Artemis of Bana-Mighdall
Encyclopedia : A : AR : ART : Artemis of Bana-Mighdall
Artemis of Bana-Mighdall is a fictional Amazon superheroine created by writer William Messner-Loebs, appearing in DC Comics comic books. Artemis first appeared in the Wonder Woman comic book, September 1994, issue #90.
Contents
History of the character
Amazon tribe background
As described in her comic book appearances, Artemis was born an Amazon as a member of the Egyptian tribe of Bana-Mighdall, who migrated from Greece to various European and Middle Eastern countries before finally settling in Egypt. Three thousand years ago, the two Amazon Queens (Hippolyta and Antiope) split the Amazon nation in two. Hippolyta's tribe traveled to the isolated island of Themyscira to live immortal lives in order to protect the doorway to the Underworld called Doom's Doorway. Antiope's tribe was never given immortality and was forced to mate with common men in order to guarantee their tribe's survival. As they had renounced their Olympian gods once the two Queens parted ways, they eventually began to assimilate various religions and goddesses from the many lands they traveled to. Some of those included the goddesses Isis, Mammitu, Bast, Neith and Ishtar. It was in Egypt that they finally built the city of Bana-Mighdall, which in their language translates to "The Temple of Women". Thanking the Amazons for their worship, one of their new goddesses created a powerfully consistent sandstorm to surround and protect their city from any outsiders who could not be trusted, or "ariandas". The Bana-Mighdallian Amazons eventually began an uneasy trade with outside cities in order to create commerce. They would exchange custom-made weapons and their warrior skills for goods and slaves for breeding.Modern times
Over the centuries the Bana-Mighdallian weapons and services became above par and were in much demand. This way of living continued until the late 20th century. It was into this period that Artemis was born. Eventually the Amazon Princess Diana of Themyscira, or Wonder Woman, found their city while searching for the villan The Cheetah, who had stolen her golden Lasso of Truth. As the Bana-Mighdallian language had changed so much over time to incorporate middle eastern dialect, Diana had a hard time communicating with the newly-found Amazons. Eventually a battle took place between her and the Bana-Mighdallian's chief warrior or Shim'Tar. Soon an enraged Olympian god Hermes, who was in love with Diana, took vengeance on the desert Amazons for attacking his beloved, and the city of Bana-Mighdall was destroyed. Homeless, the remaining Amazons eventually took up with the witch Circe who was a nemesis of Wonder Woman. It was agreed that in exchange for their servitude Circe would grant them immortality and a new home to call their own. It was decided that since the Themyscirian princess was the initial cause of their city being destroyed, they would take over her Amazon city instead. Though only 14 years of age at this time, Artemis spoke before the Queen and Council to protest the planned attack as she felt that Amazons must not war against each other. Her cries were ignored and the attack was undertaken.
Wonder Woman
Due to being in the demon dimension, Queen Hippolyta began to see visions of the future. One of those visions included Wonder Woman dying. Keeping this to herself, she called for a new Contest for the title of Wonder Woman. Initially excluding the new Amazons, Queen Hippolyta submitted to a vote on the whole to include them at Diana's behest. Through some mystical managing on Hippolyta's part, Artemis eventually won the Contest and became the new Wonder Woman. As gifts to aid her in her new mission, Artemis was given several mystical objects. The Gauntlet of Atlas which increased its wearer's strength by 10 times, The Sandals of Hermes which gave the gift of speed and flight, and the golden Lasso of Truth which forced anyone tied by it to speak only truth. Although Artemis tried diligently to separate herself from her predicesor, this proved to be rather hard to do. Her approach to various situations was often seen as more violent than beneficial. Because of this, and due to Man's World's respect of Diana, Artemis often would receive the cold shoulder from those she tried to help, extending even to her brief time in the Justice League. A comment was once made that Batman refused to allow Artemis to even sit in "Diana's" chair during JLA meetings. She later met a representative from a public relations company who agreed to help Artemis with her public likeability. What Artemis wasn't aware of was that the company had staged several false battles for her that ultimately helped downtrodden groups such as immigrant workers and abused women. Once she uncovered this truth she set about to prove herself by single-handedly taking down Boston's biggest mob families. Unfortunately Artemis' arrogance eventually gained the better of her, and she died in a battle with The White Magician. Thus, Queen Hippolyta's vision of Wonder Woman dying came true.Requiem
Shim'Tar
