"There was no long-term, and trying to cling to one would only spoil it all."
This article contains spoilers regarding the ending of Worm and plot of the sequel.
Sarah Pelham, known publicly as Lady Photon or Photon Mom, is the leader of New Wave.[2]
Personality[]
She tended to appeal to emotion.[3]
Sarah disliked the nickname "Photon Mom" given to her by the media.[4][5] She, however, seemed to be a more dedicated parent and a cape, than Carol.[6]
She disliked it when Brandish brought up the time they were kidnapped.[3]
She loves horses and escaped into them as a form of healing after she triggered. It even flavored the language she used: during training sessions with the rest of New Wave, she used terms such as 'getting back on the horse' if a flying cape drifted out of formation.[7] Her training sessions, at least with her niece, typically focused on problem solving or flight and formation.[8]
Following the resurrection she seems a bit distant.[9]
Appearance[]
Sarah is an attractive woman, with a heart-shaped face, full lips, and straight blonde hair.[10]
As Lady Photon/Photon Mom, Sarah wears a white bodysuit without a mask. The bodysuit features a starburst on the chest with lines from the star's edges extending around her body,[2] changing color from indigo to purple as they get further from the center.[5] She also wears a tiara to keep her hair out of her face, in the same general style as the starburst image.[11]
After the resurrection her facial features are still recognizable, albeit she looks younger[9] and her eyes had their colors changed, with black scleras, bright purple irises and white pupils. She wears purple and black.[12] Her emblem has Valkyrie's wings added to it.[13]
Abilities and Powers[]
Sarah has the ability to fly, create energy blasts from her hands, and create forcefields.[14]
She could gather energy in her hands, which she "spent" to shoot sprays of laser blasts. She was strong enough to blast through Marquis' bone plates in one shot, and had to hold back to avoid firing through them and accidentally harming a teammate. People reacted as if they were punched when hit. Even fired individually, several successive blasts were enough to beat a person to a pulp.[3]
Her shields were broad enough to protect other people, described as a "wall of light", transparent.[3]
She has demonstrated an ability to use her forcefields as a first-aid measure - shaping them to cover a wound - though they are rooted in place unless she makes them a bubble around herself.[citation needed]. She could create a small forcefield to help her lift someone.[11] Her powers are more rounded-up compared to powers of her kids, who are more specialized.[15]
She is resistant to blinding lights in the same way as her sister, and additionally can see in the dark.[16]
She was responsible for honing out fliers formations, which later will be incorporated by PRTCJ via her daughter.[9] Sarah and her kids also used their forcefields as a form of coded communication.[17]
History[]
Background[]
Sarah triggered just before her sister; when one of their kidnappers was about to execute the starved, kidnapped girls.[3]
Sarah met Neil at the physical therapy, where he was recovering after his trigger and she from her riding injury.[18]
She joined the Brockton Bay Brigade, and was part of the group who captured Marquis. She convinced her sister to adopt Amy Dallon.[3][19]
She was the one who formed New Wave, recruiting most of the members.[3]
Boston Games[]
Got her nose broken by some lucky minion, retaliated for that with some nasty burns to minion's master.[20]
Story Start[]
Lady Photon fought in the Battle against Leviathan, acting as a ferry and evac service late in the battle.
Her husband and son died, and she understandably mourned them.
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine[]
Declared a ceasefire with the undersiders in exchange for Tattletale giving her information on where her two nieces were.[21]
Gold Morning[]
Was presumably at the Oil rig waiting to welcome Panacea out of the cage.
She was a member of Khepri's swarm, and was killed by Zion as one of thirty capes struck by a beam of light before Khepri could react.[22]
Post-Gold Morning[]
Sarah was resurrected by Valkyrie at some point.
Post-Time Bubble Pop[]
She was seen fighting in Teacher's Compound as part of Balk's team.[23] She suffered some injuries from one of Saint's mecha-angels.[24]
Post-Attack on Teacher[]
Sarah reunited with her sister and daughter.[25]
The Ice Breaks[]
Sarah appeared in the Wardens headquarters after the ice broke.[26]
She fought Titans together with her daughter during the defense of the Shardspace convoy, briefly accompanying Victoria Dallon and serving as a spotter during the nighttime.[27] She saved Victoria from Nemean Titan's sneak attack.[28] Sarah was, also, in the way of Titan Fortuna going to Earth Shin portal.[29]
She was present when Victoria Dallon met Amy again.[30]
Sarah served as a messenger to Riley Davis.[31] She stayed by her side as a bodyguard while Victoria's plague was deployed.[32]
Ward Epilogue[]
Sarah joined Erring Right alongside her daughter. They live together.[33]
Chapter Appearances[]
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Trivia[]
- Her signature 'color' on the team is purple.
- Lady Photon is referred to by her nickname Photon Mom in the tags.
References[]
- ↑ Edit by Wildbow
Not on the list of retracted edits. - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lady Photon – Head of New Wave, flies, can create lasers and generate forcefields, known to some as Photon Mom. Wears a white bodysuit with a purple/indigo starburst featured as an emblem. - Cast (spoiler free)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Interlude 15.x
- ↑ The leader of New Wave had named herself Lady Photon, but in the wake of New Wave’s founding, and the revealing of their secret identities, the media had latched on to the idea of a superheroine mom and dubbed her Photon Mom. It was apparent to anyone who followed cape news that the name really bugged her.
