Aliases : David Hersch.
Base of Operations : Keystone City, KS / Central City, MO.
Tag : cicada
Important Plots : None
Journal(s) : jla_villains
Status : Available

Powers and Abilities : By killing someone with his sacrifical dagger (shaped like a lightning bolt) Cicada can steal their life-force, thereby extending his own life.

History : David Hersch murdered his wife in the early 20th Century. He tried to commit suicide out of guilt and fear of capture, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning before he could do so. As the electrics fried his brain, he experienced an epiphany. He was chosen by the lightning to live forever, and with his power, he would bring his wife back to be by his side.

Hersch is able to transfer a person’s life force to himself to keep himself alive by using a dagger shaped like a lightning bolt, although the soul-draining power may come from him rather than the weapon. Calling himself Cicada, he built a cult around himself, and planned for the day when he would be able to resurrect his wife. Yet he and his followers faced a dilemma: to achieve his vision of immortality, he needed to sacrifice the lives of others; and to him, murder could never be justified. His fanatical followers were more than willing to die for him, but would it be enough to raise the dead?

Then the answer came: Cicada learned of the third Flash, and saw in him a brother blessed by the lightning. And the Flash had been saving people’s lives. Here were people who, without the Flash’s interference, would have died anyway, and in Cicada’s mind, he could take their lives with a clear conscience.

As the appointed day approached, Cicada sent his followers out through Keystone City, armed with daggers that collected life energy, killing those whom the Flash had saved. The killings overwhelmed the police, and the Flash was kept busy dealing with Magenta, who finally captured him and brought him their sanctum to witness the resurrection. Cicada succeeded, briefly, in bringing his wife back, only to have her reveal the truth of his original crime. The Flash broke free, and in the ensuing fight Cicada drained the life from all his followers.

Cicada resided in Iron Heights for a time, but was recently transferred to Arkham Asylum due to his causing problems for the guards. His power over the minds of others is still strong, and his immortality shows no signs of stopping. He still reveres the Flash like a brother deity, but his obsession is split between pure subservience to the speedster and the overwhelming urge to sacrifice Wally West and take his power.

In Arkham, Cicada has slowly begun building another powerbase of followers, the Electrocutioner being one of them.

Other Sources :

• Cicada at the DC Database Project
• Cicada at Wikipedia

Divergences : Cicada is currently free in DCU canon, as he was one of the villains on the Salvation planet. He was never transferred to Arkham Asylum in DCU canon.

Disclaimer - unless otherwise noted, all characters are property of DC Comics, used here only for roleplaying purposes.