Pitch A Direction: Linda Danvers

[Ilan Preskovsky]

My favorite codename for her is Seraph. It has the angel connection, starts with an S and doesn't take Bette Kane's best codename.
I'd have her as the Superfamily's supernatural expert and I'd love to see her appear regularly in either a mystic team or a Superfamily book (like Tynion's Tec run but for Superman).

Yeah, I'm with you on this. Definitely the way to go all around.

[SuperX]

So who is gonna make this happen at DC for us fans?

[Ascended]

There's good ideas here, but I dunno if we really need Linda back. Her story is pretty much told, and so much of it was wrapped up in the Supergirl stuff I fear everything that's left would lose a lot of its "oomph" for the lack of contrast.

But we *do* need a magic representative in the Super-family and Linda *could* fit that pretty well....but I suspect the end result wouldn't look much like the Linda we remember.

Like others, I like the idea of her using the Flamebird name but am not sure about taking it away from Bette (not that anything is being done with her either), and Seraph is a great substitute name that retains the "S" and magic-y connotations.

Why not take it a step further? Have Linda be the human host for the actual Flamebird deity? Sure it's got some painfully obvious Jean Gray parallels, but that's not a bad thing, people love Jean (or love to hate her)! And Kryptonian mythology is pretty interesting stuff and there's a surprising amount of it, so all the Supergirl stuff you have to pull out of Linda could be replaced with stuff from Krypton's dead religion; the Nightwing and Rao and Cythonna, Vohc....you've got a love interest, a couple villains and a supporting character all right there, and we haven't even touched on the lesser gods or mythical elements/creatures yet. Added to Linda's established cast, like her parents and friends and Buzz, and you've already got a damn solid foundation for a setting.

I think you'd have to just re-start the Linda character over and ditch the original run but you could keep a lot of the characters and the Earth Angel "flaming wings" visual if Linda is the Flamebird's host, retain a lot of the same magical-mythical-occult vibe

[SuperX]

It's not about do we need her back, it's that we want her back. She was and still is a very good character and good characters need to be used. Also the David series was using parts of Kara's past that she would touch with a ten foot pole now,not to mention he changed things so drastically thst they are very much Linda's now.

Seraph
JLD
Flames baby flames

[Ascended]

The fact that PAD's series was so good is actually one of the big reasons I'm hesitant to see Linda return.

I mean, it's a new continuity....Matrix, the fusion with Linda...none of that fits anymore, and it's not like we ever really knew "Linda" anyway. And I'm not against Linda's return or anything, and some of these ideas are damned interesting and would get my four bucks....but would it actually be satisfying, or just tarnish our good memories of the original run?

Linda's return isn't something that should be done haphazardly, legit effort needs to be put in to ensure it lives up to PAD.

[SuperX]

The fact that PAD's series was so good is actually one of the big reasons I'm hesitant to see Linda return.

I mean, it's a new continuity....Matrix, the fusion with Linda...none of that fits anymore, and it's not like we ever really knew "Linda" anyway. And I'm not against Linda's return or anything, and some of these ideas are damned interesting and would get my four bucks....but would it actually be satisfying, or just tarnish our good memories of the original run?

Linda's return isn't something that should be done haphazardly, legit effort needs to be put in to ensure it lives up to PAD.

If I personally worried about tarnishing the memory of a past run on a character I would show it by showing my utter disappointment in Conner Kent coming back by bendis, BUT I'm still happy to see him.

[sunofdarkchild]

I wrote this a couple of months ago as an idea for having her return with all her history intact since it seems that most of the post-crisis continuity is restored.

It’s a classic robbery: A man in a mask holds a gun to the man behind the counter and demands all the money in the cash register.

The thief doesn’t notice me. Why should he? I’m just a woman standing with her back turned to him examining the different milk brands here. There are two other customers in the mini-market, both frozen in fright at the man with the gun.

He turns the gun ‘gansta style,’ as if that would somehow make him more threatening, and angrily repeats his demands.

In my mind’s eye I see a figure appear in the doorway, tall and confident. Her long blonde hair and bright red cape billow in the wind left by her sudden appearance. Her hands rest at her hips as she proudly displays the symbol on her chest, daring the thief to shoot her.

But there is no heroine here. There is only me and the few civilians. Instead of confronting the thief, I ‘accidentally’ knock some items off a nearby shelf.

The thief turns towards me, distracted by the noise. He pivots and takes half a step in case someone is trying to attack him, and it’s all the opening I need.

