COMET QUEEN
Real Name: Grava
Class: Extraterrestrial (Quaalian) mutate
Occupation: Legion of Super-Heroes cadet
Group Affiliation: Legion Academy, Legion of Substitute Heroes II
Known Relatives: unnamed father, unnamed mother, 17 unnamed siblings
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Legion Academy, formerly Quaal-III, 30th Century
First Appearance: Legion of Super-Heroes II #304 (October, 1983)
Powers: Comet Queen possessed the powers of flight, superhuman durability and the ability to emit poison comet gases.
History: (Legion of Super-Heroes III #11) - Grava was an energetic and strange young woman who grew up on Quaal-III, and she became a huge fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She learned that Star Boy gained his powers by flying through a comet, so she decided to do something similar to become a superhero. She flew into space and dove into a comet, and her body was completely transformed. She gained superpowers and took the name Comet Queen. Legionnaire Bouncing Boy was on a good-will tour of the Spiral Arm colony worlds when Comet Queen greeted him, telling him she had a huge crush on him and desperately wanted to join the Legion. Bouncing Boy tried to let her down, saying he was happily married and if she wanted to to join the Legion she’d have to prove herself. Comet Queen, headstrong as always, went to the lava seas to find the remains of the mythical natives of Quaal-III to show Bouncing Boy what she was made of. She found the native remains in a volcano, but couldn’t fly out because she’d broken her leg. Bouncing Boy went to save her when they realized the volcano had a gas vent that would blow them up if activated. Bouncing Boy bounced her up to the vent and had her release comet gases to short-circuit it. Technicians came to check in on the vent and rescued them. Bouncing Boy was impressed with the young woman, and agreed to enroll her in the Legion Academy.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #4) - The Legion of Super-Villains invaded Orando and captured Queen Projecta and Karate Kid. On Earth Cosmic Boy agreed to keep watch on the planet while Element Lad assembled the rest of the Legion to fly a ship to Orando. The Legion of Super-Villains warped Orando to a space between dimensions, inadvertently taking several Legionnaires with them. The LSV planned on finding other worlds where there was no Legion to foil them and conquering them. Dream Girl, acting as deputy leader with Element Lad on Orando, called Cosmic Boy to check in on Earth. Cosmic Boy now had the back-up of reservists Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Legion Academy.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #8) - The Legion Academy were enjoying a day of fun and sun at the beach when Laurel Kent was shot as she dove into the water. Comet Queen flew off to get help while Magnetic Kid cradles the bleeding Laurel. She’d never felt pain before, and was shocked that something could harm her.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #12) - The Legion Academy discussed the shakeups in the Legion of Super-Heroes, and their chances of getting called up. They started bickering, and were convinced Magnetic Kid would get called up since his brother Cosmic Boy had just left the Legion. Tellus even asked Magnetic Kid to put in a good word for him. Magnetic Kid got irritated and unleashed a magnetic blast on his teammates. Bouncing boy told them to stop goofing off, saying he had some people he wanted them to meet back at the academy.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #14) - The Legion interviewed applicants during their membership drive and had them demonstrate their powers. The Legion Academy all tried out, with Bouncing Boy on hand to cheer them on. Mentalla applied for membership, saying she’d be a valuable addition because her powers were similar to Saturn Girl, although her telepathy was used to control minds instead of reading them. Comet Queen, Magnetic Kid and Tellus all made it to the second round, and were given a trial by fire, joining the Legion on a mission to find out why the bridges and drainage systems of the California Coastal District were breaking down. Brainiac 5 led the mission, and had Mon-El team up with Magnetic Kid to use their powers to raise the newly sunken sections of California. Comet Queen rescued civilians in danger of drowning and Tellus picked up the thought-patterns of someone with sabotage on their mind. At Legion hq Energy Boy demonstrated he ability to create nuclo-globes when Polar Boy interrupted him by freezing his nuclo-globe and hands to show the Legion that he’d gotten much better at controlling his powers. He told the Legion he’d dissolved the Subs, and asked that they waive their old rule that new applicants had to be under 18 to consider him. Tellus led his teammates to the northern cost, where he sensed the thought-patterns coming from. The coast buckled and Mon-El went to investigate, finding Dev-Em on the scene. Dev-Em was now working for the U.P.’s Counter-Intelligence Corps and was also investigating the damage being done to California. Dev-Em made it very clear he was not impressed with the new would-be Legionnaires, and said the Legion would be better off if they offered him membership again. Dev-Em said the Corps had learned that the Dark Circle left behind a few stragglers on Earth to commit acts of sabotage, and Tellus tracked down the saboteur, an Ontiir clone. The clone sat in a weapon-chair and was set off another destructive device that caused a tidal wave. Mon-El used his heat vision to evaporate the tidal wave while his teammates tried to pierce the clone’s forcefield. Quislet, an adventurer from a microscopic dimension flying in a miniatures Trans-D Vessel, joined the fray in an attempt to impress the Legion. Quislet could animate inanimate matter, and took control of the clone’s weapon-chair, using it to defeat him. Quislet returned to his Vessel, and the weapon-chair crumbled to dust, as was usually the case for any matter Quislet possessed. The Legion inducted Magnetic Kid, Polar Boy, Quislet and Tellus as new members. Saturn Girl said she had a recruit with an excellent reason to join the team, Sensor Girl. She wouldn’t reveal anything about Sensor Girl, but asked the Legion to trust her, much like they trusted her telepathy when she recommended Element Lad as a member, and the Legion welcomed Sensor Girl to their ranks.
Comments: Created by Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen.
Comet Queen received a profile in Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #1. She received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 under the Legion Academy entry. She received a profile in Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #3 and Who's Who Update '97 #3 under the Legion of Substitute Heroes entry.
Comet Queen's appearance in Legion of Super-Heroes III #4, 8, 11, 12, 14 was reprinted in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #329, 333, 336, 337, 339.
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