| Mistral | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | Helene Carlysle |
| Aliases | Mistral |
| Gender | Female |
| Class | Ace |
| Wild Card Traits | Aerokinesis, flight |
| Social Information | |
| Place of Birth | California, USA |
| Citizenship | Citizen of the United States |
| Occupation | Super heroine |
| Event Participant | Swarm War, 1987 WHO Tour, Rox War |
| Affiliations | Tricolor, the Mechanic |
| Relatives | Cyclone (father) Cornelia Owens-Carlysle (mother) |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | Aces High |
| Previous Mention | Wild Cards |
| Creator | Steve Perrin |
Mistral is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books. She is an ace who inherited her power to manipulate the wind from her father, Cyclone.
History[]
Mistral is the daughter of Cyclone, an ace whose powers she inherited. Her power manifested in infancy, leading to her mother walking out on them. Cyclone gained full custody and raised the child in an environment of fame and fortune.
At only seventeen years old, Mistral bravely rose to the challenge of fighting the Swarm during its attack on New Jersey in 1986. During the conflict she fought alongside Peregrine, using her power to decimate vast hordes of the "flapper" Swarm buds.
A year later Mistral took part in the 1987 WHO Tour and found similarly taxing experiences in witnessing poverty-stricken people in third-world countries. Frustrated and depressed by her inability to use her power to generate rain in drought stricken Africa, Mistral found some small compensation in her brief friendship with a French ace, the original Tricolor. Around this time she also fended off the advances of the amorous Dr. Tachyon.
Prior to joining her father and several other aces in a final assault upon the Rox, Mistral was jumped by Molly Bolt. While in Mistral's body, Molly Bolt used her powers to kill Mistral's father and help destroy the USS New Jersey. Shortly after the destruction of the US Navy vessel, Turtle used his telekinesis to capture Molly and force her to jump into the body of a drowning sailor.
Meanwhile Mistral herself was held captive beneath the Rox in Molly Bolt's body. She escaped this captivity near the end of the Rox War, but it is unknown by what means Mistral was returned to her original body. It is possible the US government used one of its tame jumpers to restore her and the sailor trapped in her body.
Whatever the case, Mistral was back in fighting form a year later, aiding the DEA in their manhunt for ace fugitive Mark Meadows. During this time, Mistral began a relationship with the much older government ace known as the Mechanic. She was ultimately unsuccessful in capturing Meadows, largely due to the Mechanic covertly aiding the fugitive in the furtherance of his own agenda.
Mistral has not been seen much since the advent of the newest generation of 21st Century aces.
Wild Card Traits[]
Mistral has the power of aerokinesis, the ability to mentally manipulate the air. Like her father, she can create highly focused whirlwinds and wind shields. Over bodies of water she can generate massive waterspouts. She can also use the air currents to fly with the aid of her specially designed costume.
Appearance[]
Mistral is an attractive Caucasian woman with long blonde hair and an even tan. She has wears a costume of patriotic colors that includes an expansive blue and silver cape. Mistral has dyed a long blue stripe into her hair to match the blue of her costume. The cape, attached wrist-to-ankle, can be used in conjunction with her power to allow her to fly.
Personality[]
Mistral was a pleasant, idealistic young woman who inherited her father's love of the spotlight. After her father's death, Mistral became bitter and unforgiving, nursing guilt due to her body/powers being used to commit the murder, and pursuing Mark Meadows as if capturing him could make her a hero once more.
Some component of unrequited feelings toward her father undoubtedly played a part in Mistral's relationship with the significantly older Mechanic as well as her submissive role in the light bondage play in which the two sometimes engaged.
Trivia[]
- Dr. Tachyon has stated that Mistral did not inherit her father's powers by chance. When it was discovered his pregnant wife was also Wild Card positive, Cyclone's absolute confidence that the baby would be an ace like himself functioned as a form of psionic subconsciously directed genetic engineering to control how Mistral's card manifested. The odds of other aces pulling off something similar are slim to none.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume IV: Aces Abroad
- Wild Cards Volume XI: Dealer’s Choice
- Wild Cards Volume XII: Turn of the Cards