Faora
| Faora | |
|---|---|
 Faora in Action Comics #472 (June 1977) |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Hu-Ul) Action Comics #471, May 1977 |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | - Faora Hu-Ul - Zaora Hu-Ul[1] - Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Unrevealed[2] |
| Species | (Both Hu-Ul) Kryptonian (Unknown) Human |
| Abilities | (Both Hu-Ul) Superhuman strength, speed, stamina and invulnerability, freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and vision powers, longevity, flight, and regeneration (Unknown) Disruption of molecular bonds |
Faora is the name of several female super-villains in DC Comics Superman titles. All of them have some connection to Superman's home planet of Krypton.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Pre-Crisis
The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471.[4] She was a beautiful Kryptonian woman whose unexplained hatred for men led her to torture and kill 23 men at a secret concentration camp in her home. For this, she was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone to complete a sentence of 300 Kryptonian years, the second longest term after Jax-Ur.[5][6] Ironically this allowed her to survive her homeworld's destruction, along with the other Phantom Zone prisoners, albeit in an invisible ghostlike form. While imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, she was often depicted plotting against Superman with General Zod and Jax-Ur. Her hatred of men was not limited to Kryptonians, as demonstrated by her pointless murder of a young Frenchman who was attracted by her beauty.[7]
Faora was an expert at the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which utilized the pressure points on the Kryptonian body. This made her an extremely dangerous foe for Superman to face in hand-to-hand combat—he was forced to flee from their first encounter.[5] During one of her first appearances,[8] Faora could manifest some sort of "mental lightning" to physically attack other Kryptonians, but did not exhibit this additional power during later appearances.
[edit] Post-Crisis
[edit] Pocket Universe
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, another Faora (renamed Zaora) appeared in the Pocket Universe created by the Time Trapper, along with General Zod and Quex-Ul.[3] The three tricked the Pocket Universe's Lex Luthor into releasing them from the Phantom Zone. After the Pocket Earth's population continued to resist their conquest of it, the three villains destroyed the atmosphere, killing almost all life. Superman defeated them by permanently stripping the three of their super powers with gold kryptonite. He then killed them with green kryptonite in punishment for their crimes, and to protect the real Earth, after they threatened to somehow regain their powers and destroy it as well.[9]
[edit] Phantom Zone entity
In the Eradicator mini-series, the Eradicator was pressured into embracing his programming by another construct of Kem-L's. This artifact, which was trapped in the Phantom Zone, claimed to be called Faora, after Kem-L's grandmother, and to be the ultimate repository of Kryptonian mythology. However it is unclear how much of this is true.
The Eradicator rejected Faora, "downloading" all the aspects of Kem-L's programming that contradicted Dr. David Conner's morality into the Faora program. Unknown to him, this gave it a new, monstrous form and the ability to leave the Zone, and it targeted Conner's family. The Eradicator destroyed it, but not before it killed Conner's wife.
[edit] Pokolistanian
Another Faora was introduced as one of the aides of General Zod of the fictional nation of Pokolistan. This character, who debuted in Action Comics #779 (July 2001), was an orphan metahuman. Faora has the ability to disrupt molecular bonds. She was the creator of the mutagenic virus which was the linchpin of Zod's plan. Her whereabouts following the General's defeat are unknown.[3]
[edit] "Return to Krypton"
In a 2001–2002 storyline, Superman and Lois Lane visited a version of Krypton which is later revealed to have been created by the villainous Brainiac 13 and based on Jor-El's favorite period in Kryptonian history.[10] In this Krypton, Lois and Clark become fugitives and are pursued by Faora and Kru-El, romantically linked manhunters known as "the Hounds of Zod."[11] This version of Faora, calling herself "the Tigress of Zod", later returns as an ally of Jor-El. She and Kru-El are both killed in a struggle against Kryptonian religious zealots.[12][10]
[edit] In other media
[edit] Films
In the movies Superman and Superman II, the female Kryptonian named Ursa is based on Faora.[13] Her crimes are her hatred of all men, young and old, save only Zod. She fights Superman alongside General Zod and Non.
[edit] Superman
Faora appeared alongside General Zod and Ursa as a Phantom Zone prisoner in the Superman episode "The Hunter".
[edit] Legion of Super-Heroes
The pre-Crisis version of Faora can be seen as a cameo in the Legion of Super-Heroes episode "Phantoms" as one of the many Phantom Zone villains attacking the Legion members when they were temporarily trapped there.
[edit] Man of Steel
Faora will be portrayed by actress Antje Traue in Zack Snyder's upcoming film Man of Steel as the right hand of General Zod.
[edit] Smallville
Faora made her live action debut appearance on Smallville in the season eight episode "Bloodline" as the wife of General Zod. Faora (in disembodied form) escapes the Phantom Zone and leaves through the "escape hatch" portal that Zor-El (Christopher Heyerdahl) built for Kara Kent (Laura Vandervoort). Faora proceeds to possess the body of Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and search Metropolis for Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer), who turns out to be her and Zod's son. After Faora explains to Davis his origins, she stabs him in the chest in order to speed up his "evolution". During an encounter with Clark Kent (Tom Welling), Faora tried to kill Clark by choking him, but after Clark freed himself from Faora, Kara managed to imprison Faora in the Phantom Zone once again by using a crystal from John Jones (Phil Morris).
