History:
CHARLOTTE BECK
Real Name: Charlotte "Charly" Yolanda Beck
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (New Universe) human paranormal
Occupation: Waitress, dancer, former C.I.A. operative, receptionist, student (dance major)
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Group Membership: Formerly C.I.A., the Black Powers (Bazooka/Dwight Frye, Blindspot/Lionel Berry, Chill/Ross Wexler, Indigo, Squirm/Jim Walkins), the Clinic for Paranormal Research's Therapy Group C (Lenore Fenzl, Stephanie Harrington, Dave Landers, Randy O'Brien, Scuzz, Jeff Walters)
Affiliations: Bazooka (Dwight Frye), Blindspot (Lionel Berry), Jacob Burnley, Captain Manhattan, Chill (Ross Wexler), Chrome, Dementia (Deborah Brownlea), Lenore Fenzl, Dr. Guntly, Ben Harrington, Emily Harrington, Jill Harrington, Stephanie Harrington, Interface (Pamela Leighton), Keso, Rev. Armand Koehn, Dave Landers, Darlene Magniconte, Metallurge, Mimi, Mutator, Randy O'Brien, Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Scuzz (Dennis Cuzinski), Dr. Jane Semple, Shock (Sally Gallagher), Sponge (Merriam Sorensen), Squirm (Jim Walkins), Jeff Walters, Thelma Walters
Enemies: Bernard, Mr. Bertolutti, Bloodhound (Edward Zentner), Deadweight, Irene Dobish, Famileech, Fraley, Freefall (Arthur Benway), Indigo, Lezar, Maiscott, Perricone, Pit Bull, Price, Quentin, Receptor, Regulator, Reinforcer, Seka, Shrapnel (Leland Sharp), Tangler (Rodney Weigand), Vice Versa (Geraldine Rumlow), Philip Nolan Voigt, the Wardogs, West, Wilfredo
Known Relatives: James Beck (father), Cecilia Beck (mother)
Aliases: Friction
Base of Operations: Soho, Manhattan, New York, USA;
formerly Camp Peary, Maryland, USA;
formerly the Clinic for Paranormal Research, south of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA;
formerly University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Place of Birth: Racine, Wisconsin, September 1, 1958
Extent of Education: Sophomore, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Religion: Methodist (non-practicing)
First Appearance: D.P.7 I#1 (November, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Charlotte can mentally control the attraction objects have for one another, making them stick to one another or become nearly frictionless. It is not known wether she affects the actual molecules of the objects' surfaces or if she coats them with some sort of energy that has variable frictional properties. She can project her parability a maximum of about 250 feet from her person and affect an area no greater than 100 square feet. She neesd to be able to visualize an object in order to affect it; consequently, she has difficulty affecting the inner mechanisms of objects or the inner organs of living beings. She has sufficient fine control over her parability to cause a person's eyelids to stick together. She needs to concentrate in order to maintain her influence over an object's friction. She can use her parability to stick to walls or ceilings or to slide over reasonably flat surfaces like a skater.
Because her parability is mental, her control over it is affected by her mental state. Mood, fatigue and controlled substances affect her control and endurance in exercising her parability. Charlotte can also play piano and is extremely limber, well-coordinated and graceful.
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 118 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(D.P.7 I#5 (fb) - BTS) - On July 22, 1986, the White Event - a flash of light seen around the world (caused by the Star Brand) - occurred. At the time, Charlotte was in the dance studio of University of Wisconsin-Madison and she missed witnessing it.
(D.P.7 Annual I#1) - On September 15, 1986, Charlotte was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's dance studio as her paranormal abilities began to manifest, causing her a slight headache. As the class started to dance, Charlotte's power caused a loss of friction on the floors and soon her fellow students were uncontrollably slipping and sliding on the ground. Charlotte alone failed to slip. After class, Charlotte asked her friend Mimi whether the entire incident had been a joke but Mimi insisted the floor had become like a sheet of ice. Mimi wondered why Charlotte didn't slip but Charlotte had no idea. Unknown to Charlotte, while they were talking she inadvertantly caused another student nearby to lose friction and slip. Further, all of these moments were observed by the ghostly paranormal the Witness, who was drawn to paranormals when their powers emerged.
(D.P.7 I#1 (fb) - BTS) - In the days that followed, Charlotte began to discover other aspects of her parability that were harder to ignore, including her ability to stick herself to other objects. Unable to control her parability she continually caused people to fall down and stuck her own body against other surfaces, causing her great embarrassment. One of Charlotte's psychology professors told her about the recently-opened Clinic for Paranormal Research and she decided to investigate.
