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Description
"I was born into two worlds: Turkish Muslim and Greek Christian. It doesn't matter what religion you practice. I love these lands, and I promise before God and the Prophet, that I will do all in my power to rebuild what was great, and fight against those who revel in spreading fear and oppression."

Major Selma Tolon was not the average officer in the Turkish Armed Forces. Prior to enlisting, she studied medicine from the University of Damascus, where she hoped to revive the techniques pioneered by the Umayyads and the Abbasids and reinvent them for the 21st century. Yet she was also an avid student of history. As a little girl with a Greek mother and a Turkish/Arab father, she loved spending hours of her weekends in the libraries of Istanbul, filling up her head with the history of the Ottoman Empire. It helped her understand her country, its culture, and her place in the world. Yet her love for Ottoman history also was backed by her faith and heritage. Although a devout Sunni Muslim, Selma was also baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church, and loved hearing tales of both Greek and Islamic mythology, causing her to idolize the Ancient Greek heroes of the Bronze Age, alongside the great warrior Ottoman sultans like Mehmed II and Suleiman the Magnificent. Her family had served in the Ottoman army since the 14th century, and she wanted to live up to the deeds of her ancestors.

Her first mission in the field was to aid Turkey's allies in the horrific Battle of Aleppo, which turned the tide of the Syrian Civil War. Selma and her unit were deployed within the historic center of the ancient city, supporting the Free Syrian Army and the U.S. troops against Assad and his Russian allies. Backed by Arab, French and American troops; Selma learned more about the superheroes in the west in the process, and began to admire the battles they fought and the challenges they faced. Yet her fate would ultimately be decided there in that city.

It was during a retreat to the famed citadel of Aleppo that Selma's platoon happened upon terrorists under the banner of the so-called "Islamic State", who sought to brutally create a new caliphate in the Mediterranean, one that was harsher than the entities that came before it. In the firefight that followed, she happened across an old kilij: a scimitar used by the Ottoman army. Once she held it in her grasp, Selma met the entity bound to the weapon, an Ifrit: a chthonic Djinn that was often associated with fire. It allowed her to wield the sword, as Selma's strong sense of duty, justice, and desire to protect the innocent was just as strong as the last person to wield the sword, one of the mightiest sultans of the Ottoman Empire: Suleiman the Magnificent - lawgiver, conqueror, defender of the faith. She saw how the sultan was given the sword as a gift from his father and predecessor, Selim the Stern, and lost it in that very citadel she stood trying to quell a rebellion in Syria. Now with the power to do good, she led the counterattack against the Mujahedeen, leading commando raids against any terrorists she and her platoon came across until they were ordered to lead the evacuation effort that went underway, escorting Jews, Muslims, and Eastern Christians to safety.

After witnessing the horrors brought on by Islamic terrorists in Aleppo, Selma underwent a Hajj to Mecca, and swore within the Great Mosque founded by the Prophet Muhammad himself, that she would do all in her power to be a superhero for the Muslim world against terrorism, corruption, and oppression. On her return to Istanbul, she commissioned a suit of plate and mail armor strong enough to resist modern bullets, and even commissioned a bow, and a series of both matchlock and flintlock muskets. Inspired by Ottoman history and her heritage, Selma took up the moniker of the iconic forces of the Ottoman Empire: Janissary, and now wages a jihad against terrorism and corruption across South Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. She soon joined the Outsiders, and later the Justice League, as part of a way to be recognized for her efforts across the world.

Hey guys! So, this piece was actually meant to be uploaded on January 2nd, in honor of the birthday of Sultan Mehmed IV, the Ottoman sultan who famously agreed to the Great Siege of Vienna in 1683, and brought the Ottoman Empire to its greatest territorial expansion, but it got pushed back due to me getting caught up in playing Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, which was one of the two video games I got for Christmas. Anyway, this character was introduced back in the early 2000's as a part of the Planet DC initiative that introduced new international superheroes, and Janissary was one of them. However, her backstory and costume seemed very candid, and uncreative. So when I heard about this character, I decided to breathe new life into her and revamp her.

In the comics, Janissary's costume was basically one gigantic version of the Turkish flag, and the modern Turkish government has been seen as repressive by some. So, I decided to give her a new costume that was inspired by where she got her codename from: the Janissary Corps. Now, the Janissaries were the slave soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. Generally they were taken from Christian families in the Ottoman Empire as little boys, converted to Islam, and brought back to Constantinople to be trained exclusively as warriors. They served as the Sultans' bodyguards in times of peace, and in times of war, they were the backbone of the Ottoman army for a span of 500 years: from the 14th century to the 19th. I decided to revamp Selma's backstory to have her serve as a soldier given the Janissaries' historic backgrounds as elite soldiers. It also was a reason why I gave her Greek heritage as well, because for four-hundred years, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, so it was all the more fitting.

