DISCLAIMER: Saban, Columbia Pictures, DC Comics. This is a character sheet, basically, to tell you who's who in the MMPR/JLA
THE MMPR/JLA WHO's WHO
By
C.A. TURNER
This is the organization of the Worlds Greatest Superhero team. Having gone through many lineup changes, they are still around today as a benchmark for other heroic teams. Recently, they have added to their lineup, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
THE BATMAN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Bruce Wayne
Aliases: Dark Knight Detective, various cover identities: "Matches" Malone, Sir Hemmingford Grey, etc.
Occupation: Multimillionaire Industrialist, Playboy and Philanthropist
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Thomas Wayne (father; deceased); Martha Wayne (mother; deceased), Philip Wayne (uncle), Jack Wayne (grandfather), Laura Elizabeth Wayne (great-grandmother)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)
OVERVIEW
Bruce Wayne is the Batman, a man with a mission, not of vengeance but a long-term plan to rid Gotham from the evil that holds it. As a philanthropist he supports charities and bodies that seek to rehabilitate criminals while as the Batman he removes those that persist in offending. Those in the suburbs and country consider him an urban legend, yet the transient criminal population of Gotham and the country know him from rumor and experience.
As a member of the JLA the Batman is the brains behind the operation only occasionally taking a fully active part in the missions. He prefers to act as an advisor and one-man think tank. The only members of the team that he fully trusts are Superman and Wonder Woman: Superman, because he is the nearest to a professional amongst them, and Wonder Woman because he truly believes she can bring about lasting peace.
HISTORY
There is a city in the north of the United States by the name of Gotham City, once a major industrial centre it was hit badly by the Great Depression and has never really recovered. Crime rates rose, corrupt officials and despair set in despite the best efforts of the original Green Lantern and Black Canary. The darkness had taken the city and it would take a Dark Knight to reclaim it.
Young Bruce Wayne is the only son of prominent Gotham City doctor Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne. Two events in his childhood forever scared the future of Bruce. The first was when he accidentally fell through a hole in the grounds of his ancestral home Wayne Manor and found himself in a cave system that ran under the house full of bats. For years afterwards Bruce would catch sight of one particularly large bat over and over again.
The second and most tragic event happened just after the family had left a showing of the classic film "The Mark of Zorro" at the cinema and was walking back to their home. They were confronted by a mugger who demanded that they handed over their valuables. Thomas Wayne put up a struggle and in the process he and his wife was shot dead. The mugger ran off leaving the shocked Bruce alone with the bodies of his dead parents. First on the scene was physician Leslie Thompkins who sought to look after Bruce.
Thomas's brother Phil Wayne was named Bruce's guardian and with the help of Thompkins and the family butler Alfred Pennyworth they raised him as best they could. For days after the funeral Bruce was unsettled, it came to a head one night when he ran to his parents' grave and swore his vengeance on the criminal world. On that night Bruce Wayne died and the Batman was born.
Bruce put his utmost into his school work and upon graduation he left the US to travel the world learning from the brightest and the best in each field of speciality. He also traveled to remote schools on the Far East and studied for years under the masters of the various martial arts. Upon returning to the United States, he set out on a fact-finding mission into the depraved parts of Gotham's seedier districts to see how the criminal element had evolved. While there he became involved in a street brawl where he was seriously injured. He managed to make his way back to Wayne Manor and slumped in his study slowly bleeding he considered the situation. He was injured because the local criminals would not fear him as plain common man on the street, yet his father always maintained that criminals were a superstitious and cowardly lot. He needed to make them fear but how?
It was then at that instance that the large bat that had frightened him years ago flew in through the window, through his weakened state from the bleeding the answer was obvious. "Yes father. I shall become a bat!" It was then that the true idea of the Batman formed in Bruce's mind.
With the help of Alfred, Bruce dynamited a path from the house down to the massive caverns beneath, from there he began planning and designing the weaponry and costume that would give him the edge against the criminals and would instill terror upon sight. Before long GCPD began to receive reports of a large bat shaped creature attacking and harrying the local hoods and criminals. The corrupt police force at that time sought to hunt down the Batman but one lone lieutenant by the name of James Gordon who was one of the few straight cops began a long running professional relationship with the Batman that would lead to the down fall of the corrupt police commissioner and Gordon advancing to the rank of Captain.
Rapidly Batman started to grow more professional and competent, he became the focus of the fight against crime in Gotham and acted as a catalyst for the emergence of a string of similar vigilantes across the US such as the second Black Canary, who took their lead from the human figure in the night rather than the superhuman figure of Superman. Always operating on the edge of the law and inside of it when possible, it was not long before Batman clashed intellects with the figure that would become his arch enemy and one of the most deadly criminals in the world - the Joker. Also about this time Batman started to run into the mysterious Catwoman, while there was an attraction between them neither would admit to it and remained on opposite sides of the law.
In the second year of his career Batman faced the Reaper who had returned to Gotham City and sought to kill criminals whereas the Batman would seek to hand them over to the police. The following year proved to be a turning point in the Batman's career when he teamed up with the orphaned circus acrobat Dick Grayson who became the first Robin and the sidekick of Batman.
The next couple of years after the first appearance of Robin were a dramatic change of direction for the Batman who had previously spent most of his time fighting normal criminals, but now he faced an entire pantheon of sociopathic criminals such as the Penguin, Riddler, the Scarecrow and the femme fatale Poison Ivy. Shortly after Dick Grayson left for college (and began spending more time with the Teen Titans) Batman transferred his operation temporarily to a penthouse in the city above the Wayne Foundation headquarters, it was during this time that Batman would first encounter Talia, daughter of Ra's Al-Ghul, a six hundred year old criminal mastermind who sought to rid the natural world of the infestation of mankind. There is a definitive romantic element between Bruce and Talia, but she is so devoted to her father then nothing ever becomes of it. Ra's and Batman respect each other and Ra's has even asked Batman to join him, but Bruce's dedication to the law has meant that he has at times had to thwart Ra's' plans despite working with him against common enemies at other times.
The pairing of Batman and Robin was occasionally helped by a growing circle of other heroes that Batman tolerated/recognized such as Batgirl (Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon), and the Outsiders, a superhero team that Batman was instrumental in creating. Shortly afterwards Batman and Robin split over a philosophical dispute (the criminals were getting more dangerous and Batman did not want to endanger Robin anymore than he had to). Robin changed his identity to Nightwing and returned to his position as leader of the Titans.
The Batman for a time operated with a second Robin, a young street kid by the name of Jason Todd whose father had been killed by Two Face, a fact that Batman kept from him for a period of time. Todd was more rebellious than Grayson and had a lot of misdirected anger than Bruce tried to channel into crimefighting. It reached the point where Todd was grounded by Wayne rather than let this hothead loose in the deadly world of Gotham City. Shortly afterwards Todd was murdered by the Joker while looking for his natural mother (who was also murdered at the same time) he never knew he had.
The loss of Todd turned the Batman into a darker figure than ever, he dived into his work returning to the solitary figure that he was before he teamed up with a sidekick. During this period the Batman developed a second wave of enemies such as the Ventriloquist and Kadaver, he also took in a tragic figure called Harold once the armor for the Penguin he now works in the Batcave designing and up keeping much of the Batman's weaponry. The dark drive of the Batman was noticed by young Tim Drake, a boy that had actually managed to work out Batman's secret identity via close observation of the gymnastic abilities of Robin I (Tim had been watching the circus the day that Dick's parents were murdered). Tim set out to try and convince Dick that he should return to being Robin because Batman needed a stabilizing presence, someone for him to watch out for. In the process Tim accidentally became the third Robin.
Refusing to make previous mistakes the Batman insisted that Tim train with the same people that taught himself, Tim also studied under some that Batman had never encountered. The result was the third Robin is much nearer Batman's own abilities than that of the second and perhaps even the first.