(D.P.7 I#19/The Clinic) - On September 25, 1986, Charlotte went to the Clinic for Paranormal Research for help in controlling her parability. She was placed in Therapy Group C.
(D.P.7 I#1) - On September 29, 1986, Therapy Group C met under the guidance of Dr. Jane Semple of the Clinic. Jane introduced Dave Landers and Randy O'Brien to the group. At this time Charlotte's fellow group members were Stephanie Harrington, Lenore Fenzl and Jeff Walters. Charlotte introduced herself to the group and demonstrated her power by briefly sticking herself to the ceiling.
In the weeks that followed, Therapy Group C continued to bond together. On October 19, 1986, Randy discovered the Clinic's staff were making plans to brainwash them. Regulator took Randy away to silence him but the rest of Therapy Group C learned what had happened from Dave. As they debated in the Clinic's hallways whether to save Randy and leave the Clinic, a team of Clinic security personnel entered the hallway armed with tranquilizer guns. When they opened fire at the group, Lenore used her parability to freeze the guards in their tracks. The group went to rescue Randy from Regulator but he used his own parability to regulate physiological reactions upon them, increasing the pressure on Charlotte's frontal lobe to incapacitate her. However, Dave overcame the pain Regulator put him through and struck him down, cancelling his parability's effects. When all seven of the group members had revived they resolved to break out of the Clinic and fled into the night.
(D.P.7 I#2) - The seven friends went through the woods to the highway. When Jeff reported a bus was coming, Scuzz suggested Charlotte use her parability to stop the vehicle by affecting its tires. Although Charlotte had never tried to use her parability on something that large before she made an attempt and successfully halted the vehicle. Lenore then paralyzed the driver and passengers and they commandeered the bus, driving it toward Dave's mobile home. During the ride, Scuzz suggested they start using code names and suggested Charlotte should be "Friction" because that was what her power dealt it. Charlotte quipped, "Sure, call me Friction. I like rubbing people."
Three miles from Dave's mobile home the group left the bus and continued on foot. However, they were ambushed by Bloodhound, Shrapnel and Vice Versa, three paranormal headhunters working for the Clinic. Bloodhound opened fire on the group with tranquilizer darts and knocked out most of them but when Charlotte was targeted by Vice Versa she used her parability to make the dart slip away from her, then pretended to be asleep. When Vice Versa came closer to examine Charlotte, Charlotte stuck her to the ground. Finding Bloodhound had forced Jeff to surrender by threatening Lenore's life with a knife, Charlotte caused the knife to become frictionless, slipping from Bloodhound's hand. Randy's Anti-Body knocked Bloodhound down and Charlotte used her parability to stick him to the grass. Once all of their group was revived and the headhunters were incapacitated they continued toward the mobile home.
(D.P.7 I#3) - On October 21, 1986, Dave attached his mobile home to his truck and the seven friends took to the highway to keep ahead of the Clinic. When Bloodhound, Shrapnel and Vice Versa pursued them in a police car, Scuzz again encouraged Charlotte to use her parability to affect the car's steering wheel. Despite Charlotte's efforts, the three pursuers maintained control over the vehicle until Randy's Anti-Body attacked them, sending the car off the road. When Randy tried to assist the wreck, Charlotte and the others disargreed with him.
(D.P.7 I#4) - On October 25, 1986, Charlotte went to a restaurant with Scuzz, Randy and Jeff. They discussed Dr. Semple and wondered if she were aware of the Clinic's secret purpose. Dave was arrested by a posse who accused him of being "the Wompus," an urban legend of a wild man who mutilated cattle. Charlotte and the others tried to clear Dave's name but their investigations led nowhere so they decided to fake a cattle mutilation. At night, Lenore used her parability to tranquilize a cow then Jeff, garbed in a bear rug, appeared to the cow's owner as "the Wompus," running too fast to be hit by the farmer's shotgun. However, while leaving the farm Jeff stumbled across the actual cattle mutilators, a gang of college students. Jeff frightened them into confessing what they'd done to the authorities, securing Dave's release.
(Untold Tales of the Marvel Universe: D.P.7 I#1) - In late October, 1986, the seven friends helped break up a fight at the Screaming Eagle bar outside of Keshena, Wisconsin but the owner was frightened by their parabilities and told them to leave. Outside, they met Keso, who invited them to stay on the Menominee reservation nearby. Keso revealed he and his sister Seka were paranormals, Keso having the parability to communicate with spirits of the dead and Seka having the parability to raise the dead. Seka had turned against the tribe and used the dead to assault them. Keso asked the seven friends to assist him in confronting his sister. The seven agreed and fought Seka's reanimated corpses. Charlotte used her parability to render some of the corpses' joints frictionless, causing them to burst apart. Randy ultimately halted Seka by using his Anti-Body to jar her out of her rage. The Menominee thanked the seven for their help and they departed the reservation in peace.
