Sera Lwanga

SERA LWANGA

Real Name: Dr. Sera Lwanga

Class: Human

Occupation: Doctor, humanitarian

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Moses Lwanga (Unknown Soldier, first husband, deceased), Momolu Sengendo (husband), two unnamed children. unnamed grandmother, unnamed parents-in-law (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Uganda, Africa

First Appearance: Unknown Soldier IV #1 (December, 2008)

Powers: Sera was a skilled doctor.

History: (Unknown Soldier IV #5 (fb), 1, 2) - In 1978 Moses Lwanga and his family fled their home in Uganda, then under the control of Idi Amin, for a life in America. Moses went to Harvard and became a doctor, but he couldn't get his birthplace out of his mind and returned to Uganda, now threatened by a corrupt government and LRA terrorists. He set up a clinic, married a woman named Sra, and became famous for his good work and pacifism. In 2002 he gave a speech announcing his departure from the clinic for an IDP camp, and reiterated his message that change in Africa would have to come from within. He told Sera he despised pomp and circumstance, and she agreed that they should spend their last night at home together. Moses had a recurring nightmare where he was in the womb and ripped out by soldiers, as well as a violent fantasy of snapping his wife's neck, but he refused to tell her what was haunting him. Moses and Sera traveled to Acholiland, and the work took a toll on him, seeing the human lives damaged by the LRA. Soldiers brought him a young boy shot in the head by the LRA, and was told they still had his sister. Moses snapped and ran into the bush, disarming one LRA child soldier and shooting him to death, before demanding another LRA boy return the little girl to camp. Moses heard a voice in his head telling him about warfare, and saying only he could solve Uganda's problems by killing corrupt politicians and the LRA. These violent fantasies were against everything Moses believed in, and he had a psychotic break, considering suicide with the gun he took before smashing his own face bloody with a rock. UPDF soldier failed to find her husband, and Sera was filled with worry.

(Unknown Soldier IV #3, 4) - Hollywood actress and humanitarian Margaret Wells visited Sera, and while Sera was annoyed with her entourage she appreciated her admiration of Moses and the comfort she gave her, saying no one had anything to gain by hurting him. Jack Lee Howl, a soldier of fortune, had been tasked with finding Moses, and approached Sera, claiming to be a member of Human Rights Watch. Sera took him to where Moses was last seen, and he found some of his personal effects, but hid them from her. She started to question his credentials, but he waived her off, and went looking for any nearby shelter where Moses might have gone after the LRA attack.

(Unknown Soldier IV #5, 6) - Moses left the mission to return to the IDP camp, but the LRA came looking for him, because he'd killed a number of rebels to save the girls from the mission. Moses had a happy reunion with his wife, who gave him penicillin for his massively infected face. The LRA arrived in the middle of the night, demanding Moses, who picked them off one by one before confronting their leader Lt. Ilakut. A soldier confronted Sera, and when she screamed that he was killing his own people he struck her. The defiant Sera said he would not find it easy to take her. The boy tried to attack, so she stabbed him with a pair of scissors. Moses struck Ilikut with a machete, bit off his nose, and forced him to order his soldiers' retreat, telling them that Moses was the darkness in the bush and the light in the lion's eyes. Sera barely recognized her blood-spattered husband, and demanded to know what he thought he was doing when he put a gun to Ilikut's head. He said he didn't want her to see him as a monster, and dragged Ilikut away into the bush, vanishing for a week. Reporter Momolu Sengendo told her about a bandaged man's personal war against the LRA and she couldn't believe what her husband had become.

(Unknown Soldier IV #8) - Margaret Wells approached Sera about a memorial dinner for her missing husband, saying they could raise money for a foundation and do a huge amount of good, but Sera refused to believe her husband was dead, and said she would not rest until he was back in her arms. She sent Wells off, but after mulling things around in her head wrote her a letter, saying Moses had become more than a person, he'd become a symbol of hope, and she'd support the fundraiser for the good it would do for Uganda.

(Unknown Soldier IV #11, 12) - Sera kept thinking about her grandmother, who taught her mysticism and witchcraft, and how she rejected those notions as she got older. She still swore the last time she saw Moses he looked like a man a witch had possessed. Sera got a call from her friend Betty, who said she'd been contacted by Moses' former fiancée Rachel Callos and her father, who wanted to know if she'd be comfortable with them attending the banquet. Sera was shocked because Moses never told her he was engaged before he met her, but said she welcomed their attendance. She rode with Rachel and her father to Kampala for the benefit, and saw Rachel and her father clearly respected, loved and mourned Moses, but she was unwilling to tell them he was still alive. She resolved that it was time to be proactive and find Moses herself. Moses and Jack Lee Howl were at the event because militants Kiwanja and T'any were there to kill Wells and blame it on the LRA to bring worldwide attention to Uganda's plight. Moses failed to kill T'any, but shot off her ear and killed a number of her collaborators. Jack had Kiwanja at gunpoint while Wells gave a speech honoring Moses' life's work and introducing Sera Lwanga to the crowd. Kiwanja signaled a sniper, but Jack interfered in the shot, which hit Rachel. Jack and Moses fled, but when Sera spotted them she was infuriated that her husband was leaving her again. Wells told Sera about encountering the bandaged man, and how he told her to stop interfering with Uganda's destiny, so she thought he was the one behind the attempt on her life. She wondered if her work held any meaning, and Sera replied that nothing but good could come from taking another's burden into their heart, and said if the Moses Lwanga she remembered had been at the benefit he would have agreed.

(Unknown Soldier IV #17) - Sera went to Gulu to talk to reporter Momolu Sengendo, who'd interviewed the bandaged man and broke his story on his war against the LRA. She offered to pay him a good deal of money to find the bandaged man again and bring her with him.

(Unknown Soldier IV #22) - Sera shut down her clinic to devote all her time to finding Moses, but the decision left her feeling empty inside. Momolu told Sera he still hadn't found her target, but invited her to a traditional Acholi wedding in Kampala to take her mind off things. She enjoyed the event, and thought it nice to see the Acholi outside of IDP camps and war zones, living life. Jack Lee Howl found her that night, and showed her a newspaper article saying the bandaged man had been captured by US forces after a clash with the UPDF, and told her if she wanted to know more he'd meet her at a hotel in Kitgum. Sera was furious with Momolu for not telling her the news about the bandaged man, and he said he could no longer help her because she was throwing her life away pursuing a madman he believed had killed her husband. He expressed that he had feelings for her, but Sera said she could never fall in love again.

(Unknown Soldier IV #23) - Howl arranged a meeting between Sera and Moses, who was determined to finish his war by killing Joseph Kony. Moses told her to live her life and do good, but the Moses she knew was gone. She was furious he'd dragged her into his violent world without a word of explanation and they parted paths. Jack was still happy he'd tried to bring closure to Sera, one of the only selfless acts he'd ever done, knowing she represented a good and beautiful world he was not a part of.

(Unknown Soldier IV #25) - Moses found Kony's camp and died trying to kill the head of the LRA. Sera took a year to see the sights of Africa, and reconnected with Momolu Sengendo. They fell in love, married, and had two children. Under her leadership the Moses Lwanga Institute became a force for great good throughout Africa, and she was nominated for a Nobel Prize for her work in sustainable aid.

Comments: Created by Joshua Dysart & Alberto Ponticello.

Sera had a cameo in Unknown Soldier IV #10, 14, 16.