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Zara (comics)
Encyclopedia
Zara, Priestess of the Crimson Flame is a villain who battled the Golden Age Wonder Woman
. She was also a member of the super-villain team Villainy Inc.
She first debuted in Comic Cavalcade
#5.
girl," (although she had a French accent), and wore belly dancer attire. According to her tales, she was sold into slavery as a child; which created in her an intense hatred of mankind. Using a flair for pyrotechnics, she eventually created a new religion (The Cult of The Crimson Flame), which had swept the globe. Zara rigged various fire-based effects to dazzle her followers and keep them in thrall to her. After her initial defeat by Wonder Woman
, the Cult went underground; and Zara was able to scare up at least one follower to do her bidding when she joined Villainy Inc.
The lovely red-haired high priestess of the mystic Cult of the Crimson Flame, a "new religion" that has begun "sweeping the world". Its symbol is an eerie "crimson flame" that appears out of nowhere at the behest of the high priestess, hanging suspended in midair and inscribing mysterious flaming messages to cow the members of the cult - the so-called "flame slaves" - into abject obedience.
Anyone daring to oppose the cult falls mysteriously ill and dies soon afterward.
When Helen Armstrong, a U.S. Senator's daughter who has been intimately involved with the flame cult, disappears mysteriously, Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor
, Etta Candy
, and the Holliday Girls follow her to Arabia, site of the Crystal Temple of the Crimson Flame, the "international headquarters" of Zara and her sinister "flame forces." Ultimately, Wonder Woman and her companions defeat the flame cultists, rescue Helene Armstrong from their clutches, and capture Zara.
It was to wreak vengeance on Helene's father that Zara had had her abducted.
The much-feared "crimson flame," confesses Zara, was actually nothing more than "floating, burning, liquid hydrogen," while the voice seeming to speak from inside it was actually an illusion created with movie projector sound equipment.
Zara escapes from Transformation Island which works to rehabilitate female criminals along with seven other villainesses and joins them in forming Villainy Incorporated
referred to her flames as 'scientific trickery.'
Recently, Zara has been mentioned as one of the inhabitants of Alan Scott
's Emerald City on the dark side of the moon. She is mentioned as being a "fire girl" and an "old enemy of Wonder Woman."
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
. She was also a member of the super-villain team Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder Woman. They originally appeared in the Golden Age, and have reappeared as a modern-age team with a revamped line-up.-Pre-Crisis:Villainy Inc. debuted in Wonder Woman #28 Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder...
She first debuted in Comic Cavalcade
Comic Cavalcade
Comic Cavalcade was a comic book series published by All-American Publications and later DC Comics. It ran 63 issues, cover-dated Winter 1942/43 to Summer 1954....
#5.
Pre-Crisis
The true past of Zara is unknown, however she claimed to be "an ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
girl," (although she had a French accent), and wore belly dancer attire. According to her tales, she was sold into slavery as a child; which created in her an intense hatred of mankind. Using a flair for pyrotechnics, she eventually created a new religion (The Cult of The Crimson Flame), which had swept the globe. Zara rigged various fire-based effects to dazzle her followers and keep them in thrall to her. After her initial defeat by Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
, the Cult went underground; and Zara was able to scare up at least one follower to do her bidding when she joined Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc.
Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder Woman. They originally appeared in the Golden Age, and have reappeared as a modern-age team with a revamped line-up.-Pre-Crisis:Villainy Inc. debuted in Wonder Woman #28 Villainy Inc. is a group composed of villains who battle Wonder...
The lovely red-haired high priestess of the mystic Cult of the Crimson Flame, a "new religion" that has begun "sweeping the world". Its symbol is an eerie "crimson flame" that appears out of nowhere at the behest of the high priestess, hanging suspended in midair and inscribing mysterious flaming messages to cow the members of the cult - the so-called "flame slaves" - into abject obedience.
Anyone daring to oppose the cult falls mysteriously ill and dies soon afterward.
When Helen Armstrong, a U.S. Senator's daughter who has been intimately involved with the flame cult, disappears mysteriously, Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor
Steve Trevor
Steve Trevor is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics, as the primary love interest of Wonder Woman. He first appeared in All Star Comics #8 .-Golden Age:...
, Etta Candy
Etta Candy
Etta Candy is a fictional character from the DC Comics Wonder Woman series.-Golden Age:In her 1940s introduction, Etta Candy is a sickly malnurished woman Wonder Woman discovers at a local hospital. When next she is seen Etta is transformed into a spirited, rotund young woman who has a great love...
, and the Holliday Girls follow her to Arabia, site of the Crystal Temple of the Crimson Flame, the "international headquarters" of Zara and her sinister "flame forces." Ultimately, Wonder Woman and her companions defeat the flame cultists, rescue Helene Armstrong from their clutches, and capture Zara.
It was to wreak vengeance on Helene's father that Zara had had her abducted.
The much-feared "crimson flame," confesses Zara, was actually nothing more than "floating, burning, liquid hydrogen," while the voice seeming to speak from inside it was actually an illusion created with movie projector sound equipment.
Zara escapes from Transformation Island which works to rehabilitate female criminals along with seven other villainesses and joins them in forming Villainy Incorporated
Post-Crisis
Post-Crisis, Zara has been depicted as an Arabian woman and her flame-powers were inborn rather than produced by gadgets (originally, she used a fire-gun). However, HippolytaQueen Hippolyta (comics)
Queen Hippolyta is a fictional character and DC Comics superhero, based on Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology. She is also the mother of Wonder Woman and Donna Troy.-Golden and Silver Age versions:...
referred to her flames as 'scientific trickery.'
Recently, Zara has been mentioned as one of the inhabitants of Alan Scott
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
's Emerald City on the dark side of the moon. She is mentioned as being a "fire girl" and an "old enemy of Wonder Woman."