Lady Lark

Origin

In the other dimensional Earth-like Squadron world (Earth-712), the heroine known as Lady Lark is Linda Lewis from Franklintown, New Babylon. Linda was a promising up and coming singer with a new record release before a tragic accident severed her vocal chords. An enemy of the Squadron Supreme, Doctor Decibel, surgically implanted synthetic vocal chords into her throat. The morbid Doctor's operation ended up giving her the ability to generate a "Sonic cry" which could incapacitate opponents, but sadly took away her natural ability to sing. Assuming the name Lady Lark, she set out on a career of heroics alongside the Squadron Supreme. A reluctant hero at best, Linda often wished to return to her singing career, never truly having the heart for adventuring and seeing her ability as a curse.

Creation

Lady Lark was created by John Buscema and Roy Thomas and first appeared in Avengers #85 in February 1971. As with the other members of the Squadron Supreme, she was created to mirror a DC Universe character, in this case, Black Canary. Interestingly, she went on to parallel a second DC character in her later incarnation as Skylark, this time imitating Hawkgirl.

Major Story Arcs

Silver Age

Linda as Lady Lark another adventurer early in her career going by the name the Golden Archer. Linda than often partnered in crime fighting, and later romantically, with the Golden Archer (mirroring the relationship between the DC Universe's Black Canary and Green Arrow). The two fought crime in the fictional city of New Babylon for a while. Wyatt and Linda eventually gained enough fame to be invited to join the Squadron Supreme shortly after the team formed.

Lady Lark was one of the Squadron members present in the Squadron's mansion base when the Avengers initially traveled to Earth-712, and was able to hold them off until defeated by the Vision. Sometime later the Squadron Supreme came to battle the Avengers once again, who help to free the Earth-712 from the influence of the ancient artifact known as the Serpent Crown. After this conflict Lady Lark and the Squadron were possessed yet again, this time by the Overmind. Freed from the Overmind and his ally Null the Living Darkness by the help of both the Avengers and the Defenders from the universe of Earth-712. The Squadron now faced failing governments and the collapse of all civilization as they had known it before the takeover by the Overmind. The stark reality shocked Lady Lark and the Squadron who were now seen as the cause to the world for their involvement..

She would later confront the Avengers again amongst the rest of the Squadron Supreme when they were taken over by their world's mystical Serpent Crown. The third time heroes from Earth-616 traveled to Earth-712, Linda and the rest of the Squadron were being controlled by Overmind. With the timely intervention of Earth-616 the Defenders were able to stop However the aftermath of the battle left Earth-712 in devastation, the economy, government and military coming into total collapse. And this is what led the Squadron Supreme to try and fix it with their biggest idea yet: The Utopia Principle

Bronze Age

With the newly changed protocols and approach developed under the Utopia Project, the Squadron took the helm of the US government. The Squadron layout the plans for their new program called Project Utopia. The project involves taking over the world's government through peaceful means by convincing the people to allow them to transform the world into a true civilized paradise, achieve true safety and prosperity to the Earth. It's during the Squadron's implementation of the Utopia Program Lady Lark was one of the heroes who voted to implement a Utopia Society for America. The Squadron state the project will take one year to complete.

Linda had a serious change of heart about her relationship with the Archer. Linda had also started to have a budding attraction to her teammate the Blue Eagle, going on more and more working assignments together. During this time of her personal tug-of-war with her emotions Archer had come to near death during a mission to disarm a militia group.

Because of this the Archer got to thinking about how he wasn't going to live forever so he decided to ask Linda to marry him, since they had been dating for several years now. The Archer had been feeling that there was a distance building between him and Linda but he still asked for her hand in marriage. Linda went to speak to Arcanna about her conflict of the heart, and she was advised to follow what she truly wanted. Linda than spoke to the Archer and refused his marriage proposal letting him know her true feelings she had grown to have for him, as a close friend. In an angry outburst the Archer accused her of having a fling with the Blue Eagle, blaming him for taking her away.

The Archer then used a mind-altering device created by the genius Tom Thumb to literally change her mind, but this had the unintended side effect of altering her personality to an air-headed, vapid persona that put her feelings for the Archer above all other priorities. After the other members of the Squadron noticed Linda's severe obsession, they confronted Archer. He confessed what he did and was expelled from the ranks of the Squadron, Linda insisting that she loves him regardless, quit to be with him. Tom Thumb was unable to change back Linda's normal personality without possible brain damage.

It is not explained how, but Archer managed to separate from Lady Lark and joined up with Nighthawk's rebel team the Redeemers who are opposed to the Utopia Program, believing humanity must make its own way to true utopia. In a final effort to bring down the scheme, the Redeemers fight the Squadron Supreme. The Archer dies in this battle under his later identity of the Black Archer, causing Lady Lark seemingly to slowly shake off the effects of the mental modification, and she returned to active status with the Squadron.

Feeling she needed to increase her abilities to stand beside teammates that she perceived as more powerful, she began using the artificial wings that once belonged to deceased paramour Blue Eagle to gain the power of flight.

The Nth Man

In this new persona, Linda traveled into space with the other Squadron members to face the Nth Man, an immensely powerful entity threatening to destroy the Universe. The team defeat their enemy through the sacrifice of Arcanna Jones' son Benjamin who switches places with the Nth Man, but the team are transported away from their dimension by their double-crossing enemy Master Menace and they end up trapped in Earth-616 reality.

