Yankee Poodle
Encyclopedia
Yankee Poodle is a fictional character
in the DC Comics
universe
, an anthropomorphic
poodle
. Yankee Poodle is a superhero
who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C
(now Earth-26), an alternate Earth populated by sentient
animal
s. Her first appearance was in a special insert
in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982).
Rova's name is a play on the name of gossip columnist Rona Barrett
, while "Yankee Poodle" is a takeoff on the song "Yankee Doodle
."
in his Follywood
home, Rova was struck by a meteor fragment (which was launched toward Earth by the villain Starro the Conqueror
); the result gave her the superpowers of "animal magnetism", as she described them. Joining with Byrd (who was also transformed by a separate meteor fragment), the two teamed up with other superpowered animals affected by the meteor; together, the group defeated Starro (with the aid of Superman
), and decided to form the superhero team called the Zoo Crew.
Rova tended to reflect the values of her Follywood roots, and thus had a great fondness of things such as the group's public image, or her own (both in and out of costume). She also occasionally got into spats with the group's other female member, Alley-Kat-Abra
.
In Teen Titans #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006), Yankee Poodle and the rest of the Zoo Crew were featured in a short multi-part story purporting to be a Zoo Crew comic published in the mainstream DC Universe
. This story followed the adventures of the Zoo Crew teammates in a grimmer, darker version of Earth-C, parodying the recent trend toward "grim and gritty" superhero comics. In this story, Yankee Poodle is shown having exposed the secret identities of several of the Zoo Crew members, and is mostly working as a solo heroine.
tie-in Captain Carrot and the Final Ark, (October-December 2007), the team reunites in the midst of growing strife between the land and the sea creatures of the newly reclassified Earth-26 sparked in part by Starro
.
They then encounter him and he hypnotizes them into believing they have lost their powers. Only Pig-Iron
(who wasn't present at the time) and American Eagle (who has no super powers) are unaffected. Starro then floods the Earth, rendering it uninhabitable. The Crew then has an ocean liner loaded with refugees transported off the planet by the Just'a Lotta Animals
. The ship is then accidentally sent to New Earth. The Justice League encounters the ship and lands it safely, though all the passengers, including the Crew are transformed into non-anthropomorphic animals.
Nix Uotan, along with those of her Zoo Crew teammates, and they participate in the climactic battle in Final Crisis
.
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...
in the 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...
universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, an anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
. Yankee Poodle is a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
(now Earth-26), an alternate Earth populated by sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s. Her first appearance was in a special insert
DC Comics insert previews
DC Comics insert previews were 16-page comic book stories inserted into issues of existing DC Comics series to promote new series usually debuting the next month. Running from 1980 to 1985, they consisted of a front cover, 14 pages of story, and a back cover that depicted the cover of the actual...
in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982).
Rova's name is a play on the name of gossip columnist Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
, while "Yankee Poodle" is a takeoff on the song "Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
."
Fictional character biography
While interviewing movie actor Byrd RentalsRubberduck
Rubberduck is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, an anthropomorphic duck. Rubberduck is a superhero who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C , an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals...
in his Follywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
home, Rova was struck by a meteor fragment (which was launched toward Earth by the villain Starro the Conqueror
Starro
Starro is a fictional supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Brave and the Bold #28 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky....
); the result gave her the superpowers of "animal magnetism", as she described them. Joining with Byrd (who was also transformed by a separate meteor fragment), the two teamed up with other superpowered animals affected by the meteor; together, the group defeated Starro (with the aid of 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...
), and decided to form the superhero team called the Zoo Crew.
Rova tended to reflect the values of her Follywood roots, and thus had a great fondness of things such as the group's public image, or her own (both in and out of costume). She also occasionally got into spats with the group's other female member, Alley-Kat-Abra
Alley-Kat-Abra
Alley-Kat-Abra is a fictional anthropomorphic cat in the DC Comics universe. Alley-Kat-Abra is a superheroine who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C , an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals...
.
In Teen Titans #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006), Yankee Poodle and the rest of the Zoo Crew were featured in a short multi-part story purporting to be a Zoo Crew comic published in the mainstream DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. This story followed the adventures of the Zoo Crew teammates in a grimmer, darker version of Earth-C, parodying the recent trend toward "grim and gritty" superhero comics. In this story, Yankee Poodle is shown having exposed the secret identities of several of the Zoo Crew members, and is mostly working as a solo heroine.
Countdown
In the Countdown to Final CrisisCountdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
tie-in Captain Carrot and the Final Ark, (October-December 2007), the team reunites in the midst of growing strife between the land and the sea creatures of the newly reclassified Earth-26 sparked in part by Starro
Starro
Starro is a fictional supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Brave and the Bold #28 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky....
.
They then encounter him and he hypnotizes them into believing they have lost their powers. Only Pig-Iron
Peter Porkchops
Peter Porkchops is a fictional funny animal pig who appeared in stories published by DC Comics. Peter was created by Otto Feuer, and first appeared in Leading Comics #23 .-Golden and Silver Ages:...
(who wasn't present at the time) and American Eagle (who has no super powers) are unaffected. Starro then floods the Earth, rendering it uninhabitable. The Crew then has an ocean liner loaded with refugees transported off the planet by the Just'a Lotta Animals
Just'a Lotta Animals
Just'a Lotta Animals is a fictional superhero team that appeared in stories published by DC Comics. The team was an anthropomorphic funny animal parody of the Justice League of America....
. The ship is then accidentally sent to New Earth. The Justice League encounters the ship and lands it safely, though all the passengers, including the Crew are transformed into non-anthropomorphic animals.
Final Crisis
Eventually, Yankee Poodle's anthropomorphic form and power is restored by the renegade MonitorMonitor (comics)
The Monitor is a fictional character created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez as one of the main characters of DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series....
Nix Uotan, along with those of her Zoo Crew teammates, and they participate in the climactic battle in Final Crisis
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 by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
.
Powers and abilities
Yankee Poodle possessed powers of "animal magnetism", consisting of the ability to (as described in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #7) shoot semi-solidified electromagnetic blue-colored "stars" with her right hand to repel objects, and generate red-and-white "stripes" with her left hand in order to attract objects. By using both hands at once, Yankee Poodle could generate highly destructive "magno-blasts." She could also use her powers to travel, by forming a ramp of stripes while propelling herself along it by shooting stars behind her.See also
- John Dandy is a DC character introduced in the 90s that goes by the superhero alias "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in a similar play on the song.