Michelle Wrigley

Michelle Wrigley

Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr. and Walter Wright

Real Name:  Michelle Denise Wrigley

Aliases:  Super Baby, Powerkid II, Powerman III, Justice III

Current Occupation:  President, chairman of the board of Bossman Enterprises


Parents:  Walter and Maureen (Hasser) Wrigley (both deceased)


Siblings:  Christopher Kowalsky (aka Powerman II; adopted brother)


Spouse:  None


Children:  None


Group Affiliation:  Heroes of Earth; also will be a member of the Power Police in the future


Place of Birth:  Orange City


Current Place of Residence:  Orange City


First Appearance:  Powerkid # 23 (July 1984)


Biography:


When Christopher Kowalsky, the hero who was known as Powerkid at the time and is now known as Powerman, was 11, he gained a little sister, Michelle Wrigley.  They thought they were half-siblings, with different fathers.  Years later, they would learn that their mother was not actually Chris' mother.


When Michelle was just a month old, the family was camping, and Michelle accidentally rolled into a pond.  As it turned out, the pond has been irradiated with the same energy that gave Chris his powers.  This has been no accident, but intentional on the part of the Great Unknown.  Chris immediately dove in after his sister, but the pond had given Michelle the same powers as Powerkid, including the advanced intelligence.  However, her powers were only activated in time of need.  When there was a danger that Powerkid couldn't handle alone, Michelle would turn into Super Baby.


As Super Baby, Michelle operated whenever needed, including during the Crisis on Infinite Earths where she helped maintain order during the unpredictable weather and merging of space and time.  Shortly after the Crisis, when she was just over a year old, her powers faded away.


When Michelle was two, she possessed by Satan, and Powerkid had to rely on the help of the Monster Squad to drive him out of her.


In 1991, when Michelle was seven, her brother was thought to be killed by Doctor Deadly.  Allorin Vonski found a way to transfer his powers to Michelle, but chose to transform her into a duplicate of Powerman (yes, turning her into an adult male) and wiping her memories.  Michelle operated as Powerman for a few months until Chris showed up alive and reclaimed his powers and title.  Michelle was reverted back to normal with no memories of her time as Powerman.


However, while Chris was thought dead, and Michelle was amnesiac, their mother lost her mind from the stress and hated super-heroes.  She went to Australia and blew up Heroes of Earth headquarters there.  She was found insane and committed to a mental hospital.


Shortly after this, Chris went off to college, and Michelle was left to be raised alone by her father.  Eventually, Walter fought a long and hard legal battle to have Maureen released into his custody.


A year after all this, Doctor Deadly met Doctor Doom, a villain from an alternate universe.  The two worked together to hatch a spell that banished all super-heroes to limbo.  Now a world without heroes, the super-villains were able to wreak havok.  Allorin Vonski used his powers to grant powers to several of Chris' friends, as well as Michelle, who regained her old powers, now permanently, and became Powerkid.


Eventually, the heroes managed to get back home and restore order, and Michelle continued to operate as Powerkid.  It should be noted that just like with Chris, when Michelle transformed into Powerkid, she aged physically, intellectually, and emotionally by some years.


Thus in 1994, though only 10 years old as Michelle, she was 15 as Powerkid, and started dating 18 year old super hero Zap, Master of Power.  Though at this time Powerman's identity was public, Michelle managed to keep hers secret, and chose not to tell Zap.  As Powerkid, she had feelings for Zap, and did not want him to know she was just a 10 year old kid.


Later in 1994, a being called the Nameless One came to Earth and did battle with Powerman, and both seemed to vaporize each other, but in reality they has both been teleported to opposite sides of the universe.  During his absence, Powerkid and NighTrain worked together to protect Orange City and deal with three fakers claiming to be the real Powerman.  Eventually Powerman returned, but so did the Nameless one, who kidnapped Chris and Michelle's parents.  Powerman left to rescue them, instructing Michelle that it was up to her to be Earth's champion in his absence.  


A year later, Powerman decided to leave Earth behind forever, and Powerkid officially became Earth's champion.  Shortly after, the mutant called Adam used his psychic powers to take over the Earth, establishing a new world order where mutants and metahumans ruled over normal humans.  He made the Heroes of Earth and Champions as his royal guard, and Powerkid and Zap were his personal bodyguards.  For three years, Powerkid served Adam, all the while trying to muster the willpower to send a psychic message of her own to Powerman, which finally reached him out in space.  He returned to Earth, and helped the heroes regain control and overthrow Adam, who Powerman had to kill.  Meanwhile, Adam's brother had gained the power of time travel, and was going back in time to kill every metahuman before they gained their powers.  Powerkid joined with the other heroes to stop him, and she was able to stop Timeline before he tried to kill Maureen Wrigley in 1984 while she was still pregnant with Michelle in the womb.  Timeline, too, was killed.


