A thread set up to discuss all versions of Zan & Jayna, and their appearances.


First appearance/origin:

1977 - Zan & Jayna first appeared in the DC book The Super Friends. Born on the planet Exxor, they inherited shape-shifting abilities that were at one time very common, but was a recessive trait, and as a result, became rare. When their family was killed by a plague, the twins were adopted by a inter-galactic traveling carnival owner, who adopted them and put them in his freak show as an attraction. In their mid to late teens they ran from the carnival (then on another planet) and fled back to Exxor. They happened upon the hideout of Superman's enemy, Grax, making plans to destroy Earth. They then went to Earth and found the JLA, and warned them of the impending threat, and then became the students of The Super Friends.


Second appearance/origin:

1996 - Zan and Jayna appeared in the (then) current DC continuity in Extreme Justice. In this period, Zan & Jayna were part of a group of twins, who ruled the planet Exxor. Aliens arrived on Exxor, promising the ruling twins technology that would help them rule, however, the price would be to trade them other Exxorians to be used as slaves. Zan & Jayna opposed this, but the ruling twins were for it, and Zan & Jayna were arrested as traitors. Escaping prison, the Wonder Twins took the most powerful alien tech, and fled to Earth, where they were chased by the other twins, and found by Extreme Justice, who helped free Zan & Jayna, who chose to remain on Earth.


Third appearance/origin:

2003 - Zan & Jayna appeared in the series Young Justice. They assisted the team (along with dozens of other teen heroes) in an attack on Zandia to seek justice for the murder of Empress' father. While their origin was not given, another character says he met them through the League, which I assume is a reference to their time on Extreme Justice.


2019 - Fourth appearance/origin: Zan & Jayna are given their own maxi-series, called Wonder Twins. In this series, they are from the planet Exxor, and it appears that all Exxorians have the shape shifting powers. The twins describe their planet as a Utopia, where crime is unheard of now, but there was a period of xenophobia prior to achieving this Utopian status. During the xenophobic period, numerous Exxorians were cast into the Phantom Zone during a movement called "the purges". Zan & Jayna had never met their grandfather, and thought he was a victim of the purges. They discovered that he was a judge, and was personally responsible for sending over 5,000 Exxorians to the Phantom Zone. The twins' father, wanting to spare his children the experience of being judged due to their family's past, sent the twins to Earth with Superman, where he arranged for them to become apprentices of the Justice League.

Since that series, the Wonder Twins have appeared in Young Justice, Superman, Batgirl, Action Comics, and Superman: Heroes.


Zan & Jayna are shape shifters, but they must come into physical contact to change their forms. Zan can become any water-based form, and Jayna any animal form.