Oh GOD I love that all-pink costume, though. It's more dated than all the rest combined, but seeing such a maternal, mature figure dress in "Nude Legion" fashions is just... woog.
SATURN GIRL (Imra Ardeen)
Created By: Otto Binder & Al Plastino
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958)
Home Planet: Titan (Moon of Saturn)
Origin of Powers: Racial Abilities
Eras: All Three
Relationships: Lightning Lad, Ultra-Boy (fling in Threeboot)
Role: Team Mom, Telepath
PL 11 (171)
STRENGTH 1
STAMINA 2
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2
AWARENESS 4
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Athletics 4 (+5)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+4)
Insight 4 (+8)
Investigation 2 (+6)
Perception 5 (+9)
Persuasion 6 (+9)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+7)
Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Equipment 10 (Legion Gear), Inspire, Leadership, Luck, Ranged Attack 3, Set-Up, Teamwork 2, Trance, Ultimate Will Save
Powers:
"Titanian Physiology"
"Telepathy" Mental Communication 4 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area) Linked to Mind-Reading 11 (Feats: Subtle, Sensory Link) (Extras: Effortless) (52) -- [65]
- Dynamic AE: Mind Control 10 (Feats: Dynamic, Mental Link) (42)
- Dynamic AE: "Area Calming" Affliction 6 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 2,000ft. Burst +7) (Flaws: Limited to Calming) (43)
- Dynamic AE: "Mental Stun" Affliction 11 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (34)
- Dynamic AE: "Mental Blast" Blast 11 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range, Will Save) (45)
- Dynamic AE: "Area Mental Blast" Damage 7 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Selective, Will Save) (29)
- Dynamic AE: "Telelocation" Senses 5 (Mental Detection- Extended 4) (Feats: Dynamic) (6)
- Dynamic AE: Illusion (Visuals) 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Selective) (Flaws: Phantasms) (21)
"Mental Shield" Enhanced Will Save 4 (Flaws: Limited to vs. Mental Attacks) [2]
Equipment:
"Legion Gear"
"Telepathic Ear Plug" Comprehend 3 (Languages) (6)
"Legion Flight Ring"
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 7 (Hot, Cold, Vacuum, Pressure, Radiation, Suffocation 2) (7)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
Communication 5 (Flaws: Fifth Rank is only towards Legionnaires) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Mind-Reading -- (+11 Perception-Ranged Reading, DC 21)
Mind Control/Mental Stun -- (+11 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 21)
Mental Blast -- (+11 Perception-Ranged Damage, DC 26)
Area Mental Blast +7 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2 (+3 D.Roll), Fortitude +4, Will +8 (+12 vs. Mental Attacks)
Complications:
Relationship (Garth Ranzz- Lightning Lad)- In every version of the Legion, these two founders are always getting busy. In the original continuity, they also have children.
Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 67 / Defenses: 15 (171)
Silver Age Saturn Girl:
-Saturn Girl is as old-school as they get on the Legion, and seems to be the only female character to make it out of the humorously sexist 1960s as a strong, independent woman who never reverted to self-parodying weepiness, bitching about nobody noticing her new haircut, or falling easy victim to every super-villain. Strong-willed, capable and powerful with her psychic powers, Imra Ardeen & Garth "Lightning Lad" Ranzz make up the Legion's TRUE official Power Couple (most of the other couples miss at least one of the three major continuities), and they've had some of the most fascinating stories. I mean, she's been married, one of her twin boys was captured and sent to the past to become VALIDUS, she's toppled countless villains solo, and she's tried to sacrifice herself to save others more than once. And all without going bad, wearing a slutty black costume (the slutty Mike Grell pink costume was the worst it ever got- and she was practically Mother Theresa in THAT Legion era in terms of costumes!), or turning post-modern bad-ass killer. Truly something special & unique in comics- there's always something appealing about the Team Mom, y'know? She's basically "The Invisible Woman" of the Legion, though seems to have adopted the Sue-like traits first (it took Sue till the '80s to really become the version we recognize today), so give her credit there.
-Saturn Girl debuted as an original Legionnaire alongside Lightning Lad & Cosmic Boy. In an early story, she attempted to sacrifice herself after learning that a Legionnaire would die during an attack, but Garth took the shot for her. She later attempted to sacrifice herself AGAIN in the attempt to revive Garth, but Proty, admiring her courage, sacrificed himself instead. Saturn Girl was elected leader of the Legion twice during this span, making her the first female superhero to ever lead a team. In the SIXTIES!
-Her relationship with Lightning Lad, initially based off of her rebuffing his advances, started in earnest when he sacrificed himself for her. However, she rejected multiple proposals of marriage because it would mean they'd have to retire (thanks to the Legion charter- WHICH THEY WROTE- indicating such). However, after ten years (and her consulting her mentors on Titan), she relented. They retired, but quickly rejoined the fight when the Legion was captured, and the charter was rewritten after her telepathy was instrumental in victory. They retired once more to raise their son Graym.
-Saturn Girl single-handedly defeated Universo when he hypnotized and imprisoned most of Earth, and rejoined the Legion, while Garth played "house-husband". They never rejoined the Legion after the "Five Years Later" era, having grown independently wealthy, and helping people through charity work and feeding the hungry instead. They would even be reunited with a second son- a twin who was kidnapped by Darkseid and turned into the monstrous Validus. They added two more children as this first continuity faded.
Later Saturn Girls:
-Reboot Imra was once again a charter Legionnaire, and began dating "Live Wire" after initially being unable to choose between him and Cosmic Boy. After some initial struggles, she and Garth were married in this continuity as well. They ended up in the
Legion Lost story, stranded in a faraway galaxy, and Garth was killed fighting Element Lad. They had somewhat reconnected by continuity's end, though she had a hard time dealing with him living in a facsimile of Element Lad's body.
-In "Threeboot", Imra's Titanian people were mute telepaths, having atrophied their ability to speak. Here, her coldness is exaggerated to its highest level, but she also has feelings of inadequacy which lead her into an affair with Ultra Boy, straining things with Lightning Lad considerably. In the Post-
Infinite Crisis books, she appears in the 21st Century, believed to be insane because she's ranting and raving about the Legion of the future.
Saturnian Stats:
-Saturn Girl is a rare PL 11 on the team, thanks to her effective Mental Attacks- this actually makes her noticeably better against Daxamites than most of her team, as a Will +4 Civilian will go down to a Mental Blast, no matter HOW high his toughness is. She's got an incredibly powerful mind with varied tricks (a Dynamic Telepath Array), which makes her an ultimate team player, and is probably the single strongest-willed member of the ENTIRE Legion, including Superboy & Supergirl, thanks to her mental training. She's not as good in a fist-fight, but like The Invisible Woman, if you screw with her family, be prepared to have a heap of Hero Points shoved straight up your hind end from a cranky blonde Den Mother.
-Saturn Girl was initially depicted as very powerful and varied in might during the 1960s stories, but writers later scaled back the "Game Breaking" powers like Mind Control so that she was pretty much only reading minds after a point. The Reboot team brought back many of those powers (writers were more easily able to write around them by that point), but likely around PL 10-ish.