Spider Girl
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- For the Marvel Comics character who is the daughter of Spider-Man, see Spider-Girl.
Spider Girl, real name Sussa Paka, is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics.
The character was first mentioned as a concept in the letters page of Adventure Comics #310; a fan suggested a character with the power of super-strong prehensile hair. Spider Girl formally first appeared in issue #323 of the same series as a failed Legion of Super-Heroes applicant.
She went on to join Tarik the Mute's underground academy for supervillains and later the Legion of Super-Villains.
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[edit] Pre-Zero Hour History
Sussa Paka was the subject of 30th century mutagenic experimentation on the matriarchal world of Taltar, part of a campaign by the female aristocracy there to develop a force to protect the planet from male hostility and extend Taltar's influence in the United Planets. Sussa herself was recruited from Earth and was expected to take part in a planned matriarchal coup.
But when she reached puberty, Sussa decided there were more interesting things to do with males than fight them. She sneaked off Taltar, assumed the identity of Spider-Girl and applied for membership with the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Scientists on Taltar had given Sussa the ability to grow her hair at will to considerable lengths and to manipulate it as a weapon. She suspected this alone might not impress the Legion, but hoped that her other physical attributes might tip the scales in her favor. Sussa botched the demonstration of her power and got little sympathy from Saturn Girl, who was presiding over the tryouts.
If they'd had any reason to move on to study Sussa's psyche, the Legionnaires would have discovered she had no particular predilection for obeying rules or following orders, and that she was there for a shot at flirting with the male Legionnaires.
Sussa was disappointed by her failure, but quickly decided there were plenty of other ways a woman could enjoy herself in the United Planets. She was in the midst of doing just that when, for the first time, she met a man who was more than her match. It was the charismatic Laevar Bolto, the notorious Cosmic King. Long practiced in the art of persuading and corrupting the morally ambivalent, Bolto worked his psychological and narcotic magic on Sussa and was able to recruit her into his growing Legion of Super-Villains.
That led to some unhappy years of dependence on Bolto's cultish leadership and the illegal substances he used to force that dependence. Captured by the Science Police shortly after the epic battle between the Super-Villains and the Super-Heroes on Orando, Sussa received rehabilitative treatments on Labyrinth that allowed her to shake her psychological and physical addictions. That earned Sussa her release, though her attitude toward the law remains far from the U.P.-approved ideal.
These events behind her, Sussa wanders the post-collapse Free Worlds in search of adventure, credits, and men. She's often in a position to assist the forces of the law and can be a formidable ally of the authorities when she's in the mood. But just as often, she pursues adventures that dance on the edge of illegality and sometimes leap enthusiastically beyond that line.
Sussa enjoys provoking a chase, especially when it involves an attractive man. It's hard for her to choose, though, between seducing her pursuer or maneuvering him to fall into his own traps, so she usually attempts to do both.
Before the Legion of Super-Heroes disbanded, Sussa enjoyed a few opportunities to become a considerable pain in the posterior to the team, a role she looks forward to reassuming now that the team has reunited.
[edit] Five Year Gap
During the Five-Year Gap storyline in Legion, Paka was written as a half-reformed thief with a crush on Legionnaire Ultra Boy.
She joined the Legion as Spider Girl but changed her codename to Wave just before the Legion reboot, dyeing her hair a sea-blue color. (Legion of Superheroes Vol. 4 #54 1994)
[edit] Post-Zero Hour History
Spider Girl's first appearance after the Zero Hour event occurred in Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 #64 as a member of the Workforce. She had a relationship with Ultra Boy while he was also a member of the team. As a result of this she was extremely resentful of Apparition.
She has not yet appeared in the Legion's most recent incarnation.
[edit] Powers
Sussa has the ability to quickly grow her hair to great lengths, the limits of which have yet to be determined. She can also manipulate her prodigious locks to attack or ensnare an opponent. This unusual ability results from mutagenic experiments performed on the matriarchal world of Tatar.
The Taltarese selected Sussa for the experiments based on her impressive early development and genetic history, which suggested the considerable size and strength she's gained in adulthood. She's also studiously developed her agility, endurance, and fighting skills to minimize the chances she'll ever have to pay for her extra-legal adventures.
She also has amassed an extensive collection of 30th-century criminal gadgetry, though most of it is designed to assist her in breaking and entering and evading capture. Sussa is extremely unlikely to seriously injure her adversaries except when she must defend herself from violent attack.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Spider Girl appears in her Wave identity (with the blue-dyed hair) in the Legion of Super Heroes cartoon in the episode "Lightning Storm". She is a member of a rival team of heroes who charge people for helping them. She displays the ability to wrap and lift things with her hair like her comic book counterpart.
