Mercy Graves (DC)

Villain Overview

“	Remember, if they're expecting a punch… slice them to the bone instead. Bleed them dry. Kill them by your rules.	„
	~ Mercy's philosophy of combat.

Mercedes "Mercy" Graves is a supporting antagonist of the DC Universe, specifically serving as a supporting antagonist of both the Superman and Justice League franchises.

She is a tough young woman with a checkered past who serves as Lex Luthor's personal bodyguard and chauffeur, working at LexCorp. Mercy was loyal and respectful to Luthor, but never servile. There are some hints that she was attracted to Luthor, and fiercely resented any woman who came between them.

History[]

Superman: TAS[]

Main article: Mercy Graves (DC Animated Universe)

Portrayals

Portrayals
In the DC Animated Universe, she was voiced by Lisa Edelstein. In Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, she was voiced by Lauren Tom. In Superman: Brainiac Attacks, she was voiced by Tara Strong. In Superman: Doomsday and LEGO DC Super-Villains, she was voiced by Cree Summer. In The Batman, she was voiced by Gwendoline Yeo. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, she was played by Tao Okamoto. In the DC Animated Movie Universe, she was voiced by Erica Luttrell. In Supergirl, she was played by Rhona Mitra. In Titans, she was played by Natalie Gumede. In DC League of Super-Pets, she was voiced by Maya Erskine. In Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!, she was voiced by Victoria Grace.

Modern Age[]

Actually, not much is known about the life of the woman known as Mercy Graves: she was born in Themyscira, the hidden island of the Amazons, and she was gifted with all the gifts and powers belonging to her people. For some unknown reason, however, she apparently didn’t agree with Queen Hippolyta's policy (or with her successors’ one), and she eventually went rogue, abandoning the island and searching for fortune in the world outside. Mercy wasn’t alone, as another Amazon, Hope Taya, followed her in her rebellion and escape. The two eventually arrived in the United States of America, just when the nation had a new President Lex Luthor.

Recognizing the two women's true heritage, Luthor contacted them, and offered them a job as his personal bodyguards, a place they both accepted. Nobody knew where President Luthor's new bodyguards came from, and this was obviously an advantage, since Lex kept their being super-powered a secret: any assailant wannabe would have had an unpleasant surprise in being thrown miles away by a super-strong woman.

Mercy's and Hope's heritage also came in handy, obviously, when superhuman threats came to the White House, and considering Luthor's past that was not an unlikely situation. When Circe attacked the White House, the two Amazons were able to see through her disguise, and tried to stop her before the sorceress could do anything… unfortunately, they were both transformed into birds by Circe's magic, and they could revert to their original form only after the witch was defeated. After that, the two even had the chance to fight with Luthor's nemesis, Superman, publicly demonstrating for the first time their superhuman powers, being able to stand their ground against the world's most powerful hero for a while, before being overpowered. When Luthor's many criminal deeds were exposed, however, the ex-President had to go into hiding, leaving the White House to vice-president Pete Ross, and at this point the two Amazons parted.

While Hope was disgusted by Luthor's true nature, and cooperated with Clark Kent and Lois Lane to expose him, Mercy, on the opposite, decided to stay loyal to him and followed him also in his disgrace.

While assisting Luthor as his bodyguard in this new "activity", Mercy, however, developed an unusual sensitivity, pretty different from her usual coldness and fierceness. When Lois Lane was kidnapped by the Parasite, who impersonated her for a while, Mercy was ordered to keep an eye on Clark Kent, who was looking for his wife: seeing the mighty Superman reduced to a simple man, desperate for having lost everything he cared about, moved something in the Amazon, and she ended up helping her former enemy with the search, albeit not seen. However, she stayed with Luthor, and accompanied him in his new raise to power, granted by his new "Be Your Own Superhero" project, aimed to give superpowers to regular humans (obviously, just part of a wider scheme that would have brought benefit to Luthor alone). The collateral effects of this initiative were almost immediately revealed, as one of the candidates for the project was Natasha Irons, niece of John Henry Irons: the latter, not exactly happy to see his relative in league with Luthor, attacked his enemy as his heroic alter ego Steel.

Mercy did her job as a bodyguard, and engaged Steel in battle, but during the fight she tried to shoot the attacker, with the only result of having all the bullets bouncing back to her, and getting wounded. When even this plan from Luthor failed, Lex was imprisoned, but Mercy managed to escape from justice: for the first time, she was alone, away from her Amazon sisters and away from Luthor's influence… and she wanted to make amend for all the not-so-honest things she had accomplished under her former boss' orders. A year after the failure of Everyman Project, Mercy joined Lucia, one of the survivors of Luthor’s experiments, and together they joined Steel in his new version of the superhero team Infinity Inc., along with Natasha and other former Everymen. This time, Mercy would have finally found out if she could be a different woman from the one she had always been, or if she was destined to move in the darkness.

