History
As a young girl in Florida, Barbie had a dreary childhood. It wasn't that she was abused or anything like that, she just felt unhappy. At night, Barbie would dream of The Land, a magical, Narnia-like kingdom in which she was really a princess deposed by the evil Cuckoo. She was protected and loved by a band of courageous anthropomorphic animals, including a shrew named Wilkinson, a monkey named Prinado, a dodo named Luz, and a large dog called Martin Ten-Bones.
As Barbie grew up, her dreams of the Land flourished in contrast to her dull life. She married an ambitious young man named Ken, and the two moved into a boarding house run by Hal Carter, who moonlighted as a drag-show performer. But whatever happiness Barbie gained from that existence was cut short when a young woman named Rose Walker moved in. Though Rose herself didn't realize it until later, she was a dream vortex - her presence caused the dreams of those around her to merge. Thus, one night, as Barbie and Ken both slept, Princess Barbie was removed from the Land and saw Ken's dreams, in which Ken was a high-powered businessman who happened to be having sex with a dream woman when Barbie caught sight of him. The marriage fell apart soon afterwards.
Barbie moved north to New York City, where she befriended Wanda, a pre-op transsexual. She had no dreams and lived an aimless life. Meanwhile, the Land fell further under the control of the Cuckoo, and thus Martin Ten-Bones somehow broke into the real world. He found Barbie and delivered unto her the Porpentine, a magical gem that would allow her to dream again. Seconds later, Martin was shot dead by a group of policemen. Horrified, Barbie fled back to her apartment and the Porpentine took her consciousness back to the Land while leaving her body in a comatose state.
What Barbie didn't know was that the Cuckoo had placed a sleeper agent called George in the waking world in order to keep tabs on her, living in an apartment below Barbie's. Sensing that Barbie was back in the Land, George released a flock of birds to infect the dreams of the other tenants. This got the attention of a witch, Thessaly, who killed the bird sent for her and then murdered George, stripped his face off, and forced his spirit to reveal his plot. Thessaly enlisted the aid of two of Barbie's neighbors, Foxglove and Hazel, to enter Barbie's dreams and rescue her.
In her dreams Barbie was captured and brought before the Cuckoo, which manifested itself in the form of Barbie as a ten-year-old girl. The Cuckoo told Barbie that her dreams of the Land were nothing more than delusions of self-importance, and that she had selfishly trapped the Cuckoo in the Land by dreaming about it. Her spirit crushed by the Cuckoo, Barbie agreed to help destroy the dream. The Cuckoo led Barbie to the Hierogram, a large monolith at the coast, which Barbie struck with the Porpentine. The Hierogram shattered and Dream appeared and began to unmake the Land. In the process, Barbie discovered that Thessaly, Hazel and Foxglove were now trapped in the Land. Dream offered Barbie a boon, and though Thessaly demanded the right to kill the Cuckoo for threatening her, Barbie opted to allow the creature to leave, whereupon it transformed into a large beautiful bird. As her boon, Barbie requested safe passage back to the waking world for her and her friends, which Dream granted. However, when she woke up, she found her apartment had been destroyed as a consequence of Thessaly's magic, and Wanda had been killed in the building's collapse.
Barbie attended Wanda's funeral, but left soon afterwards. Her actions since then are unrevealed.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Barbie possesses no known powers
Paraphernalia
Equipment
In her dreams, Barbie carried the Porpentine, a gem with considerable magical power.
Related
- 8 Appearances of Barbie (New Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Barbie (New Earth)
- 3 Quotations by or about Barbie (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Barbie (New Earth)
Footnotes