- Biography
- Threat Assessment
- Trivia and Notes
- Gallery
Biography[]
(Submitted by Kare-Bear-Stare)
Background[]
Ak-Var and his wife Tes Del-Nar were appointed to be the administrators of the Kryptonian colony on Kandor after a Calatonian attack decimated the House of Zod, the former rulers of the colony. Tes was pregnant with their first child as they took up residence in the magister's estate.
Thara Ak-Var: 1971 - 1978[]
Shortly after the appointment, Ak-Var and Tes had their child, a daughter named Thara. As was the custom of Kryptonian nobility, Thara added her father's name to her own and thus became known as Thara Ak-Var in the Kandorian Hall of Records.
Thara had a good life, though not necessarily the best upbringing. You see, Kandorians skewed toward militaristic and more than a little xenophobic (I mean, the House of Zod was the magistrative house of the colony for centuries). Thara was no exception to this and spent her childhood thinking aliens were filth. Thara believed it was her right as a Kryptonian to reign supreme. Even at a young age, she spoke of General Zod as though he were a war hero, rather than a war criminal.
When Brainiac attacked, seven-year-old Thara watched from the surface of Kandor as Krypton was destroyed. Afterward, the fleet turned toward her own colony, but before she could comprehend what had happened, Thara's parents were killed in front of her by their own robotic servants.
Thara Ak-Var: 1978 - 1987[]
Captured and immobilized, Thara would awaken much later aboard a starship of strange design. In time, Thara would discover that she had been cryogenically frozen by Brainiac as a means to archive the Kryptonian species and was now the female specimen of her race in Brainiac's menagerie. This experimental prison/nursery of Brainiac's contained children from a dozen other worlds.
Thara's male counterpart was Lor-Zod, the last son of Zod - the disgraced House which House Var had replaced. There was a little hostility between the two at first, but their present circumstances and Thara's xenophobia forced the two close together. Close enough that Thara confided in Lor-Zod about her intent to stage a rebellion against their captor. Trusting him with this information was risky. Lor-Zod had little desire to act against Brainiac. Nevertheless, Thara's wiles and charm proved strong enough to sway Lor-Zod toward her goals. Unfortunately, the coup failed. As punishment Thara and all the surviving children were put back on ice.
Thara Ak-Var: 1987 - 2013[]
Thara spent most of the time over the better part of the next twenty-five years in cryogenic sleep. When she was thawed out, Thara found herself caged and usually alone. She became the subject of a number of experiments, most utilizing ores which Brainiac had collected from the remains of Krypton's core. The experiments gave Thara tremendous headaches and made her volatile. After the experimentation, Brainiac returned her to cryo-sleep.
Then Thara woke up, naked and confused, in a frozen wasteland. She mistook the planet for Krypton until she saw a yellow star in the sky illuminating the scattered debris of Brainiac's ship all around her.[1]
Superwoman: 2013 - 2014[]
Thara was deserted on Earth's continent Antarctica. Despite her lack of attire, Thara was hardly hindered by the extreme temperatures around her on account of the direct exposure to the yellow star above. Still, getting clothed was her first order of business. As she traveled the white wasteland, she found other bits of scattered debris and people she mistook for Kryptonians rummaging through the wreckage.
Cautious, Thara observed them from a distance. This was easily accomplished as she found her senses heightened to an extreme. Though she could not understand the language they spoke, she recognized that they were salvaging what they could. Based on their uniforms, Thara rightfully suspected they were part of a military operation. When one of the other prisoners from Brainiac's menagerie approached the scavengers, they were sedated and captured. Seeing this, Thara was ready to flee when she saw one of the soldiers unearth a damaged cryopod that still contained a frozen Lor-Zod.
Unable to bring herself to abandon Lor-Zod, Thara shadowed the soldiers to their operating base. She infiltrated the compound, disguised herself in their clothes, and attempted to free Lor-Zod. When she finally found herself alone with the pod for a prolonged time, she was able to free the body from the pod with ease but could not find a way to awake him from his slumber. That is when Thara was approached by Thaddeus Sivana, who had been called in as a consultant by the U.S. military.
Sivana had seen Thara tear the pod open with her bare hands on the security cameras all around her (she didn't understand Earth technology, remember?) and assessed she was a Kryptonian. Having studied the aliens to some length, Sivana knew enough Kryptonian to put Thara at ease to allow him to approach and offer to help her friend.