For Selma's outfit, she's actually wearing a suit of armor that is more evocative of the Janissaries' rivals in the Ottoman army: the Sipahis, heavily armored elite Ottoman cavalry. I wasn't sure if the Janissaries wore any armor historically, but I assume that they would under the right circumstances. The only exception to the outfit is the felt hat atop her head. This hat, known in Turkish as a "bork", was the iconic headgear of the Janissaries, so it felt right to have her wear it to honor her namesakes properly. In terms of weaponry, Selma is proficient with assault rifles and small arms, but since that day in Aleppo, she now fights as the Janissaries did: with her kilij sword, paired with a shield, or sometimes she'll use polearms like a billhook. For ranged weapons she uses either a composite bow, as well as powerful bore muskets. At times, she'll even carry a satchel full of glass or clay shell grenades. Often, she lets Islamic terrorists know any attacks on their troops was her handiwork by planting a horsehair standard in the wreckage of the camp she raided: this is an old tradition, one that called back to the Ottomans' origins as nomadic horsemen migrating from Central Asia. While they did convert to Islam, the Ottomans retained their distinctly unique culture, and for centuries, that gesture meant to prepare for war. She also has the finest materials for her outfit, and can calculate how long she'll be able to fight before her shoes will need new soles.

Janissary gets along well with most of her comrades in both the Outsiders and the Justice League, but when it comes to Russian superheroes like Red Star, she has been known to get into screaming arguments with them, due to the fact that Russia and the Ottoman Empire were constantly at war with one another from the 16th century till WWI. Her best friends include Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, Nightwing, Starfire, Arsenal, Halo and Katana. Yet amazingly, Selma is also the girlfriend and eventual wife of Justin Arthur, AKA Shining Knight. At times, she'll sometimes engage with Arsenal and Green Arrow in archery competitions, or even hang out with Halo whenever she has some downtime.

Disclaimer: Janissary belongs to DC Comics, Brian K. Vaughan, & Steve Scott.

Description
"I was born into two worlds: Turkish Muslim and Greek Christian. It doesn't matter what religion you practice. I love these lands, and I promise before God and the Prophet, that I will do all in my power to rebuild what was great, and fight against those who revel in spreading fear and oppression."

Major Selma Tolon was not the average officer in the Turkish Armed Forces. Prior to enlisting, she studied medicine from the University of Damascus, where she hoped to revive the techniques pioneered by the Umayyads and the Abbasids and reinvent them for the 21st century. Yet she was also an avid student of history. As a little girl with a Greek mother and a Turkish/Arab father, she loved spending hours of her weekends in the libraries of Istanbul, filling up her head with the history of the Ottoman Empire. It helped her understand her country, its culture, and her place in the world. Yet her love for Ottoman history also was backed by her faith and heritage. Although a devout Sunni Muslim, Selma was also baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church, and loved hearing tales of both Greek and Islamic mythology, causing her to idolize the Ancient Greek heroes of the Bronze Age, alongside the great warrior Ottoman sultans like Mehmed II and Suleiman the Magnificent. Her family had served in the Ottoman army since the 14th century, and she wanted to live up to the deeds of her ancestors.

Her first mission in the field was to aid Turkey's allies in the horrific Battle of Aleppo, which turned the tide of the Syrian Civil War. Selma and her unit were deployed within the historic center of the ancient city, supporting the Free Syrian Army and the U.S. troops against Assad and his Russian allies. Backed by Arab, French and American troops; Selma learned more about the superheroes in the west in the process, and began to admire the battles they fought and the challenges they faced. Yet her fate would ultimately be decided there in that city.

It was during a retreat to the famed citadel of Aleppo that Selma's platoon happened upon terrorists under the banner of the so-called "Islamic State", who sought to brutally create a new caliphate in the Mediterranean, one that was harsher than the entities that came before it. In the firefight that followed, she happened across an old kilij: a scimitar used by the Ottoman army. Once she held it in her grasp, Selma met the entity bound to the weapon, an Ifrit: a chthonic Djinn that was often associated with fire. It allowed her to wield the sword, as Selma's strong sense of duty, justice, and desire to protect the innocent was just as strong as the last person to wield the sword, one of the mightiest sultans of the Ottoman Empire: Suleiman the Magnificent - lawgiver, conqueror, defender of the faith. She saw how the sultan was given the sword as a gift from his father and predecessor, Selim the Stern, and lost it in that very citadel she stood trying to quell a rebellion in Syria. Now with the power to do good, she led the counterattack against the Mujahedeen, leading commando raids against any terrorists she and her platoon came across until they were ordered to lead the evacuation effort that went underway, escorting Jews, Muslims, and Eastern Christians to safety.

