Visage

Visage was an artificial lifeform and superhero. She fought alongside Mentat and the Atlantean and later assisted the Contenders in their campaign against the Time Wizard.

## Biography

Visage was originally intended to serve as a biological weapon. After her creation in a laboratory, she was close to being deployed when Dr. Mora, the scientist in charge of her development had an attack of conscience. The doctor arranged a lab accident that would allow Visage to seemingly escape while also destroying the research that had created her. Unfortunately, the plan succeeded too well and Dr. Mora was injured in the blast. Visage, not knowing what else to do, took the unconscious Dr. Mora and fled.

Even with the aid of the doctor's knowledge, Visage was unable to properly treat her wounds. But she couldn't take Mora to a hospital, as the villains she worked for believed her to be dead, and any appearance in public would be a death sentence for them both. But her salvation came in a chance encounter with the Alchemist, who was able to treat Dr. Mora's wounds while keeping the shapeshifter's secrets. In gratitude, Visage joined the Alchemist's team of heroes, lending her considerable powers to their cause.

After their team's disbanding, Visage disappeared. Unbeknownst to her friends, she retired from crimefighting and went to stay with Nighthawk, a frequent ally and confidante. Trusting that Nighthawk would know if her powers were ever needed again, she entered a long hibernation in liquid form, meditating on her future and the simple pleasure of being a formless mass.

She was eventually reawakened as a last-ditch failsafe when Nighthawk, driven to desperation, sent the Contenders to stop the release of the Gorgon from an UNTIL secure facility. When the Contenders failed in their mission, Visage took on the form of the Gorgon in order to battle it to a standstill while her allies escaped. She and the Gorgon were both annihilated when the nuclear explosive built into the facility was detonated.

The Time Wizard revitalized the Gorgon, rewinding the blast and releasing his minion, but the Gorgon displayed erratic behavior from that point on. Eventually Mentat realized that Visage had survived by fusing with the Gorgon, and her personality had overtaken a small part of the beast's subconscious. In the final confrontation with the Time Wizard, Mentat awakened Visage telepathically. She immediately assumed control of a portion of the Gorgon's mass, using her shapeshifting powers to turn herself into a white phosphorous bomb that burned the Gorgon from the inside-out, killing them both so thoroughly that not even the Time Wizard's power could reverse the damage.

## Personality

Visage was a kind-hearted and fearless hero, always looking for ways to avoid conflict but unafraid to fight when necessary. Although not a human, she showed more humanity that many other heroes in her refusal to sink to the level of the supervillains she battled. Of all her teammates, she held herself to the most rigid code of conduct, and when the time came she willingly sacrificed herself to contain the apocalyptic threat of the Gorgon.

## Powers

Visage was a shapeshifter with the ability to mimic the properties of anything she touched, to the most minute molecular details. This allowed her to utilize the properties of various unique materials in her own form while simultaneously taking on any shape she wished. She could form her body into a wall of tungsten to shield her allies, or turn herself into vapor to escape an attack. On offense, she could form her hands into granite cudgels or even produce blades of Saturnite to shred through the armor of her foes.

Due to the completeness of her mimicry, Visage could easily pass as anyone or anything she desired, so long as she touched them at least once in order to analyze their molecules. Visage's shapeshifting was so perfect that she could even copy the powers of those she touched. Even momentary contact with a foe would be enough to copy their most complex powers for her own use. She could also use this ability to "read minds" by copying her target's brain, taking on their knowledge as her own, and frequently used this ability for interrogation and investigation.

## Weaknesses

Cold-based attacks could inhibit the chemical processes that Visage needed to maintain her humanoid form, and were particularly effective against her.

She also suffered from confusing feedback and overlapping from the memories she had copied, as it became difficult over time to know where her own experiences ended and those she had copied began. In addition to causing her moments of dementia-like confusion and panic, this created a 'psychic chatter' that was clearly audible to telepaths, giving them the ability to identify her easily even when she was fully shapeshifted.