Boodikka

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Boodikka is a fictional character featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Boodikka was a tall, well-muscled humanoid alien with pale skin and reddish black hair.

Fictional character biography

Boodikka and her mother have a friendly sparring session in Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #6.

At three centuries of age, the warrior Boodikka of the planet Bellatrix was originally recruited by the sphere-like Chaselon of Barrio III to join the then-reconstituted Green Lantern Corps (Green Lantern, Vol. 3 #20). Not long before, Boodikka had belonged to something called the "Bellatrix Bombers," a group of women mercenaries for hire by planets to clear the spaceways of hostile forces. The "Bellatrix Bombers" had broken up at some point, the majority of the team apparently having been killed along the way.

Initially Hal Jordan was dismayed and otherwise put off by Boodikka's inherently aggressive attitude. Nevertheless, despite this, Kilowog, a renown trainer in the Corps -- the first trainer of Jordan himself -- (the original Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn), was only too eager to train someone so challenging and gave her his recommendation as a candidate. Jordan, it seemed, did indeed reject her. Things moved quickly at this point, and Boodikka soon found herself thrust into battle with Star Sapphire. She and the rest of the Corps joined in the fight against Hal's one-time love, the mercenary Flicker, and an entire Teban convoy (Green Lantern, Vol. 3 #23-24).

Some time later, new recruits of the Green Lantern Corps were shown the Book of Oa, a book kept by the Guardians of the Universe which told tales of Green Lanterns past, present, and future. They learned stories which would help them be better Green Lanterns. Kilowog spent time with the recruits, telling them more stories of the Corps during their training. (Green Lantern Corps Quarterly, #1 & 3). The new members had this training disrupted when they went to Earth to help free Hal Jordan from the influence of the villain Eclipso. They were no match for the eclipsed Jordan and Star Sapphire. Eclipso managed to escape the Corps and soon they returned to Oa. Guy Gardner was awarded a ring by the Guardians of the Universe to act as temporary Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 (Green Lantern Annual #1).

She would quickly prove to be a skilled power ring wielder, a worthwhile addition to the Green Lantern Corps. Nevertheless, her problem with authority and authority figures would still pose a continuing problem. She was often at odds with Kreon of Tebis, another new recruit to the Corps. As the former Chieftan of the Teban battle fleet, he was used to discipline and military precision. Their infighting had even jeopardized Oa and the Guardians during a Qwardian invasion. Guy Gardner had returned to Oa to tak the yellow power ring of Sinestro. Without Kilowog to guide them, the Green Lanterns were in chaos. Their trainer had gone to Earth to help free Hal from Eclipso. Gardner fought the Qwardians where the Green Lanterns couldn't (Guy Gardner: Reborn #3).

Kreon and Boodikka came to blows when the rival Green Lantern criticized her for being an undisciplined fighter. They were separated by Kilowog, but their disagreement seemed to be spreading amongst the rest of the Corps with sides being drawn between male and female recruits. Running out of options, Kilowog brought the two squabbling Green Lanterns to John Stewart as a "guest lecturer" in cooperation and tolerance. Stewart could not teach the two Green Lanterns to like each other, but he could teach them to need each other. Taking the iniative he performed a mind scan on the two recruits and somehow exchanged their consciousnesses. The two Green Lanterns were taken one step out of reality.

Soon, each came face to face with their pentultimate fears. The fear of Kreon was represented by "Mama Denata" and seemed to represent his fear of the uncontrollable. Boodikka's fear was "the Chain Men" which represented the suffocation she felt by authoritative restraints. The two -- independently -- seemed to be unable to directly fight their fears. Instead, the two had no choice but to learn to work together or be defeated. Boodikka had no problem handling Kreon's nemesis and called upon him to return the favor and defeat "Mama Denata" and assist her. Kreon also didn't suspect he would have much trouble with "the Chain Men" and accepted Boodikka's offer. The two rivals exchanged nemesises and were triumphant... and a newfound respect was born (Green Lantern: Mosaic #6).

Boodikka never lost her love of battle. She eagerly fought against the incarnation of Entropy, even though the encounter then-seemed to mean certain death. Boodikka proved to have come a long way as a Green Lantern, then working as a team with the other members of the Corps to defeat Entropy (Green Lantern Vol. 3 #34 &35).

In a space sector far removed from our own galaxy, Boodikka was assigned to investigate the deaths of multiple alien races. These numerous races had suddenly destroyed themselves in an apparent mass-suicide, environmental destruction, or otherwise massive wars. Upon arriving on a world already in the midst of tearing itself apart, Boodikka encountered Guy Gardner. He and his colleagues, the "Gardners of the Universe," had been dispatched to solve the same problem as Boodikka.

Guy sought to prove to his leadership abilities to his team of super-powered aliens from across known space. It wasn't long until Gardner got into an altercation with the Green Lantern. It was during this fight that Guy realized his yellow ring was powered by the energy of the Green Lanterns' power rings (Guy Gardner #9). Fully charged then, Gardner's yellow power ring enabled him to recognize the true threat. Created in the anti-matter universe of Qward, his power ring negated the mental block of the real attackers. Gardner used his ring to free the others from their trance. He would learn the true story from a native.

