Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (Amy Winston) is a superheroine published in American comic books created by DC Comics. Created by writers Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and artist Ernie Colón, she debuted in Legion of Super-Heroes #298 in April 1983.^[1]

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
Amethyst as depicted in Young Justice vol. 3 #1 (March 2019). Art by Amy Reeder.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Legion of Super-Heroes #298 (April 1983)
Created by	Dan Mishkin Gary Cohn Ernie Colón
In-story information
Alter ego	Amy Winston (current) Amaya (post-Flashpoint; later changed in DC Rebirth)
Species	Cosmic entity (original) Homo magi (current)
Place of origin	Gemworld
Team affiliations	House of Amethyst Lords of Order Justice League Dark Young Justice
Notable aliases	Princess of Gemworld
Abilities	Magic Crystal Manipulation Crystal Generation Crystal Empowerment Dimensional Rulership Reality Warping Conjuration Reanimation Summoning Energy Manipulation Elemental Control Matter Transmutation Atmokinesis Photokinesis Telekinesis Telepathy Teleportation Portal Creation Weapon proficiency

Born into the Amethyst royal family of Gemworld, a dimension full of magic and magical creatures, her parents were killed shortly after her birth by her future archenemy, Dark Opal. She is hidden on Earth by a witch and is adopted into a family, given the name Amy Winston. Eventually, she travels to Gemworld on her thirteenth birthday, learning of her heritage and became Gemworld's chief protector by opposing the Lords of Chaos and their agents, including Dark Opal. After the events of Flashpoint, the character was retroactively rebooted, having first been raised by her mother Graciel to help eventually liberate Gemworld from a tyrannical ruler. Her given birth name is Amaya while her human identity is Amy Winston. After DC Rebirth, the character's original origin is restored, albeit without significant connection to the Lords of Chaos and Order.

The character has received several media adaptations, having been featured in a short animation series featured on the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network.

Publication history

Concept and creation

Amethyst's premise was initially pitched to DC Comics under the title "Changeling", wherein its main character had been left on Earth as an infant. However, because another DC superhero formerly named Beast Boy was currently using that name at the time, Dan Mishkin decided on the alternative "Amethyst" as a replacement.^[2] This in turn inspired the jewel-themed renaming of the other characters in the series and the concept being reworked into Gemworld.^[3]

Amethyst volumes

Cover of issue #6 of the original 1983 maxi-series.

Amethyst first appeared as a special insert preview in Legion of Super-Heroes #298 (April 1983).^[4] Her original story began shortly afterward in the twelve-issue Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld limited series in 1983, written and created by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn with Ernie Colón as the artist. The initial 12-issue limited series (identified by DC Comics as a "maxi-series") establishes Gemworld, Amethyst's identity, and several of her recurring villains. The limited series was followed by a 1984 annual and a sixteen-issue ongoing series.^[5] The ongoing series was followed by the 1986 Amethyst Special one-shot and a four-issue limited series that ended the character's adventures (penciled by Esteban Maroto). There was also a one-shot with Superman in DC Comics Presents #63 (Nov. 1983).^[6]

The character re-emerged in 2005 after 18 years of sporadic appearances, in the Infinite Crisis mini-series. In 2012, Amethyst appeared as the main character of the new Sword of Sorcery as part of The New 52 line.^[7][2] This lasted until May 2013, when Sword of Sorcery was cancelled.^[8]

In 2019, DC relaunched the Young Justice title, with Amethyst as one of the members. A six-issue miniseries Amethyst (2020) by Amy Reeder was published the following year.^[9]

The Legion of Super-Heroes (first appearance, 1983)

Date	Name	Editor	Script and story	Penciling	Ref.
April 1983	Legion of Super-Heroes #298	Karen Berger Dave Manak	Dan Mishkin; Gary Cohn	Ernie Colon	[10]

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (1983—1984)

Date	Name	Editor	Script and story	Penciling	Ref.
May 1983	Amethyst #1	Karen Berger	Dan Mishkin; Gary Cohn	Ernie Colon	[11]
June 1983	Amethyst #2	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
July 1983	Amethyst #3	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
August 1983	Amethyst #4	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
September 1983	Amethyst #5	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
October 1983	Amethyst #6	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
November 1983	Amethyst #7	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
December 1983	Amethyst #8	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
January 1984	Amethyst #9	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
February 1984	Amethyst #10	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
March 1984	Amethyst #11	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon
April 1984	Amethyst #12	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Colon

Amethyst Vol. 2 (1985—1986)

Date	Name	Editor	Script and story	Penciling	Ref.
January 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #1	Karen Berger	Dan Mishkin; Gary Cohn	Ric Estrada	[12]
February 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #2	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Estrada
March 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #3	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Estrada
April 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #4	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Kurt Schaffenberger
May 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #5	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Estrada
June 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #6	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Estrada
July 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #7	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Estrada
August 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #8	Berger	Mishkin; Cohn	Dan Jurgens
September 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #9	Berger	Cohn	Ernie Colon
October 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #10	Berger	Cohn	Colon
November 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #11	Berger	Cohn	Colon
December 1985	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #12	Berger Julius Schwartz	Mindy Newell	Colleen Doran
February 1986	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #13	Berger	Robert L. Fleming; Keith Giffen	Colon
April 1986	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #14	Berger	Fleming; Giffen	Colon
June 1986	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #15	Berger	Giffen; Newell	Colon
August 1986	Amethyst (Vol. 2) #16	Berger	Giffen; Newell	Colon

