Thara Ak-Var is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, created by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. The character first appeared during the Superman: New Krypton storyline in Superman #681 (October 2008). She is the latest character to take on the role of Flamebird.[1] Along with the new Nightwing, Thara is the feature character in Action Comics beginning with issue #875 (May 2009). Thara Ak-Var's name is a reference to Ak-Var, who was the second pre-Crisis Flamebird, and his wife, Thara.
| Thara Ak-Var | |
|---|---|
 Thara as Flamebird. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman #681 (October 2008) |
| Created by | Geoff Johns James Robinson |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Thara Ak-Var |
| Species | Kryptonian |
| Place of origin | Krypton |
| Partnerships | Nightwing (Lor-Zod) Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) |
| Notable aliases | Flamebird |
| Abilities | Powers and abilities identical to those of Superman: Superhuman strength, super speed, flight, stamina and freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and vision powers Flamebird powers:
|
Esmé Bianco portrays Thara in the third season of Supergirl.
Fictional character biography
editSilver Age
editIn the Silver Age, Thara is the wife of Ak-Var, the assistant of her uncle Van-Zee, who later assumes the mantle of Nightwing.
Modern Age
editThara Ak-Var is a resident of Argo City and a childhood friend of Kara Zor-El who survives Krypton’s destruction after Zor-El erects a force field around the city. After Brainiac captures and shrinks the city, Thara becomes its chief of security and the avatar of the deity Flamebird.[2][3]
After Superman liberates Argo City and Kandor, Thara moves to Earth and becomes the superhero Flamebird.[4] In Superman: War of the Supermen, Thara sacrifices herself to save the remaining Kryptonians after Reactron destroys New Krypton.[5]
Powers and abilities
editThara has all the standard abilities of a Kryptonian exposed to the light of a yellow sun: super strength, super speed, invulnerability, flight, heat vision, super-breath, x-ray vision, and super hearing. She also possesses an undefined connection to the mythic "Flamebird" entity, which gives her pyrokinesis, immunity to gold kryptonite, and a psychic link with Chris Kent.
Like all Kryptonians, Thara is weakened by kryptonite radiation and fatally vulnerable to prolonged exposure.
In other media
edit- Thara Ak-Var appears in Supergirl, portrayed by Esmé Bianco. This version is the police chief of Argo City.[6]
- Thara Ak-Var appears in Superman: Unbound, voiced by Melissa Disney.[7]
References
edit- ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 94–96. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
- ^ Superman #681 (October 2008)
- ^ Action Comics Annual #12 (August 2009)
- ^
- Action Comics #872 (February 2009)
- Action Comics #875 - #884 (May 2009 - February 2010)
- Supergirl (vol. 5) #45 - #46 (November - December 2009)
- ^ Superman: War of the Supermen #3 (July 2010)
- ^ Siede, Caroline (June 4, 2018). "Supergirl's 3rd season has officially gone off the rails". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Thara Voice - Superman: Unbound (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 10, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.