Faora (Sharon Taylor) returned to Earth through Cloning in the Season 8 finale (Doomsday) when Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) opened the orb, through the use of the death of Davis Bloome at the hands of Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore). Since Faora was in a cloned body of her original form, she had memories from her original self's life, meaning that she was confused as to why she was not able to possess natural Kryptonian powers under a yellow sun. However, it is also revealed in the same episode that Jor-El (Julian Sands) sabotaged the Orb so that when Zod and Faora and the others arrived on Earth, they would not have Kryptonian powers under a yellow sun to protect the Earth from them. In the episode, Savior, After they are released from the Orb and take Tess hostage, they questioned Zod about their powerless states, When Zod refused to tell them and told them to knell before him, the soldiers rebelled against Zod and took him hostage until they realized what they were to do. However, Zod managed to win back their trust and allegiance. In the episode "Kandor" was with Kandorian soldiers (Basqat and Alia) when Zod spoke to Jor-El after they kidnapped him from Tess' cellar while Zod was flirting with Tess in order to distract her, and then releasing him after Zod was done beating him. In the episode "Pandora" shows an alternate future where Faora gained her Kryptonian abilities through Zod's solar tower and served Zod, wearing the Mark of Zod on her chest. She helped Zod evade the Resistance attack at the Luthor Mansion. In the real timeline, Faora was present when Zod was issuing orders to his troops to ensure that the solar tower will be built. Faora was due to be given orders, but Clark Kent interrupted the proceedings before Faora and the rest of the soldiers were ordered by Zod to "Kneel before Kal-El".
In the episode "Persuasion", as Faora read a newspaper at a Metropolis newsstand, Clark appeared to remind her not to show her Kryptonian dog tags. Faora continued to mourn the loss of the solar tower following its destruction by Clark. In the episode "Conspiracy", Clark meets Faora's younger sister Vala (Crystal Lowe) at the bookstore Vala worked at. Faora told her sister to close the shop to get some cappuccinos. Unbeknownst to Faora, Vala was abducted by Dr. Bernard Chisholm (JR Bourne). Faora and Clark teamed up to find Chisholm and Vala. In the episode "Sacrifice", Clark arrived in the middle of a Kryptonian ceremony where Faora told him they were waiting for Zod's return so they could ask for his forgiveness. Clark took her to the barn and showed her the diary of Dr. Virgil Swann (Christopher Reeve), revealing that Zod had destroyed Krypton. Faora was devastated, and Clark used his powers to find out she was pregnant with Zod's child. Faora then told Clark that Zod was after the Book of Rao. Faora went back to her fellow Kandorians and tried to convince them to live a life of peace on Earth when they are attacked by Checkmate and their leader, Amanda Waller. Amanda Waller took Faora away from the Kandorians, and Faora offered to work with Checkmate when Zod attacked Waller and took Faora away before Clark could stop them. Zod was angry with Faora's betrayal and, when she refused to kneel, he strangled her to death, but afterwards realized she was pregnant with their baby. Grieved by what he had done, Zod listened to his child's last heartbeats in Faora's womb. After Faora is killed Zod blames Checkmate for her death, convincing the surviving Kandorians, even Vala, that the humans will never let them live in peace and join Zod's army.
In the episode "Salvation" (the Season finale of Season 9), Faora was avenged by the other Kandorians and Clark when General Zod was exposed and he would be punished for taking her life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Pocket Universe duplicate of the pre-Crisis character
- ^ The Pokolistanian character's true name has yet to be revealed.
- ^ a b c Jimenez, Phil (2008). "Faora". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 118. ISBN 0-7566-4119-5. OCLC 213309017.
- ^ Action Comics #471 (May 1977)
- ^ a b Action Comics #472 (June 1977)
- ^ Phantom Zone #1 (January 1982)
- ^ Phantom Zone #3 (March 1982)
- ^ Action Comics #473 (July 1977)
- ^ Superman (2nd series) #22 (October 1988)
- ^ a b Kelly, Joe (w), Ferry, Pascual (p), Smith, Cam (i). "Return to Krypton II, Part Four: Dream's End" Action Comics 793: 20 (September 2002), New York: DC Comics
- ^ Schultz, Mark (w), Mahnke, Doug (p), Nguyen, Tom (i). "Return to Krypton Part Three: The Most Dangerous Kryptonian Game" Superman: The Man of Steel 111 (April 2001), New York: DC Comics
- ^ Schultz, Mark (w), Kerschl, Karl (a). "Return to Krypton II Part Three: Blood and Heresy" Superman: The Man of Steel 128 (September 2002), New York: DC Comics
- ^ Brownfield, Troy; Matt Brady (2008-10-18). "New Krypton Countdown: When Kryptonians Walk the Earth". Newsarama.com. Imaginova Corporation. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100818-New-Krypton-Countdown-1.html. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
