[See Moonstone (Pre-Meteorite) writeup for her basic powers]

Moonstone’s abilities have continued to evolve over time, possibly helped by the dual Moongems showing her how much more they were capable of, and Zemo’s use of them to do more than she could showing her how limited her use had been, encouraging her to test their limits.

She seems to have grown stronger and tougher, and her costume now tends to be less protective, more prone to ripping in combat, although since she can alter and repair it at will this poses little difficulty. She also seems faster, flying at speeds of around 500mph.

Her phasing ability has also grown, and has become one of her primary weapons in combat (although she didn’t use it as Meteorite to preserve her secret). As well as phasing herself, she’s now capable of phasing others, usually by touch, but did phase arrows in flight at one point (and when becoming possessed by the Moongem’s previous (Kree) wielder, she phased two groups of combatants, thereby ending the fight as they could no longer attack each other). Her phasing abilities don’t protect her from all damage, as pure energies can still harm her when phased, as can sonic attacks, wind, gravity manipulation, and she can apparently be attacked by astral travellers while phased. Magic swords, however, pass through her as easily as regular ones.

New powers she’s exhibited include the ability to increase the force of gravity on an individual, which is capable of keeping Nova pinned down, and the ability to harmlessly absorb energy.

The Moongem appears to have bonded more strongly to Karla now, so that if removed, as Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) managed to do, Karla will die within 3 days if not reunited with it.

She’s shown herself able to pilot a Skrull spacecraft, commenting that it was similar enough to Kree for her to be familiar with its operation. She’s also exhibited knowledge of the Kree language when reprogramming the Liberator. These probably leaked into her consciousness following her merging with the Moongem’s previous (Kree) wielder.

History

[Her earlier history can be found in the Moonstone (Pre-Meteorite) writeup, and a general history of her time on the Thunderbolts can be found in the team entry]

Justice, Like Lightning

Adopting the Meteorite identity, Karla changed her costume for the role, but her personality didn’t change much, and she began subtly trying to undermine Zemo. He was familiar enough with her by now to be wary, though, but that didn’t stop her machinations, such as when she manoeuvred him into accepting Jolt onto the team.

Karla adopted Jolt as a kind of surrogate younger sister, probably just as someone who’d be easily manipulated at first, but she did seem to come to genuinely care for her, no matter how much she later tried to pretend otherwise. Her inability to admit this was probably the reason Jolt remained so suspicious of her later, after the truth had been revealed. Jolt seemed to come to terms with the others, but Karla, who she’d originally come to feel close to, she could never quite forgave.

When their cover was finally blown, Karla was the fastest of those not expecting it to adapt to the change, ready to go on the run. But when everything turned, and Zemo’s plot appeared successful, she allowed herself to be talked into turning against him. She claimed to be turning against him because ruling the world would be too much work, but this doesn’t really sound like a valid reason for her.

On the Run

As the strongest personality of the remaining Thunderbolts, Karla assumed command, but this was more due to the others letting her than any particular aptitude, and while her decisiveness proved useful, some of her decisions would ultimately prove wrong, or short-sighted.

On Kosmos her only interest was getting back to Earth, so killing the King meant nothing to her, and she’d probably have let all the natives die without concern as long as she could get home.

During the confrontation with Graviton, Karla sole interest lay in surviving against an obviously overpowering opponent, so her convincing him that he lacked any true goal worked by getting him away, despite Jolt’s protests that they should have tried to stop him.

Under New Management

Pretending to defect to the Cowl’s Masters of Evil, Karla kept debating with herself whether she actually was going to switch sides, but even after giving the Thunderbolts’ presence away, she still hadn’t reached a decision, up till the last moment, when she just acted without knowing why she was doing it, foiling the Cowl’s plot.

Initially irritated at Hawkeye’s usurpation of command of the team, she nevertheless came to acknowledge his skill at commanding them in battle, and decided she preferred being the power behind the throne anyway. Unfortunately, he proved less than malleable, being a bit too impulsive. While beginning a relationship with him may have started out a way to gain control, she did eventually develop genuine feelings for him, which may have contributed to her desire to become a better person.

Having to again confront Graviton as his captive, in a far worse situation this time, she found he was trying to impress her, to prove that he’d become better than when last they’d met. To her surprise as much as his she laughed in his face, telling him that he was still trying to prove himself to others, and insisted she’d rather die alongside her team mates than rule by his side.

Shaken by Jolt’s death, she typically suppressed her feelings, but the stress of this may well have added to the anxieties she was undergoing with her identity.

