Contributed by Mike McDermott
Dr. Rhonda Fleming was an expert in mutations who was hired by Parker Industries, on the recommendation of her girlfriend, Jasmine, to assist in analysing a sample of Terrigen provided by Medusa of the Inhumans. The goal was to try and find a way to counteract the harmful effects the Terrigen Cloud was having on Mutants. The lab technicians had not taken proper precautions to quarantine the Terrigen sample, and Rhonda was exposed. She was immediately encased within a Terrigenesis cocoon.
While Rhonda was undergoing her transformation, the Inhuman Lash arrived to abduct her cocoon as part of his mission to evaluate new Inhumans to determine if they deserve to live or die. The cocoon was defended by the Spider-Man of 2099 (Jasmine’s boss, Miguel O’Hara) until Rhonda emerged from her Terrigenesis. Her skin was now golden and glowing, she had a halo of fire around her head, and she possessed vast superhuman powers. Rhonda promptly disposed of Lash, teleporting him away.
Rhonda then renamed herself ‘Glorianna’, and believed that her new powers made her a god. She recounted her experiences as a witness to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, and how she had cried out to God for help that never came. She talked about the natural disasters that happened every day and are simply accepted as ‘acts of god’, and yet people worship Him anyway. She declares that there will no longer be any evil or disaster in the world–if people call to her for help, she will help them…in exchange for being worshipped. Glorianna invaded St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to begin forcibly converting her new followers. Spider-Man 2099 attempted to stop her, but was outmatched by her powers. Jasmine arrived to attempt to reason with Glorianna, but she got caught in the crossfire and was seriously wounded by an attack that Glorianna had intended for Spider-Man.
Horrified at what she had accidentally done, Glorianna teleported away to remote mountains and buried herself beneath the snow. In her new form, she does not appear to require food or oxygen, so she remained buried in the snow for several days before she was approached by a representative of an organization called The Fist. The Fist recruited Glorianna to exploit her powers to operate their time portal. Still somewhat distant and disconnected from events around her as she continued to adapt to everything that had happened, Glorianna went along with The Fist’s plans. Spider-Man 2099 stumbled across the operation while pursuing a separate lead on other technology that The Fist stole. During the struggle, Glorianna and The Fist used Spider-Man as their test subject, sending him back to 2099 against his will.
The exact parameters of Glorianna’s powers are undefined, but her abilities have been shown to include flight, invulnerability, super-human strength, telekinesis and teleportation through time as well as space.
Her appearance and even her name are a feminine form of Glorian, who is a reality-warper that has fought the Hulk and other superheroes before. If there is any intended connection between the two it has yet to be revealed, but it is possible that Glorianna may turn out to be as powerful as he is as she continues to explore and develop her abilities.
Glorianna first appeared in Spider-Man 2099 vol.3 (2015) #6 by Peter David and Will Sliney. Art by Sliney and Rachelle Rosenberg.
All rights reserved Marvel Comics