Titania (DC Comics)
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Titania is a character in the DC Comics universe, appearing primarily in their adult-oriented Vertigo line. She is inspired by (and implied to be the same character as) the faerie queen in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania.
Character history
The DC Comics version of Titania first appears in The Sandman #19 by Neil Gaiman. In this story, it is revealed that Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, made a pact with Shakespeare which resulted in the play's creation. Shakespeare and his troupe later perform the play for Titania and the faeries themselves, much to the actors' unease.
Titania is usually depicted as a beautiful green-skinned woman with pointed ears, often wearing exoticly elegant clothing. As in Shakespeare, Titania is married to the king of the Fae, Auberon. However, their relationship is often tenuous at best, with both engaging in frequent extramarital affairs. One such tryst was between Titania and Morpheus (whom the faeries call "Lord Shaper"). Another affair was with a mortal named Tamlin the Falconer. The result of this was the birth of the powerful young magician Timothy Hunter (though this is only one of several possible origins for the boy created by the wizard Merlin).
Titania and Auberon are the rulers of the Twilight Realm of Faerie, a mystical plane of existence which is home to numerous faerie races, including the perpetually warring Seelie Court (Auberon's people, also called the Theena Sidhe) and Unseelie Court (the wild, primal faeries of darkness). The Faerie Realm is a world closely tied to myth and dreams where time moves differently and the landscape occasionally shifts and changes. Travelers are advised to stay on the path and never accept gifts or food or reveal their true name, lest they face terrible consequences. Faerie is a land of wondrous beauty and unsettling danger for unprepared mortals.
Titania was also featured in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic, the story which introduced Tim Hunter. She attempts to ensnare Tim during his visit to the Faerie Realm but is thwarted by his guide Doctor Occult. Intriguingly, Titania is shown in this story to have a page named Hamnet, who may be intended to be Shakespeare's son of the same name, spirited off by the faeries long ago.
Titania's origin was revealed in the limited series The Books of Faerie.
In this series, she is not a fay but a human girl who crossed over into the fay realm and was then adopted by the current queen of the fay. She appears to be a fay due to an enchanted circlet she stole when the last queen was transformed into a tree by her husband. She is also the most powerful human sorceress alive, which simply aids her deception.
The upcoming Vertigo miniseries God Save the Queen by writer Mike Carey will chronicle Titania's conflict with the former ruler of Faerie, Queen Mab. Interestingly, Titania has previously been shown to use the alias Mab in The Sandman, implying that she perhaps usurped Mab's identity or that the two were not initially intended to be separate characters.
Powers and abilities
Titania possesses vast, undefined mystical abilities, greater than those of any faerie or mortal magician. She is able to cast enchantments, travel great distances in moments, and alter her appearance via an illusory glamour. As Queen of Faerie, countless fay, sprites, and other entities owe their allegiance to her and will follow her commands.