Princess Projectra (later Sensor Girl) is a fictional character, a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

ine in the

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 ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

. Typically portrayed as a haughty member of an alien royal family, she is from the 30th and 31st centuries and is 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 ...

. Projectra was one of

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...

's early creations on Legion of Super Heroes that helped cement his place in history as one of the seminal creators for the Legion. Shooter sold the original script in which Projectra debuted to DC Comics editor

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...

when Shooter was only 14 years old.

Publication history

In 1965, when he was just 13 years old,

submitted an unsolicited script to DC Comics editor

. Weisinger was so impressed, he asked Shooter to send in another script. Shooter created a short origin story for Princess Projectra and several other characters and sent it in. Weisinger purchased all of these, and immediately started giving him writing assignments. Shooter's Projectra story 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''), ...

'' #346 (July 1966) ("

One of Us Is a Traitor "One of Us Is a Traitor" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in ''Adventure Comics'' #346-347 (July–August 1966). It was written by Jim Shooter (who was 14 years old at the time), with pencils by Shooter and Curt Swan. T ...

"), when Shooter was 14 years old. The character later resigned from the Legion of Superheroes, and left the title, though later Legionnaire writer

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

had always intended to bring her back to the series in some form. In 1985, in the ''Who Is Sensor Girl?'' storyline, a new character "Sensor Girl" was introduced. This character was fully masked, and when eventually unmasked, turned out to have been Projectra the whole time. Sensor Girl's true identity was unknown to the other characters in the story and even to some of the creators on the title. Penciller

Steve Lightle Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 – January 8, 2021) was an American comics artist who worked primarily as a penciller. He was best known as the artist of DC Comics' ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Doom Patrol'' titles. Biography Steve Lightl ...

, who created Sensor Girl's costume, had no idea the character was supposed to be Princess Projectra, and believed her to be

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

. It is believed Levitz came up with the idea that Sensor Girl was Projectra significantly far into the development process of the story. After this story line, she returned to her "Projectra" identity, but the character's most enduring association is arguably with this brief interlude as a mystery character. Starting in the July 2019 series ''Legion of Super Heroes: Millennium'', the character received a significant visual re-design.

Fictional character biography

Projectra (often called by her nickname "Jeckie", a shortened form of her name) is a member of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

of the planet Orando, and possesses the superhuman ability to generate illusions affecting all five senses. Following the death of her father King Voxv, Projectra battles her cousin Pharoxx and grandmother Hagga, who seek to usurp the throne. Afterward, she becomes queen and a reserve Legion member. She later leaves the Legion after

Nemesis Kid Nemesis Kid (Hart Druiter) is a supervillain in the DC Comics universe. He originates from the planet Myar in the 31st century and is an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Publication history Nemesis Kid was created by Jim Shooter, and first ...

kills her lover Karate Kid, and renounces her position as queen. A temporal clone of Princess Projectra from "Batch SW6" appears in the "Five Year Gap". She serves as a member of the Legion before being killed by the Dominators' troops. Princess Projectra is erased from existence following the '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'' continuity reboot and replaced with

Sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

Threeboot

In the "

Threeboot 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 ...

", Projectra is initially an ally and sponsor of the Legion. After Orando is destroyed, Projectra blames the Legion and seeks revenge against them. Furthermore, she gains the ability to manipulate the emotions of others.''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 5) #47 (December 2008)''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 5) #49 (February 2009)

Post-Infinite Crisis

In the pages of ''

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

'' #6, the pre-''Crisis'' Sensor Girl returns. She is trapped in the past before

Dawnstar Dawnstar is a superheroine appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. She was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell, and first appeared in ''Superboy and ...

rescues her and restores her memories using the code word "

Lightning Lad Garth Ranzz, also known as Live Wire and Lightning Lad, is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics, usually those featuring the Legion of Superheroes, a 30th and 31st century group of which he is a founding member. He has the supe ...

". Following this, Sensor Girl returns to her time before traveling to the 21st century to save the future in ''Last Stand of New Krypton''.

In other media

Princess Projectra appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

External links

A Hero History Of Princess Projectra/Sensor Girl
{{Zatanna Characters created by Jim Shooter Comics characters introduced in 1966 Comics characters introduced in 1985 DC Comics aliens DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes DC Comics female superheroes Fictional princesses Legion of Super-Heroes members