- You may be looking for Duke of Deception from Earth-Two.
| Duke of Deception | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Real name: | Unknown |
| Species: | Human Martian (in disguise) |
| Homeworld: | Earth Mars |
| Universe: | Earth-One |
| Occupation: | Warmonger Imperator of Illusions |
| Base: | Castle on the planet Mars Court of Mars (formerly) |
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An illusion-casting, former servant of Ares; who battled Wonder Woman on several occasions.
Background Information[]
On the parallel-universe of Earth-One, little is known of the Duke of Deception. We do know that the Duke of Deception was once in the employ of Mars, the god of War and that under this employ, he first met the infamous Wonder Woman.[1]
On the planet Mars, (perhaps still in the employ of the god of War) preparations are under way for an invasion. However the Martians cannot agree who will lead. The Duke of Deception arrives with a plan to defeat Wonder Woman and lead the invasion. [NOTE: He appears as a Martian. This could be an illusion.] On Earth, Wonder Woman and Military Intelligence employee, Col. Steve Trevor participate in a charity wherein everyone pays to get a key and whoever's key opens a treasure box will win a valuable prize. Wonder Woman hopes to win the prize so that she can give it back to charity. As it becomes their turn, they find that their key does fit the lock very well. When they turn it, they suddenly vanish. Soon they are rocketing through the air. Suddenly the key grows to a gigantic size, transforming into a space ship. It envelops them and speeds off into space. Witnessing the success of the first part of his plan, the Duke of Deception gives the order for his invasion fleets on Pluto, Saturn and Mars to prepare for an attack on Earth. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman pries off one of her bracelets and uses it to strike the controls of her ship, causing it to slow down enough so that they can get up right. Out past Pluto, Wonder Woman pilots her ship back to stop the first third of the fleet. Then she is able to stop the fleet leaving Saturn and begins to chase the invasion fleet leaving from Mars, which consists of one single ship carrying the Duke of Deception. The Duke of Deception falls for Wonder Woman's trick: She lured him right into the flight path of the new rocket that just left Earth. Upon impact with the satellite, the Martian ship is destroyed and Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor escape, having foiled the Martian invasion of Earth.[2]
The Duke of Deception makes Wonder Woman unable to distinguish reality from illusion by creating realistic illusions that deceive her. Finally, he tricks her into a trap that brings her to Mars, where she is imprisoned and then forced to participate in the Olympics of the Doomed on Mars. Despite being in a cage, Wonder Woman triumphs, by casting her own illusion. She made the cage appear as if she has escaped the cage so the Duke of Deception would open it. She imprisons him and returns to Earth in a borrowed space ship.[3]
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Image from: Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe, #7 (September, 1985)
More than ten years later, the Duke of Deception enters the U.N.’s Secretariat Building disguised as Green Arrow. By happenstance, the phony GA approaches Diana and confuses her by referring to her as Supergirl. This is not the only occurrence, all over the building, delegates and officials are confused by Duke of Deception’s illusions. Wonder Woman finds the culprit. It’s the Duke of Deception and attempts to lasso him, only to learn that the "Duke" she roped is an illusion and the real Duke of Deception has entangled her in her own magic lasso. He tells her that after all these years, that he is no longer in the employ of the god of War and that his powers have increased exponentially. As the Duke of Deception aggrandizes, Wonder Woman breaks free, makes the Duke unsure of himself, and topples his power. Trapping him with the magic lasso, Wonder Woman makes him confess that he hoped to drive the U.N. delegates mad and plunge the world into war, thus making Mars, god of War, bow to him.[4]
The Duke of Deception is present in the court of Mars, in the realm of the gods. Also present is the Earl of Greed, the Lord of Conquest, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and Athena, goddess of wisdom. They argue about whether Princess Diana performs her heroic deeds out of compassion or glory. Although Mars concedes that it may be out compassion, he still feels that since she lost the last Tournaments of the Elements for title of Wonder Woman to fellow Amazon, Orana, she should renounce her title. Aphrodite and Athena point out that the ‘new’ Wonder Woman was killed on her first day[5] and that Diana only assumed the mantle again because it was hers by right. Mars scoffs at this, saying that Diana assumed this role without requesting it from the gods and therefore she disobeyed. And with that, he takes his minions and leaves. Aphrodite and Athena are concerned believe they should watch man’s world and Diana closely for a while.[6]
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Assumed to be the same as his Earth-Two counterpart.
- Illusion Casting: The Duke can create illusions and delusions in the minds of others, thereby driving them insane. In addition, he can envelop himself in an illusory image which changes his physical appearance.[7]
- Astral Projection: He can also send his astral form invisibly to military and government leaders, inspiring them with thoughts of duplicity which they take to be their own.
Abilities[]
- Use of Advanced Technology:
- Shrinking Technology[8]
- Solar Death Ray[9]
- Force Field/ Portal[10]
- Brain-Wave Deceiver: A device that could scramble a victim's perception of fantasy and reality.[11]
- Giant inter-stellar Cannon: able to target Wonder Woman's invisible jet.[12]
- Face Altering Technology[13]
Notes[]
- The Duke of Deception first Golden Age/Earth-Two appearance was in Wonder Woman, #2 (fall 1942)
- He was created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter
- The Duke of Deception first appeared in Silver Age/Earth-One continuity in Wonder Woman, #104 (February, 1959).
- He was re-imagined by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru.
- His last pre-crisis appearance was in Wonder Woman, #254 (April 1979).
- This version of Duke of Deception, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series.
References[]
- ↑ This back story revealed in Wonder Woman, #217 (April/May 1975).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman,#104/2 (February 1959). This does mark the Dukes first meeting with the infamous Wonder Woman.
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, #148 (August 1964).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, #217 (April/May 1975).
- ↑ For an overview of the unfolding Tournament, see: Wonder Woman, #250 (December, 1978).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, #254 (April 1979).
- ↑ In the Golden Age, he cast himself as 'Wonder Woman' in Wonder Woman, #2 (September, 1942); as 'Paula Von Gunther' in #34 (March, 1949) and 'Professor Dekon' in #63 (January, 1954). In the Silver Age, he cast himself as 'Green Arrow' in, #217 (April/May 1975).
- ↑ In the Golden age, he attempted to shrink a Martian invasion fleet into a small box. See: Wonder Woman, #65 (April, 1954). He also used the shrinking technology again to shrink down Skyscraper City. See: Wonder Woman, #93 (October, 1957).
- ↑ As revealed in Sensation Comics, #92 (August, 1949).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, #47 (May, 1951).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, # 81 (April, 1956).
- ↑ As revealed in Wonder Woman, # 94 (November, 1957).
- ↑ The Duke also claimed to have altered Wonder Girl's face with technology he had also used in the past on Medusa and Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde persona. See: Wonder Woman, #153 (April, 1965).