Sersi (Earth-616)

Sersi
Name	Sersi
Aliases	Circe, Circe the Sorceress, Mesmer, Mistress of Illusions, Serse, Sersy, Sylvia Sersi
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Eternals of Olympia Formerly God Squad, Avengers (part of Kree delegation during Operation Galactic Storm), New Breed
Relatives	Helios (father); Perse (mother); Arex, Ajak, Sprite, Ikaris, Thanos, (cousins); Starfox (cousin, deceased)
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5′9″ (1.75 m)
Weight	140 lbs (63.5 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Eternal of Earth
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Olympia, Greece
Place of Death	Olympia
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	Olympia
Occupation	Adventurer, dancer, actress, stage magician, hedonist, party planner
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, Jack Kirby
First	Strange Tales #109 (March, 1963) (as Circe) Eternals #3 (June, 1976) (as Sersi)
First	Strange Tales #109 (March, 1963) (as Circe) Eternals #3 (June, 1976) (as Sersi)

 Speak fast, Red...or I'll INCINERATE you where you stand. 

—Sersi

History

Early Years

Sersi has existed for many years, although she seems to be considered one of the younger Eternals. She was still a child during Gilgamesh's reign as champion-king of Uruk.

Circe

It is known that she encountered the Greek hero Odysseus during his 10-year journey home known as the Odyssey. She turned Odysseus' companions into pigs, but Odysseus, who had been given a magical herb by Hermes, resisted her witchcraft. Circe fell in love with Odysseus and transformed the pigs back into men. After they stayed on the island for one year, they left to continue their voyage. As Circe she also imprisoned all the evils that escaped Pandora's Box.

Across the Ages

Astonishing Merlin

She was present during Nero's burning of Rome and was assisted by Makkari. She later encountered Attila the Hun and also assisted Merlin during the days of King Arthur Pendragon. She fought alongside Thor in the Vikings Siege of Paris; became friends with John Dee and lost a game of rock, paper scissors at Queen Elizabeth I summer palace. During the 18th century, she got acquainted with English poet Thomas Chatterton and was in France during the French Revolution.

20th century

Sersi later relocated to the United States of America, settling in Upper Westside of Manhattan in New York City. She would regularly hold parties with the rich and famous of the city. Warren Worthington I was one of the regulars at the events along with the rest of his family.

Modern Era

In modern times, she still lived in New York City when the Fourth Host of Celestials arrived on Earth. Ikaris left Margo Damian in her care while he went off to defend the city against the Deviants' attack. When he was captured, Sersi alerted the other Eternals, but was captured herself by Kro's forces. She was released when a truce was reached and was part of the group who revealed the races' existence to Professor Samuel Holden.

Avengers

Sersi became associated with the Avengers after inviting them to one of her parties, and meeting her long-lost "cousin" Starfox of the Titan Eternals. She started a flirtation with Captain America (much to his embarrassment) and assisted him on a few occasions. When her fellow Eternal Gilgamesh was injured in battle and could no longer function as an active Avenger, Captain America invited Sersi to join the team in Gilgamesh's place, which Sersi accepted.

With the Avengers

Sersi's time with the Avengers proved troubling. During the conflict with the Brethren, she was abducted by their leader, Thane Ector, but they shared interest in each other. When the Celestial origins of the Brethren and the role of the Collector in the crisis were revealed, Sersi participated in a Uni-Mind with the Brethren in order to defeat the Collector. Such cross-species were forbidden by her kind, as they were seen as dangerous.

Donning a red costume, she became significantly more aggressive, even murderous when dealing with enemies. Ikaris and the Eternals feared Sersi was suffering from what the Mahd Wy'ry, a mental breakdown caused by the Eternals' long lifespans, but Sersi rejected their fears as archaic and refused to accompany them back home. The Avengers also didn't want them to take one of their members against her will, especially when they learned that if the Eternals' suspicions were confirmed, the standard procedure was to kill the affected person. After much discussion, it was decided to place Sersi in a Gann Josin soul-bond with the Black Knight. Sersi was in love with the Knight, and it was hoped that his thought-waves could provide a calming influence on her troubled mind.

Dane Whitman was actually in love with Crystal, although he did have feelings for Sersi as well. Furthermore, Sersi's mind was being deliberated antagonized from a distance by Proctor, a parallel version of Dane whose stalker tendencies led him to chase down and destroy Sersi's across the multiverse, after having been rejected by his own Sersi. Proctor's manipulations nearly drove Sersi mad as her teammates wondered if she really had become unstable. She eventually killed Proctor with his own Ebony Blade. Fearing that she would completely lose her mind, she opted to exile herself, with Whitman accompanying her.

They ended up in the Ultraverse, where Sersi became possessed by the Infinity Gems.

On their way back, they ended up in the Crusades, witnessing the formation of Exodus, a foe they had first met when the Avengers and X-Men clandestinely joined forces to save Luna from Fabian Cortez.

