Colonel Lauren Haley is the interim secretary of the United States Department of Alien Affairs and the mother of a unnamed girl.
Lauren is also a former U.S. Marine Corps officer who was appointed by then-president, Phil Baker to oversee the D.E.O..
Biography
Early life
- "I do have a life outside the service."
- —Lauren Haley[src]
At some point, Lauren became a U.S. Marine Corps officer. Lauren later joined Project Morae with Alphonso Tran, where she left a negative impact on the Morae children (with one of them committing suicide).[1] At some point, she had a daughter.[2]
Becoming Overseer of the D.E.O.
In mid-2018, Haley was standing beside President Phil Baker when reprimanded D.E.O. director, Alex Danvers, via video call for allowing Supergirl, who was vulnerable to the kryptonite-laced atmosphere caused by the Children of Liberty, to intervene in Kopy's attack on the NCPD before whispering to her Commander-in-Chief to attend to other matters. Later on, when Alex disobeyed Baker's order and allowed Supergirl to intervene at the National City Fair Grounds, Haley was assigned by the President to directly oversee the D.E.O.[3]
Following Ben Lockwood's exposure as Agent Liberty, President Baker visited the D.E.O. to highlight the Metropolis Inquisitor painted Lockwood as a wronged human activist. As Haley affirmed that the D.E.O. will transition to a transparent agency, prompting Baker to demand Supergirl reveal her civilian identity and was forced to fire her when she refused.[4]
Haley eventually discovered Supergirl's human identity from Agent Reiff and attempted to force her into government service, forcing Alex to knock her out before J'onn J'onzz wiped her memory of her discovery. Unfortunately, he could not wipe her determination to discover Supergirl's identity as the next day, Haley employed a Vertullarian into the D.E.O. To protect those D.E.O agents that were aware of Supergirl's secret, J'onn J'onzz wiped that knowledge from their minds; Alex reluctantly allows her memory to be wiped as well, to protect herself and her sister, though this later causes tension between her and Supergirl, as her life with Kara was important to her understanding of the alien life the D.E.O. commonly encountered.[1]
Haley later helped D.E.O. on several missions about alien criminals; such as the Morae children,[1] Menagerie[2] and The Elite.[5]
When Alex confronted Haley over President Baker's commissioning of Project Claymore satellite, she insisted she didn't know of the project and realized that Baker went against protocol. Upset at being kept out of the loop, she proceeded to discreetly investigate Claymore.[5]
When Red Daughter attacked the White House disguised as Supergirl, leading Baker to declare the Girl of Steel public enemy number one, Haley agreed with Alex that it was unlikely that Supergirl would've committed such a heinous act.[6]
As a result of the attack, Ben arrived at the D.E.O., demanding Alex help him lure Supergirl into a trap, although Alex is able to stall him by demanding he serve a presidential order, which Haley confirmed. As soon as Ben left the building, anticipating that Ben would get Baker's approval anyway, Haley ordered the D.E.O. to prepare, despite Alex's protests. Arguing that it was not their job to question their superiors, Haley ordered Alex to hand over her signal watch and was told to press it twice, but Haley would later figure out she was lying, as it was a code warning of a trap. Alex, acting on the advice of Kelly Olsen, would later confront Haley, arguing that following an immoral order makes her complicit, not a good soldier. When she suggested that her actions would impact her daughter, Haley got upset and dismissed her. But when Ben returned with a letter of authority, Haley purposely sent the warning signal, forcing Ben to leave disappointed. She would then confess to Alex that her daughter had been negatively impacted by recent events, especially, since her favourite teacher, an alien, had gone missing and that she could not be her moral conscience, if she blindly followed immoral orders.[7]
Becoming Interim secretary of the United States Department of Alien Affairs
After Ben Lockwood was incarcerated for several crimes of domestic terrorism, Lauren was appointed by vice president and acting president, Plastino as the interim secretary of the United States Department of Alien Affairs. In her first public address, she announced the reinstatement of the Alien Amnesty Act, before issuing a public apology to Supergirl for doubting her.[8]
Personality
- "I may not be the Woman of Steel, but if you push me, you will find I do not bend."
- —Lauren Haley to Alex Danvers[src]
Haley is tough as nails, and only cares about protocol and procedure, she also considers herself a pragmatist, believing it worthwhile to sacrifice the few to save the many. She was initially loyal to the new president of the United States, Phil Baker, unaware at the time that, he did not have the country's best interest at heart, but after Baker went against the protocol of their country by ordering the construction of a satellite with an anti-spacecraft cannon attached to it, she had started to ponder on whether the president's strange decisions, regarding Ben Lockwood and the satellite were part of something larger.
Haley had hated the D.E.O., when the Green Martian, J'onn J'onzz was the director of the organization and is initially prejudiced towards all other aliens, but she is willing to work with aliens as long as it serves her purposes. As part of Project Morae, she participated in the training of three alien visitors to become "living weapons", though her methods were violent and caused the aliens to rebel and attempt to kill her.
Haley wanted to blackmail Supergirl, into obeying the government, by learning her civilian identity, for no clear reason other than to control her. She was perfectly aware that, Supergirl would not kill her to keep her identity secret, although one factor she did not count on was the possible eventuality that, either Kara or Alex would be forced to get rid of her, if Haley became too much of a roadblock in their heroics.
Haley's opinion of aliens starts to change, when she sees that, then-president, Baker is attempting to destroy alien spacecrafts and that, the Children of Liberty have transformed, into a violent domestic terrorism group. When Supergirl's doppelgänger, Red Daughter, attacks the White House, Haley is overcome, with guilt and remorse.
Abilities
- High-level intellect/Military training/Expert tactician/Leader: As an ex-colonel of United States Marine Corps, Haley is a highly intelligent individual, an excellent tactician and leader.
- Network: Due to Haley's affiliation with the Marine Corps and United States Department of Alien Affairs; she has connections with several military organizations.
- Intimidation: Haley was able to intimidate Reiff; to the point that she revealed that Kara Danvers is Supergirl.
Appearances
Supergirl
Season 4
|
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Lauren Haley is a lieutenant in the Air Force and an associate of Wonder Woman.
- However, unlike the show/in the comics, Haley is Caucasian.