WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN? – Episode #47 by Bruce MacIntosh
Every week, DC’s new year-long series Countdown, introduces characters who may be unfamiliar to readers. Fear not! THE PULSE is here to shed some light on the background on these characters, so you can hit the ground running with the series. This week, we’ll look at the history and background of the omnipresent Donna Troy and local crater creator Lightray.
DONNA TROY An entire book could be written about Donna Troy’s history – and it would still be confusing. In addition, it turns out that her history is at the crux of the entire History of the DC Universe, and she has been built up over the last few years to be the center of Infinite Crisis and a major player in Countdown.
So we’ll try to just give you the basics. First of all, Donna has been around as a character in the DC Universe for over 40 years, but because of all the things that have happened, her origin and relationships with some of the characters has been tweaked, revised and obliterated many times. One thing has been fairly consistent, which is that she has been a member of the various iterations of the (New/Teen/Team) Titans throughout the years.
As discussed in WCIC? Episode #49, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin were first brought together in The Brave and the Bold #54 (Jun/Jul 1964). Perhaps to provide some gender diversity, or possibly because three was considered an odd number for a group (with apologies to the '80s pop band, the Police,)Wonder Girl was not included in the mix until The Brave and the Bold #60 (Jul 1965).
The interesting thing about Wonder Girl’s (she was given no civilian name until later) first appearance with the Teen Titans was that prior to that time she didn’t even exist! Flash, Aquaman and Batman’s kid sidekicks had established back-stories and had been fighting crime along with their adult counterparts for years, but Wonder Girl was created out of whole cloth especially for this new kid superteam.
Crisis of Multiple Origins She was finally given the name Donna Troy after a couple of appearances in The Brave and the Bold and Showcase, but explaining her origin didn’t happen for four years, in Teen Titans #22 (Jul/Aug 1969). That issue – the first of her many different origin stories - told of Donna’s parents being killed in a fire when she was a baby. She was saved by Wonder Woman and raised on Paradise Island, later to be exposed to the “Purple Ray” that gave her the same extraordinary abilities as the Amazons. (The “Purple Ray” was a staple in WW’s comics as a miraculous healing device.)
With the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), Wonder Woman’s origin was retconned so that she did not appear on Earth until after the Crisis. The unintended effect for Wonder Girl, however, was that now there was no explanation for her existence on Earth! (This was because Wonder Girl would have appeared long before and therefore much older than Wonder Woman.) So, her origin was also revised. Donna’s revised origin also had the interesting side effect of re-writing thousands of years of Greek mythology.) After Crisis, Wonder Girl’s existence was explained as an act of charity following millennia of warring amongst the Titans of Myth.
Even before the creation of the DC Universe, it is told that at the creation of the “real” Universe, Gaea (Mother Earth) fell hard for Uranus (Father Sky) and they had a lot of children. Some of these children were beautiful… kids the proud parents weren’t afraid to show off to the boss at the company picnic. The rest of the brood were not as presentable, so Uranus banished them to the pits of Tartarus. Mom still had a soft spot for even her ugly kids, so she sent the most powerful Titan Kronos to slay Dad and free his enslaved brethren. Kronos successfully whacked Uranus, but changed his mind about freeing his unseemly siblings.
He and the other Titans likewise enslaved the rest of Gaea’s unfortunate brood and created a paradise on Earth for themselves. Fearing an oracle’s prophesy that his children would rise against him, Kronos swallowed all his children as they were born (except Zeus – whom Mom Rhea was able to save). Zeus supposedly slew Kronos and with the rest of the Gods of Olympus freed the rest of the brood and banished the Titans to a distant moon called New Chronos.
Her husband having been slain, Rhea was the only Titan on New Chronos without a mate. A woman has needs, however, so she spent a lot of time with the primitives on the planet below (Synriannaq). So much time, in fact, that she created an entirely new race of warring demigods on the planet. Rhea eventually gave up hope of these kids amounting to anything either, so she sacrificed herself – sending her energy out across the universe to many planets. Her power would “seed” one child from each planet, who would be transported to New Chronos, raised until age 13, returned to their home planet with the name of a Greek city (but without memory of their childhood) to be recalled upon reaching adulthood.
