Yankee Poodle
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Yankee Poodle (real name Rova Barkitt) is a character in the DC Comics universe, an anthropomorphic poodle. Yankee Poodle is a superhero who lived on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C (now Earth-26), an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals. Her first appearance was in The New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982).
Rova's name is a play on the name of gossip columnist Rona Barrett, while "Yankee Poodle" is a takeoff on the song "Yankee Doodle."
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Biography
While interviewing movie actor Byrd Rentals in his Follywood home, Rova was struck by a meteor fragment (which was launched toward Earth by the villain Starro the Conqueror); the result gave her the superpowers of "animal magnetism", as she described them. Joining with Byrd (who was also transformed by a separate meteor fragment), the two teamed up with other super-powered animals affected by the meteor; together, the group defeated Starro (with the aid of Superman), and decided to form the superhero team called the Zoo Crew.
Rova tended to reflect the values of her Follywood roots, and thus had a great fondness of things such as the group's public image, or her own (both in and out of costume). She also occasionally got into spats with the group's other female member, Alley-Kat-Abra.
After Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew was cancelled in 1983, Yankee Poodle's appearances in DC's comics, like the other members of the Zoo Crew, were limited to occasional cameos. However, a DC Comics character introduced in the 1990s, Stargirl, wears a costume that resembles Yankee Poodle's. Stargirl's creator, Geoff Johns, is said to be an avid fan of the Zoo Crew.
In Teen Titans #30-31 (December 2005-January 2006), Yankee Poodle and the rest of the Zoo Crew were featured in a short multi-part story purporting to be a Zoo Crew comic published in the mainstream DC Universe. This story followed the adventures of the Zoo Crew teammates in a grimmer, darker version of Earth-C, parodying the recent trend toward "grim and gritty" superhero comics. In this story, Yankee Poodle is shown having exposed the secret identities of several of the Zoo Crew members, and is mostly working as a solo heroine.
Countdown
In the Countdown tie-in Captain Carrot and the Final Ark, October 2007, written by Bill Morrison, with art by co-creator Scott Shaw. The team reunite in the midst of growing strife between the land and the sea creatures of (newly re-classified) Earth-26 sparked in part by Starro. In addition, Alley-Kat-Dabra reunites with the Crew claiming that the crimes she is accused of were caused by an evil doppelganger. Yankee raises the strongest doubts on this claim which convinces the Crew to allow Alley in a probationary status.
Unfortunately, their encounter with Starro left their powers neutralized except for Pig-Iron. Furthermore, that Earth is rendered uninhabitable and the Crew has an ocean liner loaded with refugees that was transported off the planet by the Just-A-Lot-Of-Animals. Unfortunately, the ship is accidentally sent to New Earth. Although the Justice League encounter the ship and land it safely, all the passengers, including The Crew are transformed into their animal forms indigenous to that Earth and, although they all apparently still have their human level intelligence, they are unable to speak.
However, Morrison states that while their forms have changed, the Crew is going to discover that their powers have also been restored outside Captain Carrot's whose costume and holstered carrots necessary to recharge are lost.[1] How Yankee Poodle and the Crew expect to cope with their predicament in a world unaware of their intelligence is left unanswered for now.
Powers and abilities
Yankee Poodle possessed powers of "animal magnetism", consisting of the ability to (as described in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #7) shoot semisolidified electromagnetic blue-colored "stars" with her right hand to repel objects, and generate red-and-white "stripes" with her left hand in order to attract objects. By using both hands at once, Yankee Poodle could generate highly destructive "magno-blasts." She could also use her powers to travel, by forming a ramp of stripes while propelling herself along it by shooting stars behind her.
Bibliography
- New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982)
- Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #1-20 (March 1982-November 1983)
- The Oz-Wonderland War #1-3 (January-March 1986)
