Of the seven time-tossed members of the Legion of Super-Heroes left in the past, I had expected that the most difficult histories would be those of Dream and Sensor Girls, respectively.  That was before I had a chance to really look at the facts of the situation.  Indeed, both the ladies in question will be considerably easier to quantify than today’s entrant…  Initially nothing more than a love-triangle fodder for Lana Lang’s quest to win over another boy, he won Legion membership, lost it, then was able to return�from adversity.  His story is one of loyalty, of love, but most of all, it’s the story of a man who understands his duties.  Guided by his emotions, but blinded by love; torn by responsibility, but always quietly heroic; he is one of the most complex Legionnaires, and one of the few who was able to leave behind his past.  This is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Thom Kallor of Xanthu… Star Boy!

The story of Star Boy starts atypically for a Legionnaire, though at the point where he debuted, there wasn’t really an LSH status quo yet.  Chronologically speaking, the Legion had only appeared five times before Thom made his debut in Adventure #282, in a story where Lana Lang (as usual) was trying desperately to make the hero of Smallville, Superboy teen-heartthrob Tom Welling, fall in love with her.  Because it was the 50’s (well, 1961, but it’s pretty much still the 50’s) she comes up with a ridiculously complex plan to have ANOTHER superhero make him jealous so that he’ll realize he really wants her.  Mr. Welling finds himself attacked by giant flying horseshoes, encased in ice, and then sees giant clay letters flying through the air, indicating that he should meet someone at Calvin’s Cave…

Star Boy reveals that, after flying through the tail of the�comet, (which begs the question of why he didn’t call himself Comet Boy?)�he has all the same powers as Tom Welling, and a couple more, including electrical vision and the ability to see through lead.� His family and home planet of Xanthus are very important to Star Boy, and he immediately consults with his scientist dad about what has happened.� Father and son together figure out his capabilities, and mom sews him a funny suit, allowing Thom to become the thirteenth member of the Legion.

The Xanthu connection soon reared it’s ugly head, though, and Thom found himself pursuing a couple of local criminals back in time to Smallville circa “twenty years ago.”� Thom quickly finds himself befriended by Lana Lang, and roped into her secret plan, agreeing to help make Tom Welling jealous.� He agrees (always a sucker for romance, our Star Boy) but she doesn’t realize that super-hearing allows T.W. to hear in advance, foiling her plan.� It won’t be the first time that being a hopeless romantic will get our lad in trouble.� Strangely, though, his Legion membership is mostly ignored, not reappearing for nearly three years (as though the writers just forgot about the minor Legion ties in his first appearance.)� When he does come back, it’s just in time for Thom to witness the debut of the woman who would change his life and Legion tenure forever…� Nura Nal, Dream Girl.

Also interesting in that first panel?� Saturn Girl explains Thom’s new power, without any mention of his former gamut of Kryptonian-level abilities.� (Where did he disappear to, and what happened to all the extra juice?� I’ll get to that in a moment, but it’s interesting to note that the story would not be told for TWENTY YEARS…)� Dream Girl is voted in, with all the male members saying yes, and all the female members saying no.� The ladies of the Legion are an astute bunch, as Dreamy quickly starts using her feminine wiles against the men, turning the Legionnaires into her love-slaves.� Star Boy is hit especially hard by this, and is the last Legionnaire to believe it when Dream Girl nearly destroys the Legion, transforming several heroes into babies (don’t ask), getting others to quit, even booting out Lightning Lass because her powers duplicate her recently-resurrected twin brother Lightning Lad’s.� But it is Star Boy who discovers her real motivation:��Nura has�had a dream that the entire Legion was going to die when their cruiser is struck by a meteor, and she felt that she had to destroy them to save them…

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There’s more story in that single page than some comics can give us in a YEAR.� Star Boy returns to the rank and file, a staunchly heroic Legionnaire and a guy so nice he makes Bob Newhart look like Morton Downey, Junior.� Notable Legion moments during this particular period for Thom include being transformed into a baby and conned into believing the most valuable jewels in the galaxy are jellybeans…