Finally! This is where Donna Troy comes in… Of course, she was one of the “seeds”. Another seed, Sparta, somehow recalled her New Chronos upbringing, went mad, conquered the planet Synriannaq and tried to defeat the Titans of Myth. Lacking the power, she set out to kill the other seeds to absorb theirs. One seed, Phoebe, was able to escape to Earth, restore Donna’s memories and enlist the aid of the (Teen) Titans, and die. In an epic battle (New Titans #52 – 54, Jan – Mar 1989) the superheroes defeated Sparta and restored power to the Titans of Myth.
In gratitude, the Titans of Myth gave Donna some gifts, which she used to fashion a spiffy new costume. She also cut her hair and adopted the code name Troia in their honor.
Before that big event, Donna had quit the Titans and married non-superpowered professor Terry Long (Tales of the Teen Titans #50, Feb 1985). Later, she found out she was pregnant. A group from the future called “Team Titans” came to the past to kill her unborn son because her child would grow up to be the murderous and superpowered Lord Chaos. Donna begged the Titans of Myth to remove her powers and make her merely human, in order to thwart the possibility of this dark future.
Later she changed her mind, but the Titans of Myth refused to restore her powers – because a deal’s a deal, after all. So she joined a exo-suit-enhanced group called the Darkstars. Wearing this new costume, she briefly assumed the identity of Darkstar, rejoined the Titans, divorced Terry and dates Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern at the time). They broke up after the death of Terry and her son in a car accident. Donna also quit the Darkstars and was rendered superpower-less once again.
That soap opera and origin story lasted about a decade, and then her history was reworked again in the late 1990s. In this revised origin, Donna had been created by the Amazon sorceress Magala from part of Diana’s (later, Wonder Woman) soul. Donna was created as a playmate for the young goddess who was the only child on the Amazon island of Themyscira. Donna was kidnapped by the character Dark Angel and forced to live an endless series of lives, each characterized by more suffering, and never remembering the past lives until the villainess returned each time to “re-boot” her life.
Eventually, with the help of Wonder Woman, Hippolyta (WW’s mother) and the Wally West Flash, Donna was able to recall all her past lives and she regained her past powers. The five (Teen) Titans (Flash, Aqualad, Speedy, Cyborg and Donna) were reunited in a new team book, naturally called the New Titans. Hippolyta officially recognized Diana as her daughter (since she had been created from Diana’s soul) and held a coronation for her as the second princess of Paradise Island. These revisions not only explained why she appeared younger than her “sister” Diana, but served to bring her origin back in line with her pre-Crisis Themysciran background.
In the 2003 Titans/Young Justice cross-over, “Graduation Day”, Donna was killed by a rogue Superman robot. This caused a lot of consternation and soul-searching among the heroes of the DC Universe, especially her beau Nightwing.
As we all know, death is rarely permanent in comics, and Donna’s was no exception. She returned in the 2005 four-issue mini-series, The Return of Donna Troy, written by Phil Jimenez with amazing art by José Luis García-López and George Pérez. This rather convoluted tale attempted to clarify Donna’s “true” origin, and set the table for the events that followed in Infinite Crisis, 52, and currently Countdown. It also served as the postulate that Donna Troy is truly the center of the DC Universe, as the coming weeks in Countdown will certainly demonstrate.
The Return of Donna Troy explained that like every other person following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Donna is the combination of every version of herself that was merged at the culmination of Crisis. Unlike everyone else, however, Donna remembers all those alternate versions. She is also, therefore, the only one to know of the previous existence of the Multiverse. This also explained that her previous “origin” stories – discussed above – were simply versions of herself from alternate Universes that no longer exist.
She also learned that Dark Angel was actually the Donna Troy from an alternate universe who had been saved from destruction by the Anti-Monitor. The Titans of Myth, realizing that Donna was the key to saving them from an upcoming threat, recreated Donna on New Chronos and implanted her with false memories of being the Goddess of the moon and wife of Coeus. She was part of a plan where the Titans of Myth incited a religious war on New Chronos to gain new worshippers to open a gateway to another dimension where they would be safe from the impending destruction. (Don’t worry - I didn’t quite get it, either.)