A tiny burst of telekinesis at the foot he moved causes him to fall to the floor. To everyone here it looks like he simply tripped and lost his footing. A second burst of tk knocks the gun out of his hand as he hits the floor.

Immediately, one of the other customers springs into action. He’s a big man, though approaching middle aged. Without the gun in the way, he has no problem using his size to pin the thief to the ground.

And that’s how the crisis ends.

The police arrive soon enough to take the masked man away and to take our statements. My story is the same as everyone else’s. The thief tripped and the big man saved the day. He’s the hero, and he’ll get the attention from the local press.

That’s the way it should be, I think as I walk home with my low-fat milk. Once I would have made a dramatic appearance in full costume and snapped a quick one-liner before picking the thief up and intimidating him into surrendering – all with a smile.

I would have been the talk of the town. My picture would be all over the newspapers. For doing something easy, for facing something that was not a threat or a challenge, for an act which would require no bravery on my part.

I enter my apartment. It’s small, but I’m the only one here. I open the milk and take a chug before putting it in the fridge. I never have guests over, so there’s no point in not drinking straight from the bottle.

There’s someone who could in theory come over at any time. I haven’t made myself that hard to find for someone with his abilities. If he was looking, he’d have found me long ago. My continued isolation is the clearest sign that he hasn’t tried to find me.

That’s fine with me. I don’t want to be found.

I go into my living room, which serves as my studio, and turn on the television. The news is focusing on some big fight in Metropolis.

They are playing up the drama, making it seem like the Man of Steel could actually lose this one. But I know better. I know him. He doesn’t need any help, certainly not mine.

I can’t believe there was ever a time when I thought he might need me for anything. Yes, I’m powerful, but power isn’t everything.

There was a time when my battles were also national news, when people thronged the streets just to get a glimpse of me just as they do him.

But now I’ve been forgotten, as if I never existed. There’s even another who now uses the same name I used to.

I’ve watched her, this newcomer to Earth. I observed her closer than I ever meant to. Call it nostalgia or call it curiosity. Somehow, she ended up taking my name twice over.

You’d think I’d be angry, resentful of her for taking what used to be mine. But I’m not. How could I resent someone for having what I never deserved in the first place?

I take out my materials and begin another project. I still make sculptures and sell them. I’ve got to earn a living somehow. It’s the only part of my old life that’s left.

My old life. I was part of something truly special, more special than I had even realized at the time.

I flew with angels, chummed with heroes and legends, even walked with gods. But I never belonged.

I was never good enough. It wasn’t just that I had been a bad person before. Even after I changed, I still didn’t measure up. My mistakes were too big and too numerous, my victories were too few and came at too high a cost.

So I eventually hung up the cape and the spandex. I put away the shield for good.

The shield. What arrogance ever possessed me to wear it? What utter chutzpah was it to think I could ever be worthy of that symbol and everything it represents!

It was vanity, I realize now. I wanted the attention, the adoration. I wanted to feel special. And that’s not what the shield stands for.

I still help people. That robbery was not an aberration or a one-time thing. I just do it differently now.

Before I would make a big show of it, flying in and demonstrating my super-strength and invulnerability. I would smile for the cameras, talk with my fans, and attract all sorts of attention to myself.

Now I primarily use my telekinesis. With it, I don’t even have to get close to criminals to stop them. If I see a car about to go off a cliff, a little application of tk can push it back onto the road without needing to touch it. If there’s a fire, surgical use of my power can put the flames out while I’m standing across the street. If there’s a kitten in a tree, I can give it a gentle nudge to encourage it to come down without needing to look at it.

I don’t receive any thanks for these acts. There are no accolades or articles written about my exploits. No one even knows a person is responsible for them.

That is how it should be.

This way, I don’t draw attention to myself. This way, I don’t make mistakes which cost others their lives. This way, I don’t attract supervillains and demons.

It’s amazing how much simpler, how much easier it became once my ego was removed from the equation. I’m not trying to prove something I know I can never prove. I’m just helping where I can.

Of course, not everything is easy. It is a lonely existence. But it’s the one I’ve chosen.

I haven’t cut myself off totally from my parents. Once a month I go back to Leesburg with my super-speed to leave them a letter to let them know I’m all right and to tell them what I’ve been doing. Occasionally I also leave new sculpture I made. I know they must miss me terrible, but I can’t go back. Not ever everything I’ve lost. At least they have baby Wally with them.

I’ll survive the loneliness. I have everything I need, a roof over my head, a steady income, a purpose, and anonymity.

