History
Van-Zee was a native of the bottled city of Kandor. He once used the enlarging ray of scientist Zak-Kul to grow in size and leave the city. Van-Zee met Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane and became enamored with her. However, he knew that Lois was the object of affection of his Kryptonian cousin, Superman, so he set about finding an Earth woman who closely resembled her. He encountered the rich heiress Sylvia DeWitt and the two fell in love. They were soon married and spent a brief period of time on the planet, Venus, where they sired two children, Lili and Lyle. Van-Zee even acquirred a special serum which imbued Sylvia with powers similar to that of a Kryptonian. Eventually, the family returned to Kandor.
Some time later, Van-Zee created a costume and became Kandor's protector, calling himself Nightwing. Prior to adopting the costumed identity of Nightwing, Van-Zee occasionally operated as Superman's double when the Man of Steel was unavailable.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Van-Zee possessed no superhuman powers while living under a red sun. When operating on Earth, he developed physical attributes equitable to that of Superman.
Abilities
Van-Zee is a natural leader and is an expert at hand-to-hand combat
Notes
- This version of Van-Zee (Earth-One), including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
- The general populace of Kandor is unaware that Van-Zee was once the vigilante known as Nightwing. Only a small group of Kandorians are aware of the fact that Van-Zee occasionally doubled for Superman.
Trivia
- Superman also adopted the identity of Nightwing during adventures wherein he needed to keep his Superman identity a secret.
- In modern continuity, Nightwing is considered an ancient Kryptonian urban legend. Superman once told the story of Nightwing to Dick Grayson shortly after the latter retired his Robin identity. Inspired by the story, Dick adopted the name for himself and became the crime fighter known as Nightwing.
Recommended Reading
- Krypton Chronicles #1
- Krypton Chronicles #2
- Krypton Chronicles #3
- Nightwing (Volume 2) #104
- Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #15
Related Articles
Related
- 40 Appearances of Van-Zee (Earth-One)
- 3 Images featuring Van-Zee (Earth-One)
- 3 Quotations by or about Van-Zee (Earth-One)
- Character Gallery: Van-Zee (Earth-One)
External Links
- Nightwing article at Supermanica
- Van-Zee article at Supermanica
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #17
Footnotes
- ↑ As Van-Zee functioned as a perfect double for Superman, it stands to reason that their height and weight are approximately the same.
  Superman Family member |