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Saturn Girl

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Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl as depicted on the cover of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 (October 2008).
Art by George Pérez.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAdventure Comics #247 (April 1958)
Created byOtto Binder
Al Plastino
In-story information
Alter egoImra Ardeen
SpeciesTitanian
Place of originTitan, moon of Saturn
Team affiliationsLegion of Super-Heroes
AbilitiesPowers:
  • Telepathy
  • Telepathic illusions
  • Telepathic camouflage
  • Telepathic communication, perception, and reception
  • Telepathic defense
  • Mental senses
  • Mind control
  • Psychic link
  • Empathy
  • Psionic shield
  • Psionic blast

Abilities:

  • Basic hand-to-hand combatant
  • Leadership skills

Equipment:

  • Legion Flight Ring

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) is a superheroine appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Saturn Girl is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Imra's "Saturn Girl" title refers to her homeworld of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.[1][2][3][4][5] There have been three versions of Imra since her original debut, separated by the events of the limited series Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! and Infinite Crisis.

Saturn Girl made her live-action debut in an episode of Smallville, portrayed by Alexz Johnson. She also appears in the third season of the Arrowverse series Supergirl, portrayed by Amy Jackson.

Publication history

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Saturn Girl first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958), and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.[6]

Fictional character biography

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Silver Age

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Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)
Saturn Girl in her Bronze Age variant uniform

During the Silver Age of comics, 30th-century Earth is a member of the United Planets and home to its military branch, the Science Police. Imra Ardeen leaves her homeworld of Titan to join the Police as a teenager, during which she, Rokk Krinn, and Garth Ranzz foil an assassination attempt on fellow passenger and billionaire R. J. Brande.[7] At Brande's urging, the three form the Legion of Super-Heroes, inspired by the legacy of Superboy, who they later recruit from the 20th century.[8][9][1]

As a Legionnaire, Imra gains a reputation for self-sacrifice; just prior to the leadership elections of 2975, she learns that a Legionnaire will die during an attack on Earth and decides to take on the responsibility herself. However, Lightning Lad defies her orders and dies instead.[10][11] Saturn Girl later attempts to sacrifice herself to resurrect Lightning Lad, but Proty does so instead.[12] Despite this series of events, Imra's leadership is highly valued in the Legion, and her position as leader, despite its means of acquisition, is allowed to stand. She earned a second term the following year.[13] As leader of the Legion, Saturn Girl is the first female comic book character to head a group of superheroes.[volume & issue needed]

Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad later marry and have two children, Graym and Garridan. The latter is kidnapped by Darkseid shortly after birth and transformed into Validus. Validus becomes an enemy of the Legion as a member of the Fatal Five before Darkseid returns him to normal.[14][1]

Saturn Girl rejoins the Legion after helping stop Universo from conquering Earth. During the "Five Year Gap", Earth's government becomes hostile to the Legion, and Garth is incapacitated by a Winathian plague. Disillusioned by the government and feeling needed more at home, Imra resigns from the Legion and returns to Winath to become a farmer. She and Garth have two additional children, daughters Dacey and Dorritt.[volume & issue needed]

Post-Zero Hour

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Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (1994 team)
Saturn Girl in her post Zero-Hour uniform. Art by Jeff Moy.

After the reboot of the Legion in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Imra remains known as Saturn Girl, and a founder of the Legion along with Cosmic Boy and the renamed Live Wire. Her design was changed from previous versions, combining some elements from past uniforms. The top and pants of her uniform are similar in design to her red and white uniform, but now colored pink instead of red, and has the familiar Saturn logo.

Following Invisible Kid's resignation, Saturn Girl becomes the leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Later, following Lightning Lad's death, she resigns and returns to Titan to undergo therapy before Lightning Lad is resurrected in a crystalline clone of Element Lad's body.[volume & issue needed]

"Threeboot"

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Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)

In the 2005 revamp of the Legion, Saturn Girl and other Titanians are reimagined as solely using telepathy to communicate and lacking vocal cords. Her mother holds a high position in the United Planets, and is instrumental in forging the current alliance between them and the Legion.[15][16][1]

Post-Infinite Crisis

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The events of Infinite Crisis restore an analogue of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion to continuity.[17] Writer Geoff Johns commented on the character:[18]

Saturn Girl is the heart and soul of the Legion of Super-Heroes. When everybody's saying, 'Legion doesn't work anymore. There's too much xenophobia. You can't change people'. Saturn Girl says, 'Yes, you can'. Then suddenly, you realize she can read people's minds. She knows everyone's deepest darkest secrets. If she has faith, then at the base level, human beings and aliens and everybody can reach that goal, can reach achievement and have that goodness inside them. I believe her. I'm with her. And that's why Saturn Girl is so important to the Legion. She's at the epicention of truth for the entire universe for me.

DC Rebirth

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In DC Rebirth, Saturn Girl travels to the present day and is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum after being deemed insane.[19][20] During the Doomsday Clock storyline, she and Rorschach escape Arkham before Doctor Manhattan alters the timeline, erasing the former from existence. However, Superman convinces Manhattan to undo his alterations to the timeline, restoring Saturn Girl and the Legion.[21][1]

The New Golden Age

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In The New Golden Age, Saturn Girl is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members who arrive in the present and confront the Justice Society over their decision to recruit Legionnaire, a young, heroic incarnation of Mordru.[22]

Powers and abilities

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Saturn Girl is a Titanian who possesses innate telepathic abilities, enabling her to sense and manipulate minds and generate illusions and blasts of psychic energy.[15] As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, she is provided a Legion Flight Ring, which allows her to fly and protects her from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.[1]