(Kickers Inc. I#5) - On November 2, 1986, Stephanie learned her son had asked Kickers, Inc. to help her and she convinced the others to meet with them. Charlotte flirted a little with Dallas "Dasher" Corbin and showed her parability by making him slide off a chair. The Kickers tried to help them but when the four male Kickers confronted the Clinic's staff, the Clinic's director, Philip Nolan Voigt and his assistant Reinforcer altered the Kickers' minds so they would see the seven paranormals as threats who needed to be in the Clinic's care. The Kickers attacked Dave, Jeff, Randy and Scuzz. Although the Kickers were soundly beaten, Charlotte and the others realized the Clinic were bound to have followed the Kickers to their location, forcing the seven friends to board Dave's mobile home and flee.
(D.P.7 I#5) - On November 7, 1986, Jeff's mother suggested the group consult an exorcist in case their parabilities were caused by demonic possession. Jeff brought up the matter to the group and they started an argument about where their parabilities originated from. When Randy suggested the White Event, Charlotte shot it down, believing that since she was indoors when it happened it couldn't have affected her. Scuzz wound up angrily denouncing the group for wanting to remove their parabilities and for not using the aliases he'd given them and he chose to leave the group. Afterward, Charlotte noticed how troubled Randy was but reminded him they'd all chosen to be together and Scuzz simply didn't want to be with them anymore.
That evening, Stephanie gathered the other remaining five and led them in prayer, begging God for help and realease from their paranormalities. The next day they met Jeff's mother, Thelma. Thelma brought them to the exoricst, Rev. Armand Koehn. The six paranormals demonstrated their parabilities to Rev. Koehn and although he wasn't certain whether they were possessed by demons he agreed to perform an exorcism and explained what the exorcism would involve. When the exorcism began, Rev. Koehn started praying for each of them but when he touched Randy his Anti-Body emerged and transmitted its memories to him. Realizing the Anti-Body wasn't evil, Rev. Koehn determined they weren't possessed by demons so an exorcism wouldn't help them.
(D.P.7 I#6) - On November 13, 1986, the remaining six in the group decided to split up. Dave traded in his mobile home to his uncle, who generously gave him a Winnebago. Dave, Stephanie and Lenore took the Winnebago to reunite Stephanie with her children while Randy, Jeff and Charlotte kept the truck and went looking for Scuzz. The two groups promised to meet up again within a week.
(D.P.7 I#7) - On December 4, 1986, while Randy talked to people who had seen Scuzz, Jeff asked Charlotte about her plans. Believing the Clinic weren't a problem, Charlotte was considering finding a new university to continue her studies. Having gained so much control over her parability, Charlotte was certain she could keep her power under wraps in the future. When Randy entered a hospital to speak to a man Scuzz attacked and Jeff went to telephone his family, Charlotte was left alone in the truck. A mercenary hired by the Clinic shot her with a tranquilizer dart then put her in his car, disguising her with a wig and makeup so that Jeff wouldn't be able to find her again. The mercenaries prepared to ship her back to the Clinic.
(D.P.7 I#8) - On December 5, 1986, the mercenaries continued to transport Charlotte back to the Clinic. They checked in with Receptor at the Clinic who confirmed they weren't being followed by Jeff and Randy.
(D.P.7 I#10) - On December 9, 1986, Charlotte, Scuzz, Randy, Lenore and Stephanie were all back at the Clinic, where Regulator, Reinforcer and Receptor were combining their parabilities to rewrite their memories of the last few months and render them easier to manage when they were awakened.
(D.P.7 I#12) - Charlotte, Lenore, Scuzz and Jeff completed their sessions with Regulator, Reinforcer and Receptor and were returned to Therapy Group C, under Dr. Semple's supervision. Weakened from weeks in hospital beds, all four needed wheelchairs as Dr. Semple took them through "reorientation." The four tried to recall the events that led to them leaving the Clinic as their new memories omitted all the events that implicated the Clinic. Randy's Anti-Body was blamed for influencing the others to leave the Clinic and Charlotte felt she should have been more assertive. When Dave and Randy revived, neither one under the Clinic's control, they were shocked to discover how their friends' memories had been altered but resolved they couldn't force them to leave the Clinic. Randy and Dave wound up in a fight with Philip Nolan Voigt that ended with Voigt's seeming destruction.
(D.P.7 I#13) - Charlotte, Jeff, Scuzz and Lenore went to the gym for physical therapy and were pleasantly surprised when Dave and Randy came to join them. When therapy was over, Dave and Randy told the others they were staying and asked them to help find out what had happened to Stephanie to place her in a coma.
