Female Superhero & Wonder Woman’s Black Twin Sister: Nubia/Nu’Bia

sola rey

8 years ago

Nubia is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. The original Nubia was created by Robert Kanigher and Don Heck, and debuted in Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #204, (January 1973).

The modern character named Nu’Bia was created by Doselle Young and Brian Denham, her first appearance in Wonder Woman Annual(vol. 2) #8 (1999).

In Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #204, (January 1973), Diana (Wonder Woman) has her memories restored by the Amazons and is soon confronted by an armored female warrior who challenges her to single combat. The two initially wrestle, then face each other with swords.

Diana and the intruder seem evenly matched until the intruder knocks the sword from Diana’s hands, but then hesitates to kill her. The dark-skinned stranger introduces herself as Nubia, the one true Wonder Woman, and tells Diana that they will meet again someday to decide which of them has the right to the title. Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta, secretly believes she recognizes Nubia, who returns to her own Floating Island.

A short Nubia story in WW #205 picks up with her departure from Paradise island, including a short conversation and an embrace from Hippolyta. Back on her mist-concealed Floating Island, Nubia rules a community of all men.

Upon her return, two men claim the right to fight for her, citing the “law of the Floating Island” or “Mars’ law of conquest.” Declaring “No man will ever own Nubia!” she fights one of the men herself, defeating him but letting him live. She says, “A woman doesn’t destroy life, she cherishes it!”.

In WW #206, Hippolyta flashes back to the truth, a revised version of Wonder Woman’s origin story: Hippolyta had formed two babies from clay, one dark and one light. They are brought to life by the gods, but Mars the god of war abducts baby Nubia, whom Hippolyta never sees again.

Nubia is raised by Mars as his weapon of destruction against the Amazons. Mars and Nubia launch an attack on Paradise Island from their so-called “Slaughter Island.”

Coming to assist, Diana recognizes Mars’ ring and removes it from Nubia’s hand, breaking the god’s mind control over Nubia. She and Diana oppose Mars, who flees, and Nubia leaves to lead her warriors “into ways of peace.” Hippolyta reveals Nubia’s origin to Diana.

Nubia’s next appearance comes in Supergirl (vol. 1 #9) December (1973) written by Robert Kanigher. In the story Supergirl is made an honorary Amazon. Later when it is discovered that Nubia is suffering from a mutated shark poisoning, Hippolyta sends Kara to retrieve a rare root needed to cure her.

In Super Friends #25 October (1979), Wonder Woman, who is temporarily under the control of the evil Overlord, is seen attempting to liberate the oppressed women of the African continent.

Famous Meroe pyramids surrounded with dunes. Sudan, Africa.

She tells them that men still treat women as if they were possessions and it’s time for women to stand up to men, with Wonder Woman as leader.

But Diana is interrupted by Nubia. Nubia tells her to back off and they fight, eventually the Overlord is defeated and they part as friends.

In 1985 DC Comics introduced the storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths. By this story’s end the entire DC Universe was erased and restarted with a clean slate. As such the pre-Crisisversion of Nubia ceased to exist.

Nu’Bia

Sometime after Crisis a new version of Nubia, now called Nu’Bia, was introduced. When Nu’Bia first meets Diana, she mistakenly calls Diana by the name of her former queen “Antiope“. Nu’Bia is only slightly surprised to discover that Diana is Antiope’s niece.

The woman identifies herself to Diana as Nu’Bia and says that she was a Themyscirian Amazon who won the “Tournament of Grace and Wonder” just as Diana previously had, and become the Amazons’ first champion. Her assigned mission was to guard “Doom’s Doorway”, which is an entrance to the river Styx and the Tartarus Gate on Themyscira.

Entering Doom’s Doorway she was to guard the entryway from the inside, stopping anyone from entering or any creature from escaping.

As Diana was never told of Nu’Bia it is assumed that the The myscirian Amazons assumed she perished during her mission long before Diana’s birth.

Sometime during her time in Hell, Nu’bia explains she met the Zoroastrian god of light, Ahura Mazda, and became his lover. She also explains that on another adventure where she aided Gorgons, she was given the ability called Cold Sight which allows her to transform any living being into stone as a gift of gratitude from the Gorgons. After aiding Wonder Woman with her mission Nu’Bia then returns to the underworld to see Ahura Mazda.

The next time Nu’Bia is shown, an elevator in a Las Vegas hotel suddenly manifests a golden metal lion insignia. When Diana investigates this strange occurrence, Nu’Bia steps out of the elevator. She says, “Many leagues from the kingdom of light have I traveled.

Through the province of Nox and the territory of shades have I hunted the demon-king Ahriman. Finally, to track him here, to Patriarch’s World… to my ancient faraway home. How passing strange it is then, Princess, that I should find you here, as well.”

The demon Ahriman murdered Ahura Mazda, and carved his heart from his body. Nu’Bia has come back to earth in search of Ahriman, hoping that she can retrieve the heart and revive her lover. The last we see of Nu’Bia, she has Ahriman in her possession and rides an elevator back to Hades to revive her beloved.

Renee Montoya ventures forth with Earth-5’s Captain Marvel in an attempt to recruit each universe’s equivalent of Superman to join Nix Uotan‘s Army of Heaven on Earth-Zero (the primary DC Earth). The beginning of the issue illustrates their visit to a universe where a black Superman is apparently the President of the United States. This Superman confers with a black Wonder Woman, whom he refers to as Nubia. This Nubia is apparently one of the “Wonder Women of Amazonia”, and she uses a relic called the Wonder Horn to summon Renee and the others into her world.

This version of Nubia later reappears as a member of her Earth’s Justice League, with her Earth officially revealed as Earth-23 in the new Multiverse.

CHARACTER » Nubia appears in 27 issues.

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War of the Wonder-Women!”
Characters Wonder Woman; Nubia; Mars
Genre: superhero
Notes: origin of Nubia revealed
Characters Wonder Woman; Nubia (origin); Mars; Hippolyta

Cover by Nick Cardy. “War of the Wonder Women!”, script by Cary Bates, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Vince Colletta; Wonder Woman learns untold facts about her origin: that a second statue of a child, created from black clay, was created by Queen Hippolyta at the same time as she was, and was also given life by Aphrodite, becoming Nubia, who was stolen from her cradle by Mars; Now Nubia has become the adult pupil of Mars, and is set against Wonder Woman just as Mars attacks Paradise Island. 36 pgs., full color.