Talisman was created by the legendary writer and artist John Byrne. She made her first appearance in Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) #5, published in December 1983. Her introduction was part of Byrne's deliberate effort to expand the lore and power set of Canada's premier superhero team, moving beyond the initial government-operative concept into the deeper, more mythic realms of Canadian folklore and First Nations spirituality. Elizabeth Twoyoungmen was conceived as a way to explore the legacy and personal cost of being a superhero, specifically through the lens of her father, Michael Twoyoungmen, also known as Shaman. Her creation provided a powerful narrative engine for Shaman's character, introducing themes of parental guilt and the unintended consequences of a life dedicated to magic. Talisman's powers, rooted in spirit-magic and tied to a specific artifact, distinguished her from the more generalized sorcery of characters like Doctor Strange, grounding her abilities in a unique and culturally specific tradition within the Marvel Universe.
Elizabeth Twoyoungmen's life was forever altered by the very legacy she sought to understand. As a promising young archaeology student at the University of Calgary, she distanced herself from her father, Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen, blaming his obsession with “old ways” and magic for her mother's death. She believed his focus on mysticism prevented him from being the modern doctor who could have saved her. This resentment fueled her academic pursuit of history and artifacts, a scientific attempt to understand the culture her father embraced through faith. During a field expedition at a historic dig site at the Forks of the Red River, her team unearthed an ancient, ornate skull. Driven by academic curiosity and a subconscious connection to her heritage, Elizabeth felt an irresistible pull to the object. Upon touching it, she unwittingly unleashed a malevolent, ancient entity trapped within: Ranaq the Great Devourer, one of the immensely powerful Great Beasts of the North. The spectral entity immediately possessed a nearby worker and began a terrifying rampage. In desperation, a member of her team contacted Department H, which dispatched alpha_flight. Her father, Shaman, was among the heroes who arrived. Horrified to find his own daughter at the center of the mystical crisis, Shaman realized that conventional magic was not enough to combat a being of Ranaq's power. Reaching deep into his sacred medicine pouch—a mystical bag with a connection to a pocket dimension—Shaman sought an artifact of sufficient power to turn the tide. The pouch, however, has a will of its own, and it presented him not with a weapon, but with the Coronet of Enchantment. This ancient, golden headband was a legendary artifact of immense power, capable of granting its wearer dominion over the spirits of the world. Shaman knew the Coronet could only be removed by a being of greater magical might or by a specific enchantment he did not possess. He hesitated, knowing that giving it to his daughter would bind her to the world of magic she so despised. With Ranaq's power growing, Elizabeth made a fateful choice. Seeing her father's hesitation and the imminent danger, she seized the Coronet and placed it on her own head. The transformation was instantaneous and overwhelming. The world dissolved into a sea of spirits, visible only to her. She could feel the life force of the planet, hear the whispers of a million ghosts, and command them with a mere thought. Christening herself Talisman, she used her newfound, innate mastery over the spirit world to rally the spirits of the very land they stood on. She commanded them to attack Ranaq, overwhelming and ultimately banishing the Great Beast from the mortal plane. Though she had saved the day, the victory was a tragic one. She was now permanently bound to the Coronet and the world of magic. Her resentment towards her father intensified, as she now saw him as directly responsible for trapping her in the fate she had tried so hard to escape. This dramatic and poignant event marked the true beginning of her journey, not just as the hero Talisman, but as a daughter grappling with a powerful, painful, and inescapable destiny.
As of the current phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dr. Elizabeth Twoyoungmen, also known as Talisman, has not appeared or been mentioned. Her absence is notable given the MCU's expansion into both cosmic and mystical territories. However, her non-appearance provides a blank canvas for a potentially powerful introduction. An analysis of the MCU's established lore offers several compelling avenues for her debut:
If adapted, the core conflict between Elizabeth and her father would likely remain central. The MCU often emphasizes familial drama (Tony and Howard Stark, Thor and Odin, T'Challa and T'Chaka), and the Twoyoungmens' story of resentment, guilt, and eventual understanding is perfectly suited for cinematic storytelling. The visual representation of her powers—seeing and commanding a world of spirits layered over our own—could be a visual effects masterpiece, distinct from the geometric spells of Strange or the chaotic energy of the Scarlet Witch.
Talisman's abilities are almost entirely derived from the Coronet of Enchantment, though it's been suggested that her Sarcee heritage gives her a natural affinity and latent potential for magic that the Coronet unlocks and amplifies to an incredible degree.
The Coronet is the source of Talisman's power. It is an ancient and immensely powerful mystical artifact that grants its wearer dominion over the spirit world.
When wearing the Coronet, Elizabeth possesses a wide array of powerful abilities:
Elizabeth is highly intelligent, determined, and initially, deeply cynical. Her academic background makes her analytical and methodical, which often clashes with the intuitive, faith-based nature of her powers. Her character arc is one of reluctant acceptance. She begins by hating the power forced upon her, but over time, she grows to understand its importance and accepts her role as a guardian. Her greatest struggle has been reconciling with her father, moving from blaming him for her fate to understanding the impossible choices he faced. She has evolved from a bitter victim of circumstance into a confident, mature, and incredibly powerful protector of the mortal realm.