(D.P.7 I#14) - On July 20, 1987, Charlotte went to the aerobics dance studio at the Clinic and practised using parability to dance on the ceiling while appropriately listening to Lionel Richie's song, 'Dancing on the Ceiling.' Jeff was surprised when he saw her and asked if she was worried she'd lose concentration and fall. Charlotte explained she had practised on walls before moving to the ceiling and now she hoped she could redefine what dancers could accomplish. With the Clinic now under the management of Tanis Newhouse, many patients were being given staff positions to help make up for shortfalls and Jeff shared the list of assignments, which placed Charlotte as a receptionist. Charlotte was peeved as she'd hoped they'd make her an aerobics instructor. When Jeff asked Charlotte to thank him she gave him a kiss on his cheek. Jeff teased her, saying she was saving her "real kisses" for Randy. Charlotte hadn't realized her crush on Randy was obvious to anyone else.
Later, Charlotte took a shower when two of Randy's Anti-Bodies flew through the bathroom (one was the "killer" Anti-Body who had murdered Reinforcer and Randy was trying to keep him from returning to his body). Charlotte threw on a robe and confronted Randy in the hallway, accusing him of sending his Anti-Bodies to peep on her. Randy denied it but Charlotte insisted he make it up to her by coming to her room that night for a date to watch her favorite movie 'Top Hat.' As Charlotte was getting her room ready for her date she was visited by Indigo and Chill, who informed her they'd decided to leave Therapy Group D and form their group, the Black Powers, for all the Black patients in the Clinic as a means of demanding equal representation and treatment. Charlotte insisted that she hadn't had trouble with the white patients in her group but Indigo retorted she was either "with" them or "against" them. Charlotte promised to think it over; Chill asked her who she was meeting for her date but she declined to answer, afraid of how they'd respond if they knew it was a white man.
Charlotte and Randy watched 'Top Hat' in her room. When Randy didn't respond to her flirtations, Charlotte became forward and told him she liked him. Randy lamely responded that he was "liberal enough" to be her friend or even date her but he could never bring her home to his folks, blaming his "small-town midwestern upbringing." Charlotte told him to leave, then chased one of his Anti-Bodies out as well. Charlotte went looking for Jeff to talk to him about her problems but in the stairwell she was hassled by Freefall and Tangler, two fellow patients. When Freefall tried to use his gravity-neating parability to look under her skirt Charlotte used her parability to make them both slide down the stairs. Dave arrived and ensured they left her alone. Angry at how Freefall and Tangler had treated her, Charlotte decided against talking to Jeff.
The next morning, Charlotte met with Scuzz, Lenore, Jeff, Dave and Randy and told them she was leaving the group to join Indigo's Black Powers. When Jeff made fun of the Black Powers, Charlotte angrily said they "more my kind of people than you are." Charlotte went to the Black Powers, who now included Indigo, Chill, Blindspot and Squirm; Indigo insisted on referring to Charlotte by her "Friction" alias, which Charlotte considered a "dumb nickname." Blindspot suggested the Black Powers should target the most racist people at the Clinic and noted Freefall and Tangler had joined the security team that same day and already hassled him twice. When Indigo pressed Charlotte for a name to add to the list, she told them Randy was a racist. The Black Powers sought out Freefall and Tangler and started a fight against them. Charlotte tried to use her parability on Tangler's energy wires but found she couldn't affect things made of energy. The other Black Powers delivered a beating to Freefall and Tangler, then went looking for Randy, despite Charlotte's efforts to dissuade them. The Black Powers confronted Randy in the gym and started a fight with him and his Anti-Bodies. Unwilling to join the fight against Randy or use her powers to stop the Black Powers, Charlotte fled the gym. Jeff helped break up the fight. That evening, Charlotte saw her old group seated together in the cafeteria but pointedly sat with the Black Powers.
(D.P.7 I#15) - The Black Powers, now joined by Bazooka, showed up in the Clinic's cafeteria wearing matching leather jackets.
(D.P.7 I#16) - One night, Charlotte stopped Scuzz in the hall to talk. Scuzz was surprised, since the Black Powers weren't associating with other patients, but Charlotte insisted they didn't "own" her. She started to ask about their fellow group members but just as she asked for an update about Randy, Blindspot appeared and summoned Charlotte away. Scuzz jeered Charlotte saying, "Don't own ya, huh?" Charlotte and the other Black Powers went to the cafeteria for dinner when Scuzz confronted them, trying to put a brave front before his new gang, the DDTeens. Scuzz asked Charlotte to join his gang because she was under 20 but as she politely declined, Indigo angrily assaulted Scuzz and made him cry. In retaliation, Scuzz led the DDTeens against the Black Powers that night while their group was relaxing in a lounge. Charlotte refused to fight at first but as the violence became more serious she used her parability to make everyone slide to the ground, then stuck them in place so they would stop fighting. This enraged Indigo, who attacked Charlotte with her energy fist. The fighting was finally broken up by Mothball of the DDTeens and Dave Landers. Indigo warned Charlotte she'd made herself a "powerful enemy" and ordered her out of the Black Powers. Charlotte angrily agreed, cast off her leather jacket and stormed out.
