Or - “The Fair Witch Project.”

The Legion of Super-Heroes covers a lot of different takes on heroism, but the one thing that they all seem to share is the affinity for science.  From the “ultra-energy” that imbues Jo Nah, to Wildfire’s transformation to pure antimatter, to the accident that empowered Lighting Lass and her brother, the vagaries of science (or at least the strange comic book version thereof) have served as the origin of many Legionnaires.  Indeed, with the bright and shiny future setting, that’s as it should be.  So today’s Historical subject is an anomaly from the get-go, holding the honor of being one of the only Legionnaires to start out as a villain, as well as being the first full-fledged magician in Legion history.  She stood down with the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, matched up in courage with the greatest heroes the Legion has to offer, and did it with style and grace.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Mysa Nal of Naltor…  The White Witch.

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Or, “No, this guy was never an Avenger nor a woman named Rita…”

In some of my previous Hero Histories, I talked a little bit about how Golden Age characters might make an appearance and never be seen again, or they could last through to today. While that was meant to be aimed at actual characters, it holds true for good names a well. You might recognize this week’s Hero History as a name belonging to one of Hank Pym’s various alter egos. Maybe you know it as a young ex-criminal named Rita DeMara who went to the future and on the way back was killed by a mind-controlled Iron Man. Or maybe you even know the pulp-era inspired character published by Shooting Star Comics. But, I can almost bet that you don’t know about the 1940’s crime writer who donned a yellow and black cape and fought crime as, The Yellowjacket!

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Or, “This Rockman has absolutely nothing to do with Megaman…”

The Golden Age was a time of wonder in the comic book industry. New heroes where popping up at dozens of new publishers every week, and if the idea could translate to paper, it was given a shot. Some were never seen after their first appearance, others lasted for decades. Oddly enough, some characters were forgotten and not seen in new adventures for over fifty or more years. The peculiar Rockman, Underground Secret Agent, is one of those recently “re-discovered and re-imagined” heroes of the past.

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Or - “The Thirtieth Century’s Answer To Donny And Marie…”

One of the unavoidable biases inherent in our Terra-centric translation of the events of the various 30th Centuries has been the fact that many more Legionnaires come from Earth than from any other planet.  With Karate Kid, Wildfire, Sun Boy, both Invisible Kids, Bouncing Boy, Ferro Lad, Tyroc, as well as a host of shorter-lived Legionnaires, Sol III holds the record for gestating LSH members, but planet Xanthu (home of Star Boy, Monstress, Atmos, 50% of the rebooted Wildfire, and today’s dual entrants) has a strong heroic tradition of it’s own.  Heck, in some early LSH stories, the team is shown to have their headquarters on Xanthu rather than Earth, though I can’t say for sure if those references are in any way considered canonical.  Though today’s historical subjects weren’t the most long-lived of Legionnaires, and to be honest, sometimes they weren’t the most likable, but both took the challenge of joining the galaxy’s greatest hero team seriously.  One of them inspired the Legion to become a stronger organization, and the other LED the team during some of its’ darkest hours.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of James and Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu… Kid Quantum!

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This week, as we continue our look at the “forgotten” heroes of the past, we find another hero who learned his powers from Tibetan monks. This time he is not as steeped in Buddhism as our previous entry, The Green Lama, but he spent more time in training. He also has one of the most recognized, yet unknown cover appearances of the Golden Age. I mean how many other covers have a nearly naked man, in chains, biting a cobra!

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Or - “In Small Things, We Reveal Ourselves As We Truly Are…”

One of the things for which the 30th Century has never lacked is strong female characters.  From the steely nature of Legion founder Saturn Girl, to the tenacity of Dream Girl, to the self-determination of Dawnstar and beyond, the females of the LSH are every single iota the match for their male colleagues.  But with that many dominant personalities on one place, someone is bound to end up in the shadows.  Today’s Historical subject spent the greater part of her Legion career in the shadow of her own relationships, from her first teenage crush, to a relationship with her polar opposite, (power-wise, anyway) to her involvement in the Legion’s first openly homosexual relationship, she’s been defined as much by her other half as by any intrinsic aspect of herself.  But that doesn’t lessen the impact she has had on the team, nor does it in any way eclipse her heroism.  There’s an old cliche that comes to mind about good things and the relative size of their packaging that comes briefly to mind before sensibly departing, but it’s point is still valid:  Size needn’t matter.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Salu Digby of Imsk…  Shrinking Violet!

