Faora

{{Infobox comics character

| image = Faora.jpg

| caption = Faora as depicted in Action Comics #472 (June 1977). Art by Bob Oksner.

| character_name = Faora

| publisher = DC Comics

| debut = (Hu-Ul):
Action Comics #471 (May 1977)

(Unknown):
Action Comics #779 (July 2001)

| creators = (Hu-Ul):
Cary Bates (writer)
Curt Swan (artist)

(Unknown):
Joe Kelly (writer)
Duncan Rouleau (artist)

| alter_ego =

| full_name = Faora Hu-Ul
Zaora Hu-UlPocket Universe duplicate of the pre-Crisis character
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
UnrevealedThe Pokolistanian character's true name has yet to be revealed.

| species = (Both Hu-Ul):
Kryptonian
(Unknown):
Metahuman

| homeworld =

| alliances =

| partners = General Zod
Jax-Ur

| aliases =

| supports=

| powers = (Both Hu-Ul):

{{collapsible list

| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;

| title = See list

Superhuman strength, stamina, endurance, speed, agility, reflexes, intelligence, longevity, and hearing
Solar radiation absorption
Enhanced vision
EM spectrum vision
Infra-red vision
Microscopic vision
Telescopic vision
X-ray vision
Invulnerability
Ice and wind breath
Heat vision
Flight
Combat experience

}}

(Pre-Crisis Hu-Ul):

Non-corporeal form
Psychic bolts
Telepathy

(Unknown):

Molecular disruption

}}

Faora is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman.{{cite book |last1=Greenberger |first1=Robert |last2=Pasko |first2=Martin |title=The Essential Superman Encyclopedia |date=2010 |publisher=Del Rey |isbn=978-0-345-50108-0 |pages=89–90}} The character was created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan, and first appeared in Action Comics #471 (May 1977). Most commonly, Faora is an ally and sometimes the wife or lover of Superman's Kryptonian nemesis General Zod.{{Cite book | last = Jimenez | first = Phil | author-link = Phil Jimenez | contribution = Faora | editor-last = Dougall | editor-first = Alastair | title = The DC Comics Encyclopedia | pages = 118 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | place = New York | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-7566-4119-1 | oclc = 213309017}}

Faora appears in the television series Smallville, portrayed by Erica Durance and Sharon Taylor. Faora appeared in the DC Extended Universe films Man of Steel (2013) and The Flash (2023), portrayed by Antje Traue.

Publication history

Faora first appeared in Action Comics #471 (May 1977) and was created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan.{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Korte |first3=Steve |last4=Manning |first4=Matt |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |last6=Wilson |first6=Sven |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe |date=2016 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-5357-0 |page=105}}

Fictional character biography

= Pre-Crisis =

The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471.Action Comics #471 (May 1977){{cite book |last1=Eury |first1=Michael |title=The Krypton Companion |date=2006 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1-893905-61-0 |page=31}} She is a beautiful Kryptonian woman whose unexplained hatred for men led her to torture and kill 23 of them in the secret concentration camp. For this crime, she was sentenced to 300 years of imprisonment in the Phantom Zone.Action Comics #472 (June 1977)Phantom Zone #1 (January 1982) Surviving her homeworld's destruction, along with the other Phantom Zone prisoners, she existed in an invisible ghost-like form. While in the Zone, she is often depicted plotting against Superman with General Zod and Jax-Ur. Her hatred of men was not limited to the Kryptonian race, as she demonstrates with the murder of a young Frenchman who was attracted by her beauty.Phantom Zone #4 (April 1982)

Faora is an expert at the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which allows her to take advantage of the body's pressure points. Her skills in martial arts made her an extremely dangerous foe for Superman to face in close combat. When she defeated him during their first encounter, he was forced to flee. During one of her appearances,Action Comics #473 (July 1977) Faora could manifest some sort of "mental lightning" to physically attack Kryptonian survivors, but she did not exhibit this additional power during later battles.

