Rapunzel (First Line member)

RAPUNZEL

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human mutant or mutate or genetically-engineered being or human variant or android or something else (pre-modern era)

Occupation: Adventurer

Group Membership: First Line (Dr. Mime, Effigy/Velmax, Eternal Brain/William Carmody, Firefall, Mr. Justice/Tim Carney, Morph, Oxbow, Pixie,  Walkabout, Yeti; see comments)

Affiliations: Mary Carmody, Jim Fitzpatrick, Cassandra Locke, Nick Fury, see comments

Enemies: Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards), Warlord Kro and his Deviant troops, Nocturne, Skrull invasion forces (Zankor and unrevealed others);
    presumably Yeti (see comments)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly Carmody Institute, New England, Maine

First Appearance: Marvel: The Lost Generation I#11 (March 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Through unrevealed means, the woman calling herself Rapunzel could actively control the growth cycles and movement of her body's hair follicles. This allowed her to rapidly grow out (parts of (see comments)) her supernaturally thick and dense hair, which she used in a variety of offensive and defensive ways. She was seen using it as a whip or to trip people up. Her body seemed geared towards this, granting increased strength, endurance and stamina to the muscles in her head and neck--this provided Rapunzel's frame sufficient durability to comfortably accommodate the impact of the weight added to it whenever she rapidly grew out more hair. Rapunzel's hair was far more durable than that of a baseline human being, though its exact limits were never revealed. It had a captivating--borderline mesmerizing--shine to it, which she repeatedly used to distract and calm down her volatile teammate Yeti. Rapunzel's wristbands each housed a retractable blade that she used to cut off strands of hair as needed. Once cut, the hair lost most of its shine and, presumably, enhanced properties. Not afraid to either risk her life or speak her mind, Rapunzel was strong willed, sassy and referred to other African-American women as "sister".

History:
(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Rapunzel joined the First Line, a team that at the time was little more than a loose knit band of undercover operatives gathering at the Carmody Institute located off the coast of Maine. She signed up at around the same time as Morph, Walkabout and Yeti. Together, they joined First Line mainstays Effigy, Nightingale, Oxbow and Pixie in opposing various enemies like Nocturne and Kang the Conqueror. It soon became apparent that Rapunzel's shiny hair could calm down the easily outraged savage Yeti.

(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#10 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to Rapunzel and the others, CIA operative Nicholas Fury was trying to infiltrate the Carmody Institute in an attempt to get a handle on the new First Line. At the same time, Deviant Warlord Kro decided it was high time to investigate and deal with the rumors an Eternal (most likely Pixie, possibly Makkari) was trying to encourage humanity's interest in "super-heroics"--he assembled a small army and headed for the Carmody institute via the Deviants' subterranean tunnel network. even as 22nd century historian Cassandra Locke from Earth-700 time-warped towards the First Line's base.

(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#10) - At the same time Walkabout detected and apprehended Nick Fury when he tried to enter the Carmody Institute, Warlord Kro ordered his Deviant forces to attack after his gouger located Pixie. When the Deviant troops burst through the ground, klaxons went off, alerting new recruits Rapunzel and Morph to the crisis. They came a-running, with an obviously startled Rapunzel growing out her hair while Morph shifted into a battering ram-type form, determined to knock back the intruders. In the midst of this confrontation, time-traveling historian Cassandra Locke popped up and immediately decided to stay out of the way. She soon realized from observing the action that Rapunzel's presence proved she had time-jumped several years before what would become known as "the Rapunzel tragedy" (see comments). While Morph, Rapunzel and Walkabout routed the remaining Deviants (forcing the unseen Kro to retreat), Effigy started grilling Pixie about her obvious connection to these mysterious assailants. Before he could force her to answer, the battle-crazed Yeti went totally berserk, forcing Rapunzel to once again calm him down by using her hair; attracting the incensed Inhuman's attention, she waved her long locks in front of him until he became completely mesmerized. Just then, Cassandra Locke revealed herself to tell the team about the Skrulls and their involvement in future events. This news was too much for Effigy (secretly the Skrull Velmax) who had to be restrained by his teammates or else he'd have literally shaken Locke for more information. As Effigy dodged questions as to just why this news upset him so much, Rapunzel noted how he had just given Pixie a hard time about not sharing her secrets. The point was moot, for moments after that, Cassandra Locke deemed it time to resume her journey into the past. After her departure, Rapunzel and everyone else who met Locke instantly forgot about her due to a counter-effect set in motion in the 22nd century (designed to limit the risk of temporal divergences caused by visiting the past).