Upon returning to the correct time, Whitman was troubled by the apparent death of Crystal and thought they needed to rethink their relationship. Sersi went back to wearing green and, apart from aiding the Avengers on one occasion, she laid low for a while. When the other remaining Eternals felt they needed to become more involved in the world of humans, she agreed, and they portrayed themselves as an everyday superhero team, with Sersi adopting the name of Mesmer.

Sprite's Trick

Enjoying her human life

After the first superhuman civil war, Sersi, along with all the Eternals, had her life changed and her memories tampered with, having no knowledge of the powers she possessed nor any recollection of her past activities on Earth, such as her time as an Avenger. She was struggling to begin a career as a party planner, but she got her first big opportunity when she was hired by Druig, then deputy Prime Minister of Vorozheika, to publicize the small former Soviet republic by organizing a party at the Vorozheikan embassy. After the party was attacked by terrorists and saved by Iron Man and Mark Curry, actually Makkari, Stark asked Sersi if she wanted to register. However, she was confused as to what he was talking about, and Tony himself was later dumbfounded as he discovered that there were no files based on Sersi in the Avengers database.

Eventually, the other Eternals discovered that Sprite was responsible for rewriting everyone's lives. Ikaris and others tried to make Sersi remember her past, but she was too frightened of their tales and decided to try to lead a normal life instead. Despite eventually regaining her powers, she still didn't believe their stories and continued her party-planning dreams.

Death and Rebirth

When the countless bodies of Celestials rained down on the Earth to herald the arrival of the Dark Celestials, the Eternals learned a dark truth that drove them mad: that the true purpose of their kind was to cultivate humankind, since the First Host of Celestials allowed humanity to thrive because they saw in their genetic makeup the potential to act as antibodies against the Horde. In their madness, the Eternals either turned against each other or committed suicide, including Sersi.

After the Eternals rebirth, she was brought back and cured of her madness.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

As an Eternal of Earth, Sersi is descendant from the original Eternals created by the Celestials and further empowered by Kronos's experiments with the cosmic life-force.

• Near-Immortality: Eternals like Sersi possess total conscious control over their molecular structures, which are reinforced by cosmic energy. As a result, they are virtually immortal and indestructible, they are virtually invulnerable to any force weaker than their own cosmic energies or total molecular disintegration.

Flying through a Kree sentinel

• Super Strength: Sersi can bench/press at least 20 tons, however, she can increase this through her levitation and telekinetic abilities.

• Superhuman Stamina: Sersi has incredible stamina.

• Regenerative Healing Factor: On the rare occasions Sersi is physically harmed by some extreme force, she can heal herself using her molecular control powers. Sersi once reconstructed her own arm after it was disintegrated by a Deviant weapon.

• Telepathy: Sersi can psychically communicate, read minds, and project her thoughts into other people. She can compel the distracted or weak-minded to do her bidding through hypnosis.

• Illusions: Sersi is skilled in the use of illusions. Her illusions affect all five senses and are virtually indistinguishable from the 'real thing'. She is considered a Class 4 Eternal (of 5) when it comes to her skill at illusion-casting, with only Sprite known for sure to be more skilled than her. Sersi's illusions are so effective, it's often difficult to tell whether she is employing illusions or her matter-rearranging abilities.

Projecting her dreams

• Telekinesis: She can mentally move and manipulate objects, living creatures, and fly.
  • Flight: As a byproduct of telekinesis, Sersi can fly at high speeds.

• Cosmic Energy Projection: Sersi is able to project blasts of cosmic energy from her hands or eyes, in the form of light, heat, or concussive force.
  • Image Projection: Sersi is also able to project scenes from her mind, allowing others to visualize her thoughts.

• Teleportation: She can teleport herself and others across vast distances although doing so is unpleasant for Eternals.

Transmutation power

• Matter Transmutation: Sersi is able to transmute nearly any item or being into almost whatever she wishes. She is 'adept level 5', the highest level an Eternal can reach in such categories.
  • Healing

Abilities

Skilled Fashion Designer: Sersi is an accomplished fashion designer, often using her powers to make changes 'on the fly'.

Graceful Dancer: Sersi is very good at dancing.

Multilingual: As a child, she displayed the ability to speak the same unspecified ancient language spoken by Gilgamesh. As an adult, she has demonstrated fluency in the Kree language.

Notes

Relationships

• According to Sprite, he was the only straight male Eternal that Sersi hadn't bedded at some point, due to him having the body of a child.
• Sersi had a long relationship with Makkari, which ended many times, first due to cheating on both accounts, and then due to boredom.
• Sersi expressed great interest in Samuel Holden.
• She seemingly fell for Thane Ector of the Brethren.
• Sersi and Black Knight had mutual feelings for each other.

See Also

• 265 appearance(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 20 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 12 minor appearance(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 17 mention(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 8 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 3 invocation(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 220 image(s) of Sersi (Earth-616)
• 12 quotation(s) by or about Sersi (Earth-616)
• 2 victim(s) killed by Sersi (Earth-616)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Sersi (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Sersi on Wikipedia.org
• http://www.marvel.com/universe/Sersi
• The Eternals Message Board