Who's Who: Chameleon Boy

Chameleon Boy 
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Reep Daggle (anglicized version; true Durlan name cannot be pronounced by non-Durlans)

Super-Power(s): Ability to change into or "mimic" any form
Planet of Origin: Durla

Legion Seniority: Chameleon Boy joined at the same time as Colossal Boy, but they were admitted  alphabetically, making him Member #6.

Legion Log 
Chameleon Boy made his debut appearance as a guest-star in a Supergirl story in Action Comics #267. At this time he was already shown to be a member. In fact, it was later shown that Chameleon Boy was already a member when Superboy was inducted, in Adventure Comics #247. 

It was later established that Chameleon Boy had abandoned his planet's xenophobic ways and moved to Earth as a youngster with his family. When he heard of the Legion of Super-Heroes, he wanted to join in order to help show the universe that Durlans could be trusted. 

Chameleon Boy stayed with the Legion for its entire existence. He took one leave of absence while he was imprisoned on Takron-Galtos for conspiring against the United Planets. When he was pardoned he returned to active duty and remained so until after the events of the Magic Wars. 

He was never Legion Leader or Deputy, but he was the permanent head of the Legion Espionage Squad.

Chameleon Boy was shy and aloof when he first joined the Legion, partly because he was afraid he would be treated badly due to xenophobia against Durlans in the United Planets, and partly because he was simply shy. Slowly, his best friend Colossal Boy helped bring him "out of his shell." He eventually became good friends with other members, such as Saturn Girl, who he recognized as similar to him (aloof on the outside, but with a heart of gold inside), Brainiac 5, Mon-El, Superboy, and his Espionage Squad teammates Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, and Invisible Kid. 

Seven years into his career, Chameleon Boy participated in the Legion's "Greatest Member" Challenge, and through this traveled to another dimension and met Princess Elwinda. Cham fell hard for her. In fact, he was ready to marry her when he was jerked back to our dimension by the Legion. He may have fallen for her so deeply and quickly because he did not think he could ever return to his home, as he was very angry at his teammates for "saving" him when they did. He sulked around the HQ for several weeks. Sometime later, Princess Projectra introduced Chameleon Boy to a friend of hers, an heiress named Janice Warren. She had a resemblance to Elwinda, which may have helped him fall for her. They hit it off well, but she never appeared again. 

Chameleon Boy has an analytical mind, but an emotional wall. So when he suddenly learned that Legion benefactor RJ Brande was actually his father, he did not take it well. He resented the silence and lies of several years, and then he disliked the presumption on Brande's part that he could suddenly "be" Cham's father. In a fit of pique, Cham ordered Timber Wolf and Shrinking Violet to accompany him to the Khund homeworld for a reconnaissance mission. It ended badly, and Cham nearly got all three of them killed. He was sentenced to Takron-Galtos for nearly causing a war between the UP and the Khunds. While imprisoned, he lost his shape-shifting abilities. After Chameleon Boy was pardoned, he returned to Durla (accompanied by his father) in order to restore them. He and his father then started down a road of reconciliation. 

After the five-year gap, bored with overseeing his missing father's business, Reep helps Cosmic Boy reassemble the Legion. In this era, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt from Roxxas the Butcher and found his father. He wasn't happy however, and his destiny lay elsewhere.

When the SW6 Legion's time-displaced duplicate of Chameleon Boy was killed fighting Dominion troops, the older Reep became the young team's liaison to the adult Legiona and ersatz mentor/guidance councilor as, simply, Chameleon.

After the Reboot, Chameleon is no longer R.J. Brande's son, but of a Durlan leader instead. As a Legionnaire, he hoped to show the mistrusted Durlans could be trustworthy. Initially, Chameleon didn't speak Interlac, but Invisible Kid could speak his language and asked him to join the Espionage Squad, and several of the girls were eager to teach him the 30th century's universal language. He learned quickly, but feigned struggling with it so he could uncover a conspiracy within the UP.