Batman faced the toughest moment of his career when already pushed to the limit by a mass breakout of Arkham Asylum and then had to face the massively powerful Bane who broke Bruce's back. While Bruce recovered from his injuries Azrael took over the mantel of the Batman however his mental conditioning started to kick in and made him more and more unstable to the point where he was on the edge of executing criminals. It was at this stage the Bruce managed to take back the mantle by taking down Azrael.
Now back as Batman full time he has also started working with more heroes again developing quite a circle of vigilantes in and around Gotham including Robin III, Huntress II, Nightwing, Azrael II, Oracle (the former Batgirl) and sometimes even Catwoman. The Batman also serves as an adviser and occasional active member of the new JLA.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
There can be little doubt that the Batman is the most extensively trained and skilled personal combatant alive in the world today. While others might excel and best him in individual areas, few others (with the possible exceptions of Lady Shiva and White Ranger Tommy Oliver) can match his martial prowess. But his skills go beyond this, his escapology skills are second only to Scott Free, he is a world level forensic scientist and strategist. On top of all of this is his main ability as the greatest living detective, having been trained by detective around the world in observation and deduction.
To boost his already matchless physical abilities, he employs a number of weapons and gadgets such as custom boomerangs called Batarangs, smoke grenades, razor sharp throwing blades, lightweight grapnels, lock picks, the list goes on. Most of this armory is stored in his Utility Belt or upon his person. He always tailors his arsenal depending on the threats that he might face. His actual costume is a combination Kevlar/Flameweave composite that is highly resistant to concessive force and fire, it also resistant to an extent of small arms fire. The cape itself serves as a prop so that it makes him more dramatic and therefore terrifying figure, it also helps that criminals often shoot for the huge visible mass of the cape rather than the smaller target of the actual Batman.
Transportation wise the Batman mainly relies on the Batmobile, a sleek black high-powered car, that is heavily armor plated and is capable of speeds up to 225 mph or 350 mph with an afterburner. Apart from the Batmobile Batman has also used various Batboats and aerial craft such as custom hand gliders, personal gyrocopters, helicopters, a specialized F4 known as the Batplane, and a invention of his own he rarely uses, the Batwing. He now only really uses the Batplane when working with the League preferring to use the Batmobile in and around Gotham.
The vehicles, weaponry, forensic labs, workshops and trophy rooms of the Batman are all located in the cavern system beneath Wayne Manor that is known as the Batcave. It is here that is located the Batcomputer with its extensive criminal database and external connections, it is often updated remotely by Oracle. Microwave links to most of the vehicles enable Batman to access the Batcomputer from almost anywhere in the world. Also in the cave are reminders of some of the Batman's earlier career including a mechanical T-Rex and a giant Lincoln's head penny, pride of place goes to the costume of the late Jason Todd as a memorial.
WONDER WOMAN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Diana
Occupation: Ambassador, former Princess of the Amazons, former Goddess of Truth
Known Relatives: Hippolyta (mother), Antiope (aunt), Donna Troy, a/k/a Troia (sister)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America (current), former reserve member of the JLE
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 135 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: (historical): All-Star Comics #8 (winter 1941)
(current): Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #1 (February 1987)
OVERVIEW
One of the most respected heroes in the world, an advocate of peace who often finds herself drawn into violent conflict, Wonder Woman, the daughter of Hippolyta, is the ambassador of Paradise Island, representing them both to the United Nations and in the JLA.
HISTORY
In the age when men were hunter-gatherers, existing as small tribes, an injury to a dominant hunter could mean that his family starved, it meant being ostracised from society and generally being made the scapegoat. One unfortunate was teased and goaded by his fellows into such a rage that he ended up killing the one person that cared for him, his poor unsuspecting wife. In savagery and pain she died, yet her spirit did not pass onto the other side, it was intercepted by the earth goddess Gaea and like thousand of female souls to come it was held and nurtured deep in the realm of Hades in the Cavern of Souls.
The Olympian goddesses foresaw a time when men would forget the old gods that they themselves would fade into the distance without followers. They decided to create a society of women to act as guides and teachers to spread the world of Olympus far and wide. Zeus was neutral on the scheme, while Ares was openly hostile to the idea. However Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter and Hestia lead by Artemis with the help of Hermes traveled to the Cavern of Souls and used their power to release the souls there contained. The female souls rained down upon a remote lake in Greece where new bodies formed from the clay in the mud at the bottom of the lake. Thus were born the race of the Amazons.
The first two to emerge from the lake were the sisters Hippolyta and Antiope, they ruled the Amazons as Queens. As a sign of trust they were given two girdles of Gaea to wear. The Amazons spread their message, but many local rulers felt threatened by this society of freedom and legends of brutality and violence was spread about the female race. Their reaction was to withdrawal, stepping back from the work that the goddesses had given them.
It was still an age of myth and the demi-god Herakles bidden by Hera on his twelve labors found himself compelled to obtain one of the girdles of the Amazons. Goaded by the agents of Ares he battled Hippolyta and was defeated. The Amazons welcomed Herakles and his men into their city in good faith but Herakles drugged Hippolyta. While he made his way to Troy his men enslaved the Amazons. Hippolyta was freed by Athena and led her people in an uprising against their enemies.
In the aftermath the Amazons split into two groups, half followed Antiope in rejecting the Olympian gods while the other half led by Hippolyta remained loyal to their gods and bid by Athena made their way to the seashore. There they were met by the goddesses and informed that despite their loyalty that their previous sin of withdrawing from their destined line was to be punished. They were to become the defenders of the world against the darkness of Tartarus on the far Paradise Island and while they succeeded in their task they would be immortal and gifted.
For thousands of years the Amazons kept the gateway to Tartarus closed and succeeded in their duties. They were also charged with rescuing females drowning at sea. Via this route they rescued Diana Trevor a USAF pilot who died by their side keeping the evils of Tartarus captive, she was honored by a statue in the Temple of Ares. The Amazons mistakenly took the winged insignia and star-spangled flag on her clothing by her insignia and so honored them.
With due course Hippolyta felt the calling of her unborn daughter whose soul still resided in the Cavern of Souls. So the goddesses let her craft a form from the clay on the shoreline of a baby. As the unborn soul was infused into the clay form it was blessed by the goddesses and sprang to life as a new born child. Named Diana after Diana Trevor she was raised by all the people of Paradise Island and excelled at almost every activity.
Meanwhile the plans of Ares continued in man's world and it became necessary that the Amazons should send a champion to stop his plans. A contest was called and Diana entered against her mothers wishes, disguising herself with a full mask like the other contestants. Diana won with ease and despite her maternal feelings Hippolyta was forced to respect the result. Diana was equipped with a costume based on the insignia of Diana Trevor. Journeying to man's world she eventually found Ares mad scheme to destroy mankind. With the help of Steve Trevor (Diana Trevor's son) and others, Diana confronted Ares and ensnared him with the Lasso of Truth (forged from the Girdle of Gaea) which forced him to realise that if he destroyed mankind then there would be nobody to worship him and his own power would dwindle.
Diana remained in mans world as an ambassador from the Amazons to fulfill the original duties set down by the gods to spread the virtues of peace and love to mankind. She befriended Julia Kapatelis and her daughter who took Diana in and taught her English. She also befriended Myndi Mayer a publicist who worked to promote Diana's message across the world, she came up with the name Wonder Woman based on the double-W on Diana's costume, she also launched promotional lines and merchandise. In also most no time at all a massive media campaign had transformed Wonder Woman into one of the most recognizable names in the country.
