Charles Dante is Spellbinder, a hypnotic villain operating in The Hill.
History
Charles Dante attended Burnside College alongside Barbara Gordon and the two briefly dated, although Barbara insists they were never official. He graduated with a degree in psychiatry and did his residency at Arkham Asylum.[1] While he was working at Arkham he became convinced that Gotham's citizens were brainwashed and his patients were the only true and free ones.[2] He performed an appraisal of Cody Kline, an artist being held on a 72-hour psychiatric hold after suffering a psychotic break. He cleared Kline for release despite the fact that he was suffering from paranoid delusions. Dante recommended further counselling and used the sessions to brainwash Kline.[3]
Dante later resigned from Arkham and established a private practice as an art therapist.[1] He also secretly became the supervillain Spellbinder, using his psychiatric skills to hypnotise residents of The Hill in the hopes of sparking a revolution.[4] He made Cody be the public face of his operations, giving him the identity of Tutor; a street artist who campaigns against Gotham City Hall, the GCPD and the Bats.[3]
The Batgirls eventually captured Tutor and, at Barbara's instruction, delivered him to Dante's house. Barbara hoped that Dante may be able to help Tutor, unaware that he was the one who broke the man's mind in the first place.[4] Dante released Tutor, who used a broadcasting system developed by Dante to livestream onto every screen in Gotham. His livestream activated the other hypnotised residents and joined up with them at Arkham.
Barbara went to Dante's house, worried that Tutor had harmed Dante when he "escaped", but Dante was waiting for her as Spellbinder.[3] He drugged Barbara and tied her to a chair but she woke up and freed her arms. Due to her experience fighting as a paraplegic she was able to overpower him even with her legs immobilized. She used his broadcast system to reveal his true identity to the city and wake his victims up. Dante was incarcerated in Arkham Tower alongside Tutor.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Hypnosis: Spellbinder is able to render people open to hypnotic suggestion by painting their portrait.[2]
Abilities
Related
- 4 Appearances of Charles Dante (Prime Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Charles Dante (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Charles Dante (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Charles Dante (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Batgirls #3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Batgirls #6
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Batgirls #5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Batgirls #4
  This character, team, or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Batgirl. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Batgirl Villains category." |