History ComicBook / Circe

[[redirect:Characters/WonderWomanCirce]]

[[redirect:Characters/WonderWomanCirce

[[redirect:Characters/WonderWomanCirce]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/circeww_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Circe on the cover of ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|Rebirth}}'' #20 (vol. 5), 2017. Art by Bilquis Evely]]
->''"When I heard you had killed ComicBook/{{Ares|DC}} and began strutting around as the "God of War," I thought to myself... now that is the arrogance of an Amazon. Taking what doesn't belong to them all while acting like a god's gift to women."''
-->-- Circe to Wonder Woman, ''Superman/Wonder Woman'' #16

Creator/DCComics' version of the Ancient Greek sorceress from Myth/ClassicalMythology and Homer's ''Literature/TheOdyssey''. First appearing in ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1942}}'' #37 by Robert Kanigher and Harry G. Peter in 1949, Circe would at first only make a variety of scattered and intermittent appearances in multiple DC Comics books, not just Wonder Woman's, in the Pre-Crisis continuity.

[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths However when DC rebooted it's continuity in 1986]] and the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Wonder Woman title would be relaunched]], Circe would become inextricably tied to Wonder Woman's larger mythos. While her motives for her enmity with Diana have been frequently subjected to DependingOnTheWriter; ranging from either hating the world of peace and equality that Diana wants to create, to trying to prevent a preordained prophecy, [[SinsOfOurFathers to having a pre-existing rivalry with Hippolyta and the Amazons and sees targetting Diana as a form of revenge]], [[ItAmusedMe or simply just because she get's a kick out of it.]]. Circe has nevertheless become one of Diana's most persistent and dangerous foes [[note]] Surpassed only by ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} and ComicBook/{{Ares|DC}} in terms of prominence[[/note]], being the source of a many calamitous events in her history.

Not be confused with the [[Literature/{{Circe}} the novel by Madeline Miller]] or [[Characters/GameOfThronesCerseiLannister the similarly pronounced Game of Thrones character]]

[[AC:Notable Appearances]]
[[AC:Comic Books]]
[[index]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1942}}'' Vol. 1 (1949)
* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}'' Vol. 2 (1987 - 2006)
** ''War of the Gods'' 1991
* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2006}}'' Vol. 3 (2006 - 2011)
** ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'' 2007
* ''Superman/Wonder Woman'' (2013 - 2016)
* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|Rebirth}}'' Vol. 5 (2016 - present}
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' Vol. 2 (2018 - present)
[[/index]]

[[AC:Elseworld and Out of Continuity Appearances]]
[[index]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''
* ''ComicBook/SensationComicsFeaturingWonderWoman'' (2014 - 2016)
[[/index]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]
[[index]]
* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse
** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' [-voiced by-] Creator/RachelYork
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' [-voiced by-] Creator/LauraPost
[[/index]]


[[AC:Video Game]]
[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/JusticeLeagueHeroes'' (2006)
* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' (2011)
[[/index]]


