Effigy (DC Comics)

This article is about the DC comics character. For the Marvel comics character, see Effigy (Marvel Comics).

Effigy (Martyn Van Wyck) is a supervillain appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Green Lantern.^[1]

Effigy
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(As Martyn Van Wyck): Green Lantern (vol. 3) #110 (as Effigy): Green Lantern (vol. 3) #113
Created by	Ron Marz Darryl Banks
In-story information
Alter ego	Martyn Van Wyck
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	Injustice League Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities	Fire generation and manipulation Flight

Fictional character biography

Martyn Van Wyck is a man from Seattle, Washington, who was raised by his alcoholic father following his mother's death. He aspires to become a musician, but is unable to find work.^[2]

Outside Seattle, Van Wyck is abducted by the Controllers, who experiment on him.^[1] Believing their experiments to have failed, the Controllers return Van Wyck to Earth with only vague memories of his encounter with them. Van Wyck is taken to a nearby emergency room, where doctors determine that nothing is wrong with him. However, his eyes have changed from blue to orange.^[3]

Van Wyck later discovers that he has gained pyrokinetic abilities. While confronting a truck driver, Van Wyck transforms, gaining pale skin and flaming hair. After talking with his girlfriend Trace, who describes the images he makes in fire as a burning effigy, Van Wyck takes the name Effigy and leaves Seattle, abandoning Trace.

After Effigy battles Green Lantern, the Controllers see that their experiments were successful. Despite Green Lantern's efforts, Effigy is captured by the Controllers, who continue their experiments.^[1] The Controllers alter Effigy's mind, making him a near-mindless drone, and force him to battle Green Lantern. Green Lantern defeats Effigy and leaves him adrift in space, reasoning that his powers will protect him.^[4] Effigy later returns to Earth, where he has a brief affair with Killer Frost.^[1][5]

In the One Year Later event, Effigy joins the Injustice League and Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.^[6] In Final Crisis: Revelations #1, Effigy is killed by the Spectre, who melts him into sentient oil and places him in a lantern resembling a Green Lantern ring's power battery, where he burns to death.^[7]

Powers and abilities

Effigy possesses the ability to generate fire and create constructs from it. Additionally, he can fly and survive in the vacuum of space.