Nature Boy was lost at sea when he was a baby. The Greek Gods took pity on him and saved his life. Plus, they each gave him aspects of their powers. For example, Neptune gave the boy control over water. He also gained control over wind, fire, earth, love, the skies, electricity, and ice. Some of the Gods that gave him power (like Friga) sound vaguely familiar. Others (like Gusto) seem to be made-up. Either way, Nature Boy is a powerhouse who used his powers back in the 1950s to fight crime.
But this isn't about Nature Boy. This blog is about Nature Girl. Nature Girl is a jungle-based superhero from 1957 who had one adventure back in NATURE BOY #5. We don't know her real name. We don't know her full range of powers. We don't know her connection to Nature Boy or if she shares a similar origin. But we do know that she likes elephants!
She has a pet elephant named Bonga whom she loves very much. However, she keeps Bonga chained to a tree in the middle of the jungle. I'm sure that's handy for keeping track of your elephants, but it also makes them easy-pickings for passing poachers. Which is the subject of today's story.
Bonga is being threatened by a poacher named Lazlo. Lazlo hates elephants, but enjoys shooting them. Fortunately, Nature Girl is nearby and uses her power over plants to get hurled towards her pet and its poacher:
Nature Girl tells Lazlo to leave Bonga alone, but he doesn't care. He just wants to shoot Bonga.
Fortunately, Nature Girl also has control over gravity and uses that power to rip Lazlo's rifle from his hands and then threatens to shoot him dead. Sort of.
Lazlo runs away. Bonga's life is saved and he's free to be leashed to a tree for yet another day!
Seriously, I kind of like Nature Girl. She has the potential to be something big. We have a template here, but nothing else. Somebody could do something really great with her origin, with the rest of her powers, and with her mission. And somebody could unleash poor Bonga!
Maybe that somebody could be me...