Princess Zala Jor-El is the daughter of King Jor-El and Queen Lara, as well as the younger sister of Prince Kal-El and Bruce Wayne's half-sister through her father.
History
Early Years
Zala Jor-El was conceived and born on Earth. Her parents were royal advisors to King Thomas, and Zala and her brother Kal-El were raised in the castle alongside Queen Martha's bastard son Bruce. Unbeknownst to any of the children, Bruce was in fact Jor-El's son and Kal and Zala's half-brother.
One day, as the Els and the Waynes were travelling through Hobb Forest to Amazonia, their caravan was attacked by the Green Man, who murdered Thomas and Martha. As the people would not accept Bruce as king, Jor-El and Lara became the rulers of the kingdom, making Zala a princess.[1]
Zala was sent to be fostered on Amazonia to try to improve relations between the House of El and the Amazons, who were aligned with the El's main rival the Kingdom of the Storms. Zala learned the Amazon arts of war, and also met and fell in love with Diana, the princess of the Amazons. Diana returned her feelings and the two princesses started a relationship.
Two Kings
One day Lois, Queen Hippolyta's agent in the outside world, reported that Jor-El had been killed by the Green Man on the orders of King Jefferson. Grief stricken, Zala flew away from Amazonia and spent two days searching for the Green Man. During those two days a White Martian assumed her form and murdered both King Jefferson and his son Jacob to try to drive the Kingdom of Storms and the Els into war.[2][3]
After giving up her search, Zala returned home to the Castle of El and reunited with Kal-El. Meanwhile, Diana had left Amazonia after Hippolyta agreed to support the Kingdom of Storms in a war against the Els. She rode her pegasus to the Castle of El but was waylaid in the sky over Hobb Forest by the Lady of the Forest, a witch loosely allied with the Els who had agreed to prevent hostiles passing through the woods. Zala and Kal-El heard their fight from the castle and flew over to investigate. Zala reunited with Diana and denied murdering Prince Jacob. Diana warned her that the Kingdom of the Storms would likely go to war against the Els and the Amazons would be honour-bound to aid them. Zala told Diana that if war did come she would ensure they were on the same side, and that their families could not keep them apart.[4]
Soon afterwards Timothy Drake, a spy in the court of the Kingdom of Storms, returned to the Lands of El and reported that King Jefferson had been murdered, apparently by Zala. She denied this, but Timothy responded that ship full of people had witnessed it and all told the same story.[5]
The Martian War
The Kingdom of Storms and the Amazons led by Hippolyta invaded the Lands of El in retaliation for Jefferson and Jacob's deaths. When the two armies reached the castle, Diana and Zala flew down and asked them to turn and leave in a last-ditch effort to avoid war. However, Zala's lungs mysteriously began filling with water and she fell to the ground drowning. Diana begged Hippolyta to stop whoever was causing it, but before she could do anything Lara flew down out of the sky into the middle of their confrontation. The impact knocked everyone aside and the water in Zala's lungs disappeared. Hippolyta asked Lara to peacefully surrender and avoid bloodshed, but to Zala's shock and horror Lara murdered Hippolyta with her heat vision.[6]
Lara flew away before anyone could react, and Kal-El suddenly crashed down to Earth in front of the Amazon host. The Amazons and the Kingdom of Storms charged Kal-El and the El's army rode out to defend him. The two sides clashed and fell into a pitched battle, which only became more chaotic when Bruce returning riding on a dragon. Suddenly Lara was tackled down to Earth by her exact doppleganger. The battle paused as the three armies stopped fighting and for a moment stared in silent shock at the two Lara's, when Alfred suddenly yelled to use fire against her. The Lara who killed Hippolyta was shot in the chest with a flaming crossbow bolt and burst into flames. She transformed into a white-skinned monster and flew away. Kal-El and Zala chased after the creature but it vanished into thin air.
Alfred said that he was sorry and hadn't known that "they" were on Earth. When Bruce asked him what he was talking about, he changed into a green skinned creature and revealed that he was from another world.[7] Diana tried to attack Alfred, believing he was responsible for what had happened, but Bruce and his dragon defended him. Kal-El gave her Diana a magic rope so she could be certain that Alfred would speak the truth when he asked her if he meant them harm. She bound Alfred with the rope and he told them he meant no ill will to the people of Earth, and was loyal to the House of El.