= Post-Crisis =

== Pocket Universe ==

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, another Faora (renamed Zaora) appeared in a pocket universe created by the Time Trapper, along with General Zod and Quex-Ul. The three tricked the Pocket Universe's Lex Luthor into releasing them from the Phantom Zone. After the Pocket Earth's population continued to resist their conquest of it, the three villains destroyed the atmosphere, killing almost all life. Superman defeated them by permanently depowering them with gold Kryptonite. He then executed them with Kryptonite in punishment for their crimes, and to protect the real Earth after they threatened to somehow regain their powers and destroy it as well. Zaora pleaded with Superman for her life, offering him "all sorts of favors", before she succumbed to the Kryptonite.Superman (vol. 2) #22 (October 1988)

== Phantom Zone entity ==

In the Eradicator miniseries, Dr. David Conner was pressured into embracing his programming by another construct of Kem-L. This artifact, which was trapped in the Phantom Zone, claimed to be called Faora, after Kem-L's grandmother, and to be the ultimate repository of Kryptonian mythology. However, it is unclear how much of this is true.

The Eradicator rejects it, "downloading" all these aspects of ancient programming that contradicted his morality into Faora's artificial intelligence. Unknown to him, this gave it a new, monstrous form and dimensional-based powers. After leaving the Zone, it targeted Conner's family. The Eradicator destroyed Faora, but not before it kills his wife.

== Pokolistanian ==

Another Faora was introduced as one of General Zod's aides in Pokolistan. This character, who debuted in Action Comics #779 (July 2001), is an orphan metahuman. Faora has molecular abilities to a limited degree. She created a mutagenic virus for Zod as part of the linchpin plan. Her whereabouts following the General's defeat are unknown.

== "Return to Krypton" ==

In a 2001–2002 storyline, Superman and Lois Lane visit a version of Krypton which is later revealed to have been created by Brainiac 13 and based on Jor-El's favorite period in Kryptonian history.Action Comics #793 (September 2002) In this Krypton, Lois and Clark become fugitives and are pursued by Faora and Kru-El, romantically linked manhunters known as "the Hounds of Zod."Superman: The Man of Steel #111 (April 2001) This version of Faora, calling herself "the Tigress of Zod", later returns as an ally of Jor-El. She and Kru-El are both killed in a struggle against Kryptonian religious zealots.Superman: The Man of Steel #128 (September 2002)

= New 52/DC Rebirth =

Faora Hu-Ul returned during New 52 and following into DC Rebirth where she shared a loathing of Krypton's ideals of peace and science and desired a return to the old days, when Krypton was a brutal militaristic empire. In time, she met Dru-Zod, a colonel who shared the same dream. Zod gathered a group of like-minded supporters, but he became especially interested in Faora because of her blood lust. Faora became complicit in Zod's engineering of a false flag operation, which triggered a war with the alien Char. Jor-El, an old friend of Zod's, discovered the deception and turned Zod over to the authorities. This resulted in the sentencing of Zod and his followers, Faora among them, to the Phantom Zone but later sent Doomsday into the boundaries allowing an escape.Superman/Wonder Woman #5 (April 2014) But the escape leaves Faora in the zone while Zod tricks Superman into releasing her using the Fortress of Solitude's technology. The duo would later face Superman again and Wonder Woman in the South Pacific.Superman/Wonder Woman #7 (June 2014)

Powers and abilities

As a Kryptonian, Faora has superpowers derived from under the light of Earth's yellow Sun in the Solar System. These basic abilities are sufficient for her to bend steel, overpower a locomotive, leap over a tall building in one bound, and outrun a speeding bullet; as well as virtual invulnerability, accelerated recovery, laser eyebeams, vortex breath, and flight. She possesses extraordinary senses of hearing and sight, including x-ray, telescopic, and microscopic vision. The Pre-Crisis version of Faora had gotten new powers. She can telepathically communicate or sometimes does it unconsciously and project bolts of psychic energy to weaken other Kryptonians from the Phantom Zone. While in the Zone, she is effectively immortal (and untouchable). Faora knows Horu-Kanu – a deadly form of martial arts that utilizes precise pressure points to disable, cripple, or kill opponents. Both versions have expertise in unarmed combat. Even her power levels are more akin to Supergirl. Like all Kryptonians, she is also vulnerable to Kryptonite, red sunlight, and magic.Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986)

The metahuman version of Faora has the ability to disrupt molecular bonds.Action Comics #779 (July 2001)

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Faora appears in DC Comics Bombshells. This version is a former ally of Lara and Alura who was banished to the Phantom Zone for her murderous tendencies. Later, the Thanagarians free Faora, who obtains a sample of Raven's blood and transforms into a version of Doomsday.