Moonstoned

She began having visions of herself as a blue Kree warrior (an evolution of the bad dreams she’d started having before Hawkeye joined), which had been pushing her strongly towards redemption. The struggle between them reached a point where this persona partially took over, and she abandoned the Thunderbolts to search for an answer, although her unwillingness to ask for help slowed the process. Subtly guided by the Kree Supreme Intelligence, captive in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base on the moon, she travelled to him where she learned part of the history of the Moongem.

 

Offered help to deal with the problem on Titan, Karla learned there that the personality of the stone’s previous wielder had taken over due to her own confusion over the changes she was experiencing, as she tried to change her very sense of self. Mentor and ISACC altered the stone so that the stored personality would no longer be accessed, but they had reservations about allowing Karla to continue possessing the stone, and were only convinced by Hawkeye and Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) arguing for her.

Redeemed

Pardoned, but barred from using her powers, and unable to get a decent job due to her poor reputation, Karla showed little enthusiasm for such anyway, sure that returning to her previous profession would only be a let down after her former life. When Graviton offered her the opportunity to help him overcome his drawbacks, she allowed herself to be persuaded, even though she knew it was wrong, but this was likely due to having no other options which wouldn’t involve hard work. So, lost and alone, with neither Jolt nor Hawkeye there to guide her, she fell back on old habits, taking the easy option.

Despite his willingness to accept her advice, she found it difficult to manipulate Graviton, and was thrown off guard by some of his actions, such as when he lifted a pebble from the other side of the world and used it to kill someone in Australia. It was only later, when he was fighting the Thunderbolts, that he told her his victim had been Deanna Stockbridge.

While this threw her off momentarily, Karla never actually managed to make a decision on her loyalties during the fight, sitting on the fence until the true threat became obvious, unwilling to risk her survival by turning against the near-omnipotent Graviton.

Brave New World

Karla enjoyed her role of reshaping the minds of a world’s leaders, creating a new way of thinking for the new world they had to build. She was wary of this Counter-Earth’s Lloyd Bloch, known as Phantom Eagle, though, but he seemed as easily manipulated as the original. When she recognised the MO of a murder on Attilan as being similar to her powers, and the victim bearing a resemblance to her, she confronted him, using her greater experience with the Moongem to pull his from his body, absorbing it into her own, the second Moongem greatly amplifying her abilities. She also learned that the stone itself had been driving him insane due to his incompatibility, and would soon have killed him, as it would the original Bloch if Karla hadn’t taken his stone.

Her relationship with Zemo changed during this time, as both of them had changed, and while they retained an aloof distance, there was a greater trust (or at least less likelihood of them working against each other), and they came to better understand their similarities.

Choices

While sending Hawkeye away was partly because they were sure he wouldn’t approve of what they were going to do, Moonstone seemed genuine about wanting to be certain she was making the choices she had for herself and not because he was with her. While he confronted her that she hadn’t responded to his admission of feeling when he’d been going to jail, she only admitted to loving him when alone after he’d left.

Project: Liberator

Not fully trusting Zemo to be in charge of so much stored power, Karla set up a hidden program within the Liberator which would allow her to seize the power, which she claimed was to safeguard against Zemo, although even she may not know for certain whether it was truly done for altruistic reasons, rather than her need to manipulate.

Regardless, the machine was damaged, and the power passed to her, her twin stones barely allowing her to maintain control. The stress left her emotionally unstable, lashing out at everyone, and dubious of everyone’s motives. Her actions became increasingly erratic, the leaking energy more becoming dangerous, and in the end even Hawkeye, who’d been holding the others off as he tried to reason with her, was forced to turn against her, taking the shot which ultimately stopped her.

Left comatose, Zemo having disappeared with the stones, she was taken into care by the Commission on Superhuman Activities, who kept her in a medical facility.

The Thunderbolts Army

With the stones shattered and half-merged in Songbird, Karla’s personality, recorded by the stones, was forced to work with Songbird in order for both of them to escape. Karla was finally restored to her body, now with only one Moongem, and found herself in a changed world, in the aftermath of the Superhuman Registration Act.

[It’s unclear what happened to the second Moongem. Both were shattered at the same time, the shards showering Songbird. They disappeared from her once Karla woke, and since then she’s been back to the single Moongem power levels, with a couple of references to her having only one Moongem, and Ms Marvel pulling a single Moongem out of her.]

Osborn’s Bastards

Assigned to work for a government sanctioned super-group, with a PR department that ensured her the popularity and respect she’d always wanted, Karla took happily to the new Thunderbolts. Especially when she was assigned team leader over Songbird by their new boss, Norman Osborn, a highly unstable individual who she felt confident she could manipulate. Managing to gain access to his medication, she swapped occasional ones for placebos, to keep him off balance.

