Dawnstar
Encyclopedia
Dawnstar is a fictional superhero
ine in comic book
s published by DC Comics
. She was created by Paul Levitz
and Mike Grell
.
, a planet 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
, the "morning star," which is why she wears an eight-pointed star ornament on her forehead.
Dawnstar and her 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.
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. 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
, 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
.
Dawnstar had a lengthy, tragic romance with fellow Legionnaire Wildfire
. They each respected the other's defiant, outspoken personality, although they each counseled each other on working with their talents as part of a team instead of acting as individuals. Wildfire was an anti-energy being in a containment suit, and thus had no physical body. When he briefly was able to partially reverse this, they attempted a physical relationship, but were unsuccessful.
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, who amputated her wings and forced her to use her tracking powers as an assassin. Dawnstar was later freed from the Bounty 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
and by the ensuing reboot
.
and Tyroc
. 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 (although it was included in a later collection).
In a JSA
-JLA crossover story, "The Lightning Saga
," Dawnstar (along with many other Pre-Crisis
Legionnaires) was seen as a statue in Superman
's Fortress of Solitude
. Several members of the JSA and JLA tracked Dawnstar's flight ring to Thanagar
, but she had left it as a promise to return to a woman strongly implied to be her lover.
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. Dawnstar's outfit was extensively redesigned.
Dawnstar is shown with this Pre-Crisis Legion in the limited series
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. 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.
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
, 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 well, her speed is diminished.
She wears a Legion flight ring to signal for help, for monitoring of her location, and for other non-flight uses.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ine in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. She was created by Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
and Mike Grell
Mike Grell
Mike Grell is a comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Jon Sable Freelance.-Early life:...
.
Fictional character biography
Dawnstar is her real name (she has no Legion code name), and she is from StarhavenStarhaven
Starhaven is a fictional planet first depicted in stories of DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes set in the 30th and 31st Centuries, and described as being located near the core of the Milky Way galaxy. It was portrayed as being the home of Legion member Dawnstar....
, a planet colonized by American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
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
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, the "morning star," which is why she wears an eight-pointed star ornament on her forehead.
Dawnstar and her 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.
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. She also worked as a guide to hunters of animals.
Dawnstar received an invitation from Legion financier R.J. Brande
R. J. Brande
Rene Jacques "R. J." Brande is a fictional DC Comics character in the 30th and 31st centuries with the Legion of Super-Heroes.-Pre-Crisis:Originally a Durlan named Ren Daggle, Brande was frozen in human form by the deadly Yorggian fever...
to attend the Legion Academy
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 creators in the many evolving iterations of the Legion that have been published over the decades...
, 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
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
.
Dawnstar had a lengthy, tragic romance with fellow Legionnaire Wildfire
Wildfire (comics)
Wildfire is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero in that universe's 30th and 31st centuries. Created by Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum, the character debuted in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #195 .-Publication history:...
. They each respected the other's defiant, outspoken personality, although they each counseled each other on working with their talents as part of a team instead of acting as individuals. Wildfire was an anti-energy being in a containment suit, and thus had no physical body. When he briefly was able to partially reverse this, they attempted a physical relationship, but were unsuccessful.
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, who amputated her wings and forced her to use her tracking powers as an assassin. Dawnstar was later freed from the Bounty 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 (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
and by the ensuing reboot
Reboot (continuity)
The verb reboot, in media dealing with serial fiction, means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series and start anew with fresh ideas...
.
Current status
Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 5) #15 (February 2006) featured a Barry Kitson cover which depicted Dawnstar alongside classic Legion members BlokBlok (comics)
Blok is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th century of the DC Comics universe. He has a massive, stony body possessed of incredible strength and endurance.-Fictional character biography:...
and Tyroc
Tyroc
Tyroc is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Superboy #216 , and was created by Cary Bates and Mike Grell...
. 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 (although it was included in a later collection).
In a JSA
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
-JLA crossover story, "The Lightning Saga
The Lightning Saga
"The Lightning Saga" is a comic book crossover story arc that took place in DC Comics' two flagship team books: Justice League of America and Justice Society of America. It was written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns, and illustrated by Ed Benes, Dale Eaglesham, and Shane Davis...
," Dawnstar (along with many other Pre-Crisis
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
Legionnaires) was seen as a statue in Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
. Several members of the JSA and JLA tracked Dawnstar's flight ring to Thanagar
Thanagar
Thanagar is a fictional planet in the . Thanagar is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal...
, but she had left it as a promise to return to a woman strongly implied to be her lover.
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
Silver age
A silver age is a name often given to a particular period within a history, typically as a lesser and later successor to a golden age, the metal silver generally being valuable, but less so than gold.-Greek myth:...
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
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes
"Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" is a comic book story arc from DC Comics by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, featuring the Superman character and the return of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion of Super-Heroes...
" story, set in its own time and involving Superman, in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#858-863. Dawnstar's outfit was extensively redesigned.
Dawnstar is shown with this Pre-Crisis Legion in the limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. 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.
Powers and abilities
Dawnstar's unique powers include the ability to trackTracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
life forms and objects across light years of distance and through interstellar space
Interstellar medium
In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic space...
. She can survive in deep space for long periods of time without a spacesuit or viable atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature 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 well, her speed is diminished.
She wears a Legion flight ring to 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") 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 LostLegion LostLegion Lost is a superhero team published by DC Comics.It was originally published as a 12-issue comic book limited series starring the Legion of Super-Heroes...
," a character was depicted called ShikariShikari (comics)Shikari is a fictional character, a superheroine in the future of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Coipel and first appeared in Legion Lost #1....
from a non-human species, the Kwai. Shikari had insectoid wings, an armored exoskeletonExoskeletonAn exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
she could activate for space travel, and pathfinding (rather than tracking) powers of similar scope.
- Dawnstar did not appear in the recently concluded "threeboot" Legion stories.
In other media
- Dawnstar appears in the second and final (2007-2008) season of the recent animated Legion TV seriesLegion of Super Heroes (TV series)Legion of Super Heroes is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that debuted on September 23, 2006, based on characters appearing in the DC Comics comic book series. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a...
. In the concluding two-part episode "Dark Victory," she is visible on three occasions standing or flying in the midst of a large group of Legionnaires.
- She also appears, but with dialogue and extensive action, in issue 19 (December 2008) of the printed comic book based on the TV series.