I have been enjoying the new The Green Lantern comic for all its Grant Morrison zaniness. Now I am a Morrison apologist and almost nothing he does is going to fall flat for me. But the scope of this book so far has been insane. And for once, I actually sort of like Hal.
One thing that has always impressed me with Morrison is his knowledge of continuity lore and his willingness to include comic history in his stories.
So I was both thrilled and not surprised to see Luma Lynai appear in The Green Lantern #9.
And I love the way artist Liam Sharp draws her. Just spectacular.
Just a reminder that Lynai was considered the ultimate woman for Superman way back in Action Comics #289.
You can read a review from 11 years ago (!!) here:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2008/09/it-came-from-back-issue-box-action.html
Ah, when Supergirl acted as matchmaker for her cousin. That comic also includes one of the creepier panels from the Silver Age!
But on Staryl, under an orange sun, Lynai was a world's superhero. But Superman was powerless on the world. And yellow sun rays were lethal to Luma so she couldn't move to Earth.
Feeling he had a duty to be a hero, Lynai told Superman to leave her and return to Earth.
Lynai crops up now and then. That costume design is too good. Here she is one of the super-sirens trying to tempt Superman. (Turns out she is an alien shapeshifter trying to kill Superman.)
She also makes a brief appearance in JSA Classified #3 (written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Amanda Conner!) as a future Supergirl who is Power Girl's mother.
Anyways, always happy to see Lynai and that cool green/white costume whenever it shows up.
She also turned up in Geoff Johns' JLA as a slave of Ultraman or something... it's pretty forgettable!
ReplyDeleteFor what was likely intended as a one-shot, throwaway character almost 60 years ago, Luma Lynai has had quite a career! That costume design IS pretty nice.
ReplyDeleteOne quick correction...Superman maintained his powers on Staryl (Luma's world). There's a panel showing Superman and Luma flying together, and Superman is telling her how much she will love living on Earth. After they find out that Luma can't live under Earth's yellow sun, Superman offers to live on Staryl, but Luma tells him to go back, Earth needs him.
Here's something else. I checked out the 2008 review. There's a scan of the splash page with the story's title, "When Supergirl Played Cupid!" Fine, except...
ReplyDeleteIn volume 1 of the Supergirl Silver Age Omnibus, the title is "Superman's Super Courtship!" What goes on here?
So I got out my copy of Action Comics 289. "Superman's Super Courtship" is the original title.
I wonder when and why the title was changed. Maybe someone decided they wanted Supergirl's name in the title of a Supergirl story. Maybe "When Supergirl Played Cupid!" WAS the original title and "Superman's Super Courtship!" was a paste over that later fell off (and then was restored for the omnibus),
This is all trivia, but I'd be curious to see other printings of this story.