Ayla Ranzz

Ayla Ranzz is a female extraterrestrial comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Pre-Crisis

She accompanied her brother as their ship went through space when its energy cells were close to depletion. They decided to land on the wild planet of Korbal where they hoped to use the native lightning-monsters to replenish the power supply of the ship. The beasts, however, surrounded the pair and unleashed their electrical attacks but the proximity of the many beasts caused the energy to simply surround the twins thus giving them electrical powers. Her brother decided to use his abilities to become a superhero but they decided to keep her new powers a secret lest criminals attempt to target her. Thus, her existence was mostly unknown to anyone and she lived her life secretly. (Adventure Comics v1 #308)

Following the death of her twin brother, she decided to secretly transport his body to Lightning World so that he could find peace there. She then masqueraded as Lightning Lad and pretended to revive to continue his role as a superhero. The Legion of Super-Heroes came to uncover this and instead had her join their ranks where she took the name of Lightning Lass. (Adventure Comics v1 #308)

Notes

• Lightning Lass was created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte where she made her first appearance in Adventure Comics v1 #308 (May, 1963).

In other media

Television

• In Legion of Super-Heroes, Ayla Ranzz appeared in the animated television series where she was voiced by actress Kari Wahlgren. Ayla Ranzz and her twin brother Garth Ranzz were the second and third child born to the Ranzz family on the planet Winath. They were preceded by an older sibling named Mekt Ranzz. In the late 30th century, the Ranzz siblings were returning home from another planet when their shuttle craft began malfunctioning. They were forced to crash-land on the planet Korbal, a barren, desolate world populated by fierce Lightning Beasts. Mekt theorized that if he could lure the beasts towards their ship, he could goad them into using their lightning powers to recharge the shuttle's engines. While Mekt dealt with the animals, Garth and Ayla hid behind a pile of rocks. The plan failed however, and the animals' electrical discharge struck the siblings rather than the ship. Her two brothers thought Ayla was dead. Garth had a bitter sweet reunion with his brother Mekt. Mekt's guilt over the loss of their sister poisoned him emotionally, and he became a bitter and competitive rival to Garth. Later the Legion learned that Imperiex was constructing a tachyon cannon inside of an electrical cloud and that Mekt Ranzz was now working for Imperiex. They flew to the nebula to stop the construction of the cannon and Mekt and Garth clashed once again. In the midst of conflict, both brothers saw an image of Ayla coalesce in the center of the lightning cloud. They began to suspect that their sister might be lost somewhere within the cloud. Garth returned to Legion Headquarters where his ruined arm was replaced with a cybernetic enhancement. He discovered that Ayla had actually been transformed into a being of pure energy. She wasn't merely lost in the electric cloud. She was the cloud. Mekt learned of this and pleaded with Imperiex to help him save his sister, but Imperiex refused. Mekt betrayed Imperiex and opted to help the Legion destroy the tachyon cannon. Brainiac 5 theorized that if they were to recreate the incident that first gave them their powers, then they might be able to reconstitute Ayla's body. The plan worked, and Ayla was reunited with her brothers.

Appearances

• Adventure Comics v1: #308 (1963)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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