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Artemis of Bana-Mighdall

Name: Artemis Birthplace: Bana-Mighdall, Egypt Age: mid-20s Affiliation(s): Amazons, Hellenders, JLA, Tartarus Marriage Status: Widow Other Aliases: Wonder Woman II, Requiem, Shim'Tar IV First Appearance: Wonder Woman 90 - September 1994

History: Artemis was born an Amazon as a member of the Egyptian tribe of Bana-Mighdall. Three-thousand years ago the two Amazon Queens (Hippolyta and Antiope) split the Amazon nation in two. Hippolyta's tribe traveled to the isolated island of Themyscira to live immortal lives in order to protect the doorway to the Underworld called Doom's Doorway. Antiope's tribe was never given immortality and was forced to mate with common men in order to guarentee their tribe's survival over the years among men. They migrated from Greece to various European and Middle Eastern countries before finally settling in Egypt. As they had renounced their Olympian gods once the two Queens parted ways, they eventually began to assimilate various religions and goddesses from various lands. Some of those included the goddesses Isis, Mammitu, Bast, Neith and Ishtar. It was in Egypt that they finally built the city of Bana-Mighdall, which in their language translates to The Temple of Women. Thanking the Amazons for their worship, one of their new goddesses created a powerfully consistant sandstorm to surround and protect their city from any outsiders who could not be trusted, or "ariandas". The Bana-Mighdallian Amazons eventually began an uneasy trade with outside cities. They would exchange custom-made weapons and thier warrior skills for goods and slaves for breeding. Over time thier weapons and services became above par and were in much demand. This way of living continued until the late 20th century. It was into this period that Artemis was born.

Eventually the Amazon Princess Diana of Themyscira or Wonder Woman found their city while searching for the villan The Cheetah, who had stolen her golden lasso. As the Bana-Mighdallian language had changed so much over time to incorporate middle eastern dialect, Diana had a hard time communicating with the newly found Amazons. Eventually a battle took place between her and the Bana-Mighdallian's chief warrior or Shim'Tar. Soon an enraged Olympian god Hermes took rengence on the desert Amazons and the city of Bana-Mighdall was destroyed. Homeless, the remaining Amazons eventually took up with the witch Circe who was a nemesis of Wonder Woman. It was agreed that in exchange for their servitude Circe would grant them immortality and a new home to call their own. It was decided that since the Themyscirian princess was the initial cause of thier city being destroyed, they would take over her Amazon city instead. Though only 14 years of age at this time, Artemis spoke before the Queen and Council to protest the planned attack as she felt that Amazons must not war against each other. Her cries were ignored and the attack was pursued none-the-less.

During the attack on Themyscira the witch Circe showed her true colors and teleported the island into a dimension of demons in order for both tribes to be destroyed. The two tribes put aside their rivalry temporarily and fought the demons in order to ensure the Amazon survival. Though only a few months time passed in the real world, the time the Amazons spent in the demon dimension lasted 10 years. Discovering that Circe had made her island home disappeared, Wonder Woman forced her to return it to it's rightful place. Once this was done Wonder Woman learned about the invasion and the demon war. She eventually met Artemis who was now in her mid-20s. The two got off to a rocky start but Diana could see that Artemis' heart was true.

Due to being in the demon dimension Queen Hippolyta began to get visions of the future. One of those visions included Wonder Woman dying. Keeping this to herself, she called for a new Contest for the title of Wonder Woman. Initially excluding the new Amazons, Queen Hippolyta submitted to a vote on the whole to include them at Diana's behest. Through some mystical managing, Artemis eventually won the Contest and become the new Wonder Woman. As gifts to aid her in her new mission, Artemis was given several mystical objects. The Gauntlet of Atlas which increased it's wearer's strenth 10 times, The Sandals of Hermes which gave the gift of speed and flight, and the Golden Lasso of Truth which forced anyone tied by it to speak only truth.

During her time in Man's World as Wonder Woman, Artemis' arrogance eventually gained the better of her and she died in a battle with the White Magician in Boston. For whatever reason Artemis ended up in Tartarus and became a figurative bride to one of the ruling Princes of Hell named Dalkriig-Hath. Eventually Artemis was able to kill Dalkriig-Hath and regain access to the world of the living. Wanting to seperate herself from her former title as Wonder Woman, Artemis used her skills learned in Tartarus to her advantage and joined a group of demon hunting heroes called The Hellenders. While there she went by the codename Requiem and befriended a woman by the name of Henrietta Jessup, who went by the codename Sojouner. Though Sojouner didn't have any warrior skills to speak of, Artemis stood by her friend and tutored her as a novice Amazon. This teacher/mentor relationship was later expanded as Wonder Woman asked Artemis to take on a new pupil, that of Cassandra Sandsmark who had become the new Wonder Girl. Taking Cassandra as a full-time student, Artemis became a reserve member of the Hellenders leaving Sojouner to take her place as a full-time member.

After some time Artemis returned to Themyscira to aid her Amazon sisters in the uneasy living situation they continued to work in due to lingering annomosities between the tribes. Unfortunately civil war broke out between the two groups of Amazons and Artemis took up the title of Shim'Tar to guide the Amazons to peaceful negotiations. Soon after Queen Hippolyta and Diana renounced their crowns leaving the island without a structured government. Artemis and the Themyscirian General Philippus were then voted to be co-rulers of the island, which they prove to be to this day.

Abilities: Artemis is a trained Amazon hand-to-hand combat warrior with expertise in a wide array of weapons. She also possesses immortality which was given to her and her sister Amazons by the witch Circe for their previous servitude. In addition she has been shown to have some knowledge of low level sorceries learned during her time in Tartarus which she only uses on rare occasions.