Terra is the name used by multiple

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al superheroines 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 ...

. The first Terra, Tara Markov, joins the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

as a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

for the supervillain

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

. Markov was created by

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

and

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

, and debuted in '' New Teen Titans'' #26 (December 1982). The second Terra, a

doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...

of Tara Markov, debuted in ''New Titans'' #79 (September 1991) and was created by Marv Wolfman and

Tom Grummett Thomas Grummett (born 1959) is a Canadian comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work as penciller on titles such as '' The New Titans'', '' The Adventures of Superman'', ''Superboy'', '' Power Company'', '' Robin'', '' New Th ...

. The third Terra, Atlee, debuted in ''

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 ...

'' (vol. 5) #12 (January 2007) and was created by

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

Justin Gray Justin Gray is an American comic book writer working mostly for DC Comics. He lives in Ossining, New York. Career Gray has often collaborated with fellow writer Jimmy Palmiotti on series such as ''Hawkman'', '' Jonah Hex'', '' Power Girl'', ...

, and Amanda Conner.

Publication history

The character was created with an intended finite life span. Co-creator Pérez stated that he and Marv Wolfman knew, "from the very start, that this girl was going to be a traitor and that we were going to kill this character off." When creating the look of the character, Pérez noted that: A new Terra appeared in ''Supergirl'' (vol. 5) #12 while a ''Terra'' limited series was being developed, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, with illustrations by Amanda Conner. Gray commented about the series, "Terra as a character has never had a definitive origin. That includes Terra 1 and 2. This mini will address that fact in some surprising ways and open the door to a new corner of the DCU. Aside from that the emphasis will be on heroism, true blue hero stuff." Palmiotti later stated, "Terra is an enigma for obvious reasons. Every hero in the DCU is in the dark about who she is and why she's doing what she's doing, which is running around the planet saving and helping people. We've been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what's special about her. In the end, it was a very simple angle, make Terra a super''hero'' with plenty of emphasis on heroism. Everything she does is to help other people and in the service of life." The 4-issue miniseries was temporarily shelved for a number of reasons, until its biweekly publication spanning November and December 2008. The new Terra previously appeared in ''

'' vol. 3 #52–54 as part of "The Titans of Tomorrow...Today!" storyline and in the first issue of the '' Terror Titans'' limited series. Following this, she briefly appeared in ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #69 in the climax of the recruitment drive storyline, and became a supporting character in the ongoing ''

Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L, Karen Starr, and Paige Stetler, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976).''Who's Who in the DC Unive ...

'' series.

Fictional character biography

Tara Markov

Tara Markov is the half-sister of Brion Markov (

Geo-Force Geo-Force is a superhero appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo, the character debuted in a DC Comics insert previews, special insert within ''The Brave and the Bold'' ...

) and the illegitimate daughter of Markovian king Viktor. Helga Jace, a scientist who works for Markovia's royal family, gives Tara and Brion powers to help them combat a rebellion in the country. Unlike Brion, Terra has deep-rooted psychological issues and believes that they should rule Earth rather than help the weaker masses. In '' The Judas Contract'' storyline, Terra infiltrates the Teen Titans as a double agent on

's behalf before being killed in battle with the former. In ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in i ...

'', Terra is temporarily resurrected as a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

before Geo-Force and

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

kill her. In ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

'' continuity reboot, Terra is permanently resurrected and joins Caitlin Fairchild's Ravagers. She and

Beast Boy Beast Boy (Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan) is 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 ...

meet after being kidnapped and held in the Colony and eventually enter a relationship.

Tara Markov doppelgänger

The second Terra is a girl from the underground world of Strata who was transformed into a clone of Tara Markov and joined the Team Titans. After the group's native timeline is destroyed during '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'', the

Time Trapper Taboo Chuck Taine Tala Tally Man Sonya Tarinka Russell Tavaroff Teen Lantern Keli Quintela is an young girl who found a dying Green Lantern and obtained his Green Lantern Power Battery, hacking a gauntlet to access its powers without ...

rescues Terra and

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

and transports them to the main universe. Following this, Terra joins the Outsiders and assists the Teen Titans in battling

Superboy-Prime Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent; colloquial: "Prime") is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A boy from the Reality, real world Isekai, transported to the DC Universe, as an Alternative vers ...

during ''

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, ...

''. In ''

World War III World War III, also known as the Third World War, is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely predicted that such a war would involve all of the great powers, ...

'', Terra is killed by

Black Adam Black Adam (Teth-Adam) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' '' The Marvel Family'' comic book ...

. An alternate timeline variant of Terra appears in ''

Titans Tomorrow "Titans Tomorrow" is a storyline of a possible alternate future in the DC Comics Universe, from ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #17–19 (2005), by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. The story arc has been collected as part of the ''Teen Titans: The Future is No ...

'' as a member of

Titans East Titans East is the name of several DC Comics superhero teams. The teams appear in the ''Teen Titans'' comic books and Teen Titans (TV series), animated series. The comic book incarnation of Titans East first appeared in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 3) # ...

Atlee

A third Terra, Atlee, is introduced in ''Supergirl'' (vol. 5) #12 (January 2007). She is an alien from the underground world Strata, similar to the second Terra. In ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'', Terra is among the

metahumans In the DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with the terms ''mutant'', '' inhuman'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and ''posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comi ...

who are kidnapped, controlled by the

Anti-Life Equation The Anti-Life Equation is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Various comics have defined the equation in different ways, but a common interpretation is that the equation may be seen as a mathematical proof ...