There were set backs along the way. Mayer died of a drug overdose and a cult sprang up to Wonder Woman in Greece prompting many right wing religious groups to brand her cause pagan. Despite this a world tour and the setting up of a Wonder Woman Foundation to promote peace did a lot of good. While never a superhero as such, Diana participated in the Darkseid Anti-hero riots and served as a reserve member of the JLE. After an mistaken first encounter she has grown close to Superman and each recognizes that in another situation they might have been lovers.
The sorceress Circe devised a plan to throw the various pantheons of gods into war as a means of achieving power of her own. She was eventually defeated by a collation of both the superheroes of Earth and Wonder Woman. In the aftermath of the war the Olympian gods left this dimension for their new home of New Olympus.
Queen Hippolyta found herself stricken with a vision of the future where she foresaw the death of Wonder Woman. In desperation she declared that Diana had failed and that a new contest should be held. The Amazon Artemis from the tribe of Antiope joined the contest. Hippolyta had a spell cast that when Artemis and Diana were present together, part of Diana's skill and power went into Artemis. Via this manipulation Diana lost the mantel of Wonder Woman, but she continued acting in man's world under her own name and as the leader of the Justice League.
Eventually Artemis died in battle and Diana reclaimed the costume of Wonder Woman. She fought Darkseid in a battle that cost the lives of twelve hundred Amazons. She also battled Morgaine Le Fay who sought to steal Diana's immortality little realizing that she had forsaken it when she left Paradise Island. It was only after many months while battling the Cheetah that the effect of the god's departure became evident. Diana and her Amazon sister were reverting to the clay from which they were formed without the backing of their gods' presence. With the help of Harold Champion Diana travelled to Paradise Island where it was revealed that he was actually the god Herakles who had secretly fallen in love with Diana.
Herakles alerted the Olympian gods to the plight of the Amazons and after a debate the gods returned Olympus to this dimension atop its namesake mountain This restored the Amazons and Wonder Woman to full health. Meanwhile Artemis had been restored to life and via the manipulations of Neron sought to kill Jason Blood who was at that time assisting Diana. Via a series of events Diana, Hippolyta, Blood, Artemis and their friends found themselves the captives of Neron. Artemis managed to wound Neron allowing them to escape
The Olympian gods decided that they could not allow their most trusted follower to simple die so they resurrected her by the most convenient method. They raised her up to be equal to their own, as Diana Goddess of Truth. In her place as Wonder Woman the Amazons placed Hippolyta. Diana was forbidden to contact her human friends for the next one hundred years, but when her friends ended were trapped in hell during a battle against Dark Angel, Morgaine Le Fay and Merlin, Diana helped her friends as by giving them inspiration. But this was still enough to invoke Zeus's wrath who then revoked Diana's transgression and returned her to her mortal form, after which Diana once again assumed the identity of Wonder Woman.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Wonder Woman was granted strength and power by Demeter, beauty and a loving heart by Aphrodite, wisdom by Athena, hunting ability and unity with the beasts by Artemis, sisterhood with fire by Hestia and speed and the power of flight by Hermes. This combined with her natural skill allows her to stand as an equal to such figures as Superman and Captain Marvel.
She is normally armed with the Golden Lasso of Truth, which forces anybody snared by it to tell the truth it could also life mind control effects from people. She can use the Sandals of Hermes to pierce the veil of distortion that separated Paradise Island from the normal world. Like all Amazons she wears bracelets as a symbol of their imprisonment by Herakles.
GREEN LANTERN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Harold (Hal) Jordan
Aliases: Spectre II, Parallax
Occupation: Former test-pilot and Green Lantern.
Known Relatives: Martin (father), Jim and Jack (brothers), Jeremiah (uncle), Lawrence (cousin), Hal (cousin), Jason (nephew), Jennifer and Jan (nieces)
Group Affiliation: The Green Lantern Corps and founding member of the Justice League of America
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 186 lb.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
First Appearance: Showcase #22 (September-October 1959)
Overview: For millennia the Guardians of the Universe had from the planet Oa at the centre of the known universe controlled a 3600 strong army of agents called the Green Lantern Corps. The passing of a member of the Corps was noted but life went on. That was until the death of Abin Sur unleashed his replacement into the unsuspecting universe. Hal Jordan had arrived.
To fly and to soar higher than the rest is part of the Jordan family genes. Hal like his father was a test pilot, a former member of the USAF and a graduate in Aerospace Engineering working for Ferris Aircraft in Coast City, California. As a test pilot he had to endure the shadow of his father who also worked for Ferris and had to balance the professional and private parts of his romance with Carol Ferris, the daughter of the company owner.
Hal would have remained a normal test pilot if it had not been for the calling of the dying alien Abin Sur (a member of the Green Lantern Corps) who transported Hal to his downed craft and passed on his ring to Hal. In an instance the universe opened to Hal Jordan as he fought the alien called Legion that had killed Sur. Using his ring to learn about the Corps he tracked down fellow Green Lantern Tomer-Re of Xudar that introduced him to the planet Oa just in time to watch the Guardians of the Universe emerge from a period of meditation/suspended animation.
Jordan was assigned to Kilowog of Bolovax Vik who pushed the rookie Hal Jordan through his basic training. It was during this period that Hal Jordan proved himself to the Guardians and first displayed the questioning innovative streak that would characterize his experiences with the corps as he charged his power ring from the central power battery (a feat that was thought impossible) and single-handedly defeated the monster Legion.
Jordan returned to Earth shortly afterwards to serve a 90 day drink driving charge. During his period inside prison he received further training from Sinestro of Korugar and was instrumental in exposing Sinestro as the dictatorial ruler of Korugar. Once Hal was freed from prison he began a full career as Green Lantern of Sector 2814. During those early years Hal fought such villains as Hector Hammond, the rouge Sinestro and the various forces of Qward. Enjoying the fame that being a GL brought he became a founding member of the Justice League and often operated as the spokesperson for the group. It was with the JLA that Hal first met and became friends with the original Green Arrow.
Hal Jordan rose to become the greatest of the Green Lanterns faithfully surviving his masters the Guardians. Initially a cocky but natural Green Lantern, he soon found his place in the forefront of the Corps and as a founding member of the JLA. However over the years his career as GL slowly destroyed his personal life and his relationship with Carol Ferris, this forced Hal to mature and to begin questioning his position in the universe.
Hal was the only GL to know the true reasons that the GLC was set up and grew to see the arrogance of the Guardians whom time and time again reined him in over differing styles. Never fully happy with authority and responsibility Hal nevertheless obeyed the Guardians until the day of the destruction of Coast City. In was then that Hal accepted his responsibility fully and fought an open war with the distant Guardians. During this battle a cosmic parasite grafted itself to his soul transforming Hal into Parallax.
Many saw Parallax as a radical departure for Jordan and as a villain, who went against the stream, and wanted to rewrite the rule book and succeed where all others had failed. Hal, as Parallax, later died saving the Earth from the threat of the Sun Eater. That wasn't to be the end of Hal Jordan though as his soul then became the host of the new Spectre for a time.
The Parallax-entity had not perished along with Hal though and eventually tried to break free of the Spectre. In the resulting battle both Hal's soul and Parallax were freed from the Spectre and Hal was given a new lease on life and returned to the living as Green Lantern.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
The Green Lantern Power Ring has rightly been called the most powerful weapon in the universe, yet it is far more than a simple weapon. Created by the now defunct Guardians of the Universe it is powered by their unique mental energies channelled via a large central power battery located on the planet Oa.
The Ring has the ability to shape a form of emerald energy to form physical constructs such as force bubbles, giant sized fists, body armor, etc. These forms are limited via the imagination and will power of the user. The ring can also provide life support to the wear in hostile environments and any other persons the wielder chooses. The rings can propel the Lantern through space at many times the speed of light and have been observed opening up space warps in the past.