Amethyst (1986) Special

Date	Name	Editor	Script and story	Penciling	Ref.
October 1986	Amethyst ("Kismet")	Karen Berger	Keith Giffen; Mindy Newell	Ernie Colon	[13]
	Amethyst ("A Thrice-Told Tale")		Newell; Len Wein	Esteban Maroto

Amethyst Vol. 3 (1987—1988) limited series

Date	Name	Editor	Script and story	Penciling	Ref.
November 1987	Amethyst (1987 limited series) #1	Karen Berger	Keith Giffen; Mindy Newell	Esteban Maroto	[14][15]
December 1987	Amethyst (1987 limited series) #2	Berger	Giffen; Newell	Maroto
January 1988	Amethyst (1987 limited series) #3	Berger	Giffen; Newell	Maroto
February 1988	Amethyst (1987 limited series) #4	Berger	Giffen; Newell	Maroto

Amethyst Vol. 4 (2020—2021) limited series

Date	Name	Editor	Script	Penciling	Ref.
April 2020	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #1	Andy Khouri	Amy Reeder		[16]
May 2020	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #2	Khouri	Reeder
August 2020	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #3	Khouri	Reeder
September 2020	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #4	Khouri	Reeder
October 2020	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #5	Khouri	Reeder
February 2021	Amethyst (2020 limited series) #6	Khouri	Reeder

Amethyst Princess of Gemworld (2021) graphic novel

Date	Name	ISBN	Publisher	Script and story	Art	Ref.
November 9, 2021[17]	Amethyst Princess of Gemworld	978-1779501226[17]	DC Comics	Shannon Hale and Dean Hale	Asiah Fulmore	[18][19]

Collected edition

In 2012, DC published an Amethyst volume of the Showcase Presents series. It reprinted the character's appearances in The Legion of Super-Heroes #298, the original Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld 12-issue limited series, Amethyst Annual #1, DC Comics Presents #63, and the first 11 issues of the 16-issue ongoing Amethyst series.^[20]

Date	Name	ISBN	Publisher
October 2, 2012[21]	Showcase Presents: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld Vol. 1	978-1401236779[21]	DC Comics

Crossover appearances

Amethyst appeared in the 1997 "Convergence" crossover that ran through Book of Fate, Night Force, Challengers of the Unknown and Scare Tactics. This story depicts an alternate Gemworld experiencing a civil war. Here, Amethyst is portrayed as a villain who wants to unify the houses in Gemworld by any means.

Fictional character biography

Amethyst is the princess of the House of Amethyst, one of several houses in Gemworld. After Dark Opal kills Amethyst's parents, the witch Citrina sends her to Earth to be raised by the Winston family. At the age of thirteen, Amethyst is attacked by Dark Opal, learns of her heritage, and returns to Gemworld, where she defeats Dark Opal and frees Gemworld from his rule.

Amethyst participates in the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, where she is blinded by a Shadow Demon.^[22][23] She later learns that she is a Lord of Order and battles the Lord of Chaos Child before fusing herself and Child with Gemworld.^[24]

The third volume of Amethyst takes place two decades after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Topaz and Turquoise, members of their namesake houses, are married and have three children: Wrynn, Donal, and Amber. The entity Mordru possesses Wrynn and becomes a powerful sorcerer.^[25] Some time later, Gemworld is transported to the main universe and renamed Zerox. Zerox is destroyed during the Magic Wars, which kills Amethyst.^[26] Amethyst is resurrected during the Infinite Crisis event, which retcons her death from continuity.^[27]

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Amethyst is named Amaya and was sent to Earth to protect her from her aunt Mordiel.^[28] She later joins Justice League Dark.^[29][30][31]

Powers and abilities

Amethyst possesses a myriad of powers, including flight, spellcasting, energy manipulation, energy constructs, eldritch blasts, matter transmutation, magic resistance, atmokinesis, chronokinesis, chlorokinesis, elemental control, life creation, reality alteration, crystal enchantments, crystal generation, conjuration, summoning, size alteration, divination, hypnotism, emotion manipulation, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, dimensional travel, invisibility, illusion casting, invoking spirits, necromancy, healing others, and hyperawareness, as well as the ability to tap into other mystical sources so she can amplify her own capabilities to near-incalculable levels. She is capable enough to engage in battle with the Spectre and survive.^[27]

Other versions

An alternate timeline variant of Amethyst appears Flashpoint as a member of the Secret Seven.

In other media

Television

Amethyst and Quartz as they appeared in DC Nation Shorts.

• Amethyst appears in a self-titled segment of DC Nation Shorts, voiced by Sophie Oda.^[32] This version is a human who is magically transported into the Gemworld video game to battle the forces of Dark Opal and sports a modernized design reminiscent of magical girls.^[33]
• Amethyst makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Teen Titans Go!.
• Amethyst will appear in Starfire!.^[34]

Film

• Amethyst appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, voiced by Cristina Pucelli.^[32]
• Amethyst makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.^[35]

Video games

Amethyst appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[36]