Kasnia

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The flag of Kasnia, as seen in an early episode of Superman: The Animated Series

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Kasnia is a fictional country which appears in the DC animated universe.

It appears to be a Balkan country that is wracked by civil war between the Northern and Southern factions of the country. The Northern Kasnians are composed of tribes and have the appearance of a guerrilla movement. The Southern Kasnians appear to be a regular military and there is some evidence that they are the nation's "legitimate" government. The southern government is an authoritarian hereditary monarchy.

1 First Appearances
2 Justice League
3 Batman Beyond
4 Footnotes

[edit] First Appearances

Kasnia (spelled with a "Z") first appeared in the premiere episode of Superman: The Animated Series, "The Last Son Of Krypton". In that episode, it appears to be ruled by a "Regent", who makes a secret deal with Lex Luthor to acquire a prototype of LexCorp's new military battlesuit. Because Kasnia is under a trade embargo, the sale is carried out by staging a theft from Lexcorp using a team of hired mercenaries, led by John Corben. Superman's fight with Corben in the suit marks his first high-profile debut in Metropolis.^[1]

In Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, a faction of the Kasnian military attempts to purchase a large number of high-tech weapons from Gotham mobsters The Penguin, Rupert Thorne, and the assassin Bane. The Kasnians never received these arms and likely intend to retaliate against the Penguin and Thorne for cheating them.^[2]

[edit] Justice League

Kasnia makes several appearances in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series.^[3]^[4]

In the Season 2 episode "Maid of Honor," the country becomes the vehicle for a plot by Vandal Savage. He manipulates Kasnia's substantial contribution to an International Space Station to mount an orbital weapon. After becoming affianced to Princess Audrey, the heir to the throne, Savage has the current incumbent, King Gustav, poisoned and takes the throne in Audrey's name (their wedding appears to be Greek Orthodox in nature).^[5]^[6]

After the Justice League foiled Savage's plot, their marriage was ended, either through divorce or annulment, and Audrey, as Queen, resolved to be a more conscientious ruler than her father. Given her basically good nature, and her strong friendship with the League, especially Wonder Woman, it is likely that the Kasnian faction featured in "Mystery of the Batwoman" was either (1) acting before she assumed the throne, or (2) acting without her or her father's knowledge or approval.

However, the space station was destroyed, causing Kasnia to suffer terrible economic woes. The civil war was also exacerbated in the episode "Hawk and Dove," when the overwhelmed Northern Kasnians were given a mobile battlesuit by the Greek god Ares. Though the Northerners and Southerners stopped fighting when they realized they were being manipulated by the god, it is clear that they intended to resume the war later.^[7]

Subsequently, in "The Great Brain Robbery," Kasnia has apparently unified and joined the European Union, adopting the Euro as its official currency. The Legion of Doom attempted to steal a shipment of Euros as they were being transported into the country. ^[8] In the same episode, a location in Kasnia is listed at the coordinates 45°9'8" N, 19°58'13" E. This places the nation in the former Yugoslavia, specifically Vojvodina, Serbia.^[9] The second coordinate is unclear: although it appears to be 19°58'13", the 8 is obscured and the E does not actually appear; however, if one assumes it to be "West", the coordinates point to the middle of the Atlantic.^[10]

[edit] Batman Beyond

Despite this improvement in the country's political situation, it appears that things later deteriorated. In "Rebirth," the pilot episode of Batman Beyond, the Kasnian ambassador, Vilmos Egans, (who briefly appears as a background character at Audrey's engagement party in "Maid of Honor,") appears in Gotham to do business with Derek Powers. Wayne-Powers has developed a lethal nerve gas, which the Kasnian government apparently intends to use on a force of rebels or dissidents. When Terry McGinnis's father, a Wayne-Powers employee, tried to expose the project, he was murdered on Powers's orders, causing Terry to become the new Batman.

Another Batman Beyond reference to Kasnia is in the episode "Spellbinding", where the auction house director is locking up the "Princess Audrey Collection" of dresses.