Who am I? No one. Just a sinner who foolishly thought she had become a saint. Just a girl who thought she was a Supergirl.

[sunofdarkchild]

Part 2 due to character limit.

The next day, I sell my two newest sculptures at an unusually high price. In fact, I almost feel guilty at how much the buyer paid. Still, now that I’ve got some extra cash, there’s no harm in indulging myself a little, so I decide to go to the nicest restaurant in town for lunch.

As I’m walking I nearly get hit by a bicycle. Had the kid riding it actually hit me he’d be hurt a lot more than I would, but it’s the principle of the matter. He didn’t even slow down to pass me.

He still doesn’t slow down as he reaches the crosswalk. For half a moment I almost consider letting him be hit by the car which is baring down on him. He shows no concern for his own safety or that of others, so why should I show any for his?

But it’s not the poor driver’s fault a bike came out of nowhere, and I know better than anyone the value of second chances. So I act.

It’s simple to stop the bike before it goes too far onto the road with my tk. I almost forget about the problem of momentum. Simply stopping the bike would cause the rider to fly across the street. But I have the speed and reflexes to catch bullets, and I can not only keep him on the bike, but I can keep it upright.

Surgical precision.

The kid on the bike groans in pain. He may not have gone splat on the pavement, but he was still thrown a little into his bike’s handlebars.

He looks about in confusion, unsure of what he might have run over that made his bike stop so suddenly.

I run over, asking, “are you all right?”

He nods, an embarrassed expression on his face.

“You should really be more careful,” I admonish him. “That car almost hit you.”

That’s the end of my involvement with this incident. Maybe this kid will listen and behave more responsibly, or maybe he’ll just get himself killed tomorrow. If he runs over a little old lady with his bike, it will be because I saved him here and now.

I can’t control people’s stupidity. I couldn’t do that even when I wore a symbol that meant others had to listen to me. I can’t save everyone either. I can only do what I can.
Those are realizations I came to only after I hung up the cape.

I enter the restaurant and take a seat. It’s not a peak hour, so the place is only half-full. A waitress comes by quickly to take my order. When she leaves, I turn my attention to the television, which is showing a sports game.
I was never so into sports, but my father followed the scores religiously. I can see the appeal in watching these feats of strength, speed and skill, in seeing strategies and quick-thinking pay off. I’ve seen it all on a much larger scale.

Someone makes a request and the channel is changed. There’s something more exciting on. The news is covering yet another brawl in Metropolis. Just like all the others.

Except …

I gasp and my eyes widen in fright when the figures slow down enough the camera to get a good focus on them.

There is a burst of wind which shocks everyone in the restaurant. The waitress returns a few minutes later to find my bill paid along with a tip, but an otherwise empty table.

There’s no time to eat, no time for anything. There isn’t time to be concerned over the effects created by my sonic boom on the people below.

For the first time in forever, I fly.

I don’t want to do this. I simply have no choice.

Even at my maximum speed, it takes a little while to get to Metropolis. By the time I arrive the destruction has become fairly widespread in the neighborhood where the fight began.

I survey the damage from above. It seems that Clark recognized this was an unusually dangerous opponent and moved the fight out of the city.

A little girl, no older than eight, looks up and points in my direction.

“Look, up in the sky!”

By the time her mother looks in the direction she is pointing, the sky is empty.

“What is it, honey?”

“I thought I saw Supergirl!”

Supergirl? No. That’s not me. It isn’t Supergirl who is attempting to determine which direction the fight moved. It isn’t Supergirl who is hyperventilating from fear.

As noble as it was for Clark to move the battle away from civilians, the delay in my finding them could cost him his life.

I’ve always made a point of staying out of his battles. After all, he’s Superman. He always wins.

But this time, it’s not that simple. This time, he can’t win. Because he’s Superman.

I finally find them, duking it out in the woods. The monster lands a devastating blow, knocking Superman to the ground. He raises his arm and his hand begins to glow.

I’m not going to make it in time, I realize. This creature Xenon, has the power to reduce Kryptonians to ash, and I’m not going to make it.

Fortunately, I have another option.

A full-powered blast of the kind I haven’t used in ages knocks the monster back thirty yards. He crashes through trees and lands on his back, having been caught completely off guard by my attack.

Superman gapes. “That was a telekinetic blast …“ he says to himself.

Xenon growls as he starts to rise.

“Who?” he demands.

That’s the question. Who am I? I’m not Supergirl. I’m not a superhero. I’m not even a hero.