The superhero Titans discovered this, rescued Donna and restored her memories. The errant Titans of Myth were banished to Tartarus, and Donna returned to the barren New Chronos to reunite with Wonder Woman. Donna was charged with guarding the Universe Orb containing the chronicles of the Multiverse that had been kept by Harbinger until the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Upon reviewing the orb’s files, she learned of the doom facing the DC Universe (eventually to be called Infinite Crisis): It was to be "the end of everything, coming far too quickly."
Where is she now?
Donna was the unifying thread in many of the titles tied into Infinite Crisis (2006), as she traveled the DC Universe, recruiting the best heroes to face the impending threat. As we all know, at the end of this event, Donna's “history” was restored to its pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) status – at least, what it would have been had writers back then been thinking about putting together a cohesive origin story. Once again, she was a girl who was born of magic, then found by Wonder Woman and raised on Paradise Island for a few years. She became an Amazon and then returned to Man's World as Wonder Girl, sidekick.
Following Infinite Crisis (2006), Wonder Woman literally disappeared. Turns out (in 52) she was traveling the world (notably to the mystical Himalayan city, Nanda Parbat) trying to “find herself.” After Diana had been gone for a year, Donna briefly picked up the Wonder Woman identity – with a snazzy new version of the WW costume. Stories in the new Wonder Woman series show her reluctant to “officially” re-adopt the mantle, choosing to go under cover since she is wanted for the death of Maxwell Lord.
Meanwhile, Donna Troy has apparently given up fighting crime as Wonder Woman, and has similarly given up that great WW costume in favor of the same “starscape” bodysuit she wore for so long. One interesting note, however, DC’s promotional ads – presumably for Countdown – showed Donna Troy in her 70s red bodysuit!
After a long absence, Donna has reappeared in the latest issues of Teen Titans and of course, Countdown. She is shown at the funeral of Duela Dent, vowing to get to the bottom of her murder (Issue #51), since Duela was briefly a Titan and Titans always stick together. After the funeral, Donna and Tim Drake (Red Hood – see WCIC? #51) have an ominous conversation, where Tim suggests that – like Duela - both of them are anomalies in the new multiverse. He warns Donna they may also suffer Duela’s final fate.
Notes on Donna Troy:
In most of Donna’s incarnations, she has exhibited similar powers as her mentor, Wonder Woman: enhanced strength and speed, endurance, as well as the power of flight. Later as Troia, she gained protective force fields and the ability to wield photonic energy as power blasts. As Darkstar, she wore the same exomantle as the other Darkstars, which gave her a protective forcefield and artificially-enhanced superhuman strength, speed and agility. She also got a cool shoulder mounted cannon.
After the revelations in her pre-Infinite Crisis return, in addition to her normal superhuman strength and speed, she regained her cosmically-based energy manipulation abilities. In her most recent appearances in Teen Titans and Countdown, she has only shown the enhanced ability to chat with Tim Drake and look concerned – so we’re not sure what forms of superpowers she might be exhibiting in the near future.
Note that in the 90s, teenage Cassandra (“Cassie”) Sandsmark took up the mantle of Wonder Girl, and has continued in that capacity in her adventures with Young Justice and the current Teen Titans. She has also played an integral role in Infinite Crisis, 52 and the events of One Year Later. Cassie has no connection with Donna Troy other than the fact that they have both used the Wonder Girl appellation. Until further notice, it looks like Cassie will retain the WG title and Donna Troy will remain, well – Donna Troy.
For those who wish to peruse their comic collections or the back issue bins to put together Wonder Girl’s complete history (although a 2x4 to the head would be quicker and less painful!) here is a very brief summary of her memberships in the several incarnations of the Titans.
