Shikari (comics)
Encyclopedia
Shikari is a fictional character
, a superhero
ine in the future of the DC Comics
universe
and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
. She was created by Dan Abnett
, Andy Lanning
and Olivier Coipel
and first appeared in Legion Lost
#1.
Some fans have maintained that her pathfinding powers are similar to, or a return of, the tracking powers of Dawnstar
, a member of a previous incarnation of the Legion team. Abnett and Lanning have frequently denied that she is a new version of the earlier character.
Her name is a Hindi word for hunter, derived from shikar, "hunt."
, a nomadic race of humanoid insects who live in the "Second Galaxy," and who were chased and oppressed by the xenophobic Progeny, another insectoid race. They had first encountered when following the appearance of an apparent new, "feral star," which the Kwai considered good luck. Unlike her fellow Kwai, however, Shikari was a rebel, displaying throwback, aggressive "lonestar" tendencies, including using her retractable exoskeleton for fighting rather than simple protection from the vacuum of space.
She first encountered the Legion of Super-Heroes when she happened across the remains of the Legion Outpost, containing several Legionnaires in stasis, while fleeing from a Progeny attack. A hologram of Element Lad
, triggered by her entering the Outpost, attempted to explain to her how the group had been thrown through a space-time rift across a vast distance. The Legionnaires were then revived by the Progeny's attack, and helped her fight them off. In return, she took them to the Kwai's "brief-home," where they aided the Kwai in gathering resources for moving on, and they gave the Legionnaires data and materials to help make the severely damaged Outpost habitable.
In addition, Kid Quantum
discovered that the "feral star" which had drawn the Kwai to the region was in fact the Legionnaire ERG-1
, whom Shikari accidentally renamed Wildfire, a name which stuck. When the Kwai moved on, Shikari remained with the Legion.
Shikari then used her pathfinding power to attempt to find them a way home, and brought them to a rock-encrusted hardlight pyramidal structure. At the center, they found a space-time rift which could have taken them home, but was in fact a prison for a creature called the Omniphagos - something that ate all matter in its path - which had been inadvertently freed by the Progeny, and they were forced to seal it once more.
Shikari and the Legionnaires were captured by the Progeny and taken to their creator, the Progenitor, who was revealed to be the Legionnaire Element Lad. He had been cast a billion years back in time when the Outpost passed back into the normal universe, and had created all the races in the sector - including the Kwai and the Progeny, a fact which seriously disturbed Shikari. Eventually, after he had killed the Legionnaire Monstress
and freed the Omniphagos for experimenting, Live Wire sacrificed his life to kill both Element Lad and the Omniphagos. Shikari's pathfinding directed the rest of the team through the Omniphagos' prison and back home.
There, she was separated from the team for "quarantine" and was to be vivisected until rescued by Triad, who took her to the "Bouncing Boy," Chuck Taine
's ship, where they in turn rescued the other "lost" Legionnaires from being drowned in toxic sludge. The whole group was then taken to Legion World, an artificial planetoid constructed to be the headquarters for the Legion while half the group was "lost."
Brainiac 5
constructed a "Threshold" teleport system based on the rift that had been the Omniphagos' prison, but which was dependent on Shikari's pathfinding powers to work. After they retrieved Spark from her homeworld as a test, Shikari helped send a group of Legionnaires to talk the Kwai into becoming guides to help turn the Threshold system into a practical transport network. They eventually assented, while she remained on Earth to help the team defeat Ra's al Ghul
, who had usurped the presidency of the United Planets
.
Shikari would remain a core member of the team thereafter, playing key parts in their defeats of Computo
and Universo
.
At the end of the Teen Titans/Legion special, the majority of the team seemed to fade from existence. Shikari was the only Legionnaire to be deposited in the new "Threeboot" timeline. She did not make an appearance to the new legion, instead vanishing until Infinite Crisis. The Legion and Shikari separately made it back to "Earth-247," as depicted in Infinite Crisis
#6.
Shikari is later seen in the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, trapped in Limbo along with the rest of the post-Zero Hour Legion, stating that she cannot find a path out of the void. They are rescued by pre-crisis Brainiac 5, and brought to the Pre-Crisis Legion's world to help battle Superboy-Prime
and the Legion of Super-Villains
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ine in the future of the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. She was created by Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
, Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
and Olivier Coipel
Olivier Coipel
Olivier Coipel is a French comic book artist, known for his work on books such as House of M, Legion of Super-Heroes andThor.-Career:...
and first appeared in Legion Lost
Legion Lost
Legion Lost is a superhero team published by DC Comics.It was originally published as a 12-issue comic book limited series starring the Legion of Super-Heroes...
#1.
Some fans have maintained that her pathfinding powers are similar to, or a return of, the tracking powers of Dawnstar
Dawnstar
Dawnstar is a fictional superheroine in comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell.- Fictional character biography :...
, a member of a previous incarnation of the Legion team. Abnett and Lanning have frequently denied that she is a new version of the earlier character.
Her name is a Hindi word for hunter, derived from shikar, "hunt."