Aren’t they adorable?� You have to love these old stories.� There’s nothing quite like giant gorillas in pinstripe suits, or aliens taking over the world with new flavors of ice cream to make you remember what you love about comic books.� I think the Legionnaires turned into babies approximately 74 times during their run in Adventure Comics, though it should be noted that�they’re�actually more toddlers than babies.� Also of interest, Star Boy was the first Legionnaire to face off against Beppo, an early experiment by Jor-El in space technology.� Yes, friends, Star Boy is among those rarest of heroes who had a slapfight with a monkey…� A monkey in a CAPE.

Put that in your “realism” pipe and smoke it!� But such whimsy isn’t always the way for Star Boy, who has been known to call himself the Unluckiest Legionnaire.� He’s actually so unlucky that Lightning Lad stole that nickname from him!� Poor guy…� When you’re elected as #13, I guess it should be expected, though.� Thom continued pining for Nura, even after the spell she wove on the other Legionnaires had faded.� His misery was such that he didn’t even participate in the team’s bi-weekly super-orgy…

For once, they’re using the future-telling computer the way you’d expect real teenagers to: for kicks and sucking face.� I’m sure there’s a way to make it dispense 30th century beer, as well.� I don’t know about you, but given the sheer number of super-teens with killer bodies living in that tiny little rocketship, you have to presume this sort of shenanigans�isn’t�unusual for the Legion.� Triplicate Girl ALONE is a walking fanfic tale, and you KNOW I’m right.� Walking through�his days in a heartbroken funk, Star Boy needs to talk to someone, so he heads for Karak, a barren world where his scientist parents are currently stationed.� Nothing clears Star Boy’s mind like a visit with mom and dad.� When he arrives, he’s stunned to see a nasty-looking ruffian leap out of a ship and fire at him, killing an innocent man whose only crime was being there…� Thom lashes out with his powers, but to no avail.

A joyful Star Boy returns to LSH headquarters to get approval for his vacation with Nura, but is confused by the long faces of his comrades.� Word travels fast in the 30th century, and they already know about his actions.� Star Boy is stunned to hear that he has broken the Legion code, and that a�trial is about to take place that will decide whether or not he gets to stay.� Choosing Tom Welling to be his council, Star Boy willingly sits through court-martial proceedings.� Since super-attorneying is not one of the teen of steel’s powers, (though, strangely, super-ventriloquism IS) Star Boy’s case is forced to go the final step:� a vote of all the members on whether Kallor stays or goes.

Et tu, Matter Eater Lad?� ET TU???� By the barest of margins, Thom is drummed out of the Legion…� Serves him right for trusting some fourteen-year-old farmboy with his defense, I guess.� (Wouldn’t you have chosen Brainiac 5?� I know I would have…)� But even though he may have lost his career, Thom still has his girl, and Nura tries to make him feel better by getting him in with ANOTHER Legion, the Legion of Substitute Heroes.

With their new members, the Subs fly off into the sunset, ever bitter that nearly all of�them are more powerful than Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Elastic Lad, or Triplicate Girl.� (BB and Tenzil got in on sheer personality, Elastic Lad has powerful friends [coughsupervotingfraudpowerscough] and as for Triplicate Girl, her ‘unique power’ is�synonymous with�a term that rhymes with “Tenage Au Frois.”)�� A few issues later, the LSH found themselves somewhat short-handed, as a cloud of Kryptonite dust surrounded the earth, forcing two of their most powerful members to return to the past.� Tom Welling and Helen Slater were crushed to have to quit the team, but it’s okay…� Not wanting them to feel the pain of loss, the Legion just wipes their memories with Kryptonite implants�and brain surgery.� Yay!� (Zatanna wants to know why it’s okay when THEY do it…)� Their replacement members arrive soon after, with punny names from the brilliant mind of E. Nelson Bridwell.

