History:
LITA MERCADO
Real Name: Estrellita "Lita" Mercado
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (New Universe) human
Occupation: Physical therapist
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Dr. Lucian Ballad, Mr. Mercado, Mrs. Mercado, Frank Mercado, Nightmask, Oakley, Teddy Remsen, Sgt. Sanchez
Enemies: Potomac Sharks (Carlos, Mad Dog)
Known Relatives: Frank Mercado (brother), Mr. Mercado (father), Mrs. Mercado (mother)
Aliases: "Miss Piggy" (childhood nickname)
Base of Operations: Ballad Clinic of Dream Research, Washington D.C.;
formerly the University of Maryland, Washington D.C.
First Appearance: Nightmask I#1 (November, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Lita Mercado is an excellent athlete and gymnast. She is skilled at various recreational sports including swimming, football and fencing.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs.)
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black
History:
(Nightmask I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Lita Mercado's family came from Puerto Rico and took up residence in Washington D.C. As a child Lita was somewhat plump and her little brother Frank would tease her by calling her "Miss Piggy." While Lita became a physical therapist, Frank became involved with local gangs.
(Nightmask I#1) - At the University of Maryland, Lita Mercado was working with psychiatrist Dr. Lucian Ballad and was assigned as physical therapist to Theodora "Teddy" Remsen, who had been crippled in a bomb blast that killed her parents. On July 22, 1986, Teddy was at the bedside of her comatose brother Keith when the White Event occurred, a brief flash of white light (caused by the Star Brand). The White Event caused Keith to awaken from his coma. Lita soon began assisting Keith in his recuperation, forcing him to take up swimming to help him regain his full range of motion following his coma.
On July 23, 1986, Keith and Teddy revealed to Lita and Dr. Ballad that they'd had a dream of a man who had been admitted to the hospital covered in bandages. Teddy made a sketch of the man she'd seen while Lita obtained the man's photograph, which proved a perfect match to the sketch. Dr. Ballad began to test the Remsens, using Lita as a subject. While Lita sleeped, Keith entered her dream and watched her dancing with a man aboard a ship. Keith knocked over a table, disrupting the dream. Teddy drew Keith back to reality, demonstrating that Keith was a paranormal who could enter the dreams of people in his proximity while Teddy was his anchor to reality who could draw him safely out of the dream world.
On July 24, 1986, Keith entered the dreams of Dr. Horst Kleinman, alias the Gnome, who was responsible for killing his parents. Teddy safely brought Keith out of the dream while Dr. Ballad and Lita monitored their progress.
(Nightmask I#2) - Dr. Ballad left the University of Maryland to open his own practice, the Ballad Clinic of Dream Research. Lita came with him to continue assisting the Remsens in their recuperation. On August 17, 1986, Lita took Keith for exercise in their gym. When Keith entered Dr. Ballad's dreams, violating his trust, Lita warned Keith to never enter her dreams uninvited or "your workout periods are gonna become nightmares."
(Nightmask I#4) - On November 24, 1986, Lita gave Teddy a massage as Teddy complained to Lita about the way Keith behaved as his dream self Nightmask, irritated at having seen her brother kissing a woman while in a dream.
(Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask I#1) - When Horst Kleinman placed Teddy into a comatose state, Keith insisted on entering her dreams to rescue her from Kleinman. Lita helped Dr. Ballad monitor Keith and Teddy, keeping their bodies alive while Kleinman tried to kill them in their dreams.
(Nightmask I#5) - On January 17, 1987, Lita watched Keith pushing himself in his exercises in the gym and noted he was subconsciously blaming himself for his parents' deaths.
(Nightmask I#6) - On February 20, 1987, Lita played a game of touch football alongside Keith and the clinic's night manager Oakley as "Ballad's Raiders," playing against the County General All-Stars. The clinic's team won the game and celebrated with pizza. When Teddy later took off on her own to assist one of their patients Keith insisted he should find her but Lita forced him to let the police handle the affair.
