Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Here's a question:

On pg. 4 of DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL #2, we see a listing of Superwoman's powers.

One of them is "Emotion-Sensing."

Huh?

There is some mild, very subtle evidence for this power in operation. For instance, in that very issue, at one point, demonstrating sharper than normal intuition, Superman asks if Superwoman is psychic. She responds with a dodgy, humorous answer.

Another (VERY subtle) hint of Superwoman's emotion-sensing powers is that in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" it is Superwoman, of all of Superman's allies, that finds Lois Lane in the Fortress after the forceshield breaks down.

It doesn't surprise me that in various appearances, there are only hints of this power in operation. After all, if you had mind-reading powers, wouldn't the last thing you want your enemies to know is that you have them?

(While I thought Gruenwald's SQUADRON SUPREME was slow-paced, improbable, destructive, and unpleasant, I did find it very interesting and well thought out that the illusion-caster on the team...did not TELL anyone that what she created were illusions.)

who is superwoman?

You can read this...

 https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/tales2/superwoman/

Based on an earlier written story...

was she retconned out of exsistance before Coie or as a result of?

and it was an interesting tie to make jimmy olsen her ancestor.

I can't say I think of "emotion-sensing" as much of a superpower. I mean, everyone can do it, can't they? At least I can. You can usually tell what someone is feeling by subtle hints such as them screaming and shouting at you, tears of rage and frustration running down their cheeks, clawing at your cheeks and saying "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you". Believe me, when that happens, my superpower kicks in. "This person's getting emotional," I say to myself. I'm a pretty sensitive guy.

Is it just me, or does Superwoman just scream "Mary Sue"?

Kristen Wells has not appeared Post-Crisis except as a "Hypertime ghost" in "The Kingdom: Planet Krypton".  One assumes she exists in a future timeline that is no longer directly connected to current DC continuity.

Rememeber, even though Superwoman was still marooned in the 1980s she did not participate in the Crisis (her portals would have been quite useful against the walls of the Anti-Monitor's fortress), nor did we see any of these events that made her "quite possibly the greatest heroine of the 20th Century":

https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/tales2/luthorconIII/?page=40

Superwoman with the Green Lantern Corps?  Accepting a medal from President Reagan?  And who's that villain in the lower right corner?

None of these incidents were ever mentioned Post-Crisis.  So one might assume Kristen's adventures in the 20th Century (and her "home" 29th Century) takes place on a Hypertime "Earth-1" that survived the Crisis, though perhaps both Supergirl and Wonder Woman still died, leaving the "greatest heroine" spot vacant for Superwoman.   :cry:

By the way, note the internal contradiction in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" -- how can Superwoman appear when her ancestor Jimmy Olsen is killed at the Fortress of Solitude?  Did he and Lucy Lane have a secret love child beforehand?   :shock:

This made me laugh when I read it because it's so totally true. A cute, charming and imaginative Mary Sue like Superwoman is still a Mary Sue. As much as I adore the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel, she was, I am sorry to say, a self-indulgent writer fixation of Roger Stern's. I mean, jeez, she just showed up and a few years later became LEADER OF THE AVENGERS.

As for Kristen Wells...well, let's go down the Mary Sue checklist, shall we?

Demonstrates herself as more powerful and resourceful than the regular characters of the series? Check. (She beat Superman - who can outrace LIGHT - to Texas, and was the one that came up with every solution to the problems they faced; the only reason she didn't beat Kang - er, I mean, King Kosmos, is that she STOPPED herself "to make sure history goes the way it ought")

Has a romantic relationship or interest in the handsome/gorgeous male/female lead of the regular series? Check. (I mean jeez, look at her swooning over Superman)

A long lost relative of the main character or persona with a name so obvious it ought to have occurred to everybody (in this case, a long-lost "Superman Family" Member instead of the "G-6" in Gatchaman fanfic, or MY GOD, "Marissa Picard")

A situation emerges where "they are the only ones that can save the day?" Check. (That red lightning hitting the Batmobile and the JLA sattellite.)

This is actually a pretty good point; why WAS Superwoman not involved in CRISIS?



If there is a hypertimeline where Earth-1 never ended, then it may be true that the future that Kristin Wells foretold, that Jimmy would become a successful business tycoon, DID come to pass come "What Happened..." All we know about Jimmy in that story is that he comes around to visit the Planet and still had his signal watch.

Perhaps he and his wife (presumably Lucy, though this may not be explicitly stated) were divorced, and Lucy has their children. There wouldn't be a reason to bring them out "on camera."

Emotion sensing?

Think Deanna Troi from Star Trek Next Generation.  She's just able to control hers better.

could superwoman's earth-1 be the same one linda danver's had a child in?

No, because Linda Danvers replaced Kara Zor-El as Supergirl in "Many Happy Returns".  But Linda Lee Danvers (aka Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl) appeared in the first Kristen Wells Superwoman story.  

And if you accept "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" as canon in regards to Superwoman, not only does Kara Zor-El's memorial statue appear in the Fortress of Solitude, but a young Kara with the Legion of Super-Heroes actually visits Superman!

so wait.. linda danver's kara zorel was never linda lee danvers?
all this meta contuinity makes my head hurt.

sikkbones, the original Pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El of Argo City (Silver/Bronze Age Supergirl) first took the name "Linda Lee" when she arrived on Earth. That was the name she used in the Midvale Orphanage until she was adopted by the Danvers.  Then her legal name was changed to Linda Lee Danvers.

The Post-Crisis, Peter David "Supergirl" series featured Linda Danvers (no middle name was given) from Leesburg.

At the end of "Many Happy Returns", when that Kara Zor-El goes back to her "Earth-1", her vague memories of Linda and Leesburg prompt Kara into naming herself "Linda Lee".  Supposingly she would later be adopted by a Danvers couple, and history would continue until the Crisis.

"Whatever Happened..." is introduced as an imaginary story, after all, so Jimmy's death shouldn't effect the existence of Superwoman (she could still be from an alternate timeline).  Also, I find it hard to imagine that Jimmy, despite his lack of chest hair, remained a virgin for 45 years, despite having never married (at least longer than for the course of one issue).  

Didn't Superwoman show up at all in Crisis?

As far as I know, she only showed up in stories that were written either by Elliot Maggin or by Alan Moore.

In other words: no, she didn't.

:s:

FWIW, Kristin Wells -did- seem to know how to handle a fainting psychic in Miracle Monday.