Thorn

THORN

Real Name: Rose Canton

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Botanist, professional criminal

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Jennie-Lynn Hayden (Jade, daughter), Todd Rice (Obsidian, son), Alan Scott (Green Lantern, ex-husband)

Aliases: Rose & Thorn

Base of Operations: Keystone City, KS, 1940s era to present

First Appearance: Flash Comics #89 (November, 1947)

Powers: Thorn was able to control plantlife, could summon spiked plant tendrils and used exploding and poisonous thorns as weapons.

History: (Flash Comics #89) - Rose Canton served as Professor Hollis’ scientific assistant during his botanical explorations of Tashmi. After being priced by a jungle rose Rose’s split-personality Thorn came out, and she fled the jungle, returning to America and starting a life of crime. Thorn hated her alter-ego but they coexisted. Thorn called up Flash at a police station, warning him she was going to rob Mid-Town Bank. Flash dismissed it as a crank call until a report of the robbery came up over the police wire. Flash rushed across town to the bank, and beat up Thorn’s gang. Thorn, appearing in a whirlwind of thorns that slashed Flash, said she just wanted to meet him and prove to herself that she was his master. The whirlwind dissipated, and Flash met Rose, who claimed to be Thorn’s sister who just wanted to save her. Flash brought Rose to his girlfriend Joan William’s house, promising to help Thorn. Rose changed back into Thorn and she left Joan’s place to plan her next big heist. There was a diamond shipment coming in, and Thorn eavesdropped on Flash’s discussion of the shipment’s security measures with the chief of police. A sand barge was bringing in the diamonds, and Thorn flew in on a plane, bombing it and hitting Flash with an explosive thorn. She made her getaway on a speedboat, but Flash caught up to her and she hitched a ride on an ocean liner. She threw another explosive thorn at Flash, and the blast caused her to fall into the water. The rest of her explosive thorns went off, and Flash believed she died in the ensuing blast. Flash and Joan broke the news of Thorn’s “demise” to Rose, who sobbed and said it might be for the best.

(Flash Comics #96) - The police gave up searching for Thorn’s body, declaring her dead, and Jay Garrick visited rose to give his condolences. Rose said she planned to return to Tashmi and Professor Hollis’ jungle laboratory, and plucked a rose for Jay so he would have something to remember her by. He tried to pick one for her, but cut himself on the thorns, and when he asked why she hadn’t cut herself she replied that she was used to handling dangerous flowers. Back in his lab Jay couldn’t help but suspect that Rose had the same immunity to thorns that her sister did, and wondered if she could secretly be the Thorn. Thorn was alive, and Jay changed into Flash after hearing a radio broadcast about her robbing a bank. Rose showed up at the lab and was hurt when Flash said he had to leave to catch Thorn. Rose said it was unbearable for him to not like her, and after she left she changed into Thorn. Thorn created a giant thorn-stalk in Grimes Square, foiling the police’s attempts to catch her. Flash used his superspeed to avoid the thorns and get her down, but she immediately started whipping thorns at a group of onlookers and escaped after turning into a whirlwind. Thorn changed into Rose, who begged Flash to stop going after her “sister” saying she was too dangerous and would end up killing him. The people hit by the thorns ran amok, and Flash had to round them up. The effects would wear off after a few days but the police and Flash worried about Thorn turning the entire city upside down by using her thorns on the populace. Flash used Thorn’s conceitedness against her, placing an ad in the newspaper saying he’d confront her on Main St. And arrest her. Thorn arrived, allowed Flash to take her to jail, and then locked him in a cell with exploding thorns. Flash vibrated through the thorns, and his foe was furious that he wasn’t dead. She fled by jumping into an open manhole, but her thorns caused an explosion. Jay later told Rose he was sure her sister was dead this time, but admitted no body was ever found.

Comments: Created by John Broome & Carmine Infantino.

In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DCU Thorn lived on Earth-2.

Thorn received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #19.

Thorn had cameos in JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice, JSA #48.