Lara called a conference with Diana and Queen Anissa of the Kingdom of Storms to discuss what had happened. Before she had to go in, Zala comforted Diana as she grieved over her mother's body. Alfred revealed that his true name was J'onn J'onzz from the planet Mars, and the monster they had seen was a White Martian, the enemy of his people, the Greens. He told them that the White Martians wanted to take Earth after the war between their peoples had devastated Mars, and the queens realised that everything had been a plot by the Whites to get the potential threats of the Amazons, Kryptonians and Pierces to destroy each other and leave the way open to conquer Earth. They decided to join forces to oppose the invaders.[8]
Following J'onn's advice, the queens set up multiple fire-based defences to hold the invaders at bay. Diana, Zala and a team of labourers dug a moat around the Castle of El and filled it with burning pitch. Later, Lara took Kal-El and Zala to where their ship was buried and retrieved a Sunstone crystal from the console. It contained plans for a Phantom Zone Projector and together the three of them forged the Projector, which they could use to banish the Martians to the Phantom Zone.[9]
Scorched Earth
The next day Lois, Lara's advisor Harley and the Pierce's advisor Constantine; came up with a plan to defeat the White Martians once and for all by luring them to the dormant volcano Mount Kristoff and triggering an eruption; where Bruce, Kal-El, Diana and Zala would battle them when they had been severely weakened by the flaming lava. That night, the Martians somehow brought down the bonfires surrounding the castle, but the Amazon defenders were ready for them and kept them pinned down. A messenger rode to the castle to tell them the Martians were attacking and so Zala and the others headed out to face them.
The four dove into the middle of the battle and challenged Protex to face them. They flew to Mount Kristoff, with Zala carrying Diana. The full force of Martians chased after them, and when they had surrounded the mountain King Jefferson's daughters Queen Anissa and Princess Jennifer used their powers to trigger the volcano to erupt. The Martians were doused in lava and severely injured or killed, but Zala and the others were unharmed, protected by their powers. They doused themselves in pitch and set it alight, making them even more deadly to the Martians. They battled and easily defeated the Martians. Diana killed the Martian who had murdered Hippolyta but Zala stopped her from killing the other helpless survivors. Lara banished the Martians to the Phantom Zone using the Projector.
However, when it seemed like total victory had been achieved, Bruce heard Alfred call for help in his mind. Feeling his friend's anguish and pain, Bruce flew for the first time, flying as fast as he could back to the castle. He arrived to find that Alfred had been assassinated by a traitor working with the Martians. A week later, the three kingdoms united into a League.[10]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, Zala possesses the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian. These include:
- Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of Zala's super powers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. Her biological make up includes a number of organs which lack analogues in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and her bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.
- Heat Vision: Zala can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. She can vary the heat and area affected.
- Super-Hearing: Zala's hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill and concentration, she can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency.
- Enhanced Vision: Zala's vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
This umbrella ability includes the following:- Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Zala can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. She can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, she can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows her to see the aura generated by living thing.
- Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
- X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Zalas can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. She can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
- Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
- Infrared Vision: Zala can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
- Flight: Zala is able to manipulate graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. This ranges from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction.
- Invulnerability: Due to the interaction of her dense molecular structure and supercharged bio-electric aura, Zala is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, her extends this protection against toxins and diseases.
- Superhuman Stamina: Zala is able to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. This based on her body converting yellow solar radiation directly to energy but is limited by physiological and psychological needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
- Superhuman Strength: Zala's strength is augmented by yellow solar radiation interacting with the greater than human density, resilience and biological efficiency of her musculature. Her strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables her to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass.
- Superhuman Speed: Zala is able to move at incredible speed by sheer force of will. This extends to her perceptions and allows for feats such as catching bullets in mid-flight as well as covering vast distances in little or no time.
This also confers: - Super-Breath: Zala is able to create hurricane force winds by exhaling air from her lungs. She can chill the air as it leaves her lungs to freeze targets. She can also reverse the process to pull large volumes of air or vapor into her lungs.
- Longevity: Zala can live longer than regular humans, remaining at her prime as long as she was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.
Abilities
- Amazonian Training: The Amazons honed their skills in many fields, aided by the gifts from Athena and Artemis.
Weaknesses
- Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, Zala possesses the same potential weaknesses as an average Kryptonian. These include:
Notes
- Her name may be a reference to Zal-El, a potential younger brother of Superman seen in a simulation of an alternate reality in Superman #132.
Related
- 12 Appearances of Zala Jor-El (Dark Knights of Steel)
- 10 Images featuring Zala Jor-El (Dark Knights of Steel)
- Quotations by or about Zala Jor-El (Dark Knights of Steel)
- Character Gallery: Zala Jor-El (Dark Knights of Steel)
Footnotes
  This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. |
 Superman Family member |