Trance (Wildstorm)

Trance is a character from the Gen13 comic book series, published by Wildstorm. He was created by Brandon Choi and J. Scott Campbell. He is a super-villain, leader of a group called the Freaks.

History
Little is known about Trance before he came into conflict with the superhero group called Gen 13. He gathered a group of Gen-Actives and other superpowered beings known as the Freaks and used his hypnotic abilities Trance knew about and was interested in their pet Queelocke for its teleportation-ability. He exchanged information with the Daemonite Lord Defile on John Lynch for information on International Operations-leader Miles Craven. What he wanted with this information remains unclear.

During his first fight with Gen 13 he took control over Gen 13's leader Caitlin Fairchild and lured her teammates in a trap where they had to fight his Freaks. The Freaks defeated Gen 13, but Queelocke opened a portal for their reinforcements: their housekeeper Anna. Trance thought it was a joke, but Anna turned out to be an android with superhuman strength. Trance's powers didn't work on her and he was forced to flee, taking his Freaks with him. Fairchild was restored to normal, but hated Trance ever since, because he nearly made her kill her friends.

The Freaks and Gen 13 fought several times, but finally the law caught up with Trance. He was taken prisoner and his Freaks disbanded, each going their own way. Trance was sent to Purgatory Max, a maximum security prison for superhumans located in Antarctica. When the supervillain Baron Tödt and his Axis broke into the prison and released the prisoners, Trance managed to escape. Purgatory Max exploded shortly afterwards, a trap set by the Baron for the superhero team Wildcore and only Trance was now alone in the Antarctic wastelands. He found Ariel, a woman with wings and put her under his spell. Ariel's ability to fly returned them to the civilized world and soon Trance was gathering his Freaks again (this time without Baby Doll).

Trance and his Freaks took control over a small town, but were defeated by Genevieve Cray, a female clone of Deathblow and the former DV8-members Frostbite, Sublime and Copycat

Powers and abilities
Trance can hypnotize humans with a single glance. His hypnotic powers are very strong: even strong-willed superhumans like Caitlin Fairchild fell under his spell and were willing to kill and die for him. His spell can be broken though when he loses concentration or consciousness. In case of the Freaks, his control over them seems to be far stronger and permanent.

Freaks

 * Phobia: Phobia looks like a little girl, but she has the ability to make a person hallucinate his greatest fears. Phobia has a love/hate relationship with Trance. She used to be his favourite, but feels betrayed when he focuses on others.
 * Albino: A superhuman contortionist, his skin secretes a slowly paralysing toxin. Albino hates Trance, but has no choice but to obey him due to his mind-link with the team.
 * Siren: A creature made completely of water, she appears to be a water nymph. Her song has hypnotic qualities. Siren is completely devoted to Trance, even without his hypnotic abilities.
 * Baby Doll: Actually two creatures in one: The giant, undead Baby is superhumanly strong, but has little intelligence. Inside him, lives Doll, who can appear through a hole in his chest. Doll is intelligent and guides Baby. He uses chains to trap his opponents. After Trance was sent to Purgatory Max, Baby Doll went to New Orleans to live with a witch doctor. When Trance reformed the Freaks, Baby Doll was not included.
 * Ariel: A woman who looks like an angel. She has wings, allowing her to fly. She can change her feet into bird-like claws. She also can survive injuries no normal human could survive (she once caught a knife aimed at Trance in her throat and she didn't seem bothered by it at all.) Ariel is the newest member of the Freaks, she was put under a spell by Trance when they both escaped Purgatory Max.

Trivia

 * It is suggested in the Gen 13 article, that many of Gen 13's early adventures were inspired by the X-men's run by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. If this is true, then Trance is probably based on X-men villain Mesmero.
 * Ariel was the only 'Freak' to appear later, she was created by writer Eric DeSantis and artist Trevor Scott.