Rose and Thorn are the two personalities of a character in DC comic books.

Thorn (Rose Canton) is a woman with a split personality whose villainous personality has the ability to control plants. Initially, she and her hired thugs opposed The Flash. After being (apparently) cured of her Thorn persona, Rose married Alan Scott and had two children, Jennie-Lynn Hayden and Todd James Rice by him. After a resurgence of her madness, she committed suicide. Years later, a second "Rose and Thorn" appeared, Rhosyn Forrest.

History

As a child, Rose Canton would use an imaginary friend, "Thorn" to deflect blame for bad things that she did. Over the years, Thorn developed as a distinct persona in Rose's head. As an adult, Rose was studying biology on the island of Tashmi, where she was exposed to the sap of a jungle root, which transformed her into Thorn. After killing her teacher, Professor Hollis, she reverted back to Rose. Rose returned to America and settled in Keystone City where Thorn headed a gang which harassed the Flash. When she was in control, Rose would approach Jay for help, claiming to be Thorn's sister.

The Amazons of Paradise Island undertook her psychological treatment and apparently managed to rid Rose of the Thorn persona. During the time of her recovery, Rose developed a crush on Alan Scott. Dying her hair black, she assumed the identity of Alyx Florin and romantically pursued him, leading to their marriage. Tragedy struck when, on their honeymoon, Thorn returned. The personality of Rose was able to prevent Thorn from killing Alan, but she chose to run, preferring Alan to believe that she had perished in the fire that consumed their cabin. Their brief honeymoon resulted in the conception of twins, the children who were to become Jade and Obsidian. Fearful that Thorn might kill them, she gave the children up for adoption.

Thorn continued to fight Alan, who was still unaware of his wife's alter ego. On the island of Tashmi, she faced her husband and two children, both now adults. To keep Thorn from killing them, Rose fatally stabbed herself in the heart (Infinity, Inc. Annual # 1, 1985).

Rhosyn "Rose" Forrest

Rhosyn "Rose" Forrest is the daughter of Metropolis police officer Phil Forrest who died from the attack of a crime group named the 100. When Rose went to sleep, her Thorn personality would emerge and stalk the streets as a vigilante, attempting to bring the 100 to justice. She succeeds in this goal and the Thorn disappears from the superhero scene until members of the 100 escape and form the 1000. She has since worked with Superman and Booster Gold to try to put these criminals behind bars. For a brief period of time, she was under the control of Lord Satanus.

Thorn has no actual superpowers, but she is highly athletic and retains a high degree of martial arts ability from when her father taught her. She is known to carry a pair of combat daggers, a barbed whip, and a bandolier of tiny, thorn-shaped weapons, some of which contain explosives, miniature smoke bombs, or blinding magnesium flares.^*

A 2003 miniseries by Gail Simone, Rose & Thorn may provide a slightly different origin story. After the death of her father, Rhosyn is taught to bury her emotions by Dr. Chritlow, which results in the development of a split personality with Rose embodying the submissive pacifist nature and Thorn embodying all of her violent impulses. After a bloody assault by Thorn on another patient, Rose is removed from the hospital to survive on her own. It is yet to be seen if she will assume the vigilante role she held in the 1970's comics. It has been implied that the creation of dual personalities was intentional on the part of Dr. Chritlow.

External links

• Thorn I's profile on Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning
  
• Thorn I's profile on The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
  
• Thorn II's profile on The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
  
• Thorn II's profile on The Oracle Files
  

Flash villains | Fictional vigilantes | Comic book mothers | Fictional characters with multiple personalities