Tara (Marvel)

Tara was a creation of the Caretakers and ultimately an enemy of all life on Earth, despite her innocent-appearance : she was primarily an enemy of Morbius, a Marvel anti-hero.

History
In the last century, the Caretakers of Arcturus were reaching the end of their life spans. They feared that mankind was entering a decline and would destroy itself in nuclear or other war. In order to prevent this, they undertook Project: New Genesis, which involved the creation of a race of super-men to join with mankind and carry on the work of the Caretakers after their deaths. This race would be referred to as the Children of the Comet, named after the starship, the Comet, which brought the Caretakers to Earth.

The prototype of the Children of the Comet was the woman-child known as Tara. Tara, however, instead of ameliorating the conditions of life on Earth, instead sought to actually hasten the process of Armageddon. She claims to have manipulated the Caretakers and Daemond (a renegade Arcturan who opposed them and sought to bring mankind down the path of sorcery), forcing them into direct conflict with each other. Whether this is true or not, she definitely fed on the power caused by their conflict.

Daemond first encountered the living vampire Morbius, and sent him to slay Tara. Initially disarmed by her youthful appearance, Morbius nonetheless overpowered her when she created her woman-warrior form to attack him. Morbius then became further entangled in the plot of the Caretakers and Daemond, and he was sent on a series of trips to other dimensions and planets. On returning, Morbius was recruited by Tara to defend her from her attackers, the Caretakers and Daemond. Daemond seemingly destroyed Tara by crushing her child-like form under a brick wall he caused to collapse.

Tara returned, much more powerful than before, in the midst of the direct conflict between the Caretakers and Daemond. She revived Morbius and explained her true nature to him. The Caretakers and Daemond teamed up in an effort to stop her, but she shattered the embryo tubes of the remaining developing Children of the Comet, and sent them to attack their creators and Daemond. Morbius then attacked Tara, apparently slaying her. Her death-throws caused the destruction of Daemond's base, and the ensuing explosion destroyed everyone in it, including the Caretakers, Children of the Comet, and Daemond.

Abilities
Tara existed in the form of a young, pre-adolescent girl. She could create and control a duplicate form of that which she would have as a woman in ten years, as well as the forms she would have at twenty year intervals to any point in her life span. These forms would have different personalities, and different levels of experience, wisdom, and fantasy. Originally, she lapsed into a trance when she would create an alternate form for herself. An injury to that from would cause a psychic backlash, causing her to lapse into unconsciousness. In the commonly used form as a warrior woman, she was skilled at various forms of combat, and used a whip as a weapon. This form may have possessed some degree of superhuman strength and physical abilities.

Tara was a psychic vampire, feeding on life energy, death, brutality, violence, chaos, murder, and atrocity. As events around her progressed in intensity, she gained increasing abilities. She demonstrated the ability to physically shift her own form into that of her older selves. She demonstrated mental abilities, such as reviving the unconscious Morbius, shattering the embryo tubes of the remaining Children of the Comet, and controlling them. She claimed to be able to mentally manipulate the will of the Caretakers and Daemond as well.