The superhero Naomi is coming to the Arrowverse - and here's all you need to know about the character from the comics. Some superheroes stand out from the crowd right from the start, and Naomi McDuffie - a powerful superhero who doesn't yet have a codename - is one of them. Certainly The CW seem to agree with that assessment, because they've signed off on a TV series that will bring Naomi into the Arrowverse under CW veteran Jill Blankenship and TV and movie mogul Ava DuVernay.
Naomi stars Army Wives actor Kaci Walfall in the title role, while Cranston Johnson, Barry Watson, round out the cast. The series is expected to retell Naomi's origin story from the comics, the tale of a high-school teenager who discovers her alien ancestry and soon finds herself fighting alongside the world's existing heroes in defense of the Earth. Details are sparse right now, but at DC FanDome 2021 The CW gave fans a taste of the show and a little more idea what to expect.
The average viewer can be forgiven not being sure what to expect from Naomi; the character was only created in 2019, and unlike many teenage superheroes she isn't tied to a pre-existing brand. That makes Naomi one of the most exciting steps forward for the Arrowverse, because in truth her story is still only in its earliest stages in the comics, giving the writers lots of room to maneuver and star Kaci Walfall the opportunity to define Naomi by her own portrayal. But who is Naomi in the comics, and how will they affect the Arrowverse TV series?
Naomi's Comic Book Origin Story
In 2017, prominent comic book writer Brian Bendis - one of the biggest names in comics, creator of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse's Miles Morales - left Marvel Comics and ed DC. Reflecting on aspects of his own life, he found himself drawn to the idea of telling a story about adoption, and soon began to collaborate with his friend David F. Walker in creating a brand new superhero. As Brian Bendis ed in one interview, "It was funny, years ago when I adopted my first daughter someone in the adoption community said to me, 'You should tell stories with adoption in it. It helps normalize it. People still don't get it.' You know, more stories about adoption where it isn't like the adopted child is imprisoned under the stairs. But a real story about an adoptive family, there's a lot of truth there." And so Naomi was born, fashioned by two legendary writers and artist Jamal Campbell.
Naomi McDuffie was an ordinary adopted girl who longed to know the truth about her origins. She was always drawn to Superman, associating with him because of his story as an adopted Kryptonian, and a near-encounter with the Man of Steel brought all her own questions of identity to the surface. Little by little Naomi uncovered a conspiracy that concealed her true history, as a refugee from an alternate dimension where Earth had been wracked by an environmental catastrophe that had created a generation of powerful superheroes. The most terrifying of these was a being named Zumbado, who had taken over the planet and left a handful of other superhumans attempting to control small territories and survive his wrath. When Zumbado heard a child had been born to two superhumans, his reaction was to attempt to kill the newborn, who was cast into another dimension to save her life.
The dimensional warp attracted the attention of two aliens who were secretly living on Earth, a rogue Thanagarian and a soldier from Rann, both of whom had attempted to forget their warlike past and build a new life on Earth. One of these had taken on the name "Greg McDuffie," and he and his wife Jen had longed to have a family together; unfortuinately it was biologically impossible for them to do so, and they were unable to adopt given Greg's many secrets. And so they took Naomi in as their adopted child, bringing her up with no knowledge of her alien heritage. It was only when Naomi eventually learned the truth that she touched a memento from her own world, finally manifesting her powers. Unfortunately doing so brought the attention of Zumbado, beginning an interdimensional superhero story that's still continuing in the pages of Justice League to this day.
Naomi's Comic Book Powers Explained
Naomi can morph into a super-powered form in which she manifests alien armor to protect her body. She possesses many of the staple superhero powers, including flight, superhuman strength, and remarkable resistance to injury. But she's most noted for her energy manipulation powers, which are beautifully rendered by artists as shimmering light that she controls. Naomi's energy wave surrounds her entire body, and she can manipulate it in energy blasts, or boost her physical strength in super-punches. Naomi was originally described as being an "Omega" power, but that term had slipped in from Marvel, and she's now been called a "Mega-Power" instead. This means there is no definable upper limit to Naomi's potential, but she's still new to her abilities and figuring out how they work; as a result, Naomi sometimes pushes herself too far, and collapses in a faint while her body recovers. It's reasonable to assume she's only begun to unlock her abilities, and will discover more as she grows in experience.
How The Arrowverse Will Adapt Naomi's Comic Book Story
The Arrowverse has long embraced the Multiverse, climaxing in the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths event. Given that's the case, it shouldn't be too difficult for The CW to adapt this comic book story; indeed, Cranston Johnson has even been cast as the insanely powerful Zumbado, Naomi's arch-nemesis from her home dimension, who first attempted to kill her when she was just a child. All signs are that The CW's Naomi will honor the source material by telling a remarkably comic-book-accurate tale, with a clip released at DC FanDome that's only slightly adapted from Naomi #1.
All the best superheroes have a sense of particularity about them; they represent a specific theme or concept, and they exist in a particular context, surrounded by identifiable ing characters. Given this is the case, it's not hard to see why The CW has been drawn to Naomi; although orphanage and adoption is common in superhero stories, Naomi is one of the few for whom that theme is central, making her distinct from the likes of Superman and Batman. Her ing characters are also strong, with adoptive parents who have striking backstories of their own and close friends at school to help flesh out her civilian life. All this means Naomi promises to be a unique addition to the Arrowverse.