Another function of the ring is as a database, language translator and communications device for the Green Lantern Corps. While primarily a scientific device the rings' abilities are truly limited only by the mind of the wielder, they have in the past been observed to produce effects that border on the verge of magic, these cases are normally dismissed by most observers. All the power rings wielded by the GLC haveto be charged from miniature power batteries once every 24 hours, the Guardians also placed an impurity into the energy supply so that the rings' energies would not effect anything yellow. This weakness has since been eradicated by Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner, and the only weaknesses it has are it's 24 hour time limit, and the willpower of the bearer.
BLACK CANARY
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Dinah Laurel Lance
Occupation: Florist
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Richard Drake (grandfather, deceased), Lawrence Lance (father, deceased), Dinah Drake Lance (mother, deceased)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America (founding member)
Height: 5' 5''
Weight: 129 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde, originally Black
First Appearance: Justice League of America #75 (October 1969)
Overview: The daughter of the original Black Canary, Dinah Lance grew up surrounded by the heroes of the Justice Society and was determined to become a crime fighter like them. Her parents were, naturally, against this, but fate took a hand with the discovery that Dinah, as a consequence of the meta-gene, was able to project a devastating sonic scream. Armed with this ability, and with extensive martial arts training from Ted Grant, the golden age Wildcat, Dinah launched her super-heroic career, and soon became a founder member of the Justice League of America, where she met and romanced Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. Dinah continued to serve as a Justice League member on and off for many years, until one of Green Arrow's enemies raped her and severely mutilated her vocal cords, robbing her of her sonic ability. A year or two later, the romance between her and Queen died, and Canary struck out on her own, battling street level crime, generally alone. Recently, she was recruited by Oracle for a serious of undercover missions world-wide, combating a number of different organised criminal activities. In the wake of the death of Wesley Dodds, she fulfilled a dream in joining the regrouped Justice Society, where she began a relationship with Pieter Cross, the new Dr Mid-Nite. However, when Green Arrow came back into her life recently, she took a leave of absence from the team.
At the tender age of nineteen, Dinah Laurel Lance donned her mother's long-retired costume and became the second Black Canary. Her very first adversary led her to a fateful meeting with four other rookie crime fighters and together they founded the Justice League of America.
A revelation of note is that the original Black Canary had an affair with her fellow-JSAer (and married man) Ted "Starman" Knight. Both Ted Knight and Diana Drake Lance were married at the time. This shocker (which Dinah found out about during her first few weeks in the the JLA) rocked the foundations of her lifelong belief in her Justice Society heroes' superior virtue. Finding out that her mother and one of her heroes were subject to all-too-human failings introduced doubts and affected her friendship with Barry Allen especially during her early months with the JLA.
Dinah joined the JLA as a founding member at age nineteen and spent the next few years adventuring with them pretty much full-time. During this time, she met and became romantically involved with Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. When he decided to leave the JLA she stayed behind, but only for a short time. Soon, she joined him in Star City and was also a fellow adventurer when Oliver teamed up with Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan as the "Hard-Traveling Heroes". Quite some time later, apparently during an "off" period in their relationship, Dinah donned a new costume and helped found a new incarnation of the Justice League (whose other founding members included Batman, J'onn J'onzz, Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle, Dr. Fate, and Guy "Green Lantern" Gardner).
She didn't stay with the new organization (or the new costume) for very long, though, and was soon back with Oliver, this time in Seattle where they both became much more grass-roots, of-the-people heroes and let their secret identities slip through their fingers. Ostensibly they co-owned and ran a flower shop called "Sherwood Florist" (the latest incarnation of the shop Dinah inherited from her mother and ran during her early years with the JLA), but the work of it usually fell on Dinah's shoulders.
They'd faced aliens and supervillains together with the JLA and Green Lantern, but Seattle was a tougher, grittier city where they were faced with more common, everyday evils. They were on their own, too, in a way neither had been for years. No superpowered heroes would sweep in at the last moment to save them. In many ways, it was exactly what they wanted, but there were consequences. They both, during the course of separate investigations, suffered at the hands of torturers, and each ended up taking the lives of the other's torturers. As a result of her ordeal, Dinah lost her meta-human "canary" cry and the ability to have children.
Dinah and Oliver's relationship was a troubled one, but for several years they stuck it out. Even when Oliver left her and Seattle for over a year, Dinah hung on to the belief that he would come back. He did, but, perhaps during that period, Dinah's passion for justice and her determination to fight for it herself were reborn. She soon went back to her old costume (she'd been wearing a black jumpsuit and no wig for sometime whenever she was at work on a case and only occasionally wore her classic costume during most of her Seattle years) and both with and without Oliver, she went back to her first love of crimefighting.
Being back in the superhero game felt right, and Dinah found a renewed sense of purpose. But while that aspect of her life was going well, everything else fell apart. After all the strains and frustrations and heartbreaks of their relationship (which included Oliver's having a child with his mysterious sometime ally Lady Shado and a final straw of Dinah catching him kissing her friend and flower shop assistant Marianne), Dinah realized she could no longer stand to be with a man she loved so much but was forced to share with so many.
The next several months were even rockier, and not long after their breakup, the beautiful, castle-like "Sherwood Florist" building in which Black Canary and Green Arrow had lived and worked together for so long burned to the ground.
Dinah lost her focus then, and while she still hunted Seattle's streets, fighting crime where she found it, her life was in pieces. Through a series of rather accidental meetings and associations, she ended up traveling through time and space for a time with the Ray (son of her mother's old ally, the Golden Age Ray) and even had a very brief, instantly-regretted fling with him. The worst blow came when the new Green Arrow Connor Hawke (whom she immediately guessed was Oliver's son) came to her with the horrible news that Oliver Queen had died while attempting to save Metropolis from destruction at the hands of high-tech ecoterrorists. The love of her life was dead, her personal life was a shambles, she could barely meet her bills, and she'd developed a cynical veneer to stave off emotional attachments. She had never been so low before.
And then Oracle called — just in time — and helped pull Dinah out of the malaise into which she'd fallen. Back in action and this time with an equal partner who happened also to have suffered some major traumas and fought her way back from them and who was able help channel Dinah's efforts in positive directions, she quickly rejoined the superhero community, playing an active rôle in the events of The Final Night and participating in adventures with Connor and with various members of the Gotham home team.
In the first couple of years, Dinah was a more confident heroine, rescuing herself from a prison camp, taking down the supervillainess team The Ravens single-handedly, and rescuing herself & many others from Apokolips (with a little help from Catwoman). Oracle was her constant support and backup, but Canary could save herself.
Early in Year Three, however, Dinah's need to be rescued seemed to become epidemic while her seeming inability to really finish whatever job she'd been sent to do began to become quite apparent. By the time Dinah met and fell for Ra's Al Ghul, one began to hope she was suffering from some sort of personality-altering brain tumor.
Regardless of the explanation, the life-saving dip Dinah took in Ra's's Lazarus Pit completely healed all her prior injuries and illnesses. The Canary Cry is back with a vengeance (and if Dinah ever decides to have kids, she once more is able to), and she's also physically younger now than her 31 chronological years. (Dinah is one of the only comic characters whose age we readers absolutely know since it has been plainly and repeatedly stated that she was 19 during the DCU's Year One which was also the JLA's Year One. Now that it is officially DCU Year 12, a simple arithmetic equation gives us Canary's "real" age.)
Since the nadir of the al Ghul romance, Dinah seems to be recovering her heroing equilibrium as well as her health. She played a major role in The Last Laugh, conveying vital information on the Joker's plans from inside the Slab where she also had to outsmart and outlast a whole roomful of crazed supervillains. She also became a bit more involved in the Bat-related goings-on in Gotham by helping Oracle with the investigation into Vesper Fairchild's murder, and she has — very reluctantly — acquired the Spoiler as her wannabe sidekick.
