Who's Who in the Superman Comics

Hope and Mercy

Historically, Lex Luthor has surrounded himself with several female assistants, chaffeurs, and scientists. Recently, Luthor augmented his stable with two extraordinary bodyguards: Hope and Mercy.

Little is known of their true backgrounds, but the two possess above-average height, strength, and stamina for women. Both are approximately six feet in stature, and weigh over 150 lbs. They also share matching tattoos and enhanced strength, equally given Superman a brief workout. The two are fiercely loyal to Lex Luthor and have proven their worth on several occasions.

Mercy, who plays "bad cop" off the more benevolent Hope, is white, and blond-haired. She has shown herself to be more ruthless, more vicious, and more willing to use force, as compared to Hope. While in Luthor's employ, Mercy has faced Batman and Catwoman, while Lex tried to gain a foothold in the reconstruction of Gotham City. And both Hope and Mercy took part in the "rescue" of Talia Head, thereby helping convince Ra's al Ghul's daughter to work for LexCorp.

The woman known as Hope Taya remains one of the true enigmas of Superman's world. She debuted as the bodyguard and henchwoman of Lex Luthor, and worked side-by-side with Mercy. Acting as Luthor's main enforcers, Mercy and Hope became Lex Luthor's personal dynamic duo: Mercy was like a blonde Valkyrie, always hot-tempered opinionated. Hope was the more passionate and expressive of the two. She is a statuesque black vixen, distinguished by her flowing dreadloks. The two were seemingly inseparable, but when Lex Luthor, as President, failed to protect the citizens of Topeka during an otherworldly invasion, Hope could not stand silently by and allow the sinister mastermind to get away with murder.

Determined to reveal the truth, Hope began to secretly contact Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. However, when Lane received enough information from Ms. Taya, she decided to reveal the story via a Daily Planet report. But realizing the danger of the matter, Lane's husband - Clark Kent - decided to take credit for the expose. With permission from publisher Perry White, the story saw print. Unfortunately... when Kent and Lane attempted to bring Hope into the spotlight, and reveal her as their key eyewitness, Hope retracted her statements, and this led to Clark Kent's apparent dismissal from the Daily Planet. It has appeared as though Hope was out of danger, but Lex Luthor saw otherwise. He knew that Hope's actions would lead to a possible impeachment, so he had her quietly removed from his personal staff; and tortured, lobotomized, and held captive within the sub-basement of the Lexcorp Tower.

Tipped off by Talia Head - who has served as the C.E.O. of Lexcorp while Luthor was President, Superman rescued Hope Taya from her illegal confinement.

First Appearance: AOS #573



Who's Who in the Superman Comics

Introduction

This is a listing of many of the notable characters and a few places that have appeared in the Superman comics from the 1986 revamp up until around 2008.

NOTE: A new, and more current version of the Who's Who is currently being worked on and can be accessed by clicking here.

Although Superman often appears in other DC Comics, this text's information is limited mainly to what has occurred in the regular Superman comics.

Many thanks to Scotty V, Derrick Lyle Coleman, Dean Vanek, Genevieve Clemens and Benjamin Grose who all helped out at one time or another with writing and updating these Who's Who descriptions.

The listings are displayed as follows:

  • Surname, Firstname - Text describing the character, place, object, etc...

Relevant issues of the Superman comics are listed as such:
  • SUP = Superman
  • MOS = Man of Steel
  • AOS = Adventures of Superman
  • ACT = Action Comics
  • MOT = Man of Tomorrow

The Issue Number for each of these titles is written in this manner: “#000”. (e.g. SUP #123)

“First Appearance” refers to the issue since 1986 unless otherwise noted.



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