Superwoman: 2013 - 2014[]
Rise of Superwoman
Taken to Sivana's primary research facility in Fawcett City, Thara was taught English and the different cultures of the people of Earth, particularly the American people. She was also taught that on their planet she had extra capabilities than she did on her homeworld. She was taught to use them in exchange for allowing Sivana and his team to research her under the idea that the better they understood Kryptonians, the better they could help Lor-Zod who remained in a coma due to complications from the crash causing his cryopod to deepen his depth of slumber.
While research and training went underway, Thara entertained Sivana's talk of using her abilities to help the people of this planet while also helping his company generate revenue to further his research. Sivana explained that there were Kryptonians from the House of El that escaped Krypton's destruction and that they also lived on this planet as champions who were nothing more than puppets of a corrupt political engine. Thara agreed to help with his plan of forming 'Sivana's Salvation Syndicate' if he held true to his promise and helped Lor-Zod.
After several months, Thara was present for Sivana's fulfillment of their deal. Lor-Zod went berserk at first, tearing apart the lab and hurting the scientists around him. Thara intervened and was able to calm him down with her loving embrace and soothing voice.[2]
Matrix: 2014[]
Fashioned into a media darling, Thara Ak-Var became Superwoman. Her original costume was designed to use the "S-Shield" of Superman, but Thara insisted that Sivana's PR team could not expect her to wear another Kryptonian House's sigil on her chest. The suit was redesigned to use the House of Var sigil instead.
Thara hit the ground running with the marketing for Superwoman and the Salvation Syndicate. She quickly became the team's public face and unofficial spokesperson. The chemistry between her and Ultraman (which was the name given to Lor-Zod) was a big hit with focus groups and Sivana was quick to center much of the attention on those two.
In the team's public patrols, Thara often stuck around to talk to the media while Lor-Zod would watch over captives and/or evidence until the police arrived. More than once, this left Thara and Lor-Zod without their team when members of the Justice League arrived. The first of these exchanges were hostile, as Thara was not one to beat around the bush and openly accused the Justice League of being too slow to respond due to their bureaucratic red tape. However, as time cooled her head and Thara was exposed to more news sources outside of what was prepared by Sivana's team for her, she began to see that the Justice League was doing more than her team was - particularly when it came to the Reach.
The Reach would end up being the biggest division between her and the Salvation Syndicate. Despite Thara's sheltered upbringing on Kandor, she had heard stories of the Reach. She had seen her parents planning Kandor's response in the event the Reach came to their world. Sivana's people arranged a visit with the Reach Ambassador for Thara. He assured her such concerns should die out as they had undergone a cultural shift since her childhood four decades ago, but Thara wasn't buying it.
Thara and Lor-Zod met with Superman and Power Girl discreetly to review the Justice League's investigation of the Reach, which included damning evidence that Sivana had ties to a group of power brokers known as the Light. That alone settled it for them, and they broke ties with the Salvation Syndicate immediately, hiding at the Fortress of Solitude and undergoing a less slanted education of Earth's history, overseen by Kelex.
Matrix: 2014 - 2016[]
Shortly after arriving at the Fortress, Thara was recruited by Superman and ARGUS agent Alex Danvers to undergo a makeover to help bring the murderer of Linda Danvers to justice. At Agent Danvers' request, Thara assumed the identity of her murdered sister to lure Clyde Phillips out of hiding. Once Phillips was caught (and confused by Linda seemingly alive), Alex asked Thara to continue the charade.
Once Lor-Zod's own identity was created, Thara and him moved to Metropolis and began a life together. As Linda, Thara began working at the Ace O'Clubs after hitting it off with its owner, Bibbo.
Thara would return to heroics when Doomsday beat Superman into submission. She and Lor-Zod donned Kryptonian bodysuits prepared for them by Kelex, affixed with the House of El sigil. Thara still had her own reservations about wearing another House's sigil, but she dropped such protests when a recovered Superman welcomed her to the family.[3]
Supplemental Reports[]
- (Submitted by Valkyrie) Here are some fun facts about my new redheaded bestie:
- Thara has little self-control in terms of financial responsibility, she blows most of her money on booze, clothing, and food delivery apps.
- Thara wears her engagement ring on a necklace, similar to how nobles wore their betrothed's House sigil as a medallion on Krypton.
- (Submitted by Cypher) In order to help her sell her cover identity as Linda Danvers, a former mental patient, Thara and I have had several psychic sessions together in which I uploaded various residual memory fragments I picked up from the mental hospital while visiting my mother. According to Chris, this has given Thara some disturbing nightmares on several instances.
Key Affiliations[]
- Salvation Syndicate: During her tenure as Superwoman, Thara was a founding member of the Salvation Syndicate. She was one of the most popular and visible icons of the Syndicate, becoming a media darling for her innocent confusions about Earth customs and her sense of humor. She would later be among the first of the Syndicate to defect.