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!!Tropes associated with Circe include:
* AbsoluteCleavage: Some of her costumes have featured this look, especially the floor-length green dresses with V-necks criss-crossed in gold chain she likes to wear at home.
* {{Archenemy}}: She, Ares, and the various incarnations of The Cheetah are the three contenders for this title, as Diana's longest-running, most consistently dangerous, and deeply personal adversaries. When Luthor assembled the first Injustice Gang, Post-Crisis, he wanted it to include the worst enemies of every Justice League member and chose Circe to fill that spot for Wonder Woman.
* AGodAmI: In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2), she becomes the new Goddess of Magic of the DC Universe following the death of Hecate. Thanks in part due to her manipulations of events that led to Hecate's death that led to Circe inheriting her powers.
* BadassInANiceSuit: As of ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' and as one can see in the page image above Circe seems to have gone in this direction, adopting a cream blazer/long coat, black leather slacks, and WaistcoatOfStyle ensemble paired with a bright red pixie cut.
* BadBoss: Treats her Bestiamorphs like crap.
* BalefulPolymorph: Does this to most people, and especially men, turning them into the animal she feels they most resemble.
* BarrierWarrior: Often creates shields in combat, once erecting one around a city.
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler:When disguising herself as Donna Milton, the spell works a bit too well, and she comes to be Diana's good friend]].
* BeenThereShapedHistory: States she almost gave Homer his eyesight back for including her in Literature/TheOdyssey
* BerserkButton: Wonder Woman's idealism and speechifying is one for her. Mentioning her daughter Lyta, even indirectly, is an even bigger one. She fried an Amazon to the bone with magic lightning just for mentioning her.
* BigBad: If somebody is screwing with Diana's life it will be one of Ares, Cheetah II, or Circe. She's been the mastermind behind ''Amazons Attack'', ''War of the Gods'', and more than a few other ugly little plots.
* BraidsOfAction: [[https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/scale_super/11140/111406684/7187786-circe%20and%20wonder%20woman.jpg Sports two of these in a form she takes]] in the ComicBook/New52 and ComicBook/DCRebirth
* TheChessmaster: The most consistent when it comes to this of all of Wonder Woman's major rogues;
** During ''War of the Gods'' she manipulated the several pantheons of the DC Universe into war with one another
** She orchestrated the events of ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'' by mind-controlling Hippolyta into believing Diana was being held captive by the U.S.
** In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2) she manipulated the JLD into killing the Goddess Hecate so she could take over as the DC Universe's Goddess of Magic.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Originally a princess from the island of Colchis as of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2) she has become the new Goddess of Magic of the DC Universe.
* DoesNotLikeMen: DependingOnTheWriter. Other times she's a MisanthropeSupreme.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Her end goal regardless of her motives has been to create a chaotic world of misery, conflict, and all-around vileness where she reigns supreme.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Her daughter, Lyta, is the only person ever shown that Circe genuinely cares about and loves enough to hold off on attacking Wonder Woman. She mentioned that Lyta is the only thing that makes her feel her long life was worth living.
* EvilCounterpart: Wonder Woman loves everyone. Circe hates everyone. Both are magical and mythological superwomen empowered by higher beings who strive to change the world with their beliefs and powers. However, Wonder Woman wants a peaceful world of kindness and virtue, whereas Circe desires a world of cruelty and depravity. Even their behavior marks the contrast of a MadonnaWhoreComplex perception seen against women.
* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: She goes out of her way to keep Lyta away from her villainous activities.
* EvilRedhead: And we are talking ''crimson'' more often than not.
* EvilerThanThou: Has clashed with other Wonder Woman villains, and with the likes of ComicBook/LexLuthor and ComicBook/TheJoker on occasion.
* FatalFlaw: Her arrogance and sadism have often proven to be her downfall.
* FlamingHair: [[https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/11141/111415790/7315748-6177448281-aHR0cDovL3d3dy5uZXdzYXJhbWEuY29tL2ltYWdlcy9pLzAwMC8yNjYvOTEyL2kwMi9KTERfMTZfNS5qcGc%3D Has this in her'' Goddess of Magic form]] in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2)
* {{Foil}}: Circe's attitudes towards men and the world are played in deliberate contrast to Diana's more compassionate view. Really exemplified after Circe briefly stole Diana's powers and became an EvilCounterpart to Wonder Woman.
** In her first Post-Crisis story, she herself points it out. Much like her, she too came to be to fulfill a mission from the gods - namely, Hecate, who wished to punish humanity for her mistreatment, which Circe did by driving divides between men and women further. She later invokes their similarities again when she explains how both she and Diana are powerful women who are outsiders feared by humans because the causes they fight are hidden beneath blood shed by their hands (Circe fought and killed to get her daughter back, while Diana fought and killed others like Maxwell Lord to protect her friends and herself).
* FriendlyEnemy: Sometimes behaves this way towards Diana. Like many other things about Circe, this is dependent upon the writer.
* {{Gendercide}}: Not the first Wonder Woman antagonist to try this, and she won't be the last either.
* GoKartingWithBowser: She was one of Diana's best friends once, in disguise.
* HotWitch: A very conventionally attractive witch who often wears revealing clothes.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: In post-crisis. She started out as a villain. Then she tried to infiltrate Diana's life by posing as a woman named Donna Milton only to end up BecomingTheMask. For a brief time she was an ally to Diana but went back to being a villain. The end of Allan Heinberg's ''Who Is Wonder Woman?'' miniseries ended with her and Diana reaching a truce of sorts only for her to go back to being evil again in Jodi Picoult's run.
