Acrata
| Acrata | |
|---|---|
|
Acrata (bottom), El Muerto (lower left) and Iman (upper left) with Superman art by Huberto Ramos | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman Annual (vol.) 2 #12 (August 2000) |
| Created by |
Oscar Pinto, Francisco Haghenbeck (writer) Giovanni Barberi. (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Andrea Rojas |
| Partnerships |
El Muerto Iman |
| Abilities | Shadow teleportation and martial arts. |
Acrata (Andrea Rojas) is a fictional character from DC Comics who was created as part of the Planet DC annuals event. Her first appearance is in Superman Annual (vol.) 2 #12 (August 2000). She was created by Oscar Pinto, Giovanni Barberi, and F.G. Haghenbeck. Her signature uniform is a black suit with green stripes at her sides, with the Mayan symbol of night at her forehead.[1]
Fictional character biography
Acrata's real name is Andrea Rojas, a Mexican national. Andrea's father is Bernardo Rojas, a former political leader in Central America who now researches "Prehispanic Cultures" at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana de Mexico. She lives alone with her cat Zapata.
Acrata specializes in striking against Organized crime. Every time she catches a perpetrator or helps avert a tragedy, she cites a literary quotation or paints graffiti insulting or challenging the local authorities.
She often works with fellow Mexican superheroes Iman and El Muerto. Together with Superman, the three saved Mexico and the world from total destruction at the hands of a bio-terrorist group led by a Mexican sorcerer named Duran, who was trying to channel the powers inherent in the ley lines of Earth.
Acrata was sent an invitation to join the Birds of Prey by Oracle, but apparently did not take her up on the offer.[2]
At the start of Rise of Eclipso storyline in Justice League of America, Acrata is kidnapped by Eclipso and is brought under his mental control as part of a plan to build an army of shadow-wielding metahumans.[3] The reserve JLA members are all freed after Eclipso is defeated.[4]
Powers and abilities
Acrata's powers came from an ancient Mayan symbol which represents the shadows in the night, which allows her to teleport whenever in shadow. It is unknown how Andrea came into possession of the symbol. She is also a talented hand-to-hand fighter.
In other media
Television
- Andrea Rojas has appeared in Smallville, played by Denise Quiñones. She first appeared in the episode "Vengeance" and then in the "Vengeance Chronicles" of Smallville: Chloe Chronicles. The television version has a different back story and different abilities than her comic counterpart. This Acrata possesses super strength, which allows her to make super jumps across the city, and super agility, gained from a heart transplant from one of Smallville's "meteor freaks" (Kryptonite-mutated residents). She uses her powers to act as the Angel of Vengeance and defend Metropolis and Suicide Slum. Although she never goes by the name Acrata, she does mention that it is the name of the organization that her mother worked for, which also targets organized crime. Her appearance in the show is more similar to the character Batman, who could not appear in the show due to copyright issues. Andrea shares a lot of his backstory and crime-fighting traits. She also uses intimidation and the shadows to her advantage. In addition, the episode she appears in contains many references to Batman. She appears later in the mini-episodes "The Vengeance Chronicles".
Novel
- Acrata appears in the Superman children's novel, The Shadow Masters, by Paul Kupperberg published by Capstone Publishers.
References
- ↑ Beatty, Scott (2008), "Acrata", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 8
- ↑ Birds of Prey #100
- ↑ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #54 (February 2011)
- ↑ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #57 (July 2011)