Fictional character biography
Shikari is a member of the KwaiKwai
The Kwai are an insectoid humanoid fictional species in the DC Comics universe, created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Oliver Coipel. Allies of the Legion of Super-Heroes, they were a nomadic, matriarchical people who mostly displayed a pacifistic approach to life...
, a nomadic race of humanoid insects who live in the "Second Galaxy," and who were chased and oppressed by the xenophobic Progeny, another insectoid race. They had first encountered when following the appearance of an apparent new, "feral star," which the Kwai considered good luck. Unlike her fellow Kwai, however, Shikari was a rebel, displaying throwback, aggressive "lonestar" tendencies, including using her retractable exoskeleton for fighting rather than simple protection from the vacuum of space.
She first encountered the Legion of Super-Heroes when she happened across the remains of the Legion Outpost, containing several Legionnaires in stasis, while fleeing from a Progeny attack. A hologram of Element Lad
Element Lad
Element Lad is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the , a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. A native of the planet Trom, he has the power to transmute chemical elements.-Pre-Zero Hour:...
, triggered by her entering the Outpost, attempted to explain to her how the group had been thrown through a space-time rift across a vast distance. The Legionnaires were then revived by the Progeny's attack, and helped her fight them off. In return, she took them to the Kwai's "brief-home," where they aided the Kwai in gathering resources for moving on, and they gave the Legionnaires data and materials to help make the severely damaged Outpost habitable.
In addition, Kid Quantum
Kid Quantum
Kid Quantum is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in comic books published by DC Comics, who were members of different incarnations of the Legion of Super-Heroes.-Original:...
discovered that the "feral star" which had drawn the Kwai to the region was in fact the Legionnaire ERG-1
Wildfire (comics)
Wildfire is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero in that universe's 30th and 31st centuries. Created by Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum, the character debuted in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #195 .-Publication history:...
, whom Shikari accidentally renamed Wildfire, a name which stuck. When the Kwai moved on, Shikari remained with the Legion.
Shikari then used her pathfinding power to attempt to find them a way home, and brought them to a rock-encrusted hardlight pyramidal structure. At the center, they found a space-time rift which could have taken them home, but was in fact a prison for a creature called the Omniphagos - something that ate all matter in its path - which had been inadvertently freed by the Progeny, and they were forced to seal it once more.
Shikari and the Legionnaires were captured by the Progeny and taken to their creator, the Progenitor, who was revealed to be the Legionnaire Element Lad. He had been cast a billion years back in time when the Outpost passed back into the normal universe, and had created all the races in the sector - including the Kwai and the Progeny, a fact which seriously disturbed Shikari. Eventually, after he had killed the Legionnaire Monstress
Monstress
Monstress is a fictional character, a superheroine in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the post-Zero Hour continuity.-Fictional character biography:...
and freed the Omniphagos for experimenting, Live Wire sacrificed his life to kill both Element Lad and the Omniphagos. Shikari's pathfinding directed the rest of the team through the Omniphagos' prison and back home.
There, she was separated from the team for "quarantine" and was to be vivisected until rescued by Triad, who took her to the "Bouncing Boy," Chuck Taine
Bouncing Boy
-Fictional character biography:Bouncing Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century. He is Chuck Taine of Earth, and he has the power to inflate like a ball and bounce. He received his powers when he accidentally drank a super...
's ship, where they in turn rescued the other "lost" Legionnaires from being drowned in toxic sludge. The whole group was then taken to Legion World, an artificial planetoid constructed to be the headquarters for the Legion while half the group was "lost."
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
constructed a "Threshold" teleport system based on the rift that had been the Omniphagos' prison, but which was dependent on Shikari's pathfinding powers to work. After they retrieved Spark from her homeworld as a test, Shikari helped send a group of Legionnaires to talk the Kwai into becoming guides to help turn the Threshold system into a practical transport network. They eventually assented, while she remained on Earth to help the team defeat Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul is a DC Comics supervillain and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. His name in Arabic has been translated in the comics as "The Demon's Head" and references the name of the star Algol. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, he was introduced in Batman #232's...
, who had usurped the presidency of the United Planets
United Planets
In the , the United Planets is a fictional governing body, traditionally depicted as active in the 30th and 31st century.-History of the published versions of the United Planets:...
.
Shikari would remain a core member of the team thereafter, playing key parts in their defeats of Computo
Computo (comics)
Computo is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics universe and a foe of the Legion of Super-Heroes. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #340 , in a story written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Curt Swan.-Pre-Crisis:...
and Universo
Universo
Universo is the name of a fictional Legion of Super-Heroes supervillain in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe.-Pre-Zero Hour:...
.
At the end of the Teen Titans/Legion special, the majority of the team seemed to fade from existence. Shikari was the only Legionnaire to be deposited in the new "Threeboot" timeline. She did not make an appearance to the new legion, instead vanishing until Infinite Crisis. The Legion and Shikari separately made it back to "Earth-247," as depicted in Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
#6.
Shikari is later seen in the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, trapped in Limbo along with the rest of the post-Zero Hour Legion, stating that she cannot find a path out of the void. They are rescued by pre-crisis Brainiac 5, and brought to the Pre-Crisis Legion's world to help battle Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
and the Legion of Super-Villains
Legion of Super-Villains
The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of fictional supervillains that appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future...
.