Oliver Queen's dramatic return from the dead has also had a major impact on Canary's life, interrupting the tentative new romance she'd begun with fellow JSA-member Doctor MidNite and leading her to break off that relationship. Olile's return also played a part in her decision to resign from the JSA's active duty roster…and her return to the JLA. Her post-Lazarus Pit life is in a transitional phase where she's rediscovering and reasserting herself as a confident, powerful heroine. As she has been before, the Canary is — once again and better than ever — a Bird of Prey.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
The Black Canary is a master of unarmed combat, with a mastery of judo and karate. Unlike her mother, she also possesses a sonic blast, known as the Sonic Scream. This has been known to be deadly enough to demolish entire buildings. After training under Wildcat, she improved her boxing and acrobatic skills to near-Olympic levels. She carries a small arsenal of devices to trick and confuse her foes, like sneezing powder and a high pitched whistle, but rarely uses them. She is also very handy on the motorcycle.
THE FLASH
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Wallace Rudolph 'Wally' West
Aliases: Kid Flash
Occupation: Full time superhero
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Rudolph West (father, deceased), Mary West (mother), Barry Allen (uncle, deceased), Iris Allen (aunt), Ira West (adoptive grandfather), Mr and Mrs Edgar Rhodes (uncle and aunt), Inez Rhodes (cousin), Don and Dawn Allen (cousins), Meloni Thawne (cousin-in-law), Jeven Ognats (cousin-in-law), Bart Allen (cousin's son), Jenni Ognats (cousin's daughter), Linda Park (wife)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America and the New Teen Titans; formerly the Justice League Europe; formerly the Teen Titans
Height: 6'
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Red
First Appearance: Flash Vol. 1 #110 (December 1959-January 1960) (as Kid Flash)
Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986) (as Flash III)
OVERVIEW
Wally West is the fastest man alive and possibly the fastest man ever. He is the third Flash, having grown up in the embrace of superspeed. He is one of the most experienced members of the Justice League and years ahead of other heroes his age.
The Flash has a direct line to the extra-dimensional energy source called the Speed Force, it is a form of speedster Valhalla. Time and time again Wally has brushed up against it, feeling it call him into its eternal embrace as it claimed his uncle Barry Allen. Yet Wally is linked to our world by an emotional bond with girlfriend Linda Park, and due to this link he always returns where other cannot or would not.
HISTORY
Beyond human understanding exists an elemental essence known as the Speed Force, it the source of power that lets those superhumans with the ability to superspeed to move at velocities that far exceeds anything the human body can or should be able to do. To join with the Speed Force is to go beyond the limits of physically known speed and to enter a realm that is more a metaphysical afterlife rather than a normal dimension.
To those that have attained the ability of superspeed the Speed Force is literally the Creator, and at times it can seem to be an intelligence that guides the fates and destinies of any that are fortunate enough to be part of it. Those that do for what ever reason become connected with the Speed Force are destined to became heroes or in the rarer case villains. One name that has become synonymous with the ability is the name of the Flash and the three generations of heroes who have carried the mantel.
The first Flash was Jay Garrick whom first gained his superpowers while a student at Midwestern university. He would go onto become one of the stars of the Golden Age and a founding member of the Justice Society of America. Jay retired when the JSA disbanded. To an extend the memory of Jay Garrick and his home of Keystone City would fade because of a plot by a number of his foes to isolate Keystone City from the rest of the world by a memory clouding spell.
Meanwhile police scientist Barry Allen was transformed into a second Flash when his laboratory was struck by a bolt of lightning knocking over a cabinet of unknown chemicals onto him. Like his predecessor before him Barry Allen became one of the core members of the superhero community and a founding member of the Justice League of America.
Wally West grew up with a strained family life, but for all intents and purposes he was a normal child. Except for three events in his childhood. One was being the head of the Flash Fan club at school, the second was the words of a stranger to never let go of his dreams (that stranger was later to be revealed to be Wally himself on a roller coaster ride through his own life via the Speed Force), the third was the fact that Wally was the nephew of Barry Allen (a.k.a. the second Flash).
Barry actually arranged for Wally to met the Flash and while at the lab where the original accident had transformed Barry into the Flash, Wally asked if the same thing could happen to him. As if fate needed to no more promoting a second lightning bolt hit the building and this time transformed Wally West into the Kid Flash, junior side kick of the Flash.
Wally played the part of the Kid Flash along side Barry and eventually became a founding member of the Teen Titans. At that time Wally was as fast as Barry but some have conjectured that perhaps Barry was actually subconsciously transferring speed to Wally in the same way that Wally can now do to others. However things have always been for more complex for Wally, his collage work began to suffer and he discovered that he had gained a condition where if he overused his superspeed then he might very well die.
Retiring from the adventuring life Wally was to eventually return to active status during the Crisis when a blast from the Anti-Monitor sent the disease into remission yet at the same time dramatically reduced his top speed. After the death of Barry while saving the planet, Wally took up the name of the Flash and tried to follow in the foot steps of Flash II.
At almost every stage Wally was somehow reminded of Barry and he grew tired of the comparisons, particularly from people such as Ralph Dibny (a.k.a. The Elongated Man). However as time went by Wally began to increase in speed again and to move from under the shadow of Barry Allen. Along the way he has had as always a roller coaster private life including winning the state lottery, loosing the money, finding out that his dad was actually a Manhunter agent and slowly falling in love with the television reported Linda Park. All this was to be turned on its head when as part of the Zero-hour Wally had to push his speed to the limit in an effort of close an Entropy rift, in the process he was catapulted into the timestream and was plunged into the Speed Force as Barry once had in his final moments.
Wally was different, the Speed Force transformed Wally to the point that he now has a "direct line" to the heart of the force that grants all the speedsters their speed. It has transformed his abilities and he may now well be the fasted man that has ever lived. It has also galvanised Wally as never before and forced him to examine his humanity. At last Wally West is the Flash in his own right and is only now taking his rightful place among the statesmen of the superhero community.
Wally faced perhaps his greatest challenge in the form of Savitar, who had joined with the Speed Force sometime after the retirement of the original Flash and the emergence of the second. He had devoted his life to the study of the speed force and had turned it into his religion. During the course of the battle Johnny Quick lost his life and Wally finally realised that he had to give Savitar what he wanted. Wally used his speed to boost Savitar to such a velocity that he was propelled into the Valhalla of the Speed Force.
On yet another roller coaster flight through the future Wally found himself teaming up with future Flash John Fox and the Tornado Twins (the children of Barry Allen). Meanwhile back in his home time John Fox (also time travelling) had tried to take the place of Wally. This started to generate feels for John by Linda with the result that the emotional bond that anchors Wally to this world started to breakdown leaving at the mercy of the Speed Force. It took everything that Wally had to return to our own time, make John Fox realise his errors and defeat the bad guys. The emotional bond between Linda and Wally was further reinforced during a recent battle with Neron.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
The effect of the Speed Force on the original two Flashes was to grant them the ability to move at superhuman speeds, often at their peak moving at a good fraction of light speed. They could also vibrate their molecules allowing them to pass through solid objects. Both were skilled in the use of their superspeed and often used the ability creatively.
All the Flashes seem to have a special aura that allows them to move at superspeed without occurring the effects of friction or air resistance.
Recently Wally had his legs broken by a supervillain called the Suit. In order to defeat the villain he experimented with his Speed Force powers to create a costume around himself out of solid speed force energy. The new suit cycles excess energy away from Wally, reacts to shape itself subtly against air resistance and acts to absorb momentum from impacts.
The third Flash originally had powers identical to the other two Flashes when he was Kid Flash, however as he slowed down his maximum speed was more of the order of the speed of sound. However now that Wally has encountered the heart of the Speed Force his abilities have been altered racially.
Wally West can now run faster than any of the other Flashes before him, if he hits light speed he is catapulted into the Speed Force with an effect that often means that he enters the timestream allowing him to time travel under the control of the Speed Force.
