Editing Princess Projectra

{{short description|DC Comics character}}
{{about|the humanoid version of the character|the post-Zero Hour/pre-Threeboot version|Sensor (character)}}
{{Infobox comics character<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| image = Projectra.jpg
| caption = Princess Projectra as depicted in ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' (vol. 5) #6 (2005). Art by [[Barry Kitson]].
| character_name = Princess Projectra
| publisher = [[DC Comics]]
| debut = '''As Princess Projectra''':<br>''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #346 (July 1966)<br>'''As Sensor Girl''':<br>''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' (vol. 3) #14 (September 1985)
| creators = [[Jim Shooter]]
| alter_ego = 
| full_name = Projectra (pre-Zero Hour); Wilimena Morgana Daergina Annaxandra Projectra Velorya Vauxhall (Threeboot Legion)
| species = [[List of alien races in DC Comics#Orandans|Orandan]]
| homeworld = Orando
| alliances = [[Legion of Super-Heroes]]
| aliases = Queen Projectra, Sensor Girl
| supports=<!--optional-->
| powers = *Illusion generation
*Remote sensing
}}

'''Princess Projectra''' (later '''Sensor Girl''') is a fictional character, a [[Superhero#Female superheroes|superhero]]ine in the [[DC Comics]] [[DC Universe|universe]]. Typically portrayed as a haughty member of an alien royal family, she is from the 30th and 31st centuries and is a member of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]].<ref name="fah">{{cite book
 | last =Knight
 | first =Gladys L.
 | title =Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television
 | publisher =[[ABC-CLIO]]
 | date =2010
 | pages =248
 | language =en
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0PKSFHwhTGYC
 | isbn = 9780313376122
 | access-date=2019-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | last =Misiroglu
 | first =Gina
 | title =The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes
 | publisher =[[Visible Ink Press]]
 | date =2012
 | pages =218
 | language =en
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=RgVlCwAAQBAJ
 | isbn = 9781578593972
 | access-date=2019-09-22}}</ref>

Projectra was one of [[Jim Shooter]]'s early creations on Legion of Super Heroes that helped cement his place in history as one of the seminal creators for the Legion.<ref>{{cite web
 | url =https://comicsalliance.com/tribute-jim-shooter/
 | title =The Kid Who Took Over: The Extraordinary Career of Jim Shooter
 | last =Collins
 | first =Elle
 | date =2016-09-27
 | website =comicsalliance.com
 | publisher =[[ComicsAlliance]]
 | access-date =2019-09-22
 | quote = Some of [Shooter's] earliest Legion stories loom especially large in that team's history.}}</ref> Shooter sold the original script in which Projectra debuted to DC Comics editor [[Mort Weisinger]] when Shooter was only 14 years old.<ref name="shooter">{{cite book
 | editor-last1=Sacks
 | editor-first1=Jason
 | editor-last2=Hoffman
 | editor-first2=Eric
 | editor-last3=Grace
 | editor-first3=Dominick
 | title = Jim Shooter: Conversations
 | publisher =[[University Press of Mississippi]]
 | series =Conversations with Comic Artists Series
 | date =2017
 | language =en
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=5VMmDwAAQBAJ
 | isbn = 9781496811806
 | access-date=2019-09-22}}</ref>

==Publication history==
In 1965, when he was just 13 years old, [[Jim Shooter]] submitted an unsolicited script to DC Comics editor [[Mort Weisinger]]. Weisinger was so impressed, he asked Shooter to send in another script.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |pages=109–110}}</ref> Shooter created a short origin story for Princess Projectra and several other characters and sent it in. Weisinger purchased all of these, and immediately started giving him writing assignments.<ref name="shooter"/>

Shooter's Projectra story first appeared in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #346 (July 1966) ("[[One of Us Is a Traitor]]"), when Shooter was 14 years old.<ref name="fah"/><ref name="shooter"/> The character later resigned from the Legion of Superheroes, and left the title, though later Legionnaire writer [[Paul Levitz]] had always intended to bring her back to the series in some form.<ref name="tm">{{cite book
 | last =Cadigan
 | first =Glen
 | title = The Legion Companion
 | publisher =[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]
 | date =2003
 | language =en
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=lEWHfXUwUAwC
 | isbn = 9781893905221
 | access-date=2019-09-22}}</ref>

In 1985, in the ''Who Is Sensor Girl?'' storyline, a new character "Sensor Girl" was introduced. This character was fully masked, and when eventually unmasked, turned out to have been Projectra the whole time.