(Justice II#16) - Charlotte began having nightmares of John Tensen, alias "the Justice Killer." When she investigated, she learned a murdered man she'd seen in her dreams, Lonnie Poole had been a patient at the Clinic. Investigating Poole's death, she spoke to O'Donnell, the detective conducting the investigation, who informed her of the similar murder of Greg Gardner. Her investigation brought her to psychiatrist Dr. Guntly, who described the death of Malcolm Stokes and told Charlotte that if she was afraid the same person who killed Malcolm was after her, "then God help you." Charlotte warned her friends to beware Justice.
(D.P.7 I#17) - Just as Squirm started a conversation with Charlotte they were interrupted by a fight in the hallway between Scrap Iron and Bazooka. After the fight ended, Squirm asked Charlotte to consider talking to Indigo about returning to the group but Charlotte was reluctant to rejoin the Black Powers. When Squirm saw Freefall and Tangler were out of intensive care he left her to inform Indigo. Charlotte went to her job as receptionist when Jeff visited her and asked her to rejoin their therapy group. When Jeff said even Randy wanted her to return she answered she wouldn't until Randy apologized. Then Scuzz visited her desk and asked her to join the DDTeens, although she noted she would be 20 soon and wouldn't be a teen. Much to her annoyance, Scuzz etched graffiti into her desk.
The next day, Charlotte was invited to a meeting hosted by Sally Gallagher, who wanted to form a new special interest group for all the female patients. Sally asked Charlotte to join their group, claiming her identity as a woman was more important to her identity than her age or race. Charlotte promised to think about the invitation and tried to go to her workout session when Squirm ran up and told her Blindspot and Chill had both gone missing. Indigo and Bazooka joined them in the gym and Indigo offered to let Charlotte back into the Black Powers if she helped them obtain revenge against Freefall and Tangler. Indigo and Bazooka planned to kill both men at the assembly that day, with Charlotte and Squirm charged with guarding their backs. When Indigo and Bazooka left the gym, Squirm suggested they should both run away but Charlotte refused to run again. Instead, Charlotte went to Lenore and told her a riot was about to break out at the Clinic. When the riot began, Lenore used her body's light to paralyze everyone at the assembly, halting the violence.
(D.P.7 I#18) - On December 23, 1987, Charlotte was asleep in her quarters when Indigo snuck out of the Clinic's infirmary and broke in, attempting to kill her in retaliation for refusing to aid the Black Powers during the riot. Charlotte fought back and blinded Indigo by using her parability to keep her eyelids shut but Indigo lashed out blindly with her energy constructs and struck her, causing her to stop focusing on Indigo's eyelids. Before Indigo could kill Charlotte, Randy and his Anti-Bodies came to her rescue. Randy carried Charlotte back to her quarters and Charlotte found her crush on Randy had returned.
At breakfast the next morning, Charlotte, Randy and Dave learned Jeff had gone missing after hearing about the destruction of Pittsburgh, where his family had been visiting. They decided to go find Jeff; Charlotte was particularly concerned about getting away from Indigo (and finding opportunities to change Randy's mind about a relationship with her). Joined by Lenore and by Sponge (who had a crush on Dave), they set out in Dave's Winnebago, dressed in winter clothing supplied by Sponge. An hour after leaving the Clinic, Charlotte discovered Mutator hiding in the Winnebago, wanting to help Jeff because Jeff was the only friend he had at the Clinic. Charlotte was disgusted by Mutator's freakish appearance but the others decided to permit him to remain with their group. As they neared Pittsburgh they found heavy military checkpoints ahead and decided to leave the Winnebago. Not wanting to travel the last 40 miles on foot, Charlotte schemed with Sponge to capture a military truck, using Sponge's parability to knock out the truck's drivers. They continued in the Army truck but eventually encountered so much debris on the road they decided to venture ahead on foot. Unfortunately they reached the edge of the Pitt - a vast crater - and the entire group fell in.