By this point she’d developed a true hatred of Songbird, who’d achieved the redemption Karla had been striving for. This became so strong that she’d tried pulling Swordsman (Andreas Strucker) into her plans by suggesting Songbird dying on a mission would open up a path for them to take control of the group. He had little interest in working with her, however, not wanting to be drawn into her machinations.

During this period she was acting more like her old villainous self, which their authority seemed to give her license to do, and didn’t really interact with anyone she didn’t try to manipulate. She socialized with some of the support staff, but only for sex.

When the team came under the influence of the captive telepaths, Karla was nudged into letting her grudge against Doc Samson erupt in a punch. Vastly overpowered, she didn’t cause much damage, and didn’t last long as Samson put her through one wall, and then a blast from Penance sent her through a few more, leaving her needing a fortnight for her body to stabilize before she could have neurosurgery.

Secret Invasion

During the attack against the Skrull invaders, Osborn assigned Karla to keep an eye on the returned Andrea Strucker, whom they both assumed to be a Skrull. She followed Andrea and her brother on board one of the ships, and when the opportunity arose, knocked Andreas out before he could finish the Skrulls. Karla then offered to switch sides if they offered her enough (South America). Unfortunately, it turned out Andrea wasn’t a Skrull. She killed the Skrulls, and would have killed Moonstone if Bullseye hadn’t arrived and killed her first.

Karla took satisfaction in drugging Penance and having him institutionalised, and in being able to openly try to kill Songbird, exhibiting no remorse when she was believed dead.

Dark Reign

While reluctant to change her identity, she accepted the role of Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers being recently presumed deceased (after Osborn arranged to have her killed), and joined Osborn’s Avengers. She was less than happy at him taking field command, and especially at being subordinate to Victoria Hand. She acted out in increasingly overt ways, culminating in making out with Hawkeye (Bullseye) on the meeting table, aware that the surveillance cameras (and H.A.M.M.E.R. guards) were watching.

She’d also seduced Noh-Varr (Captain Marvel), but he’d run away after she accidentally let him know the team was mainly super-villains. Whether this was actually accidental, or whether she’d been manipulating him to get back at Osborn, is open to question.

As part of government regulations, she was required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The psychiatrist assigned, Dr. Gerald Wright, turned out to be a telepath and former C.I.A. agent, looking for revenge on her and the team. While rummaging around in her head, she let him awaken the memory of killing her mother, which shook him enough to give Karla the chance to break free, and probably kill him.

War of the Marvels

Ordered by Osborn to find A.I.M., Karla followed leads Danvers had left, which led her to their accounting department in Atlanta. Trying to establish a truce, she was given a tour of their facility, and encountered the Storytellers, baby M.O.D.O.C.’s (Mental Organisms Designed Only for Computing) genetically engineered to alter reality, an earlier incarnation of which Danvers had met. Wanting Ms. Marvel to save them, they telepathically influence Karla to take them, and she hid them in her room in Avengers Tower, while searching for their sibling.

During her tour of the facility, however, A.I.M. had pulled a meteor from space, aimed at Avengers Tower. They revealed this to her, expecting her to fly after it, but she ended the tour before intercepting it and diverting it into their building.

The rest of the Avengers were drawn in when the Tower is attacked by an energy being after the Storytellers. It was fought off, but the babies, moved to Thunderbolt Mountain for safekeeping when Osborn learned of them, were soon stolen by Deadpool, on behalf of A.I.M..

Karla tried to recover them, but the New Avengers got them ahead of her, along with other mysterious energy beings. With the babies reunited, the energy beings were merged together into the not-quite-dead Carol Danvers, whom Karla attacked. Despite a vicious, public, fight, neither of them could seem to finish the other, and Danvers disappeared shortly before Sentry arrived to call Karla back to Osborn.

While Ms. Marvel (Danvers) was later captured, it turned out she’d been split into two beings by the Storytellers, but when the other, Catherine Donovan, was killed by Osborn while Karla was battling the escaped Ms. Marvel, Donovan’s personality was shunted into Karla’s body, taking control while Karla was trapped in her own mind.

Reasserting herself as Moonstone, she managed to expel the Donovan persona, which remerged with Ms. Marvel, making her whole again. Continuing their battle, Danvers used her energy absorption powers to pull the Moongem out of Karla, depowering her. Danvers told her she could find it if she thought of the moment she lost the ability to be a human being.

Travelling to her mother’s grave, Karla found the Moongem atop it. She reabsorbed the stone, then smashed the gravestone in rage.

Siege

Accompanying Osborn’s primary assault against Asgard, Karla was among those who attacked and nearly killed Thor. She also fought Danvers again, but Osborn interfered, blasting Danvers in the back. When the fight was obviously lost, Karla tried to flee, but was brought down by Iron Man. Arrested, she was sent to the Raft prison.

