Kangas
Personal information
Real Name: Kangas - Alternatively Space Kangas, Sky-Kangas
Residence: Paradise Island
Occupation: Companion animal, mount
First Appearance (Golden Age):Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942)
Character History
The full origins of the creatures known as Kangas are shrouded in mystery. They are known to be an alien species most recently of the planet Nebulosta but given their interstellar travels, it is not known if that if their world of origin. The Amazons first encountered them with Princess Diana was approximately 7 years old but given the duration of Amazonian lifespans, it is not clear when in history this occurred.
The circumstances of Kangas arrival on Earth unfolded when the Amazons held a series of games in honor of Diana's 7th birthday, In the midst of the games, an apparent eclipse plunges the field into darkness. Peering through a telescope, Queen Hippolyte witnesses a giant asteroid creating that shadow and as she observes, masked invaders leap from the meteoroid on the backs of giant kangaroo like mounts.
Swarming the island, the invaders were perceived as men by the Amazons who doubted their ability to defeat them, as Aphrodite had based their power on keeping men off the island. The raiders wield powerful rays of blue fire that the Amazons seem unable to withstand. In the initial melee, the chief invader captures Hippolyte's magical girdle, greatly weakening the her warriors. Many Amazons were captured while Diana and the remaining children fled to the safety of a nearby cave. The invaders announced themselves as denizen of Nebulosta and claimed that the senses of the Kangas for excellent land masses across interstellar distances had brought them to Paradise Island.
With the queen in captivity, a delegation of Nebulostan invaders approached the cave and demanded their surrender or the queen would be executed. Diana, fearing for her mother's life, slipped away from the cave and seized one of the Kangas. After a valiant attempt to save the day, Diana is also captured and her life threatened if her mother does not surrender. Before Hippolyte can make an agonizing choice, Diana swings her cage and snags the girdle along with several pieces of the chief's cloak. Escaping once more, Diana returns the girdle to her mother and reveals that the cloak is how the raiders resist being hit by their own rays. Armed with this new knowledge, the Amazons gain the upper hand and unmasking their assailants, learn they are a race of Amazon-like women, thus Aphrodite's law remains unbroken. The defeated Nebulostans pledge fealty to Hippolyte, who offers them a place among the Amazons after some time on Transformation Island. The Kangas are then taken into domestication by the Amazons (Wonder Woman #23).
How many of the Kangas remained in captivity and how many may have returned to space is unknown. The Kangas joined other mounts retained by t he Amazons, including saddle-rabbits (Sensation Comics #37) and smaller bunny mounts for children (Wonder Woman #23). It is unknown how long kangas lived or how they bred, though they are known to do so. Specific examples of individual Kangas include Jumpa, Wonder Woman's chosen mount in the 1940's (Sensation Comics #6, 76 and Wonder Woman #23,#33). While she was being trained as a young girl on Paradise Island, Diana's daughter Lyta Trevor was given her own mount, Flicka (Infinity Inc #1) who birthed two male offspring, one of whom was named Trouble (Infinity Inc #16) and the other was unnamed. When Mr. Bones of Helix attempted to kidnap Trevor, the unnamed kanga-pup leaped to her defense and clamped onto one Bones' cyanide-infused hands, killing itself instantly. Trouble avoiding the same fate and remained with Lyta until at least the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The history of Kangas on Paradise Island after the Crisis is unrevealed.
Powers and Abilities
Kangas are a highly-evolved animal resembling terran macropods. The extent of this similarity is unclear but the basic anatomy is largely identical, excepting the size of Kangas is 50-100% that of terran species. Kangas possessed enormous elastic recoil in the limbs, allowing them to leap stratospheric heights, though it is not known if all Kangas or only a specialized sub-set can fully leap into space. Space-Kangas also possess heightened geo-location senses that allow them to sense specific characteristics of land masses at great distances. The nature of this ability is unknown.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The full range of limitations of Kangas are not clear, tho based on the example of Trouble's lost brother, they can be killed by somewhat conventional means. Their lifespan and range of activity before fatigue are not defined.
Multiversity
The full range of Kangas across the multiverse is not known. Kangas have been documented in the timelines of Earth-One, Earth-1 and Earth-0 with presumably similar origins. Whether the characteristics of Kangas on Earth-Two are replicated across these timelines is unknown.
Appearances
Comic Cavalcade #12, #17 and #25
Infinity Inc #1, #16-18, #21, #24-30
Sensation Comics #6, #37 and #89
Wonder Woman #1, #5, #21, #23, #33,#45 and #237