* HellBentForLeather: Wore a very revealing all-black leather getup in Rucka's first run.
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler: Actually manages to kill Wonder Woman during War of the Gods by using a spell designed to revert her into clay]]. [[spoiler: This makes her the only villain amongst the DC Trinity's rogues gallery who has actually succeeded in killing the hero she opposes in main continuity]].
* HotWitch: Circe is often depicted as wearing outfits that flatter her beautiful figure.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** Her misandry hasn't stopped her from conducting affairs with Hercules, Ares, and Ballesteros. Despite her pride and distaste in men, she even tried to seduce Lex Luthor to gain perks while he was acting as President of the United States.
** She hated Diana for separating her from her daughter Lyta. Diana points out that Circe did the same thing to Julia Kapataelis and her daughter Vanessa.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Circe is easily the most notable Wonder Woman villain who wasn't in the original Marston/Peters run (ex. Cheetah, Ares, Dr. Psycho, Giganta). Debuting under the subsequent writer Creator/RobertKanigher in 1949 and not becoming fully integrated into Wondy's mythos until the Creator/GeorgePerez reboot in the 80s.
* ImmortalityImmorality: Circe is one of the oldest humans in the DC Universe, and is among the most dangerous.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: Villainous version. Circe packs enough magical power to level cities and affect hundreds of people at once with her transformation curses.
* MamaBear: She's dangerously obsessive over her daughter Lyta, especially after Wonder Woman emphasized Lyta was the one person on Earth who unconditionally loved her despite her nasty personality. As such, she becomes thoroughly vicious to anyone who threatens her relationship with Lyta or Lyta herself, to the point she manipulated many of Wonder Woman's enemies like Veronica Cale, along with instigating "Amazons Attack" simply for revenge that the Amazons and the Gods took her daughter away from her.
%%* MasterOfIllusion
* MisanthropeSupreme: Believes that all humans are beasts at their core and should be treated as such.
* {{Mooks}}: The Beastiamorphs serve as Circe's monstrous minions.
* MookMaker: She turns people into Beastiamorphs to serve her.
* MostCommonSuperPower: Circe is quite buxom and busty, fitting for a seductive sorceress.
* MotiveDecay: Okay so... why is she still trying to kill Wonder Woman? Sometimes it's because she hates the world of peace and equality that Diana wants to create, sometimes it's because she hates everything Diana stands for which she sees as lies and attacks her out of hate-filled cynicism, sometimes it's because of prophecy, sometimes it's because she thinks the Amazons stole her daughter, sometimes it's because she thinks that Wonder Woman doesn't do enough to stop the oppression of women despite the fact that directly contradicts one of the main reasons she gave for hating Wonder Woman's message of peace and tolerance during one of her {{Motive Rant}}s. Most of all her actions simply just revolve around her hating Wonder Woman and just wanting to watch her squirm. Best exemplified by her banter:
-->'''Circe:''' Come back home. To New York. I've been making some changes to the Big Apple while you've been here. Turning Men into Animals. Women against Men. Lovers against Lovers. All the things you despise and fight against with a passion.
-->'''Wonder Woman:''' What! Why?!
-->'''Circe:''' Because it's what I do, sweetheart. It's the kind of world I want to live in. And because I '''hate''' you.
** In the DCAU, it's RevengeByProxy -- she got out on parole, but was forbidden from attacking Hippolyta. It didn't say anything about attacking Diana, though....
* MsFanservice: Circe is a buxom, leggy sorceress with a penchant for wearing very revealing outfits. Her appearance in MenOfWar has her naked with only her GodivaHair preserving her modesty.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Played straight and then subverted in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark.'' She seemingly drops her hatred of Diana when she and JLD come to her asking for assistance on defeating the goddess Hecate but the end of the story however it's revealed Circe had been manipulating the team the whole time into destroying Hecate (and Diana as a possible bonus).
* PracticallyJoker: This has been Circe's depiction since the 90s. In addition to being a StrawNihilist who enjoys spreading chaos, Circe also enjoys striking at Diana through her loved ones like the time when she brainwashed Vanessa Kapatelis into becoming the Silver Swan. During the 90s and early 2000s she was even depicted with purple hair and a green outfit, a visual inversion of the Joker's iconic look.
* PublicDomainCharacter: Modeled the sorceress who sought to bewitch Odysseus' crew in ''Literature/TheOdyssey''. Since the original Circe is one of the oldest characters in fiction, she's well into the public domain.
* PutOnABus: Following ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'' where Circe was banished to the Underworld, Circe would not appear in the main Wonder Woman book until ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|Rebirth}}'' almost 10 years later. [[note]] Though she would pop up in related titles like the ''Superman/Wonder Woman'' book from ComicBook/New52 and out-continuity stories.[[/note]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Dates back to at least 1200 BC.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: She instigated all the events of the Amazons Attack arc, including the massive death toll of Americans and Amazons alike, irreparably damaging the reputation of the Amazons, and having Hippolyta banished as an exile. Why? Because when the gods left the mortal realm, Ares permanently took Lyta with them and Circe wanted to get revenge on the gods by tarnishing the reputation of their most ardent followers.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: [[PurpleIsPowerful Purple]] and [[GreenAndMean green]] are Circe's most reoccurring {{Color Motif}}s. Some times she will be depicted with purple hair and a green outfit or wearing a purple robe. When she first appeared in the Perez run, she had black hair and a green dress.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: In the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 post-Crisis continuity]], Circe originally became an enemy of Diana because of a prophecy that the Amazon would kill her. In trying to prevent this prophecy however, Circe set in motion the very events that led to her death at Diana's hands. She got better though.
