Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)

Zarda Shelton
Name	Zarda Shelton
Aliases	Power Princess, Princess Power, Claire Debussy,
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Formerly Squadron Supreme, Golden Agency, Exiles
Relatives	Spouses: Howard Shelton (common law husband, deceased)
Marital Status	Widowed
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	6′8″ (2.03 m)
Weight	240 lbs (108.86 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Purple
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Utopian
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-712, (currently displaced to Earth-616)
Place of Birth	Utopia Island
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	Utopian
Occupation	Adventurer, ambassador of Utopia
Education	Centuries of study and life experience
Base of Operations	Earth-616 Formerly Utopia Isle, Squadron City; Squadron Satellite; Crystal Palace
Creators and Appearances
Creators	J.M. DeMatteis, Don Perlin
First	Defenders #112 (July, 1982)
First	Defenders #112 (July, 1982)

 You see, not everyone is as strong or fast as me - or carries a bullet-proof Shield... But everyone deserves to be as free from the Fear of Guns and other lethal Weapons as I am! That's why the Squadron Supreme, in conjunction with the new Political Administration, has been hard at work finding Ways to make the World a safer Place! 

—Power Princess

History

Princess Zarda came from the land of Utopia Island; The denizens of which were a peaceful race who took on the name of Utopians after building what they considered a perfect society free of poverty, injustice, sexual discrimination, war, and crime. They had been experimented upon by the Kree to be powerful beings and normally isolated themselves from humanity. One day, Zarda encountered a shipwrecked sailor named Howard Shelton. While recovering, he explained to her that he was an American sailor in the U.S. Navy and told her about World War II, which was occurring around at that time. Subsequently, Zarda joined the Golden Agency to help the Allies, where she met American Eagle and Professor Imam.

The development of atomic weapons during the war frightened the Utopians, so they decided to leave Earth by converting their city into a starship. Zarda chose to remain on Earth and vowed that she would be an ambassador and spread their ideals. Humanity was less than receptive, but accepted her as a superheroine. She joined Hyperion, Amphibian, Whizzer, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and Skymax in the Squadron Supreme.

Zarda married Howard, though the fact that he was growing old while her immortality kept her young bothered Zarda greatly. For a time after Howard's death, she grew attracted to an evil Hyperion, unaware that he was an impostor and was responsible for her aged husband's death. When the real Hyperion returned and killed his evil counterpart, Zarda was torn about her actual feelings for the real Hyperion. Eventually, the two began a true romantic relationship. They continued to be on the Squadron Supreme.

During the Exiles' pursuit of Proteus, Zarda joined the team, instead of Hyperion, because Zarda stated that he is much needed on their world. Due to her fighting ability and leadership experience, Zarda helped the team greatly. Once Proteus was defeated, Zarda left the reality-hopping team to go back to her own Earth, and was replaced by Psylocke.

All-New, All-Different Marvel

When Reed Richards restored the Multiverse following the Secret Wars, Zarda and Hyperion were the only survivors left of the Squadron Supreme after many members perished presumably due to the force of an ongoing cataclysm of unknown origin which threatened to destroy the Earth. Hyperion told her that there was only time for one person to enter the portal that was used to escape their homeworld's destruction. Zarda, at first, protested against this action; however, Hyperion told her to go and remember their life and team as Zarda entered the portal.

She found herself in the void between realities where she encountered an alternate version of herself who asked her to help heal her; however, Warrior Woman betrayed her and stole her life force and powers, leaving her to die in the Exo-Space. Zarda instead used the last vestiges of her energy to heal herself and arrived in Earth-616. She then focused her energies on finding the woman who had double-crossed her and stole her identity by investigating this new universe's Squadron Supreme, while striking a deal with Daimon Hellstrom to aid her, and fighting The Myriad in the process.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

Zarda is a Utopian and her people possess superior genetic stock compared to the rest of humanity due to Kree genetic engineering on their forefathers. This, combined with unique methods of physical and mental training, gave Zarda physical capabilities at a superhuman level; however, Zarda's powers were lost when an alternate version of herself drained her of her powers.

