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|creators = '''(Billings)'''<br/> [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]] (writer)<br/>[[Sheldon Moldoff]] (artist)<br/>'''(Moffit)'''.<br/>[[Chuck Dixon]] (writer)<br/>[[Staz Johnson]] (artist)<br/>Scott Hanna (artist)
|alter_ego = Delbert Billings<br/>Unnamed<br/>Fay Moffit
|species = [[Metahuman]]
|alliances = <!-- optional -->
|aliases = '''(Billings)'''<br/>Keith Sherwood<br/>'''(Moffit)'''<br/>Lady Spellbinder
|powers = '''(Billings)'''<br>Use of optical and aural devices that hypnotize people<br>Minimal hand-to-hand combatant<br>'''(Unnamed)'''<br>Genuine mystical abilities<br>'''(Moffit)'''<br>Genuine illusion-casting powers
}}
The '''Spellbinder''' is the name of four fictional [[
==Fictional character biography==
===Delbert Billings===
▲The Spellbinder ('''Delbert Billings''') first appeared in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #358 (December 1966), and was created by [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]] and [[Sheldon Moldoff]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Korte |first3=Steve |last4=Manning |first4=Matt |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |last6=Wilson |first6=Sven |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe |date=2016 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-5357-0 |page=279}}</ref> He was a painter who used [[optical illusions]] and [[hypnosis|hypnotic]] weapons to commit crimes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=McAvennie |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-8578-6 |page=113}}</ref>
Delbert was a forger of [[pop art]] who decided to put his talents to use as a supervillain. He created the Spellbinder identity, designed hypnotic weapons, and assembled a team of henchmen. He ran into [[Batman]] during his first robbery, but hypnotized the crimefighter into believing he was involved in an entirely different situation, as his gang made their getaway.<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=324}}</ref> This ploy worked twice, but on his third robbery, Batman was able to overcome it and send him to jail.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenberger |first1=Robert |title=The Essential Batman Encyclopedia |date=2008 |publisher=Del Rey |isbn=9780345501066 |pages=329–330}}</ref>
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The Spellbinder joined a loosely knit conglomerate of crime organized by the Monarch of Menace. He was the first member of the group to be captured by Batman, who later disguised himself as the Spellbinder to infiltrate the group and capture the Monarch.<ref>''Batman'' #336</ref>
Later, the Spellbinder was on the run from the law with his new girlfriend, Fay Moffit, when he was confronted by the demon-lord [[Neron (
===Real name unknown===
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===Fay Moffit===
During the ''[[Underworld Unleashed]]'' crossover event, Delbert Billings (the original Spellbinder) rejected
▲During the ''[[Underworld Unleashed]]'' crossover event, Delbert Billings (the original Spellbinder) rejected [[Neron (DC Comics)|Neron]]'s deal of immense power in exchange for his soul and was shot in the head and killed by his girlfriend, '''Fay Moffit''', who then took the deal for herself and became the third Spellbinder (also known as '''Lady Spellbinder''') as a result.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #691-692</ref>
Neron granted her the ability to induce genuine [[hallucinations]]. She was followed by [[Batman]] and [[Tim Drake|Robin]], but they did not know the scale of her illusion-casting abilities, which extended to making absolutely everything disappear. She escaped from the heroes due to her ability to create a total illusion in her immediate vicinity, which remained even if they closed their eyes. They realized that the only way to be able to approach her safely is if the approach is controlled by someone outside her immediate area of influence. Robin acts as Batman's eyes once the Spellbinder is tracked down by the police, guiding him using a version of virtual reality technology. Once captured, the Spellbinder discovers that her deal with Neron was not all she had hoped — if her eyes are covered or closed, her illusion-casting abilities no longer function.
