Black Comics Month: Day 15

I loved Young Justice. The book ended tragically the same month as Peter David's Supergirl, and within a year of Superboy and Impulse, all comics I loved dearly. In fact, I was ticked that YJ was being killed to make way for Teen Titans. Sure, TT was great in the beginning, but it was a completely different book. Young Justice was fun, and while Teen Titans was good (up until right after "Titans Tomorrow," I'd say), it wasn't as fun as Young Justice. Somewhere in the angst and the epic plots, it lost the fun character interactions and the sense of innocence that characterized Young Justice.

It lost something else, too: half the cast. Slobo died, Secret lost her powers, and Arrowette and Empress have been floundering in comic book limbo. Which is really a shame.

See, Anita Fite's father is one-half of Fite & Maad, agents of the All Purpose Enforcement Squad (A.P.E.S.); her mother was a vodoun priestess; her name is a pun; naturally, she had a fantastic combination of combat skills and magic. According to Wikipedia, she also has a bit of the Anti-Life Equation floating around her brain, but either I didn't read that issue or I blocked it out along with the rest of "Our Worlds at War," one of very few major crossovers to which I own every single part. She's got a funky costume, she's got a staff that turns into two swords, she has that 'cheerful personality that masks the disturbing parts of her past and the nature of her powers" thing going on. In other words, she's a very versatile character. So why isn't she on some team?

Hey, Titans, you know Ravager and Raven? Why clutter up your team with two girls whose names are so similar, when you could have Empress? She's a more efficient use of character, combining Ravager's fighting skills and desire to be accepted with Raven's magic and angst! You'd be stupid not to take her!

Hey, Shadowpact, Nightmaster and Blue Devil are cool and all, but you really need a woman who can hold her own in hand-to-hand magic combat. Enchantress and Nightshade are cool and all, but they never really get their hands dirty. Recruit a girl who can tussle with the best of them!

Hey, Batman, aren't you miffed that there are all these teams running around without someone working for you? Don't you want to keep tabs on the new Suicide Squad? What about the Secret Six? How about (Rao forbid) the Outsiders? Sure, you kind of screwed the pooch with Cassandra, but there's a perfectly good Empress around, just waiting for your phone call. She's got the stealth skills, the fighting prowess, and I know how much you hate magic, but it certainly gives her an edge. Plus, she's not really well-known enough to be spotted as a hero. She could be your whited-out eyes and pointy black ears in any of these teams, and we all know that you know how to reach her.

Oh, Catwoman, are you looking for a babysitter? I know someone with oodles of experience! Poor Anita Fite lost her parents, but they were reincarnated as infants! They're a little bit older than Helena by this point, but she could sure use some playmates her own age, don'cha think? Plus, what better security could you have than a girl with vodoun guardian spirits watching over her? I'm sure you can work out a fair pay schedule, just give her a call!

Okay, if you want to know how awesome Empress is, if you really want to see why she deserves a spot in any team in the DCU (have we seen her picture on the JLA table at all?), I really only need to recount one of her adventures to you. See, Anita? She survived a date with Lobo.Let's see Ravager do that.