After some time Artemis returned to Themyscira to aid her Amazon sisters in the uneasy living situation they continued to work in due to lingering animosities between the two tribes. Unfortunately civil war incited by the Amazon sorceress Magala broke out between the two groups of Amazons, leaving Artemis to take up the title of her tribe's chief warrior, or Shim'Tar, to guide both tribes to peaceful negotiations. Soon after Queen Hippolyta and Princess Diana renounced their crowns, leaving the island without a structured government. Artemis and the Themyscirian General Philippus were then voted to be co-rulers of the island.Themyscira's disappearance
Due to the OMAC attack on Themyscira during the Infinite Crisis events (as well as the many previous attacks to the island since Diana had become Wonder Woman) it was decided by Artemis and Phillipus that the entire island of Themyscira and all of its inhabitants (sans Diana) would be transported to a hidden location via the Olympian and Bana-Mighdallian Goddesses. Presumably, it is here that Artemis continues to live and guide the Amazons to a better way of life. Whether or not she and the other Amazons will ever be seen again remains to be seen.Graphic novels
Artemis' stories are collected in several graphic novels:
- The Contest: Wonder Woman #90-93 & #0
- The Challenge of Artemis: Wonder Woman #94-100
- Paradise Lost: Wonder Woman #164-170 & Wonder Woman Secret Files #2
- Paradise Found: Wonder Woman #171-177 & Wonder Woman Secret Files #3
- Down to Earth: Wonder Woman #195-200
- Bitter Rivals: Wonder Woman #201-205
- Eyes of the Gorgon: Wonder Woman #206-213
- Land of the Dead: Wonder Woman #214-217 and The Flash #219
Books
Mentions in written work:- Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess by Scott Beatty (November 2003) DK Publishing
- The Ultimate Wonder Woman Sticker Book by Alastair Dougall (November 2003) DK Publishing
- How to Draw Wonder Woman by John Delaney (September 1998) Walter Foster Publishing
Comic Book Inspiration
Artemis was inspired by the creation of 2 other comic book characters:- Wildcats member Zealot, a Kherubim and a Coda warrior. Zealot is the former Majestrix of the all female warriors called The Coda and helped develop their virtues and practices. She has lived for thousands of years and has had many relationships with both humans and aliens alike. After failing to follow her own rules under the Coda, she left their clan and they have hunted her since. Zealot has a close friendship with Grifter though she is equally devoted to her sister Savant, who is secretly her real daughter. Artemis matches Zealot's physical appearance exactly, outside of having red hair.
- The Amazon Orana from the Wonder Woman comics, Vol. 1, issue 250 (December 1978) and issue 251 (January 1979). In this story, the Amazon Orana challenged Diana to a tournament to claim the title of Wonder Woman. She was successful but her arrogance brought about her death shortly into her reign. Like Artemis, Orana was a fiery red-head Amazon who died as Wonder Woman. It has been suggested that Artemis is actually the Post-Crisis version of Orana.
Trivia
- Although Artemis is an Amazon of Bana-Mighdall since birth, her given name is a mystery as the Bana-Mighdallians forsook the Olympian gods millenia ago. One theory fans have come up with is that Artemis' birth mother may have died during childbirth. The naming of the surviving child Artemis could be a slanderous call to the goddess Artemis for yet again failing the Amazons, as one of the goddess' many responsibilities includes being the goddess of mid-wives and childbirth.
- During John Byrne's time on the Wonder Woman comic, he insinuated that Artemis previously had an affair with the New God Kanto. This falls out of established history as in the Requiem mini-series Artemis admits to being a virgin. Also, prior to Artemis' return from the demon dimension at the age of 24, the only other time Artemis would have had to even have met Kanto would have been between infancy to 14 years of age. Thus she would have been much too young to have had a relationship with the grown adult.
- During Greg Rucka's tenure on the Wonder Woman comic he stated on his personal [comic book message board] that the DC editors approached him with the idea of getting rid of the goddess Artemis during his run as audiences may be confused with the two characters of the same name. Greg followed through with the suggestion despite the fact that the two characters have existed in the same title with little confusion for 10 years prior.
- After Artemis' death as Wonder Woman, her soul was sent to a form of hell as shown in the Requiem mini-series. A crucifix topped tombstone is also depicted as marking Artemis' grave in Boston. This is yet another continuity error as Artemis' belief system is that of the ancient Egyptians and various other middle-eastern religions. As such her soul would not go to a christian version of hell and a crucifix would not be on her headstone. Also, her place of burial would more likely be on Themyscira with her people and not an outworld city among strangers.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.