First Appearance: (Vanessa Kapatelis) Wonder Woman 3 (1987). As Silver Swan: Wonder Woman 171 (2001)
Creators: George Perez and Len Wein/Phil Jimenez
Abilities: A part cybernetic entity with the power of technokinesis, flight, super speed, a sonic cry and metal claws.
Backstory: There have been three Silver Swans since the character’s debut, all believing themselves to be undesirable or unwanted in some way. First, Helen Alexandros, then Valerie Beaudry, but since 2001 the title has belonged to Vanessa Kapatelis.
First apprearing as the daughter of Julia Kapatelis, a friend and ally of Wonder Woman’s, Vanessa (aka Nessie) was later expanded as a once ordinary American teenager with a promising future as a ballet dancer and singer. She came to love Diana as a sister and dreamed of fighting evil alongside her; But traumatized by both her father’s death, and that of her best friend Lucy, she ultimately fell prey to self doubt and several of Wonder Woman’s longtime villains.
Her school counselor, an undercover Dr. Psycho, convinced Julia that Diana was the cause of her daughters distress, so Julia sent Diana away. Now, in addition to her grief, she felt abandoned by her friend that she considered like family. Her mixed emotions were a perfect target for Circe, who wanted to use Vanessa to defeat Diana. Using physical implants and warping her mind, Circe and Dr. Psycho turned Vanessa into the terrorist criminal, Silver Swan. Before Diana could attempt to resolve the situation, however, the Imperiex attack and Circe attempts to takeover of New York City. After defeating Circe, Wonder Woman tried to help Vanessa recover, but she is kidnapped by Sebastian Ballestros. He then sold her to fellow Wonder Woman villain, Veronica Cale, who ravaged Vanessa’s body further, making her even more of a cybernetic killing machine.
More recently Vanessa’s origin was altered, now having been rescued by Diana as child, and becoming paralyzed- she and Diana still becoming close friends, and dreaming of fighting by Wonder Woman’s side. Vanessa chooses to take part in a procedure using nanites that would allow her to walk again, but eventually, Diana visited less and less, causing Vanessa to grow more and more despondent. After her mother Julia died, thinking she had no one left ultimately drives Vanessa to madness, the nanites in her blood creating a cybernetic costume, now calling herself the Silver Swan.