In other media

= Television =

Faora appears in the Superman (1988) episode "The Hunter", voiced by Ginny McSwain.
Faora makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Legion of Super Heroes episode "Phantoms" as an inmate of the Phantom Zone.
Faora appears in Smallville, portrayed by Sharon Taylor. This version is a native of Kandor, loyal follower and wife of Major Zod, and co-creator of Doomsday who has a younger sister named Vala and was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone as a disembodied wraith. In the eighth season episode "Bloodline", Faora escapes, possesses Lois Lane (portrayed by Erica Durance), and battles Clark Kent until Kara Kent exorcises Faora from Lane's body. In the ninth season, Tess Mercer uses a Kryptonian device called the "Orb" to create clones of several Kandorians, such as a young Faora and Zod. After she and Vala are taken by Amanda Waller, Faora offers to join Checkmate, but is killed by Zod, who learns too late that she was pregnant with their baby.
Additionally, an alternate timeline version of Faora's clone who acquired Kryptonian superpowers appears in the episode "Pandora".
Faora appears in The Looney Tunes Show episode "SuperRabbit", voiced by Sonya Walger.{{cite web |title=Faora Voices (Superman) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Superman/Faora/ |access-date=April 1, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
Faora appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Fryda Wolff.
Faora appears in Young Justice, voiced by Denise Boutte.

= Film =

Faora purportedly served as inspiration for Superman (1978) and Superman II{{'}}s incarnation of Ursa despite being introduced in the comics while the films were in the midst of production.{{cite web |last=Brownfield |first=Troy |author-link=Troy Brownfield |author2=Matt Brady |date=2008-10-18 |title=New Krypton Countdown: When Kryptonians Walk the Earth |url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100818-New-Krypton-Countdown-1.html |access-date=2008-10-20 |work=Newsarama.com |publisher=Imaginova Corporation |archive-date=2008-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123123540/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100818-New-Krypton-Countdown-1.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}
Faora-Ul appears in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Man of Steel, portrayed by Antje Traue. Gal Gadot was originally offered the part, but declined due to being pregnant at the time.{{cite web |last=Bugley |first=Chris |date=September 17, 2015 |title=Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman because she turned down a major Man of Steel role |url=http://batman-news.com/2015/09/17/gal-gadot-man-of-steel-faora/ |publisher=Batman News}} This version is General Zod's lieutenant who, along with the rest of their battalion, the Sword of Rao, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Following Krypton's destruction, the Sword of Rao escape and head to Earth to search for Kal-El and the Codex, a device containing the genetic code of all future Kryptonians, only to be defeated and returned to the Phantom Zone.
An alternate timeline version of Faora appears in The Flash.{{cite web |last=Owens |first=Kelvin |date=December 22, 2021 |title=Michael Shannon Appears on The Flash Movie Cast List |url=https://collider.com/michael-shannon-cast-the-flash-movie/ |website=Collider}} After Barry Allen accidentally creates the "Flashpoint" timeline while averting his mother's death, the Sword of Rao seek out Kara Zor-El for the Codex instead. After they successfully kill her, Allen and his Flashpoint counterpart repeatedly travel back in time in failed attempts to save Kara, leading to the Flashpoint Allen killing Faora.

= Video games =

Faora appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 4, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects – Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=April 1, 2024 |website=IGN}}
The Man of Steel incarnation of Faora appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham via DLC.

References

50px Text was copied from [https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Faora_Hu-Ul_(Prime_Earth) Faora Hu-Ul (Prime Earth)] at DC Database, which is released under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license].

Category:Characters created by Cary Bates

Category:Characters created by Curt Swan

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1977

Category:DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds

Category:DC Comics psychics

Category:DC Comics characters with accelerated healing

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman senses

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman strength

Category:DC Comics extraterrestrial supervillains

Category:DC Comics female supervillains

Category:DC Comics film characters