Who is Pandora?

Happy 2012 everyone! DC was back in the office yesterday and they opened the year with a tantalizing bit of news. The mystery of the Lady in Red has been floating around the internet since her appearance in the final issue of Flashpoint. It seems that she is going to be a powerful force in the new DCU and we know almost nothing about her. That was until yesterday Bob Harras and DC gave us something big: her name.

Pandora is often associated with the Greek legend. Hesiod’s version of the Greek myth Pandora is the first woman sent to Prometheus for stealing the secret of fire. She opens the jar and releases all the evils of the world, preserving only hope. Now the name also refers to DC’s most interesting new character.

So let’s recap. We know that while her appearances in the new 52 #1s was a little menacing and suspicious, her appearance in Flashpoint appeared to be a warning.

Because the history of heroes was shattered into three long ago. Splintered to weaken your world for their impending arrival. You must all stand together. The timelines must become one again. You can help me fix that Barry Allen. But at a cost.

I also previously reported on a post by Bob Harras that talked about how Pandora would be coming to the pages of Justice League, but that her influence would touch all of the new 52.

So now let’s speculate for a moment. This is not the first time that DC has considered having a character named Pandora. Pandora Pann was a character that make a brief appearance in Swamp Thing and was actually supposed to get her own book written by the Len Wein and drawn by the late Ross Andru. I would not be surprised if this is a return to that character. DC loves bringing back obscure characters in a big way, and while Pandora was supposed to get her own book, it never happened. That being said, I don’t think that is who Pandora is, and I think we have already seen hints of her purpose in the overall feel of the new DCU.

I think Pandora is going to be new, or at least a character so changed from her origin that we no longer recognize her. I have feeling that the major thing to pay attention to is all the team building going on in the DCnU. Until know most of these characters have lived in a box. Doing their own thing until some crossover or event causes them to all do something together. Oh the big boys are constantly dealing with each other, but this is different. The new DCU seems to be making the characters dependent on each other. Justice League is not only the flagship, it is the blueprint. Even DC’s press of the new 52 seems to be grouping books and characters together. I think the next step for DC is having factions and those factions having to deal with each other.

Lastly I will say this. I have not been reading Wonder Woman, but from everything I have heard it has been very good. Most importantly they have returned the character to her mythological roots and she is actually dealing with the gods again. I can’t help but think that the name Pandora is not a coincidence. DC is far too smart for that. Oh, I definitely think it could just be for effect, but don’t be surprised if she is tied to Diana some how. Either way, Pandora is coming and she is going to be a big deal. What do you think? Who do you think she is? Let us know!!

Tags: Barry Allen, Bob Harras, Flashpoint, Greek, Hesiod, Justice League, Len Wein, myth, Mythology, Pandora, Pandora Pann, Ross Andru, Wonder Woman

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Written by Jason Padua

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