As Wonder Girl: Teen Titans Vol. 1 (1966 – 1978); New Teen Titans Vol. 1 (1980 – 1984) Tales of the Teen Titans (1984 – 1985) New Teen Titans Vol. 2 (1984 – 1988) New Titans (1988 – 1989) As Troia New Titans (1989 – 1992) Team Titans (1992) As Donna Troy Team Titans (1993 – 1994) As Darkstar Darkstars & New Titans (1994 – 1996) As Troia (again) Titans (1999 – 2003) As Donna Troy (again) Teen Titans Vol. 2 (2007)
(Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of her appearances – just her membership in the team. She has played an integral part in many other series, notably Green Lantern (1996 – 1997), DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy (2005), and Ion (2007). In addition, from Issues #59 through #91, the newsstand-distributed Tales of the Teen Titans reprinted the stories from direct-distribution prestige format New Teen Titans on a “one year delay”, so those were not unique appearances.)
LIGHT RAY Countdown #48 showed a costumed character crashing to earth in a blaze of light, creating a giant crater in Metropolis and nearly taking out Jimmy Olsen, who was trying to get photos of the phenomenon. Everyone in the comic seems to know this character as Lightray, but you may not know much about him unless you’ve read every DC comic in the last 37 years to spot his sporadic appearances.
To get to know Lightray, we must go back to the same series of events that were going on in the DC offices back in 1970, which we discussed in WCIC? #51 (Darkseid) and #48 (Jimmy Olsen). Back then Jack Kirby – the venerable Marvel artist who, together with Stan Lee - co-created such titles as Fantastic Four and X-Men in the 1960s, was struggling with Marvel regarding the dwindling artistic outlet for his ideas and lack of editorial support. So he defected to DC where he had been promised complete creative freedom.
DC gave him the creative reins to its then-lowest selling title, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and allowed Kirby carte blanche to create a whole new world of cosmic superheroes. In fact, he called it the Fourth World – a term that is still used today. At the heart of Kirby’s Fourth World was a war that had endured for eons between the New Gods of a planet called New Genesis (the “good guys”) and the infernal denizens of the planet Apokolips.
The New Gods included such cosmic characters as Highfather, Orion, Metron – and our current crater-maker, Lightray. Befitting of his coruscating countenance, Lightray was always shown smiling widely and quipping cheerfully. Kirby clearly designed the costume to display his effervescent disposition: It is bright white, adorned only with contrasting red BVDs on the outside, gold cuffs and boots, and a simple red and black emblem. (Never was quite sure what that was supposed to represent, but I still respect it for its elegant simplicity.)
He also wore a maskless cowl which covered the entire head and neck, except the face and top of head. Although of dubious utility, it still looked pretty cool, and was unique in the comic world until Firestorm co-opted the look later in the Seventies.
At the heart of Kirby’s Fourth World was a war that had endured for eons between the Lightray’s New Gods from the planet New Genesis and the infernal denizens of the planet Apokolips. The good and shining gods of New Genesis constantly came up against Apokolips’ ruler, Darkseid. (See WCIC? #51.) As Apokolips’ ruler, Darkseid is obsessed both with conquering his rivals on New Genesis and discovering the Anti-Life Equation, which would allow him to control the minds and wills of every sentient being in the universe.
Due to their proximity to the energy of the Source, the New Gods have evolved into perfect beings (Gods). They live outside of normal time and space in a place called – naturally – the Fourth World. Despite their physical resemblance to humans, due to their evolutionary development and technological superiority the New Gods are stronger, faster, and smarter. Although recent events involving Lightray seem to prove differently, the New Gods are immortal. They are only vulnerable when exposed to an explosive blast of a substance called Radion,.
In spite of his constant conflict with Darkseid and other forces of evil, Lightray is not the natural warrior like his grim friend Orion, and would rather solve conflicts through diplomacy and negotiation than battle. His main power is to control light to create concussive blasts, heat beams, lasers and holograms. He has even created a small sun to blind an opponent. His civilian identity is Sollis (no last name) and he resides on the planet New Genesis with the rest of the small pantheon of New Gods.
He gained his light-based powers as a child when playing with his buddy, Orion. The two stumbled upon a cache of soldiers from Apokolips who were preparing to attach the New Gods, and Sollis was hit by a blast from their light-based weapons. After he awoke from his coma, he discovered that he had absorbed the light energy and could control and emit it at will.