Lady Photon’s daughter and niece were in the air with her. Laserdream and Glory Girl. Mother and daughter shared the same general powers; flight, the ability to raise forcefield bubbles around themselves, and the ability to project lasers from their hands. As a consequence, their fight with Purity was something of a light show. - Excerpt from Buzz 7.9 - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lady Photon, Sarah Pelham – Arguably leader of New Wave, wife of Manpower, mother to Laserdream and Shielder, sister of Brandish. Known to most as ‘Photon Mom’, to her annoyance. Has the powers of flight, the ability to create a personal forcefield bubble, with various lesser applications, and ‘hard light’ blasts from her hands. Wore a white bodysuit with a starburst motif in an indigo-purple gradient, complete with a tiara. - Cast Page (In-Depth)
- ↑ “Right now she’s the battlefield commander. The mom who was out for two hours every night, minimum, right after dinner or my bedtime, depending on if Eric or me needed help with homework. Sometimes all nighters, napping, then waking up to see us off to school before sleeping again.”
Aunt Sarah had been more ‘into it’ than my mom, in that regard. - Excerpt from Infrared 19.4 - ↑ Have to get right back on the horse. Aunt Sarah had loved horses, had escaped into them as a healing post-trigger, taking care of them at a family friend’s until she was well enough to ride. Mom hadn’t liked it, but Aunt Sarah had been the one to do tutoring for the owner of a stable just for a chance to ride a couple of times a month. It even flavored the language she’d used. She’d had a term she’d used in our training that she’d called ‘horsing’. The idea was that horses tended to go where you looked, and flying capes had to focus on seeing distant things on the ground, and we’d unconsciously drift out of formation to get closer to those things. If we drifted in the directions we were looking then she’d call out the term and get us back into formation.
Every time the word was uttered, it had driven young Crystal insane with irritation. But it had broken us of the habit.
When I thought of the term ‘getting back on the horse’, it was in Aunt Sarah’s voice. - Dying 15.1 - ↑ My training sessions with Aunt Sarah had been more about flight and formation, or about problem solving. - Breaking 14.1
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Dying 15.3
- ↑ Lady Photon and the eighteen year old Laserdream landed beside Armsmaster, making a small splash as they touched down.
You could see the family resemblance. They weren’t supermodel good looking, but they were attractive people, even with their hair wet and plastered to their heads and shoulders by the rain. Both wore costumes with a white base color, had heart shaped faces, full lips and blonde hair. Lady Photon’s costume sported a starburst on her chest, with several of the lines extending around her body, or down her legs, going from indigo to purple as it got further from the center. Her hair was straight, shoulder length, held away from her face by a tiara shaped much like the same starburst image on her chest.
[...]
More than anything else, though, the two of them had the look of people who had seen half their immediate family brutally and senselessly torn apart over the course of one terrible hour. As though they’d had their hearts torn out of their chests and were somehow still standing. It wasn’t that I had seen anyone in those circumstances before, but that look existed, and they had it. - Excerpt from Extermination 8.5 - ↑ 11.0 11.1 - Excerpt from Extermination 8.5
- ↑ She was a woman with a purple and black costume, her eyes altered so the whites were black and the irises and pupils bright purple and white respectively. - Excerpt from Dying 15.2
- ↑ Deep purple eyes, younger, wearing a costume that was darker than her old New Wave one, but it was clearly inspired by it. The starburst icon at her chest had lines that extended out from the icon and around her body, but the lines had more flair to them, and the starburst icon was framed by two faint wings.- Excerpt from Sundown 17.2
- ↑ Buzz 7.9
- ↑ My cousin Eric had had the range but his beams were weak. My Aunt Sarah had been middle of the road. Crystal had the strongest beams of the three, the strongest top speed and carrying ability to her flight. - Excerpt from Infrared 19.1
- ↑ She could see in the dark, as a part of her power. Just like bright lights didn’t disorient her. - Excerpt from Infrared 19.1
- ↑ A purple forcefield appeared. The square, which disappeared, then a smaller square below it.
“She’ll be a second,” Crystal said. - Excerpt from Infrared 19.3 - ↑ “Neil had the accident, which you know about” my Aunt Sarah said. I knew. They’d met in the physical therapy after. Her for a riding injury, him for his trigger. - Excerpt from Infrared 19.9
- ↑ Agitation 3.12
- ↑ Eclipse x.5
- ↑ Tattletale frowned. “I’m trying to think about what’s easiest to achieve while clearing up the most problems. I already got in touch with New Wave and got them to chill out for a bit.”
“How’d you pull that?” Regent asked.
“Lady Photon was wondering where her nieces went. I told her that Panacea was healing Glory Girl but she still wanted her space.” - Excerpt from Colony 15.2 - ↑ Speck 30.5
- ↑ Dying 15.2
- ↑ Dying 15.5
- ↑ Sundown 17.2
- ↑ Radiation 18.1
- ↑ Infrared 19.1
- ↑ Infrared 19.2
- ↑ Infrared 19.4
- ↑ Infrared 19.10
- ↑ Infrared 19.z
- ↑ Last 20.10
- ↑ Last 20.e6
[]
| Leader | Lady Photon (Unofficial) |
|---|---|
| Members | Brandish • Flashbang • Fleur † • Glory Girl ‡ • Laserdream • Lightstar ‡ • Manpower † • Panacea ‡ • Shielder † |
| Leader | Valkyrie |
|---|---|
| Members | Grue • Milk • Cleo • Voltrage • Edgeless • Lady Photon • Furcate • Roucouler the Liar • Clockblocker • Kid Win |