Superman can’t believe his eyes as small figure in civilian clothes appears between him and Xenon.

I’m just …

“You,” he whispers.

I don’t move my head to look at him as I answer. My attention is focused entirely on Xenon.

I’m just … “Me.”

Just Linda Danvers.

[Kid Devil]

Linda Danvers Supergirl is one of my favorite superheroes but I would only want her to return if Peter David continued the story.

He wrote the comic series Fallen Angel after Supergirl's cancellation about a woman who was hinted at being Linda but eventually was revealed not to be once DC canceled and IDW picked it up. This time he could do something like that but it is actually Linda and she would recover from loosing her child to an alternate dimension and fight evil with Superman, Superboy and most importantly Kara.

[SJNeal]

All things Matrix/Linda Danvers seemed to fall out of favor rather quickly (with both DC and the readers) once Loeb firmly inserted Kara Zor-El back into the DCU. She was labeled unnecessary, convoluted, too far removed from Superman continuity, PAD's pet project, etc...

Funny how things always come full circle eventually.

[Thor-Ul]

Like others, I like the idea of her using the Flamebird name but am not sure about taking it away from Bette (not that anything is being done with her either), and Seraph is a great substitute name that retains the "S" and magic-y connotations.

I think than Bette is going under the name Hawkfire now, so technically the name Flamebird is free for use. The name would not be taken from Bette, because she quit to it.

Why not take it a step further? Have Linda be the human host for the actual Flamebird deity? Sure it's got some painfully obvious Jean Gray parallels, but that's not a bad thing, people love Jean (or love to hate her)! And Kryptonian mythology is pretty interesting stuff and there's a surprising amount of it, so all the Supergirl stuff you have to pull out of Linda could be replaced with stuff from Krypton's dead religion; the Nightwing and Rao and Cythonna, Vohc....you've got a love interest, a couple villains and a supporting character all right there, and we haven't even touched on the lesser gods or mythical elements/creatures yet. Added to Linda's established cast, like her parents and friends and Buzz, and you've already got a damn solid foundation for a setting.

I like the idea of the myth of Krypton still living meanwhile there are Kryptonians to believe in them.

I think you'd have to just re-start the Linda character over and ditch the original run but you could keep a lot of the characters and the Earth Angel "flaming wings" visual if Linda is the Flamebird's host, retain a lot of the same magical-mythical-occult vibe

I would go in a very Starlin cosmic trippy story with her.

All things Matrix/Linda Danvers seemed to fall out of favor rather quickly (with both DC and the readers) once Loeb firmly inserted Kara Zor-El back into the DCU. She was labeled unnecessary, convoluted, too far removed from Superman continuity, PAD's pet project, etc...

Funny how things always come full circle eventually.

Well, PAD' Supergirl series has been one of the best, if not the best SUpergilr series wrote about her. So its impact had to take effect in any moment.

[MajorHoy]

For those who are fans/remember the Linda Danvers Supergirl, what direction would you pitch for her?

This is retroactively restored as Kara's name that she uses on Earth. So my direction is back to where she started- as Linda Lee Danvers with the brown hair/wig who is secretly Supergirl.

I'm another in the camp who remember the pre-CoIE version of Supergirl who first adopted the name "Linda Lee" after first coming to Earth but then became "Linda Danvers" once she was adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers.

Never read Peter David's run. I pretty much dropped regular comic book reading / buying between 1995 and 2010.

[Kid Devil]

Never read Peter David's run. I pretty much dropped regular comic book reading / buying between 1995 and 2010.

Snap! I highly recommend you read it if you get the chance as it's easier to read older comics than ever before. However, the series certainly not for everyone. It has a Christian spin, Lindas not Kara, it takes place outside of Metropolis, and some thought PAD was preachy but I freaking loved it.

[SJNeal]

They seriously should've finished collecting it...

[JackDaw]

I love Linda and PAD's run on Supergirl.
Lots of great ideas here.
I would love for her to be Flamebird, but I wouldn't want to take it from Bette. Seraph suits her even better. Putting her in JLD is a brilliant idea.
What we think about including her daughter with the Earth 1 Superman from the series finale? Maybe not in the beginning, but I feel like that's something that should be addressed down the road if her original history stands.

I really liked that PAD run...but the final issue was lame. It was completely out of character for Linda to just pack in because “it’s all too difficult”. And just not credible that she wouldn’t comb through the multiverse to find her daughter, generally do whatever it took.

I guess PAD was just working to editorial diktat?