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For the similarly named Earth-1 character, see Astra Logue.

"Then let me educate you once again, dear niece. Your alliance with the humans is misplaced. Do not stand against me."
—Astra to Supergirl[src]


General Astra (died 2016) was a Kryptonian criminal, warlady, former military general, and inmate of Fort Rozz. She was the twin sister of Alura Zor-El, the maternal aunt of Kara Zor-El, and the wife of Non, as well as the leader of their army.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Astra was born on the planet Krypton several decades before its destruction. She and her sister, Alura, were one of the rare cases of twin birth recorded on the planet. When they were children, Astra and Alura took pleasure in confusing their parents, due to their almost identical appearance.[1]

As an adult, Astra became a military general and fell in love with one of her subordinates, Non, whom later she married.[2] However, Non was not always faithful to Astra, secretly having an affair with Indigo.[3]

Rebellion and imprisonment[]

Astra and Non's trial

Astra and Non prior to be sentenced to imprisonment in Fort Rozz.

Astra was very close to her niece Kara, to whom she taught the names of the stars on various nights.[1] However, after she learned that Krypton was dying because of its resources being too heavily exploited, Astra tried to prevent it for both Krypton's sake and Kara's. However, when she couldn't gain support from the government, she and Non took matters into their own hands along with several followers. They committed several extreme crimes, eventually culminating in Non killing a guard while under Astra's orders.

Alura, knowing Kara was the only person Astra would trust enough to meet, suggested to her daughter that she use the spy beacon that Astra had previously given to her to contact her then missing aunt.[2] Kara did so, and Astra came out of hiding to say goodbye to her niece. She briefly tried to explain to Kara why she was leaving as well as her motivations, but they were interrupted by Alura. Alura sent Kara away before confronting her sister. They briefly argued, Alura pleading for Astra to turn herself in and promising to speak to the council on her behalf for a reduced sentence, while Astra snapped that Krypton was dying and prison and the law would not stop her from doing everything she could to save them. Astra was then arrested by men Alura had put in place earlier.

Despite the fact that they were family, Alura sentenced both Astra and Non to prison in Fort Rozz.[1] Before sending Astra to Fort Rozz, Alura told her sister that she believed about Krypton's impending destruction. However, she was "bound by more then blood in [the] courtroom," and Astra's crimes could not be overlooked simply because of her noble goals, which left Alura with no choice but the sentence her to prison. However, she promised Astra that she would do everything she could to carry on her work, but the right way, with compassion and understanding rather than violence and fear. Astra did not return her sister's goodbye before she was sent to Fort Rozz.[4]

Escape to Earth[]

24 years later, Fort Rozz crashed in a field in Nevada; United States on Earth, releasing Astra and all of the prisoners. Astra led many of the escapees through her subordinate, the Commander, in the hopes of continuing her agenda on Earth.

12 years later in late 2015, Astra learned from the Commander that their ally, Vartox, had killed himself rather than be captured by the D.E.O.. The Commander revealed that National City's new superheroine behind the Flight 237 rescue was indeed Alura's daughter and her niece, Kara. Surprised that Kara survived Krypton's destruction, Astra ordered for her niece's death to ensure their agenda's success, comparing Kara's potential to oppose them with Alura's.[5]

A week after her niece Kara decided to take up the mantle of Supergirl, Astra confronted the Hellgrammite prisoner from Fort Rozz at a warehouse about his acting independently and stealing from chemical manufacturers; telling the Hellgrammite that they were all stronger together, she commanded him to act as bait to help her capture Kara. After the Hellgrammite abducted Alex Danvers, he take her to Astra. She was first mistaken by Alex to be Alura, though Astra soon corrected her on this, revealing her true identity, and after being pleaded to by Alex that she didn't have to kill anyone, Astra told the D.E.O. agent that she was there to save everyone. When Kara arrived at the warehouse, Astra attacked her, eventually telling her niece that her alliance with the humans was misplaced, and not to stand against her.

Kara and Astra fighting

Astra and Kara fighting.

