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Saturn Queen is a fictional comic book character owned by DC Comics. She debuted in Superman (1st series) #147 (August 1961), and was created by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan.
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Early History
Saturn Queen is a beautiful redhead from the planet Saturn from the thirty-first century, and like Saturn Girl she is a telepath from Saturn's moon Titan. She debuted alongside her villainous compatriots in the Legion of Super-Villains. A confident and aloof personality, she deems her motives for evil as just something she happened to pick up:
| “ | I’m from the planet Saturn, where there has been no crime at all for centuries, and where everyone can perform amazing mental feats!." " One day, when I traveled to Earth, I felt a sudden desire to outwit the law with my powers of super-hypnotism, and so I joined the Legion of Super-Villains! |
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Her career as a villain took a turn for infamy when she and her associates formed an alliance with Lex Luthor to kill Superman, Luthor's greatest foe. When they were soundly defeated, she went back into hiding.
Dreams
Superman, having been exposed to red kryptonite, dreams of Saturn Queen and her associates putting him on trial for wrongs done to them by him. In the dream, Superman is made to fight his cousin Supergirl to the death or watch as they destroy earth. While they are only dreams, it has been hinted that Saturn Queen could have been the one to induce these images [2].
Return
During the "Absolute Power" arc, Saturn Queen returned to create an alternate universe in which she and her associates Lightning Lord and Cosmic King were the "parents" of both Batman and Superman. To create this world, the villains went back in time and sabotaged the origins of Superman and Batman, killing the Kents just as they discovered Superman's ship, and killing the robber immediately after he'd murdered Bruce Wayne's parents. In this world, the World's Finest were the personal enforcers of their parents' will. Of all those who tampered with time, she was the only one who seemed concerned that what they had done may have had irreversible consequences. Having been a mother to the young Bruce and Clark for many years caused her to become especially attached to this created world. When things started to spiral out of control - thanks to Wonder Woman's assault on Superman and Batman - and Bruce was killed, Saturn Queen was the only "parent" to shed tears. In the end the real world was restored, and she disappeared again [3].
Kandor
Motherhood made Saturn Queen long for the comfort that came with having a child. Having last been seen in the "Absolute Power" arc of Superman/Batman, Saturn Queen returns in the Kandor arc of the new Supergirl series. She explains that when Alexander Luthor, Jr. brought the multiverse back during the Infinite Crisis, her alternate reality was recreated on its own world. When the multiverse collapsed, she found herself stranded in the Phantom Zone, where she found Ultraman. She viewed Ultraman as a suitable replacement for the version of Superman who was her son in her reality, and placed him under mind control so that he would believe her to be his mother. Together they went about creating Kandor in their image: he enforced her will while she ruled from behind the scenes. When Power Girl and Supergirl started causing problems for them in the guise of Nightwing and Flamebird she grew scared, since her last "son" was lost to her through similar rebellion. Her son proved no match for Supergirl and would have died had it not been for her telepathic interference. With her perfect world about to reach its apex, Supergirl and Ultraman were to wed and Power Girl executed, sealing her world forever. However, again, perfection eluded her as she attempted to dive into Power Girl's mind telepathically and lost control of both her son and Supergirl. Using the last of her strength, she reached for her son's mind, but he was pummeled and almost killed by Supergirl again. Pleading for his life, she telepathically gave Supergirl the information she sought. With Supergirl satisfied, she hastily left with Power Girl in tow. Saturn Queen meanwhile cradled her son Ultraman's body in her arms as the rebellion closed in around her.
Bibliography
- ^ Superman (1st series) #147 (August 1961)
- ^ Action Comics #286 (1962)
- ^ Superman/Batman #14-18
