Naomi McDuffie, also known as Powerhouse, is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing in

comic books 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 panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

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 thei ...

, as well as a

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The character was created by the writer

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...

for his

Wonder Comics Wonder Comics or Wonder Color Comics was a very short-lived American comic book publishing company that existed from 1985 to 1987. They only published a few titles, some of which moved to another short-lived company, Pied Piper Comics, after their ...

imprint, along with writer David F. Walker, and artist Jamal Campbell. The character's name is, in part, a tribute to comic book writer and creator

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series ''Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and ''Ben 10 ...

. The character made her live-action debut in The CW's eponymous series, and was portrayed by Kaci Walfall.

Publication history

The character Naomi McDuffie was created by writers

and David F. Walker, with artwork by Jamal Campbell. The character's surname of McDuffie was given as a tribute to the late comic book artist

, whose own writing career focused on underrepresented minorities in American comics.

Fictional character biography

Origin

In an alternate universe in the

DC Multiverse In DC Comics, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC take place in. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the h ...

, the degradation of Earth's

ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in rela ...

exposes the surface of the Earth to a previously-unknown type of

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

energy, causing 29 people from around the planet to develop godlike powers. Some of these people attempt

world domination World domination (also called global domination or world conquest or cosmocracy) is a hypothetical power structure, either achieved or aspired to, in which a single political authority holds the power over all or virtually all the inhabitants ...

with their new powers, while others oppose this, leading to a cataclysmic war between these metahumans. One month later, fourteen of the metahumans have died, and seven others have left the planet, leaving only eight remaining. Naomi is the first child born to two of these metahumans. The most evil of the original 29 metahumans, a criminal named Zumbado, who was about to be executed when he got his powers, tries to kill the infant Naomi. Consequently, her parents send her to Earth-0 for her safety and are killed in battle doing so. The infant ends up in a small

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

town, where a Rannian ex-soldier and resident of the town, going by the name Greg McDuffie, witnesses her arrival, and adopts her. Naomi lives an ordinary life in her hometown raised by Greg and his human wife, who knows about her husband's secrets, until

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

crashes through the center of town in a battle with

Mongul Mongul () is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Writer Len Wein and artist Jim Starlin created the first version of the character, who debuted in ''DC Comics Presents'' #27 (November 1980). Jerry Ordway created the sec ...

. This prompts a couple of citizens to talk about the previous time the town had an encounter with otherworldly beings. Having learned that the date of the incident was also the day she was adopted, Naomi questions whether she has a connection to superheroes and begins looking into her origins. Greg then reveals his own origins to Naomi, before telling her about her arrival on Earth-0. He gives Naomi a device he found with her, which contains a message from her birth mother, and awakens her superpowers. Shortly afterward, Zumbado arrives and takes Naomi back to their original world, which has been devastated under his rule. Naomi fights Zumbado to avenge her birth parents, and only narrowly manages to escape back to Earth-0. Following these events, Naomi flies to

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

, and meets Superman and

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

. She later joins the recently reformed

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

Infinite Frontier

Following the events of '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'', Naomi joins 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, abilities, and equipment

In the comics, Naomi has a tremendous amount of an unknown type of energy inside her body. She can fire powerful energy blasts from her hands. This energy makes her very strong and durable, and allows her to fly. She can also manifest a black and gold costume around her body.

In other media

In December 2020, a live-action television series based on the character was announced to be in development by

. Kaci Walfall was cast as Naomi McDuffie in March 2021. In May, The CW put the series to order. Unlike the comic book series, Naomi is initially depicted as a

fangirl A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a vid ...

living in the real world, who is slowly drawn into the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

as she develops superpowers. On May 12, 2022, The CW canceled the series after one season.

References

External links

DC Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDuffie, Naomi DC Comics characters with superhuman strength Comics characters introduced in 2019 Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities DC Comics superheroes Teenage characters in comics Characters created by Brian Michael Bendis Fictional characters from parallel universes Superheroes who are adopted Fictional refugees Black people in comics African-American superheroes DC Comics female superheroes