Zara (character)
| Zara | |
|---|---|
Harry G. Peter | |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Villainy Inc. Cult of Crimson Flame |
| Abilities | Pyrokinesis |
Zara, Priestess of the Crimson Flame is a fictional character appearing in
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Zara was an
The lovely red-haired woman is the
I am the crimson flame of life", intones a grim voice from within the flame, - "I burn within the breasts of all who obey me! Whosoever opposes me shall be consumed!
Anyone daring to oppose the cult falls mysteriously ill and dies soon afterward.
When Helen Armstrong, a U.S. Senator's daughter who has been intimately involved with the flame cult, disappears mysteriously, Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, and the Holliday Girls follow her to Arabia, site of the Crystal Temple of the Crimson Flame, the "international headquarters" of Zara and her sinister "flame forces". Ultimately, Wonder Woman and her companions defeat the flame cultists, rescue Helen Armstrong from their clutches, and capture Zara.[1]
I'm an Arab", explains Zara, "-my father sold me as a slave! Oh, how I hated heem! I swore I'd get revenge on men of power! Revenge - that ees my crimson flame!
It was to wreak vengeance on Helen's father that Zara had had her abducted.
The much-feared "crimson flame", confesses Zara, was actually nothing more than "floating, burning, liquid hydrogen”, while the voice seeming to speak from inside it was actually an illusion created with movie projector sound equipment.
To destroy enemies", continues Zara, "I put ideas in zair minds, zen zay make zemselves sick, poor fools!
Zara escapes from Transformation Island, which works to rehabilitate female criminals, along with seven other villainesses and joins them in forming Villainy Incorporated.[3]
Post-Crisis
Post-Crisis, Zara has been depicted as an Arabian woman and her flame-powers were inborn rather than produced by gadgets (originally, she used a fire-gun). In contrast, Hippolyta referred to her flames as 'scientific trickery'.[4]
Much later, Zara was mentioned as one of the inhabitants of Alan Scott's Emerald City on the dark side of the moon. She is mentioned as being a "fire girl" and an "old enemy of Wonder Woman".[5]
DC Rebirth
After the events of DC Rebirth, Zara's origin was altered. Though her past is currently unknown, she was at some point recruited by Veronica Cale to attack Washington D.C. As a pyrokinetic, Zara's fires were able to melt concrete, which prompted Wonder Woman to quickly defeat the villainess by smashing her into a wall. She's later taken into custody, though Wonder Woman commented that they planned on questioning Zara when she regained consciousness.[6]
Powers and abilities
Pre-Crisis, she used a fire-gun and rigged effects to appear to have a mastery over flames. Post-Crisis, her powers are internal, but may have been the result of scientific engineering rather than from natural sources (e.g., magic, meta-human, etc.).
See also
References
- ISBN 9780804173407.
- ^ Comics Cavalcade #5 (Winter 1943): "Mystery of the Crimson Flame
- ^ Wonder Woman #28: "Villainy Incorporated!", "Trap of Crimson Flame", "In the Hands of the Merciless!"
- ^ Wonder Woman: Our Worlds at War #1
- ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 2) #43 (November 2010)
- ^ Wonder Woman (vol. 5) #41 (2018)
External links
- The Unofficial Zara Biography
- Beatty, Scott (2009). Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess. Dorling Kindersley Publishing. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-0-7894-9616-4.
- Jett, Brett. "Who Is Wonder Woman?--Bonus PDF"", (2009): "The Villains: Major Allegories", pp 5–6.
- Marston, William Moulton. Emotions Of Normal People. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, Ltd. 1928. ISBN 1406701165
