LIGHTWAVE
Real Name: Aurora Dante
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-8107) human mutant
Occupation: Former fugitive, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent
Group Membership: Formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.
Affiliations: Iceman (Robert Drake); formerly Buzz Mason
Enemies: Buzz Mason; formerly Firestar (Angelica Jones), Iceman, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), S.H.I.E.L.D.
Known Relatives: Robert Drake (Iceman, half-brother), unidentified mother (see comments), unidentified father
Aliases: "Bright eyes" (nickname given by Firestar)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed; previously an innocuous, seemingly abandoned warehouse
First Appearance: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon episode, "Mission: Save the Guardstar" (November 5, 1983)
Powers/Abilities: Lightwave
could manipulate and control light to generate a number of effects. One of
her more potent abilities was to produce photon force bubbles, which she could
use to stun people, destroy objects as durable as tanks, restrain individuals
and render them unconscious (presumably by cutting off their air supply),
protect herself from high speed impact while flying or block other attacks,
and shield others from the rigors of outer space. She could also emit dazzling
light in a variety of forms, including pulses that prevented unshielded
eyes seeing her amidst the glow, light beams that terminated in a brilliant
but harmless fireworks display, or devastating lasers. She seemed to fire
the photon force beams from her eyes and lasers from her hands, but it is
not certain whether these powers were tied to these body parts or whether
it was just her preference (and the art isn't very clear on distinguishing
the difference - see image notes below). Her light beams bounced off
Iceman's reflective surface, rendering him immune to those, but not her photon
force beams. A large enough discharge could cause "photon interference" on
computer displays in the vicinity. She could even transform her entire
body into sentient light, allowing her to survive in space without adverse
effects.
Height: 5'5" (by approximation)
Weight: 110 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
History: (Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar" (fb) - BTS) - Aurora Dante was the younger half-sister to Robert "Bobby" Drake, with the siblings sharing a mother. She had a childhood love for a specific carousel horse in one of New York's parks, dubbing it Whiny, treating it like a real horse, and visiting it any time she was nearby. Like her brother, Aurora was a mutant, and developed the power to control and manipulate light. Bobby had developed his own mutant abilities before her and thus had greater control, sometimes teasing her about her powers being weak, challenging her to push them further. She also felt he always acted like he knew everything, but despite this, the two siblings loved one another. However, Aurora and Bobby apparently didn't keep in regular touch after Bobby went to college. Aurora subsequently joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and was codenamed Lightwave. However, while there she was secretly brainwashed by rogue agent Buzz Mason, who hoped to use her powers to commandeer the Guardstar, a defense satellite due to be launched soon, which could then be used to blackmail the world into accepting his rule. Though her light powers would allow her to gain control of the satellite, she would not have the range to do so once it was in orbit, so Mason instructed Lightwave to steal components that could be used to build a quantum enhancer to boost her powers. These thefts swiftly caused Lightwave to be declared a traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D.
(Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar") - Lightwave raided the Maration Electronics Building, imprisoning the exterior guard in a photon force bubble. However, Bobby and his friends Peter Parker and Angelica Jones were nearby, attending a fireworks display. Realizing the disturbance was not part of the show, they investigated as Iceman, Spider-Man and Firestar respectively. Recalling the light display that had drawn their attention, Iceman began worrying that Aurora might be involved, a fear strengthened when they found the guard. As they entered the building, Lightwave dazzled them with pulses of light, until Iceman erected a polarizing ice shield to reduce the glare. Now able to see Lightwave, they witnessed her blast open a vault and remove a device stored within. Spider-Man and Firestar swiftly moved to intercept her, but Iceman briefly hung back, disappointed to have his suspicions confirmed. Calling out "hold it, Bright eyes," Firestar slung a fireball at Lightwave, but she dodged it, then fired back while simultaneously identifying herself as Lightwave. Stunned by Lightwave's attack, the flying Firestar dropped towards the ground, but was saved by Spider-Man, who then turned his attention to their foe. Lightwave's laser severed his webbing, causing Spider-Man to plummet down, but his landing was cushioned by snow Iceman swiftly generated. Shocked to see her half-brother there, Lightwave called out his civilian name, and he confirmed it was him, likewise using her civilian identity. Lightwave told him not to try to stop her, and the shaken Iceman agreed he wouldn't. Flying off, she smashed through his ice shield and exited the building.
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While Iceman sought solitude to figure out what to do, refusing
to explain to his two friends how he knew Lightwave, Buzz Mason approached
Spider-Man and Firestar, ostensibly to recruit their aid stopping the mutant
fugitive, but really so he could keep tabs on them. Mason subsequently sent
Lightwave to Stonewell Engineering, who made one of the final two parts needed
to finish the enhancer, but forewarned Lightwave of this and instructed her
to first create a distraction near Stonewell to draw their attention away.