Encased in lead from head to toe, the newbies are immediately suspected to be something sinister, with even Ferro Lad commenting how their helmeted secretiveness seems suspicious.� “I wear a mask, too.� But I don’t conceal my identity from the rest of you!”� Brainiac 5 isn’t sure what to make of them, but soon suspects that they’re the cousins from Krypton, much as he would years later think that Sensor Girl was Supergirl as well.� He’s got tunnel vision when it�comes to that girl.� When Prince Evillo and his Devil’s Dozen (consisting of five villains, proving that Evillo was as bad at counting as he was at choosing a nom de guerre) strike, the forces of the Legion are stretched thin, and they must�call in the Subs, the Legion of Super-Pets, and even Tom and Helen, proving that their new members can’t be them.� The plot is unraveled, and one of Evillo’s lackeys, the Hag,�is mystically turned back�into a hot girl who says she’s from Naltor…

Star Boy’s Legion membership is reinstated, and what’s more, his girlfriend gets in too!� It’s a win-win for the boy from Xanthu, a rare feat in those heady days of Legionnaires turning traitor, getting blowed up by Sun-Eaters, and turning into Augustus Gloop after being shot by an alien firing squad.� Star Boy continued to serve in good standing, even being forced to accept the consequences of his worst defeat, as the brother of the deceased Kenz Nuhor arrived to kill him in revenge…

This time, he is able to save the day without lethal force, and returns to the Legion a stronger hero.� Soon after this encounter, Dave Cockrum takes over the art duties on the Legion, and revamps nearly every costume on the team.� Thom’s tasteful black, purple, gold and white monstrosity is replaced by one of the coolest (and probably hardest to draw) uniforms of all time, a full-body star-field jumpsuit with white gloves and boots.

For many issues, Star Boy was again one of the background characters, serving alongside his comrades in the face of Pulsar Stargrave, defending the universe against Mordru in the Earthwar, watching proudly at the weddings of Duo Damsel & Bouncing Boy and Lightning Lad & Saturn Girl.� When Mike Grell took over the Legion, he did minor redesigns of many of the characters to expose more skin (ala the Saturn Girl pink pleather bikini) and gave Star Boy a little makeover as well…

Nothing says 1970’s like a shirt unbuttoned to the sternum.� All he needs is a coke spoon and some nice bell bottoms and he’s ready for the holodiscos…� The one constant throughout this time period is his love for Dream Girl.� With the possible exception of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, Nura and Thom were about the longest-lasting of all the Legion pairings.� Though usually perceived to be more in love with her than she with him, Dream Girl’s feelings for Star Boy were equally strong…

Jealous much, Wildfire?� For several years, the most notable thing Star Boy did was grow a beard, but after long years as just the prognosticator, Dream Girl developed a taste for leadership.� Her campaign was, characteristically, somewhat self-centered, and caused a bit of a rift between the two lovers.� Thom even went so far as to consider voting AGAINST her in the hopes that she’d have more time for him having lost, but couldn’t follow through.� While explaining all of this to Wildfire during some downtime, Thom finally spilled the beans on what happened to his original powers, and why he disappeared entirely from the Legion for so long.� His gravity powers were inborn, a mutation from being born and raised on a space station (?) but his parents took most of his childhood to study that ability, eventually convincing him to suppress it entirely.� Apparently, his comet-induced Kryptonian abilities were different, and they let him join, as we saw earlier.� Early in his Legion tenure, a group of space-pirates began gathering a huge arsenal of weapons, including Kryptonite-based ones.� Being the most powerful of the Legionnaires, Thom was sent in to destroy it…

Bad timing again for the 13th Legionnaire.� But even losing his invulnerability wasn’t going to take Star Boy out of action.� Knowing that the arsenal in the building could burn half the galaxy, and realizing that even his Legion pals (not to mention his parents and beloved Nura) would probably suffer, he did the one thing that they pirates DIDN’T expect…� He brought the house down, regardless of his own safety.

