A Long-Forgotten Hero Is Finally Getting to Shine (& Could Be Earth’s Only Hope)

Metamorpho is a C-list hero who’s about to have an A-list summer. Metamorpho is part of the cast of Superman, and DC Comics has decided that it’s time to make the Metamaniacs happy. DC announced a new series for Metamorpho, from the superstar team of writer Al Ewing and artist Steve Lierber. Metamorpho: The Element Man revolves around Metamorpho, his girlfriend Sapphire Stagg, her father billionaire industrialist Simon Stagg, Stagg’s caveman bodyguard Java, and Element Girl, an agent of S.H.A.D.E. powered by the same source as Metamorpho, as they battle C.Y.C.L.O.P.S. Metamorpho: The Element Man #5 pits the group against the Thunderer, with nothing less than Sol, our solar system’s primary star, at stake. Metamorpho decides to bring together the Element Family, including the little known heroine Element Woman.

Element Woman has a very interesting history. She first appeared in Flashpoint, and was meant to play a role in DC’s controversial reboot the New 52, teased to join the Justice League. Element Woman’s history reveals some interesting things about DC over the years, and Metamorpho: The Element Man #5 shows exactly what fans have missed by her being one of DC’s forgotten heroes.

Element Woman Never Got a Chance to Shine

Element Woman first appeared in Flashpoint #1, the first issue of the five issue event series that would end the post-Crisis DC Universe and kick off the New 52. Element Woman ended up joining Flashpoint Batman, Barry Allen, and Cyborg on their mission to rescue Kal-El from the US government. She helped out in the fight between the Amazons and the Atlanteans and became a part of the New 52 Prime Earth. Element Woman was part of a tease for the future of Justice League (Vol. 2), the flagship title of the New 52. However, she wouldn’t appear in the New 52 until Justice League (Vol. 2) #16, when she was called on to help out in a brewing war between Atlantis and the United States. She was a part of the team during “Trinity War”, acting as a peacekeeper between the three Justice League teams in their battles against each other. She was imprisoned in the Firestorm Matrix during Forever Evil‘s battle against the Crime Syndicate, and would end up joining the Doom Patrol, where she battled her former teammates. This was the last appearance of Element Woman; the New 52 would fold not long after, and she disappeared.

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Element Woman was a fun idea that never really took off. Many fans confused her with a new version of Element Girl, whose main claim to fame is her death in The Sandman #20. However, it was soon revealed that she was a new character, Emily Sung. Nothing was really established about her origin, but she was obviously related to Metamorpho. She fell between the cracks in Justice League, which makes a lot of sense. She was a new character that hadn’t appeared in over year by the time she showed up in the book; she was fun, but she was surrounded by DC’s most popular heroes and overshadowed. Most fans almost certainly assumed that she stopped existing when the New 52 was taken out of canon, but Metamorpho: The Element Man #5 shows that’s not the case. It even finally gives her a moment to shine.

Element Woman Saves the Day

Metamorpho: The Element Man #5 introduces the concept of the “Sun War”. It’s kind of crazy, actually. The issue establishes that eons ago, suns used to fight wars against one another. These destructive battles were a huge problem for the universe, and the suns decided to use champions to fight it out. Ra, the Egyptian sun god, used the Orb of Ra to create multiple champions over the years, like Metamorpho, Element Girl, Element Dog, and Element Woman, as well as ancient ones like Algon, who just so happens to show up near Element Woman, who has custody of Element Dog (from The Terrifics). The group of them go to fight Thunderer, and Thunderer is able to destroy Algon. This meant that the sun’s champion was defeated and Thunderer was about to make the world pay.

However, Element Woman saves the day. She had entered the Thunderer as oxygen, filled up the spaces in his android body, and then transformed back to normal, destroying him. This is the first time Element Woman has gotten any kind of big moment ever, and it’s awesome. Element Woman is an example of a great DC character who never got a chance, and it’s awesome that she’s finally gotten a bit of spotlight.

Metamorpho: The Element Man #5 is on sale now.