Marvel and DC have both developed iconic and emerald-clad fantasy Femme Fatales, but only one of these two supreme sorceresses can claim to have the stronger magic.
Magic has always been a part of superhero universes. The infinite myriad of ideas made possible by magic has given creators an endless well of concepts to pull from. And in both the Marvel and the DC Universes, one of the most powerful magic-using characters is named the Enchantress. While Marvel’s mystical icon has foiled — and occasionally worked alongside — Thor for decades, DC’s magic user has fleshed out teams like the Suicide Squad, Shadowpact and Justice League Dark.
Now, we’re taking a closer look at DC’s Suicide Squad veteran and Marvel’s bewildering Asgardian to see how these two Enchantresses stand up to each other.
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WHO IS DC’S ENCHANTRESS?
The first iteration of DC’s Enchantress appeared in “The Enchantress of Terror Castle” by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell from the pages of 1966’s Strange Adventures #187. When the ancient being known as the Enchantress found a new vessel in artist June Moone, it also found a new lease of life among mortals. Enchantress often performed strange and horrifying acts in the pursuit of the greater good, leading to her early reputation as a villain — though she would eventually find a heroic home alongside Amanda Waller’s Task Force X.
The most recent version of the character, introduced in 2011’s Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin, while much the same in the most general terms, is far more frightening than her predecessor. Without June to keep her in check, the Enchantress is quick to slip into madness and depravity, and as such, has proven herself capable of holding back the Justice League single-handedly while also holding the entire world hostage. The full extent of the Enchantress’s powers is still unknown, but between keeping the League at bay with a storm of teeth and the power to make that happen by rewriting reality itself, there is seemingly nothing the Enchantress cannot do.
WHO IS MARVEL’S ENCHANTRESS?
First appearing in 1964’s “The Enchantress and the Executioner!” by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from the pages of Journey Into Mystery #103, Amora is a sorceress of Asgard who has gone by many names and worn many faces. In her early days, she was banished from learning the mystic arts under Karnilla for her insolence and undisciplined nature — though that hardly stopped her from perfecting her craft or amassing greater power.
At times, Enchantress has been a benevolent force for good, even if only to ultimately serve her own desires, but above all, she is an ambitious aristocrat at heart. Imbued with all of the superhuman attributes that come with being an Asgardian, Amora is also well versed in the arts of telepathy, time travel, teleportation, and most of all hypnosis. A capable sorceress by any measure, it is this Enchantress’s irresistible, often literally enchanting charm that has proven to be her most powerful weapon, not to mention the one thing that has gotten her out of very lethal situations more times than any other.
Enchantress vs. Enchantress: Whose Magic is Stronger?
As powerful as Amora is, she is still only an Asgardian. While they might be gods in their own right, the Enchantress of the DC Universe is a mystical force of nature. Marvel’s Amora on several occasions traded power, status and loyalty for a better shot of surviving as the world falls apart around her, and that kind of thinking just puts her on a lesser playing field than DC’s Enchantress. When it comes to DC’s Enchantress, power, status and loyalty are but petty mortal concepts that can easily be unmade in an instant. DC’s Enchantress is without question the strongest Enchantress in comics.
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