Mercy Graves

Mercy Graves
Mercy Graves from Superman: The Animated Series.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman: The Animated Series
Created by	Bruce Timm Paul Dini
In-story information
Team affiliations	LexCorp
Abilities	High intelligence Experience in hand to hand combat

Mercy Graves is the name of a DC Comics character. Like Harley Quinn, she was created in the DC animated universe and later crossed into the comics.

DC animated universe

Superman: The Animated Series

A tough young woman with a checkered past, Mercy serves as Lex Luthor's personal bodyguard and chauffeur. Originally the leader of a gang of girl thieves, Mercy once daringly swiped Luthor's briefcase from under the billionaire's nose. She did not get far before Luthor's men hunted her down. However, rather than take revenge, Luthor, impressed by her mixture of ruthlessness and street savvy, offered her a job. He took her in, cleaned her up, and made her his right-hand woman.

Though she usually relies on cool and sardonic wit as her first form of defense, Mercy is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, using a rough, street-form of kickboxing as her preferred form of attack. She is an expert with most forms of handheld weapons.

Mercy is loyal and respectful to Luthor, but never servile. She claims to be "the only one in Luthor's entire company who can get away with calling him Lex". In the Superman episode "Ghost in the Machine," Mercy teams up with Superman to find the missing Lex Luthor. Superman tries to convince Mercy that Luthor does not actually care for her; Mercy tries to prove him wrong. However, after a battle with Brainiac, Mercy is pinned under a pile of fallen machinery while the room caves in. Although Luthor could have saved her, he flees instead, leaving her to die. This is the only episode of Superman: The Animated Series to prominently feature the character.

Justice League

When Mercy reappears later in Justice League ("Tabula Rasa"), the nature of their relationship becomes more clear. Mercy has agreed to take over LexCorp while Luthor is in prison, and is hesitant to return it to him because she feels their former relationship was not an equal one. She also states that while as the CEO of LexCorp she brought the stock up 38% and removed certain departments in the science division finding them useless or in order to save money. Luthor exacerbates the situation by verbally and physically abusing her. It is repeatedly implied that their relationship was not solely platonic. Mercy assists Luthor's escape from the Justice League. However, after his capture she hangs up on him during his single phone call when he requests help in obtaining a lawyer and doctors to treat his kryptonite cancer.

Justice League Unlimited

In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Clash", Mercy takes orders from Lex again. In all the above appearances, Mercy was voiced by House star Lisa Edelstein.

Superman: Doomsday

Mercy appears in Superman: Doomsday voiced by Cree Summer, sporting a design based on her comic book incarnation rather than her DCAU appearance. In the movie, she watches a project with Luthor that involves LexCorp secretly, and illegally, digging deep underground, where they accidentally unearth the villain Doomsday. Lex tells Mercy to make sure that all evidence of LexCorp's involvement never existed. When Doomsday and Superman kill each other in an epic battle, Lex loses his chance to be responsible for Superman's death, both directly and indirectly through Mercy's destruction of the evidence. Once Mercy informs him that there's no link back to LexCorp, he shoots her in the head to make sure absolutely nothing can be traced back to him.

The Batman

In the episode "The Batman/Superman Story, Part One" of The Batman, Mercy appears again as Lex's right hand, only this time she appears to be of Eurasian descent, and is voiced by actress/musician Gwendoline Yeo. Unlike other interpretations of the character, she has gunslinging skills, possessing a pair of twin laser guns. She is known for battling Batman and Robin. When Luthor betrayed Mercy, Batman and Robin defeated her.

Live action

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

A Mercy Graves-like character only known as Dr. Toni Baines appears in the movie pilot episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She is Lex Luthor's assistant and presumed girlfriend. She helped Lex cover up his plans to destroy Space station prothesis and take over the space program. She took Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen hostage for snooping. After Clark Kent saved them, she was killed by a bomb in her helicopter in which she was trying to escape. It is assumed that Lex was the one who put the bomb in the vehicle.

Superman Lives

A Mercy Graves-like character named Misty was to appear in this unfinished film. Not unlike her counterparts from the DC animated universe and comics, she is the valet/bodyguard/lover of Lex Luthor, who himself is similar to his Post-Crisis/Man of Steel version. She is by Luthor's side all through the film during his alliance with Brainiac. Interestingly, in several drafts of the script, she doesn't appear to say a single word (she may prefer to be silent in a way to intimidate her enemies).

Smallville

A character possibly based on Mercy and Miss Tesmacher is set to appear on the 8th season of the television series Smallville. Her name is Tess Mercer. She is to be played by Cassidy Freeman. According to released information, while Lex Luthor is away, Tess is in control of his estate and rules it with aggression. She's had intellect and the confidence all her life, though it's obvious she's had some training from Lex, as well. But as much as Lex has helped fortify her power, he is also her biggest weakness. She harbors an undying devotion to Lex, claiming he saved her life a few years ago. She carries out his wishes with coercion, force, seduction and anything to get what she wants, and no one can resist her beguiling ways, even Clark Kent. She doesn't remember anything before the day she met Lex. Once she realizes her previous life is buried below the surface, she's desperate to dig it up.

Comics

Mercy first appears in Catwoman #74, and later appears as Luthor's bodyguard joined by another hired muscle named Hope. The two might be Amazons, as they have exchanged blows with Superman. This possibility is referenced in the Secret Files: President Luthor comic when the sorceress Circe appears at the White House demanding to meet with Lex. Hope and Mercy inform Circe that they can always recognize her, no matter what disguise or form she might take, suggesting the kind of previous familiarity which Amazons might possess. After temporarily changing them into birds Circe tells Lex that he will need to re-hire new Amazon bodyguards.

Unlike the animated series, this version of Mercy has blonde hair and does not wear a chauffeur's uniform. Although Hope's time as a LexCorp employee has passed, Mercy can still be seen with the fugitive Lex Luthor after he is driven from the Presidency.

In the series 52, Mercy is seen alongside Luthor at the unveiling of his "Be Your Own Hero" program, and is injured when she fires several gunshots at Steel, which he deflects and sends back at her, hitting her in the right hand. She is later shown in Luthor's employ in 52 Week 40.

First introduced in the Superman: The Animated Series, Mercy's transition to comic books is similar to Harley Quinn's. Harley, The Joker's sidekick from Batman: The Animated Series, later appeared in comics. In World's Finest, "The Batman/Superman Movie", the two are rivals, culminating in a ferocious fight that goes on while the Joker and Luthor civilly discuss business. Near the climax of the film, Harley comically duct tapes Mercy's mouth shut and ties her to one of Lex's giant androids in order to prevent Superman and Batman from destroying it. Demonstrating her dislike for Mercy, Harley taunts her while she is bound and gagged, due to the fact that the duct tape is preventing her attempting to further verbally abuse Harley as she had done earlier in the movie. She is later rescued by Superman. A Mercy-Harley fight is featured in Action Comics #765 (May 2000).

Mercy has recently appeared in the Infinity, Inc. series, apparently wanting to atone for her past deeds. In #8, she takes on the moniker "Vanilla", and wears a costume equipped with a special mask, that will keep her identity hidden from the likes of Superman and Lex Luthor. In #10, she almost beats a man to death. She leaves the team soon after, accepting the fact that she isn't "hero" material.