Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)

Arsenic
Name	Gertrude "Gert" Yorkes
Current Alias	Arsenic
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Runaways
Relatives	Dale Yorkes (father, deceased); Stacey Yorkes (mother, deceased);
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5′1″ (1.55 m)
Weight	125 lbs (56.7 kg).
Eyes	Irises: Green
Hair	Black
Unusual Features	Hair dyed purple
Origin and Living Status
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Los Angeles, California
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Adventurer
Education	High school dropout
Base of Operations	formerly Base beneath La Brea Tar Pits Museum
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona
First	Runaways #1 (April, 2003)
First	Runaways #1 (April, 2003)
Death	Runaways (Vol. 2) #18 (July, 2006)
Death	Runaways (Vol. 2) #18 (July, 2006)

 Most people in life don't have great power, and the few that do are almost never responsible with it. The people who have the greatest responsibility are the kids with no power because we're the ones who have to keep everybody in check. 

—Gertrude Yorkes to Spider-Man

History

Gertrude Yorkes was an incredibly smart and clever individual, and was very frank and sarcastic when addressing others. Gert had socialist leanings, and wanted to be a senator before her experiences as a Runaway soured her to adults in positions of power. Gert was the only Runaway not shocked by the revelation that her parents were members of the secret super-villain organization known as the The Pride; she was convinced her parents were secretly evil at a young age, for she believed they were responsible for the disappearance of her first pet, a potbelly pig named Orwell.

File:Arsenic2a.jpg

Soon after joining the Runaways, she inherited a genetically engineered dinosaur (whom she dubbed Old Lace) from her time-travelling parents. Gert saw Old Lace as more than a pet, which is likely a result of their psychic bond; when one was injured, the other felt pain.

Her chosen codename Arsenic was a reference to the classic play and film, Arsenic and Old Lace. Gert was the Runaway who first suggested taking codenames and she stuck to hers longer than the others. Gert at first rejected her given name, wishing to shed her parents' influence completely, but finally conceded that "some things" they gave her are worth keeping.

Gert considered herself to be agnostic, though she was ethnically Jewish. She was presented as knowing a little Hebrew, presumably as a result of a Jewish education.

She dated Chase Stein; the two had their first kiss after Gert performed CPR on him, saving his life after a near drowning. Chase declared her to be "the hottest chick [he's] ever seen." Despite their differences, the two were very much in love. In fact, her relationship with Chase softened her somewhat; while she didn't lose her sarcastic edge, she often acted as the team's voice of reason, and Molly Hayes often looked to her as a big sister.

In one alternate future timeline Gert became the leader of the Avengers under the codename Heroine. She used her parents' time machine to warn the Runaways of Victor Mancha, who will one day become the deadly super-villain Victorious. Heroine then died in Chase's arms from internal injuries.

During the Runaways' attempt to bring Victor to the Hostel, he explained to Gert that Old Lace is not a Velociraptor but actually a Deinonychus. Despite the fact that he will kill her in one possible future, Gert didn't show any hostility towards the young, innocent Victor, mainly because she believed that the future is not set and Victor has the power to shape his own destiny. Victor had shown himself to be Gert's intellectual equal, which bothers Chase; despite Gert's assurances that she loved only him, Chase feared there may be an attraction brewing between Victor and Gert.

During the Runaways' encounter with the second incarnation of the Pride, Gertrude was killed by the younger version of Geoffrey Wilder. She transferred telepathic control of Old Lace to Chase as she died in his arms.

Gert's death creates somewhat of a paradox, as if she died through this process, then she would never have lead the Avengers, and see Victor turn into 'Victorious' and time travel back into the past, thereby meaning that Victor never would have got employed as a member of the Runaways.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

• Telepathic link: Gertrude is telepathically link to a genetically engineered deinonychus. This empathic bond with Old Lace enabled Gertrude to command Old Lace as she pleased, however, she also shared any injuries that Old Lace suffered and vice versa.

Template:New Power Grid

Abilities

Arguably the most intelligent of the Runaways, second only to Victor Mancha.

Weaknesses

Gertrude Yorkes is deathly allergic to bees stings and wears glasses.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Leapfrog.

Notes

• In an alternate future, Gertrude went by the codename Heroine and became the leader of the Avengers.

Trivia

• Gertrude plays the drums

See Also

• 76 appearance(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 8 minor appearance(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 8 mention(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 156 image(s) of Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)
• 16 quotation(s) by or about Gertrude Yorkes (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Marvel Universe A to Z
• Wikipedia's article on Gertrude Yorkes

References

Template:The Runaways