, 1979) - Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg (artist), Chic Stone (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Avengers Spotlight#30-31 (March-April, 1990) - Steve Gerber (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Don Heck, (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers Spotlight#32 (May, 1990) - Steve Gerber (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Hajek Satter Lee (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers Spotlight#33-34 (June-July, 1990) - Steve Gerber (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers Spotlight#36 (September, 1990) - Steve Gerber (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Wonder Man II#2 (October, 1991) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#4 (December, 1991) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Jan Harps (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#6 (February 1992) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Jan Harps (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#10 (June 1992) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#11 (July 1992) - Gerard Jones (writer), Mike Parobeck (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Nomad II#4 (August, 1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Pat Olliffe (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Glenn Herdling (editor)
Wonder Man II#13 (September, 1992) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Night Thrasher: Four Control#1 (October, 1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Dave Hoover (pencils/inks), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Night Thrasher: Four Control#2 (November, 1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Dave Hoover (pencils/inks), Rob Tokar (editor)
Wonder Man II#16 (December, 1992 - January, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#18 (February, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Tim Hamilton (pencils), Brad Vancata (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#19 (March, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#20 (April, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Tim Hamilton (pencils), Brad Vancata (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#21 (May, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Tim Hamilton (pencils), Ian Akin (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#24 (August, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson (pencils), Jon Holdredge (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Wonder Man II#25 (September, 1993) - Gerard Jones (writer), Jeff Johnson, Fred Reyes & Fred Haynes (pencils), Jon Holdredge, Ron Boyd, John Lowe, Mark McKenna, Jim Amash, Keith Aiken, Andrew Pepoy & Dan Panosian (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#1-3 (May - July, 2000) - Roger Stern (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America: Forever Allies#1-4 (October, 2010-January, 2011) - Roger Stern (writer), Nick Dragotta, Marco Santucci (artists), Patrick Piazzalunga (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
All-New Invaders#4 (June, 2014) - James Robinson (writer), Steve Pugh (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)


First Posted: 09/04/2004
Last updated: 01/01/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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