After witnessing the horrors brought on by Islamic terrorists in Aleppo, Selma underwent a Hajj to Mecca, and swore within the Great Mosque founded by the Prophet Muhammad himself, that she would do all in her power to be a superhero for the Muslim world against terrorism, corruption, and oppression. On her return to Istanbul, she commissioned a suit of plate and mail armor strong enough to resist modern bullets, and even commissioned a bow, and a series of both matchlock and flintlock muskets. Inspired by Ottoman history and her heritage, Selma took up the moniker of the iconic forces of the Ottoman Empire: Janissary, and now wages a jihad against terrorism and corruption across South Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. She soon joined the Outsiders, and later the Justice League, as part of a way to be recognized for her efforts across the world.

Hey guys! So, this piece was actually meant to be uploaded on January 2nd, in honor of the birthday of Sultan Mehmed IV, the Ottoman sultan who famously agreed to the Great Siege of Vienna in 1683, and brought the Ottoman Empire to its greatest territorial expansion, but it got pushed back due to me getting caught up in playing Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, which was one of the two video games I got for Christmas. Anyway, this character was introduced back in the early 2000's as a part of the Planet DC initiative that introduced new international superheroes, and Janissary was one of them. However, her backstory and costume seemed very candid, and uncreative. So when I heard about this character, I decided to breathe new life into her and revamp her.

In the comics, Janissary's costume was basically one gigantic version of the Turkish flag, and the modern Turkish government has been seen as repressive by some. So, I decided to give her a new costume that was inspired by where she got her codename from: the Janissary Corps. Now, the Janissaries were the slave soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. Generally they were taken from Christian families in the Ottoman Empire as little boys, converted to Islam, and brought back to Constantinople to be trained exclusively as warriors. They served as the Sultans' bodyguards in times of peace, and in times of war, they were the backbone of the Ottoman army for a span of 500 years: from the 14th century to the 19th. I decided to revamp Selma's backstory to have her serve as a soldier given the Janissaries' historic backgrounds as elite soldiers. It also was a reason why I gave her Greek heritage as well, because for four-hundred years, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, so it was all the more fitting.

For Selma's outfit, she's actually wearing a suit of armor that is more evocative of the Janissaries' rivals in the Ottoman army: the Sipahis, heavily armored elite Ottoman cavalry. I wasn't sure if the Janissaries wore any armor historically, but I assume that they would under the right circumstances. The only exception to the outfit is the felt hat atop her head. This hat, known in Turkish as a "bork", was the iconic headgear of the Janissaries, so it felt right to have her wear it to honor her namesakes properly. In terms of weaponry, Selma is proficient with assault rifles and small arms, but since that day in Aleppo, she now fights as the Janissaries did: with her kilij sword, paired with a shield, or sometimes she'll use polearms like a billhook. For ranged weapons she uses either a composite bow, as well as powerful bore muskets. At times, she'll even carry a satchel full of glass or clay shell grenades. Often, she lets Islamic terrorists know any attacks on their troops was her handiwork by planting a horsehair standard in the wreckage of the camp she raided: this is an old tradition, one that called back to the Ottomans' origins as nomadic horsemen migrating from Central Asia. While they did convert to Islam, the Ottomans retained their distinctly unique culture, and for centuries, that gesture meant to prepare for war. She also has the finest materials for her outfit, and can calculate how long she'll be able to fight before her shoes will need new soles.

Janissary gets along well with most of her comrades in both the Outsiders and the Justice League, but when it comes to Russian superheroes like Red Star, she has been known to get into screaming arguments with them, due to the fact that Russia and the Ottoman Empire were constantly at war with one another from the 16th century till WWI. Her best friends include Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, Nightwing, Starfire, Arsenal, Halo and Katana. Yet amazingly, Selma is also the girlfriend and eventual wife of Justin Arthur, AKA Shining Knight. At times, she'll sometimes engage with Arsenal and Green Arrow in archery competitions, or even hang out with Halo whenever she has some downtime.

Disclaimer: Janissary belongs to DC Comics, Brian K. Vaughan, & Steve Scott.