Thus is it explained, two decades on, where Star Boy was between Adventure 282 and 317.� Dream Girl went on to lose the leadership�election, and Thom was perversely satisfied that she did.� Though generally underestimated, Star Boy’s mass-shifting powers proved very useful, even after Light Lass’s complimentary powers were no longer part of the Legion arsenal.� One of the moments where Thom pulled his weight and then some, was the moment when a lead-poisoned Mon-El went on a super-powered rampage…� Knowing that his friend was nearly insane, it was Thom who was able to turn the tide, simulating the greater gravity of Mon’s home planet of Daxam, allowing Colossal Boy and Timber Wolf to slow him down.

Though the leadership issue was a rare bone of contention between Thom and Nura, later events would drive an even larger wedge between them.� Atmos, the hereditary protector of Xanthu,�disappeared and the Legion was called in for what seemed like a pathetically menial repair job.� The Legionnaires thought they were just using their influence on Star Boy for special treatment, but the ruling body of Xanthu had other plans.� The entire mission was nothing more than a ruse to bring Star Boy home so they could drop their bombshell.

For the man who was willing to die beneath a hail of rubble for duty, there is only one possible response to a question like this.� Star Boy resigned his Legion membership and returned home to serve as protector of Xanthu.� Atmos turned up in the Legion’s path soon after, apparently believing that he had to better Star Boy at everything.� He lobbied for Legion membership (unsuccessfully) and made a play for Dream Girl.� Because of the strange hypnotic nature of his powers, he was successful in that bid.� Thom accepted her choice, believing that if she didn’t want him, she shouldn’t be forced to stay, but never quite forgave Atmos.� On several occasions, the more-powerful Atmos challenged him in an ongoing campaign of one-upmanship, but Star Boy always rose to the challenge.

Take that, Atmos!� And get some armpits, you freak.� Star Boy served as Xanthu’s protector until nearly the end of the Legion’s original series, rejoining in the last issue.��After the events known as the “Five Year Gap” struck,�Star Boy�was nowhere to be found.� After several years, the Legionnaires finally held a reunion, and all extant members returned for a weekend of fun on Winath, where we find what has happened to Thom…

Having found happiness in a new career, with a new love, Star Boy had no interest in returning to Legion duty.� Though batball coaching might have been less life-threatening than his Legion duties, Thom still had the instincts of a Legionnaire, and the sense of honor that always drove him.� When former Legion villain Starfinger, now an overweight and very minor racketeer, rigged one of his games, Thom refused to accept the tainted victory.�

The game was replayed, and this time, his team (The Dreamers, and I presume, though it’s never explicitly spoken, that he named them after his old flame) went on�to win the pennant, and Thom successfully stood by his morals in turning down Dream Girl’s advances, wanting to stay faithful to his new woman.� During one of the most complicated and odd periods of Legion history, (which is indeed saying something)�a second team of Legionnaires appeared out of nowhere.� Though initially thought to be clones of the original team, they were later revealed to have been temporal duplicates pulled out of the time stream and brought forward.� When the events of Zero Hour started overtaking the 30th century, the manipulations of the timestream caused Ferro Lad to fade away, and be replaced by…

That…� may be the ugliest costume I’ve ever seen.� As the Crisis grew in�proportion, even the retired Legionnaires�suited up one last time to fight the menace, only to watch as�their fellows disappeared one by one, plucked from existence, as the universe rewound itself.� With his wife and home planet gone, and the world collapsing upon itself,�Star Boy stops fighting himself, and allows his deep feelings for Dream Girl to overcome his sense of duty for once…

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In order that the 30th Century might live, the few remaining Legionnaires were forced to merge with their younger selves, knowing that whatever came after would bear little to no resemblance to what had gone before.� Alongside Wildfire, Matter-Eater Lad, Brainiac 5, and all his old friends, Thom and his younger self join hands and cease to exist…

The world fades to white, and the reboot of the Legion begins.� The new Legion had a more military bearing, and concordant with that, some members were actually conscripted into service.� Alongside recalcitrant insect lifeform Gates, a teleporter, a new iteration of the son of Xanthu arrived to take his place with the Legion…

Just as before, the cruiser accident gave Star Boy a vast array of Kryptonian-level abilities, though they lasted much longer and were actually somewhat more useful.� Much as his Pre-Zero Hour self, Star Boy had a strong sense of duty, but tended to lack a bit of confidence and could be brought down by self-doubt.� When Leviathan (the post-ZH Colossal Boy) gave his life, it actually seemed to ground Star Boy and make him more determined to do right.

