Artemis of Bana-Mighdall is an Amazon superheroine, a comic book character published by DC Comics. The character was created by William Messner-Loebs and Mike Deodato, and debuted in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #90 (September 1994) as a rival to Princess Diana of Themyscira. Artemis had briefly succeeded Diana as the new Wonder Woman, but was later killed while assuming the role, fulfilling a prophecy of Wonder Woman dying. After her death, Artemis was sent to the Underworld, but eventually returned to the world of the living.
Publication history
Artemis of Bana-Mighdall debuted in Wonder Woman vol. 2 #90 (September 1994) and was created by writer William Messner-Loebs and artist Mike Deodato.
Fictional character history Amazon tribe background As described in her comic book appearances, Artemis was born an Amazon as a member of the Egyptian tribe of Bana-Mighdall, who migrated from Greece to various European and Middle Eastern countries before settling in Egypt.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #33 Three thousand years ago, the two Amazon Queens (Hippolyta and Antiope) split the Amazon nation in two. Hippolyta's tribe traveled to the isolated island of Themyscira (otherwise known as Paradise Island) to live immortal lives to protect the doorway to the Underworld called Doom's Doorway. Antiope's tribe was never given immortality and were forced to mate with common men to guarantee their tribe's survival over the centuries. As they had renounced their Olympian gods once the two Queens parted ways, they eventually began to assimilate various religions and goddesses from the many lands they traveled to. Some of those included the goddesses Isis, Mammitu, Bast, and Neith. It was in Egypt that they finally built the city of Bana-Mighdall, which in their language translates to "The Temple of Women". Thanking the Amazons for their worship, one of their new goddesses created a powerfully consistent sandstorm to surround and protect their city from any outsiders who could not be trusted, or "ariadnas". The Bana-Mighdallian Amazons began an uneasy trade with outside cities to create commerce. They would exchange custom-made weapons and their warrior skills for goods and slaves for breeding.
Enter: Artemis Over the centuries the Bana-Mighdallian weapons and services became above par and were in much demand. This way of living continued until the late 20th century. It was into this period that Artemis was born. As a child, Artemis was raised in poverty among her tribe, running naked through barren hills and often hungry.Artemis: Requiem #1 By the time she was 10 years old she was trained to carry 50 lbs. packs silently across night battlefields.Artemis: Requiem #2 At one point in her teens she briefly left her people to find a new life in Man's World, allying with Ra's al Ghul as he launched a plan to decimate the world with stolen nuclear missiles acquired with the aid of a salvaged Bizarro, claiming to be eighteen rather than fourteen and proving herself as a trained warrior by defeating several of Ra's forces. After being defeated by Batman, Artemis eventually turned against Ra's after leading him to Themyscira with the intention of allowing him to use it as a base, realising during the attack that she could not cause the deaths of her own people. She returned home after being inspired by a brief meeting with Superman, opting to return to a life of relative tranquility.Trinity #1–3
Eventually Wonder Woman found their city while searching for the villain the Cheetah, who had stolen her golden Lasso of Truth.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #29 As the Bana-Mighdallian's original Themyscirian language had changed over time to incorporate Middle Eastern dialects, Diana had a hard time communicating with the newly found Amazons. Eventually a battle took place between her and the Bana-Mighdallian's chief warrior or Shim'Tar. Soon an enraged Olympian god Hermes, who was in love with Diana, took vengeance on the desert Amazons for attacking his beloved, and the city of Bana-Mighdall was destroyed.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #35 Homeless, the remaining Amazons eventually took up with the witch Circe who was a nemesis of Wonder Woman.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #56 It was agreed that in exchange for their servitude during the events of the War of the Gods, Circe would grant them immortality and a new home to call their own.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #90 It was decided that since the Themyscirian princess was the initial cause of their city being destroyed, they would take over her Amazon city instead. Though only fourteen years old at this time, Artemis spoke before the Queen and Council to protest the planned attack as she felt that Amazons must not war against each other.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #0 Her cries were ignored and the attack was undertaken.
