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The character Nasthalthia only appears on three pages of All-Star Superman #5, but she made quite an impression on me. Maybe I just love a goth chick who wears a skin tight leather outfit, or maybe it's her role as Charon (transporting dead souls on the river Styx) in this story. Lex's introduction to Nasthalthia is charming:
Lovely Nasthalthia here will take you back to the land of the living while I await the end. She's 18, speaks 30 languages, and wants to rule the world one day, bless her.
How about this for serendipity? Last night, I start reading Back Issue #17 from TwoMorrows: it's an "All Super Girls" issue featuring articles on Tigra, Spider-Woman, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Supergirl. (Highly recommended with lots of great artwork!) The Supergirl article discusses the period of time when the character when through a period of changes in the 70s. Adventure Comics 397 was a milestone issue, because Supergirl changed her costume. She went from her original costume to a number that included a belt and thigh-high red leather boots. The back-up story, titled "Supergirl Meets Nasty" featured a new villainess: Nasthalthia! Lex Luthor shows up and we discover that she is Lex's niece...that can't be good! In her first appearance, she's not much of a threat, enlisting a female motorcycle gang to terrorize Stanhope College which Supergirl defeats easily.
Morrison's Silver Age memory is astounding. Does he remember this from decades past, did he reread his collection, or did Mark Waid remind him of Nasty? Will we see her again? I hope so. And this leads to a question: since Krypto appears in All Star Superman #6, will we see the Silver Age version of Supergirl at some point? Nuff said.
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