A fight between the two soon ensued, with Astra eventually being thrown out of the window by Kara; she then returned, knocking both Kara and Alex down with her super breath. Astra was then asked to halt by "Hank Henshaw" who had arrived, prompting Astra to grab him by his neck, taunting that he had no weapon that could hurt her, however she was then stabbed with a Kryptonite dagger by "Henshaw", causing her to fly off. Astra later had the dagger removed by one of her associates, while Non tells her that they'd have to re-think their timetable for taking National City and Astra commenting on how Kara was stronger than she thought.[1]

A few weeks later, Astra ambushes Kara while in flight, together with Mur and Gor.[6] Astra reveals to Kara that she has created a special vest made with a material that makes her immune to Kryptonite. After failing to convince Kara to join her, her niece jumps off the edge of the building and goes into the ground to escape. Later, Astra is spotted hovering above CatCo Plaza, and Kara goes to confront her. Astra explains that she is alone, but Kara refuses to listen to her, and attacks eventually managing to defeat but, instead of giving her the finishing blow, Kara makes her unconscious and drag her into the D.E.O. headquarters, where she is detained in a cell that has Kryptonite Emitters.

Astra holds her spy beacon

Astra holds her spy beacon.

Later, Alex contacts Kara when Astra comes to, saying that she will only speak to her; as Kara accept to meet with her aunt, Astra shows Kara that she still has her spy beacon and then goes on to explain how she was captured by Alura, who used Astra's trust of Kara to lure her into being arrested. She then again asks Kara to join her, saying that the humans will listen to her, and together, they can save them; this leads Kara to confronting her mother's Hologram, who confirms that Kara was used, but refuses to explain if Astra was right about Krypton's destruction. Alex and J'onn J'onzz later are reviewing footage of Kara and Astra's fight, suddenly realize that Astra was trying to lose to Kara, so they confront her, and after she compliments Alex's defeat of the Hellgrammite, she tells them it's too late to stop what's happening, then they found out that Non and some fellow Kryptonian soldiers are attacking Lord Technologies.[2]

General Lane tortures Astra

General Lane tortures Astra.

When "Hank Henshaw" was captured by Astra and Non's army, General Lane came to National City to temporarily perform his duties as director of the D.E.O.; he tortured Astra by injecting her with liquid Kryptonite to know the location of their base, but she told them a false position, which turned out to be a trap.

Later, Non agreed to an exchange of prisoners with the D.E.O. between "Hank" and Astra under Kara's request. When the trade is made, Non sprung an ambush; however, Astra called off the attack, demanding that a reluctant Non honor the agreement, though it is not a truce, then she leaves with her soldiers.[4]

Death[]

Astra chokes Alex

Astra confronts Alex.

As the Kryptonians prepared for the next phase of their mission - "Myriad", Non revealed to Astra that he had immobilized Kara with "Black Mercy", thus technically did not disobey Astra's order for her to be unharmed, but she was displeased regardless knowing better that the black mercy would slowly kill her so she came to Alex and told her how to help Kara.

Non and Astra briefed their soldiers, armed with anti-Kryptonite suits, about their campaign they fought for on Krypton, now to be completed on Earth. After they left, Non questions Astra's whereabouts prior and her dedication to their war, Astra tensely affirmed it, so he apologized and left.

Non and Astra explain their mission

Non and Astra explain their mission to their soldiers.

The Kryptonians attacked the D.E.O. satellites and connect them to their device, Alex shoots Astra from a helicopter and distracts her from the activation of the device. A fight between them ensued despite Alex claiming she did not want to fight Astra, that she knows she loves Kara and that she had plenty of opportunities to kill her and Kara, but she didn't, so she offers Astra to surrender.

Alex kills Astra

Alex kills Astra.

They were interrupted by J'onn who threw Astra away from Alex, Astra claimed to be surprised because she thought that all the Martians were killed, to which J'onn replied that he was the last and then started a fight with her.

Astra managed to overcome the Martian, claiming she's going to give him an "honorable death", however Alex stabs her through the heart with a Kryptonite sword, killing her.