Other versions

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Reception

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Accolades

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  • In 2011, Comics Buyer's Guide ranked Saturn Girl 50th in their "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[24]
  • In 2019, CBR ranked Saturn Girl 3rd in their "10 Most Powerful Telepaths" list, the highest rank for a female character.[25]
  • In 2022, Sportskeeda ranked Saturn Girl 5th in their "5 most powerful comic book characters with telepathic abilities" list.[26]

In other media

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Television

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Saturn Girl as she appears in Superman: The Animated Series (left), Smallville (center), and Legion of Super-Heroes (2006) (right)
  • Saturn Girl appears in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "New Kids in Town", voiced by Melissa Joan Hart.[27]
  • Saturn Girl appears in the Smallville episode "Legion", portrayed by Alexz Johnson. This version wears a modernized outfit. She, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy travel back in time to save Clark Kent from Persuader and Brainiac before taking the latter's remains back to the future with them for reprogramming.
  • Saturn Girl makes a non-speaking appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Far From Home".
  • Saturn Girl appears in Legion of Super-Heroes (2006), voiced by Kari Wahlgren.[27] This version sports pink eyes and the additional ability to enter a healing trance while unconscious. After having a prominent recurring role in the first season, she is hospitalized while fighting Esper Lass and Tharok in the two-part second season premiere "The Man from the Edge of Tomorrow" before returning to active duty in the series finale "Dark Victory".
  • Saturn Girl appears in Young Justice, voiced again by Kari Wahlgren.[27][28][29] She, Phantom Girl, and Chameleon Boy travel back in time to prevent Lor-Zod from killing Superboy and ensure the Legion's future existence.
  • Imra Ardeen appears in the third season of Supergirl, portrayed by Amy Jackson.[30] This version possesses telekinesis in addition to telepathy, had a sister named Preya who was killed by a Worldkiller called Blight, and married Mon-El to secure an alliance between Earth and Titan.[31][1] She, Mon-El, and Brainiac 5 travel back in time to help Supergirl defeat Reign and the Worldkillers, though Mon-El breaks up with Ardeen during the mission.[32]

Film

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Video games

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Miscellaneous

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Stanford, Jerry (24 November 2021). "10 Things Young Justice Fans Should Know About Saturn Girl". Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Saturn Girl". Cosmic Teams. Michael Koolman. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Saturn Gril". ComicVine. Gamespot. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Saturn Girl (Origin) – Comic Basics". MH Magazine. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Saturn Girl". League of Comic Geeks. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  7. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 347–348. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  8. ^ Superboy #147 (May–June 1968)
  9. ^ Fleisher, Michael L. (2007). The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman. DC Comics. pp. 294–295. ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.
  10. ^ Wells, John (2015). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-1605490458.
  11. ^ Adventure Comics #304 (January 1963)
  12. ^ Adventure Comics #312 (September 1963)
  13. ^ Adventure Comics #323 (August 1964)
  14. ^ Tales of The Legion of Superheroes Annual #5 (1987)
  15. ^ a b Legion of Super-Heroes #47 (December 2008)
  16. ^ Legion of Super-Heroes #49 (February 2009)
  17. ^ Action Comics #859 (January 2008)
  18. ^ Rogers, Vaneta & Briggers, Cliff. Their Name is Legion. CSN 1093: Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds
  19. ^
    • DC Universe: Rebirth #1 (May 2016). DC Comics.
    • Batman (vol. 3) #9 (October 2016). DC Comics.
    • Suicide Squad #9 (January 2017). DC Comics.
    • Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #2 (February 2017)). DC Comics.
    • Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #4 (March 2017). DC Comics.
    • Supergirl #8 & Annual #1 (2017). DC Comics.
    • Batman #21 (April 2017). DC Comics.
  20. ^ Burlingame, Russ (22 October 2016). "DC Comics Confirms The Legion of Super-Heroes's Saturn Girl Was Just in Batman". ComicBook.com.
  21. ^
    • Doomsday Clock #4 (March 2018). DC Comics.
    • Doomsday Clock #5 (July 2018). DC Comics.
    • Doomsday Clock #7 (November 2018). DC Comics.
    • Doomsday Clock #11 (September 2019). DC Comics.
    • Doomsday Clock #12 (December 2019). DC Comics.
  22. ^ Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #10. DC Comics.
  23. ^ Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 (April 1996)
  24. ^ Frankenhoff, Brent (2011). Comics Buyer's Guide Presents: 100 Sexiest Women in Comics. Krause Publications. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4402-2988-6.
  25. ^ Anderson, Jack (August 31, 2019). "DC's 10 Most Powerful Telepaths, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  26. ^ Hill, Brad (4 April 2022). "5 most powerful comic book characters with telepathic abilities ranked". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c d e f "Saturn Girl Voices (Legion of Super Heroes)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 10, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  28. ^ Matadeen, Renaldo (April 24, 2022). "Young Justice's Most Important Time-Traveler Gave the Legion a Massive Upgrade". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  29. ^ Matadeen, Renaldo (October 25, 2021). "Young Justice's Secret Heroes Are Already Breaking Rules". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  30. ^ Petski, Denise (September 25, 2017). "Supergirl: Bollywood Actress Amy Jackson To Recur As Saturn Girl". Deadline. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  31. ^ Smith, Leah (19 November 2017). "Supergirl season 3, episode 7 synopsis: Wake up". Fansided.
  32. ^ Netzley, Sara (May 1, 2018). "Supergirl recap: 'Of Two Minds'". Yahoo!.
  33. ^ Couch, Aaron (January 7, 2019). "Justice League vs. The Fatal Five Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  34. ^ "soranatus - Looks like in 2021 Digital eMation was working on a Scooby-Doo Meets Krypto DTV..." Tumblr. September 6, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  35. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "Adventures in the DC Universe #10 - The Blobs (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  37. ^ "Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Atomic Batteries To Power, Flight Rings To Speed (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
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