Skylark

While in our reality (Earth-616), Linda renames herself Skylark. With this new ability came greater confidence, and Skylark became far more aggressive in combat than she had been as her previous alter ego of Lady Lark. Since she was transported with the rest of her team to Earth-616, the team based themselves at the government energy research facility Project Pegasus. There they came under the telepathic influence of the Corruptor. As a result, they clashed with the Avengers and the Thunderbolts. Thanks to her new flight ability, Skylark became far more active in battle than she had previously been.

After being freed from the Corruptor's influence, she and the Squadron members are assisted in returning home by the Avengers. After returning to her native dimension with the team, she was injured in reentry and was remanded to hospital care.

Personal Data

Characteristics

Weight: 120 lbs

Height: 5'6"

Hair: Red

Eyes: Blue

Status

Citizenship: United States of America Earth-712

Place of birth: Franklintown, New Babylon U.S.A

Marital status: Single

Education: Unknown

Occupation: Costumed crimefighter, former recording pop vocalist

Identity: Public

Known relatives: None

Appearance

Linda is an attractive young woman with blue eyes and auburn hair. Her look has changed quite a lot since she first came out as Lady Lark. For the most part a tan feather motif continues in all her looks. Accented by black and white, a choker, she now sports a green belt. Once having a bouncy mid-length hairstyle she now has a buzz-cut with what appears to be a feathered mullet. She accents the look with dark eyeshadow to appear as a mask.

Complications

Having been Behavior Modified by her former lover the Golden Archer, Linda was made to be deeply in love with him. She was unable to be separated from him for more than an hour. She became completely consumed with expressing her love for him and ignored her duties and fellow teammates issues with the Golden Archer. She later became alleviated of the behavior modification at Golden Archers death.

Powers and Equipment

After Linda was awakened from the operation on her vocal cords she found that although she could never sing again as she now possessed a powerful sonic voice. Linda is able to emit powerful hypersonic emissions with a range of effects from shattering from glass to concrete, knocking out a wide ranged concussive cone, and even capable of upsetting others' equilibrium.

She has also had former unarmed combat lessons from various Squadron teammates in the past making Linda a capable fighter.

As Skylark she has adapted the artificial wings of her former paramour Blue Eagle, she now wears them and has become a fair aerialist combining her sonic-scream while flying over opponents.

Alternate Realities

Earth-31916 (Skylark)

An alternate Lady Lark is seen as Skylark in the universe of Earth-31916. When that world's versions of Emil Burbank, Nuke, Arcanna, Shape, and Hyperion accidentally traveled to their future, a young Caucasian woman referred to as Skylark riding floating sky-bike briefly appeared. Skylark, Lamprey, Black Archer (Wyatt McDonald), Doctor Spectrum, and Blue Eagle(Jim Dore) team up to attack Mark. Skylark uses her powerful sonic blast to stun him, as the female Lamprey siphons off a portion of his power and Black Archer uses his explosive arrows as distraction. Doctor Spectrum opens up with a crystal powered blast that punches Mark into the ground.

Skylark and the entire team give way as Zarda comes in for the kill, plunging in to batter Mark even farther into the ground and he is knocked unconscious. As Emil and Arcanna work to convince Nuke to help transport them home. Nuke with much objection helps transport them back, realizing that Mark is the cause of his cursed powers because he had spread the spore when his ship landed on Earth.

Once having returned to their own time Arcanna and Emil present their report to General Alexander, indicating that Mark is now ready to return as an agent for the government. Arcanna explains her observation that the quantum reality they slipped into has ceased to exist as a separate line of possibility. Which means that this version of Skylark and her teammates cease to also exist. However Emil concludes that in fact the alternate reality was the future of their own timeline, based on a newspaper clipping he had obtained while being in the future. He decides that the two years remaining are enough time to do what he needs to in order to be prepared for Mark's takeover of the Earth.

Earth-616 (Zombie clone)

On Earth-616, an imperfect clone of Lady Lark was created by Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Like his teammates, this Hyperion is a zombified clone of the hero of Earth-712 and is created by scientists who are attempting to give Earth its own Squadron Supreme. They graft the DNA of the Earth-712 team obtained the last time the team crossed into Earth-616. With the DNA grafted unto fresh corpses of normal humans they than zap them with space radiation known as the Z-wave. This animates the super-powered team to life, but with the unforeseen consequence that they are flesh-craving zombies.

Lady Lark and her fellow zombies believe they are the original Squadron Supreme and with no memory of how they got into the underground lab facility. This Lark zombie even continues a romance with the zombie Golden Archer, a twisted version of where the Earth-712 Lady Lark was in her relationship with the Archer. Lark and the team goes on a rampage before being quarantined. The Lady Lark zombie and rest of the Zombie Squadron immediately set upon eating as many people as they could. The US government sent a special military squad to investigate the abandoned Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S facility. They are sent with the superhuman Battlestar as a precaution against any loose super criminals. Soon coming into conflict with the Zombie Squadron most of the members from the military squad are killed and eaten.They ended up being killed by a dormant Jack of Hearts, who awakens before they could escape the facility.