* ShesGotLegs: Often wearing clothing that emphasize this.
* SinsOfTheFather: Circe having run-ins with Hippoylta in the past that ended for poorly for her has occasionally been presented as reason for her hatred of Diana;
** In WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited, Hippolyta had her banished to Hades for turning people into animals.
** In the ''Superman/Wonder Woman'' title from [[ComicBook/New52 The New 52]] it's revealed Hippolyta and Circe made an arrangement where Circe would enchant Themyscira's weapons so it could defend itself from invaders in-exchange for the Amazon's male children. Hippolyta than double-crossed Circe and made a deal with the Smith God Hephaestus where he would get the male children in-exchange for weapons that would defend Themyscira from Circe.
* SquishyWizard: Circe has a lot of magical fire power but lacks Diana's strength, speed and fighting skills. She can magically empower herself to match Diana in strength but even then the Amazon can still beat her with proper training.
* TheStarscream: Was this to the Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2). In her past she originally became an acolyte of Hecate as a means of enacting a RoaringRampageOfRevenge but eventually manipulated Wonder Woman's Justice League Dark team into killing Hecate so her powers would be transferred to her and becoming the new Goddess of Magic.
* StrawFeminist: Sometimes portrayed this way.
* StrawNihilist: By the end of her story, she begins to describe how everything in life from Wonder Woman to humanity live under illusions of falsehood, leaving actions of love and murder as the only things that could be called reality. As such she kills other indiscriminately in pursuit of her daughter, Lyta, the only being she loves.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Frequently dresses this way. Mainly as a way of throwing off male enemies through sex appeal.
* {{Troll}}: Enjoys dicking with people out sheer amusement, especially Diana.
* SupernaturalIsPurple: Her signature purple hair. In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 the Post-Crisis continuity]] although she changed her appearance frequently her hair remained the same color. In [[ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth Rebirth]] however it's become more reddish-purple.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Ares, ComicBook/{{Hercules|Unbound}}, and Sebastian Ballesteros on occasion. She even tried to invoke this with Lex Luthor, but he flatly denied her.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: Circe's costumes are subject to change, even in the midst of battle.
* TheVamp: Not afraid to use her sex appeal to get what she wants, at one point trying to seduce Green Arrow II on Luthor's orders.
* VillainTeamUp: Has often been either involved or the leader of such groups.
** She's been romantically involved with [[ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} Sebastian Ballesteros]] as well, with the two of them acting as a BigBadDuumvirate.
** Led a LegionOfDoom made up of Wonder Woman's enemies, all of whom she empowered and has allied herself with the likes of Luthor's Injustice Gang in order to take on the Justice League.
** In ComicBook/DCRebirth, she formed part an evil counterpart to the Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman with Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul, and herself.
** In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' (vol. 2), she formed an Injustice League Dark comprised of herself, ComicBook/KlarionTheWitchBoy, ComicBook/SolomonGrundy, [[Characters/SwampThing Floronic Man]], and Papa Midnite
* VillainTeleportation: Circe, as one of the most powerful magic users in the 'verse, is fully capable of jumping between points and dimensions at will, though Paradise Island has defenses against this. Interestingly her most notable use of teleporation may have been when she used it to help the heroes by teleporting Diana and herself to try to save ComicBook/{{Artemis}} from the White Magician.
* WickedWitch: One of the wickedest witches in comic books in fact.
* WizardsLiveLonger: Circe is [[OlderThanTheyLook several thousand years old]].
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: She changes her hair color frequently but her "natural" color seems to be purple.
* YouHaveFailedMe: One of Circe's Bestiamorphs failed to accomplish his assignment. What does Circe do? [[spoiler:[[ImAHumanitarian She turns him into a chicken dinner and eats him.]]]]
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* MotiveDecay Okay so... why is she still trying to kill Wonder Woman? Sometimes it's because she hates the world of peace and equality that Diana wants to create, sometimes it's because she hates everything Diana stands for which she sees as lies and attacks her out of hate-filled cynicism, sometimes it's because of prophecy, sometimes it's because she thinks the Amazons stole her daughter, sometimes it's because she thinks that Wonder Woman doesn't do enough to stop the oppression of women despite the fact that directly contradicts one of the main reasons she gave for hating Wonder Woman's message of peace and tolerance during one of her {{Motive Rant}}s. Most of all her actions simply just revolve around her hating Wonder Woman and just wanting to watch her squirm. Best exemplified by her banter:

* EvilCounterpart: Wonder Woman loves everyone. Circe hates everyone.

* ''ComicBook/FlashPoint''

* Franchise/DcAnimatedUniverse

** ''War of the Gods'' 1991 [[note]] Orchestrated the various pantheons of the DC Universe into going to war with one another[[/note]]

** ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'' 2007 [[note]] Manipulated Hippolyta and Themyscira into declaring war on the United States.[[/note]]