, and forced to battle at the Dark Side Club. After being freed, Terra moves to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and becomes

's sidekick.

Powers and abilities

All incarnations of Terra can manipulate earth and rock. This enables them to generate earthquakes, create shields, and levitate rocks for fast transportation.

Other versions

* An alternate universe variant of Terra from Earth-33 appears in '' Countdown to Adventure'' #4. This version is a sorceress. * An alternate universe variant of Terra appears in ''Team Titans'' Annual #2. This version is a

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

and partner of Nightrider. * An alternate universe variant of Terra who became a member of the

Amazons The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. ...

Furies The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take v ...

appears in '' Flashpoint''. * An alternate universe variant of Terra appears in '' Teen Titans: Earth One''. * An alternate universe variant of Terra who took over Earth and became known as Gaia appears in ''Dark Multiverse: The Judas Contract''.

In other media

Television

* The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears in ''

'' (2003), voiced by Ashley Johnson. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is more sympathetic and tragic than her comics counterpart and initially displays little control over her powers, the latter trait being a source of shame for her. While on the run due to her powers, she encounters the

, during which she confides in

her fear of losing control and he develops a crush on her, and

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

, who claims to know everything about her and offers to help her. Agreeing with Slade, she temporarily leaves the Titans to study under him before returning to serve as a double agent and dates Beast Boy until he breaks up with her when she reveals her true allegiance. She helps Slade take over Jump City and seemingly kills the Titans, but develops second thoughts. After Slade betrays her, she overcomes his control, kills him, and sacrifices herself to save Jump City, turning to stone in the process. Sometime later, Beast Boy discovers Terra disappeared and encounters a girl resembling her with no powers or recollection of what happened. * The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears in ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

'' (2013), voiced again by Ashley Johnson. This version is friends with

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

and Starfire. * Tara Markov appears in ''

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 T ...

'', voiced by

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

. This version is the princess of Markovia and younger sister of Gregor and Brion Markov who gained her powers after being experimented on by Baron Bedlam's metahuman trafficking ring. Following this, she was recruited into the League of Shadows under Deathstroke and worked for them as an assassin for two years before allowing the Outsiders to rescue her and serve as a double agent within their ranks. After

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

appeals to her better nature, Tara defects to the Outsiders. * The Atlee incarnation of Terra appears in ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

'', voiced by Kerry Knuppe. This version is a member of the

Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in '' Challenge of the Superfriends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univers ...

via the sub-group, the Natural Disasters, and mentee of

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

. * Terra is set to appear in ''Super Powers''.

Films

* The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears in the mid-credits scene of the

DC Animated Movie Universe The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of Animation, animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe ...

(DCAMU) film '' Justice League vs. Teen Titans''. * The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears in the DCAMU film '' Teen Titans: The Judas Contract'', voiced by

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. Ricci works mostly in Independent film, independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is ...

. This version was branded a witch after her powers emerged during her childhood, though she was rescued by her future adult lover Deathstroke. In the present, she infiltrates the Teen Titans as a double agent. Initially cold and distant, she eventually warms up to them and kisses Beast Boy. On the one-year anniversary of her joining them, she and Deathstroke capture most of the Titans and bring them to

Brother Blood Sebastian Blood VIII, known by his alias, Brother Blood, is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a power-hungry priest and head of the Church of Blood, as well as the eighth person in the DC Unive ...

. After Deathstroke betrays her,

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

rescues her and the Titans before she attacks and seemingly kills Deathstroke. Ashamed by her actions, she brings Blood's fortress down on herself and dies in Beast Boy's arms. * The ''Teen Titans Go!'' (2013) and ''Teen Titans'' (2003) incarnations of Tara Markov / Terra make non-speaking cameo appearances in '' Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans''.

Video games

* The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

'' (2006), voiced again by Ashley Johnson. * The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears as a boss in the ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game was initiall ...

'' DLC "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract". * The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears as a playable character in '' Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'' via the "Heroines and Villainesses" DLC pack. * The Tara Markov and Atlee incarnations of Terra appear as character summons in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * The ''Teen Titans Go!'' incarnation of Tara Markov / Terra appears as a boss in '' Lego Dimensions'', voiced again by Ashley Johnson. * The Tara Markov incarnation of Terra appears as a playable character in '' Lego DC Super-Villains'', voiced by

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...

Miscellaneous

The ''Teen Titans'' (2003) incarnation of Tara Markov / Terra appears in ''

'' (2004). Her brother

approaches the Teen Titans, revealing she is a princess of Markovia who gained her powers after being experimented on by the royal court and ran away. Upon learning of the girl resembling Terra, Geo-Force ultimately leaves her alone after seeing how happy she is despite being certain of her identity.

References

External links

* * *
Unofficial Terra I biography

Unofficial Terra II biography

Unofficial Terra III biography

Terra (''Teen Titans'' animated series) biography
{{Titans Groups of fictional characters Characters created by George Pérez Characters created by Marv Wolfman Comics characters introduced in 1982 Comics characters introduced in 1991 Comics characters introduced in 2007 DC Comics aliens DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics female supervillains DC Comics metahumans DC Comics sidekicks DC Comics spies DC Comics teenage superheroes Fictional female assassins Fictional assassins in comics Fictional suicides Fictional characters with earth or stone abilities Fictional characters with gravity abilities Fictional characters with elemental and environmental abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Clone characters in comics Fictional double agents Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional princesses