Name: Astarte, Emperess of the Silver Snake
First Appearance: Wonder Woman #252 (1978)
Creators: Jack Harris and Jose Delbo
Abilities: Immortality as an unliving spectre. Command of the ‘silver snake’ which can destroy spacecraft by coiling it or firing ‘venomous lasers’ from its nose.The ability to ‘burn out ones soul’ with laser eyes. Standard laser eyes. Flesh and blood immortality. Commands an army of space Amazons. Possesses a swarm of silver snakes which can fly and consume all life on a planet. Power armor which can grant increased strength and ability. Amazonian super strength. Laser gun haver. Sky Kanga rider.
Backstory: Originally possessing the name of ‘Diana’, Astarte was the sister of Hippolyta. A fellow Amazon who followed their beliefs until Heracles struck, slaying Diana during his attack upon them.
Following and watching over Hippolyta and the Amazons as they fought their way to freedom and made their escape, the ghost of Diana would feel herself fading away as the centuries passed by until drawn to the stars, she left the Earth and traveled through space. The starlight empowering her and keeping her from fading from existence.
Over the thousands of years, her memories began to fade, recalling only that she sought the stars and thus took on the name ‘Astarte’ until discovering a strange and mystical asteroid of gold and silver, she entered it, emerging with a physical body once more.
Overjoyed to once again be ‘alive’ Astarte wished for a means of returning to Earth switfly and born from that same asteroid was a snake made from silver which would carry her across space so she might return to the Earth.
When she arrived however, she found she could not enter Earths atmosphere without perishing. But discovered Wonder Woman. For when Hippolyta created her child, she named Diana after her sister and shaped the young Amazon in her image.
Astarte unaware of this, thought Diana to be her own body. Now possessed by some sort of poltergeist. Thinking that if she could somehow drive Wonder Woman out of her body, Astarte would live once more as Diana and return to her old life!
The poor Amazon driven to madness from death and millenia of isolation would terrorizr the space around Earth destroying spacecraft and sattilite, trying to lure out Wonder Woman to confront her.
Post crisis would reimagine Astarte as an Amazon who kidnapped in place of Hippolyta three thousand years ago as one of one hundred women from the Earth by a race of space Amazons, would undergo a tormentuous existence for millenia that warped her mind and twisted her beliefs until she was cold hearted, sadistic and blood thirsty.
Becoming their leader, she would repurpose the Space Amazons who used to nomadiclly travel from world to world and conscript those to join them and learn their ways. Now, they would harvest whole worlds. Choosing the strongest to join them and processing all other life into sustenance to feed an ever expanding space fleet which would destroy every world in their wake.
They would use parasitic silver snakes which could consume any organic matter then process those same snakes to be used for ‘the slurry’ to feed the space amazons. This combined with advanced technology harvested from countless worlds over many millenia made Astarte a force to be reckoned with.
The Rebirth era would reimagine Astarte as a far less villainous persona. Instead this depiction of Astarte was a space faring Amazonian errant knight who sought out knowledge and aiding those in need.
Only to tragically meet her end in battle against an army of demons, sacrificing herself to seal the gates so they may never escape.