Amazons united During the attack on Themyscira, Circe showed her true colors and teleported the island into a dimension of demons in order for both tribes to be destroyed. The two tribes put aside their rivalry temporarily and fought the demons to ensure the Amazon survival. Though only a few months passed in the real world, the time the Amazons spent in the demon dimension lasted ten years. Discovering that Circe had made her island home disappear, Wonder Woman forced her to return it to its rightful place.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #89 Once this was done Wonder Woman learned about the invasion, the demon war, and the Amazon truce. She eventually met Artemis who was now in her mid-20s. The two got off to a rocky start, but Diana could see that Artemis' heart was true.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #90 (September 1994)
Wonder Woman
Due to being in the demon dimension, Hippolyta began to see visions of the future. One of those visions included Wonder Woman dying. Keeping this to herself, she called for a new Contest for the title of Wonder Woman, claiming that she felt that Diana had proven inadequate in the role despite Diana's insistence that the world outside was more complicated than they had imagined. Initially excluding the new Amazons, Hippolyta submitted to a vote on the whole to include them at Diana's behest. Through some mystical managing on Hippolyta's part, Artemis eventually won the Contest and became the new Wonder Woman.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #92 Hippolyta then declared to both tribes that she considered Artemis her own daughter for winning the Contest, and during her entire tenure as Wonder Woman Artemis wore Diana's tiara. As gifts to aid her in her new mission, Artemis was given several magical objects. The Gauntlet of Atlas which increased its wearer's strength by ten times, The Sandals of Hermes which gave the gift of speed and flightWonder Woman vol. 2 #7 and the golden Lasso of Truth which forced anyone tied by it to speak only the truth.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #1
Although Artemis tried diligently to distinguish herself from her predecessor in both New York City and Boston, this proved to be rather hard to do. Her approach to various situations were often seen as more violent than beneficial. Because of this, and due to Man's World's respect of Diana, Artemis often would receive the cold shoulder from those she tried to help, extending even to her brief time in the Justice League.Justice League America #97 - 100 Superman once commented to Diana that Batman refused to allow Artemis to sit in Diana's chair during Justice League meetings.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #226 Diana's twin sister Donna Troy even showed resentment toward Artemis carrying the Wonder Woman title, which caused their first meeting to escalate into a heated argument.Guy Gardner Warrior #29 (March 1995)
She later met a representative from a public relations company who agreed to help Artemis with her public likeability. What Artemis was not aware of was that the company, with the help of the White Magician, had set up several battles for her with superhuman men. However, she ultimately helped downtrodden groups such as immigrant workers and abused women.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #98 Once she uncovered this truth she set about to prove herself by single-handedly taking down Boston's biggest mob boss: Julianna Sazia. Unable to capture Julianna, Artemis destroyed her army of robots and Sazia's booby-trapped mansion. Later, Artemis' arrogance gained the better of her, and she died in a battle with the White Magician who gained extreme power while accidentally being transported to Hell. Thus, Hippolyta's vision of Wonder Woman dying was fulfilled.
Requiem After Artemis's death as Wonder Woman, her soul was sent to a form of Hell. While in the Underworld Artemis became a figurative bride to one of the thirteen ruling Princes of Hell named Dalkriig-Hath.Artemis: Requiem mini-series As his bride Artemis became part of Dalkriig-Hath's legion of demonic warriors.Underworld Unleashed #3 Eventually Artemis was able to kill Dalkriig-Hath and regain access to the world of the living. Wanting to separate herself from her former title as Wonder Woman, Artemis used her skills learned in Tartarus to her advantage and joined a group of demon-hunting heroes called the Hellenders. Based in Waverly, Pennsylvania, she was assigned the codename Javelin, which she quickly rejected for the name Requiem. Artemis developed a romantic interest in fellow Hellender Sure-Shot, a master of arsenal and projection weapons. This interest was dropped though when she discovered that Sure-Shot's perceived self-assuredness was brought on by psychotropic drugs which were meant to keep various Hellender members fearless while battling the likes of demons and ghouls.
She also befriended a woman by the name of Henrietta Jessup, who went by the codename Sojourner. Though Sojourner did not have any warrior skills to speak of, Artemis stood by her friend and tutored her as a novice Amazon. For unknown reasons Artemis left the Hellenders and aided Diana in Gateway City as a fellow crime fighter.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #139–158 She also became close friends with Cassie Sandsmark. Artemis' previous teacher/mentor relationship with Sojourner was later expanded as Wonder Woman asked Artemis to take Cassie on as a new pupil. It was with Artemis' Amazon training lessons that Cassie was able to hone her skills in becoming the new Wonder Girl.Wonder Woman vol. 2 #142–158 Later still, Artemis' teacher/mentor resume would expand even more to even include the combat training of Supergirl.Superman/Batman #10 It was during the initial meeting with Supergirl that Artemis would gain her revenge against Batman for his hostile attitude towards her when she attempted to join the Justice League. Artemis pinned Batman in hand-to-hand combat, but was eventually subdued with one of Batman's tranquilizer darts.Superman/Batman #9
The Underworld demon Belyllioth, who served as master over some of the Myrmidon demons, later contacted Artemis to inform her of an unrest in Tartarus.Wonder Woman Annual vol. 2 #6 (1997) With the death of the demon Dalkriig-Hath, the remaining twelve princes of Hell were battling for dominion over the dead demon's realm. As Dalkriig-Hath's widow, Artemis was, by rights, next in line to rule his region of Hades. Artemis ended the demonic war by presenting herself before the twelve demon rulers to officially be granted her former husband's station. After the blessing ceremony was given, Artemis revealed that the blessing was actually given to Belyllioth, who was magically disguised in Artemis' form. Angered by her deception, the twelve princes of Hell vowed vengeance against Artemis upon her return to Hades. Fortunately for Artemis, her devoted friend Belyllioth (now officially one of the thirteen rulers of Tartarus) has sworn her allegiance and protection to the Amazon for eternity.