Old School Breakdown: THE EMERALD EMPRESS
This year, as with many before, is full of anniversaries. We talked about the return of Maxwell Lord in the last article which is getting us ready for the 30th anniversary of the first issue of what would become known as the Justice League International. We also mentioned that Lord is pulling together the most eclectic group of mega villains that has ever been assembled; a challenge fitting for the joint efforts of the Justice League and the Suicide Squad. The first one on the list is EMERALD EMPRESS.
Unless you’ve followed certain comics, you have no idea where this vamp came from. In fact, most of the modern readers probably think she’s a ‘new addition’ to the REBIRTH DC universe. Well, she isn’t. The very fact that DC is in ‘REBIRTH’ mode should have us ready to see a return of old-school villains, to begin with. And the EMERALD EMPRESS is far from new. She is, in fact, 50 years old.
Yep, that’s right. She looks good for her age, right? But, seriously, she debuted in the pages of Adventure Comics #352 across from the iconic Legion of Superheroes way back in 1867. She didn’t come alone though. She was grouped with one of the Legion’s more infamous villain teams: THE FATAL FIVE.
THE FATAL FIVE
Created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan
Teamed up with Legion villains, Mano, The Persuader, Tharok and Validus, they gave the rather large roster of Legionnaires a run for their money. As we find in many stories through the decades, the EMERALD EMPRESS is quite formidable all by herself. She doesn’t have any powers of her own. But she has learned to force her will over an ‘ancient’ artifact known as the EMERALD EYE OF EKRON. It grants her the power of flight, super strength, space survival and imposing her will upon others. There is a reason there seems to be an emphasis on will. Not sure how they will play the REBIRTH EMPRESS, but in origins past the EYE of EKRON was reported to be built of pre-Green Lantern technology. Strange, seeing that EYE was mostly seen in the 30th and 31st century.
Well, not anymore. The EMERALD EMPRESS is back with the EYE and following Maxwell Lord. Now, I could give you the full history of the EMPRESS, but it would a long endeavor. I’ll leave that to Wikipedia. Let’s suffice it to say that she was last seen as a part of Super boy Prime’s Legion of Supervillains in FINAL CRISIS. But considering her power, she has an emerald bright future in the REBIRTH continuity.
