Topper

Topper
Biographical Information
Real Name	Melissa Blackwood
Aliases	Topper
Gender	Female
Class	Ace
Wild Card Traits	Exoteleportation
Social Information
Citizenship	Citizen of the United States
Occupation	Private detective, former stage magician and government agent
Event Participant	American Hero
Base of Operations	New York City
Affiliations	SCARE, Ackroyd Creighton Agency, Rox
Relatives	Lafayette Blackwood (grandfather)
Allies	Cyclone
Origin
Creator	George R.R. Martin

Topper is a fictional character in the Wild Cards series of books.

History

Melissa Blackwood was the granddaughter of a well known stage magician, Lafayette Blackwood. The elder Blackwood attempted to pass on his love of performance, once bringing Melissa out on stage when she was only five, although she had no great love of the stage herself. Melissa's ace turned years later when she was again on stage, this time for a school performance, and the emotional stress of stage fright activated her latent wild card.

After her card turned she became a protegé of Cyclone before going to work for SCARE under the alias Topper. After Cyclone's death at the Rox she quit the Justice Department and found a job at the Ackroyd Creighton Agency.

Wild Card Traits

Topper has the power to teleport small objects from distant locations to herself by reaching into her top hat and withdrawing them. She needs to use her grandfather's top hat specifically.

Appearance

Topper is a small woman with red hair and blue eyes. While working for S.C.A.R.E. she dressed as a stage magician to better look the part.

Trivia

• The name Melissa Blackwood also appears in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire book series as a woman mentioned in A Dance with Dragons.

Selected Reading

• Wild Cards Volume XVI: Deuces Down
• Wild Cards Volume XVIII: Inside Straight 2008