Her fellow Kryptonians took Astra's body back to their base, and a soldier informed Non that the Myriad is operational and General Astra did not die in vain.[7]

Astra's funeral[]

Astra's funeral

Kara and Non at Astra's funeral.

The following day, Non came to Kara's apartment to ask her to come with him on behalf of Astra, which she agreed despite Alex's protests. Up in the sky, the funeral for Astra was held; then Non told Kara he would hold a period for mourning, and vowed to kill her after it was over.[8]

Personality[]

Astra was at heart very kind, moral and honorable, however, she was also willing to do whatever she believed was necessary to achieve her goals, after learning that Krypton was dying because of its resources being too heavily exploited, she tried to prevent the planet's destruction and the extinction of her people. When she couldn't gain support from the government she took matters into her own hands and committed several extreme crimes, although her intentions were always for the right reasons and she felt immense guilt for what she'd done, such as the death of the guard.

After being captured by her sister Alura and imprisoned on Fort Rozz, Astra became cold, cruel and ruthless, despite this, she still had a sense of justice and honor as well as a personal code of morals, she was very loyal to her subordinates, as noted when Kara claimed Astra would never betray her husband and their men after it was believed she'd caved to General Sam Lane's torture. She was also a good enough commander to maintain the respect of her people. Despite Non being more ruthless and willing to shed innocent blood he still respected Astra's authority enough not to.

Astra had a soft spot when it came to her niece, Kara Danvers, who loved like her own daughter, while she was willing to act brutal towards her niece in front of her subordinates, she was never able to bring herself to kill Kara, despite fact that she thwarted most of their plans. While she had planned to use the Myriad program to convert the people of Earth to her way of thinking, she tried to warn Kara about Non, although it is unknown if she regretted her plan; but it was very likely that she did.

Powers and abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Kryptonian physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Astra's capabilities were no greater than a normal human of her physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy of a yellow sun metabolizing into her body, she becomes able to perform various inhuman feats. While generic for her race, being a highly trained military general has allowed Astra to use these powers with far greater control and at equally greater levels of raw power compared to other Kryptonians.
    • Solar energy absorption: While Astra's powers were dependent on the energy spectrum from a blue or yellow sun, her body was able to constantly and passively absorb such energy while exposed to it, essentially keeping her reserves fully charged near-constantly. Direct exposure to sunlight also accelerated her recovery from any injuries she does managed to sustain.
      • Accelerated healing factor: Astra's solar charged metabolism accelerated her healing and allowed her to burn calories at a fast rate, making her resilient to weight gain. Upon being stabbed with a Kryptonite dagger which penetrated the skin of her shoulder, when the piece was removed she healed instantly.
      • Flight: Astra was able to manipulate her own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel herself through the air, often at supersonic speeds, much faster than she could travel by foot. As such, she was able to levitate and fly past Earth's atmosphere and near the planet's orbit.
        • Super leaping: Astra was able to jump several stories in a single bound without having to fly, despite she rarely used this ability.
      • Heat vision: Astra can emit blue energy beams of intense heat from her eyes. Due to her control over the beams, she has demonstrated being capable of burning through stone and welding metal, causing small explosions and fires, and physically repelling or potentially damaging enemies with similar durability, making it useful in combat.
      • Invulnerability: Astra had nearly impenetrable flesh and bones, making her essentially immune to all Earthly weapons, with bullets simply ricocheting whenever they come in to contact with her skin. This allowed her to take far more damage than a normal human and have a higher resistance to pain.
      • Extended longevity: As a Kryptonian, Astra's life span was considerably longer than a normal human and likewise aged much slower. In the 12 years she spent on Earth, she didn't show any overt physical change.
      • Super breath: Astra was able to exhale powerful gusts of air from her mouth, which are similar to force winds. She could also cause the temperature of her breath to drop, therefore able to freeze nearly anything.
      • Super hearing: Astra had super-sensitive ears that could perfectly pick up sounds from miles away and even through structures.
      • Super speed: Astra possessed the ability to move at super-sonic speeds, both through flight and on foot. She notably used twice while fighting her niece, Kara, dashing across several feet in a blur of motion almost instantaneously.
      • Super strength: Astra's strength was enhanced under a yellow sun, enough to easily kill a normal human if she were to attack them directly. Astra was even able to overpower and almost kill J'onn J'onzz, as well as kick a car flying towards her several feet away during a fight with Kara.
      • Telepathy immunity: Astra was immune to most forms of telepathic powers, even from someone as powerful as J'onn.
      • X-ray vision: Astra was able to see through all solid objects, except for lead.