(D.P.7 I#19) - Sponge reminded Charlotte to use her parability and she slowed the group's descent, then stuck them to the side of the Pitt. Randy used his Anti-Bodies to ferry Mutator, Lenore and Sponge to the surface while he remained with her and Dave. Because Randy elected to remain with her, Charlotte continued to think he had feelings for her. With just three of his four Anti-Bodies proving unable to lift Dave, Randy and Charlotte went to the surface to find out what became of the fourth Anti-Body sent to carry Sponge. They discovered Jenny Swensen, inhabiting her Spitfire armor, had mistaken the Anti-Bodies for threats and attacked them. Charlotte used her parability on Spitfire, concentrating on the armor's inner mechanisms; she caused the armor to crash and Randy reasoned with Jenny, convincing her they weren't enemies. When the armor was fixed, Jenny flew into the Pitt to rescue Dave and also discovered Jeff, whom Dave had discovered at the bottom of the Pitt.
(D.P.7 I#20) - Charlotte was alarmed to see Jeff was thin and no longer shaking, indicating he was in poor health. With Dave traumatized by his ordeal, the group carried Dave and Jeff to a basement to care for them. As Charlotte watched Randy feed Jeff it made her wish she'd gone home to her family for Christmas. Charlotte, Merriam, Lenore, Randy and Jenny huddled together under a blanket for warmth. Charlotte and Jenny both wound up flirting with Randy. They were interrupted when one of Randy's Anti-Bodies alerted him that Mutator was in danger on the surface. Charlotte joined Jenny, Lenore and Merriam found Mutator being threatened by a gang of scavengers called the Wardogs. Charlotte made their guns slip out of their hands and Lenore paralyzed all but one of them. When the final Wardog charged Lenore with a knife, Charlotte made the knife slip from his hand while Lenore paralyzed him. Suddenly they were attacked by the Wardogs' leader, Pit Bull, a superhumanly strong paranormal. Charlotte tried to stop him by making him stick to the ground but he was so strong he continued moving, tearing up the ground with each step. When Pit Bull shrugged off a grenade that Jenny threw at him, Lenore, Charlotte and Jenny carried Mutator with them into a wrecked car to hide from him.
(D.P.7 I#21 (fb)) - Charlotte, Lenore, Jenny and Mutator returned to the basement to find Randy, Dave, Jeff and Merriam were gone. Jenny set out to the nearest U.S. Army base to see if they'd been taken prisoner. Charlotte, Lenore and Mutator waited for two days but Jenny didn't return.
(D.P.7 I#21) - On January 3, 1988, Mutator's form shifted into a bird-like appearance and he flew Lenore and Charlotte above the wreckage of the Pitt. Repulsed by Mutator, Charlotte hated having to touch him. Unable to spot their friends, Mutator set them down near an Army base. Mutator offered to draw the Army's fire so Charlotte and Lenore could approach the base but Lenore refused to let Mutator sacrifice himself, insisting she was his friend; Charlotte half-heartedly claimed she was as well. Mutator was touched by Lenore's kindness but started to fly, only to be immediately shot down by soldiers. Lenore attempted to paralyze the entire squad of soldiers but a rear guard soldier shot her in the back. Rather than fight back, Charlotte surrendered, hoping to save Lenore.
(D.P.7 I#23 (fb)) - The Army proved to have been using tranquilizers in their rifles. Charlotte and Lenore were transferred to a special holding facility and were interrogated by the Army as to why they'd been at the Pitt. Eventually they learned the draft had been reinstated and the Army were building a Paranormal Platoon but women couldn't be drafted, only volunteer. Charlotte and Lenore were pressured to "volunteer" until Ms. Dobish of the C.I.A. intervened. The C.I.A. were building their own team of paranormal recruits. Ms. Dobish made the C.I.A. sound much better than the Army, so Charlotte and Lenore joined, moving to a training center at Langley, Maryland. They discovered Merriam Sorensen had likewise been convinced to join the C.I.A.
(D.P.7 I#23) - On April 24, 1988, Lenore, Charlotte and Merriam were in a training exercise where Charlotte and Merriam were equipped with protective clothing that Lenore's light couldn't penetrate. Charlotte tried to make Lenore slide on the floor but Lenore had been learning judo from the C.I.A. and flung Charlotte and Merriam into each other, then removed their masks to knock them out. Later, in the quarters she shared with Lenore and Merriam, Charlotte learned from Lenore how Jenny Swensen was in C.I.A. care as her body had been mutating with a metallic shell covering her skin. Charlotte felt sorry for Jenny but when Lenore suggested they recruit Stephanie to help Jenny, Charlotte noted bringing Stephanie to the C.I.A. would mean breaking up her home life.
(D.P.7 I#24) - Lenore returned with Stephanie and her family as Stephanie agreed to join the C.I.A., although her parability couldn't reverse Jenny's transformation. As Stephanie proved a quick study at martial arts, Charlotte congratulated her when she bested two armed men in combat.
