Alura In-Ze is a fictional comic book character appearing in publications by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, usually those featuring Superman and related characters. Alura is the Kryptonian daughter of In-Zee, wife of

Zor-El Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A Kryptonian, he is the brother of Jor-El, husband of Alura, father of Supergirl, and paternal uncle of Superman. Traditional depictions of Zor-El in Golde ...

, mother of

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

, and paternal aunt (by marriage) of Superman. Created by writer

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

and artist Al Plastino, the character first appeared in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...

'' #252 (May 1959). The character has appeared in media adaptations of the ''Superman'' and ''Supergirl'' comics, including live-action films, television programs and video games. Alura was portrayed by

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

in the 1984 film ''

''. In the first two seasons of the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

series ''

'',

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 13, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of '' Gypsy'', winni ...

portrayed Alura until

Erica Durance Erica Durance (; born June 21, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Lois Lane in the WB/ CW superhero television series ''Smallville'' and as Dr. Alex Reid in the CTV medical drama '' Saving Hope''. Early life Durance was b ...

took over the role.

Publication history

The character Alura appeared unnamed in ''

'' #252 (May 1959) as part of the origin of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El). She was created by

and Al Plastino. Her role was similar to that of what

Lara Lara may refer to: Places * Lara (state), a state in Venezuela *Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia * Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey * Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia * Lara de los In ...

was to Superman. She and her husband,

, send her to a spaceship from

Argo City Krypton is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly appearing or mentioning in stories starring the superhero Superman as the world he came from. The planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Sh ...

to Earth to survive.

Fictional character biography

Pre-''Crisis''

Earth-One

In pre-''

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

'' continuity, Alura supported her husband Zor-El, one of the only scientists to believe his older brother

Jor-El Jor-El, originally known as Jor-L, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 with Superma ...

's predictions about the impending destruction of

Krypton Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...

. When the planet exploded,

was somehow blown safely into space with a life-giving bubble of air around it (a later version of the story in ''Action Comics'' #316 (September 1964) has the city saved by a weather dome that Zor-El had constructed). The explosion had turned the ground beneath Argo City into

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...

, but Alura, Zor-El and the other survivors covered the surface with sheets of lead. The Kryptonians managed to keep alive for many years, and Kara was born a number of years after the destruction of Krypton. The end for Argo City came during Kara's teens when a meteor storm punched holes into the lead sheeting, exposing the survivors to the deadly kryptonite radiation. Zor-El had managed to build a rocket and now used it to send his daughter to Earth. Alura provided Kara a costume based closely on Superman's own. It was later revealed to Supergirl through Zor-El induced dreams that he and Alura had teleported away into the Survival Zone (similar to the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...

) during Argo's final moments. Supergirl was able to rescue them in ''Action Comics'' #310 (March 1964), and Zor-El and Alura went on to live in Kandor. When the bottle city was enlarged, Zor-El and Alura resettled on New Krypton/Rokyn.

Earth-Two

In the alternate universe of Earth-Two, Allura In-Z (note different spelling) is married to Zor-L, and they send their daughter Kara Zor-L to Earth Two where she becomes

Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl is the cousin of the superhero Supe ...

. This Zor-L was an expert in psychology, and created a virtual reality chamber for Kara inside her spacecraft. As she aged inside the rocket on her way to Earth-Two, she experienced the type of life she would have had on Krypton with Allura and Zor-L. Zor-L and Allura were killed when Krypton exploded. This version of Allura lived in Kandor and not Argo City. Allura only made one appearance, in ''

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

'' #98 (March 1978).

Post-''Crisis''

In "The Supergirl from Krypton" story-arc in ''Superman/Batman'' #8-13 (May–October 2004), Alura and Zor-El rocketed their daughter away from Krypton before Kal-El left. It was expected that she would reach Earth first and could help raise Kal from his infancy. However, she stayed in stasis and her ship did not reach Earth until years later, so the infant she expected to help raise was a grown man when she arrived still in her teens. After

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

uses Black Kryptonite to split Kara into good and evil parts, the evil Kara claims that Zor-El actually sent his daughter to Earth to kill his nephew, since he resented his older brother and hated the idea of

