A review of the Legion Constitution by Sisskoid
Being the second of several articles looking at the Legion Constitution to help the prospective member understand just what is expected of him or her. Learn the rules, kids! You'll need them to survive!
So what DOES it take to become a member of the Legion?
Ah yes, here we go: INEXPERIENCE REQUIRED! The United Planets have basically agreed to put their safety in the hands of teenagers, and ONLY teenagers.Obviously, you can be quite a bit older when you get out.
Another Superboy clause, but a necessary one given the variety of powers Superboy might exhibit on any given day in the Silver Age. Even so, prospective members must sure hate Mon-El and Ultra Boy! Note also that someone like Iron Man could never join the Legion. I guess it's also the clause responsible for certain prospects inventing terms like "super-karate" just to get in.
Hahaha. Good one, Val!
The reason for many a rejection, it's the difference between a Polar Boy and a Matter-Eater Lad.
Don't you just hate freezer burn? So does the Legion.
Oh really?
Plainly put, that contradicts reams of Silver Age continuity.
Here's the clause that's about try-outs. Note that any reasonable testing procedures may be used to evaluate the candidate, including screwing with his mind and making him cry.
Moving right along...
No time is wasted. Sometimes, half the Legion doesn't even know who that new member is.
And a legend is born.
Often, that token will be a worthless Legion flight ring, which the candidate uses to commit crimes.
Oh the shame! Imagine making it into the Legion and then being sent to school for some brushing up!
Actually, in the above issue of LSH, Invisible Kid II and the White Witch did exactly that. They fought escaped zoo animals. Yay!
Be careful about activating reserve members, you might not be able to get rid of them easily.
Again, a list: Pete Ross. Jimmy Olsen. This went to committee?!
Does this look like a legal vote to you?
Honorary membership RESCINDED!!!
So kind of anyone, so long as they're pure of heart.
Looks like Reserves have to go through stringent humiliation as well. Ok.
Whooo! Prompt induction into the reserve ranks! :P
Can we follow that training on alternate weekends?When we next assemble: How to get out!
This article was originally posted in some form on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery.
Say, how were Supergirl and Mon-El able to serve at the same time? "Not vulnerable to Lead/Kryptonite" are both abilities possessed by the average Terran and are the only thing that distinguishes them, so there's not even an Ultra Boy-style loophole (his ability to see through Lead, which is actually what qualifies him to co-serve with Mon-El, actually comes in handly far more often than one would think...)
ReplyDeleteSupergirl was only ever an honorary member, I believe, except in the Threeboot where I don't think they necessarily had this copy of the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteNo; she was inducted alongside Braniac 5. Eventually demoted to reserve status basically for missing too many meetings, and offered full status again shortly after Great Darkness but turned it down.
ReplyDeleteI think there may have been a version of the constitution that extended it to a "Superboy or Supergirl" clause, now that I think about it.
You're right, as we will see in her Who's Who profile next week! She was an actual member, but never seemed to be able to find "the time" to be an active member. I think it had something to do with being time-travellers, too. However, the Legion did ask Dev-Em (another Kryptonian) to join but he turned them down.....so maybe it was a Kryptonian thing?
DeleteThe question becomes, what was her status when Mon-El joined?
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get the feeling M-E Lad was forced on the Legion politically, maybe so that Brande could win crucial magnozite contracts or something?
ReplyDelete@LLM: Anyone with a power defined using an absoute term like "anything" (like "Can cut through anything" or "Can eat anything") is going to eventually be abused to an absurd extent. Letting Tenzil in just shows that the Legion leadership realized that...
ReplyDelete