Night Girl (Lydda Jath) is a fictional character appearing in media published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, primarily as a member of the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

and

Legion of Substitute Heroes The Legion of Substitute Heroes are a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are rejected Legion of Super-Heroes applicants who band together to prove that their powers are not ...

in the 30th and 31st centuries. She first appeared in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #306 (March 1963).

Fictional character biography

Pre-''Crisis''

Night Girl is a native of the planet Kathoon, a world which is in perpetual darkness and heated by an internal power source. Lydda possesses superhuman strength, given to her by her scientist father, but only at night or in deep shadow. Her powers were negated by the presence of

ultraviolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

energy. In pre-'' Zero Hour'' continuity, she unsuccessfully tried out for the Legion of Super-Heroes, who rejected her due to her situational and impractical abilities. After meeting fellow Legion reject

Polar Boy Polar Boy (Brek Bannin) is a fictional character from the 30th century of the DC Universe, initially suggested by reader Buddy Lavigne of Northbrook, Illinois in the letters page of ''Adventure Comics'' #304, from January 1963. He was the first of ...

, she became a founding member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. While having powers with such a drastic limitation reduced her effectiveness as a superhero, she became quite skilled at martial arts. She had a crush on

Cosmic Boy Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn) is a superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He is from the 31st century, and is a founding member and original leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Cosmic Boy has appeared in various media outside comics, p ...

, which was her motivation for leaving Kathoon and trying out for the Legion. During the Five Year Gap, she and Rokk married and eventually had a son, Pol (named for Cosmic Boy's fallen brother, Legionnaire Magnetic Kid) and resettled back on her homeworld as her husband reformed the Legion. In the stories of the Adult Legion, Night Girl (now Night Woman) and Cosmic Man are married and have a child.

Post-''Zero Hour''

In post-''Zero Hour'' continuity, Night Girl made two brief appearances, first in ''Legionnaires'' #43 as she was rejected at a try-out once again and joined the Legion of Substitute Heroes once more. In a nod to the previous continuity she noted that, had she been aware Cosmic Boy was on a secret mission, she might not have even made the attempt. She was seen in one panel in ''Legionnaires'' #49 as she and

talked about how the Substitute Legion had a long way to go until they were ready to take on a mission.

Threeboot

Night Girl appeared trying out for Legion membership by fighting

Ultra Boy Ultra Boy (Jo Nah) is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. He gained his powers after being eaten by a whale-like beast in space and being exposed to large amounts ...

. She was later made a member of the Legion Reserves.

Post-''Infinite Crisis''

The events of ''

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, ...

'' restored a close analogue of the pre-''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'' Legion of Super-Heroes to continuity. Night Girl appears as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and teacher at the Legion Academy.

Powers and abilities

Night Girl has superhuman strength and durability equivalent to that of

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

or Mon-El, but only in darkness or deep shadow. Her powers fade immediately in the presence of direct sunlight. Since her superpowers are often unavailable, she has trained extensively and is a capable hand-to-hand combatant.

In other media

* Night Girl makes non-speaking cameo appearances in '' Legion of Super Heroes''. * Night Girl appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Night Girl appears in the one-shot comic ''

Batman '66 ''Batman '66'' is an American superhero comic book series published by DC Comics featuring Batman as a continuation of the 1966–1968 television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. The series was written primarily by ...

Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes''.

References

Night Girl at the Legion of Super-Heroes Clubhouse
{{Legion of Super-Heroes Characters created by Edmond Hamilton Characters created by John Forte Comics characters introduced in 1963 DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female superheroes Legion of Super-Heroes members