Letha

Origin

Letha battling Quasar.
Letha battling Quasar.

One of the original members of the Grapplers, Letha had her strength augmented by the Power Broker and given cybernetic enhancements by Roxxon Oil. With these abilities, Letha became a mercenary who posed as a wrestling celebrity. During her first missions with the Grapplers, Letha encountered Quasar, Captain America, the Thing, and Dazzler.

After her teammate Titania was killed by the Scourge, Letha and several other super-villains met up at the Bar With No Name to discuss the villain-killing vigilante. However, during the meeting, Letha and the other attendees were brutally murdered by the Scourge posing as a bartender. Letha was later mourned by Songbird.

Creation

Letha was created by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. She first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #54, August 1979.

Major Story Arcs

Dark Reign

Letha and several other victims of the Scourge were resurrected by The Hood, She was given the ability to incite blind rage into her enemies, while retaining her superhuman strength. She, with the other villains, were given a second chance at life only if she is able to murder the Punisher. She and Lascivious claimed leadership of the revived villains, declaring that because everyone thought of them as nobodies, they’d easily be able to kill the Punisher and take over the city.

Letha fighting the Punisher
Letha fighting the Punisher

Together with Lascivious, Letha hatched a plan to get Punisher’s attention. She used her new powers to cause a group of war veterans to kill each other. Letha then killed the owners of a flower boutique and posed as the shop owner. Punisher tracked her and Lascivious to the shop, where he discovered he was immune to their powers. Letha decided to simply kill Punisher using her superhuman strength, but he was able to electrocute her. As he prepared to kill Letha, Spider-Man appeared and saved her. While he spoke to Punisher, Letha took the opportunity to punch the Punisher through a window and attacked Spider-Man with a car. Questioned by Spider-Man, Letha responds by using her powers to make Spider-Man attack Punisher.

While the two battled, Letha and Lascivious escaped in a car. Letha, certain that Spider-Man will kill Punisher, doesn’t realize the vigilante had made his way into their escape car. Punisher points his gun at the women, but Spider-Man once again saves them. In a final attempt, Punisher shoots a giant hammer from a sign on a skyscraper. It flies down and smashes Letha’s car, knocking her unconscious and allowing Spider-Man to slip back to his senses. Lascivious, distraught over Letha’s defeat, is attacked by Punisher. Spider-Man stops him from killing the women, and while they argue, Lascivious uses her powers to make Spider-Man fall in love with Punisher. She grabs Letha and finds Bird-Man, who flies them to safety.

Later, Letha and Lascivious once again attacked Punisher, this time using Mirage‘s illusions to disguise them as the Avengers. With the Deadly Dozen, the women were defeated by Punisher. However, Death Adder and Basilisk were able to defeat Punisher, the surviving members of the Deadly Dozen were able to stay alive.

A Council Of Masters

Max Fury, the leader of the Shadow Council has assembled a new Masters of Evil in the sovereign nation of Bagalia where Letha is currently a member. Letha is present when Max Fury and the Masters of Evil capture John Steele after he attempts to escape Bagalia with the Serpent Crown and the Crown of Thorns.

Powers and Abilities

A skilled and acrobatic wrestler, Letha’s strength was enhanced through a treatment by the Power Broker; she can lift 2 tons.