(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#11 -BTS) - Rapunzel joined the newest First Liner Dr. Mime on an unrevealed mission, while the other members of the team stopped Nocturne's plans for destroying New York with a multitech amalgam virus. Upon completing said mission, they returned to the Carmody Institute to find Effigy and the others questioning the recently apprehended Skrull spy Zankor.

(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Rapunzel was possibly slain, crippled, maimed and/or assaulted in some fashion (see comments). These events were logged by an unrevealed source (possibly the time-warped Yankee Clipper). Those writings were eventually unearthed in a "time capsule" discovered by 22nd century historians of Reality-700's Tranquility City on Earth's moon--one of them, Cassandra Locke examined the files and learned about what had become known as the "Rapunzel tragedy."

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#16 (fb)) - Several years after their deaths, the First Line (Rapunzel among them) was remembered by Pixie following an encounter with the X-Men--the Eternal revealed the fate of the First Line to the team when the young mutant adventurers after they had a run-in with wayward First Liner Yeti.

Comments: Created by Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks).

    Leave it to Roger Stern and John Byrne to turn a character like Rapunzel--a  leftover '70s blaxsploitation bargain-basement Medusa if ever there was one--into someone you actually want to read more about. She is most likely named after the well known fairy tale character created by the Brothers Grimm (no, not *those* Brothers Grimm).

I noticed that Rapunzel's ponytail holder at the back of her head didn't change its relative position, so it would appear as though that extra length of hair didn't grow out of her scalp, but rather somehow formed at the end of her existing ponytail (Unless it was just an art oversight by Byrne). Also, she required rest and nourishment after exercising her power--following the battle with Kro's Deviant troops, she told her teammates, "After all that hair I've shed...I need more protein...and a nap!"--Ron Fredricks

    As Rapunzel was only in #10-11, we have only listed her confirmed First Line under First Line membership. She may well have been a member alongside other members, extending into some characters last seen in #9 or seen again in #12...she could have worked with the First Line on other cases for a few years before joining, and/or other former First Line members could have worked with her or the rest of the team on one or more occasions during her period of activity.

• Black Fox left the First Line on bad terms after the 1980 Halwan adventure and retired not long after, but it's hard to believe he didn't get together with any of them at any point thereafter, and he did get together with them to oppose the Skrull invasion; their interaction may depend on the timing of the "Rapunzel Tragedy."
• Similarly, Flatiron, Nightingale, Positron, and Reflex were not shown to be part of the team after the Halwan adventure, and they all returned to oppose the Skrull invasion.
• Katyusha's and Templar's period of membership only extended up to the early-1970s, but they did return to oppose the Skrull invasion.
• Vulcan's period of membership only extended up to the early-1970s, and we didn't see him in the Skrull invasion, though he certainly could have been there.
• Frank Major Mercury/Makkari, and Rebound were only shown to be part of the First Line in a single adventure taking place in 1967, though any or all of them may have joined very soon after the November, 1963 adventure and may have left shortly before the July, 1969 adventure (or maybe some or all of them joined shortly before the 1963 adventure and/or died or left shortly after the 1967 story). There's nothing to say any or all of them couldn't have interacted with the team again over the succeeding decades, though there's nothing to support that any of them actually did so.
      Further, it's not clear whether Frank from the First Line is definitely the Frankenstein monster or not. The First Line and Frankenstein Monster profiles in the OHotMU are contradictory in this regard, with the former saying they are the same and the latter saying it is "unknown."
      As the head writer of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe at that time, I can tell you, the official policy is: Frank of the First Line is apparently either a Frankenstein monster (meaning a creature created in the manner of Victor Frankenstein's first creation) or just a being with a similar appearance and abilities who adopted the name Frank due to the notable similarities. However, it as yet remains unrevealed whether Frank is actually the original creation of Victor Frankenstein, aka "the Frankenstein monster". Previous entries referencing Frank as "Frankenstein monster" were unclear in specifying/clarifying this point.
  --Snood.
      On a similar note, Norvo has speculated that Riot-Act could be an older version of Rebound.
• Blackjack died in 1980, shortly before Rapunzel was shown to join.
• Liberty Girl died and the Yankee Clipper disappeared like 16 years before Rapunzel's known period of activity with the First Line.

