Astra was the twin sister of Alura Zor-El and a former inmate of Fort Rozz.
Biography
When she was a child, Astra and her twin sister Alura took pleasure in confusing their parents. Later in life, Astra taught her niece, Kara, the names of the stars on various nights.[1]
Imprisonment and escape to Earth
Astra was later sentenced to imprisonment in Fort Rozz by Alura.[1] After Fort Rozz crashed to Earth, Astra traveled with it as a prisoner. It crashed in a field, releasing all of the prisoners. From there, Astra led various of them through her subordinate, The Commander, in the hopes of seeking revenge on her sister, Alura.[2]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. Astra was later brought back Alex Danvers who had been captured by the Hellgrammite, as Supergirl didn't show up. Astra was at 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, 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. A fight between the two soon ensued, with Astra eventually being thrown out of window by Kara. She then returned, knocking both Kara and Alex down with her superbreath. 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. She was then stabbed with a Kryptonite dagger by Henshaw, causing her to fly off. Astra later had the dagger removed, with her associate telling her that they'd have to re-think their timetable for taking National City and Astra commenting on how Kara was stronger then she thought.[1]
Astra later ambushes Kara while in flight. Astra reveals to Kara that she has found a material that makes her immune to Kryptonite. After failing to convince Kara to join her, Kara 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 her. Astra finally defeats her, and stands over her. She taunts Kara, saying that Kara's mother is the one to blame. Kara kicks her off and eventually pins her down, and hesitates to give the finishing blow, as Alex had predicted she would. Kara then drags an unconscious Astra into the DEO, where she is detained and put into a cell that has Kryptonite Emitters. Alex contacts Kara when Astra comes to, saying that, "she will only speak to [Kara]." Kara meets with Astra, who is in her cell, and Astra shows Kara that she still has her spy beacon. She then goes on to explain how she was captured by Alura, who used Astra's trust of Kara to lure her into being arrested. This explanation is shown via flashback. 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 later is reviewing footage of Kara and Astra's fight, saying it's unusual that Astra would have stood over Kara, which is the "weakest stance you could take." J'onn J'onzz and Alex suddenly realize that Astra was trying to lose to Kara. 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, and it's inferred that Alex finds out that Non, Astra's husband, and some fellow Kryptonian soldiers are attacking Lord Technologies.[3]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: Like all Kryptonians, Astra possesses the power to absorb the light and radiation of stars, specifically those in the yellow spectrum. Her body is constantly absorbing and storing energy from Earth's yellow sun, which in turn grants them incredible powers, such as superhuman strength, senses, impenetrable skin, and even the power to defy gravity.
- Solar Battery: Astra is able to absorb solar energy from a yellow sun
- Super strength: Astra is much stronger than a normal human when exposed to the yellow sun.
- Super speed: Astra is able to move much faster than a normal human.
- Flight: Astra is able to fly.
- Invulnerability: Astra is able to take more damage than a normal human.
- Accelerated healing factor: Astra is able to heal much faster than a normal human.
- Super hearing: Astra has super hearing.
- Super breath: Astra is able to exhale powerful gusts of air from her mouth. She can also cause the temperature of her breath to drop, therefore able to freeze nearly anything.
- X-ray vision: Astra is able to see through all solid objects; except for lead.
- Heat vision: Astra is able to shoot concentrated heat beams out of her eyes when exposed to a yellow sun.
- Immunity: Astra is immune to all forms of diseases and illnesses.
- Immunity to Telepathy: Astra is immune to all forms of telepathy.
Abilities
- Expert hand-to-hand combatant: As a former kryptonian soldier, Astra is an expert in unarmed combat.
- Expert tactician: As a former kryptonian soldier, Astra is an expert tactician.
- Multilingual: Astra is capable of fluently speaking English and Kryptonese.
Weaknesses
- Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, Astra is weak against Kryptonite, as it is a radioactive mineral from her home planet Krypton; Kryptonite not only weakens her physical attributes, leaving her vulnerable to weapons and anything in general that can kill a normal human, but if she is exposed to it for too long, it will kill her.
Appearances
Season 1
- "Pilot"
- "Stronger Together"
- "Human For a Day"
- "Hostile Takeover"
- "Blood Bonds"
- "For the Girl Who Has Everything"