| Ayla Ranzz | |
|---|---|
 Light Lass, from the"threeboot" continuity. Art byBarry Kitson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #308 (May 1963) |
| Created by | Edmond Hamilton (writer) John Forte (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ayla Ranzz |
| Species | Winathian |
| Place of origin | Winath |
| Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Heroes |
| Notable aliases | Light Lass, Pulse, Gossamer, Spark, Live Wire, Lightning Lass |
| Abilities | Powers:
Abilities:
Equipment:
|
Ayla Ranzz, also known asLightning Lass,Light Lass,Gossamer, andSpark, is a character appearing in media published byDC Comics. She is a member of theLegion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries, as well as the sister ofLightning Lad andLightning Lord.
There have been three versions of Ayla since her original debut; these versions are separated by the events of both theZero Hour: Crisis in Time! andInfinite Crisis limited series.
Ayla has made limited appearances in media outside comics, including the animated seriesSuperman: The Animated Series andLegion of Super Heroes and the animated filmJustice League vs. the Fatal Five.
Ayla Ranzz first appeared inAdventure Comics #308 (May 1963). She is the twin sister of fellow Legionnaire Garth (Lightning Lad) and the younger sister of the villainous Mekt (Lightning Lord). All three gained their electric powers after being attacked by creatures called lightning beasts on the planet Korbal. She originally joined the Legion disguised as her brother Lightning Lad following his death at the hands of Zaryan.[1] Her being an imposter was soon discovered, but she was admitted into the Legion as Lightning Lass.[2] Later, Ayla gained gravity manipulation powers fromDream Girl, and became known asLight Lass.[3]
Years later, Ayla left the Legion for a time, disillusioned with her Legion career and having ended a lengthy romance with fellow LegionnaireTimber Wolf. She broke up with him following a misunderstanding when she saw Timber Wolf embracingSaturn Girl while both were stranded on a frozen asteroid. Eventually returning to Winath, Ayla was kidnapped by her brother Lightning Lord and a faction of theLegion of Super-Villains. When Ayla refused to join them, her brother tried to kill her, though she survived and discovered that her original lightning powers had been restored. After the LSV was defeated, she rejoined the Legion as Lightning Lass.
During the "Five Year Later" storyline, it was revealed that Ayla had entered a relationship withShrinking Violet.
A temporal clone of Ayla from "Batch SW6" appears in the"Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars.[4]
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Ayla, known as Spark, originally joined the Legion as a replacement for her twin brotherLive Wire, as their planet Winath decided to choose her rather than Garth, who had been classified as a runaway. Eventually, the "one member per planet" restriction was lifted, and he rejoined.
She was one of the Legion members stranded in the 21st century for a time as a result of the Emerald Eye's machinations. Her team helped the modern superheroes during theFinal Night crisis, where Earth's sun was slowly being devoured. Spark personally provides the electricity toGuy Gardner'sWarriors facility when the power went out while it was being used as a hospital. Some time after the sun was restored, she travels into theSource, which replaces her electrical powers with anti-gravity powers (although she did not change her codename). Upon returning to the 31st century and reuniting with her brother, however, she began to experience debilitating headaches when using her powers; the headaches were diagnosed aspsychosomatic. Apparently, she could not handle having different powers than her brother. In a desperate attempt to restore her old powers, she returned to Korbal, the planetoid where she and her brothers originally gained their powers after being shocked by Lightning Beasts, rendering them comatose for several months. Ayla is killed after being electrocuted a second time before Garth resurrects her. Shortly afterward, she became romantically associated with fellow LegionnaireChameleon, who had a longstanding crush on her.
Later, the Legion was disbanded after the apparent death of several of her teammates (including her brother and Chameleon) and she returned to Winath. When these teammates returned, Garth was not among them, having apparently sacrificed himself so the rest could return home. After Chameleon broke this news to her, she apparently did not resume her relationship with him. She briefly took the nameLive Wire after this, but shortly before his return,Kid Quantum convinced her that she would better honor her brother by being herself.
Following another reboot of Legion continuity, Ayla Ranzz is again called Light Lass, and has gravity nullifying powers. InSupergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #26, it is revealed that she, like her siblings, had previously gained lightning powers after the accident on Korbal before another unspecified accident gave her gravitational powers.
Light Lass had a reputation as the Legion's "party girl", and had relationships withUltra Boy, Timber Wolf, andSun Boy, as well as a one-night stand withKarate Kid.Brainiac 5 commented that he finds it aggravating that the ability to negate one of the fundamental forces is in the hands of someone who treats things so flippantly. She however has been shown to take some things seriously, most notably dealing with her brother Mekt.
Ayla took a serious and active role in assisting her brother Garth when he became Legion Leader following Supergirl's return to her time. Ayla also assisted Brainiac 5 andStar Boy in stabilizing gravity after an intruder planet appeared in the Sol system.[5]
The events of theInfinite Crisis miniseries restored an analogue of the pre-CrisisLegion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga" story arc inJustice League of America andJustice Society of America, and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc inAction Comics, Ayla Ranzz is included in the Legion, possessing her original powers as Lightning Lass.
In the Lightning Saga, it was initially implied that she was presumed dead by Timber Wolf, who said "I'm coming, Ayla" as he was about to sacrifice his life. It was later revealed that the two have reconciled and are once again in a romantic relationship.[6] She appears in theSuperman and the Legion of Super-Heroes arc, serving as the power source for the hidden Legion headquarters.
Ayla is next seen inFinal Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1, where she used her abilities to hold open the entrance to thePhantom Zone so her fellow LegionnairesShadow Lass andPhantom Girl can rescueMon-El. Ayla destroyed the Zone machine before Kryptonian criminalZod has a chance to escape. She and her counterparts were later used as part of an experiment by Brainiac 5 to restoreBart Allen, with Ayla and Spark providingXS with lightning charges, and Light Lass using her gravity powers to prevent XS from becoming a singularity. Light Lass is later needed to extract the Kryptonian Chrysalis in Superman'sFortress of Solitude.
Ayla was later seen in issue #6 ofPaul Levitz's newLegion of Superheroes series, where she was shown preparing to go on a holiday vacation with Shrinking Violet.[7] It is subsequently revealed that the two are romantically involved.[8] Following the cancellation of theLegion of Superheroes series (and the Legion's disbanding), Ayla is depicted back home on Winath, but it is unclear whether Shrinking Violet is living with her there.
InThe New Golden Age, Lightning Lass is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members that arrive in the present and confront the Justice Society of America over their decision to recruit Legionnaire, a young, heroic incarnation ofMordru.[9]
As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Ayla Ranzz is provided a Legion Flight Ring, which allows her to fly and protects her from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.
Ayla Ranzz was ranked 47th inComics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[10]
Ayla Ranzz as Lightning Lass appears in a photograph inJustice League vs. the Fatal Five.
Ayla Ranzz as Lightning Lass appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[11]