Noting she seemed to be fighting his control after her encounter with Iceman,
he increased the level of brainwashing, bringing her back in line. Following
her instruction, Lightwave lured Firestar away from Stonewell, then swiftly
breached the facility, right in front of Spider-Man. As she emerged, she
found herself briefly captured in Spidey's webbing, but quickly broke free
using her powers. Spider-Man tried to stop her as she flew away, but was
blocked by the returning Iceman.
Since
her mission had taken her near Whiny's park, Lightwave detoured to visit
him. Iceman had anticipated this and was waiting for her, but his attempts
to reason with her failed to break Buzz's control, and she captured him in
a photon force bubble. Lightwave delivered him to Buzz, who tried
unsuccessfully to brainwash Iceman too. Playing along, Iceman pretended it
had worked, and accompanied Lightwave on her next mission, to raid a military
convoy for the final enhancer component. Convincing her to stop for a rest
en route, Iceman admitted to Lightwave that her powers had grown, but insisted
she was still not very strong, daring her to prove him wrong by firing a
lightbeam towards Empire State University. Unaware this was a ruse to alert
Spider-Man and Firestar to their location, Lightwave took up the challenge.
When they reached the convoy, Iceman tried to buy time by making inane banter
and pressed Lightwave to see if she knew who the mystery man controlling
her was. Realizing he was stalling, Lightwave insisted they attack the convoy,
and they swiftly claimed the final component, but before they could escape,
Firestar and Spider-Man arrived. Lightwave quickly trapped both heroes in
force bubbles, causing them to pass out, and took them back to Buzz's lair, where Buzz subjected them to the brainwashing beam.
However, when Buzz attempted to do so, Iceman revealed his hand, blocking
the brainwashing beam with an ice shield and briefly trapping Lightwave in
a column of ice. Leaping to the exterior of the control booth, Spider-Man
recognized Buzz through the glass, but the rogue agent fled, ordering Lightwave
to break free and follow. Iceman again tried to appeal to her to fight Buzz's
control, but instead she stunned all three heroes, then knocked them out
by using a switch in the control booth to electrify the floor.
After placing the three heroes in a cell to deal with later, Buzz
completed the quantum enhancer and instructed Lightwave to enter it, then
take control of Guardstar. Moments after she stepped into the enhancer, the
heroes interrupted, having easily escaped their imprisonment. Spider-Man
used his webbing to pull Lightwave out of the enhancer, allowing Firestar
and Iceman to safely destroy it. Breaking the webbing, Lightwave joined Buzz
in fleeing to the rocket, and he swiftly launched it, unaware the heroes
had managed to hitch a ride. Mason flew the rocket to the vicinity of Guardstar,
then ordered Lightwave to convert to light, exit the rocket, and take over
the satellite. In a matter of moments she had done so, and returned to the
ship and a gloating Buzz, but before he could use his new acquisition, the
three heroes entered the bridge. After Lightwave easily knocked out Firestar,
Iceman persistently made yet another attempt to reason with his sister, but
when it became clear words were not working, he attacked. Their fight placed
him next to the airlock, and Buzz ejected him into space. Lightwave pinned
Spider-Man with her powers, while he begged her to save Iceman, noting that
Bobby's powers would only protect him very briefly from exposure to the danger
of outer space. Buzz laughed maniacally, confident of his control and even
pointing out Bobby floating outside the bridge's window. However, seeing
her brother thus endangered finally broke the brainwashing, and Lightwave
blasted Buzz, then raced off the ship in her light form and rescued Iceman
using a photon force bubble. The group returned to Earth and the
S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Cleared off the charges against her, Aurora visited
Bobby as he recovered in the sick bay, grateful to have his sister back.
Comments: Created by Dennis Marks (writer) and Marvel Productions Ltd. (see Appearances list of list of artists).
Lightwave was voiced by Annie Lockhart.
No explanation is given as to why Iceman's mother had a daughter by another man in this reality. She might have been widowed, had an affair, been divorced and remarried, etc. Whatever the cause, it is clear that Bobby and Aurora had a reasonably decent sibling relationship - while big brother Iceman might have teased his little sister and known which buttons to push to annoy her, they also clearly cared about one another. Even if we can't be sure that they grew up together, they must have at least spent a good amount of time together to develop this bond, and to know personal details such as Lightwave's love for Whiny. It's probably not unreasonable to assume that Bobby's parents had the same name on Earth-8107 as they did on Earth-616 - William Drake and Madeline Beatrice Bass Drake - and thus we might also conclude that Lightwave's father had the surname Dante. But we can't be sure of either of these. I've always liked Lightwave and would have liked to see her transition to 616 as Firestar and Videoman did, so I personally feel that it is a shame that they confirmed Aurora and Bobby shared a mother. We know 616 Bobby's parents stayed together, but it would be easier for a male parent than a female one to hide an affair that resulted in a pregnancy and thus allow for the introduction of a previously unmentioned half-sister. Maybe we could see Lightwave in an Exiles team, if they ever revive that idea.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Lightwave has no known connections to
Buzz Mason was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a secret megalomaniacal streak. Realizing the powers of young mutant agent Aurora Dante (Lightwave) could be used to seize control of the soon-to-launch Guardstar defense satellite, he secretly brainwashed her. Knowing her powers lacked the range to control the satellite once it was launched into orbit, he sent her out to steal components needed to build a quantum enhancer to boost her powers. He set up base in a seemingly abandoned warehouse, and installed a rocket capable to reaching orbit, a back-up to get Lightwave into range if she failed to procure the enhancer parts.
