Origin

Jonni Thunder is a private detective from DC comics' Earth 2. Her powers come from a small gold statue that give her the ability to turn into living lightning. When she used it though, her human body was left behind.

Creation

Jonni was created by Roy Thomas, and she first appeared in a 4-issue miniseries in 1985. The self titled book was aptly named Jonni Thunder AKA Thunderbolt.

Major Story Arcs

Jonni is the daughter of the late Jim Thunder, an LA based PI who was previously a movie stunt man and a member of the LAPD. When Jonni was still a child, Arthur C. "Sparky" Dobbs found a statuette of a woman who resembled a lightning bolt in South America. The statue is said to be formed from an Inca sacrificial stone by the hand of Apu Illapu, the Inca god of lightning.

In California, Dobbs was arrested and sent to jail for smuggling. Feeling grateful to Jim Thunder for protecting him from police brutality, Dobbs gave him the statuette.

Years later, just before he died, Jim Thunder made his daughter Jonni his partner. On hearing that Thunder had died, Dobbs had his associate, William Smike, make a deal with Thunder's former associate, film director Slim Chance, to get him out of prison. When Dobbs tried to double cross Smike and Chance, Smike shot Dobbs, who made it to Jonni Thunder's office before dying. Smike tried to take the statue from Jonni at gunpoint. Suddenly the statue filled Jonni with strange energy, her body collapsed and her consciousness was inside a humanoid energy form resembling the statue.

The statue was later stolen by private investigator Harrison Trump for Dobbs' widow, an exotic dancer and electrical genius known as "Red Nails." Red Nails intended to use the tremendous electrical energy within the statue to power a "plasmonic gun" capable of firing ball lightning, and then sell it to the highest bidder. But the statuette was now useless, because all of its electrical energy had been transferred into Jonni Thunder's body.

The New 52

Earth 2: World's End

Jonni was seen with John Constantine, Obsidian, Brainwave Jr., and Karnevil on Earth-2, where she was being stored in the World Army's Arkham Base. She is briefly surprised when Constantine pulls a gun on Obsidian, after Karnevil refuses to work with him due to the former being African-American, but seems relieved when John instead shoots Karnevil and seems resolved to work with him. She is also seen with her gold statue and the source of her powers.

She helped Constantine and Brainwave until Brainwave started to be consumed and go mad with power. In the brief time that Brainwave controled her due to his going mad, she helped some of the Earth 2 refugees to escape the planet. Freed after Batman killed Brainwave, she joined the World Army superforces against Apokolips, but their efforts were useless against the power of Darkseid. She joined Aquawoman in the escape from the planet, but her current whereabouts are unknown.

When she activates her powers she transforms herself into an Indu like being capable of flight and throws highly, concentrated orbs of lightning that can stun or kill depending on the quantity amount.