[1] The first and mainstream version of the character is Sarya, who discovered the Emerald Eye of Ekron on the planet Venegar and became a villain after being corrupted by its influence.

The second incarnation of the character, Cera Kesh, is a teenaged fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes who auditioned to be a part of the team, only to be rejected.

[2] The Empress has no innate superpowers, but wields the Emerald Eye of Ekron, an eye-like sphere that possesses vast mystical abilities.

Each user of the Emerald Eye of Ekron gains access to its nearly unlimited levels of emerald/willpower energies (the same power source used by the Green Lantern Corps), making the artifact both indestructible and considered uncontainable.

Due to its usage of the same willpower/emerald energy sources, it is considered related to the Oan's power battery used by the Green Lantern Corps.

[8][9][10] Its powers allow it to project blasts strong enough to hurt Kryptonians, generate force fields to protect from attacks, see through every spectrum and wavelength, create energy constructs, hypnotize others, cast illusions, teleport people over short distances, and alter reality, like how Falyce rebuilt the planet Orando into a medieval-like society as she envisioned it.

[11] Russ Burlingame of Comicbook.com described her as "a big player in the DC Universe of late" and that "she's one of the most identifiable Legion villains, with a cool gimmick and a great visual" noting her appearance in Justice League vs.

[12] The Sarya incarnation of Emerald Empress appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.