Wally can also impart kinetic energy to objects turning normal materials into superfast bullets, by the same effect if he vibrates him self and passes through an object now he imparts to much kinetic energy to the molecules of the object that it is not unusual for the object to explode.
HAWKMAN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Katar Hol
Occupation: Adventurer, Diplomat, Hawk Avatar and former Thanagarian Wingman.
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Paran Katar (father, deceased), Naomi Carter (mother), Paran Arvak (uncle?; presumed deceased)
Group Affiliation: Justice League America.
Height: 6'6" (originally); 6'6" (as Hawk Avatar)
Weight: 195 lbs. (originally); 226 lbs. (as Hawk Avatar)
Eyes: Blue (originally); now Hawk-like.
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #34 (February-March 1961) (historical);
Hawkworld Vol. 1 #1 (1989) (current)
HISTORY
Katar Hol is the son of the Thanagarian inventor Paran Katar and a Cherokee Earthwoman called Naomi. Naomi had accompanied Paran to Thanagar but having seen the horrors of Downside, combined with feelings of being out of place on Thanagar, she asked to be returned to Earth. However when Katar was born Paran refused to let him go as well (Thanagar was a very sexist society) and Naomi was sent back to Earth where she became a medicine woman. Katar would be raised in the traditions of Thanagar learning about the crafts, ways and heritage of his own people that had been wiped away by the culture raped from other worlds. He was a student of history and Kalmoran was his hero. He also learned to use the ancient weapons of his people. Eventually he would become an ensign in the Wingman corps his father had created. On his first mission to Downside he encountered a young girl he would later learn was the daughter of Shayera Thal I, the daughter of Administrator Thal Porvis and woman Katar was romancing at the time. The girl, Shayera Thal II, had been left in Downside by her then 13-year-old mother Shayera Thal I shortly after she was born to avoid a scandal. Hawkworld Vol. 1 #1 (1989): "Flashzone"
Horrified by the way that the Downsiders were treated Paran Katar started a secret smuggling operation using his resources to pass medicines and food to the slaves. His activities were noticed by the commander Byth of the Wingmen who was also running his own smuggling operation shipping weapons to the Downsiders and shipping the narcotics that they produced to the rich Thangarians in the floating cities. Katar became increasingly depressed with what his people had become, and took to using the narcotics that Byth was shipping into the Highside. While on a recreational hunting trip with Shayera I and their fathers they came across a band of animals, Shayera shot and wounded one forcing Katar to move in on his own and end the poor beast's life. He tracked it to a burrow and found that it dead in front of its mate and child, to his horror he saw cave markings on the wall. The creatures were not beasts, but rather intelligent - if primitive - life forms. Leaving the creatures alive, Katar returned to the hunting party horrified at what he had seen done. Hawkworld Vol. 1 #1 (1989)
The continuing horrors changed Katar, he developed an edge both morally and professionally as a Wingman, developing skills and contacts that made Byth realise how dangerous he really was. Byth then conspired to eliminate father and son. In a staged event Katar was tricked into killing his father, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment on the remote island known as the Isle of Chance. Meanwhile Byth exposed his own smuggling as Paran's and was declared a hero. On the island Katar hit withdrawal symptoms of the drugs that he had been using and in a crazed rage he stole the wings a hermit was making and in the process killed him. The hermit's brother, a priest, revealed that the wings were to have been a present to Hol. Katar learned a lot from the Priest and his time on the island in solitude after the priests natural death. He learned to survive and slowly the narcotics worked their way from his system. Hawkworld Vol. 1 #2 (1989): "Freefall"
Having served his ten-year sentence Katar Hol found himself returned to the Downside of Thanagar where he used the skills that he had learned on the island to set up a clinic to help the other Downsiders taking up where his father had left off. Operating in secrecy he made use of smuggling operations run by Byth (who had become a decadent Highsider) to get medicines. His clinic and operations where however noticed by Wingman Shayera Thal II, the daughter of the lady he briefly dated. Forming an uneasy alliance they cracked the gun running operation of Byth. Katar Hol then confronted Byth, but the criminal escaped by using a shape shifting drug called Kortan. Katar Hol's record was cleared and he was reinstated as a Wingman. Both he and Shayera were allowed to wear special winged helmets as a sign on honour. Hawkworld Vol. 1 #3 (1989): "Phoenix Flight"
Eventually Byth fled to Earth. Following their unsuccesfull participation in the Invasion, Thanagar had established diplomatic relations with Earth and on the request of Darl Klus, the Thanagarian Ambassador on Earth, it was decided to send Katar, the greatest hero of Thanagar, and his partner Shayera to Earth to accompany a Thanagarian cultural exhibit on a goodwill tour. While away Shayera was ordered to spy on Katar and report back to her superiors who feared Katar's increasingly independent nature. Hawkworld Vol. 2 #1 (June 1990): "Predators" When they actually reached Earth they found a society very different to that which they had just left. After an initial encounter with Byth they discovered that Earth police had very different limitations and powers, a solution was found by where Katar and Shayera would be allowed to operate legally but without their Thanagarian weapons.
Byth killed a policeman than Shayera was dating and then framed Shayera for his own murder after she persuaded him in a rage. Katar was forced to hand over Shayera to Earth authorities to preserve diplomatic relations before he was ordered back to Thanagar himself. Katar disobeyed orders to return home and exposed Byth's plan and in the process proved Shayera's innocence. Katar was once again a hero in the eyes of the masses. Hawkworld Vol. 2 #9 (March 1991): "Hawkwoman Caged" While Shayera returned back to Thanagar with the captured Byth, Katar was the subject of a public relations campaign that saw him identified with the name Hawkman. Hawkworld Vol. 2 #11 (May 1992): "Eight Miles High" The title meant little to Hol until he was forced to travel into the past by a villain known as the Fiddler who was trying to kill the Golden Age Flash. Along the way he encountered his father and discovered the existence of a prior Hawkman in the shape of Carter Hall. Upon returning back to his own time Katar threw himself into the Hawkman role and in the process became more liberal and idealistic. Hawkworld Annual Vol. 2 #1 (1991): ""
Katar grew increasingly distant from Thanagar until the point where he actually started helping refugees from Downside escape to Earth to a community in Chicago called Netherworld where meta-humans, mutants and aliens formed their own society away from the normal world. When they were discovered Shayera and Katar applied for diplomatic refuge on Earth. Initially they were accepted but Thanagar offered the secret of Nth Metal in exchange for them. Eventually they withdrew the offer and Ambassador Klus applied for refuge himself. After a battle in Netherworld with Count Viper, Shayera was seemingly killed and Katar was badly injured. Meanwhile due to the help of Waverider the Justice Society had returned from limbo including Carter Hall. Carter found the badly injured Katar and took him to Naomi (Katar's mother) to be healed. From her Katar learned about her people and their traditions. He learned much about himself and his abilities as the next Hawk Avatar after Carter Hall, began to develop. He learned to see the emotional state of other people in their auras and to communicate to an extent with certain animals.
Returning to Chicago Katar designed and wore a new costume leading many to think that it was a different Hawkman in the skies. This was a careful play to lure these enemies to him because he suspected that Shayera was still alive and being held by them. The plan worked and with due course Count Viper made his move. It turned out that Viper was actually possessing Shayera's body while she languished in a mental asylum in his last body. During the course of the battle Viper switched bodies with Katar who found himself in the body of Shayera. Freeing his partner, he with the help of the Wonder Woman and the Justice League managed to capture Viper. Then in a spiritual quest the two Hawks defeated Viper and returned to their own bodies.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Katar Hol was originally outfitted as a Thanagarian Wingman. This meant that he had wings and belts based on anti-gravity technology as patterned after Carter Hall's by Paran Katar, the main difference was that the Thanagarian wings were more solid and could be used as a bullet proof barrier if necessary. Both wore regulation body armour and were trained in the use of standard firearms.
