DC Comics character
Terra is the name used by three fictional superheroines published by DC Comics. The first Terra, Tara Markov, is an antiheroine eventually revealed to actually be a supervillainess working as a double agent. She was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and debuted in "New Teen Titans" #26 (December 1982).
The second Terra, a doppelgänger of Tara Markov, debuted in "New Titans" #79 (September 1991) and was created by Marv Wolfman and Tom Grummett.
The third Terra, Atlee, debuted in "Supergirl" (vol. 5) #12 (January 2007) and was created by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Amanda Conner.
Publication history.
The character was created with an intended finite life span. Co-creator Pérez stated that he and Marv Wolfman knew, "from the very start, that this girl was going to be a traitor and that we were going to kill this character off." When creating the look of the character, Pérez noted that:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;I wanted her to be cute but not beautiful. She looked like a young girl. I gave her a substantial overbite, her eyes were wide, her body was slim, she wasn't particularly busty. I wanted her to look almost elven, so that when you see her for the first time wearing full-make up and dressed in a provocative outfit where you know she's just been in bed with Deathstroke that it does jab you a bit. "Whoa, good God! This little girl is a slut!"
A new Terra appeared in "Supergirl" (vol. 5) #12 while a "Terra" limited series was being developed, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, with illustrations by Amanda Conner. Gray commented about the series, "Terra as a character has never had a definitive origin. That includes Terra 1 and 2. This mini will address that fact in some surprising ways and open the door to a new corner of the DCU. Aside from that the emphasis will be on heroism, true blue hero stuff." Palmiotti later stated, "Terra is an enigma for obvious reasons. Every hero in the DCU is in the dark about who she is and why she's doing what she's doing, which is running around the planet saving and helping people. We've been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what's special about her. In the end, it was a very simple angle, make Terra a super"hero" with plenty of emphasis on heroism. Everything she does is to help other people and in the service of life." The 4-issue miniseries was temporarily shelved for a number of reasons, until its biweekly publication spanning November and December 2008. The new Terra previously appeared in "Teen Titans" vol. 3 #52–54 as part of "The Titans of Tomorrow...Today!" storyline and in the first issue of the "Terror Titans" limited series. Following this, she briefly appeared in "Teen Titans" vol. 3 #69 in the climax of the recruitment drive storyline, and became a supporting character in the ongoing "Power Girl" series.
Fictional character biography.
Tara Markov.
Tara Markov is the half-sister of Brion Markov (Geo-Force) and the illegitimate daughter of Markovian king Viktor. Helga Jace, a scientist who works for Markovia's royal family, gives Tara and Brion powers to help them combat a rebellion in the country. Unlike Brion, Terra has deep-rooted psychological issues and believes that they should rule Earth rather than help the weaker masses.
In "The Judas Contract" storyline, Terra infiltrates the Teen Titans as a double agent on Deathstroke's behalf before being killed in battle with the former.
In "Blackest Night", Terra is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern before Geo-Force and Halo kill her.
In "The New 52" continuity reboot, Terra is permanently resurrected and joins Caitlin Fairchild's Ravagers. She and Beast Boy meet after being kidnapped and held in the Colony and eventually enter a relationship.
Tara Markov doppelgänger.
The second Terra is a girl from the underground world of Strata who was transformed into a clone of Tara Markov and joined the Team Titans. After the group's native timeline is destroyed during "", the rescues Terra and Mirage and transports them to the main universe. Following this, Terra joins the Outsiders and assists the Teen Titans in battling Superboy-Prime during "Infinite Crisis". In "World War III", Terra is killed by Black Adam.
An alternate timeline variant of Terra appears in "Titans Tomorrow" as a member of Titans East. 
Atlee.
A third Terra, Atlee, is introduced in "Supergirl" (vol. 5) #12 (January 2007). She is an alien from the underground world Strata, similar to the second Terra.
In "Final Crisis", Terra is among the metahumans who are kidnapped, controlled by the Anti-Life Equation, and forced to battle at the Dark Side Club. After being freed, Terra moves to Manhattan and becomes Power Girl's sidekick.
Powers and abilities.
All incarnations of Terra can manipulate earth and rock. This enables them to generate earthquakes, create shields, and levitate rocks for fast transportation.
In other media.
Miscellaneous.
The "Teen Titans" (2003) incarnation of Tara Markov / Terra appears in "Teen Titans Go!" (2004). Her brother Geo-Force approaches the Teen Titans, revealing she is a princess of Markovia who gained her powers after being experimented on by the royal court and ran away. Upon learning of the girl resembling Terra, Geo-Force ultimately leaves her alone after seeing how happy she is despite being certain of her identity.
References.
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