Pandora is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

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 thei ...

. She is based on

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

Publication history

In August 2010,

released ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' #45, which introduced Pandora in a back story that involved how

Diana Prince Diana Prince is a fictional character appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, as the secret identity of the Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, who bought the credentials and identity from a United States Army nurse named Diana Pri ...

and Pandora are connected to the fate of the

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

. She went on to appear in '' Flashpoint'' #5 (October 2011), created by

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serve ...

and

Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of an ...

. Subsequently, Pandora made a cameo appearance in every initial title of ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

''. DC Comics released ''

Trinity War "Trinity War" is an 11-issue comic book story arc first published in 2013 by DC Comics, featuring the fictional superhero teams the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. The arc spans several titles, including ''Just ...

'' in August 2013, a comic book story arc from Pandora's point of view that involved her resuming a cursed crusade to destroy the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

. Pandora's solo series, ''Trinity of Sin: Pandora'', lasted 14 issues and left her fate open for further story development.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Pandora first appears in ''

New Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), m ...

'' #5 (June 1936). Pandora was a woman who was constructed long ago by

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...

and blessed by the Olympian Gods under order of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

to act as the living embodiment of all that is woman. Pandora was eventually given a box by Zeus as a keepsake to be presented to her mate which she was charged with never opening under any conditions. Pandora eventually chose

Epimetheus In Greek mythology, Epimetheus (; grc-gre, Ἐπιμηθεύς, , afterthought) was the brother of Prometheus (traditionally interpreted as "foresight", literally "fore-thinker"), a pair of Titans who "acted as representatives of mankind". The ...

as her mate and convinced him to open the box which released great evils onto the world while containing the force of Hope within the box. Pandora was eventually forced to wander the lands as a reviled figure until she was assimilated back into Earth by

Gaea In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes partheno ...

at her behest.

Flashpoint and New 52

Pandora first appears in ''Flashpoint'' #5 (October 2011), the conclusion to the "Flashpoint" event. She is responsible for causing the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

to merge three separate timelines (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 ...

, the Wildstorm Universe and select

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

titles) in order to create the new universe that is seen in the publications of ''

''. After this storyline, Pandora made a cameo appearance in the first issue of each initial ''New 52'' title. Pandora was not named until January 2012, when

Bob Harras Robert Harras (born January 11, 1959''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comics writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000 and editor-in-chief of DC Comics from 2010 to 2020. ...

posted a teaser on DC Comics' blog, stating her name. Pandora next appeared having a dialogue with the

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an ...

. It was revealed that the two have a connection, via the Circle of Eternity, who had cursed them to walk the Earth forever yet unable to get involved. The origins of Pandora and those who would become The Question and the Phantom Stranger are later explained. Summoned to the

Rock of Eternity The Rock of Eternity is a fictional location appearing in American comic books featuring Captain Marvel / Shazam and/or his associated characters, first in publications by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. In many versions of the Capta ...

by the Circle of Eternity, the three are labeled as the "Trinity of Sin" and are each given a punishment. For opening a box and releasing the evil contents, Pandora was sentenced to an eternity of loneliness, pain and being told that she is evil. It is also revealed that she had re-obtained her box from

A.R.G.U.S. A.R.G.U.S. is a government organization in DC Comics. A.R.G.U.S. first appeared in ''Justice League'' vol. 2 #7 and was created by Geoff Johns and Gene Ha. Headed by Amanda Waller, A.R.G.U.S. is typically depicted as a parent organization for the ...

's Black Room, where it had been stored along with various other mystical items. The last wizard of the Council of Eternity later appears before Pandora and tells her that she did not deserve the punishment that she was given. When Pandora questions him on how to open the box, he states that "only the strongest of heart or the darkest... can open the box and claim its power... and can transform the..." before disappearing in a bolt of lightning. Pandora's own series was only 14 issues plus a New 52's Future's End one-shot. Pandora's box was later revealed, in ''

Forever Evil "Forever Evil" is a 2013–2014 crossover (comics), crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David F ...

'', not to be a mystical artifact at all, but a device for accessing Earth-3, underlining Pandora's innocence. Pandora recurred throughout the '' Forever Evil: Blight'' crossover event, taking place in ''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

'', the ''Trinity of Sin'' titles and ''

Justice League Dark The Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The Justice League Dark team features some ...

''. After visiting Heaven with the Justice League Dark, Pandora begins to understand more about her true nature, which has something to do with lights, and she uncovers an ability to manifest herself in a much more powerful, golden angel form. Ultimately, her discovery of these powers is instrumental in defeating Blight, a powerful evil entity made up of humanity's dark side and potential for evil. In ''Trinity of Sin — Pandora: Futures-End'', it is revealed that the "

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

" are in reality part of Pandora herself and that they are part of an unending cycle that ended with one of the Sins being victorious and causing the multiverse to collapse and restart. This time, however, the part of Pandora that is Hope wins and ends the cycle. In the DC Universe 80-page Rebirth special, Pandora is murdered and disintegrated by a mysterious assailant after she implies that he was the one responsible for all of the sins for which she had been blamed.

Powers and abilities

Pandora's powers consist of immortality, magic and supernatural knowledge. She is skilled in martial arts and is also a weapons expert, having access to magical weaponry. She is omnilingual as well.

References

External links

Pandora overview
{{Justice League characters Characters created by Andy Kubert Comics characters introduced in 1936 Comics characters introduced in 2011 Characters created by Geoff Johns DC Comics characters who use magic DC Comics female superheroes Classical mythology in DC Comics Fictional Greek people