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"Tala, you've come a long way since my untimely demise. But the student, however gifted, still has much to learn from the teacher."
Felix Faust[1]

Tala was a powerful sorceress and a former member of Project Cadmus. She was later recruited by Grodd's Legion of Doom. Tala was very jealous, possessive, and longed for affection. As a result, her loyalty was volatile.

History[]

Cadmus[]

Tala works on the Annihilator

Trying to reverse engineer the Annihilator.

Tala was the Division Head presumably responsible for magical and mystical projects. Her assignment was to concoct a plan to retrieve the Annihilator[2][3] and then remove its vulnerability. In order to accomplish the latter, Tala enlisted the unwitting help of her old mentor and implied lover― Felix Faust, after collecting his mortal remains from Tartarus, and trapping his soul inside a mirror.

Tala trapped

Tala trapped in Faust's containment.

However, during one of her failed attempts to reverse engineer the armor, Tala was tricked into casting a spell that freed Faust and trapped her in his stead.[1]

Legion of Doom[]

At some unspecified point, Tala was released from her magical prison by Grodd, who became the object to her undivided gratitude and affection from that point on albeit he wasn't a human being. She gladly joined Grodd's supervillain organization and placed her magical talents at his disposal. Tala teleported a team to the Himalayas and raided a Temple for the Heart of Nanda Parbat. At that point, she was completely loyal to Grodd and was the only one in the loop on his plan to turn every human on Earth into an ape ― herself included.

However, Tala's allegiance quickly shifted once Lex Luthor disposed of Grodd and took control over the Legion of Doom.[4] She asserted to Luthor that his pursuit of Brainiac was a "pure wild goose chase" and was growing increasingly desperate over his obsession. She cast a spell on Brainiac's fragment to prove it was just a rock; however, upon doing so, she was assailed by images of Brainiac's demise in outer space, which allowed Luthor to determine the location and set off after it.

Tala sacrificed

Tala's demise.

Eventually, Tala quickly grew tired of "competing with a dead computer" and being spurned by Lex Luthor. So, in an act of revenge, she turned to Grodd, who was being held prisoner within the headquarters, and raised a mutiny against Luthor. However, when Tala attempted to directly attack Luthor, she was subdued by her own magic thanks to a magic amulet that her former lover had purchased for such a situation.

After Luthor's warring faction emerged triumphant, Tala begged for forgiveness, pleading insanity. Luthor strapped her into a contraption to use her as a mystical conduit to reassemble Brainiac. In the end, Tala couldn't endure the painful process and died screaming, succumbing to the excruciating agony, but not before she used the last of her strength to interfere with the process to have it revive Apokolips ruler Darkseid instead as her final act of revenge on Luthor. Tala's corpse was later blown up when Darkseid destroyed the Hall of Doom.[5]

Powers and abilities[]

Spell backfires

Hurt by her own magic.

Tala is a gifted and powerful sorceress. Her magic, however, isn't as strong as Faust's, as she couldn't free herself from his mirror entrapment.[1]

  • Sorcery/Magic: Tala's powers include but are not limited to teleportation,[4][6] transmutation,[5] and telekinesis.[5] She was seen creating mystical warps, exorcising and banishing Deadman,[4] and projecting mystic bolts.[5] However, Tala's magic was disrupted and negated by other forms of magic or mystical talismans, such as Grodd's spell that freed her, and Luthor's medallion that repelled her attack. She also wasn't immune to her own magic, seeing as she was knocked out by the energy bolt Luthor repelled against her.[5]
  • Alchemy/Extensive Knowledge of magic: Tala's greatest weapon was her knowledge of sorcery, which she could employ in various ways, including a vast knowledge of potion brewing and modify magical objects such as attempt into eliminate the Annihilator's main weakness. She could also sense and show the history of certain objects by touching them such as the Brainiac fragment.[5]

Background information[]

  • Tala made her first appearance in Phantom Stranger Vol. 2 #4 (November–December 1969), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Neal Adams. Tala was an evil mystical entity and the mistress of the Dark Circle. Her agenda often consisted in tricking mortals into doing evil deeds, or unleashing the apocalypse onto the modern world. She was, however, always frustrated by the Phantom Stranger, a mystic wanderer whom she claimed to have taken a liking to. Her DCAU counterpart has different origins, here a seemingly human sorcerer with less ambitious goals in mind.
  • Writer Matt Wayne, who wrote several Justice League Unlimited episodes, originally wanted to bring back Tala as a spirit in an episode that would have been part of a potential fourth season. In the episode's story, Tala's spirit returned after being killed by Luthor in "Alive!" and drives The Spectre (a character who ultimately never appeared in the show) out of control before Batman, Hawkgirl, Deadman and The Spectre's human host Jim Corrigan stop his rampage. Fortunately, Doctor Fate imprisoned Tala within a crystal ball and stopped her plans once and for all. Although it went unproduced, the episode's story was ultimately adapted in the tie-in comic Justice League Unlimited #37.[7]

Appearances[]

Justice League Unlimited

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Berkowitz, Stan (story) & McDuffie, Dwayne (teleplay) & Riba, Dan (director) (May 28, 2005). "The Balance". Justice League Unlimited. Season 1. Episode 18 (airdate). Episode 18 (production). Cartoon Network.
  2. McDuffie, Dwayne (story) & Goodman, Robert (teleplay) & Riba, Dan (director) (February 19, 2005). "The Doomsday Sanction". Justice League Unlimited. Season 1. Episode 16 (airdate). Episode 16 (production). Cartoon Network.
  3. McDuffie, Dwayne (story) & Cooke, Darwyn (teleplay) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director) (May 21, 2005). "Task Force X". Justice League Unlimited. Season 1. Episode 17 (airdate). Episode 17 (production). Cartoon Network.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 McDuffie, Dwayne (writer) & Riba, Dan (director) (February 18, 2006). "Dead Reckoning". Justice League Unlimited. Season 2. Episode 6 (airdate). Episode 32 (production). Cartoon Network.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Wayne, Matt (writer) & Riba, Dan (director) (May 6, 2006). "Alive!". Justice League Unlimited. Season 2. Episode 12 (airdate). Episode 38 (production). Cartoon Network.
  6. McDuffie, Dwayne (story) & Wayne, Matt (teleplay) & Riba, Dan (director) (March 4, 2006). "The Great Brain Robbery". Justice League Unlimited. Season 2. Episode 8 (airdate). Episode 34 (production). Cartoon Network.
  7. Interview with Matt Wayne at The World's Finest

External links[]


Project Cadmus
Members
Leader Amanda Waller
Sponsor Lex Luthor
PR / Manager Maxwell Lord
Division Heads
Genetics Emil Hamilton
Psychology Hugo Strange • Moon
Splicing Milo
Mysticism Tala
Military Tactics Wade Eiling
Agents
Captain Atom • Doomsday • Galatea
Ultimen Downpour • Juice • Shifter • Long Shadow • Wind Dragon
Task Force X Captain Boomerang • Clock King • Deadshot • Rick Flagg • Plastique


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