| Character Name: | Spellbinder |
| Converted: | y |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | (Billings) Detective Comics #358 (December 1966) (Unnamed) Justice League International (vol. 2) #65 (June 1994) (Moffit) Detective Comics #691 (November 1995) |
| Creators: | (Billings) John Broome (writer) Sheldon Moldoff (artist) (Moffit). Chuck Dixon (writer) Staz Johnson (artist) Scott Hanna (artist) |
| Alter Ego: | Delbert Billings Unnamed Fay Moffit |
| Species: | Metahuman |
| Aliases: | (Billings) Keith Sherwood (Moffit) Lady Spellbinder |
| Powers: | (Billings) Use of optical and aural devices that hypnotize people Minimal hand-to-hand combatant (Unnamed) Genuine mystical abilities (Moffit) Genuine illusion-casting powers |
The Spellbinder is the name of four fictional supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics. Versions of the character have appeared on the animated series Batman Beyond and The Batman.
The first Spellbinder, Delbert Billings, first appeared in Detective Comics #358 (December 1966), and was created by John Broome and Sheldon Moldoff.[1] He is a painter who uses optical illusions and hypnotic weapons to commit crimes.[2] [3] [4] [5] Throughout his appearances, Spellbinder battles Batman and Superman before being killed by his girlfriend, Fay Moffit.
A second, unidentified Spellbinder appears in Justice League International (vol. 2) #65 as a member of the government-sanctioned "League-Busters".[6] [7]
In Underworld Unleashed, Delbert Billings' girlfriend Fay Moffit kills him and gains Neron's power. She becomes the third Spellbinder, also known as Lady Spellbinder, before being killed during Infinite Crisis.[8] [9] [10]
A fourth Spellbinder, Viktor Mironov, is introduced in The New 52 continuity reboot.[11] He is a Russian magician who assists John Constantine in combating the Cult of the Cold Flame before being killed in battle.[12]
A fifth Spellbinder, Charles Dante, is introduced in Infinite Frontier. He is an artist, psychiatrist, and former classmate of Barbara Gordon who seeks to free Gotham City's citizens from what he sees as brainwashing.[13]
The original Spellbinder used a number of optical and aural devices of his own invention to hypnotize others. His fighting skills were minimal.
The second unnamed Spellbinder had genuine mystical abilities.
The third Spellbinder, also known as Lady Spellbinder, can create realistic illusions that cause real pain to the recipients. However, she is unable to use this ability if she is blinded or otherwise has restricted vision.
Spellbinder and Lady Spellbinder appear as character summons in .[15]
Spellbinder makes a minor appearance in the novel Wayne of Gotham.