Aruna Shende

**Aruna Shende** is a genderqueer character first introduced in Batgirl Annual #1

## Character History

Aruna Shende was born a shapeshifter in the slums of Chennai, India to a family considered to be "untouchable" by caste. Due to their power, Aruna was not assigned a gender at birth. Aruna's childhood was a happy one, filled with love, until her parents were mysteriously taken away.

Following the loss of their family, Aruna roamed the country, stealing as a means of survival. After arriving in one city, Aruna caught glimpse of their reflection for the first time. Being taunted by children watching as they observed the mirror, Aruna unknowingly shape-shifted as they turned to face the group. The children's reaction keying Aruna into their ability for the first time.

With a better understanding of their abilities, Aruna found ways to change at will and used that to their advantage to get work. Having overheard a conversation between patrons during one gig, Aruna landed themself a gig in a monster movie. "From there it was easy to just continue the work."

Batman and Batgirl became aware of Aruna While the shapeshifter was portraying Shiva on a filmset in Chennai. Having attempted to use their powers to flee the vigilantes, Aruna was ultimately found out by Batgirl and revealed themself to the pair.

Having made a connection, Aruna and Cassandra set forward together to find the missing child actor, Ashok Ramanan. While Aruna was able to move the investigation forward with their powers and knowledge of India's caste system, by the time the boy was found it had been too late. Despite this outcome, Aruna was inspired to use their powers to make a difference in India.

Aruna eventually joined The Doomed, and served alongside other superheroes; Celsius, Aalok of the Komeriah, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, Beast Girl, Maya, Solstice, and Son of Kalki to keep India safe.

## Appearances

Batgirl Annual #1Doomsday Clock #5 (Mentioned)
## Trivia

* Aruna's first appearance was part of a larger diversity push at DC Comics known as "Planet DC", which saw the Annual's released between June and August of that year all focus on new heroes around the world. This included JLA Annual #4 (which featured The Janissary from Turkey), Superman Annual #12 (featuring Iman, El Muerto & Acrata from Mexico), The Titans Annual #1 (with Japanese hero, Bushido), The Flash Annual #13 (which boasted "the greatest heroes of Argentina"), Green Lantern Annual #9 (introducing Sala of Tunisia), JSA Annual #1 (showcasing Nemesis of Greece), and Batman Annual #24 (with The Boggart from England).
* Aruna is under surveillance by the Department of Extranormal affairs.
* Aruna is said to be based out of Mumbai.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Peterson, S. (2000). *Batgirl (2000-) Annual #1*. DC Comics.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Beatty, S., Dougall, A., & Jimenez, P. (2004). *The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Beatty, S., & Wallace, D. (2008). *The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe - Updated and Expanded*. DK.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Axelrod, J. (2023). *The DC Book of Pride: A Celebration of DC’s LGBTQIA+ Characters*. DK.
5. ↑ Johns, G. (2018). *Doomsday Clock (2017-) #5*. DC Comics.
6. ↑ "'Planet DC' Annuals" from Superman Homepage (April 4, 2000)