Scheherazade

Origin

The character is based on the real life Queen of Persia known as Homay, who was called Cehrzad. The character was incorporated into legend as the narrator of 1001 Arabian Nights, the sequence of stories which gave birth to such famous tales as Aladdin and Ali Baba.

The legend goes that after catching his wife in an affair, the King Shahryar of Persia would marry a new virgin every morning, would take a new bride at dawn, and would kill her(Behead her in some tellings) every evening. Scheherazade, the vizier's daughter, had realized the great injustice and devised a plan to stop him. Scheherazade was a genius girl of quick wit and wisdom. She had pursued the legends of her people and had learned and memorized a thousand and one plus legends. Even though her father begged and pleaded for her not to, Scheherazade volunteered herself to be the king one thousand and first wife.

On their wedding night, Scheherazade began to tell the story of folklore to the king. Now Scheherazade was a master of storytelling. She build up intrigue, wonder, and anticipation in every word and every sentence, and right when the story met it's climax, she ended it. The King was so intrigued by said story that he postponed the execution by one day. So the next morning Scheherazade finished the story, and began a brand-new story of intrigue, and once again she ended the story at it's climax.

This went on for one thousand and one nights, each day the king postponed the execution. After a thousand and one nights, the king's heart was softened by Scheherazade intelligence, beauty and sweet nature. The king made Scheherazade his permanent wife and there was peace forever in Persia

Creation

The character is based on a historical character. Her first appearance in comics was in February 1942 in Classics Illustrated #8.

Character Evolution

The Character is generally portrayed over a short span of issues, as her popularity outside of the work of fiction has never been achieved. She is usually referenced not for her own story, but for that of the ones which she fabricated during her ordeal. In 2013, Big Dog Ink released a series with an updated version of the character with the same concept but where the setting has changed to other genres.

Major Story Arcs

The character is usually only shown as a narrator of one of her own stories, though occasionally her own story is told.

Powers and Abilities

The character is known for her cunning, imagination and beauty.

Other incarnations

Valiant Universe

In the Valiant Universe, Scheherazade is a former Geomancer.

Other Media

She appears across all of media in a similar way to her portrayal in comics.