Sensor Girl's true identity was unknown to the other characters in the story and even to some of the creators on the title. Penciller [[Steve Lightle]], who created Sensor Girl's costume, had no idea the character was supposed to be Princess Projectra, and believed her to be [[Supergirl]]. It is believed Levitz came up with the idea that Sensor Girl was Projectra significantly far into the development process of the story.<ref name="tm"/>

After this story line, she returned to her "Projectra" identity, but the character's most enduring association is arguably with this brief interlude as a mystery character.<ref name="ms">{{cite web
 | url =http://majorspoilers.com/2007/06/17/hero-history-sensor-girl/
 | title =Hero History of Sensor Girl
 | date =2007-06-17
 | website =majorspoilers.com
 | publisher =MajorSpoilers
 | access-date =2019-09-22
 | quote = Originally, like [legionnaires] Blok and Dawnstar, [Projectra] used her real name as her alias, but paradoxically found her greatest fame under a mask.}}</ref>

Starting in the July 2019 series ''Legion of Super Heroes: Millennium'', the character received a significant visual re-design.<ref name="cbr">{{cite web
 | url =https://www.cbr.com/legion-of-super-heroes-shrinking-violet-princess-projectra-redesigns/
 | title =Legion of Super-Heroes Concept Art Names Two More Revamped Legionnaires
 | last =Staley
 | first =Brandon
 | date =2019-08-14
 | website =cbr.com
 | publisher =[[Comic Book Resources]]
 | access-date =2019-09-22
 }}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
{{main|Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)}}

Projectra (often called by her nickname "Jeckie", a shortened form of her name) is a member of the [[royal family]] of the planet Orando, and possesses the superhuman ability to generate illusions affecting all five senses.<ref name="fah" /> Following the death of her father King Voxv, Projectra battles her cousin Pharoxx and grandmother Hagga, who seek to usurp the throne. Afterward, she becomes queen and a reserve Legion member. She later leaves the Legion after [[Nemesis Kid]] kills her lover [[Karate Kid (character)|Karate Kid]], and renounces her position as queen.<ref name="fah" /><ref name="ms" /><ref>{{cite comic|story=Lest Villainy Triumph|writer=[[Paul Levitz]]; [[Keith Giffen]]|penciller=Keith Giffen; [[Steve Lightle]]|inker=Larry Mahlstedt|volume=2|title=[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]|issue=4|date=Nov 1984|publisher=DC Comics}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic|story=An Eye for an Eye; a Villain for a Hero!|title=[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]|volume=2|issue=5|date=Dec 1984|publisher=DC Comics|writer=[[Paul Levitz]] and [[Keith Giffen]]| penciller =[[Steve Lightle]] |inker=Larry Mahlstedt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url =https://comicsalliance.com/guide-pre-crisis-30th-century-metropolis/
 | title =The Bottle City Travel Guide: Pre-Crisis 30th Century Metropolis
 | last =Sims
 | first =Chris
 | date =2015-04-28
 | website =comicsalliance.com
 | publisher = [[ComicsAlliance]]
 | access-date =2019-09-22
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite comics |date=October 1986 |title=Legion of Super-Heroes |story=Going Home |issue=27 |volume=3 |writer=Paul Levitz}}</ref>
[[File:Sensor Girl.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Projectra as Sensor Girl, drawn by [[Greg LaRocque]] and [[Mike DeCarlo]] in ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' #37 (Aug 1987).]]A temporal clone of Princess Projectra from "Batch SW6" appears in the [[Legion of Super-Heroes#"Five Years Later"|"Five Year Gap"]]. She serves as a member of the Legion before being killed by the [[Dominators (DC Comics)|Dominators]]' troops.

Princess Projectra is erased from existence following the ''[[Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!]]'' continuity reboot and replaced with [[Sensor (character)|Sensor]].<ref>''Legionnaires'' #43 (December 1996)</ref>

===Threeboot===
In the "[[Threeboot]]", Projectra is initially an ally and sponsor of the Legion. After Orando is destroyed, Projectra blames the Legion and seeks revenge against them. Furthermore, she gains the ability to manipulate the emotions of others.<ref name="lsh47">''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 5) #47 (December 2008)</ref><ref name="lsh49">''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 5) #49 (February 2009)</ref>

===Post-Infinite Crisis===
In the pages of ''[[Justice Society of America]]'' #6, the pre-''Crisis'' Sensor Girl returns. She is trapped in the past before [[Dawnstar]] rescues her and restores her memories using the code word "[[Lightning Lad]]". Following this, Sensor Girl returns to her time before traveling to the 21st century to save the future in ''Last Stand of New Krypton''.<ref>{{cite comic|story=Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton Prologue Part One: The Future Is Prologue|writer=[[Sterling Gates]]|penciller=Travis Moore |inker=Júlio Ferreira|title=Adventure Comics|volume=2|issue=8 / 511|date=Early May 2010}}</ref>

== In other media ==
Princess Projectra appears as a character summon in ''[[Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 2, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects - ''Scribblenauts Unmasked'' Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=July 30, 2024 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070623033134/http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/1645.htm A Hero History Of Princess Projectra/Sensor Girl]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090207212147/http://www.studiosanning.shawbiz.ca/legion_of_super-heroes/membership/princess_projectra/index.htm The Silver Age Pre-Crisis Princess Projectra]

{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}
{{Superman characters}}
{{Zatanna}}
[[Category:Characters created by Jim Shooter]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1966]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1985]]
[[Category:DC Comics aliens]]
[[Category:DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes]]
[[Category:DC Comics female superheroes]]
[[Category:Fictional princesses]]
[[Category:Legion of Super-Heroes members]]