Name: Wotan
Universe: Post-Crisis
Alter Ego: Unrevealed other identities
Occupation: Sorcerer, scientist, former would-be conqueror
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
Known Relatives: None
Height: 5 ft. 10½ in.
Weight: 151 lbs.
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Formerly green, now black
First Appearance: Spectre #7

History:
Ages ago, the sorcerer now known as Wotan was a female member of a primitive tribe in a northern wasteland. After being raped and beaten to the brink of death, the woman determined she would discover the reasons, if any, for human existence and the suffering it entails. Escaping her tormentors, she found refuge with an aged sorceress who began teaching her the mystic arts, Upon the old woman's death, the future Wotan became a sorceress in her place.

The future Wotan grew so powerful that she was worshipped as a goddess. Seeking to escape death, she learned how to extend her life by mystical means, then how to transfer her soul into another body, and finally how to direct her own reincarnation into other bodies. Hence, the being called Wotan adopted thousands of different forms, both male and female, over the millennia. At some point he took the name "Wotan, after the ruler of the gods of Germanic and Norse mythology, although he has no known connection to that pantheon.

Wotan continued to amass knowledge, both of science and of mysticism, and built his occult power to great levels, often by absorbing the souls of other great mystics into himself. But he was never satisfied, and still sought the answers to fife's ulti- mate questions. He believed that only through gaining more and more control over the Earth could he find those answers. Wotan's ruthless pursuit of power brought him into conflict with the Lord of Order known as the original Doctor Fate.

During the World War II era, Wotan periodically continued to clash with Doctor Fate, and also battled the Shining Knight. By the end of the 1940s, Wotan was entrapped within an otherdimensional limbo, where he remained for decades. In recent times, following the death of Zatara the Magician. Wotan captured Zatara's soul and initiated a plot to return to Earth by infusing his own spirit into the body of Zatara's daughter, Zatanna. The Spectre made a bargain with Wotan, whereby Wotan returned to Earth but set Zatara's soul free and restored Zatanna to normalcy.

Finally, Wotan captured the Lord of Order named Nabu, who dwelt within Kent Nelson's body although Nelson had retired as Doctor Fate, and took him to an old temple on a hill near the village of Arangaon in India. Here, Wotan contended, lay the last physical body of the being he had sought for thousands of years, whom he called the Avatar. According to Wotan, the spiritual essence of God has descended to Earth in human form repeatedly throughout history, manifesting Himself as the founders of the great religions. Wotan contended that the Avatar had abandoned his most recent form twenty years ago, and that it now lay within this temple, still infused with divine power. Wotan planned to enter the temple, absorb that power, confront God and supplant Him.

Nabu's protege, the new Doctor Fate, and the Justice League vainly attempted to stop Wotan, but he defeated them all and strode unopposed into the temple. But Wotan soon reemerged, saying that the power he had seen within the temple had transformed him spiritually as well as blinding him, putting an end to the evil in his soul. Wotan characterized the power within the temple as that of love, and chose to remain there, in the Avatar's presence. Nabu declared that Wotan would never menace anyone again, and Nabu, Fate, and the Justice League left Wotan there. Wotan then met a man who had served the Avatar for years, and left with him to begin his life anew.

Powers:
Through centuries of study. Wotan has mastered the black art of sorcery, becoming powerful enough to challenge even Doctor Fate. Wotan can project powerful bolts of mystical force, fly, travel between dimensions, change shape, and cast a wide range of spells. He can absorb the souls and powers of other beings, transfer his soul into other bodies, and even direct the course of his own reincarnation.

Wotan is also a brilliant scientist and inventor who has created technological wonders that are far in advance of 20th century science; however, he recently has relied on his occult abilities to achieve his goals.