Former Powers

Superhuman Strength: Zarda possessed superhuman strength that allows her to lift around 20 tons. Amphibian considered her to be the second strongest person on the planet, surpassed only by Hyperion. Her strength was enough to hurt Warbird with the power of her blows and engage in battle a more powerful version of herself.

Superhuman Speed: Zarda could run and move at speeds that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Stamina: Zarda's musculature produced less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human. She could physically exert herself at peak capacity for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in her blood begins to impair her.

Superhuman Durability: Zarda's body was more durable and more resistant to certain types of injury than the body of a human. For instance, the tissues of her body were fortified to the extent that she can withstand powerful impact forces, such as falling from many stories up or being struck by a superhumanly strong being, and sustain little to no injury; however, she could be injured by bullets and bladed weaponry composed of conventional materials.

Superhuman Agility: Zarda's agility, balance, and bodily coordination were all enhanced to levels that were beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Reflexes: Zarda's reflexes were similarly enhanced, allowing her to react many times faster than any normal human.

Flight: Zarda was able to psionically levitate and propel herself in flight. Her top speed was unknown, though it was likely that it is ultimately subsonic.

Superhuman Longevity: Zarda aged at a pace that was considerably slower than that of a human being, though she was not completely immune to aging. She is roughly 500 years of age and retains the healthy and vital appearance of a woman in her physical prime. She was also much more resistant, though not completely immune, to diseases and infections.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Similarly, she could also heal from life-threatening injuries with relative ease.

Telepathic Resistance: As long as she had some forewarning, Zarda was able to resist mental domination and mind control.

Abilities

• Experienced Combatant: Zarda is an excellent combatant, having been trained in multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat and weaponry due to her extended lifespan and through Nighthawk's combat training. Her skills have been praised by Valkyrie who considered her a warrior of great mettle, even under the Overmind's mind control.
• Gifted Intellect: Zarda is also extremely intelligent, possessing a near genius level intellect.
• Multilingualism: She is also fluent in Delphinese, the language of dolphins.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Armored Costume: Zarda occasionally wore two different costumes made out of a steel alloy and created by Tom Thumb. The first was colored gold and covered her torso and forearms, while the second was purple and covered her from head to toe. The armor served to increase her already incredible resilience to damage, particularly against piercing weaponry like bullets and blades. Her costume also made her resistant to powerful energy attacks like Storm's lightning blasts.

Weapons

Transparent Shield: Zarda previously carried a transparent, almost unbreakable, shield composed of an as yet unknown material. Zarda could use this shield in much the same way that Captain America uses his, such as deflecting bullets and blocking physical and energy based attacks. She could also throw the shield in much the same manner as Captain America; however, given her superior strength, combined with the durability of her shield, Zarda could use the edge of her shield to cut through most materials, including many types of metals.

Transportation

• Formerly flight using her Shield.

Notes

• In the Marvel Encyclopedia, it is stated that Zarda can fire a beam from her eyes that can heal or destroy things. However, it is not mentioned in any of Zarda's other OHOTMU entries, and therefore makes this a controversial power for the character.
• The Utopians of Earth-712 were humans that were genetically altered by their reality's Kree. Although they don't refer to themselves as such, and never developed the Terrigen Mists, they are the equivalent of Earth-616's Inhumans.

Trivia

• Power Princess was created as a pastiche of DC Comics' Wonder Woman.
• In Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 written by Mark Gruenwald, Power Princess's real name was Claire Debussy, but later in "Squadron Supreme" Gruenwald made her a Utopian by the name of Zarda and she was married to Howard Shelton.
  • During "Atlantis Attacks" Peter Sanderson wrote a Back-up Story about the History of the Serpent Crown where it was revealed that Zarda used the Debussy alias when Set took over the US President of Earth-712.

See Also

• 65 appearance(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 10 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 3 minor appearance(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 3 mention(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 42 image(s) of Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)
• 3 quotation(s) by or about Zarda Shelton (Earth-712)

Links and References

• Zarda Shelton on Marvel.com