Monday, February 16, 2015

The Legion's Presidents' Day

Today is Presidents' Day in the USA. We honor all 44 Presidents, the Great Leaders as well as The Duds.

So here at the Legion of Super Bloggers we have decided to honor *our* Great Leaders of The Original Series, in chronological order....

Year One: Cosmic Boy
the computer picked him
Members: 3 at its lowest, 11 at its highest 
Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad form the Legion
and admit eight other members
Most important missions: 
The Case of the Quintile Crystal, renegade GL attack on Time Institute

Year Two: Cosmic Boy
you like him, you really like him
Members: went from 11 to 18 
Mon-El is asked to join, even though he is still trapped in the Phantom Zone
Most important missions: 
Lex Luthor sends a robot to destroy the Legion, the Legion of Super-Pets is formed
Note: 
Cosmic Boy's second term is never actually confirmed in any story.
However, because the "open application for new members once every year"
comments are mentioned several times by several applicants,
it is strongly implied that he served more than one term

Year Three: Saturn Girl
she told you to vote for her
Members: 18 at its lowest, 21 at its highest 
Lightning Lad is put into a coma but eventually gets better,
Lightning Lass joins but then becomes Light Lass,
Dream Girl joins but quickly resigns, Bouncing Boy loses his powers and resigns
Most important events: 
Lightning Lad sacrifices himself to save Saturn Girl (and Earth),
Roxxas and his raiders murders everyone on the planet Trom,
The Legion of Substitute Heroes is formed
Note: 
Saturn Girl learns of the invasion plans of
Zaryan, so commands the membership to vote for her so
she can sacrifice herself to stop him. After her plot is discovered,
the membership votes her back in officially.

Year Four: Saturn Girl
she solved the riddle of The Eight Impossible Missions
Members: 19 throughout the year 
Command Kid and Dynamo Boy try separately to infiltrate and destroy the Legion
Most important events: 
Lex Luthor attacks again, the Flight Rings are invented,
Mordru attacks Earth, Lightning Lad loses his right arm 

Year Five: Brainiac 5
thinks he knows more than he actually does
Members: 19 at its lowest, 23 at its highest 
Triplicate Girl is killed, becoming Duo Damsel; Star Boy is expelled;  
Ferro Lad, Karate Kid, and Princess Projectra join;
Nemesis Kid is expelled.
Most important events: 
Computo takes over Metropolis, Star Boy is charged with murder,
the Khunds attempt to invade Earth

Year Six: Invisible Kid
quiet, almost non-descript, but solid as a rock
Members: 18 at its lowest, 24 at its highest 
Superboy and Supergirl are expelled but soon return;
Star Boy, Bouncing Boy, and Dream Girl rejoin;  Ferro Lad is killed;
Shadow Lass joins
Most important events: 
Dr. Regulus attacks, Universo takes over Earth, the Fatal Five is formed, 
Ferro Lad sacrifices himself to stop the Sun-Eater

Year Seven: Ultra Boy and Karate Kid
too much work for one man? 

Members: 24 at its lowest, 26 at its highest 
Timber Wolf and Chemical King join;
Superboy quits in order to keep the membership at 25
Most important events: 
The Legion of Super-Villains is discovered, the Taurus Gang attacks

Year Eight: Mon-El and Ultra Boy
the year that Time forgot

Members: 25 throughout the year 
Most important missions: 
Lightning Lord is captured by his siblings,
Mordru attempts to kill Superboy in the past 

Year Nine: Mon-El
back to tradition...
Members: 25 at the beginning, 23 at the end 
Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel retire to get married;
Superboy rejoins; Wildfire joins;
Invisible Kid is killed; Supergirl resigns;
Matter-Eater Lad resigns; Tyroc joins
Most important events: 
Tyr attacks, the Fatal Five returns, the Legion of Super-Villains attacks,
Validus under control of Tharok murders Invisible Kid

Year Ten: Wildfire
The New Kid Makes Good
Members: 23 members 
Dawnstar joins; Chemical King is killed;
Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad resign to get married
but rejoin when the Constitution is re-written 
Most important events: 
The Time Trapper strikes, Pulsar Stargrave attacks, the Infinite Man is created,
Chemical King is killed preventing the Dark Circle invasion of Earth
Note: 
Starting with this election, the fans themselves chose the Leaders.
Superboy won the popularity contest, but writer Paul Levitz
chose to give the position to the 2nd placer,
then write a story about it.

Year Eleven: Lightning Lad
long-time coming
Members: 23 at the beginning, 21 at the end 
Superboy resigns; Tyroc resigns; Blok joins; Invisible Kid II joins;
Princess Projectra and Karate Kid resign
Most important events: 
Brainiac 5 is temporarily unbalanced, the League of Assassins attacks,
The Dark Man attacks

Year Twelve: Dream Girl
she had a dream
Members: 21 at its lowest, 22 at its highest 
White Witch joins; Light Lass resigns
Most important events: 
Darkseid attacks, Shrinking Violet is replaced by a spy,
the Emerald Empress attacks

Year Thirteen: Element Lad
Finally!
Members: 23 at its highest, then 19 at the end 
Lightning Lass returns; Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad resign
Most important events: 
Graym Ranzz is born, the Legion of Super-Villains invades Orando,
Karate Kid is killed, the Dark Circle moves to invade UP space

Year Fourteen: Element Lad
"Keep Up The Good Work!"
Members: 19 at the beginning, then 24 at the end 
Five new members join; Star Boy resigns; Saturn Girl rejoins
Most important events: 
A new Fatal Five attacks, the Infinite Man returns,
the Crisis arrives in the 30th Century, Universo takes over Earth
Note:
This screen shows Superboy voting, even though he was no longer
an official member. 

Year Fifteen: Polar Boy
be careful what you wish for...
Members: 24 at the beginning, 18 at the end 
White Witch, Brainiac 5, Dream Girl, Quislet,
Shadow Lass, and Mon-El all resign   
Most important events: 
A new Starfinger attacks, the Manhunters return,
Superboy is killed fighting the Time Trapper   

Year Sixteen: Sensor Girl
a sense of duty
Members: 18 at the beginning, then 17 at the end 
Magnetic Kid dies
Most important event:
The Magic Wars

3 comments:

  1. Nice - but it would be great if it were tagged better to be easier to find. Perhaps adding the following tags: Elections, Leaders, Membership Changes, Milestones

    ReplyDelete
  2. This article is really handy. I've gone back to it several times since it was published. The Anonymous person above had some good points on tagging.

    On later President's Days could you do a follow up on the leadership/membership of other eras?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Year Three: Saturn Girl
    "I forced everyone to vote for me!"

    -A classic case of superdickery

    ReplyDelete