Ursa

Creation

Ursa was created for the 1978 film Superman and it’s sequel. Faora served as the basis for the character and apart from the name change, both have many similarities.

History (New Earth)

Last Son (Part II)

The Kryptonian Science Council discovered that two of their most revered scientists, Jor-El and Non, had determined that in a short matter of time, Krypton would suffer geothermic upheavel that would destroy the entire planet. Branding them as heretics, the cowardly members of the Science Council sent General Zod and his militants to Jor-El’s laboratory to arrest he and Non. Ursa was in charge of placing the two scientists under arrest and handing them over to the council. The Science Council administered a stern warning to them, and set them free. Before long, Zod and Ursa discovered that Jor-El and Non had been right all along. Krypton had little time left. Non ignored the Council’s warning and preached to the populace of Krypton revealing everything he knew of the pending disaster. Zod and Ursa defected from the military and joined Non’s cause. Soon after, Non was captured and lobotomized under orders of the Science Council.

This incident drove Zod over the edge, and Ursa and he began an insurrection that made them the most wanted criminals on the planet. They were eventually captured and brought to justice. Jor-El argued on their behalf, and swayed the Science Council from sentencing them to death. Instead, Jor-El elected for a more peaceful means of punishment – exile in the Phantom Zone.

Rebirth (Prime Earth)

Revenge Conclusion

“Ursa. Wife of Zod. Mother of his son, Lor-Zod.”

During Cyborg Superman‘s plans on forming a team to take revenge on Superman, he recruits General Zod. However, most of the team doesn’t want Zod as there leader, Zod then betrays them and sends the Eradicator II and Cyborg Superman into the Phantom Zone. Henry Henshaw thinks they are there to retrieve Zod’s army, but instead the Eradicator is given orders by Zod to rescue his wife Ursa and there son Lor-Zod, which was his goal all along. With the Eradicator, they escape and fled to another planet, Jekuul, to help begin Zod’s plans on rebuilding a new Krypton. Cyborg Superman is left trapped in the Phantom Zone.

Zod’s Will, Part One: First Contact

Powers & Abilities

Military Training

As a member of the Kryptonian Military Guild, she received extensive training in the use of weapons, applicable technology, hand to hand combat, strategy, and survival techniques.

Powers

Kryptonian female with a hatred for men, Ursa is as dangerous as she is beautiful. Under the yellow sun, she has all of Superman’s powers and abilities: flight, super-strength, speed, heat-vision, and others to mention, are all apart of her power set. She’s super, duper loyal to Zod and is willing to do absolutely anything for him. Her fighting skills are extremely deadly, making her a foe that Superman or other superheroes need to watch out for.

• Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a “yellow” sun, Ursa possesses the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian. These include:
  • Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of Ursa’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: Ursa 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: Ursa’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 Ursa’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: Ursa 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. Ursa’s 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: Ursa’s can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
  • Flight: Ursa 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, Ursa is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, her extends this protection against toxins and diseases.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Ursa 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: Ursa’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: Ursa 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:
    • Superhuman Agility
    • Superhuman Reflexes
  • Super-Breath: Ursa 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.

Weaknesses

• Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a “yellow” sun, Ursa possesses the same potential weaknesses as an average Kryptonian. These include:
  • Vulnerability to Kryptonite
  • Vulnerability to Magic
• Solar Energy Dependancy

Character Profile

• Height: 6’0″
• Weight: 166 lbs
• Eye Color: Brown
• Hair Color: Black
• Race: Kryptonian
• Place of Birth: Krypton
• Marital Status: Married
• Occupation: Criminal
• Known Relatives: Dru-Zod (husband), Lor-Zod (son)
• Base of Operations: Jekuul

Other Media

Films

Superman (1978)

In the first Superman film, Ursa appears alongside General Zod and Non as they are being sentenced to the Phantom Zone by Superman’s Kryptonian father, Jor-El. Jor-El describes her as “the woman Ursa, whose perversions and unreasoning hatred of all mankind has threatened even the children of the planet Krypton.” She was played by actress Sarah Douglas.

Superman II (1981)

“I have powers beyond reason here!”

In Superman II, Ursa, Zod, and Non are freed from the Phantom Zone when a hydrogen bomb thrown into space by Superman detonates near the Zone, shattering it. The three go on to take over the Earth. They battle Superman, but Superman realizes he can’t beat them, the villains are then led to the Fortress of Solitude in the arctic, where Ursa and Non threaten to tear Lois Lane in two if Superman does not kneel to General Zod. Superman attempts to trick the villains into a molecule chamber that will take away their powers but ends up being forced into it himself by Zod. However, Superman has actually tricked the villains: he reversed the effects of the molecule chamber so that its red sun radiation is beamed throughout the fortress while Superman remains protected inside the chamber. The villains are stripped of their powers and Ursa is last seen when Lois punches her, knocking her into a crevasse in the Fortress where she disappears into the mist.

The theatrical version and the later reedited version Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut suggests that they are dead, as they are all seen falling into crevices inside the Fortress from which they never come out. But when Superman turns back time to avoid the devastation of the planet caused by the super-villains, Ursa and the others are re-imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. She was once again played by Sarah Douglas.

Animated

Superman (1988)

A criminal on the planet Krypton that was banished to the Phantom Zone for her crimes. Afterwards Ursa and Faora assisted Zod when he sent the “hunter” to Metropolis to fight Superman.

Video Game

Injustice 2

Ursa, Zod and Non make a cameo appearance in Sub-Zero‘s ending, in this scenario for Brainiac‘s defeat, the three, along with Superman, escape the Phantom Zone and were released onto the world where they are seen fighting Batman, Supergirl and Sub-Zero.