As the combined Hawk Avatar Katar Hol now possesses true feathered wings that grow and recede out his back as necessary. He also has the ability to see peoples auras, allowing him to tell peoples emotions and to spot other Avatars. Some other Avatars have developed quite powerful abilities based on their Animal God but as of yet Hawkman has not mastered these. He has however found he can defend himself against the spiritual attacks of other Avatars. As far as weaponry he carries throwing stars, his name sake the Katar dagger, a mace, a steel-spiked Roman cestus glove on his left hand, and a Thanagarian Graviton Pistol (which takes a week to recharge on Earth currents).
HAWKWOMAN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Shayera Thal II
Occupation: Adventurer; former Thanagarian Wingman, and diplomat
Known Relatives: Andar Pul (father), Shayera Thal I (mother, deceased), Thal Porvis (grandfather, adoptive father), Hyathis (grandmother).
Group Affiliation: Partner of Katar Hol
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 123 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #34 (February-March 1961) (historical); Hawkworld Vol. 1 #1 (1989) (current)
HISTORY
Shayera Thal II is the illegitimate daughter of Shayera Thal and Andar Pul, Thanagar's Administrator of Protection and close friend of Shayera's father Thal Porvis. Andar Pul had seduced the then 13-year-old Shayera I and the resultant pregnancy became quite the political scandal that threatened that could put her father's political activities to a hold. To avoid further scandals Shayera II was abandoned in Downside by her mother shortly after birth. By the age of ten, while still a nameless resident of Downside the young girl first met her future Wingman partner Katar Hol during his first mission to the Thanagarian ghettos Hawkworld Vol. 1 #1 (1989): "Flashzone".
When Shayera lost her Downside guardian as a result of police action she was sent to an orphanage in the High Towers. Here she was found and adopted by planetary administrator Thal Porvis, whose grief over the loss of his own daughter, Shayera, in a terrorist bombing had led him to find and reclaim his granddaughter. Shayera herself was not to learn that she was really Porvis' granddaughter until much later.
As a young woman Shayera became an officer in the Thanagarian Wingman corps and eventually she came into contact with Katar Hol once again. While on a mission she discovered that Katar was running an illegal smuggling operation Downside and believing it to be the gunrunning conspiracy she had been tracking she confronted him in order to shut him down. Face to face with Katar she learned that he was in actuality running a clinic that smuggled medicines to the Downsiders and that the real leader of the gunrunning operation was planetary hero, Byth Rok, who had also framed Katar for murder ten years earlier. Forming an uneasy alliance with Katar, the two were able to expose Byth and bring his operation down. Byth managed to escape using a shape shifting drug called Kortan, but as a result of their efforts Katar Hol's record was cleared and he was reinstated as a Wingman. Both he and Shayera were allowed to wear special winged helmets as a sign on honour. Hawkworld Vol. 1 #3 (1989): "Phoenix Flight"
Eventually Byth fled to Earth. Following their unsuccessful participation in the Invasion, Thanagar had established diplomatic relations with Earth and on the request of Darl Klus, the Thanagarian Ambassador on Earth, it was decided to send Shayera and Katar to Earth to accompany a Thanagarian cultural exhibit on a goodwill tour in order to be able to apprehend Byth. Unknown to Katar, Shayera was ordered to spy on Katar and report back to her superiors who feared Katar's increasingly independent nature. Hawkworld Vol. 2 #1 (June 1990): "Predators" When they actually reached Earth they found a society very different to that which they had just left. After an initial encounter with Byth they discovered that Earth police had very different limitations and powers, a solution was found by where Shayera and Katar would be allowed to operate legally but without their Thanagarian weapons.
Shayera even joined the Chicago Police force and began dating police officer Verzell K. Jones. Byth discovered this and used the information to frame her for his own murder as she hunted him down and seemingly killed him after Byth killed her new lover. To preserve diplomatic relations Shayera was handed over to Earth authorities by Katar before he was ordered back to Thanagar himself. Katar disobeyed orders to return home and exposed Byth's plan and in the process proved Shayera's innocence. Hawkworld Vol. 2 #9 (March 1991): "Hawkwoman Caged" Shayera then returned to Thanagar with the captured Byth.
Katar grew increasingly distant from Thanagar until the point where he and Shayera actually started helping refugees from Downside escape to Earth to a community in Chicago called Netherworld where meta-humans, mutants and aliens formed their own society away from the normal world. When they were discovered Shayera and Katar applied for diplomatic refuge on Earth. Initially they were accepted but Thanagar offered the secret of Nth Metal in exchange for them. Eventually they withdrew the offer and Ambassador Klus applied for refuge himself. After a battle in Netherworld with Count Viper, Shayera was seemingly killed and Katar badly injured. Katar was found by Hawkman I who took him to Naomi (Katar's mother) to be healed. From her Katar learned much about himself and his abilities as the next Hawk Avatar after Carter Hall, began to develop.
Katar would later learn that Shayera had not died and that Count Viper was now possessing Shayera's body while she languished in a mental asylum in his last body. Katar managed to bring Count Viper out in the open, but instead of beating him Katar ended up switching bodies with Count Viper, and as a result Katar now found himself in the body of Shayera. Freeing his partner, he with the help of the Wonder Woman and the Justice League managed to capture Viper. Then in a spiritual quest the two Hawks defeated Viper and returned to their own bodies.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
As Hawkwoman Shayera Thal was outfitted as a Thanagarian Wingman. This meant that she had wings and belts based on anti-gravity technology as patterned after Carter Hall's by Paran Katar, the main difference was that the Thanagarian wings were more solid and could be used as a bullet proof barrier if necessary. She also wore regulation body armor and was trained in the use of standard firearms.
ISIS
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Andrea Thomas
Occupation: Adventurer; High school science teacher, archaeologist
Known Relatives: Father, deceased, Viola Thomas (mother,)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 123 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Dark Brown
First Appearance: Shazam(first series) #25
HISTORY
Andrea Thomas, a high school science teacher, was on an archeological dig when she found a mystical amulet that was given to a Egyptian Queen, Hatsepsut. Isis uses her powers for good by capturing criminals, righting wrongs, and helping anyone that was in danger. This brought her to the attention of the Justice League, who made her a member after 2 cases. Rick Mason was another teacher at her school, while Cindy Lee and Renee Carroll were her students. Recently, Andrea accepted a teaching professorship at Angel Grove University.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Whenever Isis is needed, Andrea will hold the amulet up in the air and shout an incantation. Whoever wore the amulet was given great strength, the ability to move inanimate objects with her incantation, control the elements of sky and earth, and the power to fly and run at super speed.
SUPERMAN
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Clark Kent / Kal-El
Occupation: Adventurer, newspaper reporter, columnist, novelist, former editor
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Jor-El (father; deceased); Lara (mother; deceased); Jonathan Kent (adoptive father), Martha Clark Kent (adoptive mother); Lois Lane (wife); Harry Kent (adoptive uncle); Sarah Kent (adoptive aunt)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America (current); Justice League International (reserve; formerly)
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
(current continuity): Man of Steel #1 (October 1986)
OVERVIEW
Superman is the last son of the dead planet Krypton, rocketed away as an infant by his father who believed that the planet was about to explode. Arriving on Earth, the child was taken in by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raised him as their own child. As he grew up, he discovered that due to this solar system's yellow sun, he had fantastic powers, of flight, speed, strength, endurance and enhanced senses. He decided to us these powers for good, ultimately becoming a hero, given his name by reporter Lois Lane, with whom he would come to work at the Daily Planet in his civilian identity and to whom he would eventually become married. Superman carries the most respect from the Western world that any super-hero has ever known and is proud to represent both America and the world. He serves on the JLA, debatably as the team's leader.
