Spider Girl (Sussa Paka) is a fictional character appearing in books 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 ...

. The character was first mentioned as a concept in the letters page of '' Adventure Comics'' when a fan suggested a character with the power of super-strong

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different orig ...

hair.

Fictional character biography

Spider Girl formally first appeared as a failed Legion of Super-Heroes applicant. She went on to join Tarik the Mute's underground academy for supervillains and later the

Legion of Super-Villains The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future. They first appeared as adults in ''Superman'' #147 (Aug 1961) and as teens ...

Pre-Zero Hour biography

Five Year Gap

During the Five-Year Gap run in ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 4) (1989), Paka was written as a half-reformed thief with a crush on Legionnaire

Ultra Boy Ultra Boy (Jo Nah of the planet Rimbor) is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. He gained his powers after being eaten by an whale-like beast in space and being ...

. She joined the adult Legion as Spider Girl, but when the team was outlawed by the United Planets, they went underground, changing their appearances and codenames, even wearing masks. In this storyline, occurring just prior to the '' 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 physi ...

of the titles, Sussa changed her codename to Wave and dyed her hair blue.

Post-Zero Hour biography

Spider Girl's first appearance after the '' Zero Hour'' event occurred in ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 4) #64 as a member of the

Workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

. She had a relationship with

while he was also a member of the team. As a result of this she was extremely resentful of Apparition.

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes

What appears to be a revamped version of the pre-Crisis Spider Girl appears in the '' Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes'' story beginning in ''Action Comics'' #858. In this version, she is a member of the "Justice League of Earth", a group of Earth-born Legion rejects which has seized control of Earth and banished the Legion and other extraterrestrials by spreading lies that Superman was a human that hated all aliens.

Powers and abilities

In both incarnations, Spider Girl possesses prehensile hair. She can use her hair to ensnare or bind her opponents. As Wave, her hair was bluish; as Spider Girl, her hair was reddish.

In other media

Spider Girl appears in her Wave identity (with the blue-dyed hair) in the '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' animated television series. She appears as a member of the Light Speed Vanguard (Legion of Super-Villains).'' Legion of Super Heroes'' episode "Lightning Storm" She displays the ability to wrap and lift things with her hair like her comic book counterpart.

References

External links

Legion Online Biography

Pre–''Zero Hour'' Unofficial Biography

Post–''Zero Hour'' Unofficial Biography

Hero History: Wave
{{Legion of Super-Heroes Characters created by Jerry Siegel Characters created by John Forte Comics characters introduced in 1963 DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics female supervillains