Silver Deer
Context
Silver Deer is a minor Firestorm character, who appeared for all of three issues in 1984.
30+ years dated the story is quite dated, problematic and has large plot holes. But there is a little something to the character, and she could be cool if reworked and modernised.
Background
- Real Name: Chanka (last name unrevealed).
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: Grandfather (name unrevealed), father (name unrevealed, deceased), mother (name unrevealed), Bobby (brother, deceased).
- Group Affiliation: None.
- Base Of Operations: Mobile across North America.
- Height: 5’5” Weight: 115 lbs.
- Eyes: Brown with dark blue highlights Hair: Black
- Notes: Officially Chanka is 5’4” and 103 lbs, but she’s never drawn as being that small.
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Powers & Abilities
Silver Deer is a trained sorceress, martial artist and terrorist.
She’s smart, reasonably competent in the field, and highly motivated.
However she is also a fanatic, which hampers her social skills.
Magic
Her demonstrated magic powers are :
- Tracking down lost artefacts using magical senses.
- Shape-shifting into a silvery-white version of animals such as bears, seals, venomous snakes, etc.. Though she said something about these being the traditional North American animals, she had no problem turning into an elephant when necessary.
The venom of her cobra form could incapacitate Firestorm and might have killed him. Howbeit, she needed the element of surprise to inject a full dose. - Shape-shifting into a completely different person (including their voice and clothing). Her shapeshifting abilities are reportedly the result of her being descended from Coyote , the trickster spirit.
- Mesmerism forcing ordinary people to follow her orders, even if these are suicidal.
- Telekinetic control over games of chance to influence their outcome.Or perform bits of flourish such as having a roulette wheel ball ricochet right into her hand. She stated that this ability was due to her being descended from Brass, the gambler spirit .
Drugs
She also used alcohol-soluble drugs. One was a basic mickey finn. The other transfixed drinkers and make them hallucinate that they were in the countryside, chased by white-furred animals. They remained unresponsive during the hallucinations, though fainting might occur.
The second drug might be magical in origin.
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History
Chanka and her twin Bobby were born on a Cherokee rez in North Carolina.
Their grandfather was a magician, as the family had taught spells to their eldest son for generations. Chanka wanted to learn, but as a girl she was not eligible.
Poisons
When they were kids, Bobby was bitten by a rattler. The rez’s dispensary didn’t have the proper antivenom. Thus, Chanka and her father rushed to the nearest city hospital.
However, as they barged in they were stopped by racist staff. Bobby’s father shoved back an interfering nurse to gain access to the ER. But a racist security guard responded by shooting him and his son dead.
Since she was the last descendant of the family, her grandfather eventually agreed to teach her his spells. That included magic such as turning into a silver-furred wolverine.
From the get-go, Chanka intended to turn these into weapons against the White Man in revenge.
Game, set, match-head
In 1984, Silver Deer set out to reactivate Black Bison. Meaning the spirit of superhuman chief and shaman Black-Cloud-In-The-Morning possessing his descendant, John Ravenhair.
She tracked down and recovered Black Bison’s talisman. It had been lost in a fight with Firestorm. Then Chanka tricked Ravenhair into being possessed by Black-Cloud again.
Firestorm intervened, but they repeatedly repelled him.
Silver Deer’s big plan revolved around a gambling event she had the Soviet embassy set up in Washington, D.C.. She had presumably using her mesmerism to have this occur.
The political elite of the capital was to attend the event in large numbers. Then, Silver Deer would use her mystical power over games of chance to take control of their minds. First she would have them return their lands to the Native nations, then she’d force them to kill themselves.
Firestorm (Stein/Raymond) and Firehawk (Lorraine Reilly) intervened in the nick of time. Firehawk engaged the shape-shifting Silver Deer in battle. Both women were trapped under a collapsing building, and only Lorraine flew out.
Silver Deer was never seen again.
Description
See illustrations.
Personality
Silver Deer is an eeeevil witch.
She lives in a world that is part generic-Native mythology (she’s always talking about animal spirits and magical traditions), and part shadow world of espionage where all enemies of America jointly plot the downfall of Freedom.
She is an homicidal radical and fanatic who despises the White Man. Chanka fights for the blood-soaked return of a magical past — “magical” both in a metaphorical and literal sense. She’ll unhesitatingly eliminates witnesses, or just people she doesn’t like.
Though she felt contempt for John Ravenhair (who had little connection to his heritage), she was very attracted toward Black Bison. Bison was a magically and physically powerful man from the past who largely shared her views.
Objectively, Silver Deer didn’t need to ally with Black Bison for her plan. But she wanted him around so they could have sex and build a relationship.
Quotes
“My father was thunder, my mother was the wind, and I am the daughter of Coyote, the trickster.”
“I am Deer Woman, Bringer-of-Death, strange shape in the night, trickster of the morning.”
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Silver Deer
| Dex: 06 | Str: 03 | Bod: 04 | Motivation: Uphold the Cause |
| Int: 06 | Wil: 05 | Min: 05 | Occupation: Sorceress |
| Inf: 06 | Aur: 08 | Spi: 08 | Resources {or Wealth}: 004 |
| Init: 018 | HP: 040 |
Powers:
Chameleon: 06, Extra-Sensory Tracking: 06, Hypnotism: 05, Probability control: 09, Zoomorph: 09
Bonuses and Limitations:
- All applicable Powers are Mystic-Linked.
- Extra-Sensory Tracking does not need to be “tuned in”, but is limited to magical activities and artefacts tied to Native American traditions.
- Hypnotism requires prolonged eye contact within 0 APs of Range.
- Hypnotism has the Charge Object Bonus, but this is limited to objects involved in games of chance and these do not add their BODY to the APs of Hypnotism.
- When used through Charge Object, Hypnotism can have a 3 APs Area of Effect. However to perform this she needs to get at least one RAP against an OV/RV of 10/10 using her Occultist/Occultist (and thus probably spend HPs).
- A suggestion implanted via Hypnotism can only last for 1 day (15 APs of time).
- Probability Control only to influence games of chance and their components.
- All animals mimicked via Zoomorph have a silvery colour (BC -5).
- Silver Deer sometimes use Zoomorph to change the shadow she casts, but not her actual body (BC +5).
Skills:
Artist (Actress, Dancer): 03, Martial artist (incl. Techniques): 05, Occultist: 07
Advantages
Familiarity (Various Native American folklores and mythologies ; Drugs), Language (presumably Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ) and perhaps others).
Connections:
KGB (Low).
Drawbacks:
SIA toward Serving her Cause.
Equipment:
Silver Deer used two alcohol-soluble drugs :
- A basic mickey finn [BODY 01, Sleep: 04, Limitation: needs to be ingested].
- Transfixing drug [BODY 01, Mystic Freeze: 04, Limitation: needs to be ingested].
Source of Character: Fury of Firestorm (1982 run) #25-27.
Writeup completed on the 22nd of April, 2015.