After Spider-Man, Firestar and Iceman stumbled across one of the
robberies, Buzz decided he needed to keep tabs on them. Approaching the first
two in his capacity as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he claimed he needed their help
capturing Lightwave, and advised them of where she would strike next. However,
he also forewarned Lightwave, so she easily escaped them. When she returned
with not only the next component but also a captured Iceman, Buzz tried to
brainwash him, and, unaware it had failed, ordered Iceman to assist Lightwave
on her next robbery. This time they returned with a captured Spider-Man and
Firestar, but when Buzz tried to brainwash them too, Iceman dropped his pretense
and saved them. Buzz's villainy was exposed, but he and Lightwave fled to
the rocket and launched into orbit. Buzz then had Lightwave take over the
Guardstar, but before he could use it to blackmail the world, the heroes
revealed they had managed to board the rocket and confronted him. As Iceman
tried to reason with Lightwave, Buzz seized an opportunity to launch the
hero out the airlock,. but seeing her brother's life endangered broke Lightwave
free of Buzz's control, and she overpowered him, then rescued Iceman. Back
on Earth, Buzz was handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D., and arrested.
--Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar"
The Guardstar was a defense satellite designed to control all U.S. defense systems and communication systems. Some part of its control systems involved light, so that after Lightwave made contact with it, Buzz could theoretically control it remotely even after she was no longer in contact with the satellite. After it was launched, Lightwave did commandeer it for her master, but his control lasted only a few seconds before Buzz was defeated.
--Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar"
Buzz used a high-tech chamber which brainwashed those inside using a beam of lights that somehow weakened the will. The glass booth that held the victim was not actually required, so when Iceman smashed out of the device during the process, Buzz simply refocused the beam outside the broken booth and continued the attempt. Protected by his ice coating reflecting the light, Iceman only pretended to be brainwashed, and when Buzz later tried to brainwash Spider-Man and Firestar, Iceman blocked the beam with an ice shield.
--Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar"
A device built from stolen components taken from various sources, including Maration Electronics, Stonewell Engineering and the U.S. military, the quantum enhancer was intended to boost Lightwave's powers one thousandfold, to the point where her light blasts would have the range to reach the orbiting Guardstar. Once the device was completed, Lightwave entered it on Buzz Mason's command, and it began to boost her powers, but her brother and his friends arrived. Spider-Man yanked Lightwave out of the chamber with his webbing, and Iceman and Firestar destroyed it.
--Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar"
images: All images from Spider-Man and His Amazing
Friends cartoon episode - "Mission: Save the Guardstar"
3:21 (Lightwave, full costume shot)
22:53 (unmasked headshot)
4:44 (masked headshot)
2:36 (emitting light pulses)
3:11 (firing laser or maybe force beam - it's unclear)
4:55 (these are probably laser beams)
22:09 (this one looks like a laser, but is pinning Spidey to a wall, which
seems more like a forcebeam)
2:47 (but this one is definitely meant to be her forcebeam...I think)
13:11 (flying)
21:03 (light form)
10:48 (Buzz as the mysterious villain in the shadows)
5:08 (unshadowed Buzz)
20:58 (Guardstar)
6:28 (brainwashing device)
19:01 (Quantum enhancer)
Appearances:
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
cartoon episode, "Mission: Save the Guardstar" (November 5, 1983) -
Dennis Marks (writer, producer), Bruce Bennett, Norm Cabral, Dan
Faucett, Neil Galloway, Greg Garcia, Gary Graham, Rick Graham, Karl
Hepworth, Stuart Heimdall, Elaine Hultgren, Boyd Kirkland, Debra Pugh,
Dave Sharp, Roy Smith, Tom Tholen, Grant Wilson, Roy Wilson, Bob Foster
(layouts), Jan Green, Rick Hoberg, Cullen Houghtaling, Larry Houston,
Sherman Labby, Will Meugniot, Dick Sebast, Bob Schaffer, Don Shepard,
Hank Tucker, Warren Tufts (storyboards), Gerry Chiniquy, Steve Clark,
John Gibbs, Sid Marcus, Bob Richardson, Nelson Shin, Arthur Vitello
(animation directors)
Last updated: 08/02/17
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Brainwashing device
Quantum Enhancer