Night Girl

Night Girl (Lydda Jath) is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and Legion of Substitute Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. She first appeared in Adventure Comics #306 (March 1963).^[1]

Night Girl
Night Girl as depicted in Adventure Comics #524 (2011).
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Adventure Comics #306 (March 1963)
Created by	Edmond Hamilton (script) John Forte (art)
In-story information
Alter ego	Lydda Jath
Species	Kathoonian
Place of origin	Kathoon
Team affiliations	Legion of Substitute Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes
Abilities	Superhuman strength that only could be used in darkness

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Night Girl is a native of the planet Kathoon,^[2] a world which is in perpetual darkness and heated by an internal power source. Lydda possesses superhuman strength, given to her by her scientist father, but only at night or in deep shadow.^[2] Her powers were negated by the presence of ultraviolet energy.

In pre-Zero Hour continuity, she unsuccessfully tried out for the Legion of Super-Heroes, who rejected her due to her situational and impractical abilities.^[2] After meeting fellow Legion reject Polar Boy, she became a founding member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes.^[3] While having powers with such a drastic limitation reduced her effectiveness as a superhero, she became quite skilled at martial arts. She had a crush on Cosmic Boy, which was her motivation for leaving Kathoon and trying out for the Legion. During the Five Year Gap, she and Cosmic Boy married and had a son, Pol (named for Cosmic Boy's brother). Prior to their marriage, similar events were depicted in the 1967 story arc "The Adult Legion", where Night Girl and Cosmic Boy were married in an alternate future.^[4]

Later continuities

In post-Zero Hour continuity, Night Girl was rejected at a try-out and joined the Legion of Substitute Heroes once more.^[5]

In the Threeboot continuity, Night Girl appeared trying out for Legion membership by fighting Ultra Boy. She was later made a member of the Legion Reserves.^[6]

The events of Infinite Crisis restore an analogue of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion of Super-Heroes to continuity. Night Girl appears as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and a teacher at the Legion Academy.

Powers and abilities

Night Girl has superhuman strength and durability equivalent to that of Superboy or Mon-El, but only in darkness or deep shadow. Her powers fade immediately in the presence of direct sunlight.^[7][8] Since her superpowers are often unavailable, she has trained extensively and is a capable hand-to-hand combatant.

In other media

• Night Girl makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Legion of Super Heroes.
• Night Girl appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[9]
• Night Girl appears in the one-shot comic Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes.^[10]