Abilities[]

  • Expert hand-to-hand combatant: As a former Kryptonian general, Astra was highly trained in unarmed combat, easily beating her inexperienced niece, Kara Zor-El in their first confrontation, she even managed to defeat J'onn J'onzz, a Green Martian who is 317 years old and is an expert unarmed fighter in his own right, in their brief confrontation.
  • Expert tactician: As a former Kryptonian general, Astra was a highly trained tactician.
  • Bilingual: Astra was capable of fluently speaking English and Kryptonese.

Weaknesses[]

  • Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Astra is vulnerable to the exposure of Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral from her home planet Krypton. Depending on the nature of the said Kryptonite, it will cause a different adverse affect on her;
    • Green Kryptonite: Green Kryptonite not only physically hurts Astra, but also it weakens her physical attributes; making her equivalent to that of a normal human. If exposed to enough green kryptonite for too long, it will eventually kill her.
    • Red Kryptonite: If exposed to Red Kryptonite, it gradually destroys Astra's inhibitions and turns her into a corrupt version of herself. Left without morality, compassion, rationality, or any cares whatsoever, Astra will become malevolent and prone to hostility and aggression, making her a danger to everyone around her.
    • Silver Kryptonite: If exposed to Silver Kryptonite, it will cause Astra to go in a deep and frightful hallucination where nothing from the outside world can stir her out of it until it leaves her system.
  • Extreme energy: Extreme amounts of energy, could be enough to kill Astra.
  • Solar energy depletion: Using her powers to its maximum for an extended period could significantly drain her solar energy, to the point where Astra could lose all of her powers, rendering her more human-like for at least a day. This would have made her as weak as a human, allowing Astra to get injured and killed as easy as killing a human.
    • Red sun energy: Like all Kryptonians, exposure to a red sun will make Astra the equivalent of a human being on Earth.
    • Solar energy overload: If Astra had absorbed too much solar energy, it would act as a poison and kill her.
  • Lead: Even with her X-ray vision, Astra could not see through lead. This is due to the fact that Astra's x-ray vision is similar to that of actual x-rays; so she cannot see through lead.
  • Magic: Like all Kryptonians and humans, Astra could be affected by supernatural forces or powers. This is because her powers come from her natural physiology, not from the supernatural.
  • High-frequencies: Though considered a strength, Astra's hearing did had its disadvantages. Since her hearing was more sensitive than a normal human's, higher pitch noises (sonic screams, etc.) could disorient her and cause pain in her ears, leaving her vulnerable in a fight.
  • Sound-dampening technology: The D.E.O. designed frequencies to block super-hearing and caused Astra slight pain when trying to use it in areas protected by the technology.

Equipment[]

  • Anti-Kryptonite Vest: A few weeks after Hank stabled Astra with a Kryptonite knife, Astra ambushes Kara while in flight, together with Mur and Gor. Astra reveals to Kara that she has created a special suits (really, small clip on electronic devices which were on vest) made with a material that makes her immune to Kryptonite. However the vest cannot protected her or block bladed weapons forged with Kryptonite alloys, as Alex stabbed her with a Krytonite sword.

Appearances[]

Supergirl[]

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5


Comics[]

Adventures of Supergirl[]

Behind the scenes[]

  • Astra's conflict with Krypton's government in her attempts to save the planet from self-destruction is adapted from Jor-El's storyline in the comics.
  • Astra served as one of the main antagonists of Season 1 of Supergirl, alongside with her husband Non.
    • This makes Astra the first female main antagonist to appear on an Arrowverse show.
    • Astra is also the first Arrowverse main antagonist to be an original character with no comics counterpart.

References[]

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