Daphne Morgan

Origin

Daphne Morgan was raised by a sect of warrior women known as the Coda, who had established a community on a mysterious island off the coast of Mozambique. Her mother was a Coda Warrior, and her father was Lucius Morgan, a Genactive soldier and former Team 7 member who had become a pirate and visited the island. Their relationship was strictly forbidden under Coda law and once discovered, Lucius was forced to flee for his life. Daphne grew up on the island not knowing her father. In contrast to her fierce warrior ‘sisters,’ Daphne had a gentle and nurturing personality, so she was deemed unfit for warrior training and instead became the personal servant of the Coda’s Majestrix.

Creation

Daphne Morgan was created in 1995 by writers Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and artist J. Scott Campbell and first appeared in issue #3 of the Gen13 ongoing series.

Major Story Arcs

Involvement with Gen 13

The members of the superhero team Gen 13 suffered an accident during an adventure at sea, becoming separated and washing up on different shores of the island. One of them, Sarah Rainmaker, was captured by the Coda and held prisoner under suspicion of being in league with the pirates, who were the Coda’s longtime enemies. The Majestrix interrogated Rainmaker and had her brutally tested in gladiator-like contests. Daphne fed and tended to Rainmaker while she was chained up in the Coda’s dungeons, and became convinced that Rainmaker was a virtuous person and not an enemy. The two eventually grew so close that Daphne decided to openly disobey her Majestrix and free Rainmaker from her captivity.

The pirates mounted a surprise attack against the Coda’s citadel, eventually breaking through and capturing the Majestrix. Just as it looked as though the Majestrix would be killed by one of the pirates, Rainmaker arrived and blasted the pirate with a lightning bolt, proving herself an ally of the Coda despite their mistreatment of her. With Rainmaker’s help, the Coda fought back and routed the pirates. Meanwhile, Daphne’s father Lucius had returned to the island and gathered the scattered Gen 13 members, who eventually all arrived at the Coda’s citadel and reunited with Rainmaker. Daphne was reunited with her father and chose to leave the Coda to join Lucius on his ship.

Relationship with Rainmaker

Despite their relatively short time together, Daphne and Rainmaker formed a strong bond with each other and it was implied that they had become more than just friends. But in 1995, the portrayal of same-sex romance in mainstream comics was still considered too daring and controversial. Wildstorm, getting cold feet at the last minute, abruptly pulled the plug on showing any obvious romantic involvement between the two characters. When Daphne and Rainmaker parted ways the original artwork featured the two women sharing a passionate kiss, but it was replaced just before publication with Rainmaker planting a much tamer kiss on Daphne’s forehead. Rainmaker then told her staring teammates that she and Daphne were “just friends,” though her teammates did not appear convinced.

The artwork of Daphne’s and Rainmaker’s original kiss eventually made it to print a year later, in Gen 13 Zine #1 as well as in Wizard Magazine #66 (described on the cover as “The art they didn’t want you to see!”), along with an explanation of their relationship as it was originally intended to be portrayed.

Powers and Abilities

Daphne Morgan is an attractive young woman in good physical health with no apparent superhuman powers. But her parentage, with a Genactive father and Coda Warrior mother, indicated that she was more than likely to develop superhuman abilities as she matured. Though her Coda Warrior ‘sisters’ felt that Daphne lacked the necessary toughness to become a Coda Warrior herself, Rainmaker assured her that she possessed the ‘spirit’ of a warrior.