Origin
De’Lila was the leader of a group of renegade Skrull malcontents. She sought to establish a rule of her own in the Skrull Empire and believed that an errant Inorganic Technotroid egg, which had landed on Earth’s Monster Island, was the means to achieve her desires of assassinating the Skrull Emperor.
Creation
De’Lila was created by Walter Simonson and Arthur Adams.
Major Story Arcs
Big Trouble on Little Earth!
With the use of her shapeshifting and telepathy, De’Lila was able to deftly incapacitate each member of the Fantastic Four by appearing to them in the form of their respective lovers. Then, in the guise of Susan Storm, she made her own Fantastic Four, choosing the temporary “Fantastic Four” of heroes Ghost Rider, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Wolverine as more susceptible pawns in her plan. She sent them to deal with the team of Skrull soldiers that had come to apprehend her, claiming that they had assassinated the Fantastic Four, while she secretly began using Mr. Fantastic‘s equipment to search for the Technotroid.
Where Monsters Dwell!
Unable to locate the Technotroid by herself, De’Lila revived Mr. Fantastic, and forced him to help her. He ended up leading her to Monster Island, where they ran into the Skrull team, as well as De’Lila’s Fantastic Four.
Eggs got Legs!
Accidentally having revealed that the Skrulls hadn’t killed Mr. Fantastic and the Fantastic Four, De’Lila revealed her true appearance and used her telepathy to coerce the Mole Man and her Fantastic Four to kill the Skrull soldiers. Ghost Rider proved immune to her powers however, and was able to protect the Skrulls. Slipping away with Mr. Fantastic, De’Lila managed to find the Technotroid egg in the hands of Giganto, who treated it as its own egg. When the Technotroid hatched from its egg, it imprinted itself on Giganto, who treated it as its own child. Her plan thwarted, De’Lila attempted to escape once again, but Mr. Fantastic was able to stop her, after which Ghost Rider exposed her to his nightmarish “penance stare” which shattered her sanity and suppressed her powers.
Bizarre Love Triangle
De’Lila was about to be taken away by the Skrull soldiers, but Kristoff Vernard secretly appeared and broke De’Lila out of the trance Ghost Rider’s penance stare had put her in, while also augmenting her powers so that she could serve as an unwitting distraction for him. She quickly escaped her confinement and used her powers to drive everyone into a murderous rage. Spider-Man, Susan Storm, Sharon Ventura, and Ghost Rider were able to elude her influence, but Human Torch, Thing, Mr. Fantastic, Wolverine, and the Hulk were not and tried to kill everyone. After a heated battle, Spider-Man and Susan were able to bring the rest of their friends to their senses, and De’Lila reluctantly surrendered herself. De’Lila’s escape attempt had however given Kristoff the time he needed to acquire a sample of the Technotroid’s shell.
Powers & Abilities
In addition to her native Skrull shapeshifting powers, De’Lila has low level telepathic and empathic abilities. Able to read surface thoughts, sense emotions, and pull images from a target’s mind, she tends to shift her form into someone whom they desire.