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Not Llama. LAMA.

Om mani padme hum… the Green Lama strikes, for Justice!

The Green Lama, a Westerner who wears the robes of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, recently returned to the public eye as one of the mysterious protagonist in the Dynamite Entertainment comic series, PROJECT: SUPERPOWERS. Although the concept of the series is well publicized, the use of characters whose copyrights have slipped into the public domain, few people know the full history of the individual characters. Today I decided to research The Green Lama, who has one of the most varied of these histories, which ran from the pulp magazines, to comics, to radio, and back to comics.

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Or - “Further Adventures In A World Without Tom Welling…”

Today’s Hero History marks a watershed in our examination of the history of the Legion.  For the first time, we’re actually going to be looking at THREE different women, bound by a common origin and name, but who are NOT precisely the same character.  Previous Hero Histories have dealt with Legionnaires who might as well have been different individuals between Legion incarnations (Element Lad and Triplicate Girl come to mind) but today’s entrant takes that to the extreme.  In her tenure(s) with the LSH, she showed courage unparalleled, ingenuity without peer, and a heroic core that had to overcome some rather large interpersonal difficulties.  She also had a penchant for thong/loincloth uniforms years before every single female member of Youngblood went the same way, proving herself to be an innovator…  for good or for ill.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Laurel Gand of Daxam…  Andromeda!

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Or - “An Ocean Is A Desert With Life Underground, And The Perfect Disguise Above…”

Sometimes we set ourselves a challenge that we cannot easily overcome.  With the heroes of the Legion, it’s generally a challenge of will, involving combat or the evil machinations of agents of chaos like the Fatal Five.  In my case, it’s the realization that there are nearly 100 Legionnaires, and that some of them never actually got their defining moment in the spotlight.  Some might consider this to be a liability and write off those particular LSHers as deadweight.  Not on my watch, Faithful Spoilerites.  Be it Chemical King’s isolationism, or the alien philosophies of Blok, or even a short-timer Legionnaire like Monstress (a long story which I’ll get to later) this is where every one of the Legion’s stalwarts (except the jack@$$ known as Atmos and the traitorous perverted worm they call Nemesis Kid) get their due.  Today’s entrant joined during one of the Legion’s most prosperous and expansive periods, and as such, he wasn’t often front and center in Legion lore.  Even so, he proved himself to be a worthy choice for the team, proving that even non-bipeds can take up arms against injustice.  This, then, is your Major Spoiler Hero History of Ganglios of Hykraius…  Tellus!

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Or - “Living Proof That The Powers Do Not Always Make The Hero…”

In a very real way, to study the history of today’s subject is to study the history of the Legion itself.  Initially a smiling young teen with what I’ll charitably call “limited” superhuman abilities, she was at the center of one of the LSH’s first great tragedies.  When the team began growing up and dealing with responsibility, she was the first Legionnaire to marry and take on an adult role.  When the team began actively recruiting and training young heroes, she took on a leadership position, and was crucial (even after having been INACTIVE for years) to one of the team’s most difficult missions.  Her sense of self (selves?) may have been occasionally suspect, but her sense of heroism and her willingness to put herself in harm’s way to protect her teammates and friends make her memorable.  Add to that the fact that she overcame a crush on the archetypical teen idol stereotype in a red cape to find true and long-lasting love with Bouncing Boy (who even I, BB’s biggest fan, realize isn’t exactly crush-fodder) reveals the character underneath that Eve Arden haircut.  She’s a study in contrasts, a walking diorama of internal conflict, and she’s not afraid to wear purple and orange together.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Luornu Durgo of Carggg…  Triplicate Girl!

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Or -  “My Initiative Is Simple:  No Legionnaire Left Behind!”

In the early 1980’s, Marvel Comics began printing up their “Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe,” an in-depth, encyclopedic examination of events, people and places in Marvel history.  DC soon followed suit with their “Who’s Who In The DC Universe,” which took a different tack, essentially covering the high points of a character’s publishing history, as well as one-upping Marvel’s static costume shots with a full-size collage of the character’s history and heroic feats.  It was here that I first encountered today’s Historical subject…  As a Legion fan, I was fascinated by the fact that one of their members existed entirely in the lacunae of my Legion knowledge (which at that time consisted of reprints of the first five years of Adventure Comics and most of what happened after Tyroc joined in the 220’s.)  His story sounded exciting, and his eventual fate was fascinating, and I resolved to find every appearance of this “Lost Legionnaire.”  Little did I know that I’d only be hunting down a dozen or so comics.  But as even the youngest child can tell you, quantity is not the same as quality (unless you’re talking about toys or candy) and he will stand alongside his teammates as a testament to the Legion’s central tenet:  Heroism is about people, and every person has something to contribute.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Condo Arlik of Phlon…  Chemical King!

