Favorite Female Characters #23: Fury

Fury
Originally uploaded by Heidi Meeley.

To me, Lyta Trevor-Hall, AKA Fury, has always been a wild card. From her Amazonian beginnings, a short stint in The Dreaming, and a recent reappearance in the JSA title, Lyta has been everywhere in the DC Universe without ever really having a place to call her own. It is her potential that has intrigued me from day one and continues to impress upon me to this day.

First seen in Wonder Woman Volume 1 Issue 300 as the daughter of Earth 2's Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, Lyta's full name was Hyppolyta, after her grandmother who was incidently the Queen of the Amazons. Full of energy and vitality, Lyta was a character exploding with potential.

Lyta next made an appearance in Infinity Inc. #1 as Fury. Along with other sons and daughters of the Justice Society, she made a bid to become a full fledged member, only to be told to come back later. Infinity Inc. was born from this moment, and the series lasted 53 issues, from March 1984 to June 1988.

In the period of Infinity Inc. membership, Lyta lost her identity literally when Earth 2's Wonder Woman was retconned out of existence during Crisis. Her origins were re-explained as being the adopted daughter of Miss America and her husband. Her real mother was said to be the Golden Age Fury, Helena Kosmatos. It was during this time period that Lyta lost her luster. Her fiance Hector Hall was believed dead and she was pregnant with his child. Hector re-emerged as the new Sandman and the two were married and went to live happily ever after in The Dreaming.

Lyta next turned up in Vertigo's incredibly ground-breaking title Sandman by Neil Gaiman. She and Hector had been living a life based on lies. She remained pregnant for an indeterminate amount of time and the real Sandman kicked them out of The Dreaming. Lyta had their baby but was left shiftless, as Hector was sent back to the dead.

It is in this time period, as seen in Sandman: The Kindly Ones trade paperback, that Lyta loses control and vows to kill Sandman. Her son Daniel subsequently becomes the new King Of Dreams and Lyta is left rudderless once again.

The next time we see her, Lyta shows up in Sandman: The Furies Hard Cover and regains a semblance of control. Though she has no idea that Hector Hall has been reincarnated as Dr. Fate in JSA, she takes charge of her life again, older and wiser.

Recently Fury has resurfaced in JSA. She and Hector are happily together without a lot of explanation, which I am eagerly awaiting. Fury has so much potential that hasn't been tapped that it is almost criminal.

I love Fury for her both her fragileness and her boundless determination. She needs a mini-series desperately to get her back on track. I want to know who Fury is and I want to know where she is going. Though her origins tie her to the Wonder Woman family, I don't see her as a member of that group. Through her suffering in The Dreaming and beyond, I feel she is a unique character that could bridge the gap between Vertigo and mainstream DC.

Hey Geoff Johns, next time you do a JSA Classified tale, put the spotlight on Lyta and do your magic. Give her direction and a semblance of a life other then being a yes-woman to Hector. She deserves it.