Supernova (comics)
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Supernova is a fictional superhero in the DC Universe who first appeared in 52 issue #8 in June 2006.
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[edit] Character history
Eight weeks into the series 52, sightings of a mysterious hero are reported by several eyewitnesses, with his exploits revealed in flashbacks. He saves an elderly woman and others from a falling monorail by seemingly teleporting them to safety, rescues a group of firemen in a burning building by vanishing the falling rafters, shears a gunman's rifle in half to save police officers, and saves a young girl from a rip current.
The Daily Star newsapaper has the first exclusive of the new superhero, dubbing him "Supernova". That same day, Supernova saves Clark Kent as Kent pulls a "Lois Lane" and jumps out of a window at the Daily Planet, in order to get an interview. Supernova cuts the interview short to take on Bahdnesian terrorists in a stolen US Army all-terrain vehicle, and moves a chunk of pavement instantly, leading the criminals to drive the vehicle into the resultant hole and surrender. Supernova then secures the crime scene and protects a young boy from falling into the hole. All the while, Kent watches amongst a crowd of witnesses, taking pictures and getting brief statements from Supernova.
Several weeks later, a gigantic crustacean (a Ballostro) arrives in Metropolis to feed. Supernova begins to repulse the monster, ensure the safety of a nuclear powered submarine brought in the city by the monster itself and reassure the local population when Booster Gold arrives. Booster and Supernova immediately clash, with Supernova urging Booster to step back, and going so far as to call Booster a fraud. Booster knocks out Supernova, who wakes up too late to save Booster from his kamikaze attempt to save the city from the radiation leakage of the submarine. Supernova catches the dead body of Booster as it falls from the sky and is left mourning his death along with Clark Kent and Skeets.
Over the course of the next few weeks, speculation about Supernova's identity and addressed and further fueled. One night, deposites Cassandra Sandsmark (Wonder Girl) on a rooftop whereand she confronted Supernova about his apparent lack of recognition of her. He responds blandly and begins to leave. As he goes, Cassie calls him "Kon-El."
Days later, Supernova is shown exploring the currently unoccupied Batcave. The Batcave's location is known to only select individuals such as Superman, Kon-El, Ted Kord, Hal Jordan and Booster Gold. A week or so after this, Lex Luthor saw in Supernova the same modus operandi and attitude of Superman. Luthor believes Supernova to be Superman, taking a masked identity to toy with him.[1]
Eventually, several weeks later in 52: Week 31, Supernova and Ralph Dibny talk. Dibny reveals that he knows Supernova isn't Superboy. Ralph states that while the powers did confuse him, he realized that one device could give him his powers. He also states that Superman's disappearance was the key. Ralph does not reveal who Supernova actually is.
[edit] In story references
- The Daily Planet, during "One Year Later", mentions "another Supernova" sighting.[2]
- While investigating Rip Hunter's lab, Booster Gold stumbles upon Hunter's mysterious notes and research. "Who is Supernova?" is mentioned along with the many chronal problems Hunter blames on Skeets.[3]
- An interview with 52's editor Steve Wacker confirms that Supernova's costume insignia is the same as that of Metropolis's fictional TV station Galaxy Broadcasting System.
- In an interview, 52 editor Michael Siglain hinted that Supernova may be a name shared by multiple people based on the powers he has exhibited to date.
[edit] Connections to Superman
The character was first mentioned in Wizard and Newsarama, although the first mention in-story was in Superman #650.
Supernova's costume is similar in design — albeit with a different color scheme — to the costume of Nova, an "imaginary story" version of Superman who lost his Kryptonian powers and became a Batman-like crimefighter in a two-part story in World's Finest Comics #178 (September 1968) and #180 (November 1968). This version of the character also appeared in Infinite Crisis #5 as one of the many versions of Superman. Later, Luthor believes Supernova to be his enemy, Superman.[4].
[edit] Powers and abilities
The exact nature of Supernova's powers was unclear as of his debut, but he has been shown to fly and emit powerfully bright flashes of light when performing superheroic acts. He can remove matter with energy beams coming from his eyes. It was not apparent if the matter is disintegrated or removed by other means. At one point, when asked what happened to an object he removed, he remarked "I sent it away." He also appears to teleport in bright flashes of light. He is able to sense and "remove" a surveillance satellite trained on him from hundreds of miles away.
In issue 31 of 52, Ralph Dibny states that "one device could tie [Supernova's superpowers] all together".
[edit] Appearances in other media
Supernova has recently been announced to appear in the 52 wave 1 series of action figures.[5]
