Kinetix

There is no shortage of power-hungry people in the universe. But few desire power for unselfish purposes. Fortunately, Zoe Saugin is one such seeker.

She first quested for power when her archaeologist mother fell ill, in order to heal her. She found it in the Moon of Kol, an artifact that her mother had once unearthed. From then on, she found that magical objects lent her the power to animate unliving objects... an ability that her mother has found useful on countless occasions, sparing her the tedium of digging for her artifacts, and which had been brought about by her mother's own use of a mystical object to heal the dying witch Mysa. (Zoe had no knowledge of Mysa.)

As Zoe's drive to "do good" increased, she constantly sought more objects of magical power. Her path crossed with the Legion when Aleph's ruling council drafted her to represent them in the new teen organization as Kinetix. (Legion vol. 4 #66) On her next expedition, she took along her new friend, Shrinking Violet, and the two of them found the Star of Akkos. (LSH Annual #6) This object ultimately drained her power rather than increased them. Since the political implications of removing someone from the Legion would be disastrous, Legion leader Cosmic Boy sent her on temporary leave while she looked for new powers. (#70) All this was part of a plan engineered by Mysa to enlist Kinetix's service.

Her quest was nearly the end of her, when the White Triangle Daxamites destroyed the stargate she intended to use. Conveniently, she was rescued by Mysa on a nearby planet and the witch trained Zoe in magic. (Legionnaires #32-33, Legion #76) Mysa's ultimate prize was the Emerald Eye, and she attuned Zoe to search for it. When the training period was complete, Mysa transformed Zoe's body into that of a mystical creature, with pointed ears and a tail, and sent her off to search after the Eye. The search brought her back to the Legion where she found that her friend Violet (unbeknownst to all) was already in possession of the Eye! Violet assumed control of the entire Legion using the Eye, and Kinetix was unable to break their connection. (Legion #84)

Ironically, when Violet and the Eye disappeared, Kinetix was restored to her former vitality. But her failure to capture the Eye has since came to Mysa's attention, and Mysa teleported her, her family and some other Legionnaires to Zarrox to punish her. Mysa finally learned the connection between her family and Mysa. Zoe's mother stepped in and forced Mysa to honor an old debt and restore Zoe, removing any of her own manipulations. But while on that world, the Legion was fated to meet one of their greatest opponents, the wizard Mordru. (Legionnaires #48-50)

After this, Kinetix was part of a mission to analyze an "anomaly" in outer space. All these Legionnaires were transformed by it; Zoe returned from it wearing a different costume and refusing to speak much. (Legion #104) Her withdrawal from reality grew steadily worse, until Violet intervened. She and Spark used Brainiac 5's new Anywhere Machine, to communicated directly with Kinetix's mind, and they experienced the anomaly as well. These girls also began to succumb to the temptation of the anomaly's power and the sight of this shocked Kinetix into action. Zoe saved Vi and Spark, in the process rescuing herself from her own mental isolation. (#113)

After a group of Legionnaires was lost (and believed dead) to a spatial rift, the Legion disbanded and Zoe chose to join the Science Police. (Legion Worlds #6) A year later, those Legionnaires returned, but they were too late to stop Ra's al Ghul from unleashing havoc on Earth. His intent was to kick-start the human race into its next stage of evolution. To that end, he unleashed bombs that transformed one in every 100,000 people into Terrorforms. Though not from Earth, Zoe was one of these people. (#6) The combination of her alien physiology and her mystic connections made her into a very different kind of Terrorform. She retained her free will, and could communicate between the Legion and the other Terrorforms. (#7)

Kinetix gained new abilities, which were still being explored. She was instrumental in defeating Ra's, healing the critiaclly wounded M'onel and leading the other Terrorforms to saving Earth from Ra's' destruction. (#8) After this, Zoe rejoined the Legion, but by her own admission she no longer considered herself either "Zoe Saugin" or "Kinetix."

When Robotica hijacked Earth's evolutionary energy, Zoe was infected with their computer technology. When Rotobotica withdrew, it also left her body. (The Legion #13-14)

Kinetix met her end in a parallel universe, where she boldly faced off against Superboy Prime. He destroyed her and afterwards, Mordru of Earth-0 absorbed her essence, powers and memories. As she went, she uttered the name of her fellow Legionnaire, Leviathan, a boy she'd once had a crush on—and who'd preceded her in death. (Legion of 3 Worlds #4) Her demise had been foreshadowed when a group of Legionnaires encountered Sister Andromeda in the future. At that time, Andromeda remarked "Kinetix... how can you be here?" (Legion #91)

Other Versions

Kinetix has no known counterparts on any parallel Earths.

Powers

Kinetix was born with telekinetic abilities which developed in the womb as a result of her mother's encounter with the witch, Mysa. Mysa once removed Kinetix's abilities using the Star of Akkos, and gifted Zoe with diffferent powers. Eventually, the Star was destroyed and her telekinesis was restored. Recently, she was caught in a wave of Ra's al Ghul's Hypertaxis energy. This energy — which changed Terrans into "Terrorforms" — enhanced Zoe's abilities, including energy blasts and heightened strength.

Appearances + References

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:  

• Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2–4
• Legion Worlds #1, 6
• Teen Titans/Legion Special #1

» SERIES:

• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #0, 62–125 (1994–2000)
• Legionnaires, #0, 19–81 (1994–2000)
• Teen Titans/Legion: Universe Ablaze, 4-issue limited series (2000)
• The Legion, 38 issues (2001–2004)

» SEE ALSO:

• Major Spoilers: Kinetix