Although he was an integral part of Kirby’s original Fourth World series, New Gods, he has usually played the role of a supporting character in subsequent appearances. One exception was the 1988 four-issue mini-series, Cosmic Odyssey. Lightray’s brief membership in Justice League America (Issues #42 – 50, 1990) was remembered more by writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ irreverent humor (and Lightray’s outrageously bad hair) than his deific abilities. The character also played a big part in Walter Simonson’s Orion series (2000).
For Lightray completists, here is a brief summary of his appearances in the various New Gods team books over the last four decades. (There were also several guest appearances in other titles, in which the character plays a minor role. Those are not included in this list.)
New Gods vol. 1 (1970 – 1978) Cosmic Odyssey (1988) New Gods vol. 2 (1989 – 1991) Justice League America (1990 – 1991) New Gods vol. 3 (1995 – 1997) Jack Kirby’s Fourth World (1997 – 1998) Orion (2000 – 2001)
NEXT WEEK IN WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN? As we have learned in the first half-dozen issues of Countdown, the mission of at least one of the Monitors is to clean up some of the “anomalies” caused in the wake of the several Crises. Along with Donna Troy, another hero with a big target on his back is Kyle Raynor (Ion). Why are the Monitors having such a problem with him, and will he be around to see the conclusion of Countdown?
We’ll also take a look at another character who has played a big part in the Catwoman series and was introduced in Countdown #47 is Holly Robinson. DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio promised she would play an integral role in this series, so we’ll also examine her history. Until next week, keep reading Countdown!
posted
This was truly a remarkable essay by Mr. Macintosh. I now know why I gave up on Teen Titans after Perez and Wolfman left.
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posted
My understanding is the Wonder Girl wasn't created out of whole cloth for this series. Wonder Woman routinely appeared with her "younger self" on paradise island, but because of a lack of communication between editors, the writer of Teen Titans mistook the young Wonder Woman as a seperate character and included her in Teen Titans. Also, there's no mention of John Byrne's (ill inspired) retcon of the character as a victim of "Dark Angel," who delighted in making Donna live countless lives over and over again as some form of metaphysical torture. (Yeah, it's hard to explain, plus my memory's hazy.)
At any rate, a better rundown of Donna Troy's history can doubtless be found at...
posted
Although it may seem like a fine distinction, the focus in this essay was on Donna Troy, as opposed to Wonder Girl... because in Countdown the Monitors do not refer to the anomalies of the Multiverse by their code names - only as Dick Grayson, Kyle Rayner and Donna Troy. (Did anyone notice that?)
With that in mind, "Donna Troy" was indeed created out of whole cloth. (Sort of like many wikipedia articles. ) After all, the girl wasn't given a real name until after several TT appearances!
The code name "Wonder Girl" and the fact that she was a distinct individual from "Wonder Woman" was also a new concept at that time, in spite of the fact that it was probably a misunderstanding on the part of Bob Haney, the writer. He was infamous for doing this. So, I'll stand by my characterization.
BTW - Dark Angel's mistreatment of Donna is discussed in this article - right next to the "Darkstars" cover, above. John Byrne's name, however, was intentionally omitted, however. (I'll just leave it at that. )
posted
I love the Donna Troy love going around, but I have some notes...
"She was finally given the name Donna Troy after a couple of appearances in The Brave and the Bold and Showcase, but explaining her origin didn’t happen for four years, in Teen Titans #22 (Jul/Aug 1969). "
Wonder Girl is actually first called Donna in that same issue, Teen Titans #22 [her origin was even written by Marv Wolfman even way back then!]
"That issue – the first of her many different origin stories - told of Donna’s parents being killed in a fire when she was a baby. "
Actually, her parents were never found; See New Teen Titans #38! "Who Is Donna Troy?" Classic!
"One seed, Phoebe, was able to escape to Earth"
Phoebe was not a seed, she was a Titan of Myth.
"Before that big event, Donna had quit the Titans and married non-superpowered professor Terry Long (Tales of the Teen Titans #50, Feb 1985)."
Donna didn't quit the Titans when she married Terry. Are you confusing her non-powered phase with the Team Titans?
