by CBR News Team, Source: CBR.com
DC Comics has kicked off 2012 with a tantalizing tidbit for fans of the New 52. At the end of 2011’s “Flashpoint” crossover preceeding the linewide relaunch, a mysterious cloaked woman made an appearance, and subsequently showed up in every #1 Issue of DC’s New 52. Today, as a part of the publisher’s ongoing “DC Comics in 2012” series of posts, DC Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras has announced via The Source the identity of the mysterious woman whose appearances thus far have teased fans, stymied readers and spawned countless forum posts.
“Her name is Pandora.”
Pandora’s first appearance in “Flashpoint” was during Barry Allen’s run back to his present as characters from DC, Vertigo and Wildstorm merged together into one singular continuity. “You must all stand together. The timelines must become one again,” said Pandora. This was her only appearance in the event, but the character subsequently stuck around in the new post-“Flashpoint” universe in every New 52 #1, silently watching with an aura of mystery that has teased longtime fans and new readers alike.
The accompanying Jim Lee image posted with the name was originally revealed in an October 2011 DC All Access post on the New 52 where Harras teased the direction for the future of the character. “You’ll soon see the next step in this character’s evolution in the pages of ‘Justice League,’ and in the months to come you will see more events ripple across titles as we continue to weave the DC Universe together and tell even more amazing stories,” Harras told The Source in October.
The name itself is best known from Greek myth of Pandora, the first woman, who opened an urn that released all evil into the Earth but closed it before Hope escaped. While the post contains nothing other than the full image of Pandora and a quote confirming her name, it’s clear that DC has plans for Pandora in 2012 beyond her Easter Egg appearances in the New 52.
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