Black Orchid I

Black Orchid I
◾Real Name:	Susan Linden
◾Affiliation:	Suicide Squad, Spirit Squad
◾Identity:	Secret
◾Alignment:	Good
◾Gender:	Female
◾Eyes:	Violet
◾Hair:	Violet
◾First appearance:	Adventure Comics #428 (August, 1973)
◾Appearance of Death:	Black Orchid #1 (December, 1988)

History

Black Orchid, real name Susan Linden, is a mysterious investigator with ties to the Green. She was a master of disguise.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Metropolis, Susan Linden developed a love for the plant kingdom from her school sweetheart, botanist Philip Sylvain. But that love was not stronger than her fear for her abusive father, so she ran away. She traveled the world, working oddjobs everywhere. She eventually became a blackjack dealer, making extra money skimming the house, when she met Carl Thorne, a smooth arms dealer working for Lex Luthor. They married, but things soon went sour when Thorne decided to rob from Luthor. Susan ran away, back to Sylvain. She reported Thorne to the police, but he killed her. Sylvain, mourning the loss, decided to use his studies on her body, and made her a human/plant hybrid named Black Orchid. Using her incredible powers, she fought crime by disguising herself, and brought many criminals to justice. She could not, however, get to Luthor. When they crossed paths, Luthor had her killed. Her consciousness fled back to Sylvain's laboratory, which caused a second orchid body to awaken. The consciousness itself made its way into a smaller hybrid body, which came to call itself "Suzy" and served as the second Black Orchid's companion, and when it reached maturity, became the third Black Orchid.

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