Blog#5 Create your own Superhero
Joanna OâMalley/ Obsidian
Joanna OâMalley, who also goes by the alias Obsidian, was born in Dublin, Ireland on June 23rd, 1932. Her parents, Jane and Keith OâMalley, who were Dublin natives, owned a small apothecary shop in the heart of Dublin. She has two older siblings, Sean OâMalley and Rose OâMalley. Joanna was a compassionate person who always put others wellbeing before her own. She was very mentally strong, it took a lot to get under her skin. Many people turned to Joanna when they needed a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, she was not one to ever be judgmental and truly loved to help. During the time of Joannaâs birth, superheroes were on the rise all over the world. Ireland had yet to have one of itâs very own, although many people did not mind it. As crime rates began to increase, many people prayed for a superhero to come and eliminate all the villains that mysteriously began popping up. Little did the people of Ireland know that their problems were only beginning, villains would continue to invade their beautiful lands until a hero came to stop them. Joanna was very head strong from a young age. Often, she would stand up to the neighborhood bullies as well as defend the younger children. Growing up Joanna was fascinated by superheroâs, she kept a close eye Wonder Womanâs victories, keeping a box of newspaper articles detailing her triumphs under her bed. Joanna dreamed of changing the world just as Wonder Woman was, but without powers she knew she was only destined to take over her familyâs business one day. Unfortunately, when Joanna was eighteen, she became extremely ill, doctors could not figure out what was causing her illness. Joanna spent many months in the hospital, the doctors did not think she would live to see her nineteenth birthday. Everything changed for Joanna when she was visited by a mysterious woman one evening, she claimed she could cure Joannaâs illness. All Joanna had to do was swallow a small obsidian crystal and all her health problems would go away. Being on the brink of death, Joanna did not think twice and consumed the crystal. Within a week she was cured, her health the best it had ever been. She chose to withhold the information about the mysterious woman in fear of everyone thinking she was insane. It later was discovered that the mysterious woman went by the name of Penelope Greer, also known as the Mother of Darkness or Mod.
Joanna did not discover her powers until she was twenty years old. She was watching her parents shop when a man held her up at gun point and demanded all of the money from the till. Joanna threw her hands up in fear, but to her surprise a black beam of light shot from her palms, causing the man to lose his senses. After that incident Joanna immersed herself into learning of her powers. She not only could eliminate her enemiesâ senses, but she had developed strength beyond her wildest dreams. Her dreams of becoming a superhero were coming true. She knew she was destined to help the greater good. As crime rate continue to soar Joanna knew she had to do something. She wanted to keep her family safe from any repercussions that could come once she began fighting crime, so she knew she needed to come up with a disguise. She spent countless nights working on an all-black body suit with a purple stripe across the chest and a black eye mask to conceal her face. Her features were very distinct, her fiery red hair and abnormally piercing green eyes were challenging to conceal at first. Joanna managed to urge her hair color to change each time she put on her suit. Gone was her long red hair, in its place was a short black bob cut. Once her disguise was complete, she began fighting crime as Irelandâs first superhero. Joanna advocated for those who could not defend themselves. She was keen on protecting Irelandâs shop owners and farmers who were constantly targeted by villains. Her goal was to rid Ireland of all the villains and return it back to the safe place it once was many years ago. Joanna also wanted to fight along side her hero, Wonder Woman. Joanna did fight aside her hero, the two women taking on two of Irelandâs high-ranking villains who went by the names Serpent and Electro. The two women were successful, ultimately eliminating both villains.
After two years of consistent crime fighting, she finally came face to face with the Mother of Darkness who revealed to her that she was the one who had gifted Joanna her powers. It later came out that the Mother of Darknessâs true plan was to build an all-women super villain team, each powered by a different crystal and wielding different powers. After Joanna refused to join the Mother of Darknessâs ranks, she was attacked by three of her minions. Joanna was badly injured and taken captive by the Mother of Darkness. She was brainwashed into believing she was a villain and began following along with Modâs plans. Her appearance changed completely, her black bob turned purple, her body suit changed to all black making her impossible to recognize. The all-women super villain group wreaked havoc on not only Ireland, but the world. In Obsidianâs absence crime began to run ramped in Ireland. Many began to believe Obsidian had abandoned them and began to lose hope. Â Upon hearing of Obsidians disappearance, Wonder Woman and many other heroes began to search for her. It was not until Mod and her evil band of women invaded New York City in the United States that Wonder Woman found Obsidian. She saw through Obsidians new look and knew instantly that it was her. Brainwashed, Obsidian fought hard against Wonder Woman and the other heroes. After being electrocuted, Obsidian snapped out of Modâs mind control. Obsidian did not tell anyone she had been relinquished of Modâs control. She faked being evil in order to learn what Modâs real plans were, eventually defeating her and her army of women with the help of Wonder Woman. Modâs other crystal victims had also been brainwashed, once free of her evil control they joined forces with Obsidian and returned to Ireland to clean up the mess they had made. Upon returning to Ireland the women were met with great resistance from the Irish. Obsidian continually tried to vouch for them, but their initial damage had been done. They were still viewed as being villains and were not trusted at all. Only after they cleaned up the crime in Ireland did people begin to trust them again. It took many years for Modâs destruction to be completely reversed. Eventually, things returned back to as normal as they possibly could. Businesses began to flourish again and the community finally accepted Obsidianâs comrades. The women decided to call them self the Crystal Force due to the unique way they all acquired their powers. Obsidian was elected to be their leader.