His love of Dream Girl also carried over (though she wasn’t portrayed as the capable Legionnaire of yore for many years, instead a bubble-headed hero-worshiper whose powers could cause her to pass out at any time) as well.� When his comet-powers eventually failed him (everything old is new again, I suppose) Star Boy once again came to grips with being less superhuman, and once again acquitted himself honorably.

The invasion of the alien Blight destroys the stargate system that allowed fast transport between worlds, and once again, Star Boy was asked to act as the hero of Xanthu, this time helping to repel the invasion of the alien A.I. known as Robotica and it’s endless series of drones and robots.� For nearly a year, he was the first line of defense against the creatures, and honed his powers to new levels in so doing.

Dream Girl, too, was forced to change in the new reality, assisting him with future-knowledge, and helping him to not only hone his abilities, but to foresee where the next attacks will occur.� Along with XS (who will probably be getting her own Hero History soon) they manage to defend Xanthu against the robot onslaught when hundreds of other planets were falling…

When the Legion was once again rebooted in 2004, the new creative team made changes and adjustments to bring their powers and motif up to the standards of the Age of Irony.� Even though the Legion is essentially a shiny Silver Age future, their backgrounds and the world around them got a facelift, and certain members were subtly changed.� In a move that has some older Legion fans (though not myself) upset, Star Boy returned in this series with his best-looking costume yet…� and a change in pigmentation.

Heh.� Though not getting a lot of screen time yet, Star Boy has ably assisted the Legion in taking down Praetor Lemnos, as well as fighting off the Dominators and their genetically-engineered foot soldiers.� Even after the original reboot had wiped him and his Legion from reality, Alex Ross and Mark Waid (both old-school Legion fans, I believe) used large pieces of the original LSH lore in their landmark series, Kingdom Come.� The most obvious of these references is the presence of a Starman wearing Thom’s starfield costume with the addition of a mask.� Identified as “Danny Blaine,” this new Starman is an early convert to the side of Superman…

This Starman of the near-future was identified in the hardcover as being Thom Kallor, come back in time for some reason, while Supergirl and Kon-El went to the future to serve as Legionnaires.� The entire Danny Blaine facade was later explained as his secret identity, and used to great dramatic effect when Jack Knight traveled to the future and the post-Zero Hour Star Boy found out about his destiny.� When Jack was sent back in time to 1951 later in his own series, it is Thom, now Starman, who saves him…

Now THAT’s a cool costume.� The recent events in JSA have shown us a Thom trapped in the past, on a desperate secret mission, have sacrificed everything to come back, even at the expense of his mental health.� Starman, revealed to be a schizophrenic, was perfectly balanced and sane using 30th century science, but is prone to babbling and seeming insanity under the care of our doctors� Having stayed in the past when most of his fellows left, Thom has stated in a moment of lucidity that he still has work to do here.� Once again, his sense of duty and honor have made the former Star Boy’s decision for him.� Throughout his career(s) Star Boy hasn’t always been the most powerful Legionnaire, (though often he was) nor the center of attention, (though his turns in the spotlight were always powerful) but he has shown repeatedly that the measure of a Legionnaire, the measure of ANY hero, is in how they respond when things seem their darkest…� Driven by his love of family, of home, of Dream Girl, always wearing his heart on his sleeve, Thom Kallor acts as a hero because he must, because sometimes no one else can.� Like the suns he takes his name from, Star Boy shines brightest when all around is black.

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