- House of El: Thara has since become a member of the extended House of El, as the betrothed of the House Patriarch's adopted son, Lor-Zod.
- Justice League: Thara joined the Justice League in April 2017 as Matrix. The public was quick to accept her, having already become endeared to her during her stint as Superwoman and happy to see her forgiven.
- Advena Legion: In exchange for a Presidential pardon, forgiving her involvement with the Salvation Syndicate (even though she had defected prior to the assault on National City), Thara joined Lor-Zod in endorsing President Luthor's Advena Legion initiative.
- Brainiac: Thara hates Brainiac with a fiery passion.
- Lor-Zod: Thara considers her betrothed Lor-Zod to be her soulmate.
- Dr. T. Sivana: While she has her doubts about Sivana's claim of being ignorant to the true nature of the Syndicate, Thara regards Thaddeus Sivana as a mentor and father figure as he taught her English and most of what she knows about Earth's culture.
- Alex Danvers: As she now lives under the assumed identity guise of Linda Danvers, Thara is quickly coming to regard Alex as her actual sister.
Personality[]
Thara is a bold and confident Kryptonian woman. She comes from a militaristic, politically conservative upbringing before Kandor's ruin. She remains somewhat distrustful of alien species due to her own parents' xenophobic teachings, but her work with the Advena Legion is dulling that philosophy as is her adjustment to life on Earth.
More than anyone else, Thara is close to Lor-Zod. They are soulmates and rarely have any secrets between the two of them. This was never more obvious than when Lor-Zod's own parents Dru-Zod and Ursa tried to bring him to their side. Lor-Zod almost gave in, even refusing to listen to Superman. In the end, it was Thara who was able to convince Lor-Zod that it was Dru-Zod, and Kryptonians like him, were what brought about Krypton's end, even more so than Brainiac.
When enjoying time with Alex Danvers or the Danvers family, Thara has little difficulty playing the part of Linda. Thara's natural personality is quite similar to what a teenage Linda Danvers was, and thus it appears to convince Fred and Sylvia that their daughter is getting better. Thara had difficulty lying to Fred and Sylvia at first, but Alex assured her this was for the best as the truth could literally kill Fred Danvers.
Thara's friends outside of her love life, the Danvers, and Chris' adopted family (the Kents) include Lana Lang, John Henry Irons, Natasha Irons, Traci Bandyopadhyay, and Kelex. As Matrix, Thara is closest with Lucy Lane, Jillian Pearlman, Green Lantern (Cruz) and Firehawk.
Threat Assessment[]
Resources[]
- Modified Kryptonian Physiology: Thara's cellular structure is much more resilient and effective than human tissue. While most of her body is similar to human anatomy, Thara also possesses organs whose functions are not yet understood but are likely the source of her bio-cellular matrix (or "biomatrix").
- Solar Radiation Absorption: Thara's cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on her physiology, but her cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of energy. The wavelength of her home solar system's red star enables her body to function at a nearly identical level of a healthy human; while the radiation of Earth's yellow star acts as fuel to enable superhuman abilities. Other types of solar radiation have other effects.
- Enhanced Physicality: The exact limits of Thara's strength are presently unknown, but she has the capacity to lift over 300 metric tons. ARGUS lists her as a being with Class VII Enhanced Strength. Thara also has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for an undefined period. She has been shown to have unlimited stamina if she is continually exposed to yellow sunlight, though she does require sleep as her mind can suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. It is likely she will become even stronger and faster with continued exposure to Earth's yellow star.
- Supersonic Speed: Thara is capable of moving, reacting, running and flying at superhuman speeds. Thara's running speed has been calculated to be around 2,300 MPH (Mach 3) which is also her cruising speed at flying.
- Enhanced Senses: All of Thara's senses are heightened. She can hear sounds before sound waves actually reach her. She can hear at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency. She can smell odors from up to a mile away. Thara can see into all of the EM Spectrum and see details at a far greater distance than humans. She can see microscopic particles or even see through solid matter (excluding lead) at short distances.
- Flight: Thara can defy gravity and fly at supersonic speed. Her maximum flying speed is Mach 7 (approximately 5,400 MPH).
- Intense Lung Capacity: Thara can create hurricane force winds by blowing, and also chill her breath to freeze a target.
- Invulnerability: Thara's body is nigh-invulnerable due to her dense cellular and anatomical structure as well as her bio-electrical aura. Thara is resistant or immune to different forms and levels of laceration, blunt force trauma, energy-based assaults, falls from great heights, explosions, the cold void of space, and all known diseases on Earth. Her "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from her skin while also integrated with her cellular tissues. Her invulnerability is in constant flux dependent on her recent solar radiation exposure.