He entertained a relationship with Spark, but they could never pursue it very far because one or the other was always lost in some distant place or time (Cham was part of the Legion Lost). They were finally lost together in the time stream after a battle with the Fatal 500 and survived the deletion of the Reboot continuity during Infinite Crisis. After the Legion of 3 Worlds event, this version of Cham would seek to explore the multiverse with other surviving Reboot Legionnaires as the New Wanderers.

After the Threeboot, the androgynous Chameleon has a slightly different look, but is once again an able detective, moonlighting with the Science Police and solving cases for them. He is instrumental in bringing the villain Elysion and the telepathic murderer Jeyra Entinn to justice. His strange sense of humor meant his pranks weren't usually appreciated by his teammates.

After Infinite Crisis, Chameleon Boy's original history has more or less been reestablished, but is initially listed as "missing". In Superman vol.1 #696, it is revealed he has been posing as Control, the head of the Metropolis Science Police in the 21st century as part of a secret mission to protect the future. When exposed, he escapes with the help of Quislet.

Chameleon Boy has appeared in the Superman Animated Series, voiced by Jason Priestley; an episode of Justice League Unlimited; and the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, voiced by Alexander Polinsky. In the latter, he is a youthful, wise-cracking, animal shape-shifting hero in the mold of Beast Boy, and is confirmed as R.J. Brande's son.

Important Chameleon Boy Stories: 

Action Comics  #267

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Chameleon Boy's debut appearance,
already a Legionnaire

Adventure Comics  #323

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 3)

Cameo appearance in the flashback of Superboy's induction
clearly shows Chameleon Boy already a member

Adventure Comics  #376

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8)

Cham meets and falls in love with a princess from another dimension

Action Comics  #383
(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9)

Cham meets and falls in love with a rich heiress

Superboy/Legion  #193

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 10)

The debut of Cham's modern costume, designed by Dave Cockrum

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #230

Cham refuses to believe in Dream Girl's 

prediction of a political assassination

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #239

Chameleon Boy helps prove Ultra Boy innocent of murder

Secrets of The Legion of Super-Heroes #3

Chameleon Boy learns RJ Brande is his father

Legion of Super-Heroes(v2) #287

Chameleon Boy leads a doomed spy mission to the Khund homeworld

Legion of Super-Heroes(v2)  #292

 Chameleon Boy is sentenced to Takron-Galtos,

bound with a power-suppressor so he cannot escape

Legion of Super-Heroes  #301

Chameleon Boy goes back to Durla to regain his powers,
also getting a new costume

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #39

Flashback shows meeting and befriending Colossal Boy
as both join the Legion at the same time

LSH(v3) 47 thru Legion Of Super-Heroes Annual #4 (1988)

 Chameleon Boy goes undercover to capture Starfinger

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #10 (1990)

Cham appears to be killed by Roxxas, but is saved by the tactic of keeping his vital organs in unusual places

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #32 (1992)

SW6 Chameleon Boy is killed

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #33 (1992)

Cham goes undercover on Antares to find the missing R.J. Brande 

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #41 (1993)

Reep becomes the Legionnaires' mentor as Chameleon  

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #62 (1994)

Chameleon joins the Reboot Legion  


Legion of Super-Heroes vol.4 #80 (1996)

Chameleon reveals his verbal agility after saving the United Planets from a conspiracy

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.5 #5-12 (2005-6)

The Threeboot Chameleon is instrumental in bringing Elysion to justice

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #19 (2006)

Chameleon becomes the prime investigator in the case of Titanian murderer Jeyra Entinn

Superman vol.1 #696 (2010)

In the 21st century, the Science Police's Control is revealed to be an undercover Chameleon Boy

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.6 #9 (2011) 

Cham visits Durla where he is considered "tainted" by outside influences

Legion of Super-Heroes vol.7 #1 (2011)

 Chameleon Boy is featured on the New52's first Legion cover though he never gets to play a major role before the book's cancellation
        
Superman: The Animated Series (1998)

Chameleon Boy, voiced by Jason Priestley 

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Animated Series (2006-8)

 Chameleon Boy appeared in season two, voiced by Alexander Polinsky