Fury I

The character Fury was invented in 1987 by Roy Thomas following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. That event had removed Wonder Woman from DC's Golden Age continuity, and Fury created to be her "replacement." The problem was that Thomas had already introduced Wonder Woman's daughter—a modern-day teen-aged heroine called Fury. So she needed a new mother, but it wasn't as simple as that...

Just before her first appearance, Helena appeared on the movie poster depicting members of the JSA. (Infinity, Inc. #35) This cameo was her actual first appearance in print. It suggests that perhaps Fury was originally meant to be the post-Crisis replacement for Wonder Woman in the JSA (a slot ultimately filled by Miss America).

Fury, along with her fellow Young All-Stars was created by Roy Thomas to fill the "void" left by several pre-Crisis mainstays. Fury (and in part, Miss America and Gudra of Axis Amerika) is a substitute for Wonder Woman.

In pre-Crisis continuity, Lyta Trevor was the daughter of the Earth-2 Wonder Woman and she first appeared in Wonder Woman #300. Lyta's post-Crisis history was revealed in Infinity, Inc. #48, after the Crisis wiped out the Golden Age Wonder Woman.

Golden Age

Helena Kosmatos was a young Greek woman whose father was killed in 1940 by Italian fascists who had invaded Greece in the following year.

One evening in 1941, in her home in Athens, fifteen-year-old Helena angrily accused her brother Michael of collaborating first with the Italians and then with the Germans. When Helena produced evidence supporting her charges, her distraught mother suffered a fatal heart attack. She accused Michael of causing their mother's death, and he fled.

Helena was herself pursued by German soldiers and ran to the Areopagus ("Hill of Ares") where she stamped her foot in rage while cursing her brother. By doing so, Helena unwittingly called upon the three Furies (also called the Erinyes or Eumenides) of ancient myth, deities who mercilessly avenged crimes. One of them, Tisiphone the Blood Avenger, asked Helena if she wanted to kill her brother. When Helena said yes, Tisiphone touched her with her scythe, and endowed her with some of her godlike powers.

Helena found herself back on the hill, clad in armor. As Fury she overcame the Nazi soldiers and found her brother piloting a boat carrying Nazi agents. She killed him then reverted back to her normal form. She drifted in the Aegean Sea until she was rescued by Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick). He took her to America, where she went to live with her uncle and aunt in Miami. (Secret Origins vol. 2 #12)

At first Helena thought she had dreamt her meeting with the Furies. But she became Fury again in April 1942 and helped the All-Star Squadron battle Axis Amerika. In fact, Tisiphone's rage caused Helena to kill one of Axis' members, Fledermaus. At seventeen, Helena joined the Squadron as one of its new "Young All-Stars." (Young All-Stars #1-6)

After Helena's next violent transformation, Tisiphone's activities drew the attention of her sisters, the Eumenides. These Furies reclaimed Tisiphone's powers, but soon all three agreed to grant Helena their powers. Their only restriction was that Helena must remain a virgin. (#12, 14, 20) During her time with the All-Stars, Helena struck up a romantic relationship with Iron Munro, but the two of them abstained from sex.

Mystery Years

Fury's post-war activities are a mystery. Over the years, Helena had come to idolize Queen Hippolyta (Wonder Woman). It went so far that Helena became delusional that Hippolyta was her real mother. (Legends of the DCU #31) Decades later, Helena became pregnant by an unknown man and bore a daughter. She named the girl Lyta, after Wonder Woman. Lyta was left in the care of another mentor, Joan Dale (Miss America) and her husband, Admiral Derek Trevor. They raised Lyta as their own daughter and never revealed her true parentage (her father's identity remained a mystery). Lyta was born with metahuman strength and later joined the group Infinity, Inc. as Fury II. (Infinity Inc. #48) NOTE: Curiously, Helena kept her powers even though the Eumenides had warned they would rescind their gift if she was not a virgin.

Helena Kosmatos slipped into obscurity until she reappeared in the nation of New Vladonia. At the behest of her lover, Alcmaeon, she attacked Wonder Woman (Hippolyta's daughter, Diana). Fury still harbored delusions that Hippolyta was in some way her biological mother. Now in her eighties, Helena was residing in a convalescent home, and retained her youth only when using her powers. At the conclusion of this case, when Alcmaeon was defeated, Fury was taken by Diana to live on Themyscira. (Legends of the DCU #30-32)

Even after relocating to Themyscira, Fury's mental problems continued. Once again, she attacked Diana and her sister Donna during the a time when civil war was brewing among the Amazons. This war was instigated by Ariadne (Hippolyta's sister's killer), whom Fury ultimately killed. (Wonder Woman vol. 2 #168-169)

When Themyscira was attacked by Brother Eye's army of OMACs, Helena joined the Amazons in defending her adoptive home. (#223) At Diana's urging, the Amazons then left Earth for parts unknown rather than use their Purple Death Ray to slaughter the innocent people trapped within the OMACs. Helena's fate was not revealed, but she presumably departed with the other Amazons.

During the same crisis, Lyta Trevor and her husband, Hector Hall, were sent to Hell by the Spectre. Their son, Daniel, took their souls to the Dreaming, warning that they could never return to Earth. (JSA #80)

Powers

Fury possessed super-strength. She could run with super-speed and wore lightweight bulletproof armor. She could also transform herself into an avatar of Tisiphone the Fury of myth. In this form, she was virtually invulnerable and could fly, and project magical heat beams from her eyes.

Appearances + References

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:

• Infinity Inc. #48
• Legends of the DCU #30-32
• Wonder Woman vol. 2 #168-169, 224

» SERIES:

• Young All-Stars, 31 issues (1987–89)

» SEE ALSO:

• Fury II