Heroic Age

Approached about becoming part of the new Thunderbolts as part of her sentence, Karla wasted no time in accepting, having no doubt she’d be accepted to the program, despite the reservations of her personal guard, Songbird.

Personality

[See also the personality notes of the earlier writeup]

Starting out with the Thunderbolts, Karla was pretty much the same as in her previous incarnation, although her Meteorite persona was a more measured faade that gave nothing away, always playing to the media. At heart though, she remained unchanged, with a seeming compulsive need to manipulate everyone, to assure herself of her superiority. This need also led her to lead the team after Zemo was gone, but she was smart enough to realize Hawkeye’s better suitability to the role when he appeared.

It was a while before she really began to want to change, or before she could admit it to herself, anyway. She seemed to initially stay with the others for the safety of numbers, and the desire to redeem herself was so different from her normal way of being and thinking that it took a long time, and intervention by an alien intelligence, to make her understand that she actually wanted it. She never quite got the being a hero part though, and constantly questioned herself about whether she was doing what others wanted her to.

She developed a big-sisterly affection for Jolt, and romantic feelings towards Hawkeye, both of which could have influenced her path. Indeed she worried that it was Hawkeye’s influence in particular which had guided her down this path, and this doubt may have stopped her being as committed to the relationship as she might otherwise have been. Ultimately she could only admit she loved him to herself.

Despite her intelligence, her lack of definite long-term goals means she rarely thinks beyond the short-term, and frequently takes the easiest option, not necessarily thinking through the long-term consequences of her decisions.

Her superiority and need for independence make it difficult for her to ask others for help, and there have been occasions where her pride has become self-destructive, such as when the personality of the former wielder of the Moongem’s power was taking her over, and Moonstone tried breaking into the Fantastic Four’s computers rather than ask Mr. Fantastic for help.

She seems to hold grudges against both the Hulk and Leonard Samson, more so for the latter. The Hulk she feels an intellectual superiority to, but her early defeats at his hand have left their mark, as she feels he was responsible for her being stuck in flunky roles for so long. Her enmity for Samson is more pronounced, and likely also involves some jealousy of his professional reputation.

There are a couple of aspects of her personality during this period that are harder to explain: her dealing with having killed her mother, and her reversion to a villain following her waking from the coma (when she again became arrogant, manipulative, and vindictive). Both of these involve a bit of speculation.

Matricide

As for killing her mother, it’s possible that she was blocking it out, and it was only when Dr. Wright forced her to let it out did she have to deal with it, but it doesn’t seem likely she’d be able to suppress that through all the rest of the stuff she’d gone through before.

It’s possible that this act triggered her need for redemption, as it showed her what she really was. It could be responsible for driving her to want to change, while stopping her from ever reaching that point by making her feel she isn’t worth saving, and can never fully atone for the act.

Reversion to Type

Waking from her coma she found herself left behind. Her relationship with Hawkeye had ended when he’d turned on her during the Liberator incident (and he’d died and come back since, but she may not have been aware he’d come back). The other Thunderbolts had moved on with their lives, Songbird (Songbird!?!) becoming the calm, collected, and respected leader Karla should have become. And Zemo had used her Moongems in ways she never had.

Then she was offered a place on a government sponsored team, and instead of having to toe the line, she was actually encouraged to act more like her own villainous self, all the while gaining more public acclaim and trust than she ever did as a Thunderbolt. So she fell into her old habits, taking the easy path, and seemed to be rewarded for it, becoming an Avenger, and Ms. Marvel.

While outwardly happy with her situation, Karla displayed symptoms of unease, in her constantly pushing the boundaries with Osborn, manipulating him and fiddling with his medication. She engaged in random casual relationships more than she had before, sometimes openly trying to cause friction with her team mates. And she developed a true hatred of Songbird, actually trying to kill the one person who’d accomplished what she’d been trying to do, the model of what she could have been, always shoving it in her face.

So it’s possible that without a Jolt or Hawkeye to urge her to become a better person, she’d lost the momentum to do it on her own, and her inability to ask others for help left her in a subtly self-destructive cycle. It seems to be when she’s on her own, with no one else to disagree with or manipulate (such as when they were pardoned, but had to give up using their powers) she loses focus and direction.

DC Universe History

Serving on the Suicide Squad when it was reformed under Osborn’s control, he took Karla with him when he was elevated, and she joined his new Justice League as Superwoman. His empire soon disintegrated, and Karla would have been imprisoned alongside him if a Sinestro ring hadn’t shown up to recruit her.

Writeup completed on the 27th of March, 2011.