Boodikka's respite wouldn't last long. An alien race called the Ophidians had come to cleanse known space. On two occasions in their sordid past they had been nearly annihilated by alien invaders -- then since confining themselves to eradicating all other life in the universe to insure their pseudo-religious quest would never again be in harm's way. The Ophidians would entrance their victims before causing them to fight amongst themselves all the way to extinction. As the Ophidian ship managed to elude them, Boodikka and Gardner had to join their minds together to achieve the speed needed to overtake them. When they reached the ship, it exploded. Whether this was a result of feedback from the two fighting off the mind control or self destruction, is unknown. The pair now had no way to find the Ophidians homeworld. After the battle, Boodikka called upon the Guardians of the Universe to consult in the matter of recovering Gardner's Qwardian power ring. The Guardians, however, had determined Gardner was working toward the same ends they were. Although would be watching Gardner, they decided not to act on Gardner for the time being (Guy Gardner #9 & 10).

A fierce warrior, Boodikka was well-versed in many combative arts including the use of short-swords, handguns, and explosives. Often times she would visit her own mother for combat. On Bellatrix, this was considered a good time. Boodikka's own grandmother had been killed by her own daughter. Arisia, a former Green Lantern of Graxos IV and onetime love of Hal Jordan, told this story to Justice Leaguers Power Girl, Doctor Light, and Maya when they inquired about women in the Green Lantern Corps (Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #6).

At one point the Green Lantern Corps were called upon to help Hal Jordan on the planet Maltus. He had been fighting the Maltusian gods known as the Triarch and was also under attack by the Darkstars and the L.E.G.I.O.N.. Boodikka was as smitten as any Bellatrix women would regarding the fighting prowess of Lobo, bounty hunter and L.E.G.I.O.N. operative. The two stopped in mid-fight and went "somewhere" at Lobo's suggestion for a formidable love-making session that would last some time. Lobo didn't take kindly to interruptions, and the two of them missed the entire fight (Darkstars #11, L.E.G.I.O.N. #58, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #45, Trinity #2).

Adding to her existing duties, Boodikka eventually became a kind of recruiter for the Corps. In her search she would encounter Barin, a young soldier of a kindred warrior species who she believed would prove to be an asset to her brethren. As events would turn out, Barin was not quite at a point where he was ready to fight solo. Upon his first outing alone he was quickly besieged by a kind of space mongrels. Taken by storm, Barin went into shock. He was found by Kilowog in comatose state. The would-be Lantern was brought to Oa where he was connected to life support systems, left at that point in a catatonic state. Since the destruction of Oa by both the Parallax-ridden Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner, Barin's ultimate fate remains unknown (Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #7, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #0).

Emerald Twilight & Beyond

Hal Jordan must get through Boodikka to reach OaGreen Lantern Vol. 3 #49.

What was nearly the final mission of Boodikka was to stop Hal Jordan from reaching Oa during "Emerald Twilight" by orders direct of the Guardians of the Universe. Although she fought well, she was no match for Jordan's willpower. Unwilling to give up her ring freely, Jordan severed Boodikka's hand to take her ring from it. She was left floating in space by Jordan, who continued on towards Oa where he would soon become Parallax entirely (Green Lantern Vol. 3 #49). Jordan later mentioned that he had left Boodikka, along with the other Green Lanterns he had confronted on the way to Oa, with "enough power to survive" even after taking their rings (Green Lantern Vol. 3 #50).

Later it was revealed that Boodikka had indeed survived, joining "The Brotherhood of the Cold Flame" on the planet Xudar with other former Green Lanterns to find the means to atone for the crimes of Hal Jordan during "Emerald Twilight." "After the utter rape and destruction of our brothers and sisters in the Corps, we survivors found one another and pledged an oath -- to bind together in honor of the fallen, doing all that we could to heal the scars of the past," she tells Tom Kalmaku, the longtime confidant of Hal Jordan. The Brotherhood of the Cold flame, using the spirit of the deceased Kilowog, created the "Dark Lantern," an instrument of their vengeance. It is not clear if Boodikka had anything directly to do with the creation of this Dark Lantern (Green Lantern: Legacy - The Last Will & Testament of Hal Jordan).

Boodikka was later discovered by Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner on the Manhunter homeworld of Biot, in a suspended state of animation with other Green Lanterns -- including Laira, Kreon, Graf Toren, Jack T. Chance, and Honnu -- Hal Jordan had left for dead during "Emerald Twilight." At some point in time the Manhunters, in concert with Hank Henshaw, had gathered up these former Green Lanterns, put them into suspended animation, and used their energies as a battery to create more advanced Manhunters. Strangely, upon being freed from her slumber Boodikka seemed shocked that she no longer had her power ring, despite having lived some time without it (and free of any kind of captivity) on Xudar as part of the "Brotherhood of the Cold Flame" (Green Lantern Vol. 4 #11 & 12). How or why Boodikka was captured while on Xudar (assuming she still remained there) remains unknown.

NOTE : It is not clear if Boodikka's story in "Green Lantern: Legacy - The Last Will & Testament of Hal Jordan" has been removed from continuity. This should become clearer one way or another in Green Lantern Vol. 4, #13.

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