NEEDLE
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Normal humans
Occupation: Drifter, volunteer;
formerly nurse
Group Membership: Undergrounders
(Texas chapter)
Affiliations: infant Bucky (Julia Winters), Dr.
Kildare, Ma
Bell, Nomad
(Jack Monroe)
Enemies: Clean
Community Commandos, Roar
(Martin Elliot)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Horseshoe
Base of Operations: Mobile in Texas, USA
First Appearance: Nomad II#12 (April,
1993)
Powers/Abilities: Horseshoe is a trained nurse
and fairly skilled in hand-to-hand fighting, notably kickboxing. She is also diabetic.
Height: 5'5"
(by approximation)
Weight: 135 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Nomad II#13 (fb) - BTS) - While a nurse, Horseshoe
connected with the Undergrounders, who helped the underprivileged.
However, she accidentally pricked a three-year-old girl with a needle
that had HIV residue, infecting the infant. This haunted Horseshoe and
maddened her with guilt; eventually she wanted to punish the guilty
too. She left nursing and joined the Undergrounders.
(Nomad II#12) - In Ft. Worth, Horseshoe met Nomad and
discussed the dire situation at the Betterdon Clinic alongside Dr.
Kildare and Ma Bell. Several days later, she was at the vanguard
defending the Betterdon Clinic, which treated those infected with HIV
but was being attacked by homophobic vigilantes like the Clean
Community Commandos fueled by the hateful radio announcer "the Roar".
When Nomad left for Dallas, Horseshoe decided to tag along.
(Nomad II#13) - In Dallas, Horseshoe and Nomad formed
a relationship over several weeks, but news filtered through that a
woman of no fixed description was injecting men with HIV, usually
through casual sex (actually Horseshoe in disguise). The media dubbed
the attacker "the Needle". Later, Horseshoe was in a protest about the
attacks to deflect blame, but was led away by Nomad and took an insulin
shot for her diabetes. One night, Nomad and Horseshoe attended a
nightclub and Horseshoe stabbed a man with a needle in a restroom;
angry, the victim took two guns and shot into the crowd but yielded
information to Nomad before falling unconscious to his stun disks.
Suspicious, Nomad discovered the incriminating evidence in Horseshoe's
belonging's and tracked her down where she had gone shopping with the
infant Bucky. Realizing he knew the truth, she fought back, knocking
Nomad away so that she could reach her needle and injected herself with
her HIV mix. The police arrived and arrested her. Meanwhile, the Hate
Monger
(Animus) had been watching and was amused by Nomad's comment that
fear, guilt, and hate won out over hope, innocence, and love.
Comments: Created by Fabian Nicieza (writer), Pat Olliffe (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks).
Given her psychological profile, it's likely she refused treatment and deteriorated quickly.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Needle (Horseshoe) has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Nomad II#13, p6, pan4 (main image)
p21, pan2 (headshot)
Appearances:
Nomad II#12 (April, 1993) -
Fabian Nicieza (writer), Pat Olliffe (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks),
Glenn Herdling (editor)
Nomad
II#13 (May, 1993) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Pat Olliffe (pencils),
Mark McKenna & Tom Palmer (inks), Glenn Herdling (editor)
First posted: 09/16/2019
Last updated:
09/16/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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