Dawnstar is a
superheroine appearing in
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
s published 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 their f ...
, primarily as a member of the
Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. She was created by
Paul Levitz and
Mike Grell, and first appeared in ''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #226'' (April 1977).
Fictional character biography
Dawnstar (her real name, she has no Legion code name) is from the planet Starhaven, a world colonized by
American Indians abducted from Earth by an unknown alien race in the 13th Century. Her name is derived from the appearance on Earth of the planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, the "morning star", and which is the reason she wears an eight-pointed star ornament on her forehead.
Dawnstar's people are of
Anasazi Indian heritage. Starhavenites have pairs of large white-feathered wings that grow out of their upper backs, the result of genetic engineering by the unknown alien race that resettled them and triggered their
metagenes. Their appearance is somewhat similar to Thanagarians.
Dawnstar's parents are Mistrider and Moonwalker, and her younger brothers are Greybird and Greatfire. During her late childhood and early teens, her parents built a thriving business on their daughter's ability to guide spaceships through hazardous areas of space.
[''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #240 (June 1978)] She also worked as a guide to hunters of animals.
Dawnstar received an invitation from Legion financier
R.J. Brande to attend
the Legion Academy
The Legion Academy is a training school for members of the Legion of Super-heroes. It was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan, and has been re-used and revisited by subsequent creator in the many evolving iterations of the Legion that have been p ...
,
and reluctantly accepted the opportunity. She was first introduced to the Legionnaires at age 16 as a recent graduate of the Academy. Her tracking and navigation talents earned her full membership on her first mission. Her Legion stipend went to pay for enhancing her home world's defenses.
She served in many missions with the Legionnaires, contributing her often underrated talents at tracking and high-speed travel to perform many rescues of her colleagues, as well as investigations of personal disappearances and similar mysteries. She also brought these talents into many Legion adventures in other times, especially the 20th Century. Notable here is her early role in the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to ...
'' (1985).
Dawnstar had a lengthy, tragic romance with fellow Legionnaire
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
. They each respected the other's defiant, outspoken personality, although they counseled each other on working with their talents as part of a team instead of acting as individuals. Wildfire had been turned into an anti-energy being in a containment suit, and thus had no physical body, so the two were unable to have physical relationship. Later in ''Justice League of America'' #9 (2007), Dawnstar was shown in a relationship with a woman indicating she is bisexual.
After the Legion's timeline was "reset" by the Legion's battle with Mordru, Dawnstar was shown as having been possessed by an evil entity called Bounty in the new timeline, who amputated her wings and forced her to use her tracking powers as an assassin. Dawnstar was later freed from the entity's control. She was spiritually healed, but her destiny was never resolved, as she vanished shortly before the Legion's timeline was erased by the events depicted in ''
Zero Hour
Zero Hour may refer to:
* Midnight, or 00:00
* Zero hour (1945), the capitulation of the Nazi government at midnight May 8, 1945
* Zero Hour (military designation), the scheduled time for the start of some event, especially a military operation
...
'' (1994) and by the ensuing
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
.
Current status
''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 5) #15 (February 2006) featured a Barry Kitson cover which depicted Dawnstar alongside classic Legion members
Blok and
Tyroc
Tyroc is a fictional character in the DC Universe, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Created by writer Cary Bates and artist Mike Grell, he first appeared in '' Superboy'' #216 (April 1976), a year before B ...
. The solicitation for this issue hinted that the Legion would become the "greatest heroes of the Multiverse". Dawnstar appeared only briefly with other Legionnaires from previous iterations of the team, as a character in a "campfire story" showing the Legion's influence and the legends and myths that had sprung up around it. This cameo appearance does not appear to have been meant to take place in the series' continuity, nor was it included in the
trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to:
* Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book
* Trade paperback (comics)
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
(although it was included in a later collection).
In a ''
JSA-
JLA JLA may refer to:
* '' JLA'', a comic book series 1997–2006
* The Justice League of America, a fictional DC Comics superhero team
* JLA (company), a laundry equipment provider
* Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviat ...
'' crossover story, "
The Lightning Saga", Dawnstar (along with many other
Pre-Crisis Legionnaires) was seen as a statue in
Superman's
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Ea ...