The New 52[]

After The New 52 reboot, Mercy was reinvented as the human assistant of Luthor again. This version of Mercy was also an Asian-American woman, and usually made minor appearances as Luthor's assistant and even LexCorp's security guard, being able to fight against mercenaries like Deathstroke.

Dawn of DC[]

“	Your judgement is impeccable, Ms. Graves. In times of crisis, you've shown me you flourish. Lesser folks fall apart under pressure, but you? You thrive. Hold on to that. Never forget that you are the best at what you do. You don't simply wield the knife. You are the knife.	„
	~ Lex Luthor

She was eventually turned into a cyborg with biomechanical physiology during the Lazarus Planet event. While Lex was in prison, he signed over control of LexCorp to Superman without his knowledge and renamed it Supercorp, so that Superman could use its resources to protect the Earth. When Amanda Waller stole the powers of all superheroes during the Absolute Power event, Mercy was able to use Supercorp to get Superman and many of his allies to the Fortress of Solitude.

When Brainiac stripped Metallo's metal for parts to build Brainiac Queen, Mercy managed to recover his hard drive and his Kryptonite heart, implanting it on herself. After Lex lost his memories, he demonstrated an attraction to Mercy, and they eventually began a relationship until he is arrested again. Mercy also began selling "super-guns" to the Khunds. When Superman discovered, he fired her from Supercorp, but she revealed herself as a "Metallo" and attacked him, showing a cyborg she build based on Lex Luthor.

Power and Abilities[]

Cybernetic enhancement: Large portions of Mercy's body were replaced with robotic prosthetics during the Lazarus event, making her a living version of Lex Luthor's warsuit.
- Sonic cannon: Mercy's right arm can transform into a robotic cannon, capable of projecting powerful blasts of energy.
- Technopathy: Mercy can enter and hack any computer systems any point in time.
- Technorganic Regeneration: Mercy's body is capable of regenerating her cybernetic parts.
- Kryotonite Heart: Mercy can emit and fire kryptonite radiation from her body.

Other Media[]

Television[]

Mercy Graves in The Batman — Mercy Graves in *The Batman*

Main article: Mercy Graves (DC Animated Universe)

Main article: Mercy Graves (Matsudaverse)

Mrs. Cox from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is similar to Mercy Graves.
Mercy (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo) later appeared in the show The Batman along with Luthor. In this show, she is depicted as purple-haired and of Eurasian descent.
A character loosely based on Mercy Graves appears in Smallville as Tess Mercer, who is a composite of Mercy, Eve Teschmacher and Lena Luthor, portrayed by Cassidy Freeman. Tess was nicknamed "Mercy" by Oliver Queen. Bb
Mercy also appears in the show Young Justice, however, in this version, she has a bionic arm that can shoot a laser. In addition to this, she is also given a new uniform. She mainly acts as Luthor's protection or bodyguard rather than a butler. She has no dialogue in any of her appearances.
Natalie Gumede portrays Mercy Graves in Titans as one of the main antagonists (along with Deathstroke) of the second season.

Supergirl[]

Main article: Mercy Graves (Supergirl)

Mercy made her second live-action appearance in the 2015 TV series Supergirl, played by Rhona Mitra. She served as an antagonist of the first four episodes of the fourth season before being killed. In this series, she has a brother named Otis. Mercy had also worked for Lex Luthor but ended up betraying him due to his growing obsession with Superman. It was later revealed that she had still been working for Lex through Otis, who had remained loyal to Lex.

Harley Quinn[]

Mercy appears in the Harley Quinn animated series. This version is an Amazon and partner of Hope. She was introduced in the Season 2 episode "Bachelorette" as an Amazon warrior originally from Paradise Island (Themyscira), serving under Queen Hippolyta reign. The goddess of chaos Eris eventually takes over the island (with Lex's help), enslaving Mercy the other Amazons. Once Harley and her crew defeat Eris and break the mind control, Mercy freed from magic influence. After the victory, Queen Hippolyta and the Amazons, including Mercy in celebration, throwing a grand party in honor of Harley, Ivy, Catwoman, and Nora Fries.

Film[]

Main article: Mercy Graves (DC Extended Universe)

Mercy Graves in the DC Extended Universe — Mercy Graves in the *DC Extended Universe*

Mercy appeared in Superman: Doomsday, voiced by Cree Summer.
Mercy (played by Tao Okamoto) made her live action debut in Batman v Superman where she was Lex’s assistant and was eventually killed when Lex blew out up a goverment building with her in it.
Mercy appeared in The Death of Superman and Reign of the Superman, voiced by Erica Luttrell.
Mercy Graves appeared in Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
Mercy Graves appeared in DC League of Super-Pets, voiced by Maya Erskine.
Mercy Graves appeared in the crossover film Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!, voiced by Victoria Grace.

Video Games[]

Mercy appeared in Superman: Shadow of Apokolips voiced by Lauren Tom.
Mercy appeared in Lego DC Super-Villains voiced by Cree Summer.

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