Created by: Jim Burrows
Art by: Gilbert Monsanto

PERSONAL INFORMATION

REAL NAME: Elizabeth “Liza” Black
IDENTITY: Secret
OCCUPATION: Heiress
PLACE OF BIRTH: New Acadia, Massachusetts, 1975
CITIZENSHIP: United States citizen with no criminal record
MARITAL STATUS: Married
KNOWN RELATIVES: Gabriella Martinelli (wife), Eglantine (daughter), Liz Marshall (mother), Matt Gardner, Twilight (father), John Marshall (grandfather), Liz Grey (grandmother), Lord John Grey (great-grandfather), Ayla Sadik (great-grandmother)
GROUP AFFILIATIONS: The Night Watch
BASE OF OPERATIONS: New Acadia, Massachusetts
EDUCATION: De Coyne University
FIRST APPEARANCE: The Arena (Gilbert Monsanto)
HEIGHT: 5’9″ (175 cm)
WEIGHT: 145 lbs (66 kg)
EYES: Dark blue
HAIR: Black

HISTORY

Liza is the fifth Bette Noir, the daughter of the fourth and granddaughter of the original. Her father was the “Bronze Age” Twilight. Before she took over as Bette Noir, she had been the fifth Bella Donna, having assumed the role during the Night Watch crisis. In fact, some hold that her joining the Watch and the conflict thus provoked between her mother, her father, and his wife were bigger factors in the Watch’s internal problems than even the death of the Enforcer. Her mother soon retired, and Liza took her place.

As the youngest Bette Noir ever, Liza tended to follow the lead of the older Deadly Night Shade, Rosa Martinelli, who had been the Bella Donna before her. Their partnership as members of the “Bad Girls” was troubled. This ended when Rosa’s daughter Gabriella took over as Bella Donna and became Liza’s partner. As the senior member of a team of relative equals, Liza came into her own, and their partnership became the longest-lasting in the history of the Bettes and Bellas. The two married and have a daughter, Eglantine.

POWERS & ABILITIES

Liza is an expert in numerous forms of armed and unarmed combat. Occasionally, she exhibits her father’s powers of darkness and limited flight.

WEAPONS & PARAPHERNALIA

Liza wears a bullet- and knife-resistant suit of layered spider silk created by Madame Tchen, which incorporates elements of both her mother’s and grandmother’s outfits. She uses a stun gun and martial arts weapons such as tonfa and nunchucks.