Origin
Meriem Cooper was born in Marshville, Oregon July of 1980. Her father’s name was Robert Adam Cooper; her mother was Gail Nicole Reicher. After Meriem father dies her mother turns to the drug life and falls in with unsavory men. Her mother lets her dealers take pictures or her and Meriem to pay for her habit. Meriem’s grandfather, Francis Peacock Reicher, who was also called “Gramp”, learns of this and isn’t happy. Meriem’s grandfather was a brilliant scientist. Gramp beats up the dealers and takes Meriem away on a hover cycle from the future, which is where he intends to take her. When they arrive at Gramp’s laboratory, he explains to her the time-machine and body enhancing device that allows living beings to pass through the time stream. This is when she first meets Klyde, Gramp’s 15 foot tall lab gorilla. Klyde had been altered by the body enhancer before Gramp perfected it, and as a result he grew. Gramp also taught Klyde sign language. After Gramps enhances Meriem, they time travel just as the government men destroy Gramp’s lab. Something goes wrong, and they end up in the past instead.
Creation
Budd Root on Cavewoman’s creation:
Cavewoman was inspired by Little Annie Fannie and William Stout. I wanted something like “Little Annie Fannie in the Stone Age.” Originally, it was going to be a T&A type of book, but it seemed like, as I was writing, it just kept on developing.
Then my grandfather died after I wrote it. He had been diagnosed with some kind of inoperable tumor, and it made me think: “I’m not going to do a T&A book. Let’s keep this respectable.” I brought the pages (to the first issue) to show Gramp just about a week or so before he died.
Budd on Meriem’s personality:
Meriem is quite a blend. She’s patterned after pretty much all the women I really respect. She’s got a body with kind of a Little Annie Fannie face with Danni Ashe’s boobs and Nina Hartley’s butt.
The name Meriem Cooper is in tribute to Merian C. Cooper, producer and director of the film King Kong (1933).
Major Story Arcs
On one of their missions, Gramp is killed by a Tyrannosaurus. Meriem never returned to the cave they were staying in. Meriem later would end up naked after a battle with carnivores. Meriem at the age of six would remain without clothes until she was 19 years old. By now she was grown and more developed. When Meriem gets over her fear she returns to the cave she once shared with her grandfather and made a jungle bikini. It was made out of a leopard-printed snake skin, with dinosaur teeth hanging on the strings. She later would avenge her grandfather by killing every Tyrannosaurus responsible for killing him, but rescued two Tyrannosaurus hatchlings from Velociraptors. One was named Harmony who became Meriem’s companion, the other one was named Peace who became her enemy.
While getting some food for some hungry Styracosuars’ atop a large tree she recognizes a church steeple and water tower from her hometown of Marshville. She hurries there and discovers train tracks and soon a road. She pokes her head in a truck to see if the people are OK and the passenger punches her and hurts their hand. Meriem is upset because she was just trying to help. Gramp’s spirit appears (this happens a lot) and gives some words of wisdom then suggests she get some ice cream. Police officer John Marstone sees her knife and tries to detain her. He can’t move her because she is too heavy and she ends up pitching him out of a window with one arm.
She reunites with her old best friend, Bruce Kabbit, and he helps her escape on his motorcycle. She hears some kids, Lumpy and Will, screaming so she goes to help. She kills a large Dinosaur but is attacked by two more. The kids get away and later find the diary she kept as a child in a cave learning almost everything. Klyde finds them and kidnaps lumpy and knocks Will off a cliff but he survives. Meriem wakes up and rescues several passengers in a derailed train from a herd of medium sized dinosaurs by cutting the head off of one, scaring off the rest. She leads them back to the safety of the town and finds Will and Bruce there. Bruce tells her Lumpy was kidnapped by a gorilla. Knowing it’s Klyde she goes after him. Meriem saves Lumpy and learns they are related. They’re cousins. Her Grandpa is Lumpy’s Grandpa as well. Lumpy smells like Gramp which is why Klyde is after him. She tells him a story about how Klyde had run off years ago. She stumbled upon him by accident one day and he attacked her. He wasn’t friendly anymore. She plans to hide them in a cave where a T-Rex lives. This T-Rex is Harmony and is one of the two she rescued and raised. She has minor control over the Rex but not like one would with a dog.
They reach the cave and she whacks it with a stick but the wrong T-Rex comes out so they hide. Klyde catches up with them and the T-Rex tries to eat him. Meriem remembers how much Gramp loved Klyde so she rescues him. Harmony shows up and begins to mate with the other T-Rex and Meriem, Lumpy and Klyde take shelter in the cave. Meriem uses an “Aspirin Bug” to help heal Klyde’s wounds. She explains to Lumpy that when he wakes up he’s going to be very hungry due to his enhanced molecular structure and will probably run away. He finally wakes up and is angry. He tries for Lumpy again but Meriem uses sign language to communicate with Klyde and tells him that Lumpy is safe and that he is not, so Klyde leaves. After another chat, they hear some loud music. They investigate and meet Professor Robert T. Cook, a paleontologist. He gives them a ride in his Wanderer, a large maneuverable sphere he built to study crocodiles. When they get back to town, professor Cook proposes to Meriem but she tells him there is someone else.
Meriem and Lumpy learn of a standoff between police and Lumpy’s dad. Meriem’s Grandpa has been labeled a murderer because no one knew what happened to him and his granddaughter. They try to explain that she is alive and well but he doesn’t believe them and angrily orders Lumpy to get him a beer. They put dream berries in the beer and carry him out. Meriem described the sensation after eating dream berries as being awake but feeling like you’re dreaming. Police captain Patricia Lavery thanks Meriem and tells her to let her know if she needs anything.
Powers and Abilities
Due to the body enhancing device used to allow her to survive the time jump, Meriem has a very dense molecular structure. Though appearing to be a normal looking young woman, she weighs over 300 pounds. She is durable enough to survive bites from large Dinosaurs and some of their teeth are unable to penetrate her skin. Meriem is strong enough to wrestle even the larger dinosaurs to the ground and kill them. The body enhancing device also gave her an excellent healing factor which seems to be impacted by how much she eats. The more she eats, the quicker she heals. She is skilled in the use of her knife which she carries at all times and has displayed tracking, stealth and awareness skills.