Axis

Origin

Little is known about Axis' history or private life. She refers to the Teen Titans as children, suggesting she is somewhere in her late 20s/early 30s. She is the lover of fellow villain, the mute Vault.

Creation

Axis was created by Dan Jurgens and George Pérez for DC Comics' Teen Titans series. Her first appearance was in Teen Titans #7 in 1997.

Major Story Arcs

Axis is the leader of Dark Nemesis, a team of superpowered assassins and information brokers who have spent most of their career working in the shadows. The leader of The Veil, Pylon, hailed them as 'one of the best intelligence operatives the underworld has to offer'.

Teen Titans

In Teen Titans #7, Dark Nemesis is hired by Pylon to confront the Teen Titans in battle and learn as much as possible about their abilities and strengths. Dark Nemesis agrees, provided The Veil can pay their $2 million fee. Axis and her fellow villains attack the Mall of the Universe in Minneapolis to lure out the Teen Titans. This leads to a disagreement within Dark Nemesis, with Scorcher complaining that the mission is far too public for their group. To her chagrin, the other members support Axis' leadership. When the battle begins, Axis makes quick work of Argent. Shortly thereafter the other Teen Titans are also defeated. Blizzard and Scorcher ask Axis if they can kill the Teen Titans, recalling that Pylon would triple their fee if Dark Nemesis would manage to do so.

In Teen Titans #8, Axis urges Scorcher to be patient as she contacts Pylon. He confirms that Dark Nemesis can kill the Teen Titans, but not before they've collected more data on their powers and a possible relationship to the H'san Natall. When Atom suddenly appears he knocks a startled Axis to the ground. The distraction allows the other Teen Titans to rejoin the fight. This time Argent gets the better of Axis, knocking her unconscious.

The one-shot Dark Nemesis (Villains) reveals that all members of Dark Nemesis, except Scorcher, were taken to Slabside Island Maximum Security Penitentiary for Metahumans. Axis was locked up with her hands cuffed and a helmet that inhibited her powers. She reluctantly agrees to talk to Risk about Scorcher, but the conversation never happens as Risk suddenly feels a connection to Scorcher - the 'psi-link' shared by all genetically engineered creations of the H'San Natall: Scorcher was breaking in to the Slab to free her team-mates.

Once free from her shackles Axis confronts Scorcher. She questions how it was possible only Scorcher had managed to evade arrest. Before Scorcher can explain, Risk attacks, slamming the helmet back onto Axis' head and knocking her to the ground. Blizzard then freezes the room, allowing Dark Nemesis to escape. He orders Vault to rescue Axis and to forget about Scorcher as 'Axis was ready to bump her from the team anyway'. When Scorcher later dejectedly notes that the team left her to die, Axis coldly says that Scorcher knew the risks. Axis then theatrically hugs her and thanks her for rescuing the team.

In Teen Titans #15, the villain Haze creates 'authentic recreations' of the Teen Titans' deadliest foes. One of these recreations is of Axis. When Haze is defeated, the recreations disappear.

Later, in Teen Titans #21, Axis is once again working with Pylon, who had kidnapped Risk's mother. Unbeknownst to Scorcher, Axis was aware of the former's connection to the Teen Titans. Axis thus resolved to use Scorcher in a scheme. When Axis provocatively ordered Scorcher to kill Risk's mother, Risk seemingly killed Scorcher in turn. Later on, Axis and Pylon celebrate their success, revealing that it was actually Axis who had killed Scorcher by releasing a psi-charge right at the moment Risk struck her. Pylon was convinced that this would discredit the Teen Titans.

Shortly before the Jokers: Last Laugh event in 2001, Axis appeared in Wonder Woman #175 where she is seen fighting Onyx. She only appears in a single panel, and thus has little involvement in the story. Other members of Dark Nemesis do not appear in this issue.

The Titans

Dark Nemesis is recruited by a mysterious figure in The Titans #39. They slip into a warehouse where they painstakingly go through all the files in the archive. Carom takes issue with the procedure, and he gets into a brief argument with Axis about her leadership. Meanwhile Oracle is alerted to their activity and once the Titans arrive, Axis confronts Argent for the third time. She seems to be getting the better of Argent until Donna Troy attacks Axis from behind, knocking her out. Argent then keeps the various members of Dark Nemesis suspended in one of her plasma creations. Axis and her team-mates are then taken to prison by Agent Nolan.

In The Titans #40 Axis is seen in Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana, where various contraptions have been placed around her neck and on her hands to prevent her from using her powers. Nightwing and Donna Troy attempt to interrogate her, asking why Dark Nemesis was gathering information on Garrett Donovan's Apex Company, but to no avail.

Axis presumably remained in custody afterwards, and only appeared again in 2010 as part of a flash-back scene in Titans #21. Dark Nemesis was breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs when they were confronted by the Titans. As the members of the two groups battled each other, Axis was defeated by Wally West. While holding up an unconscious Axis he concluded: 'These guys are strictly minor leaguers'.

Powers and Abilities

Axis has the ability to hack into a person's psyche and amplify their feelings of inadequacy and weakness in order to compromise their fighting abilities.