Catspaw (comics)
Encyclopedia
April Dumaka, alias Catspaw is a fictional character
owned by DC Comics
. She was shown in the comic book Legion of Super-Heroes
. The story she was depicted in is a now-discarded alternate reality
known as the Glorithverse.
, was replaced for a period before a storyline called Zero Hour
by the previously-minor Legion of Super-Heroes villainess named Glorith. The "real-world" reason for this change was the demand of a Superman
comic book creative team to make all references to the Superboy
character prior to a DC Comics storyline called Crisis on Infinite Earths
be removed from Legion story continuity. During this period, the Batch SW6 Legion appeared: these were duplicates of the Silver Age
Legionnaires. After some time, this team having gained new costumes and for many members, new codenames, got their own comic titled Legionnaires
.
Dumaka, who got her powers (cat-like speed and agility) from the genetic manipulation of the Dominators
(an alien race who were trying to conquer the earth), was not an original member of the SW6 Legion, but she was held in the same underground chambers where the SW6 Legion emerged.
She was only a Legionnaire for a very short time as, with Legionnaires #17, Zero Hour happened, beginning a new continuity in which she did not appear. Her postboot counterpart did make a very brief cameo appearance as a potential member of the LSH's rival team the Workforce.
, Catspaw has the agility, speed, and heightened senses (smelling, hearing, and balance) of a cat
, as well as retractable claws on her fingertips and toes. She has excellent night-vision and animal-like instincts.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
owned by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. She was shown in the comic book Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. The story she was depicted in is a now-discarded alternate reality
Alternative universe (fan fiction)
An alternative universe , commonly abbreviated as AU, is a type or form of in which canonical facts of setting or characterization in the universe being explored or written about are deliberately changed.Stories that fall into this definition are usually what-ifs, where possibilities arising from...
known as the Glorithverse.
Fictional character biography
The Glorithverse came about when a classic Legion foe, the time-manipulating Time TrapperTime Trapper
The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes...
, was replaced for a period before a storyline called Zero Hour
Zero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
by the previously-minor Legion of Super-Heroes villainess named Glorith. The "real-world" reason for this change was the demand of a Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
comic book creative team to make all references to the Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
character prior to a DC Comics storyline called Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
be removed from Legion story continuity. During this period, the Batch SW6 Legion appeared: these were duplicates of the Silver Age
Silver age
A silver age is a name often given to a particular period within a history, typically as a lesser and later successor to a golden age, the metal silver generally being valuable, but less so than gold.-Greek myth:...
Legionnaires. After some time, this team having gained new costumes and for many members, new codenames, got their own comic titled Legionnaires
Legionnaires
Legionnaires may refer to:*Spanish Legion*French Foreign Legion*Legionnaires' Movement in Romania, see: Iron Guard*Legionnaires' disease*Legion of Christ*Charlemagne's Legionnaires*Legion of Super-Heroes*Legionnaire...
.
Dumaka, who got her powers (cat-like speed and agility) from the genetic manipulation of the Dominators
Dominators
The Dominators, collectively known as the Dominion, are a fictional alien race from the outer cosmos of the DC Universe. They are highly technologically advanced, and live in a rigid hierarchical society, in which one's caste is determined by the size of a red circle on one's forehead...
(an alien race who were trying to conquer the earth), was not an original member of the SW6 Legion, but she was held in the same underground chambers where the SW6 Legion emerged.
She was only a Legionnaire for a very short time as, with Legionnaires #17, Zero Hour happened, beginning a new continuity in which she did not appear. Her postboot counterpart did make a very brief cameo appearance as a potential member of the LSH's rival team the Workforce.
Powers and abilities
A hybrid of human and felineFelidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
, Catspaw has the agility, speed, and heightened senses (smelling, hearing, and balance) of a cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
, as well as retractable claws on her fingertips and toes. She has excellent night-vision and animal-like instincts.