As Talisman does not exist in the MCU, her powers and equipment can only be theorized based on the franchise's established rules for magic.
Her relationship with her father is the defining axis of her entire life. It is a complex tapestry of love, deep-seated resentment, professional respect, and eventual forgiveness. Initially, she blamed him entirely for her mother's death and for trapping her in a magical destiny. For his part, Shaman was wracked with guilt over his daughter's burden. Their journey together in alpha_flight forced them to confront these issues, slowly healing the rift between them. He became her mentor in understanding the magic she wielded, and she, in turn, became a far more powerful practitioner than he ever was, forcing him to accept her as an equal.
Snowbird is arguably Elizabeth's closest friend and confidante on Alpha Flight. As a demigoddess, daughter of the Inuit goddess Nelvanna, Snowbird shares a deep connection to the mystical and mythological side of Canada. She understands the burden of a destiny one did not choose and the isolation that comes with immense power. They bonded over their shared experiences as women wielding ancient, divine forces, providing each other with a sense of normalcy and understanding that their other teammates could not fully offer.
Talisman and Doctor Strange share a relationship of deep professional respect. While Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, tasked with protecting Earth from all mystical threats, he recognizes that Talisman's domain—the world of spirits—and her depth of power within it are unique and unparalleled. They have consulted with each other on numerous occasions when threats blur the lines between their areas of expertise. Strange views her as a powerful and essential ally, not a subordinate, and would trust her to handle any spiritual incursion that threatens the planet.
Talisman's truest and most persistent foes are the Great Beasts (also known as the Tanaraq). These are a group of ancient, malevolent mystical entities of immense power who were exiled from Earth millennia ago. They constantly seek to return and reclaim the planet. Her origin is tied to banishing one of their number, Ranaq, and her primary role as a hero is to guard the dimensional barriers that keep them at bay. Because her power directly commands the spirits of the Earth they wish to corrupt, she is their natural and most hated enemy.
Pestilence was a mysterious, centuries-old entity that gained power by merging with a host. During a cataclysmic event known as the “Infinity War” (the comic event, not the MCU film), Pestilence managed to defeat Talisman in a moment of weakness and forcibly removed the Coronet of Enchantment, claiming its power for itself. This act was devastating for Elizabeth, stripping her of her identity and power. The storyline that followed, her quest to reclaim the Coronet, was a defining ordeal that tested her resolve and forced her to grow as a person, not just as a wielder of magic.
Talisman is a core and long-standing member of Alpha Flight. Despite her initial reluctance, she became one of the team's most powerful assets, serving as their mystical expert and heavy-hitter against supernatural threats. Her history with the team is deep, having served on multiple iterations of the roster.
During periods when Alpha Flight was disbanded or decimated, Elizabeth also served with Omega Flight. This affiliation demonstrates her unwavering commitment to protecting Canada and the world, even when her original team is no longer active.
During the Chaos War storyline, Talisman's immense power and expertise with the spirits of the dead earned her a place on Hercules' new “God Squad.” This team of gods and cosmic-level heroes was assembled to combat the Chaos King, a being who was destroying entire pantheons and afterlives. Her ability to communicate with the billions of souls being consumed by the Chaos King was instrumental in the fight, elevating her status from a national hero to a key player in a universe-altering event.
This initial arc by John Byrne establishes every core element of Talisman's character. It details her archaeological dig, the accidental release of Ranaq, and her desperate decision to don the Coronet of Enchantment. The story masterfully portrays the awe and terror of her newfound powers, as she suddenly perceives the ghost of her own mother standing beside her. The arc immediately establishes the central conflict with her father, Shaman, setting the stage for decades of family drama and character development. Her first battle is not just a physical one but a psychological one, as she is forced to embrace the world she has spent her life rejecting.
This is arguably the most important storyline for Elizabeth's personal growth. After being corrupted by the Coronet's power and growing arrogant, she is confronted by the entity known as Pestilence. In a brutal psychic and magical battle, Pestilence exploits her weaknesses and succeeds in tearing the Coronet from her head. Stripped of her power and identity, a traumatized Elizabeth is left stranded in the wilderness. The ordeal forces her to reconnect with her heritage on a fundamental level, relying on the survival skills taught by her father and her own intellect. Her journey back from this devastating loss, culminating in her outsmarting Pestilence and reclaiming her birthright, is a powerful story of resilience that matures her from a power-wielder into a true hero.
In this massive cosmic event, the primordial entity known as the Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi) seeks to return the universe to the void from which it came. He begins by consuming the realms of the dead and destroying entire pantheons of gods. With the very concepts of life and death being erased, Hercules assembles a new God Squad, and Talisman is one of his first recruits. Her power to command spirits makes her one of the few beings capable of interfacing with the trillions of souls being absorbed by the Chaos King. She acts as the team's spiritual anchor and guide through the dying afterlives, proving that her unique brand of magic is vital on a cosmic scale. Her inclusion on a team with beings like Thor and Galactus cemented her status as one of Earth's most powerful mystical defenders.
While Talisman does not have as many prominent alternate-reality counterparts as characters like Spider-Man or Wolverine, her legacy and the Coronet of Enchantment have been explored through other wielders.