Joannaâs personal life suffered greatly, she always put the greater good and being a hero above all else. Romance and marriage were very low on her list of priorities, she rarely made time for social interactions outside of working her families shop and saving the world. Out of the blue she met a doctor by the name of Emmett Hurley who instant swept her off her feet. The two had a whirlwind romance, eventually leading to Emmett proposing. Joanna knew then she had to make a choice, she could continue her double life in secret without Emmett or she could tell him the truth and hope he still accepts her. Not wanting to give up the life she had built with him, Joanna confessed her secret identity to Emmett who at first had a hard time believing her. Eventually he accepted her other life, even going as far as to try and help her in any way he could. Emmett devoted a lot of time to treating the Crystal Forceâs members whenever they were badly injured, he had constructed a small hospital wing in he and Joannaâs home in order to properly take care of the superheroes. Joanna and Emmett were married on October 12th, 1956 on a small sheep farm outside of Dublin. Fighting crime was Joannaâs passion in life, it set fire to her soul in ways that nothing else could. Due to her desire to continue to fight crime, she and Emmett decided against having children. They instead had two dogs who they treated as if they were human children.
Joanna continued to pursue her life of fighting crime for many years. When she wasnât fighting crime she found the time to obtain a degree in psychology. She would travel and offer counseling to those who could not afford it, often working for many nonprofit organizations. At one point dedicated a lot of her time to helping women who were stuck in dangerous situations, often going under cover to bust trafficking operations. She along with her Crystal Force girls freed over fifty thousand women during their lifetime, even receiving multiple awards acknowledging their accomplishments and hard work. Â Obsidian can best be compared to the superhero Wonder Woman. Like Wonder Woman she is successful outside of her superhero double life. She made time to establish herself in a career field as well as fight crime. Like Wonder Woman she was caring and very strong, her strength was unmatched by many of her male counterparts.
Unfortunately, Obsidian met her match in 1978 when one of her undercover operations went terribly wrong. Obsidian was undercover in Thailand; she had been tipped off about a new shipment of women being sent overseas. Due to this tip coming in on very short notice, she had no time to waste. She did not contact her fellow Crystal Force members like she normally would, instead going incompletely alone. When she made it to the seaport right before the ship was set to leave, she was discovered by one of the trafficking ring leaders. Many of the traffickers knew who Obsidian was, they feared her. This trafficker specifically, who went by the name of Lynx, was determined to bring Obsidian down. She had interfered far too many times with his business as well as the business of his comrades. He dedicated a lot of time and money into finding a scientist who specialized in superheroes and their powers. His goal was to find a way to strip her of her powers in order to bring her and her Crystal Force down. After months of research, it was discovered that only by injecting Obsidian with liquid gold could her powers be stripped. Lynx had some of his men distract Obsidian by engaging her in combat. When she was preparing to take their senses, Lynx injected her with the liquid gold, causing her powers to diminish. Left defenseless, Obsidian hit the emergency button hidden in her wristwatch, all of the Crystal force possessed one for instance of dire emergency. Unfortunately, Obsidian was killed before the Crystal Force could arrive. Her death was quickly avenged as Lynx and his accomplices were quickly wiped out. Obsidian body was taken back to her and Emmettâs home. She was given a Viking-style burial two days later.
Obsidian left behind a legacy that will live on for many years to come. She showed the world how taking care of others, even those you did not know was important. Her rescue work gave tens of thousands of women a chance at a new life. She was honored posthumously with a statue and small memorial commemorating her many years of service to not only Ireland, but to the world. The Crystal Force continued on for many years after her death. Eventually due to older age and deteriorating health they did go into retirement in 1992. To this day Obsidian is fondly remembered by people all over the world.














