| ELEMENT GIRL (Urania Blackwell) | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Bob Haney |
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Urania Blackwell
Occupation: Former spy
Status: Deceased
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Gender: Female
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Black (as Urania: Blue)
Hair: Green (as Urania: Blonde)
First Appearance: Metamorpho Vol. 1 #10 (January-February 1967)
Creators: Bob Haney
OVERVIEW
A government operative who volunteered to expose herself to the Orb of Ra, thus gaining similar abilities to Metamorpho, Element Girl eventually had a breakdown to to unrequited feelings for Metamorpho. She tried to end her life for many years and was finally helped to do so by Ra and Death.
HISTORY
Element Girl was originally Urania 'Rainie' Blackwell, a U.S. espionage agent who successfully infiltrated the European crime syndicate known as CYCLOPS. Unfortunately, the insecure Urania fell in love with and married the leader, the terrorist code-named Stingaree. She was spurned by the man she fell in love with, and volunteered for a mission to expose herself to radiation in an Egyptian temple. This action was duplicating the process by which a man named Rex Mason became Metamorpho, the Element Man.
Like Mason, Urania became an elemental being, looking almost exactly like the freakish Metamorpho (except for getting long green hair instead of Rex's baldness). Shocked by her new appearance, Urania sought out Metamorpho's help in defeating Stingaree and CYCLOPS. [Metamorpho Vol. 1 #10, January-February 1967]
Following this incident, Urania adopted the code name 'Element Girl' and hung out with Metamorpho from time to time. Noted mostly for being inactive in the background [Metamorpho Vol. 1 # 11, March-April 1967], or getting kidnapped by the evil Professor Zorb and turned against her allies [Metamorpho Vol. 1 #12-13, May-August 1967], she nevertheless acted as a full-fledged heroine against such menaces as the midget Thunderer, who actually managed to split Metamorpho and Element Girl into three beings apiece. Luckily, a teenage genius put them back together. [Metamorpho Vol. 1 #14-15, September-December 1967].
When Metamorpho was tried, sentenced, and executed (obviously, it didn't work) for the murder of Wally Bannister (Sapphire Stagg's former husband), Element Girl was there to save him. Together, they then encountered Algon, an ancient Egyptian elemental like themselves, after which they went away to free Metamorpho from the false murder charges. [Metamorpho Vol. 1 #16-17, January-April 1968]. The exact circumstances of how he was cleared from these charges was never revealed, and Element Girl faded into obscurity.
Having developed romantic feelings for Metamorpho, feelings which were not reciprocated, Urania had a breakdown and spent many years completely alone, abandoned by her employers and afraid to interact in society, because of her freakish appearance. She considered suicide, but couldn't do it - a metamorph's greatest curse is that he or she is virtually immortal. No temperature, no poison, no known force on Earth could kill her.
However, Death of the Endless felt Rainie's despair, and comforted her. She herself couldn't give Rainie the peace she wanted, but she pointed out that one of her kin, Algon, had actually died, so eternal peace was not impossible. Death then helped Rainie get into contact with the Egyptian Gods that had granted her her powers in the first place. Rainie looked into the face of the sun god Ra, and finally made her peace with the Gods. She was transformed into dust and claimed by Death. [Sandman Vol. 2 #20, October 1990]
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Like Metamorpho, Element Girl could transform her body into any of the elements naturally found in the human form, and could shift the shape of her body to become, for example an iron shield or a gaseous cloud.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Element Girl in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who in the DC Universe #10 (June 1991)