Karolina Dean

"It's just... everything my whole life has been for my mom and the church. Then I learned that what I thought was the ultimate good is somehow a part of the worst thing imaginable. And what if what I do is connected to that? What does that make me?"

- Karolina Dean

Karolina Dean is a former member of the Church of Gibborim and the daughter of Frank and Leslie Dean. After removing her Gibborim bracelet for the first time, Karolina discovered her powers of light generation. Upon reuniting with her childhood friends, they discovered that their parents used PRIDE to cover up ceremonial sacrifices of the church. She teamed up with her friends and formed the Runaways. Eventually, Karolina learns that Jonah, the mysterious benefactor of PRIDE, is actually her biological father.

Early Life
To be added

Reunion
Karolina and her father, Frank Dean, attended a Church of Gibborim ceremony hosted by her mother, Leslie Dean. She asked her mother to sign a permission slip for a field trip, but Leslie refused. Later at Atlas Academy, Karolina overhears Alex Wilder inviting Chase Stein to come over to the Wilder Mansion and Gert Yorkes joins the conversation. Karolina tells Alex that she's busy with a church event, whereafter she gets into an argument with Gert before they all leave when the bell rings.

Discovering a power
"It was so weird. The last thing I remember were these lights. They were really beautiful." "Yeah, it's called drugs. Clearly, you took some strong shit."

- Karolina Dean and Chase Stein

Karolina attended a party. Declining an offer for drugs, she becomes mesmerised with two girls passionately kissing. In an act of rebellion against her parents, she takes off her bracelet, only to become entranced when her arms begin to glow. Dancing for a few moments, Karolina then collapses. Chase' friends Brandon and Lucas take her upstairs and attempt to rape her while she is unconscious. Luckily, she is saved by Chase. Putting on her bracelet, she is then taken by Chase to Alex's house.

Witnessing a Sacrifice
Karolina, Chase, Nico Minoru, Gert, and Molly Hernandez all arrive at Alex's door and they all hang out together. Bored, Chase goes into Geoffrey Wilder's study in order to get alcohol and they all follow him. When they get there however, their parents are not there like usual. Alex turns a stack of coasters and a secret door opens. They all go inside the door and down the stairs. Exploring the chambers, they stumble across their parents in red robes. They can see their parents but they can't be heard. They witness their parents putting Destiny Gonzalez in the Materialization Box and the box emits a very bright light. Molly uses her phone and takes a picture with flash which their parents see, before the kids run back into the house.

Rescue of Alex
When Alex was kidnapped, Nico gets Karolina, Gert and Molly to help rescue him, using the Staff of One to track him down. After they are joined by Chase, the group use their newfound abilities to thwart off Darius Davis. The boy Alex shoots earlier, Andre, is taken by Geoffrey Wilder to be PRIDE's newest sacrifice. However, the kids are unable to locate the place of the sacrifice. The sacrifice is successful, reviving a man who demands to see Karolina.

PRIDE Gala
Karolina and her friends attended their parents' annual gala at Wizard Headquarters. Gert deduces that Karolina has a crush on Nico, with Karolina doing the same for Gert in regards to Chase. Later, Karolina gets drunk on the roof. She falls off, but with Chase grabbing her bracelet, she is shocked to realise that she is able to fly. She has an adverse reaction to Chase kissing her. Karolina was approached by Jonah and questioned who he is. The two were interrupted by Frank.

Infiltration into the PRIDE Construction Site
Karolina is present with the group as they watch a VHS tape given to Molly, which contains a video of Gene and Alice Hernandez warning them of the PRIDE's plans to dig something mysterious up. The kids decide to use their school dance as a cover to infiltrate the drilling site. Before leaving, Karolina kisses Nico, revealing her feelings to her. Frank reveals everything he knows to Jonah who relays the fact that the kids know everything to their parents. The kids arrive at the drilling site and manage to stop the drill. The PRIDE arrive to confront their kids. Taking a stand, the kids reveal their powers and prepare to fight.

Running away
Karolina orders the group to run as she engages in battle with Jonah, who is revealed to have the same powers that she has. She is subsequently kidnapped and placed into the same healing bed that Jonah was placed in to recover from her injuries. She is later rescued by the other kids. They make it to a bus stop, where they are reunited with Old Lace. They are horrified to discover that they have been framed for Destiny's murder, and with no other choice, they are forced to run.

Personality
Karolina is kind, bubbly, optimistic, but it is revealed that she isn't as happy as much as she puts on. Shown to be struggling with her mother's strict expectations, she attempts to break away from her role of the perfect daughter to explore her sense of identity and pursue her own desires.

Powers
"She's beautiful and she glows. Great."

- Gert Yorkes


 * Light Generation: When she removes her bracelet, Karolina's skin emits a aura of iridescent light.
 * Light Beam Emission: Karolina is able to project beams of light which are capable of blinding and injuring her enemies. She also can create power outages when using her full power.
 * Flight: Karolina is able to fly, evidenced by when she fell off the Wizard Headquarters Tower.

Equipment

 * Church of Gibborim Bracelet: Given to her by her mother, Karolina was told never to take her bracelet off. However, unbeknownst to her, it was actually suppressing her powers.

Family

 * Frank Dean - Legal Father
 * Leslie Dean - Mother
 * Jonah - Biological Father
 * David Ellerh † - Maternal Grandfather

Allies

 * Runaways - Teammates and Friends
 * Alex Wilder
 * Nico Minoru - Love Interest
 * Gert Yorkes
 * Chase Stein
 * Molly Hernandez
 * Amy Minoru † - Friend
 * Church of Gibborim
 * Vaughn Kaye
 * Destiny Gonzalez † - Friend
 * Old Lace

Enemies

 * Brandon - Attempted Rapist
 * Lucas - Attempted Rapist
 * Eiffel
 * PRIDE
 * Catherine Wilder
 * Geoffrey Wilder
 * Tina Minoru
 * Robert Minoru
 * Dale Yorkes
 * Stacey Yorkes
 * Victor Stein
 * Janet Stein
 * Crips
 * Darius Davis

Trivia

 * In the comics, Karolina Dean is a member of the Majesdanian race, and was bethrothed to a Skrull prince.

Behind the Scenes

 * Lauren Shaw and Hayley Wright were stunt doubles for Virginia Gardner in the role of Karolina Dean.