Characteristic

Cost

END

Cost

3

Cost

9

2

2

3

3

0

1

3

3

13

4

3

2

3

15

15

25

15

20

15

5

15

15

10

Atara was always a very proud and idealistic woman, so even though she was brought up in a comfortable family environment on Rhode Island, her thoughts were drawn to the conflict in the Middle East and particularly Israel.  Her parents were nominally interested but Atara soon realised that her passions transcended those of her friends and family.  She joined a hard-line Jewish youth group in New York after graduating from high school and from that association she decided to travel to Israel, the homeland, and help defend her boundaries.  She arrived in Israel in 1992 and enlisted as a volunteer in the armed services.

She felt like she had truly come home.

Over the next decade Atara underwent several key changes in her life, the first of which was the activation of her ubergene.  The transformation was painful for her and only came after she narrowly survived a bomb attack, unfortunately her fellow officers weren't so lucky.  She was emotionally scarred but found herself on the fast track in to the Israeli superhero team, Cabala.  The next change was love, something which Atara was even less ready to face.

Unfortunately for Atara the subject of her love was the leader, Solomon 9.  Worse than that, Solomon 9 was a telepath.

Her embarrassment and denial led to her making some mistakes in the field, including a disastrous run-in with the Zodiac Agency.  She was captured and the scientists at Zodiac temporarily neutralised her powers, rendering her human.  Her team mates rescued her, of course, but she was asked to leave.  Atara took this rejection to extremes and returned to the United States where she tried to assume a normal life.

For two years she lived a half-life, but then Solomon 9 arrived on her doorstep one day.  Atara couldn't believe it, but he had discovered a way to unlock the restraints on her uberhuman powers.  Within a few weeks, Merkava had returned, and she was even more powerful than before.

Atara saw Solomon's intervention as a sign of his love for her, although she realises that he is not in a position to take such feelings any further.  She is willing to bide her time.

Merkava has uberhuman strength, which has been augmented since her powers have been restored.  She can lift in excess of 50 tons and is impervious to most weapons.  Her body is also able to produce explosive energy spheres which she tosses at opponents, usually as a way to begin battles.  Her explosions have been used by the team as signals as well, so that they can co-ordinate actions.  Merkava is named after a tank and when she builds up enough momentum through running she is difficult to stop.

Atara has a toned physique from extensive training and has a confidence which her team mates say comes from her American heritage.  She is bold and does not cower from confrontation.  She wears a dark blue armoured costume which is sleeveless and fastened by a steel belt.  She wears silver combat boots and mask.  When she creates her energy spheres they usually appear as sparkling balls of energy, although she has been known to create spheres of white light.  The effects of both spheres are the same so it is assumed that the colour change has no impact on their effectiveness or explosiveness.