Tarene (Earth-616)

The Designate[]

In the beginning of time, alien sorcerer X'Hoss foretold the creation of the Designate, who would help evolve sentient beings to the next level of existence. Billions of years later, Tarene was born. She was told about the fate of the evil Destroyer and together with others sought a way to stop him. In the meantime, Thanos obtained X'Hoss' knowledge and destroyed Tarene's home-world. She gained the help of Thor and Orikal in defeating the villain.^[3][4]

Tarene later transformed herself into an Asgardian goddess and becomes Thor's loyal ally, taking the name "Thor Girl" and the civilian identity of Jake Olson's 'cousin' Tara. She tried to assist Thor in his adventures, aiding him in his confrontations with Gladiator, Loki, and Nullitor, but in a later battle against a revived Surtur, she sacrificed nearly all of her cosmic powers to contribute the additional power needed to defeat him. Upon Odin's apparent death, Thor Girl lost most of her cosmic powers. She retained the powers she had as Thor Girl.^{[citation needed]}

She returned to Earth in an attempt to live a normal life as Tara Olson, but also occasionally continued adventuring. She knew that she was destined to, and one day would, regain her full power and then some, to become The Designate.^{[citation needed]}

Civil War/The Initiative[]

After the Superhuman Registration Act was passed, Thor Girl interfered in a jewel theft undertaken by the Grey Gargoyle, a previous foe of hers, and pummeled the villain, preventing the jewel heist in the process. In return the Grey Gargoyle undertook a lawsuit with the assistance of Mallory Book at the Superhuman Law Offices of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg and Holloway.^[2]

Thor Girl was believed to have been among the first recruits for the Camp Hammond training facility. Other fellow trainees included Bengal, Cloud 9, Slapstick, Trauma, Armory, Rage, and Komodo when she had in fact been replaced by a Skrull duplicate.^[2]

It was unknown when she had been replaced by a Skrull agent and her replacement remained undiscovered until the Skrull invasion, when the Skrull Dum Dum Dugan called all the sleeper agents in the Initiative, causing Ultragirl and Thor Girl to fight each other out of fear. When the Skrull Kill Krew arrived to the scene, 3-D Man confirmed that Thor Girl was a Skrull, killing her with her own hammer with the help of Gravity.^[5]

After the invasion was over, the real Thor Girl attended a support group meeting with the others who had been replaced by Skrulls.^[6] She attended a therapy session with Trauma, when Camp Hammond was attacked by the Thor clone, Ragnarok. The clone beat Thor Girl badly, until Gauntlet intervened.^[7]

Fear Itself[]

Due to looking like an Asgardian wielding a hammer, Tarene was believed to be part of the attack of The Worthy. She was arrested by the U. S. government and tortured for information. She was eventually rescued by Cloud 9 and joined the battle against Kuurth in Las Vegas and rescued civilians. Due to a misunderstanding she was attacked by other heroes despite her attempts to explain herself as she was only acting in defense. During the battle, her Designate powers returned. She declared Earth's heroes to be little better than those who tortured her and as a whole proof that humanity were still too flawed to be worthy of ascending. She then left Earth for the stars.^[8]

Despite being an alien Tarene displays the average ability of an Asgardian, although to an higher degree.

• Superhuman Strength: Tarene has vast superhuman strength that enables her to lift 50 tons.^[2] She was able to hurl her hammer with enough strength to stun Gladiator^[9] and has once kept a damaged building from collapsing by supporting its entire weight.^[10]
• Superhuman Stamina
• Superhuman Durability: Tarene is far more resistant than a common human being.^[11] She was able to take a blast of heat-vision from Gladiator with only minor discomfort.^[9]
• Superhuman Speed
• Superhuman Reflexes: Tarene's reflexes are quick enough to allow her to intercept bullets with her hammer.^[12]
• Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite her great resistance to injury it is possible to wound Tarene, but in such case she can recover far faster than a common human.
• Immortality: She is effectively immortal and is immune to disease and hostile environments.^[11]
• Cosmic Energy Manipulation: As the Designate, she possesses near-limitless cosmic power capable of discharging powerful energy blasts, obtain instant knowledge about other people, cast illusions, and turn herself into another being with all of its abilities.^[11] Thor considered her powers to rival those of Odin^[9] while Ultragirl described her as unstoppable and godlike.^[13]
• Flight: As the Designate she can fly at incredible speeds.^[13]

• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Tarene is a skilled fighter.
• Allspeak: Thanks to the Allspeak she can communicate in all of the languages of the Nine Realms, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.

• Tarene's Hammer: Like Mjolnir, Tarene's un-named one returns to her when thrown, controls the weather, fires energy blasts, and (when thrown properly) draws her behind it as if flying. By striking the ground with the hammer, Tarene can shift between her 'human' and 'Asgardian' forms.

• Chalice of Ruins

• In a possible future where Thor ruled Earth, Tarene regained her full cosmic powers to aid Desak in an attempt to defeat Thor. Thor killed Desak, but Tarene helped a now-enlightened Thor travel back in time to prevent the bleak reality he created.