Back Issues: ‘Naomi’ is a mystery to herself as well
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If you're not sure who the latest superhero joining the CW lineup is, don't feel bad -- neither is she.
In "Naomi," which premiered this week, one of the main mysteries the title character will be attempting to unravel is just who she is and what her place is in the world. Sounds relatable enough, even if most of us don't have to figure super powers into the equation.
Naomi is the latest new addition to a major comics universe by writer Brian Michael Bendis to make the jump to the big leagues on the page and now the screen.
Bendis created Naomi McDuffie along with fellow writer David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell. Her surname is a nod to the late Dwayne McDuffie, a renowned Black comic author who created characters like Static for DC and wrote for cartoons like "Static Shock," "Justice League" and "Ben 10." The character debuted in 2019, shortly after Bendis jumped to DC after shaping many of Marvel's biggest characters for more than a decade.
In addition to writing two ongoing Superman titles, Bendis oversaw an imprint called "Wonder Comics," of which Naomi's eponymous series was a part. It focused on the teenager growing up in Port Oswego, Oregon, far off the beaten path of DC's superheroic denizens.
That seemed to change when a battle between Superman and alien warlord Mongul came crashing through town, but one resident remarked it was the first time he'd seen a superhero there since 17 years prior -- the day Naomi was adopted.
The cover of the first issue intriguingly promised this story was the start of the "biggest new mystery in the DC Universe." But while it was an enjoyable read, it wasn't exactly a watershed moment.
(That's not to suggest the show won't be fun and interesting. But if you want to go into it not knowing the answers -- at least as they appear in the comics -- you might want to stop here. Spoilers follow.)
Naomi is, basically, Superman.
OK, that's an over-simplification. Her world wasn't completely destroyed; it was just in really bad shape. And it wasn't exactly another planet; it was another Earth, which is hardly new territory for DC.
Turns out Naomi's parents were among 29 people who developed godlike powers after that Earth's ozone layer collapsed (which should not be seen as an endorsement for increasing pollution). They quickly turned on each other, with several dying and others leaving the planet. Two of them had a child, Naomi, and sent her to the main DC Earth to escape Zumbado, a mass murderer who received his powers while strapped in the electric chair to be executed for his crimes.
When Naomi learns the truth about her past, Zumbado comes after her. She manages to escape back to the Earth on which she grew up and seeks out the help of folks like Superman and the Young Justice team, before winding up a member of the revamped Justice League. Not coincidentally, Bendis was writing Superman and Young Justice and brought Naomi along when he took over the League's title.
Naomi is not the first new character Bendis has helped rocket into the stratosphere, though her journey may have been the fastest. At Marvel he co-created Miles Morales, Peter Parker's successor as Spider-Man in the Ultimate comics who now shares the mantle in the mainline Marvel U, and Jessica Jones, as well as almost single-handedly pulling Luke Cage and Spider-Woman out of obscurity and back into the spotlight.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.
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Recommended Reading
* "Naomi" -- The six-issue series introduces Naomi McDuffie and the mystery of her past, which affects more people than just the teenage girl, her friends and family.
* "Young Justice: Lost in the Multiverse" -- Naomi joins the Young Justice team as they return from a journey across multiple worlds.
* "Justice League: Prisms" -- Superman revamps the Justice League with stalwarts including Batman, the Flash and Aquaman and surprising new additions, Naomi and Black Adam.