The woman known as "Mysta Chimera" began her life with the identity of Glenna Ermine.
Glenna (aka Mindy) was the daughter of Posie, who doted on her. She was a shapely young woman with long blonde hair, and she dressed similarly to Moon Maid, wearing a black unitard, gloves, and thigh-high boots with lacy trim and high heels. Her face was less glamorous, having prominent front teeth, sunken eyes and heavy lines that belied her youth.
Later in life, Glenna/Mindy was physically and mentally altered to believe that she was the real Moon Maid, back from the dead (see below). She eventually learned the truth, but retained no memory of her original identity.
Glenna sought to win the Moon Maid Look-Alike Contest that was sponsored by the Sunny Wheat breakfast cereal company. She and her father bribed the Sunny Wheat executives with $5,000 to declare her the winner. When the executives named Sparkle Plenty as the winner instead, Glenna led Posie to their offices, where Posie killed them. Posie then sent Glenna to stay in Florida for a while, so she would not be implicated in the killings. The murders led Dick Tracy and the police to investigate Posie's perfume bootlegging operation.
Glenna (who was now referred to as "Mindy") later returned to the city, where she was visited at her father's apartment by Sparkle Plenty and Dick Tracy. Sparkle felt a bond with Mindy over their experience in the contest, and brought a pair of Moon-style boots as a gift. Mindy did not return Sparkle's warm feelings.
After Posie discovered that he had lost his hat (which contained evidence that could implicate him in criminal activity), Mindy tried to help him recover it from a carriage horse. Mindy rented a convertible and, posing as a drunken socialite, attempted to grab the hat off the horse's head as they drove past. The frightened horse ran wild, and Tracy eventually acquired the hat and the evidence inside.
Later, Mindy was staying in the downstairs apartment in the Cute Skin perfume shop when Lizz came to investigate the store's operations. Mindy saw Lizz's badge in her purse, and assaulted her with a pair of scissors. Mindy and Madame Parfum (the shop owner) were arrested, and later freed on bond by their attorney Habe Corpussle. Following their release, they went to stay with Posie in his abandoned greenhouse. Mindy was present when her father was arrested after getting caught in his own quicksand trap.
It was later established that Mindy spent some time in Mexico following her father's arrest, where she served a jail sentence on a drug-running charge.
A Dramatic Twist[]
Years later, Glenna/Mindy was revealed to be the "new" Moon Maid, having been surgically, genetically, and mentally altered by Dr. Zy Ghote and Dr. S. Tim Sail. It was eventually revealed that her transformation took place at the behest of Mr. Bribery. It is not expected that her original personality will return.
Glenna/Mindy refused Diet Smith's offer to surgically return her features to their original appearance, as she claimed to have no memory of her previous life. She decided to adopt the name "Mysta Chimera", and stated her intention to re-adjust to society with the aid of Stellaluna and Retik, her former "handlers". She has since been seen attempting to integrate herself into the world, with some success.
Living as Mysta[]
Mysta has maintained a friendly relationship with Honeymoon Tracy (who addresses her as "Aunt Mysta"), though her relationship with Junior and Sparkle is more complicated. She was eventually shown to have the ability to use her Lunarian-like powers without the artificial aids that had previously been necessary. Diet Smith told her that it was because her Lunarian DNA was evolving.
Mysta agreed to star in a feature film adaptation of the novel "The Moon Maid". This resulted in her becoming tangentially involved her in the case of Tabby Angus.
Some time later, Mysta woke up in the middle of the night, sensing distress from Honeymoon. Mysta rushed to Junior's home to check on Honeymoon and subsequently discovered that Honeymoon had developed full Lunarian horns, which granted her a telepathic link with Mysta. Honeymoon later used this telepathic link to Mysta to alert her of the danger at the 52 Gallery (headquarters of the Black Hearts). Mysta used one of Diet Smith's helicopters to come to Honeymoon's aid, and confronted Mr. Bribery. Bribery subdued Mysta with a special ring that he wore, revealing his role in her creation. Mysta recovered, but Bribery escaped.
In 2016, Mysta and Honeymoon became the targets on an anti-Lunarian fear-mongering campaign by Congressional Representative Bellowthon. Mysta visited Bellowthon at her office and challenged her to defend her position. Bellowthon seemed to genuinely believe that the presence of Lunarians on Earth posed a threat to the future of humankind. Mysta left, and Bellowthon was murdered shortly thereafter by her fundraiser Selfy Narcisse. Mysta was briefly a suspect in Rep. Bellowthon's murder, but she was cleared of suspicion.
Shortly thereafter, Posie Ermine came into contact with Selfy, who was in hiding. Selfy revealed to Posie that Mysta had formerly been known as "Mindy". Posie then encountered Mysta and confronted her, insisting that she was still his daughter, but Mysta stated that she had no memory of Posie.
Later, Tracy introduced Mysta to the costumed adventurer known as The Spirit. The Spirit related his own experience with traveling to the Moon (though he did not visit Moon Valley), and the two later went on a date.