The Rapunzel Tragedy:

•     It's tempting to speculate just what the "Rapunzel tragedy" entailed, but with so very little actual information available it's hard to offer anything close to a concrete explanation. Some have suggested Yeti was involved, which isn't unthinkable given the fact she regularly risked hide and hair (see what I did?) trying to calm the kinda insane Inhuman down.
•     Cassandra said, "Apparently the legends were true! Yeti was part of the First Line...before the Rapunzel tragedy"
•     In explaining Yeti's current state to the original X-Men, Medusa said, "It was his wild nature that drove him to leave us...that same nature that made him so dangerous even to his teammates. There was a tragedy. We do not know the details, save that it involved the one called Rapunzel. Yeti tried to find his way back to us...but was lost in the impassable mountains" (the last sentence was beside a picture of Korya approaching Yeti, similar to the scene shown on #11)-- I'm pretty certain the Rapunzel tragedy involved Yeti. What I'm not sure about is when it happened, as the information related by Medusa sure makes it seem that the Tragedy was what caused Yeti to leave the First Line in disgrace.
      And yet, Rapunzel is her happy-go-lucky self in #11, while she is not shown in #12. I see the following possibilities:
•     The tragedy is what caused Yeti to leave the First Line, but while horrific enough to be a tragedy, it was not fatal. During the years between #10 and #11, Rapunzel recovered (or possibly concealed the physical and/or emotional scars for some time) and returned to active duty in the First Line. From there, she either participated in the assault against the Skrulls but was not shown on panel (perhaps she was in one of the ships that was shot down and crashed on the Moon), or she didn't, for whatever reason--succumbing to her injuries, learning Yeti would be there and being afraid to confront him again, or other, completely unrelated reasons.
•     Yeti left the team in disgrace, but his subsequent alliance with Korya led him to again confront the First Line, and the tragedy occurred between #11 and #12. If Rapunzel was slain, crippled, or emotionally traumatized, she would/may not have been able to participate in that assault.
•     In support of the second possibility, it was Medusa relating the history, and she only had bits and pieces of the story. She may have confused the issue with her misunderstanding, BUT Pixie was also present and didn't say or do anything to make it seem that Medusa's information was in error.
  --Snood
•     For my money, but this is pure speculation... I'm betting Korya poisoned Yeti's mind, turning him against the team and causing him to reveal whatever secrets he knew about either the First Line or their base. Using her shapeshifting abilities, it'd be child's play to mimic either Rapunzel or the shiny hair he seemed to love. It stands to reason Korya could have gained control over him that way, causing Yeti to ferociously lash out at the real Rapunzel when she'd try to beguile him with her locks once again. Again, pure speculation... But I'm pretty sure she's dead. 
•     Further, with Nightingale around (Was she around? We don't see her between the 1980 Halwan adventure and the Skrull fleet assault?--Snood), any maiming or crippling would have been resolved easily even after the fact. Sure, that's no cure for the possible mental trauma, but given the First Line's track record of on-the-job casualties (Blackjack, Liberty Girl, the Clipper... who knows who else) it'd have to be at least something pretty darn awful for the team (and history) to remember it all the way to the 22nd century (Cassandra Locke mentions it in #10 even).

•     And as for the Hidden Years flashback: all Medusa says that there was "a tragedy" involving Rapunzel that (eventually) caused him to leave the team in disgrace. It stands to reason that Yeti's shall we say... anti-social... behavior was already causing him trouble during his early days with the First Line. He was barely able to restrain himself in #10, and when we saw him next in #11 (when Korya sought him out), he was already deeply ashamed of something (calling himself a monster) and wanting to be left alone. So he might have gone off the deep end somewhat while with the First Line, forcing him to leave the team in disgrace... only for Korya to work him over, building his shattered self-confidence up with talk of friendship, love and affection, until he was ready to turn against the First Line, with the over-confident Rapunzel first in line to get it, convinced as she was that her hair could calm him down. Again, pure speculation.

• I've asked Roger Stern about any possible details on the why, where and how of the Rapunzel tragedy, but he politely declined to answer, leaving said details to future writers.

• Maybe it will be clarified someday! We can hope!--Snood

Thanks to Ron Fredricks for a couple of corrections.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Rapunzel should not be confused with

• Any other "Rapunzel" characters

images: (without ads)
Marvel The Lost Generation I#10, p8, pan2 (main image)
Marvel The Lost Generation I#10, p10, pan1 (cuts her own hair)
Marvel The Lost Generation I#10, p17, pan2 (calms down Yeti)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#16, p18, pan3 (flashback)

Appearances:
Marvel: The Lost Generation I#10 (May 2000) - Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel: The Lost Generation I#11 (April 2000) - Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#16 (March 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)

First Posted: 02/23/2014
Last updated: 10/23/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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