Kristin Wells is a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

character, the

secret identity A secret identity is a person's code name, cryptonym, disguise, incognito, Cover (intelligence gathering), cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pi ...

of one version of

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 ...

Superwoman Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters in DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, such as flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. In 1942, DC Comics trademarked the n ...

. Created by

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

comic writer

Elliot S. Maggin Elliot S. Maggin, also spelled Elliot S! Maggin (born 1950), is an American writer of comic books, film, television, and novels. He was a main writer for DC Comics during the Bronze and early Modern ages of comics in the 1970s and 1980s. He is ...

, Wells first appeared in Maggin's novel '' Superman: Miracle Monday'' (1981); he later introduced her into comics continuity as Superwoman.

Fictional character biography

Wells is a descendant of

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Superman, Clark Kent ...

who lives in the 29th century (like Jimmy, Wells is a freckled redhead). She is a journalism student whose graduate thesis was the successful investigation of the origins of the holiday known as Miracle Monday, using a form of time travel technology that had just begun to be used by the public in her era. She then became a teacher, but became interested in finding out the identity of Superwoman, the last superhero from the 20th century whose secret identity had never been discovered. She managed to convince the authorities of her time to send her to the past, at the moment when Superwoman was supposed to debut, helping Superman fight a villain called King Kosmos. Wells soon deduced that she was supposed to become Superwoman, and, using some of the technology she had brought from the future which allowed her to have

superpowers Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, tec ...

(including

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...

empathy Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

, and

telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

), she disguised herself and helped Superman defeat Kosmos. She revealed the truth to Superman, then returned to the future to make the information public. Wells realized she would have to periodically return to the 20th century to ensure that all the historical events Superwoman was part of were fulfilled. However, during one of those trips, a malfunction of the time travel process—which was still imperfect—left Wells trapped in the past, suffering

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

. This caused her boyfriend to lead a movement against time travel that eventually resulted in the firing of the director as well as stricter guidelines and more severe penalties for their violation. Years later, Wells returned home, apparently having recovered her memories, and was reunited with him. The details of her later activities in the present and her return to the future remained unrevealed. The 29th-century Kristin's last appearances to date are in the non-canonical story '' Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?'' in 1986, and a cameo in '' The Kingdom: Planet Come'' in 1999.

Third Kryptonian

Karsta War-Ul, a character based on Kristin Wells, is introduced in '' Superman: The Third Kryptonian''. She is a

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

and member of

Krypton Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...

's Military Council who left the planet many years before its destruction after the Military Council was disbanded in favor of the Science Council.''

'' #669 (December 2007)

Powers and abilities

In pre-''

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

'' continuity, Wells has no inherent superpowers. Her powers were derived from 29th-century technology, which gave her superhuman strength and the ability to teleport and become intangible. Karsta War-Ul is a Kryptonian who possesses all the powers of Superman under a yellow sun.

References

External links

Kristin Wells at the Unofficial Who's Who in the DC UniverseKristin Wells at Superman Through the Ages website
{{Superman characters Comics characters introduced in 1981 DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman senses DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female characters DC Comics psychics DC Comics telekinetics DC Comics telepaths Fictional characters who can turn intangible Fictional characters with amnesia Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Fictional characters with precognition Fictional empaths Kryptonians Superman characters