Strange Visitor is a fictional character appearing in
American comic books published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
. She first appeared in ''Superman'' (vol. 2) #149 and was created by Randall Frenz and
Ron Frenz
Ronald Wade Frenz (born February 1, 1960) is an American comics artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well known for his 1980s work on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and later for his work on '' Spider-Girl'' whom he co-created with wri ...
.
Fictional character biography
Because of a
lightning strike
A lightning strike or lightning bolt is an electric discharge between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning. A less common type of strike, groun ...
on a plane, the cosmic entity Kismet and Sharon Vance (
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
's childhood friend from
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/ ...
) became one entity known as the Strange Visitor.
[''Superman'' (vol. 2) #149 (October 1999). DC Comics.] She had become a being of pure
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
energy, and was drawn to the laboratories of
Professor Emil Hamilton
Professor Emil Hamilton is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Superman.
The character was portrayed by Richard Schiff in '' Man of Steel''.
Publicati ...
, who still had one of Superman's containment suits (from a period when he was
temporarily converted to electromagnetic energy). Emil modified the suit to fit her since test results showed that her energy field was dissolving, and the suit would help her maintain solid form. Her memories were weak, and even though she easily used her powers to magnetically levitate trains over destroyed tracks, destroy alien attackers with an
electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic fi ...
, and absorb the powers of a self-proclaimed "
god of war", she still wasn't sure who she really was.
Even more disturbing was the fact that her emotional state was affecting her powers, and when she became angry or upset, her power levels surged to the point where her containment suit was almost unable to handle all of the energy.
If the suit were to fail, she would lose her physical form. A battle with the
Parasite
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
restores her powers and her memories.
She later went on to become a hero in her own city where she fought
Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in ''T ...
in New York, but was accused of attacking a "monkey".
In ''Batman: Our Worlds at War'' (Aug 2001), it is seen that a facility under control of
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in '' Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: ...
is keeping tabs on her.
When the
Imperiex fleet attacks Earth, Strange Visitor gives all of her powers to Superman to give him the necessary power boost to defeat Imperiex.
[''Superman'' (vol. 2) #176 (October 2001). DC Comics.] He defeats the powerful entity by cracking his armour and draining his energy, an act which ended her life (although she noted that 'Sharon Vance' had died when she was created and what was left to form Strange Visitor was just the essence of Sharon giving her a personality), while opening the way for Superman to vanquish Imperiex and save the universe.
Powers and abilities
Strange Visitor is connected to the Earth's
geomagnetic
Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magnetic ...
field, and has the power to manipulate
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
energies, which enables her to fire blasts of electrical energy from her hands or eyes, generate magnetic fields to move, lift, and manipulate metal objects, create force fields, steal energy from others, and even "read" an object's magnetic field. She also has the power to fly at near light speeds, lower her density to walk through solid matter, and
telepathically sense emotions.
In other media
A normal version of Sharon Vance appears in the ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
:
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing co ...
'' episode "True Colors", voiced by
Masasa Moyo. She appears as a
tour guide
A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...
at a
Lexcorp farming facility.
References
{{Superman characters
Comics characters introduced in 1999
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics superheroes
DC Comics characters who have mental powers
DC Comics telepaths
Fictional characters who can turn intangible
Fictional characters with metal abilities
Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
Fictional characters with density control abilities
Fictional empaths
Superman characters
Characters created by Ron Frenz
DC Comics female superheroes