Mysta Gets Abducted[]
Mysta was approached at her home at Diet Smith Industries by Posie and the Moon Governor, who had joined together in an attempt to re-connect with the woman who they both considered to be their daughter. The reunion was short-lived, as the group was confronted by Sawtooth, an agent of Mr. Bribery. Sawtooth (who was equipped with one of Bribery's special rings that can incapacitate Lunarians) killed Posie and took Mysta and the Moon Governor to Bribery's compound. They were later rescued, and Mysta and the Moon Governor developed a cordial relationship.
Mysta's career as a performer continued when she agreed to appear in a stage adaptation of the film Metropolis that was being produced at the the Patterson Playhouse. Mysta's performance attracted the attention of the criminal Mr. Roboto, who became enamored of her. Roboto abducted Mysta and held her captive, hoping to develop a romantic relationship. Roboto left Mysta unattended, and she was able to escape and thwart his latest robbery scheme.
Mysta as drawn by Charlie Wise
Some time later, Mysta was taken from her home by the criminal Scarmony Corybant. Scarmony had been Mindy's cellmate and friend during a time when they were both in prison, and Scarmony believed that Mysta knew the whereabouts of the Space Coupe plans that Mindy had stolen. Mysta initially stated that she had no memory of Mindy's time with Scarmony, but later indicated that she did recall some elements of Scarmony's personality (though this may have been a ruse). The two women fought vigorously, creating a disturbance in Scarmony's hideout that attracted the attention of police.
Mysta shocked Scarmony into submission. Scarmony was then arrested and returned to prison, though Mysta bore her no ill will and promised to keep in touch. Mysta later bought a pony farm, as had been Mindy and Scarmony's plan.
Further Adventures[]
Some time later, Mysta was approached by Vera Alldid, the ex-husband of Sparkle Plenty. Alldid was a successful comic strip artist, and he was preparing to add a new character to his comic strip that was inspired by Moon Maid. He asked Mysta to make some promotional appearances as this new character, and she agreed.
During this course of this professional arrangement, Vera made several romantic advances toward Mysta. She refused him and insisted that he should treat her as a colleague and co-worker. The two of them went to a special engagement at the home of the wealthy cartoon art collector Brock Archival. Archival was obsessed with growing his collection, and he made Vera and Mysta his prisoners. Archival had obtained Mr. Bribery's ring, which counteracted Mysta's superhuman Lunarian abilities and made her unable to escape.
In order to explain their disappearance, Archival planted a story in the media that Mysta and Alldid had eloped. This prospect appalled Mysta. Mysta and Alldid were then held against their will at Archival's estate. Mysta slowly weakened due to a lack of exposure to sunlight, but she was able to send a telepathic distress call to Honeymoon, who contacted Dick Tracy. Tracy was investigating Archival's home and discovered where Mysta and Alldid were being held. Mysta and Alldid were freed, and Bribery's ring was placed in the custody of Diet Smith.
Later, Mysta joined Honeymoon and Dick Tracy on a visit to New Moon Valley, where she met the Moon First Lady for the first time. Mysta and her companions became caught up in an attempt by a faction of Lunarians led by the Moon Governor's brother Ro-Zan to conquer human society. Mysta opposed this effort, which was eventually defeated. Mysta distrusted Ro-Zan when she encountered him later.
Notes[]
The character's name change has never been explained. The Sunny Wheat executives recognized her and addressed her as "Glenna", but Sparkle later referred to her as "Mindy", indicating that she likely used that name during the contest.
When Mindy was arrested, she claimed to be a juvenile, but this was not verified in the strip at the time. A later Rogues' Gallery feature stated that Mindy was a juvenile at the time of her arrest and that she later served a sentence in a Mexican jail. This was later corroborated by the Moon Governor.
Similarly, Mysta addressed Madame Parfum as "Mamma" at one point, but this possible relationship was never confirmed or referred to again.
After being revealed as the new "Moon Maid", Glenna/Mindy adopted the name "Mysta Chimera". A chimera is defined as "an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species". The word is derived from the name of a mythical creature that had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
The name "Mysta" would seem to be inspired by the character Mysta of the Moon, who appeared in the science-fiction anthology comic book Planet Comics during the 1940s.
It is unclear how much the general public knows about Mysta's history, despite her celebrity status. Rep. Bellowthon addressed her as "Moon Maid", indicating that some people may believe that she is somehow the original Moon Maid resurrected, or that Moon Maid was never actually killed. This could also have been intended as a slight. It was later revealed that Selfy knew that Mysta was a human who had been altered, but it was not made clear if this was common knowledge.
Mysta has expressed displeasure at being mistaken for the original Moon Maid.
During her encounter with Scarmony Corybant, Mysta claimed that Mindy had been kidnapped and had her memories taken away. This would indicate that Mindy was not a willing participant in the experiment that altered her. It was not made clear how Mysta would know that, since she consistently stated that she had no memory of her life as Mindy (and Drs. Sail and Ghote would presumably be unwilling to voluntarily admit to the criminal acts of abduction and experimentation). Mysta seems to genuinely believe that she was abducted and altered against her will.
Mysta claimed that she considers Junior to be her "ideal man", though she acknowledged that she had apparently been "programmed" to feel that way during the process that altered her.
During the story of Mysta's abduction by Brock Archival, it was stated that Stellaluna and Retik were no longer working as her handlers, but they remained in frequent contact with her.
With the help of Diet Smith, Mysta was able to obtain a driver's license and social security card that reflect her new identity.
