Disambiguation – For the general public domain version, see: Morgana Le Fay.
Origin
Morgan Le Fay was born in Tintagel keep, in 6th century England to Duke Gorlois of Cornwall and Lady Igraine of Avalon. Even as a child Mogan had a magical essence about her. Her mother was so beautiful that the High King, Uther Pengragon, started a war with her husband to have her. Morgan’s father went off to fight Pendragon but was killed, as Pendragon had planed; then Pendragon demanded the Merlin, Taliesin, magickly cause him to appear to the castle keep’s guards as the master of the keep in order to gain entry. Lady Igraine would later comment that even in the Dukes raiment and the Merlin’s glamour she was not fooled. Uther and Igraine shared a magical night and were later wed. Igraine gave birth to his son, whom she named Arthur. Morigan despised Uther for murdering her father and claiming her mother, and grew jealous of her half-brother who was clearly favored by everyone but, most painfully, her mother. Igraine was so enamored by her husband that she often neglected her children, leaving Morgan to care for the little brother that she so resented, until Merlin claimed him and covertly transported the lad to be fostered in secrecy by one of Uther’s vassals, a common practice of the day. Morgan’s mother became increasingly melancholy since Merlin took Arthur away but she managed to forget Morgan very existence, fueling her wrath. Morgan would herslf be fostered in safety by her mother’s elder sister Vivianne, Lady of the Lake of Avalon, and became a priestess of the Mother Goddess, whom the Celts called Danu.
AVALON
It was on the isle of Avalon where Morgan learnt magick. She had an agile mind and studied diligently in preparation of inheriting the role of High Priestess and Lady of Avalon from her aunt Vivienne, quickly outstripping friends and rivals alike. She was trained by the most skilled of the senior priestesses, the Lady of Avalon herself and, eventually, the Merlin of Britannia.
In their youth, when Morgan was yet a novice priestess and Arthur a squire, the Merlin arranged for Arthur to partake in the ancient pagan Kingmaking ceremony, to ensure his eventual ascension to High King through the acceptance of the varying tribes of Celts. Aware of their familial relationship, the Lady of the Lake nonetheless appointed her chosen successor, Morgan, to fulfill the role of the Virgin Goddess and initiate the young Arthur into manhood. It had by then been several years since they had lain eyes on one another; it was dark and they were each covered in arcane symbols painted in deer blood; she was prepared for the rite, he was ecstatic following the ritual hunt and his killing by hand of the King Stag. They lay together that night as representations of Goddess and God incarnate on Earth; then again, the following morning for pleasure before they recognized one another. He felt shame. She was furious with Vivienne and abandoned Avalon enraged. Soon, she found she had conceived a child whom she bore in secret at the home of Vivienne and Igraine’s youngest sister Morgause, wed to King of Lothian, on the sea in the north of England where it seemed constantly cold and dark and with the constant squalling of seagulls. Morgan thought of Lot’s kingdom as being at the end of the world. She told no one of the sire of her son Modred, save her young aunt Morgause and even then with the pain of childbirth, who guarded well the secret to use one day against Arthur, as she was plotting to see one of her own sons crowned High King; with Arthur’s own son the obvious heir, Morgause manipulated Morgan into fostering the young Mordred as her own, that he would ever she her, rather that Morgan, as his mother.
Morgan next elected to keep Arthur close, the better to wield power from behind the throne. In order to gain his trust, she often battled beside him, at times in the shape of a dragon, or a lioness, or her human visage, defeating numerous of his enemies. As time dragged on, Arthur did not grant her a kingdom or any of the rewards that a male knight would be gifted. Further, her hold on him waned as he found a new queen, the lady Guinevere who, incidently, was madly in love with Arthur’s closest friend, his and Morgan’s cousin by Vivienne, Lancelot du Lock, This put Morgan and Vivienne at odds, in part because Morgan was also secretly in love with sir Lancelot who, although being intimate with Morgan, had eyes only for Guineverre, his best friend’s wife. Morgan manipulated events so that Lancelot would deflower Guinevere’s cousin, the Lady Elaine, thinking her Guinevere whom she closely resembled, forcing Lancelot into Marriage in order to preserve his and the maiden’s honour; in retaliation, Guinevere arranged that Morgan become betrothed to old King Uriens of Wales. Morgan agreed to the handfasting only because she was lead to believe that she would be marrying her younger lover Accolon, Uriens’ son; when the betrothal was announced publicly, Morgan was herself caught, unable to honorably undo Guinevere’s ploy. Thus, Morgan became Dutchess of Wales as well as true heir of Tintagel, a claim contentiously denied by Arthur. Following Uriens’s eventual death, Morgan convinced her lover Accolon to kill Arthur in battle, leaving Accolon to be crowned High King as interim before Mordred came of age. Accolon, however, failed in his quest and fell in battle to Excalibur. For her part in the conspiracy of treason, Morgan was shut away in her castle. Mordred later attempted patricide, and was killed by Arthur as well, but not before inflicted mortal wounds on his father. Arthur died in Morgan’s arms, without an heir, ending the reign of Camelot.
