Katma Tui

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.

Fictional character biography

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 leads a rebellion against Sinestro, and even testifies against him before the Guardians. Sinestro is imprisoned in the antimatter universe, on the planet Qward. Green Lantern Tomar-Re nominates Tui as Sinestro’s replacement as Green Lantern of Sector 1417, and Tui accepts. 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 Kann destroy a giant space amoeba creature that threatens Korugar. Tui and Kann fell in love, and Tui decides to leave the Corps. Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Earth, uses a ruse in order to persuade her not to.^[1]

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 and her kidnapping by a group of terrorists who mistook her for Hal Jordan’s love Carol Ferris. She is involved in the war against Krona, Nekron, the Weaponers of Qward, and the Anti-Green Lantern Corps. Tui successfully recruits Rot Lop Fan who has no concept of 'color', being sightless.^[2] Tui helps defeat the extra-dimensional entity known as Maaldor, who had cut off the Lanterns from the Main Battery on Oa that powered them. She is involved with the seminal event known as Crisis on Infinite Earths and many subsequent conflicts with Sinestro.

Marriage

When Hal Jordan resigns from the Corps for Carol Ferris, Tui is infuriated, given that Jordan had persuaded her to give up Imi Kann for the Corps. When John Stewart initially turns down the offer of replacing Jordan as Green Lantern of Earth, Tui, projecting her anger towards Jordan upon Stewart, dismisses him as a coward, which provokes Stewart into changing his mind. Tui would eventually train Stewart and work closely with him on a number of missions. The two soon fall in love, and with the blessings of the Guardians they marry. During the first Green Lantern Corps story arc at the Citadel on Earth,^[3] Tui works with a large contingent of Lanterns who find themselves based in California. This grouping includes Kilowog, Ch'p and Arisia.

Death

Katma Tui is slain by the villain Star Sapphire. Katma, at the time unpowered, is sliced to death while in her kitchen. Star Sapphire did this simply to make a point to Hal Jordan.^[4]

During the Green Lantern: Mosaic series, John Stewart becomes involved with a new society, various alien citizens placed together on one planet by an ex-Guardian, who had gone insane from loneliness. His efforts elevate him to become the first mortal Guardian of the Universe, known as The Master Builder. As his reward for this new level of awareness, John is reunited with his late wife, Katma Tui. However, tragedy strikes once again and Hal Jordan, possessed by Parallax, destroys both the Guardians and the Central Power Battery, robbing John of his newfound powers and his resurrected wife.^[5]

The Blue Lantern Saint Walker uses his blue power ring to calm John Stewart's rage from Red Lantern. By reading his psyche, the ring is able to discern that creating an image of Katma Tui would best serve this purpose. After being surrounded in an illusion of flying with his late-wife for several moments, Stewart emerges with the belief that he would be able to see Katma again.^[6]

In the Blackest Night crossover, black power rings are sent throughout the universe reanimating the bodies of the deceased. Katma Tui's name is among the first to be called out by a black ring, and she is shown reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.^[7] Katma travels on the planet Xanshi to see John and tries to weaken John by claiming that he caused the planet's destruction. However, John, spurred on by Star Sapphire Fatality's words, says that he was not the cause of it all and successfully fights off the Black Lanterns.^[8] Black Lantern Katma is then destroyed by the combined efforts of John and Fatality. The two join their lights together to destroy the black ring, rendering Katma's corpse inert.^[9]

Other versions

In the Batman: In Darkest Knight, she was part of the Lantern team sent to restrain the Green Lantern Batman.

In other media

Television

Katma Tui in the Justice League episode Hearts and Minds.

• Katma Tui has a brief, non-speaking appearance in the Superman episode "In Brightest Day".^[10]

• Katma Tui appeared in the Justice League episode "Hearts and Minds," voiced by Kim Mai Guest. In the animated continuity, Katma seems to be the primary trainer of new Lantern recruits - taking the job over from the cartoon's version of Kilowog - and is portrayed as one of the more senior members of the Lanterns. John Stewart was among her students when he first joined the Corps. They fell in love, but were separated when their assigned sectors were too far away from each other. At the beginning of the episode, 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 and even exceed the Lantern energy. Katma seems to sacrifice herself so as to allow Kilowog to get away, which permits him to make it to Earth and tell John of her plight. Katma managed to survive and infiltrated Despero's ranks on his home planet Kalanor secretly funneling information to the resistance forces opposing him. John, in his search for Katma, ends up engaging and losing to Despero, which affects his ability to use his ring. Katma is forced to try to retrain him, an activity John took to very poorly. 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 Kalanor, but John gently declined so as to remain a member of the League and fulfill his current assignment of patrolling Sector 2814.

• Another version of the character appeared in the Duck Dodgers episode "The Green Loontern" voiced by Tara Strong. She is a leader among the Corps members, but comes under the dubious impression that she needs Dodgers' assistance to save the day.^[11]

• Katma makes a non-speaking appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Return" with many other Green Lanterns who came to destroy Amazo for seemingly destroying Oa. Like most of the Lanterns in this episode, she sported a design change, purely for aesthetic purposes, according to the DVD commentary.

• Katma Tui makes a cameo in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Day of the Dark Knight".

References

External links

• Article on the Death of Katma Tui
• Justice League Animated Profile
• Katma Tui's Death
• The Unofficial Katma Tui Biography
• Katma Tui in Women in Refrigerators list