Nadira

Creation

Nadira was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Gene Colan. She first appeared in 1982's The Phantom Zone #1. Following Infinite Crisis, this version of Nadira was effectively erased from existence.

A Post-Crisis version of Nadira was later introduced by writer Greg Rucka and artist Sidney Teles in 2009's Action Comics #877. This version had little similarities to her previous incarnation other than her Kryptonian criminal past and relationship with Az-Rel.

Storyline 2007-2010

Nadira is a Kryptonian outlaw and one half of a "Bonnie and Clyde" relationship with her lover, Az-Rel. She and Az-Rel agreed to serve as two of General Zod's sleeper agents on Earth. They eventually ignored their mission parameters however, and the two set out on a violent reign of terror, acting on every possible impulse that came to them, and recklessly slaughtering anyone who opposed them. This caught the attention of the Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing, who tracked Nadira and Az-Rel to the deserts of New Mexico where they battled the pair until Assassin of Project 7734 intervened.

Despite attempting to escape in the ensuing confusion, Nadira and Az-Rel were eventually apprehended by Project 7734 and held in their custody.

Powers & Abilities 2007-2010

As a Kryptonian, she has several amazing powers when in a solar system with a yellow sun:

• Flight: Can defy gravity and fly under her own power, even through outer space.
• Super Strength: Has great strength. Can lift more than 1,000,000 tons.
• Super Speed: Can travel great distances in an instant. Able to move nearly as fast as The Flash.
• Super Hearing: Can hear any sound at any volume or pitch and filer out and focus in on specific voices even in a crowded city.
• Endurance: Doesn't need to sleep, eat, or drink, can survive in outer space, and can maintain psychical exertion for very long periods of time without tiring.
• Heat Vision: Can fire rays of extreme heat and power from her eyes.
• X-Ray Vision: Can see through anything except lead.
• Telescopic Vision: Can focus her vision down to the microscopic level, or extend it out and focus it on objects far, far away.
• Super Breath: Can create whirlwinds by forcefully exhaling, or freeze objects or opponents by blowing freezing cold air at them (a.k.a. ice breath).
• Durability: Nearly impervious to any harm. Though can be hurt by beings with equal or greater power than her own, by magic, or by Kryptonite.
• Longevity: Ages much slower, though is not truly immortal.
• Healing: Can heal rapidly from injury.
• Photographic Memory: Can read at high speeds and remember every detail, as well as remember anything she's experienced with perfect clarity.

Storyline 1998

Nadira was a Kryptonian anarchist with psychokinetic abilities who became a petty criminal mostly because nothing else appealed to her. She was eventually apprehended along with like-minded criminal Az-Rel for their crimes and they were both sentenced to 15 sun-cycles in the Phantom Zone.

Years later, following the destruction of Krypton, Nadira and Az-Rel were part of a massive escape attempt from the Phantom Zone led by General Zod. Zod and his associates sought to displace Earth into the Phantom Zone as revenge against Superman, but Nadira and Az-Rel instead sought to pursue simple pleasures on Earth. When confronted by a crowd of punks in a disco, the criminal pair used their powers indiscriminately to burn the building down and kill everyone inside. Later however, they encountered the mad prophet, Jer-Em, who intended to send himself to the Kryptonian afterlife by exposing himself to a large chunk of deadly Green Kryptonite. Before they could flee, Jer-Em grabbed Nadira and pulled her onto the Kryptonite, exposing her to a fatal dose of radiation. Az-Rel fled, but was soon caught by Superman who had Az-Rel take him to Nadira in order to help her. In her dying pain, Nadira used her psychokinetic powers to trigger Az-Rel's pyrotic abilities, forcing him to immolate himself for abandoning her. She tried to kill Superman as well, but he managed to escape with his life, if just barely.

Powers & Abilities 1998

Prior to Infinite Crisis, Nadira possessed psychokinetic powers that allowed her to invade the nervous system of another living being and disrupt the bio-electrical processes of their brain.

She could use this ability to control people to a small degree, such as forcing them to stop breathing, convulse with pain, or even overload their body with pain to the point of death.

Film & Television

Man of Steel (2013)

In the 2013 Superman movie, Nadira is portrayed as one of the Kryptonians who assisted General Zod in his failed coup of Krypton and was sentenced to 300 years of imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Zod and his allies were later accidentally released from the Phantom Zone, at which point Nadira assisted him in his attempt to defeat Superman and conquer Earth.