(D.P.7 I#26) - On August 4, 1988, Charlotte, Jenny, Stephanie, Merriam and Lenore were sent on their first field mission for the C.I.A., in which they were dispatched to investigate a supposed "biological weapon" that had been accidentally released into the Amazon jungle of Brazil. Unknown to the five women, the "weapon' was actually the horrific paranormal the Famileech, an amoeba-like creature that consumed humans, adding to its mass. The women found the remains of a village the Famileech had devastated and made camp nearby. That night, the Famileech attacked them. Charlotte used her parability to prevent the Famileech from touching her and was able to evade it until it left the area. However, Lenore was seemingly killed by the Famileech. Charlotte and the others spent hours looking for Lenore but failed to find her and had to return to the USA on their own.
(D.P.7 I#27) - Charlotte participated in a debriefing about their mission in Brazil but it went poorly as Stephanie accused the agency of withholding valuable information while the agency's Mr. Bertolutti accused them of failing in their mission. The debriefing was ended prematurely to let all involved cool off.
(D.P.7 I#28) - On September 19, 1988, Charlotte and Merriam helped Stephanie recover her children from her husband Chuck, who had kidnapped them. Afterward, Jenny met them and asked them to join a C.I.A. mission in Manhattan to investigate Philip Nolan Voigt, who was running for President. Charlotte was the one most interested in visiting Manhattan because of her love for musical theatre. The next day the four women (plus Stephanie's children) started to monitor Voigt's campaign headquarters but Voigt teleported into their room and placed them under his mental control, telling them not to report anything about him to their superiors, tell no one of meeting him and vote for him in November. On September 22, 1988, Dave Landers and Randy O'Brien arrived in Manhattan and confronted Voigt, both immune to his mind powers. Instead of fighting them, Voigt ordered Charlotte, Stephanie, Jenny and Merriam to attack Dave and Randy. Charlotte fought Randy, at first mistaking him for one of his Anti-Bodies as he'd been trapped inside of one of them. Randy used his parability to transmit a memory of when he saved Charlotte from Indigo. Charlotte recognized him but continued to fight him, saying she was glad she didn't have to see his "gorgeous" face. She finally kicked Randy in the head, knocking him out. Voigt warned Dave and Randy if they took action against him he would order the four women to kill themselves.
(D.P.7 I#29) - On November 1, 1988, Charlotte was still monitoring Voigt from a diner across from his campaign headquarters when she received unwanted attention from Quentin and Wilfredo. Charlotte used her parability to slip away from the two men then climbed the side of a building to escape them. Charlotte had resolved to remain in Manhattan as long as she could to take advantage of the theatre scene. Returning to her group's apartment she and Jenny were menaced by the paranormal Deadweight, who had been sent by their former boss Irene Dobish, who had been told to cut Charlotte, Jenny, Merriam and Stephanie loose after Voigt complained about them. Deadweight attempted to kill Jenny by using his parability to increase her weight, knocking her through the floor. When Charlotte used her parability to make the floor slippery, the unlevel floor caused her and Deadweight to slide through the hole Jenny had made. Dave attempted to best Deadweight but the assassin was shot by Stephanie's son Ben, who had taken up Deadweight's discarded sniper rifle.
(Star Brand I#18) - Stephanie, Dave and Jenny brought the Star Brand wielder Jacob Burnley to their apartment to meet Merriam, Randy and Charlotte. Randy and Dave secretly informed Jacob of the threat against the lives of the four women posed by Voigt and Jacob agreed to confront Voigt for them.
(D.P.7 I#30 (fb) - BTS) - While continuing to pursue auditions, Charlotte took a job as a waitress to make ends meet.
(D.P.7 I#30) - On December 15, 1988, Charlotte had given Merriam a haircut just as Jenny and Stephanie and the children returned to the apartment to tell of their encounter with the super hero Captain Manhattan. The following day, Charlotte joined her friends at Rockefeller Plaza to see the Christmas tree lit. Members of the Para-Troop gang attempted to steal the tree in order to draw out Captain Manhattan for a fight. Charlotte helped Stephanie look after her children while Dave, Randy and Jenny helped save Captain Manhattan. Afterward they invited Captain Manhattan back to the apartment for a Christmas party, during which Dave dressed up as Santa Claus and gifted Stephanie with a trip back to Sheboygan. When Ben realized Santa Claus was really Dave, Charlotte told him to keep that a secret.
