Alicia Collins

**Alicia Collins**, also known as **Lady Jane**, is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. She first appeared in *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #118 (April 1992), and was created by Nancy A. Collins and Scot Eaton.

## History

Alicia Collins was born in South Yorkshire, England in the first half of the 19th Century. As a young woman, she married a man named Alistair Huston and gave birth to a daughter named Ruth.

In 1851, Aleistair Huston became involved with a group of con artists who swindled him out of his family fortune. The Hustons were forced to sell their lavish estate and relocate to the slums of Sheffield. They began living in a small home with a woman named Emma Wesley and her daughter, Miriam. Alistair took a job at a steel factory and Alicia went to work with Emma at a textile mill. She was horrified by the conditions she was forced to work in, particularly at seeing so many young children working in the mill. She made a solemn vow that she would sooner die than see her daughter working in such a place.

A short time later, Alicia found herself pregnant with her second child. Money was already extremely tight, and the pressure of another mouth to feed turned Alestair into an angry, abusive husband. Nine months later, Alicia gave birth to a son. They named him Albert after the Duke of Clarence and Avondale. The day after Albert's birth, Aleister was tragically killed in a smelting accident at the steel factory. Alicia felt no remorse over the loss of her husband, but was worried over how she would be able to raise her children.

Her employer, Osgood Proctor, offered Alicia the opportunity to earn a little extra money. To do so however, she would have to agree to sexually satisfy him on occasion. Alicia felt that it was a small price to pay in order to provide her children with food and shelter.

As it turned out, however, Alicia soon found herself pregnant once again; this time with Osgood Proctor's child. She pleaded with Proctor for monetary assistance, but he had no interest in Alicia's plight and denied any responsibility to her child. Alicia knew that she could not afford to feed another mouth. At Emma Wesley's urging, Alicia sought out an old crone named Granny Catgutt. Catgutt provided Alicia with a tonic that induced her to miscarry the child.

A short time later, Alicia and Emma were working at the mill when tragedy struck. Emma's arm was caught inside one of the larger machines and torn to shreds. Alicia and the other workers tried to help her, but Proctor drove them away, ordering them to return to their duties. Emma bled to death; her body wrapped in a tarp and discarded into a wagon as if she were a sack of garbage.

Alicia's fortune took an even darker turn that same evening. On her way home, she found the home she shared with Emma burning to the ground. She raced into the house, desperate to save her children, but was consumed by the flames. The burning Alicia fell backward into the River Don where a strange metamorphosis took place. She was transformed into a plant elemental and rose from the river as "Lady Jane".

Lady Jane was unable to save her children from the fire, but she knew that she had the power to save those enslaved at the textile mill. She went to the mill and used her powers to bind the fabrics together into a noose which she used to strangle Osgood Proctor. She then generated several vines that turned over the oil lamps, setting the mill on fire. Lady Jane made certain that the children could get to safety.

Following these events, Lady Jane joined the ethereal elemental community known as the Parliament of Trees.

In 1992, the modern-age plant elemental Alec Holland petitioned the Parliament for aid in raising his elemental-human hybrid daughter, Tefé. Lady Jane volunteered to serve as Tefé's governess, and the Parliament agreed that she would be an apt choice.

Lady Jane spent a lot of time with Tefé, much to the chagrin of her mother, Abigail Holland. Abby felt that Jane was spending too much time with Tefé and warned her husband about letting her remain. Alec reminded Abby that a child such as Tefé required special attention and that Lady Jane was a perfect companion. Alec had Abby eat a blossom from Lady Jane's body, which enabled Abby to learn all about Lady Jane's past and develop a finer appreciation for her abilities.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Chlorokinesis**
* **Elemental Control**
* **Immortality**
* **Regeneration**
* **Toxic Immunity**

## Trivia

* Alicia's maiden name, Collins, may have been taken from creator Nancy A. Collins.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #120 (June 1992)
2. ↑ *Swamp Thing* Vol. 2, #118 (April 1992)

## External Links

* Alicia Collins on DC Wiki
* Alicia Collins on Comic Vine