Katma Tui
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Katma Tui is a fictional comic book superhero, an extraterrestrial from the planet Korugar, and a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. She first appeared in DC Comics’ Green Lantern (vol. 2) #30 (July 1964), and was created by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane.
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[edit] Character History
Katma Tui hails from the planet Korugar, in the area of space designated Sector 1417 by the Guardians of the Universe, the extraterrestrials from the planet Oa who oversee and administer the Green Lantern Corps. Korugar was also the home planet of the renegade former Green Lantern Sinestro, who used his Green Lantern powers to enslave his planet, and rule over them as a tyrant, unbeknownst to his Guardian superiors. Tui eventually led a rebellion against Sinestro, and even testified against him before the Guardians, who imprisoned Sinestro in the antimatter universe, on the planet Qward. Green Lantern Tomar Re nominated Tui as Sinestro’s replacement as Green Lantern of Sector 1417, and Tui accepted. The people of Korugar, however, came to view the Green Lantern symbol as one of oppression and pain, and saw Tui as a monster for joining them. Tui is now known among her people as “Katma Tui the Lost,” as seen in Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 (November 2005).
In her first mission, which occurred during her probationary period as a Lantern, Tui and Korugaran scientist Imi Kahn destroyed a giant space amoeba creature that threatened Korugar. Tui and Kahn fell in love, and Tui decided to leave the Corps, though Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Earth, used a ruse in order to persuade her not to.
Tui went on to become an exemplary Green Lantern on a number of adventures, including a prison breakout on the Guardians’ prison planet, her struggle against the telepathic influence of the alien Ffa’rzz the Mocker, her kidnapping by a group of terrorists who mistook her for Hal Jordan’s love Carol Ferris, the war against Krona, Nekron, the Weaponers of Qward, and the Anti-Green Lantern Corps, her search for a Green Lantern for the area of space known as the Obsidian Deeps, her encounter with Rot Lop Fan, who would eventually fill that role, the defeat of the extra-dimensional entity known as Maaldor, who had cut off the Lanterns from the Main Battery on Oa that powered them, the seminal event known as Crisis on Infinite Earths, subsequent conflicts with Sinestro, etc.
When Hal Jordan resigned from the Corps for Carol Ferris, Tui was infuriated, given that Jordan had persuaded her to give up Imi Kahn for the Corps. When John Stewart initially turned down the offer of replacing Jordan as Green Lantern of Earth, Tui, projecting her anger towards Jordan upon Stewart, dismissed him as a coward, which provoked Stewart into changing his mind. Tui would eventually train him, and work closely with him on a number of missions. The two would eventually fall in love, and they married.
[edit] Death
Katma Tui was murdered by the villain Star Sapphire. Sapphire attacked an unpowered Katma at home, and murdered her in the kitchen by slicing her to death. She did this simply to prove a point to Hal Jordan. (Action Comics Weekly #601-602)
[edit] Resurrection
During the Green Lantern: Mosaic series, John Stewart forged the Mosaic into a new society and eventually ascended to become the first mortal Guardian of the Universe, known as The Master Builder. As his reward for this new level of awareness, John was reunited with his late wife, Katma Tui. However, tragedy struck once again and Hal Jordan, possessed by Parallax, destroyed both the Guardians and the Central Power Battery, robbing John of his newfound powers and his resurrected wife.
Since there is much debate about the continuity of this series (based on retcons in the Emerald Twilight storyline), it is unknown if Katma's brief resurrection is considered in-continuity or not.
[edit] Oath
Originally, Katma Tui did not speak an oath, but she later spoke the familiar one Hal Jordan was known for in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #193 (October 1985):
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
no evil shall escape my sight,
let those who worship evil's might,
beware my power,
Green Lantern's light!"
[edit] Other Media
In Justice League, Katma Tui (voiced by Kim Mai Guest) had a significant appearance in the second season episode "Hearts and Minds". This Katma seems to be the primary trainer of new Lantern recruits - taking the job over from the comics' version of Kilowog - and is portrayed as one of the more senior members of the Lanterns. While she is not specifically stated as being from Korugar, she shares enough physical similarities with the DCAU version of Sinestro to make the assumption viable.
In "Hearts and Minds", Katma is first seen leading a group of Lanterns in a losing battle with the forces of Despero, whose Py'tar energy seems to match the Lantern energy blow for blow. Katma seems to sacrifice herself so to allow Kilowog to get away, which permits him to make it to Earth and tell John Stewart that Katma was in trouble. It is revealed that Katma trained John when he first joined the Corps, and also that they fell in love but were separated when their assigned sectors were too far away from each other. John arrived at Despero's planet Kalinor to find Katma as one of Despero's slave-maidens; however, she was merely pretending to be one so that she could infiltrate Despero's lines and discover his plans. As other Leaguers arrived (like Hawkgirl), John's subsequent inability to use his ring (due to Despero's influence) forced Katma to try and retrain him, an activity John took very poorly to. Angered by Katma's seemingly dispassionate treatment of John, Hawkgirl none-too-subtly implied that Katma's affair with John was her merely using him as a boytoy. When Despero was finally defeated, Katma offered John a place alongside her to help rebuild Kalinor, but John gently declined so to remain a member of the League and fulfill his current assignment of patrolling Sector 2814.
Katma faded out of the show since then (to allow the show to focus on the burgeoning relationship between John and Hawkgirl), but she wordlessly cameoed in "The Return" with many other Green Lanterns, who came to apprehend Amazo for seemingly destroying Oa. Like most of the Lanterns in this episode, she sported a design change, the reason behind which is unknown.
She also appears briefly in the Superman episode In Brightest Day. [1]
Another version of the character appeared in the Duck Dodgers animated series, voiced by Tara Strong. She was a leader among the corps members, but was under the debatable impression that she needed Dodgers' assistance to save the day. [2]