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Or - “A Bright Enough Light Can Hide The Shadows Within…”

The study of the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes inevitably leads to the study of many unusual superhero archetypes and attitudes. Whereas most teams consist of six or seven clearly defined characters, a group the size of the Legion has room for Wildfire’s snarkiness, for Dawnstar’s occasional narcissism, for the roguish charm of Ultra Boy, for Shadow Lass’ antisocial tendencies, even for Quislet’s complete disregard for convention. It also leaves room for your classic cocky womanizer, smart but not the smartest, charming but not the most so, certainly heroic but hardly a paragon. It’s kind of ironic that the Legionnaire with the smartest costume (one that lasted for over 40 years with virtually no changes) and the most heroic look is one of the most troubled and tragic LSHers of them all. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Dirk Morgna of Earth… Sun Boy!

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Or - “The Thirst For Power Isn’t Always A Selfish Endeavor…”

Even when you take into account the length and breadth of my comic knowledge, and my love of the Legion, there’s inevitably going to be somebody who is my least favorite.  (My Top Ten fave-raves?  1) Blok.  2) Matter-Eater Lad.  3) Bouncing Boy.  4) Wildfire.  5)  Pre-Crisis Ferro Lad.  6) Ultra Boy.  7) XS.  8) Tyroc.  9) Polar Boy.  10) Mon-El.)  Still, the entire point of the Hero History exercise, other than serving as an outlet for my creative/didactic urges, is to identify that which makes each hero uniquely awesome, and none deserve (perhaps even NEED) this treatment more than today’s subject.  I’ve mentioned before how certain Hero Histories were more difficult than I expected, but his one was easier than I thought.  I honestly expected myself to be among those needing to be converted to see the light, but the during the perusal of her history found myself reminded of the very point that makes the Legion great: Everyone has something to contribute.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Zoe Saugin of Aleph…  Kinetix!

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Or - “Making The World Safe For Skin-Tight Red Hotpants…  Thank Rao!”

In the 70 years since the advent of Superman, there have been a great many superheroes, with varying raisons d’etre.  Some came to cash in on trends, some to break new ground, some to irritate, some to ingratiate, and some to infiltrate.  But today’s entrant seemingly comes from the basest of all creative wells: protection of copyright.  Like Jessica Drew, Carol Danvers, Kathy Kane, and others, our hero du jour is a female version of an existing hero.  Unlike any of those others, she managed to carrying her own book on at least FIVE occasions (though that does raise the point that it was cancelled FOUR times) and was a fixture of the DC Universe for decades.  Many of the Legionnaires possessed powers on her level, but few matched her for sheer tenacity and dedication.  Though her beauty was legendary, her mind was a match for Brainiac 5 himself, and her dedication to protecting innocents led to one of the most tragic moments in comic history.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Kara Zor-El of Argo City…  Supergirl!

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Or - “Overlook Him At Your Own Peril…”

Lyyyyle Nooorg!  Lyyle Norg!  Riding through the laaaand…

Lyyyyle Nooorg!  Lyyle Norg!  With a beige headbaaaand!

Sometimes I write little bits of doggerel to fill in the spaces and format the images in Wordpress, but that one cracks me up so completely, I thought I’d leave it in.  Of the many Legionnaires over the years, there have been a seemingly inordinate number of what the superhero RPG community calls “bricks.”  Mon-El, Tom Welling, Andromeda, Supergirl, Thunder, Ultra Boy, Kent Shakespeare, even my beloved Blok fall into the category of “Legionnaires Whose Job It Is To Hit $#!+ Really Hard.”  But as we have seen previously, the ranks of the LSH also include many whose powers are of a more subtle bent, and none more so that today’s entrant.  It’s fitting that of all the Legionnaires, his motives are among the least obvious.  Not merely content to make his entire body disappear, he managed to keep his past likewise unseen.  His resume includes runs as a spy, an inventor, and Legion leader, and he managed to keep an entire relationship under the radar of the Legion (and the readers.)  Though his story may have ended (if things in comics can be said to end) in tragedy, his legacy lived on.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Lyle Norg of Earth…  Invisible Kid!

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