HISTORY
Few beings have such a pronounced effect on the history of one world as Kal-El of Krypton has had on the planet Earth. The last survivor of his doomed homeworld he was rocketed to Earth as a child, where he grew up to understand the awesome responsibility that his powers gave him. It is a responsibility that he is uneasy with but handles well.
When he speaks other people listen, his very presence and personal stature make him an equal with the New Gods and an almost messiah like figure to some normal humans. He is a true hero, with a spirit strong enough to endure heaven, hell, resurrection, vast physical changes and keep down a full time job at the Daily Planet. His new energy powers are a consequence of the way that the Kryptonian body processes solar energy. When he was depowered a massive bombardment of solar energy re-energised him and supercharged him shifting him up a gear in to the new energy form.
As an icon he has prompted the genesis of a second generation of superheroes, he has always been a reserve member of the Justice League and has in the past served as its leader before he was killed by Doomsday. He is now the most high profile of the current Leaguers and is often perceived as its leader.
For aeons the Kryptonian civilisation had evolved from humble beginnings, through vast planetary wars and a flowering of both cultural and scientific thought to become one of the most technologically advanced cultures in the Galaxy. However there was a price to pay for this Utopian world. As their technology grew and they achieved near immortality via medicine their society lost the human aspect, they shut themselves away in ivory towers fearing unprocessed soil and individual thought.
It was in to this dying society that the scientist Jor El was to come. One of Krypton's greatest thinkers for generations it was he who finally diagnosed the strange "Green Death" that was killing the population. He discovered that the ancient wars had taken a toll on the structure of the planet unleashing tremendous forces that were fusing the native elements into a new a radioactive compound. It was the radiation from this Kryptonite that was killing his people. However the ruling body would not believe Jor El's prediction that the continuing synthesis of Kryptonite would cause a chain reaction that would destroy the planet.
Knowing that the end was near for his planet Jor El removed his son (still in his artificial womb) from the traditional chambers and placed him in an experimental space craft. Jor El and his partner Lara launched the craft as Krypton began to die. In their last moments together Jor El declared his love for Lara, an act that was totally alien to that cold, dead society.
The craft that carried Jor El's son was programmed to head for our solar system where it finally crashed landed on the back water Kansas farm of Martha and Jonathan Kent. Finding the child in the capsule they rescued him and due to a freak snow storm were able to announce the child, young Clark Kent, to the world as their natural born son.
Clark was not like the other normal children in Smallville, the differences were not immediate to start with, but as he grew he found that he possessed powers and abilities that were far beyond those of his fellow mortal men. Upon graduating from High school he revealed his abilities to his childhood sweet heart Lana Lang and left to explore the world. He roamed the world, helping in secret, developing contacts and sources that would stand him in good stead for a future career in journalism.
Upon reaching Metropolis, Clark entered Metropolis University where he majored in Journalism completing the course in a fraction of the time that it took most students. While there he fell in love with Lori Remis only to lose her when he found out that she was from the Atlantian city of Tritonis and that he thought that she was dead.
With an interview lined up for a position of the Daily Planet, Clark was waiting around in Metropolis enjoying the two hundredth anniversary celebrations and went down to the airport to watch the new NASA space plane come into land. Near tragedy struck when a small plane crashed into the Space Plane. In an instant Clark knew what he had to do. Using his superpowers to catch the falling plane he at last revealed his existence to a watching world. Moving at superspeed he was able to save the plane and make a get away (bar a brief encounter with the reporter Lois Lane).
Clark returned to his parents in Smallville to seek their advice over what to do next. The world had seen him as a superhero, but had not yet made the connection to Clark Kent. It was Jonathan Kent who came up with the idea of a costumed identity of Superman modeled on those of the mystery men from the Justice Society.
Disguised himself while as Clark Kent he returned to Metropolis where he was able to deliver to Perry White the inside scoop on Superman beating Lois to the story (something that she did not easily forgive him). With Perry, Lois and club photographer Jimmy Olsen, Clark was able to build up for himself a second family in Metropolis. All the while Superman patrolled over head fighting the forces of evil that threatened the world and the city.
As Superman he became the focus for the superhuman activity on Earth, his appearance prompted J'onn J'onzz to go public and many other superhumans to use their abilities for the greater good. He worked closely with the Justice League and grew to be the spokesperson for the metahuman community.
Over the course of a decade Clark cultivated his circle of friends including the docker/bar owner Bibbo, the absent minded Professor Hamilton, Jose Delgado a.k.a. the Gandbuster, Guardian and the genetic whiz's from the Cadmus Project, fellow reporter Cat Grant and the otherworldly Supergirl. At the same time he also made numerous enemies including the billionaire Lex Luthor and the Apokolips sponsored crime cartel of Intergang. Clark also fell in love with Lois and over time she grew to love him to the extent that they agreed to be married (after he revealed that he was secretly Superman to her).
Superman eventually met his match in the form of Doomsday, an alien powerhouse trapped for millennia deep beneath the Earth. Freed Doomsday caused a trail to destruction that headed straight for Metropolis. In a grandstand battle Superman was able to defeat Doomsday, but in the process both combatants lost their lives. In the vacuum left by Superman's death four would be heroes emerged Superboy (a clone created by Cadmus), Steel (an engineer who designed battle armour to rid the city of a weapon of his own design now being used by the street gangs), the Last Son of Krypton (later to be revealed to be the Eradicator) and the mysterious Cyborg who actually claimed to be the reanimated corpse of Superman.
Brought back from the other side by a combination of advanced Kryptonian medicine and a near death experience by his father, Jonathan Kent, Superman was not in time to stop the Cyborg (in truth a vengeful former enemy) and the alien tyrant Mongul from destroying Coast City. With the help of his stand-in's, Supergirl and Green Lantern Hal Jordan he was able to defeat the bad guys.
The time that he had been dead caused a number of problems, including competition at the planet from new reporter Ron Troupe. An old figure from his past nearly caused him to lose his cover identity and he obtained the Bottle city of Krandor to look after. However he was to face another challenge when the Sun was blotted out by the Sun Eater. Without the Sun's energy Superman quickly lost his powers and was left powerless. A condition that did not improve when Parallax gave his life to destroy the Sun Eater.
Superman was able to regain his superpowers with the help of the New Gods however not everything was the same as it had been. Kent slowly started noticing an ongoing mutation in his powers and physical existence in a process that came to a head when he mutated totally into an energy based being. It was only Professor Hamilton using Kryptonian circuitry and Lex Corp. experimental cloth that saved Superman by creating a containment suit that allowed Kent to control his new powers. Shortly afterwards he was split into two different beings by the Cyborg, the impulsive Superman Red and the more thoughtful Superman Blue. In an interesting development, when he was Clark Kent he was totally human. As an energy being he was later split in two, and for a while there were two Supermen - Superman Red and Superman Blue. Following his selfless sacrifice for the world during the Millennium Giants crisis, he became his old self again.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Kal-El's Kryptonian physiology means that under a yellow sun (a.k.a. ours) his cells become supercharged via solar radiation, effectively heightening every normal human ability hundreds of times over. This means that he is one of the strongest and fastest people on the planet. A natural bio-electric aura accounts for his invulnerability acting like a natural force field mere millimetres from his skin, this accounts why his costume is often protected, it was also how Doomsday was able to kill him (when exhausted his aura weakens). The accentuation of normal abilities also applies to his senses allowing his the ability to see most of the EM spectrum, extreme detail and to literally focus past normal matter (a.k.a. X-ray vision).
Perhaps the most notable of Kal-El's powers is his ability to fly by a form of self-telekinesis that also applied to any heavy object he was carrying. A final ability was that he was able to tap his solar energy reserves and to expel that energy via his eyes as a form of "heat ray" vision.
More to come. Later.