. Several members of the JSA and JLA tracked Dawnstar's flight ring to Thanagar, but she had left it there with a woman as a promise to return.
Dawnstar, with her wings and original appearance, then united with other Legionnaires in the 21st century in an effort to save someone's life (they hold rods that resemble those used for a similar action, to save
Lightning Lad, in the original
Silver Age Legion stories). Although it was predicted that at least one was risking his or her own life, no one died, and the Legion contingent returned to the 31st century.
The Legion shown in this story also took part in the "
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story, set in its own time and involving Superman, in ''
Action Comics'' #858–863 (2007–2008). In this series, Dawnstar's uniform was extensively redesigned.
Dawnstar is shown with this Pre-Crisis Legion in the
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
* Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...
''
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' (2008). In this series, she finally admits her true feelings to Wildfire (after he nearly died trying to defend her from Superboy-Prime) and begins a positive relationship with him.
Following DC's ''
New 52'' reboot, Dawnstar was one of a number of characters shown to be stranded in the 21st century in the 2012–2013 ''
Legion Lost'' series. Following that series' cancellation with issue 16, those characters remained stuck in their past. In the ''Future's End: 5 Years Later'' event she is shown to have joined the
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
.
Powers and abilities
Dawnstar's unique powers include the ability to
track life forms and objects across light years of distance and through
interstellar space. She can survive in deep space for long periods of time without a
spacesuit or viable
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. ...
, by generating a self-sustaining environmental forcefield. In deep space, she can travel at faster-than-light speeds. In an Earth-normal atmosphere or in a sizable gravity, her speed is limited by friction & drag.
Equipment
As a member of the
Legion of Super-Heroes, she is provided a Legion Flight Ring. While not needing it most of the time, she can use the signal for help, for monitoring of her location, and for other non-flight uses.
Other versions
* Dawnstar did not appear in the post-Zero-Hour ("
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
") Legion stories, except for a crossover of multiple timelines and Legions made by the Time Trapper. Several versions of her, including a demon with leather wings and ram horns, were shown at once.
* Beginning in the reboot's limited series "Legion Lost", a character was depicted called
Shikari from a non-human species, the Kwai. Shikari had insectoid wings, an armored exoskeleton she could activate for space travel, and pathfinding (rather than tracking) powers of similar scope. There was some speculation that this was a revised version of Dawnstar.
* Dawnstar did not appear in the recently concluded "
threeboot
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st cent ...
" Legion stories, but she has become a regular character in the new
Legion Lost, which has her and several of her Legion companions from the (yet again) rebooted continuity stranded in the twenty-first century.
* An ancestor of Dawnstar, known as
Wildstar is a member of the 21st century hero team
R.E.B.E.L.S.
Revolutionary Elite Brigade to Eradicate L.E.G.I.O.N. Supremacy (R.E.B.E.L.S.) is the name of two separate fictional revolutionary paramilitary groups in the DC Comics Universe. Both incarnations have been L.E.G.I.O.N. adversaries and are led by Vr ...
She has the combined powers of Dawnstar and
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
.
* Dawnstar appears in ''
DC Bombshells''.
* Dawnstar is featured in the ''
Smallville Season 11'' digital comic based on the
TV series.
In other media
* Dawnstar makes a cameo appearance in the ''
Legion of Super Heroes'' series finale "Dark Victory".
* Dawnstar appears in ''
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time'',
voiced by
Laura Bailey.
* Dawnstar makes a cameo appearance in the final scene of ''
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five'' as one of the Legionnaires traveling to the 21st century to honor their fallen member
Star Boy.
Miscellaneous
* She also appears, but with dialogue and extensive action, in issue #19 of ''
Legion of Super Heroes'' comic based on the titular animated TV show.
References
External links
*
Cosmic Teams: DawnstarDCU Guide: DawnstarGay league profile
{{Superman characters
Characters created by Paul Levitz
Characters created by Mike Grell
Comics characters introduced in 1977
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics LGBT superheroes
Fictional bisexual females
Fictional characters who can manipulate light
Fictional Pueblo people
Fictional Native American women