He was the first member of the group to be captured by Batman, who later disguised himself as Spellbinder to infiltrate the group and capture the Monarch.[5]. [3] This ploy worked twice, but on his third robbery, Batman was able to overcome it and send him to jail.[4]. Delbert Billings (a.k.a. Unfortunately for Delbert, Fay was. Then, he spellbound Terry into looting Wayne Manor, thinking he was a contender in a Supermarket Spree contest. He has tried to pit his skills against Gotham's defender, Batman, on several occasions. After dealing with them, she is briefly confronted by the Shadow Thief before meeting, to her great relief, the Batman, Superman, and Mary Marvel. Spellbinder is the name of three fictional characters that appear as supervillains in comic books published by DC Comics. Spellbinder was the first member of the group of rampaging villains to be captured by Batman, who later disguised himself as Spellbinder to infiltrate the group and capture the Monarch. Spellbinder was hiding behind Barbara, but thanks to Bruce Wayne, who had uncovered the mystery, Batman destroyed Spellbinder's "eyeball", thus ceasing the illusion. When Spellbinder discovered that Constantine was sincerer, he agreed to the plan. The first time, in Batman Beyond #1, Bruce was forced to fight the mind controlled Terry in his old batsuit. He hid behind an illusion that concealed him from human eyes, while trying to ensure Batman's arrest. Taking advantage of Batman's disorientation, Spellbinder fought dirty, striking him with everything he could grab. Under the guise of his position, he probed the minds of wealthy students, and in turn — via mind control — used them to abscond with valuables from their own homes. The original Spellbinder used a number of optical and aural devices of his own invention to hypnotize others. Spellbinder kept tabs on Batman thereafter. [3] As he was led away in cuffs, Ira took the opportunity to insult Barbara's intelligence, saying she had been so ready to believe the worst in the new Batman that hypnotizing her had been an easy matter. He obtains control over Gotham's butlers to steal valuables from their employers. Spellbinder was waiting outside the mansion to collect the plunder; however, unbeknownst to him, Terry had snapped out of the trance and set off to confront the mindbender as Batman. Keith Sherwood), was a Gotham City painter who uses the trance-making effects of optic art to begin a criminal career. Billings uses an array of optical illusions and hypnotic weapons to commit crimes. She subsequently appeared in Birds of Prey, where she created an illusory world in which Barbara Gordon was Batgirl (although she did not realize this had once been true). It is noted that she bears a striking resemblance (both physically and in terms of powers) to the mysterious fourth Harlequin. She put a bullet in her lover's head and asked Neron if the deal was only open to Billings. Sometime later, Spellbinder was out on the streets again, and sought to take revenge on Batman. She was being transported with several other villains when their train was hijacked and taken to Apokolips. He then attempted to fry Batman's brain with his "eyeball" glove. When he attempted to steal a rare gem, Spellbinder was stopped by The Batman. Billings was unmasked and taken into custody shortly after.[1]. The Black Canary's sonic cry is able to give most of them pause, but the Joker sends the Copperhead and the Hellgrammite after her, as neither one of them have ears. Billing's sonic chest plate proved quite effective at blasting Superman and the addition of a shock absorbing chin-guard to his helmet protected him from being knocked out by Superman, special lenses likewise protecting him from super-hypnosis by the Man of Steel. (Batman #336), By late 1995, Billings was on the run again from Batman and the police along with his girlfriend, Fay Moffit. His vast knowledge of the human psyche, combined with his ghastly costume and mesmerizing voice, made Spellbinder one of the most compelling rogues Batman had ever had to face. Billings is a Psychologist at Hamilton High. This frame-up drove Batman to become a wanted fugitive. She was followed by Batman and Robin, but they did not know the scale of her illusion-casting abilities, which extended to making absolutely everything disappear. Afterwards, went after Lorraine Tate, Jared's mother. This issue also revealed how Superman uses sub-conscious hypnosis (heightened by the Kryptonian lenses in his glasses) to successfully disguise himself as Clark Kent. In DC Comics, the Spellbinder is Delbert Billings. His fighting skills were minimal. On the second occasion, in Batman Beyond #7, Billings returned to Hill High in disguise because he suspected a student was Batman. [1] It remains unclear, however, how Billings — being an underpaid High School counselor — managed to gather and develop such a complex array of weaponry and advanced technology before his first heists. Spellbinder is an experienced magician that has the power to take over the minds with hypnosis of a person who looks at the clock when it strikes nine. Ira Billings was once a psychologist working at Hamilton Hill High School. On the next day, Billings summoned Terry into his office, under the pretense of wanting to check on him, given all the recent radical changes in his life. Ira Billings, also known as the Spellbinder, is an antagonist in the DC Animated Universe.