Helena Kosmatos, the "Golden Age" Fury Appreciation (2019)

[MajorHoy]

As a result of changes resulting from 1985-1986's Crisis on Infinite Earths event, some DC characters no longer ever existed (in continuity, that is) and others required some serious revisions to their origins / their relations to others.
One such character was Fury (Lyta Trevor), a member of the group Infinity Inc., who was originally conceived as the daughter of the Golden Age Wonder Woman and Golden Age Steve Trevor from Earth-2.
But with those two characters taken out of continuity when multiple Earths were merged into a single Earth, that meant Lyta Trevor needed a new background.

So, DC gave us Helena Kosmatos, who it appeared was going to be a replacement for Wonder Woman back in the days of World War II.

"movie poster" from Infinity Inc. #35 (February 1987)

Helena's origin was revealed in Secret Origins #12 (March 1987).


But where the Golden Age Wonder Woman grew up on "Paradise Island", Helena's world was anything but a "paradise".

To be continued . . .

[kcekada]

I liked that story, but always felt we got cheated of a retelling of Golden Age Wonder Woman in Secret Origins -- since both Superman's and Batman's origins were retold in earlier issues. Helena has potential, but no one did much with her after Young All-Stars was (mercifully) cancelled. I like the early issues of YAS, but toward the end it became a chore to read with crappy art and Roy Thomas shoehorning in too many story elements from literature.

[MajorHoy]

I liked that story, but always felt we got cheated of a retelling of Golden Age Wonder Woman in Secret Origins -- since both Superman's and Batman's origins were retold in earlier issues.

Originally, Roy Thomas was trying to go in a somewhat chronological order for the Golden Age origins based on when the characters first appeared. Superman was in 1938 and Batman was 1939, and even that story was pushing it because of the end of the Multiverse during CoIE.
Diana's first appearance was in late 1941 (All Star Comics #8, cover-dated December 1941-January 1942), which would have placed her story much later for a retelling and perhaps also beyond the period DC was still willing to officially recognize the original Golden Age counterparts of then revamped "current" characters.

Among the last ones of Roy's that were published,
* Midnight = Smash Comics #18 (January 1941)
* Mr. America = as Tex Thompson, Action Comics #1 / as Mr. America, Action Comics #33 (February 1941)
* Plastic Man = Police Comics #1 (August 1941)
* Justice Society of America = All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940)

much later, a Grim Ghost <originally "Gay Ghost"> origin written by Roy Thomas was in issue #42. His first appearance had been in Sensation Comics #1, cover-dated January 1942.

Getting back to Fury, though:

from Young All-Stars Annual #1 (1988)

[kcekada]

I thought a good explanation for her disappearance would have been that she lost her temper, killed someone and then been completely submerged and taken over by the leading fury -- Tisephone? So that when Lyta Hall was being told of GA Fury's origin -- she would actually have been unknowingly talking to her mother. It seemed like Roy Thomas may have had that in mind, but he didn't write any stories with the character after Young All-Stars was cancelled.

Regarding Secret Origins, I think there were a few GA stories ready for publication that got put in inventory when they changed format and stopped featuring GA characters in every issues. I guess that was to help sales, but I thought the book was less interesting thereafter. One story that was completed was the origin of Golden Age Hawkgirl. I actually read the original story in the early 70s in an oversized/reprint issue of Superman that featured a wonderful cover by Neal Adams with all of the DC characters who could fly. The inside cover explained who each character was -- so that was my introduction to characters such as Black Condor and Black Racer.

[Agent Z]

Wonder Woman TAS - Fury Redesign Profile
by Femmes-Fatales

[MajorHoy]

Wonder Woman TAS - Fury Redesign Profile
by Femmes-Fatales

Not all that impressed by the costume redign.
Definitely prefer the original version.

[ultradav]

I truly loved this character, as little as we saw of her. I enjoyed her origin, powers, personality and costume.

[Agent Z]

Shouldn't this thread be in the Wonder Woman forums?

[MajorHoy]

Shouldn't this thread be in the Wonder Woman forums?

Why?
She's not "Wonder Woman", nor was she an Amazon.

If she was more of an active part of the "Wonder Woman Family", it might make a difference. But she was more directly tied into the JSA/Infinity Inc./All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars line then she was to the Wonder Woman mythos.

(How many issues of Wonder Woman has she been in?)

[Agent Z]

Why?
She's not "Wonder Woman", nor was she an Amazon.

If she was more of an active part of the "Wonder Woman Family", it might make a difference. But she was more directly tied into the JSA/Infinity Inc./All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars line then she was to the Wonder Woman mythos.

(How many issues of Wonder Woman has she been in?)

20 or so issues of Phil Jiminez's run from what I remember but she is still closely tied to the WW mythos. She was also in The 18th Letter which was a WW focused JL story and she was given ties to Hippolyta there.

Also, she was made an honorary Amazon.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Also, she was made an honorary Amazon.

I think Supergirl may have achieved something similar back in the 1970s . . .



Don't think we have to move all Supergirl discussions into the Wonder Woman forum.

[Agent Z]

I think Supergirl may have achieved something similar back in the 1970s . . .



Don't think we have to move all Supergirl discussions into the Wonder Woman forum.

Helena's connections to WW are a lot stronger than that.

[MajorHoy]

Getting back to the "Appreciation" part of this thread,

. . . To be continued . . .

Some more pages from the story in Secret Origins #12 (March 1987):

[MajorHoy]

A few more pages from Secret Origins #12 (March 1987):