- Ocular Heat Emission: Thara can fire beams of heat from her eyes.
- Ocular X-Ray Emission: She can see microscopic particles or even see through solid matter (excluding lead) at short distances.
- Psychokinetic Heat Projection: Due to experiments conducted on her by Brainiac, Thara has an activated psionic ability to superheat the air around her hands or propel this heat outward in a focused stream.
- Martial Arts: Thara is perhaps the most skilled Kryptonian in hand-to-hand combat outside of actual military veterans Zod, Ursa, and Non. This comes from her upbringing and childhood military-grade training on Kandor. After their recent run-ins with Doomsday and Zod, Kal-El and other members of the House of El have begun training in traditional Kryptonian martial arts with Thara at the Fortress of Solitude. Thara enjoys this so much that she has Kelex provide her access to the archives of the Fortress, so she can practice even more advanced techniques, so none of her pupils will surpass her own mastery.
- Piloting: Thara comes from an advanced alien society where flying craft were the normal means of transport, particularly among nobles. She has easily transitioned her basic rudimentary ability into a refined skill with which she can use to operate a Justice League Javelin. She has not logged the hours to fly without a co-pilot, but her flight instructor, Jillian Pearlman, says Thara was born to fly.
- Waiting Tables: Under the identity of Linda Danvers, Thara works at Ace O'Clubs as a waitress, hostess, and bartender. She is objectively bad at her job, as she regularly messes up orders, spills drinks, ditches work to visit with her friends or "hero up," and is perpetually late. However, while all of this gives her employer Bibbo a headache, he is reluctant to fire her as he does genuinely adore her. Thara is also a big draw for a lot of customers as if there is one thing she's mastered, it's knowing how to score tips. Thara is legitimately friendly, sassy, and flirty in just the right way. She can often be seen sitting at her customers' tables or on the barstool next to them, sharing an entertaining story and putting a smile on their face.
Weaknesses[]
- Behavior — Hotheaded: Thara is hotheaded and stubborn to a fault.
- Vulnerability — Kryptonite Radiation / Esoteric Energy: Thara's biomatrix makes her weak to certain radiations, particularly those of magical energies, other esoteric sources such as ki, and the effects of the different strains of Kryptonite. Of note, Thara appears to have a high-level of tolerance toward Pink Kryptonite due to Brainiac's uses of it in experimenting on her.
- Power Inability — Can't See Through Lead: Also, Thara cannot see through lead with her x-ray vision powers. As lead also blocks the effects of Kryptonite radiation, it is possible to use a lead container to bring Kryptonite into close proximity of her before exposing her to it, preventing her from easily escaping its effects.
- Power Requirement — Solar Radiation: Without regular exposure to Earth's yellow star, Thara's abilities will eventually weaken as her energy reserves deplete. When she is exposed to the same red solar radiation as Krypton's red sun Rao, Thara will lose her powers rapidly. Exposure to yellow sunlight will reverse this effect.
- Weakness — Sensory Overload: Because of her super hearing, Thara's ears are extra-sensitive to truly extreme and sudden noises, such as the Canary Cry.
- Vulnerability — Psionics: Though Thara's own psionic abilities give her a higher resistance to psionics than other Kryptonians, she can still be overcome by a powerful psionic. A mind controlled Kryptonian is always a dangerous thing.
- Survival Requirement — Respiration: Thara is susceptible to suffocation. Even Kryptonians need to breathe. If operating in the vacuum of space, she needs a breathing apparatus.
Analytics []
- Physicality: 7 — Legendary
- Occult: 3 — Trained / Exceptional
- Weaponry: 4 — Expert / Enhanced
- Expertise: 2 — Basic / Typical
- Range: 7 — Legendary
- Strategy: 3 — Trained / Exceptional
- TOTAL: 122
- RANKING: High Threat
Trivia and Notes[]
Trivia[]
- Matrix joined the Justice League in 2017, nominated by Wonder Woman.
- Superwoman served as Power Girl's counterpart in the Salvation Syndicate.
- Wally Johnson has a crush on her. She sees him as a weird friend.
Notes[]
- She's a composite character of Thara Ak-Var, Matrix, Linda Danvers, and Superwoman from the comics.
- Her Superwoman suit is modeled after Supergirl's suit during the New 52.
- Thara's address is a nod to her first comic book appearance: Superman #681, October 2008, by Geoff Johns and James Robinson.
Gallery[]
Network & Oracle Files[]
Appears In[]
Links and References[]