TALISMAN
Real Name: Elizabeth Twoyoungmen
Group Affiliation: Former member of Beta Flight, former member of Alpha Flight
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #5
Creator: John Byrne

      Elizabeth Twoyoungmen led a rather happy childhood until the age of around five or so. At that point her mother died, despite her physician father's promises to save Mommy. Feeling betrayed, Elizabeth ran away from her father. As a favour the neighbours, the McNeils, took her in. Elizabeth would not see Michael Twoyoungmen again for many years.
      Despite the tragic loss of her mother and her estrangement from her father, Liz had a fairly pleasant life with the McNeils. Her former babysitter Heather became like a sister. Eventually she entered university, becoming interested in archaeology. On a dig in the ruins of old Fort Calgary, she saw a ghostly wraith escape. Worried, she turned to the only person she knew of who was capable of dealing with the mystic world: her father.
      Michael then received a shock on two fronts: seeing his daughter for the first time in many years, and also discovering she knew about his secret life. [At the time, Michael theorized that it was his daughter's mystical heritage that enabled her to penetrate the spells he used to mask his identity. -C]
      During the investigation Shaman and Liz confronted the Great Beast known as Ranaq. During the battle Liz was blasted with mystic energy. She instinctively seized control of the energy and blasted it right back at the beast, to her father's amazement.
      In order to conclude the case, it was necessary to go back in time. Shaman summoned Snowbird as a backup, and Puck and Heather Hudson showed up just in time for the fun. Upon her arrival Snowbird fell to her knees in front of Elizabeth, making a declaration of humble obedience.
      This was the final clue. Handing his medicine pouch to his daughter, Shaman bade her to draw out what she found inside. Before he could say a warning, she looked inside... and promptly complained that the pouch was empty. [Compiler's Note: For an idea of what happens to NORMAL people who look inside that pouch, see Smart Alec's entry] However, she reached inside... and took out a mystic coronet. Placing it on her brow, her clothing was transformed and her full power unleashed. Her father proclaimed that it was the fulfillment of a "great and terrible" prophecy. Elizabeth later discovered that she was unable to remove the coronet, and to attempt to do so would cause her great pain. She was, however, able to render it invisible through mystic means.
      Liz served quite capably with Alpha Flight at the beginning, proving to be especially effective in Alpha's second encounter with the armored criminal called Calibre. She remained a valued member until Alpha's second encounter with Omega Flight. Omega's leader Delphine Courtney created a spacial rift by turning Shaman's medicine pouch inside out. The rift swallowed most of Alpha Flight. Liz entered the rift and succeeded in rescuing her team-mates. However, the rift collapsed while Elizabeth was still inside, trapping her. She was rescued by the nigh-omnipotent entity called the Beyonder.
      Angry at her father for failing to save her from the rift, Elizabeth quit Alpha Flight and teleported the team back to Vancouver without her. She next appeared as the administrator of the mystic ordeals that proved Shaman worthy of his new mystic abilities. Liz still showed considerable hostility towards her father during that encounter. Her next actions proved just how deep that hostility went.
      Hoping to humiliate Shaman, Liz arranged for Alpha Flight to free the being called Pestilence. Elizabeth was counting on her abilities as the "Binder of Spirits" to keep the situation under control. Unfortunately, Pestilence had never died, and was hence not a spirit. He rippped the coronet from her brow and threw it away. Shaman picked it up and donned it, having been proved worthy by the same tests Liz had administered. For a time, Liz returned to her former life as a student. [Liz has since recovered from Mantlo-itis, the disease that caused her strange behaviour. :-) -C]
      While on another astrological dig, however, Liz was only saved from being controlled by the being known as the Dreamqueen by the intervention of Snowbird's spirit. Convinced by the demi-goddess that she was avoiding her responsibilities, Liz returned to Alpha Flight and reclaimed the coronet from her father. She then proceeded to defeat the Dreamqueen and went on to face the being called Llan the Sorcerer, in fulfillment of the "great and terrible prophecy" mentioned by her father years before.
      Liz suffered cerebral trauma in an encounter with the Master of the World. While recovering she was placed in Beta Flight, and although she completely recovered, she decided to remain with that team. [Perhaps because the Beta Flight members are closer to her age - C]
      Like all other Beta Flight members, it's unknown what Elizabeth Twoyoungmen has been doing since Beta was dissolved by the government after AF v2 #130. Her present whereabouts are also unknown.
      Elizabeth Twoyoungmen has been described as a living mystical talisman, whose might may rival that of Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Although her abilities are only fully realized while she wears her mystic coronet, even without it she is capable of controlling and redirecting magical energy that is used against her. With the coronet, she is capable of far more.
      Principle among the expanded powers is the ability to tap into Earth's available mystic energy. This enables Liz to create an infinite variety of spells. The possible feats she can accomplish are limited only by her imagination and experience.
      As the Binder of Spirits, Liz has other abilities. Her people's traditions claim that spirits inhabit all things on Earth. This gives her a vast array of allies to call upon at any given time. Liz's control over the spirits is absolute; this is in contrast with her father. Michael Twoyoungmen has earned only the right to implore the spirits for help; he cannot force them to aid him.
      [Compiler's notes: When Michael Twoyoungmen wore the coronet for a time he possessed all of his daughter's powers.]