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Featuring the following heroine!
Morgan Le Fey
AKA: Morgana Le Fey. The Queen of Gorre. The Witch-Queen.
First appearance: Technically it was Spider-Woman 2, but as far as Morgan is concerned she first became aware of the possibilities the future might hold in Iron Man 150. It's one of those time-travel anomalies one runs into occasionally in comics. (...Okay, so it's one of those time travel anomalies one runs into constantly in comics!)
Died in: Spider-Woman 6, Avengers 241, and Iron Man 209. None of which proved permanent -- being a sorceress comes in handy when dealing with issues of mortality!
Favorite Quote: "Never did a lamb go more obligingly to the slaughter. Though, I concede, Arachnid, thou art far more lioness than lamb." (Spider-Woman 41; Morgan muses on Spider-Woman's character as Jessica walks into yet another trap designed to turn her body over to Le Fey's astral form).
Team affiliation: Generally working alone (although she occasionally calls upon the odd demon for help), Morgan once allied herself with a cult of Darkhold followers before realizing that the entity of the Darkhold, Chthon, was too powerful for her to control and imprisoning it. She asked a time-displaced Dr. Doom to lead her army in battle against King Arthur (Iron Man 150 -- a pretty cool story, by the way, well worth searching out). The sorceress is, incidentally, one of only a few powerful women the usually impervious Doom has been attracted to; Silver Sable may be more than just another diplomat to him (jury is still out on that), while one of the Doctor's Doombots once found Storm of the X-Men fascinating.
Powers: A half-human practitioner of faerie magic, Morgan supplemented her natural abilities by learning the dark magic of the Darkhold, making her one of the most powerful magicians in the Marvel Universe. Her ability to time slip by projecting her astral form means she can menace heroes and heroines from all ages, not just her own medieval one. This has allowed Le Fey to harass Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, throughout Jessica's career as a superheroine and beyond. Morgan can influence dreams, recreate reality, and routinely survives the destruction of her corporeal form. Despite her mystical might, Morgan was for a time physically bound to her own castle when Merlin, allegedly one of the good guys, used a spell far darker than any of Morgan's own to prevent her from leaving it.
Favorite storyline: I already mentioned Iron Man 150, right? Morgan manipulates two pretty smart guys, Dr. Doom and Tony Stark, into a futile battle, betrays 'em both, and achieves her ultimate goal despite her double dealing. What's not to like?
Least favorite storyline: Iron Man 209. In one of the most repulsive scenes ever depicted in a code-approved book, Morgan was strapped down to a rock and assaulted by one of Arthur's knights under orders from Merlin. An utterly gratuitous act of violence against a woman in a genre that often seems replete with gratuitous acts of violence against women. It had zippo to do with the rest of the story in the comic, and was the reason for a several year gap in my Iron Man collection that I didn't bother filling in until recently. (Just in time for the Iron Lad issues; that'll learn me!)
