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| Decay | ||||
| Real name | Decay | |||
| Debut | Wonder Woman v2 #3 (April 1987) | |||
| Created by | George Pérez | |||
| Abilities | Flight, invulnerability, touch causes aging and death, breath causes a target to turn to dust | |||
History[]
To win the approval of his father Ares, Phobos (god of fear) journeyed to the Cavern of the Gorgons where he molded a statuette from malevolent matter scoured from Medusa's heart. He then arranged for the item to be delivered to the Kapatelis residence where Diana was rooming as she oriented herself to the world of Men.
As Phobos arranged, the statuette (named Decay) came to life, forcibly aged young Vanessa Kapatelis by decades and then destroyed the house in her first attempt to kill Diana. Failing that, Decay gleefully went on the destructive rampage in the city of Boston with Diana in pursuit. After a dangerous battle which had Wonder Woman aged as a result, Diana realized the proper way to defeat the monster. She snared Decay in her Lasso of Truth which is also tied to the renewing power of Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. Bombarded with this power, Decay was reduced to dust while Diana's youth was restored. A short time later, Diana obtained a magic ointment to restore Vanessa's youth as well.
She was resurrected by Dr. Julian Lazarus's Virtual Reanimator, which brought the demon of destruction back to life with its experimental proto-matrix material. While Decay's body was merely an artificial effigy, the demon's spirit dwelt within. But before Decay could secure the power source needed to maintain her imitation of life, Diana shattered the virtual clone into a million pieces. (Wonder Woman #112-113)
Powers and Abilities[]
Decay is a skilled fighter possessing the powers of flight and invulnerability. Her touch causes any living thing she comes in contact with to rapidly age, eventually causing death. Decay's breath is equally deadly, and can crumble a target to dust.