(D.P.7 I#31) - On January 2, 1989, Randy finally asked Charlotte why she'd been avoiding him since he arrived in Manhattan. Charlotte told him she'd had a crush on him when they were "the two normal ones" in their therapy group but she wan't interested in him anymore due to his altered appearance. She then reminded him he did the same to her, when he rejected her for being Black: "Now you're as black as a person can get and I'm rejecting you the same as you rejected me. Ironic, huh?"
(D.P.7 I#32) - On February 29, 1989, Charlotte had just failed an audition when she passed a lounge where a paranormal woman was an exotic dancer; seeing that made Charlotte determined to wait on tables before ever using her parability to degrade herself. She was met in the street by a man claiming to be John Mason, who introduced himself as a former patient at the Clinic who joined after Charlotte left and claimed he'd seen Charlotte's files. Mason told Charlotte about the Cure, a paranormal who could remove other people's parabilities and that he intended to visit the Cure. Charlotte was taken by "John's" good looks. Charlotte brought "John" back to her apartment for dinner but as her friends were going through some difficult personal problems, she and "John" went to a Chinese restaurant instead. After dinner, "John" revealed he was actually George Mullaney, the Mutator, whom Charlotte had always been repulsed by. George told her he'd always thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and wanted to be with her while he was still handsome. Charlotte suggested he use the Cure to remove his parability; Mutator explained he would, but that his real face wasn't as handsome as John Mason's.
Charlotte went to Jacob Isaacsen Middle School, where the Cure was offering to remove parabilities through a lottery system. She saw Mutator regain his normal human appearance but conceded he wasn't as good-looking as John Mason had been. Charlotte decided she'd keep her parabilities as they'd been handy to her. Charlotte left the school with Randy, Dave, Stephanie and her children, unsure whether Jenny would remain with them.
(Quasar I#31 (fb) - BTS) - With World War III averted, Jeff reunited with Charlotte and the others in Manhattan, bringing home his army pal Chris Barret, alias Metallurge.
(Quasar I#31) - In 1992, Charlotte and the others met Quasar, a hero from Earth-616 who had been stranded in the omniverse. When Quasar realized he couldn't return to his own universe he asked Captain Manhattan and the others for help. Charlotte listened as Quasar learned about the Star Brand from Captain Manhattan and Jeff, ultimately resolving to seek out the Star Brand's wielder in the hopes of returning to his own reality.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Paul Ryan and Romeo Tanghal.
Charlotte received a Marvel Handbook-style profile in D.P.7 I#20.
"D.P.7" was the name of the series the characters from Therapy Group C appeared in but their informal group never went by that name. For that matter, Charlotte seldom ever went by "Friction" - the other Black Powers insisted on calling her that, but she didn't like answering to it. Strangely, she even credited Indigo as being the one who gave her the alias "Friction"; I have a feeling she forgot Scuzz gave her that alias almost immediately after it happened.
Charlotte appeared in D.P.7 I#9 only as a character in Randy O'Brien's mind while he was being reconditioned by Receptor and Reinforcer.
Shortly after D.P.7 was cancelled, Paul Ryan drew two women in Quasar I#4 who looked just like Charlotte and Stephanie.
Charlotte's Earth-15731 counterpart appeared in Exiles I#72. Her Earth-555 counterpart appeared in Newuniversal: Shockfront I#2.
In D.P.7 I#17, Charlotte said she'd be 20 "next April" but according to her profile that line should have been, "next September."
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Charlotte Beck should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
D.P.7 I#20, Friction profile (main)
D.P.7 I#32, page 6, panel 3 (face)
D.P.7 I#29, page 8, panel 1 (powers)
D.P.7 I#14, page 2, panel 1 (on ceiling)
D.P.7 I#19, page 3, panel 3 (powers on multiple targets)
Appearances:
D.P.7 I#1-6 (November, 1986-April, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Kickers Inc. I#5 (March, 1987) - Tom DeFalco (plot), Mark Gruenwald (script), Paul Ryan (penciler), Sam DeLarosa (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
D.P.7 I#7 (May, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler, inker), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
D.P.7 I#10 (August, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
D.P.7 I#12-21 (October, 1987-July, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
D.P.7 Annual I#1 (1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Justice II#16 (February, 1988) - Peter David (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
D.P.7 I#23-24 (September, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
D.P.7 I#26-32 (December, 1988-June, 1989) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Danny Bulanadi (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Star Brand I#18 (March, 1989) - John Byrne (writer, breakdowns), Tom Morgan (finishes), Howard Mackie (editor)
Quasar I#31 (February, 1992) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Greg Capullo (penciler), Harry Candelario (inker), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Untold Tales of the New Universe: D.P.7 I#1 (May, 2006) - C. B. Cebulski (writer), Mark Bright (penciler), John Stanisci (inker), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First posted: 09/09/2025
Last updated:
09/09/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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