| Comet the Super-Horse | |
|---|---|
 Comet as depicted inAction Comics #292 (September 1962). Art byJim Mooney. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #293 (February 1962) |
| Created by | Jerry Siegel Curt Swan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Biron |
| Species | Sentient horse (former centaur) |
| Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Pets |
| Notable aliases | "Bronco" Bill Starr |
| Abilities |
|
Comet is the name of twocomic book characters owned byDC Comics whose adventures have been published by that same company. The first character isBiron, a sapient horse with magical powers who was once acentaur in ancientGreece. The second character is a shapeshifter with three forms (male, female, and winged centaur). Both characters are connected to theSuperman family of titles.
Comet first appeared in the story "The Legion of Super-Traitors!", published inAdventure Comics #293 (February 1962) during the period known as theSilver Age of Comics. This story introduced theLegion of Super-Pets, bringing together several previously established super animals.Krypto the Super-Dog came from Superman's past,Streaky the Supercat andBeppo the Super-Monkey from Superman's present—and Comet was presented as a super-pet who came from the future.[1] The horse was properly introduced seven months later, when Comet met Supergirl inAction Comics #293 (September 1962).[1]
FollowingCrisis on Infinite Earths (1985), which destroyed the universe and rebooted DC's continuity, the original Comet was no longer consideredcanon. However, Comet returned to continuity in the limited seriesSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021–2022), where he sacrificed himself to save Supergirl.[2]
Comet the Super-Horse was introduced in theSuperboy story inAdventure Comics #293 in February 1962, then appeared regularly withSupergirl beginning inAction Comics #292 in September 1962.[3]
Comet was one of a series of super-powered animals, includingStreaky the cat andBeppo the monkey, that were popular in DC's comics of the 1960s. Comet was Supergirl's pet horse and, while in his human form as Bill Starr, her brief boyfriend. Comet also had a brief romance withLois Lane in her comic book.[4]
As he described to her telepathically, he was originally a centaur in ancient Greece named Biron.[5] The witchCirce gave him a potion to transform him into a human after he prevented an evil sorcerer from poisoning her water, but accidentally transformed him into a horse. Unable to reverse the spell, Circe instead gave Biron superpowers, including immortality. The sorcerer asked his teacher to help him against Biron and they were able to imprison him on an asteroid in theconstellation ofSagittarius, which he had been born under. However, when Supergirl's rocket passed, it broke the force field, enabling him to escape. Later, after meeting Supergirl, the two travel to the planetZerox, where Comet gains the ability to transform into a human when a specificcomet is close to Earth. As a human, he adopts the identity of "Bronco" Bill Starr, a rodeo trick-rider.[2][6][7][8][9][10]
Comet made sporadic appearances in comic stories through the 1960s and joins theLegion of Super-Pets, a group consisting of the aforementioned super-powered animals.[11]
Post-Crisis, Comet did not appear for many years untilFinal Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1, where he appeared on display in a museum thatSuperboy-Prime visits. Comet fully returned to continuity in the miniseriesSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Comet possesses similar powers to those of aKryptonian, as well astelepathy. Due to not being a Kryptonian, he is unaffected byKryptonite andred sun radiation.
| Comet | |
|---|---|
 Comet as depicted inSupergirl #50 (November 2000). Art byLeonard Kirk (penciler),Robin Riggs (inker), and Gene D'Angelo (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Supergirl #14 (October 1997) |
| Created by | Peter David Leonard Kirk |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Andrew Jones/Andrea Martinez |
| Team affiliations | The Stable |
| Notable aliases | Andy Jones, Earth-Born Angel of Love |
| Abilities | Flight Superhuman speed Ice vision Psionic love manipulation |
A very different Comet was introduced inSupergirl #14 (October 1997). This version is an Angel of Love who was created afterAndrea Martinez andAndrew Jones were buried in an avalanche and fused to survive.[8][9][12] They are female by default but can transform into a male winged centaur form with cryokinesis and a psionic love-inducing aura.[12][13]
Asked in a 2006 interview if Superman's extended cast of characters in the Silver Age weakened Superman's uniqueness,Action Comics writerGail Simone answered: "Completely disagree. While cutting away the allegedly 'silly' aspects of Superman's mythology, we quite forgot that there's likely a large potential readership that might really enjoy a story about a superbaby or a flying horse. We all thought that stuff was cornball junk that needed to go, but I'll tell you right now, a lot of young girls would like Supergirl more if she had a flying horse".[15]
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