Creation
Based on the Morgan Le Fay of Arthurian myth and legend, Marvels version of Morgan was adapted by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely in Black Knight #1 released in 1955, then adapted again into the Marvel Universe in Spider-Woman issue 2 (1975) by Marv Wolfman, Carmine Infantino and Tony De Zuniga.
Major Story Arcs
Darkhold
Sometime in the 7th century, C.E. (Common Era), Morgan procured the Darkhold and bound the indestructible parchments into the leather-wrought Book of Sins. She lead a cult of Darkholders in a dark rite to invoke Chthon but the Elder God proved too powerful to either control or entirely contain, so she bound a portion of Chthon to Mount Wundagore and banished what she could from whence he came. However, her disciple and lover Magnus the Sorcerer absconded with the tome.
Versus Spider-Woman and into the Marvel Universe
Morgan projected her astral form from her physical body to the present day. She mentally dominated “Slapper” Struthers, transforming him into the superhuman Excaliber, and directed him to retrieve the Darkhold from Magnus. He failed, and she traveled in astral form to steal the Darkhold from the Werewolf Jack Russel but she was defeated by Spider-Woman and Magnus. Impressed by her battle skills, Morgan attempted to indenture Spider-Woman into servitude, but was again defeated. Seeking revenge, she proceeded to torment Spider-Woman, but Magus interceded and Morgan’s physical body was destroyed in combat with Spider-Woman’s astral form. However, she was able to lock out Spider-Woman’s astral form from her physical body, and attempted to possess it for herself but was thwarted by the Avengers, Magnus, Doctor Strange, and the Shroud in battle on the astral plane.
Morgan then attempted to possess the body of Lisa Russell, but was repulsed by Iron Man. She allied with Mordred the Evil and dispatched Dreadknight, Balor and other Celtic netherworld monsters against the Black Knight and Doctor Strange, attempting to transform Earth into a dimension ruled by black magick.
Sometime later, Doctor Doom and Iron Man were flung back in time by the traitorous Hauptmann to the era of Camelot. During this time, Doom met with Morgan to enlist her in aid in wresting his mother Cynthia von Doom’s soul from imprisonment by Mephisto in Hell. Morgan agreed on the provision that Doom become the general of her army of undead warriors those slain by the sword Excalibur against her half-brother, King Arthur. Iron Man defeated Morgan, causing her to flee to another realm. Doom swore vengeance on Iron Man for his interference, vowing to see the hero dead.
Atlantis
Morgan reincarnated in the present era where she became a PhD in oceanography and used her magicks to raise Atlantis from beneath the sea, killing the vast majority of its water-breathing population.
Avengers assemble again
Conjuring monsters of Norse mythology, she and Mordred lured a team of Avengers including the Scarlet Witch to Tintagel in Cornwall, England. There, she abducted the Scarlet Witch and used her reality manipulating powers to ‘bridge the gap’ between her Celtic faerie magick and an Asgardian doomsday device, the Twilight Sword. accessing the sword’s magick, she transformed the world into a Middle Ages analogue of itself that she herself ruled. However, Scarlet Witch further altered reality by resurrecting Wonderman who freed Wanda and the other Avengers, restoring the previous reality.
Doctor Doom is revealed to be in a sexual relationship with Morgan, traveling back to the past in order to carry on romantic liaisons with her. She ordered Doom to bring her back something of value as tribute when next time he comes to her, or to not come back at all. He returned, asking her help in creating an army of loyal inhuman warriors. She asked what she would get in return, and Doom asked what she wanted. Her response is unknown but Doom reappeared in the present era with his army of Mindless Ones. Later, after his inevitable defeat, Morgan is seen gazing longingly out her window for the return of her lover, unaware of his failure at the hands of the Mighty Avengers.
Dark Avengers
Morgan appeared in Dark Avengers as the team’s first nemesis where she would attempt to kill Doom for his deceit towards her. Doom had offered himself to her in trade for her occult knowledge but had betrayed her by his failures. She used the Second Sight to witness the formation of the Cabal and traveled through time with an army of demons to murder Victor von Doom while he was a child, but ultimately decided that Doom should know why she was going to kill him. She chose shortly after the Skrull invasion to engage Doom in magical combat. As he began to lose, a HAMMER soldier informed Osborn and the Dark Avengers were dispatched to rescue Doom. The Sentry forcibly decapitated her but she immediately reappeared in his place, possessing Venom who then attacked Ares. She was killed a second time by Bullseye, but again she reappeared. She and her demonic army continued fighting the Dark Avengers while Doom and Iron Patriot traveled back in time to kill her in the 6th century. As the two men arrived earlier in history, they were met with a magickal assault.