's lineage continuing past Krypton's destruction. This tied together and explained fragmented flashbacks that had suggested Zor-El was a villainous character, including his dismissal of schoolchildren taunting Kara as "the dead" (they had already been possessed) and Alura telling Kara to kill her and "make your father proud" (she had also been possessed by Phantoms from the Phantom Zone, and this was not a taunt but a genuine request from what remained of her original personality) as well as the original idea that he wanted Kara to kill Kal-El. As the story ended, it was revealed that the house of El was cursed by the phantoms as they saw them as their jailers. Wherever one of the El blood line went, the Phantoms would follow. To save Earth, he needed to send Kara to remove Kal and stop the El blood line from ever growing. At the end of this story arc, however, it was revealed that the images of Zor-El and the Phantoms subsequently invading Earth as predicted were all a ruse by the Monitors to see if Supergirl belonged in the New Earth universe. Upon discovering she was truly that universe's Supergirl she was left to her own devices to reconcile with all the people she harmed in the wake of the "test". The Monitor does, however, assert that the memories of Zor-El and the phantoms on Krypton were nevertheless real. A subsequent flashback in issue #24 apparently contradicts the Monitor, revealing that "New Earth" Zor-El was not a scientist, although Alura was. In current continuity, Zor-El was a Ranger, and got on well with his brother. With his encouragement, Alura designed the ship that sent Kara to Earth, as both Kal-El's protector and the last living being who remembered Krypton (since Kal-El was an infant). In ''Action Comics'' #869 it is revealed that Alura saved

from Krypton's destruction by engineering a protective dome with her husband Zor-El. However, Brainiac who was the culprit for Krypton's explosion, returned to finish the job. He merged Argo with the Bottle City of Kandor and killed those he considered to be duplicate information. Superman finds the city in Brainiac's ship. Zor-El and Alura are able to make contact with Kal-El to enquire about their daughter. The Bottle City of Kandor reverts to its full size in the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

at the end of the "Brainiac" story arc, which leads directly into "New Krypton". A rather minor character historically, Alura has a major role in the on-going " Superman: New Krypton" storyline. She is shown not to trust Earth people, and does not approve of her daughter or nephew's choices. Zor-El is a voice of reason to her, and when he is murdered by Reactron, she is beside herself with grief and anger. After Zor-El's death she takes command over the Kandorian people, putting as many Superman's enemies as she can in the Phantom Zone and waging war over the human race in retribution for Reactron's attack. When a coalition of human heroes, led by Superman, manages to stop her plan de-powering some of the Kryptonian Army, Alura uses Kryptonian Sunstones to turn Kandor into a new planet, the so-called "New Krypton" and put it into orbit around the Sun, at the opposite side of Earth. It is later revealed that she freed General Zod to help manage the planet and lead its military. As part of his participation in Project 7734 (a covert U.S. military operation dedicated to neutralizing the Kryptonians), Luthor sends a robot double of himself with Brainiac on an mission to attack New Krypton. While there, the Luthor robot tampers with the body chemistry of the previously captured Reactron. Shortly thereafter, Reactron kills himself, initiating a chain reaction which ultimately destroys New Krypton and all but seven thousand of its 100,000 Kryptonian inhabitants. Alura, who was at ground zero, is among the casualties.

Powers and abilities

Alura In-Ze has all the powers and weaknesses of a Kryptonian from exposure to Earth's yellow sunlight.

In other media

Television

* Alura appears along with her husband

in the ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

'' episode "The

Syndrome". * In the TV series ''

'', Alura Zor-El is portrayed initially by

in season one and two, and later by

in season 3 and 5. In this version, Alura is a member of the Kryptonian Science Council. She also has a twin sister named General Astra (also portrayed by Benanti), one of the primary antagonists of season one (alongside her husband Non) who was part of the attempted coup d'état and now is trying to take over Earth, while convincing Kara that she is doing it for the good of the planet. In season three, Supergirl discovers that Alura is still alive and is part of Argo City's High Council. Her late husband Zor-El built a fail-safe around Argo City to protect it from Krypton's explosion. * Alura appears as a final cameo in the 2019 animated series '' DC Super Hero Girls'', episode "#DCSuperHeroBoys" (Part 1), voiced by

Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American actress who has provided English-language voices for animated movies, TV series, and video games. She got her start in anime voice-overs as Haruko Haruhara in '' FLCL'', and would later land ma ...

. She is part of the Council member where she faces General Zod, Ursa and Non when Krypton is being collapsed, until sentencing them to the

. She later reunites with her daughter Kara to send her to Earth where her cousin Kal-El.

Film

* Alura appears in the film ''

'' portrayed by

. * Alura appears in '' Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'' during a opening flashback of Kara escaping Krypton. * Alura appears in '' Superman: Unbound'', voiced by

Sirena Irwin Sirena Irwin is an American voice director, casting director, and actress. Her career in animation casting and directing began in 2017 after a career as an actress in animation and a two-year mentorship with animation director, Andrea Romano. He ...

. Superman visits her and Zor-El in Kandor to ask them what they know about Brainiac. * Alura appears in '' DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year'', voiced by

April Stewart April Stewart (born April 1, 1969) is an American voice actress. Career Stewart is best known for providing the voices of several female characters in the animated comedy series '' South Park'' alongside fellow voice actress Mona Marshall. She ...

Video games

Alura appears in the video game ''

Injustice 2 ''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's '' Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed by NetherRealm Studios and publishe ...

'', voiced by

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

References

External links