Superman Analogue: Superwoman / Mrs. Superman / Obsession (Dana Deardon)

Описание: Sometimes... Superman inspires people to act a little "crazy", like with Dana Deardon!

Original Thread:   / 1646343006138646528  

Abridged Original Text: One of the best parts of doing my #supermananalogue series is that I get to really spend times thinking about specific characters. It's amazing to spot shared themes even for characters that on the surface seem barely connected. With that said, let's talk about Dana Deardon.
If you asked Dana what she'd liked to be called, she would say either "Superwoman" or "Mrs. Superman", but Jimmy Olsen nicknamed her "Obsession". As with most Superwomen, she's not Kryptonian, and as with a surprising number of them, she's also technically a villain.
Now, that said, she's not a mustache twirling crime lady like the Crime Syndicate's Superwoman, nor a government assassin like Lucy Lane. She'd save you if your life was in danger, as long as she wasn't distracted that is. See her deal is that she is crazy about Superman.
And this goes beyond "being a fan". Dana is obsessed with Superman (hence Jimmy's nickname for her) and that drove her to do some pretty messed up stuff in the name of wooing the Man of Steel.
And let's take a moment just to stop here and acknowledge that this is the "women be crazy" shtick and that is a terrible trope!
That's said, it's not one that we haven't seen before in Superman books... It's just one that we thought we had left behind.
Giving the writers of the 90s "Triangle Era" of Superman credit, this is presumably a commentary on those old tropes. It's incredibly similar to the stories from the 50s and 60s that we'd see with Lois Lane and Lana Lang, and both of those characters had come a long way
But what was her deal? Well Dana Deardon was a human woman who was REALLY into Superman. Desperate to get close to him, she decided to start dating Jimmy Olsen to capitalize on his reputation as "Superman's Pal".
While on a date with Jimmy, she spotted some rare mystical artifacts at the Metropolis Museum... Because apparently in the DCU that shit is just everywhere and hardly worth security. When "The Scavenger" tried to steal them, she thought this was her chance.
So she stole the magic coins in the commotion.
These coins bound Dana to a number of deities from different mythologies and granted her a number of totally unique powers!
The Strength of Hercules!
The Speed of Mercury!
The Power of Zeus!
The Senses... Of... Heimdall...
Ok... Yeah... These are basically the Powers of Shazam gifted to Billy Batson. It's weird. Particularly because the Big Red Cheese was a part of the same DC universe at this point.
She's fast and strong enough to give Superman pause...
...and she was flinging magical lightning around long before the good Captain added that to his regular arsenal.
Newly empowered, she decided to go after what she really wanted. She lured Jimmy over to her place, beat him senseless, and used his signal watch to summon Superman.
Shockingly Superman wasn't receptive to this approach to win his affection and double shockingly, Dana didn't take this well.
Heartbroken that she couldn't force Superman to love her, Dana disappeared after their initial fight.
But if there's one thing that Dana is good at, it's stalking people, so she followed Superman to his Fortress of Solitude and figured out how to get inside. When he later returned (this time not only as an energy being but as TWO energy beings), she confronted hims again... and things escalated.
Later, when Superman has been restored to his normal singular form, Dana reemerged when photographs of Superman with a wedding ring on surfaced. She sported a new look and dubbed herself "Mrs. Superman" while trying to get the public to think she was his wife.
She did ultimately help Superman with some do-goodery and ended up taking a magic blow from a demon meant for him.
BUT she'd be seen again! When Harley Quinn ventured into Hell, Dana assisted the Jezebel Jester through the Underworld.
And that I think is it for Dana Deardon. As far as I know she hasn't been seen since Flashpoint. It's difficult to articulate my feelings about the character. Taken at face value, she's just an example of a tropey stalker, but she could be read as a condemnation of those tropes.
Dana Deardon suffered from a lack of a clear identity. Was she Superwoman? Mrs. Superman? Obsession? It feels like a throwback that would work in a Silver Age style book.
But that said, we knew she wasn't a real contender. After all, her initials were "DD" not "LL"

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