Orca (DC Comics)

This article is about the DC Comics villain. For the Marvel Comics villain, see Orka (character).

Orca is the name of two fictional characters who appear in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as one of the adversaries to the superhero Batman.

Orca
The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca as depicted in Nightwing (vol. 4) #12 (March 2017). Art by Marcus To (penciller/inker) and Chris Sotomayor (colorist).
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman #579 (July 2000)
Created by	Larry Hama (writer) Scott McDaniel (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Grace Balin Dean Toye
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	Rogues Gallery United States Military Aquamarines
Abilities	(Both): Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, reflexes, and swimming Enhanced olfactory sense Sharp fangs and claws (Balin): Marine biology Gene therapy (Toye): Transformation Military mastery

Publication history

The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca first appeared in Batman #579 (July 2000) and was created by Larry Hama and Scott McDaniel.^[1]

The Dean Toye incarnation of Orca first appeared in Aquaman (vol. 8) #12 (February 2017), and was created by Dan Abnett and Philippe Briones.

Fictional character biography

Grace Balin

Grace Balin is a marine biologist who is involved in an accident that leaves her paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility. She continues to work at the Gotham Aquarium until it is supposed to be closed for lack of funding. Grace experiments with spinal cord tissue regeneration using orca spinal cord tissue, giving herself the ability to transform into an orca hybrid.^[2][3][4] She can easily switch between her normal and powered forms, though she remains paraplegic in her human form. While battling Batman, Orca is forced into an underwater cave and begins to revert to normal, forcing Batman to give her a serum to permanently transform her and prevent her from drowning. Having ingested the formula, Orca swims away.^[5]

In One Year Later, Orca is found dead in the sewers under Gotham City. She appears to have been shot in the head by Harvey Dent, although Batman is convinced Dent is not the true killer. Orca's murder was orchestrated by the Great White Shark, who plans on becoming the top crime boss in Gotham.^[6]

Orca is reintroduced in Nightwing (vol. 4) #11, where she is a part of a criminal group in Bludhaven called the Whale's Enders and is ordered to kill Nightwing.^[3][7] Orca was formerly a member of the Run-Offs, a rehab group for former Gotham supervillains, but left because she considered herself too much of a monster to relate to them.^[8]

Dean Toye

Sergeant Dean Toye is a member of the Aquamarines, task-forced military operations trained and transformed to combat Atlantis in case of a crisis. As the second-in-command to Major Rhonda Ricoh who has the codename of "Great White", Orca and the Aquamarines are dispatched by the government to kill Aquaman.^[9]

Powers and abilities

Both Orcas possess immense physical attributes, an enhanced sense of smell, and the ability to operate underwater.^[5] However, they must periodically rehydrate themselves to avoid drying out.

In other media

• The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca appears in The Lego Batman Movie, voiced by Laura Kightlinger.^[10]
• The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[11]
• The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca appears in Lego Dimensions via The Lego Batman Movie DLC pack.
• The Grace Balin incarnation of Orca appears in the Injustice 2 prequel comic. This version is a member of Ra's al Ghul's Suicide Squad and lover of squad-mate Killer Croc, who she later has a child with and leaves the Squad to live a normal life.^{[12][10][13][14]}