"Donna begged the Titans of Myth to remove her powers and make her merely human, in order to thwart the possibility of this dark future."
Not exactly; The crisis of Lord Chaos was already averted and Donna just decided to live as a normal woman and raise her child. The Titans of Myth wanted to make her a goddess but she said "No thanks!"-- which is why they were such pissants later...
"The five (Teen) Titans (Flash, Aqualad, Speedy, Cyborg and Donna) were reunited in a new team book, naturally called the New Titans. "
It was actually called "Titans." And Cyborg wasn't a founding member, but Robin/Nightwing sure was! Also, Speedy was Arsenal and Aqualad was Tempest at that point.
"These revisions not only explained why she appeared younger than her “sister” Diana, but served to bring her origin back in line with her pre-Crisis Themysciran background."
John Byrne actually attempted to make ALL her origins valid: 1. she's actually Diana as a kid [like WG was conceived as in those 'impossible tales'] 2. she's raised on Paradise Island and is Hippolyta's daughter and Diana's sister [Pre-Crisis] 3. "Who Is Donna Troy?" and the Titans of Myth stuff is still intact thanks to multiple lives [Post-Crisis]
"This caused a lot of consternation and soul-searching among the heroes of the DC Universe, especially her beau Nightwing. "
Nightwing and Donna were NEVER a couple. Just good friends.
Short List of Notable Appearances
Secret Origins Teen Titans #22 [1969]: Original Origin story New Teen Titans #38 [1984]: "Who is Donna Troy?" New Titans #50-55 [1989]: "Who Is Wonder Girl?" post-Crisis origin Wonder Woman #131-136 [1998]: "Donna as Diana's mystical twin" revisions
Wonder Woman Secret Files #2 [1999]: Featuring "Who is Troia", a 6-page story by Devin Grayson and Phil Jimenez. This is the definitive Donna origin story.
Donna as Wonder Girl
Brave & The Bold #60 Teen Titans #1-53 Adventure Comics #461 Wonder Woman #265-266 New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans #1-59 New Teen Titans/New Titans #1-54 [becomes Troia in #55]
Donna as Troia the First Time
Secret Origins Annual #3 [Teen Titans, post-Crisis history] New Titans #55-92 [becomes Troia in #55] Wonder Woman #47-48 Team Titans #1-3 [loses powers in #3]
Powerless Donna Troy
Team Titans #4-21 New Titans #100
Darkstar Donna Troy
Darkstars #22-38 New Titans #115-130 Green Lantern #57-75 [recurring]
Green Lantern Appearances: Darkstar & Powerless Donna Troy
Green Lantern #57-90 [recurring; Darkstar #57-75; Powerless in #76-90], 118
Wonder Woman Appearances: Sisters Again
Wonder Woman #121-136 [recurring] Powerless throughout; new revised origin in #132-136
posted
My head still hurts from trying to absorb and condense Donna's convoluted history into just a few pages. Thanks for that comprehensive list of appearances, and for tying up those loose ends! Titans Tower is a great site - Well Done!
It's awesome to see so many Donna Troy fans. I hope that DC is taking that into account with whatever they have in store for her in Countdown...
posted
The Donna Troy by George Perez was the more spectacular.
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As discussed in WCIC? Episode #49, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin were first brought together in The Brave and the Bold #54 (Jun/Jul 1964). Perhaps to provide some gender diversity, or possibly because three was considered an odd number for a group (with apologies to the '80s pop band, the Police,)Wonder Girl was not included in the mix until The Brave and the Bold #60 (Jul 1965). 
Crisis of Multiple Origins
Even before the creation of the DC Universe, it is told that at the creation of the “real” Universe, Gaea (Mother Earth) fell hard for Uranus (Father Sky) and they had a lot of children. Some of these children were beautiful… kids the proud parents weren’t afraid to show off to the boss at the company picnic. The rest of the brood were not as presentable, so Uranus banished them to the pits of Tartarus. Mom still had a soft spot for even her ugly kids, so she sent the most powerful Titan Kronos to slay Dad and free his enslaved brethren. Kronos successfully whacked Uranus, but changed his mind about freeing his unseemly siblings.