Following this, Allorin Vonski created a spell that removed all super powers from all super beings on Earth, except for a few who chose to leave Earth.  Michelle willingly gave up her powers.  


Now Michelle was 14, and the now powerless Zap, Keith Sheridan, was 20.  They tried to maintain their relationship, but the age difference strained things, as well another factor.  Michelle was fine living a normal life.  She began devoting herself to athletics and her studies.  But Keith began to resent having lost his powers, when for three years he was one of the most powerful men on the planet.  Now he was at college, and doing poorly.  Without the super heroics, Michelle and Keith found they had nothing in common, and eventually ended their relationship.


Four years later, Michelle turned 18 and went off to Worcester State College.  Now living in one of the most crime ridden cities in the world, Michelle got the hero itch again.  When she turned 21, she adopted the abandoned identity of Justice, and began patrolling the streets as a vigilante, becoming the only costumed hero of the time.


The next year, however, her brother returned to active duty as Powerman, and his son Connor became Powerkid.  This sparked the beginning of a new heroic age.


Early on in Michelle's new vigilante career, she encountered investigative journalist George Banner, who was trying to uncover Justice's identity.  Eventually, Michelle and George began dating, and he learned, but kept, her secret.  He even took up the costumed business himself, calling himself Truth.


In 2008, Michelle learned that her mother had terminal cancer.  She moved back to Orange City to live with and care for her mother.  This created a strain in her relationship with George.


Then the new Crisis hit, and Michelle as Justice had to participate.  At one point, she and Truth had to travel back in time to 1991, where they encountered Peter and Michelle Falkner, the Justice and Truth of that time. 


After the Crisis, Justice served with the newly reformed Heroes of Earths very briefly. 


At the end of 2008, Maureen Wrigley died, and Michelle could no longer operate at Justice.  But she was forced to don the costume one last time when her and several other heroes were brought against their will to a "battleworld" where they had to combat their greatest enemies.  Truth was killed during this great battle.  When the heroes finally returned, Michelle gave up heroics.


Michelle chose to stay in Orange City, in her childhood home, which she now owned.  Shortly after, her brother's father, billionaire Michael Bossman returned to a life of crime (he had been a reformed super villain).  There was a strange clause that left his company, Bossman Enterprises, and his entire fortune, property, and assets for Chris and Connor Kowalsky, Michelle Wrigley, and Connor's mother Yana Oo.  Connor was too young to control a company, and Chris was in hiding at the time (due to having killed President Bush while under mind control), and thus Michelle and Yana were suddenly in control of a multi-billion dollar company.


Now Michelle has abandoned heroics and runs Bossman Enterprises, though she does fund the operations of NighTforce and the Bad Guys, both heroic teams.  


In the year 2019, Michelle will again be operating as Justice, and will become a member of the Power Police.


Comments:


Michelle Wrigley was inspired by my sister, Michelle Wright.  The character was created by my step-father, Walter Wright, though he really just came up with the name (that had been previously used in silver age Superman stories.)  Walter was the Bob Kane to my Bill Finger, in that he came up with the name, and I came up with everything else since then.


Michelle/Super Baby was a supporting character in Powerkid from 1984 - 1988, and also appeared in the Crisis Within.  


She continued to be a supporting character in Powerman from 1988 to 1991.  Briefly, she became the feature character in Powerman during the summer of 1991, but reverted by to supporting status.


In 1991 to 1992, Michelle Wrigley was seen in the futuristic series Power Police 2019/2020.  This was the first time we learn that Michelle will become Justice at age 21 and will continue to operate as Justice in the years 2019 and 2020.


In 1994, Powerkid volume 2 was launched, featuring Michelle Wrigley, which ran until May 1995.  She next appeared in the four issue Timeline mini-series in 1998.


In 2005, Justice volume 2 was launched, again featuring Michelle Wrigley.  Though this series is still ongoing, Michelle stopped being the feature character in August 2010, when she passed the torch over to the new Justice, Holly Frost.  


Michelle remains a supporting cast member in Powerman, Powerkid, Justice, NighTforce, and the Bad Guys.