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She subsequently appeared in ''[[Birds of Prey (comics)|Birds of Prey]]'', where she created an illusory world in which [[Barbara Gordon]] was [[Batgirl]] (although she did not realize this had once been true). She had been hired by the [[Blockbuster (DC Comics)#Roland Desmond|Blockbuster]] to kidnap Barbara. Barbara was able to defeat the Spellbinder when she attacked Moffit with a fire extinguisher (to blind her and prevent her from casting illusions) and a club, and then tied her up and left her for the police.<ref>''Birds of Prey: Batgirl''</ref>
The Spellbinder returned to ''Birds of Prey'' when
The Spellbinder returned again in the miniseries ''[[Joker: Last Laugh]]''. In ''Birds of Prey'' #36, she battles the Black Canary, who is trapped inside Slabside Penitentiary along with a host of villains infected by the [[Joker (character)|Joker]]'s Joker venom, making them even more crazed than ever. The Black Canary's sonic cry is able to give most of them pause, but the Joker sends the [[Copperhead (DC Comics)|Copperhead]] and the [[Hellgrammite (comics)|Hellgrammite]] after her, as neither one of them have ears. After dealing with them, she is briefly confronted by the [[Shadow Thief]] before meeting, to her great relief, the Batman, [[Superman]], and [[Mary Marvel]]. However, the Black Canary soon notices that Marvel's lightning bolt is backwards, and the heroes are revealed to be an illusion created by the Spellbinder, who was the first of the female villains infected by the Joker's Joker venom.
The Spellbinder was apparently killed alongside the Trigger Twins by a group of gun-toting superheroes during ''[[Infinite Crisis]]''
===''The New 52''===
A fourth Spellbinder appears in ''[[The New 52]]'' under the name of '''Viktor Mironov'''.<ref>''Constantine'' #13 </ref> Mironov, as the Spellbinder, was a [[Russian people|Russian]] magician known for his ability to use magic to attack a person's psyche. When [[John Constantine]] contacted him to recruit him in a plan to fight the ''Cult of the Cold Flame'', the Spellbinder initially reacted by attacking Constantine and rummaging through his mind. When the Spellbinder discovered that Constantine was sincerer, he agreed to the plan.
However, a spell gone wrong by [[Papa Midnite]] sent the entire plan into a shambles. Constantine was sent to the wrong time period to fight the Cult and, not knowing their leader was not there to guide them, the Spellbinder and another mage were killed fighting the Cold Flame.<ref>''Constantine'' #16-17</ref>
===Infinite Frontier===
During ''[[Infinite Frontier]]'' and after ''[[Fear State]]'', a classmate of [[Barbara Gordon]] named '''Charles Dante''' became Spellbinder. <ref>''Batgirls'' Vol 1 3</ref>
==Powers and abilities==
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The second unnamed Spellbinder had genuine mystical abilities.
The third Spellbinder, also known as Lady Spellbinder, can create
== In other media ==
=== Television ===
{{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| width = 170
| image1 = BBSpellbinder.png
| caption1 = Spellbinder as he appears in ''Batman Beyond''
| image2 = Spellbinder TB.jpg
| caption2 = Spellbinder as he appears in ''The Batman''
}}
* A futuristic incarnation of Spellbinder appears in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'', voiced by [[Jon Cypher]].<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=Spellbinder Voices (Batman) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Batman/Spellbinder/ |access-date=July 16, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.</ref> This version is '''Ira Billings''', the [[School psychology|school psychologist]] of Hamilton High who wears a suit featuring an orange-and-black swirl design and uses a large floating "eyeball" that allows him to project mental illusions via hypnosis and virtual technology. Additionally, he constructs the addictive VR Rooms, which creates the user's greatest fantasy and eventually renders them catatonic the more they use it, for use in his crimes.
* The unnamed incarnation of Spellbinder appears in ''[[The Batman (TV series)|The Batman]]'', voiced by [[Michael Massee]].<ref name="btva" /> This version has a [[third eye]], which he acquired while meditating in the [[Far East]] and gives him the ability to induce hallucinations.
===
Spellbinder and Lady Spellbinder appear as character summons in ''[[Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 2, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
=== Miscellaneous ===
==See also==
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==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514115425/http://www.mykey3000.com/cosmicteams/tommorrow/S/Spellbinder.htm Cosmic Team profile]
*{{dcauw|Spellbinder|Spellbinder (Batman Beyond)}}
*[http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/thebatman/?x=bios/spellbinder/index ''The Batman'' profile] at World's Finest Online
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[[Category:DC Comics characters who use magic]]
[[Category:DC Comics female supervillains]]
[[Category:
[[Category:DC Comics metahumans]]
[[Category:Fictional artists]]
[[Category:Fictional hypnotists
[[Category:Fictional murderers]]
[[Category:Fictional psychologists]]
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