Phase
Created by Keith Giffen & Barry Kitson
+ History
Phase is one-third of Tinya Wazzo — Apparition of the Legion of Super-Heroes. This Tinya (who is not of Earth-0, but of Earth-247) is half Carggite, whose natives all have the ability to split into three bodies.
Tinya's father, Murl, had racked up such significant gambling debts that he incurred the wrath of the Luck Lords. To appease his creditors, he gave up two of his daughter's bodies to them. The Luck Lords made one into a servant until they sent her to the 20th Century to spare her from an enemy's wrath; this one eventually became the L.E.G.I.O.N.'s Phase. The second body was raised by Tinya's mother, Winema, on their native homeworld of Bgtzl. She would eventually join the Earth-247 Legion as Apparition. The third has not been seen since.
+ L.E.G.I.O.N. (Earth-0 universe)
One day at L.E.G.I.O.N.
headquarters on Cairn, a mysterious woman appeared out of nowhere. Likewise,
their teammate, the Durlan had disappeared
forever. This dark-haired woman had no memory of anything prior to
her appearance, but possessed the power to pass through solid objects.
At first, she fled from the L.E.G.I.O.N.naires, but seeing as she
wasn't going anywhere, they soon had no choice but to begin communicating
with one another.
(L.E.G.I.O.N.
#9)
Medical tests by Vril Dox and Marij'n Bek and mental probes by the Telepath revealed no explanations for the woman's origins, but she exhibited a strong drive to stay active, even in an unfamiliar place. (#12) She soon began putting her talents to use as a member of the L.E.G.I.O.N. and took the name Phase. (#13)
While in the 20th century, Phase met another hero who would become her teammate in the 30th century—M'onel. In the 20th century, M'onel was known by his given hame, Lar Gand (and later, Valor). (#16, Legion v.4 #119)
Phase arrived just before the tragic loss of one of the team's founders and beloved friends, Lyrissa Mallor. To fill this void, Dox soon appointed Phase to Mallor's former post as second-in-command. She proved herself admirably and averted a major crisis within her first hours of taking the post. She also wasted no time in standing up to Dox. She defied his wishes by making Marij'n Bek and Captain Comet official members. (#29)
When the L.E.G.I.O.N. was infiltrated by a traitor named Ig'nea, Dox disbanded the team. It was Phase who decided to defy him once again as she rallied the troops to stay on even in Dox's absence. Good thing, because they saved Dox from death at Ig'nea's hands. (#30-39)
Her adventures with the team ultimately brought her into contact with a race of phantoms who kidnapped children on the planet Dexll. These thieves tried to trick Phase into believing she was one of them, a long-lost relative. (#59) Upon further investigation she discovered that these people were taking children in order to appease a demon called Bhargast.The demon had enslaved the phantom people by stealing their youth. Once Bhargast was gone, these people, led by Bgztl, chose to colonize his "phantom" dimension. Given their inherent abilities, they were perfectly suited for life there. (#60) This phantom dimension will eventually be known as Bgztl.
The L.E.G.I.O.N. was Phase's life, but when it fell under the thrall of Vril Dox's son, Lyrl, she and other core members were forced to flee to escape his mind-control. (#70)
Phase and the other rebels ran from Lyrl's considerably persistent mind-slaves until Dox was able to fined a way to depose Lyrl. In the aftermath, Captain Comet assumed leadership of the L.E.G.I.O.N. Phase returned to active duty. (REBELS #1-17)
Just before she and the others were driven from Cairn by Lyrl, Phase met a strange man who called himself "Jo Nah." He appeared amid massive cosmic time fluctuations and claimed that they'd met in the past. (LEGION #69)
+ Meanwhile in the (Earth-247) 30th Century ...
A
second of Phase's bodies—the Legionnaire called Apparition—was killed in battle.
She managed to save her phantom self, however, inside her lover Jo Nah's body.
Jo was soon trapped with other Legionnaires in the 20th century. There, he
discovered that Tinya was living inside of him. But she could no longer achieve
a normal, corporeal form.
But as fate would have it, the two Wazzo "sisters" were now living in the same era, and their connection began to draw them back together. It began when the L.E.G.I.O.N. were rebel outlaws. Phase accompanied them on a trip to Earth where, apparently, she misplaced her "touchstone." (REBELS #13) This jewel was somehow connected to her powers, the only thing that she ever felt was a link to her past. When she finally noticed that it was missing, (Legion v.4 #87) Captain Comet sent her to Earth to try to find it. (#94, 97)
The touchstone was found on Earth by a young mystic, Tiffany Cross, who located Apparition. (Legion #87) Eventually, Phase returned to Earth to search for the Touchstone and met her twin. (#94, 97, 98) Phase re-merged with Apparition—as all Cargggites can—but due to the strange circumstances of Apparition being bodiless, their merge was permanent. They both eventually returned with Legion to the 30th Century. (#99-100)
Tinya's third body has never been recovered.
+ Original History (no longer in continuity)
In original stories (before Zero Hour changed the 30th Century Legion continuity), there was only one universe, and Phase was ultimately revealed to be Tinya Wazzo's (Phantom Girl's) cousin, Enya Wazzo. She was switched with the Durlan by the Legion's enemy, Glorith. Glorith wanted revenge on Tinya's fiancé, Jo Nah (Ultra Boy) and plotted to steal Tinya from the 30th century. The act was botched, Tinya actually died, and her cousin Enya, who was with her, was switched instead. The Durlan, by the way, became the Legion's founder, R.J. Brande. In current Earth-0 continuity, the Durlan as Brande is uncertain. In Earth-247 continuity, it has been suggested that Brande is the Martian Manhunter.
After Zero Hour, Phase's sole visit from Jo Nah was revealed to have been an Ultra Boy from a pocket universe created by the Time Trapper. (Legion #105)
The letter
column of R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 explains that the only way to
keep Phase in the book was if she was not Tinya Wazzo. Of course,
that changed again later.
In the Earth-247 Legion book, Phantom Girl is considered their resident expert on 21st century history.
Ambassador Winema Wazzo first appeared in Legionnaires #0 (October 1994). Her father Murl Wazzo first appeared in Legionnaires #28.
+ Powers
Phase could pass through any matter. She has demonstrated the ability to isolate this ability to only certain parts of her body as well.
Phase is also half-Carggite and so she once had the ability to split into three bodies.
Appearances + References
|
 |
|
|
|
