SUPERWOMAN (Kristin Wells)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Elliot S. Maggin; and Keith Pollard (comics)

Superwoman (Kristin Wells) (Pre-Crisis)

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Kristin Wells
Occupation: College Professor/Adventurer
Homeworld: Earth
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Jimmy Olsen (ancestor); Barry Elkin (husband)
Base of Operation: Metropolis in the 1980s and the 2860s
Gender: Female
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
First Appearance: (in novel, as Kristen Wells): Superman: Miracle Monday (1981)
(in comics, becomes Superwoman): DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (1983): "The Last Secret Identity"
Creators: Elliot S. Maggin; and Keith Pollard (comics)

Let history bear witness that no American ever had to bow to a tyrant! - Superwoman Quote taken from DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (1983)

OVERVIEW

Kristin Wells was a time-travelling history professor in 29th century, who simulated Superman's powers with future technology. Superman and Superwoman teamed up on a few occasions.

HISTORY

Born in the 29th Century Kristin Wells grew up to become an attractive, freckle-faced red-headed, college professor at the Columbia University with specialty in Early American History - the period from 1763 to 2100. At the age of 19 or 20 when she was still a graduate history student at Columbia University she made a journey into the past on a foundation grant to solve the mystery of the secret of the interplanetary holiday, Miracle Monday. Not only does she uncover the secret of the holiday she finds that she has a large part in the origin of the holiday herself. When she eventually the twentieth century and went back to her own time the memory of her presence in that time was wiped from the minds of everyone on Earth except for Superman.

Years later in September 2862 when Wells had become a professor she and her students were discussing Superwoman, "quite possibly the greatest heroine of the 20th Century" and the only super-hero whose secret identity has never been unearthed. The students offered suggestions about how Superwoman performed her feats and a handy chart is displayed showing her powers and the 29th Century tech that could duplicate them. One of the students proposed Wells took a research trip back to the day Superwoman first appeared and learn her identity and Wells decided to take another trip back in time.

Back in 1983, Wells took a job as a typist working on Lois Lane's new book (she had taken the liberty of typing it before she left the future) and got hit on by Jimmy Olsen. Wells discovered Superwoman's costume in a closet in Lois' office. It was red and blue with the familiar S-shield, blue gloves and boots, a blue cap and a blue hood.

Shortly after Wells discovered the costume, King Kosmos, a time and space-faring tyrant from an alternative future, arrived and threatened to conquer Earth. Knowing that Superwoman was supposed to aid Superman against Kosmos, Wells found Lois and confronted her with the costume. Lois explained that the outfit was for Clark Kent's cousin, Linda (Supergirl) Danvers to wear to Morgan Edge's costume party. Wells then tried and failed to enlist the aid of Linda, as she in an effort to see how the other half lived, was flying to Metropolis from Chicago via jet and was unreachable. Kosmos blasted Superman back to the 6th Century, then withdrew to make new plans. Superman flew back to the present under his own power in time for the party.

At the party, Wells was shocked that Linda chose to wear something that did not conceal her face instead of the Superwoman garb. Kosmos attacked again, incapacitating Superman and the Justice League and leaving Wells no choice but to don the Superwoman costume herself. Joined by a recovering Superman, Superwoman took her battle against Kosmos to present-day Dallas, then to Washington, D.C., April 14, 1865, and finally to the timestream. There, Superwoman blasted Kosmos' navigational controller from his hand and when he tried to evade Superman, he tumbled "out of control, in and out of the folds in time and space." He will return, however, Superwoman warned. Her task completed, Wells returned to the future to reveal that she was Superwoman. First, however, she discouraged Jimmy once and for all by kissing Clark. After all, it wouldn’t do for him to fall for the great-great-granddaughter of Jimmy Olsen IV.

Three years later in 2865 Wells had gained a beau in fellow professor Barry Elkin and a second career as a beloved interplanetary super-hero. On a trip back to 1985, she was caught in a "chrono-synclastic infundibulum" which meant that her body made it back to the past, but most of her memories were stuck in the time vortex, only slowly trickling back to her.

Confused, Wells was accosted by a boy handing out flyers for Luthorcon III, "a celebration of villainy and the absurd." His irresistible pitch: "Hey, lady, you look flaky... weird. You should be going to Luthorcon" was all it took. Although she remembered little of her life except for her name the memory of how to use her powers quickly returned and after having donned her Superwoman costume she stopped a couple of armed art robbers before heading for the convention center.

Meanwhile, Superman was rescuing actor Gregory Reed from a car accident. Reed suffered a mild concussion, meaning he couldn't appear as Superman at Luthorcon. Superman then decided to take his place. Of course, Lex Luthor had prepared for this and is on hand disguised as a food vendor. He substituted a chunk of green Kryptonite for the prop the organizers planned to use in a scene with Reed.

When the time came to play his part, Superman was overcome by the green K, but no one realized he wasn't acting. Spotting Superwoman and recognizing her as the real McCoy, he reached out for her telepathically (?) begging her for help. Remembering she was a hero, Superwoman saved Superman, only to learn that Luthor wasn't finished yet. The bald baddie ordered Superman to voluntarily expose himself to Kryptonite or he would teleport Metropolis to a hostile dimension. However, when Luthor threw the switch, Superwoman shifted the dimensional door so that instead of swallowing the city, it pulled in only Luthor and his hideout.

Superwoman would then spend the next several years in the 20th Century, fighting next to Superman and the Green Lantern Corps and earning a medal from President Reagan. Finally, she remembered how to get home and returns there, years after her departure, to find Elkin still waiting.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

For the most part Superwoman's powers were based on 29th Century technology. Using a gravity redistribution flightbelt she was able to fly and an opal beam amulet gave her the power of decorporealization, which among other things enabled her to pass through solid objects. The opal amulet also gave her the power of teleportation. Amulet mass reduction gave her super-human strength. Combined with a time-warps belt the amulet could create a five-dimensional "hole poker" that could create time/space warps. Space-pocket retention gave her invulnerability and time-field projection gave her limited intuition abilities.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Superwoman in chronological order click here