Her husband having been slain, Rhea was the only Titan on New Chronos without a mate. A woman has needs, however, so she spent a lot of time with the primitives on the planet below (Synriannaq). So much time, in fact, that she created an entirely new race of warring demigods on the planet. Rhea eventually gave up hope of these kids amounting to anything either, so she sacrificed herself – sending her energy out across the universe to many planets. Her power would “seed” one child from each planet, who would be transported to New Chronos, raised until age 13, returned to their home planet with the name of a Greek city (but without memory of their childhood) to be recalled upon reaching adulthood.
In gratitude, the Titans of Myth gave Donna some gifts, which she used to fashion a spiffy new costume. She also cut her hair and adopted the code name Troia in their honor. 
That soap opera and origin story lasted about a decade, and then her history was reworked again in the late 1990s. In this revised origin, Donna had been created by the Amazon sorceress Magala from part of Diana’s (later, Wonder Woman) soul. Donna was created as a playmate for the young goddess who was the only child on the Amazon island of Themyscira. Donna was kidnapped by the character Dark Angel and forced to live an endless series of lives, each characterized by more suffering, and never remembering the past lives until the villainess returned each time to “re-boot” her life.
Donna was the unifying thread in many of the titles tied into Infinite Crisis (2006), as she traveled the DC Universe, recruiting the best heroes to face the impending threat. As we all know, at the end of this event, Donna's “history” was restored to its pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) status – at least, what it would have been had writers back then been thinking about putting together a cohesive origin story. Once again, she was a girl who was born of magic, then found by Wonder Woman and raised on Paradise Island for a few years. She became an Amazon and then returned to Man's World as Wonder Girl, sidekick.
After a long absence, Donna has reappeared in the latest issues of Teen Titans and of course, Countdown. She is shown at the funeral of Duela Dent, vowing to get to the bottom of her murder (Issue #51), since Duela was briefly a Titan and Titans always stick together. After the funeral, Donna and Tim Drake (Red Hood – see WCIC? #51) have an ominous conversation, where Tim suggests that – like Duela - both of them are anomalies in the new multiverse. He warns Donna they may also suffer Duela’s final fate. 
Note that in the 90s, teenage Cassandra (“Cassie”) Sandsmark took up the mantle of Wonder Girl, and has continued in that capacity in her adventures with Young Justice and the current Teen Titans. She has also played an integral role in Infinite Crisis, 52 and the events of One Year Later. Cassie has no connection with Donna Troy other than the fact that they have both used the Wonder Girl appellation. Until further notice, it looks like Cassie will retain the WG title and Donna Troy will remain, well – Donna Troy.
To get to know Lightray, we must go back to the same series of events that were going on in the DC offices back in 1970, which we discussed in WCIC? #51 (Darkseid) and #48 (Jimmy Olsen). Back then Jack Kirby – the venerable Marvel artist who, together with Stan Lee - co-created such titles as Fantastic Four and X-Men in the 1960s, was struggling with Marvel regarding the dwindling artistic outlet for his ideas and lack of editorial support. So he defected to DC where he had been promised complete creative freedom. 
He also wore a maskless cowl which covered the entire head and neck, except the face and top of head. Although of dubious utility, it still looked pretty cool, and was unique in the comic world until Firestorm co-opted the look later in the Seventies.
Due to their proximity to the energy of the Source, the New Gods have evolved into perfect beings (Gods). They live outside of normal time and space in a place called – naturally – the Fourth World. Despite their physical resemblance to humans, due to their evolutionary development and technological superiority the New Gods are stronger, faster, and smarter. Although recent events involving Lightray seem to prove differently, the New Gods are immortal. They are only vulnerable when exposed to an explosive blast of a substance called Radion,.
He gained his light-based powers as a child when playing with his buddy, Orion. The two stumbled upon a cache of soldiers from Apokolips who were preparing to attach the New Gods, and Sollis was hit by a blast from their light-based weapons. After he awoke from his coma, he discovered that he had absorbed the light energy and could control and emit it at will.
New Gods vol. 1 (1970 – 1978)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
) After all, the girl wasn't given a real name until after several TT appearances! 