They were victorious due in large part to the considerable amounts of iron in their armor, as faerie enchantments are weakened by cold iron. In the present, Morgan revealed to Osborn Doom’s intent to betray her and that, if successful, her untimely death would adversely will affect Doom’s own lifeline, claiming Doom would fall to his nature and betray Osborn. Doom responded by chanting a spell in a language of which even possessed no knowledge, forcibly sending the sorceress into her own enchanted cauldron. Though Morgan survived, she was sent to 1,000,000 B.C.E., where she could be seen running from a tribe of cavemen fighting a dinosaur, presumably powerless.
Powers and Abilities
Morgan le Fay possesses a natural affinity for magical forces as a result of her half-faerie heritage. She is also possessed of a gifted intellect and, as a former disciple of both of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake, she possesses a great deal of magical lore and considered among the greatest of sorceresses in Earth’s history. Her magickal abilities are derived from three major sources: due to her faerie heritage, she possesses innate personal powers; she also possesses abilities all humans potentially have, such as the ability to engage in astral projection; and she has honed the faerie ability to manipulate mystical energy, often through spells and enchantments of ancient Celtic origin, through practice. In addition, she has abilities as a high priestess of the Earth Goddess (Gaea) by invoking her Celtic name, Danu. Although not all of Morganâs powers have been documented as yet, it is known that she can mystically manipulate both the natural environment of Earth and the environment of the astral plane. She can cast illusions, project mystical bolts which can affect physical beings and objects even when she is in astral form, create mystical force shields, and remove spirits from their bodies and place those spirits under her control. When in physical form, she can fly and change her shape into other people or animals, either actual or mythical. She has healing powers which she may have used on her former foe, King Arthur, while transporting him to the Otherworld. Morgan can tap into and manipulate potent magickal energies for powerful feats of magick without having to expend her personal energy, such as when she used the power of the Norn Stones and the Twilight Sword to restructure reality. There may be an upper limit to how much energy Morgan can control, as when she tapped into these energies she did so through the Scarlet Witch. Further, Morgan is virtually immortal. Her soul survived the physical death of her body, and she has even re-formed following the destruction of her astral form.
Morgan possesses the ability to manipulate the forces of magick for a variety of effects, including mind control, illusion-casting, astral projection, the projection of mystical bolts of force, creation of mystic force shields, the removal of spirits from their physical bodies and mental domination of those spirits, healing, and the ability to mentally manipulate the natural environment of Earth and the astral plane. She is able to time travel and can return from death using time travel. I n her physical form, she i s able to fly and change her shape into that of other people or animals. Morgan has utilized the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to bind Doctor Strange and Balor, proving her capabilities of manipulating extra-dimensional mystical energies from the Octessence, if needed. Due to her hybrid half-human, half-faerie nature, Morgan is possessed of the fair-folk’s vulnerability to “cold iron” or steel and these materials can both bind and cause her harm in either her physical or astral form.
Physical Characteristics
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair: Magenta
Eyes: Shadowy Emerald Green; glowing with violet eldritch energy when using magic
Other Media
Games
Marvel Aventers Alliance
Morgan is a boss in the game, making her debut in Special Operation 30: Instruments of Darkness
Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics
Morgan was a boss in the short lived online game.
Marvel: War of Heroes
Morgan appears in several cards in the mobile card game Marvel: War of Heroes. Her cards are:
- [Legendary Witch] Morgan Le Fay
-
[Immortal] Morgan Le Fay
Relationships
Doctor Doom
Morgan has had a very interesting relationship with Doom over the years. They first met when Doctor Doom and Iron Man had accidentally gone back in time to King Arthur’s kingdom. When Doom learns about Morgan he goes to meet her and she manipulates him into leading her forces to kill Arthur since she is restricted to her palace. Doctor Doom obliges and fails. Morgan escapes leaving Doom stranded and Doom and Iron Man are forced to team up to escape.
Doom next meets Morgan when he captures her from Mephisto by making a better deal with the devil. He uses her to get a spell done, and then double crosses her as she did him earlier.
Doom and Morgan’s relationship really starts to develop soon after when he visits Morgan in her time to learn the dark arts from the superior sorceress. She teaches him for certain prices. He does what she asks of him under protest. They occasionally also exchange threats boasting about their capabilities and what they could do to each other. This usually ends with Morgan getting in the last word, and Doom bowing to her and doing what he is told.