(Nightmask I#7) - Lita put Keith and Teddy through their usual exercises then invited them both to dinner with her parents. As Keith and Teddy spoke with Lita's parents they realized there was some tension in the family due to her brother Frank. Dinner was interrupted by the Potomac Sharks, who fired a bullet through one of the windows as a warning to Frank, who had refused to join their gang. The local police officer Sgt. Sanchez asked Frank for help in bringing the gang to justice but Frank refused to share information. Seeking Keith's help, Lita encouraged him to stay at their home so that once Frank went to sleep he could enter his dreams as Nightmask. After the dream, before Keith could interpret what he'd learned, the Potomac Sharks returned. When Lita tried to defend Frank, the Shark's leader Mad Dog stabbed her in the arm. Keith tried to drive Lita to the hospital while charging Frank with guiding him to the hospital using a map but Frank proved unable to read the map as he was illiterate. Keith finally used the map himself and brought Lita in for treatment. Keith helped Frank overcome the Potomac Sharks and Teddy started tutoring Frank to help him learn to read. Recovered from her injury, Lita invited her brother and and the Remsens to see a Chuck Norris movie.
(Nightmask I#9) - Lita practiced fencing with Keith. Keith told Lita about his recent dreams and how he feared he couldn't always tell the difference between dreams and reality. Keith mentioned seeing a beautiful woman in his dreams and Lita wondered if she represented something he was trying to run away from (not realizing the dream woman looked like her). After another series of dreams in which Lita appeared, Dr. Ballad helped diagnose Keith's difficulties, noting since losing his parents he was afraid to love again. Now aware she had been the woman in his dreams, Lita told Keith he wasn't the first schoolboy to have a crush on their teacher.
(Nightmask I#10) - While working out with Keith, Lita listened to Keith's concerns about her brother Frank being interested in his sister Teddy, who was more than 2 years younger than Frank. When Keith said Teddy should be dating someone her own age, Lita promised to remind him he said that the next time he flirted with her. Later, Lita brought a letter to Dr. Ballad. She was surprised to see Dr. Ballad become shaky and nervous after reading the letter.
(Star Brand I#17/2) - While Teddy lay a coma following a traumatic dream episode that occurred at the same time Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was destroyed, Lita and Dr. Ballad helped advise Keith as he sought to awaken Teddy. Keith was ultimately successful.
Comments: Created by Archie Goodwin, Tony Salmons and Bret Blevins.
Lita also appeared in Keith's nightmare in Nightmask I#8.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Lita Mercado should not be confused with:
Lita and Frank Mercado's parents were from Puerto Rico. They lived in the Adam Morgan section of Washington D.C. The Mercados were ashamed of how Frank had become involved in gangs.
--Nightmask I#7
images: (without ads)
Nightmask I#9, page 9, panel 1 (main)
Nightmask I#7, page 2, panel 5 (face)
Nightmask I#7, page 3, panel 8 (parents)
Appearances:
Nightmask I#1 (November, 1986) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Tony Salmons (penciler), Bret Blevins (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#2 (December, 1986) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Ernie Colon (artist), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#4 (February, 1987) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Ron Wagner (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#5 (March, 1987) - Cary Bates (writer), Arvell Jones (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#6 (April, 1987) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dann Thomas (writer), Javier Saltares (penciler), Jose Marzan Jr. (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#7 (May, 1987) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dann Thomas (writer), Michael Bair (penciler), Pablo Marcos (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#9 (July, 1987) - Sandy Plunkett (writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Nightmask I#10 (August, 1987) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dann Thomas (writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
Star Brand I#17/2 (January, 1989) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), David Wohl (editor)
Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask I#1 (May, 2006) - Fred Van Lente (writer), Arnold Pander (penciler), Kris Justice (inker), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First posted: 10/26/2026
Last updated:
10/26/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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