Who's Who: Chlorophyll Kid

Chlorophyll Kid
by Siskoid

Real Name: Ral Benem

Super-Power(s): Plant growth
Planet of Origin: Mardru

Legion Seniority: Chlorophyll Kid was the tenth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Superman (v2) #8

Superman (v2) #8 (August, 1987)
title: "Future Shock"

writer: John Byrne

penciller: John Byrne
inker: Karl Kesel
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Tom Ziuko

editor: Michael Carlin & Andrew Helfer 

cover: John Byrne
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Superman, Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Blok, Invisible Kid, Superboy; cameos by Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and the rest of the Legion

Guests: 
Ma & Pa Kent, Lana Lang, Pete Ross

Opponents: 
The Time Trapper, misunderstandings, muddled editorial decisions

Element Lad: Hot or Not?

A group of candid women with no real Legion knowledge tell us if each Legionnaire is hot or not, and what elements are needed to keep that hotness/notness going across several continuities.

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art Girl - Loves pink, almost irrationally. We'll see how this works out.
DJ Nath - Available for weddings. Co-star of Mind Linked, on You-Tube, with her sister Lip-Bomb.
Havana Nights - All packed for a camping trip. You know how these girls are by now.
Science Girl - And the science in question is Biochemistry. We'll see how this works out.
Shotgun - BLAM! Damn, is she just practicing, or did she just take down another Legionnaire?
Moderator: Siskoid - His chief weapon is fear. Fear and the element of surprise. TWO chief weapons...

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #53

Recap: After settling in for a little, the Legion has another threat to face. With Mordru defeated, Glorith, just recently defeated, can again rise to power. The Legion decides the best strategy is a straight on assault. Streaking to Balduur, the team is united. In the meantime, Universo continues to tarnish the Legion's image, bringing evidence to the United Planets that the team is working with the Khunds. But a temporal anomaly is on the horizon.

The Five Year Later run was now in its fifth year. There were a lot of changes to the Legion mythos in this run, a re-imagining built on the foundation of Legion lore. And these changes were spearheaded by writers Keith Giffen and Tom & Mary Bierbaum. After 50 issues, all of them were gone. And colorist Tom McCraw had stepped in as writer. And with a subtle nudge to become a more streamlined (read easier) title, this title had slipped into a sort of ennui.

Superboy and The Legion #236

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #236 (Feb, 1978)
title: "Meanwhile..."

writer: Paul Levitz

pencillers: Jim Sherman

inker: Bob McLeod

colorist: Anthony Tollin
letterer: Ben Oda
editor: Al Milgrom

cover: Mike Grell & Joe Rubinstein (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Cosmic Boy, Superboy, Element Lad, Colossal Boy, Chameleon Boy, Princess Projectra, Brainiac 5

Guests: 
Night Girl (acting as if she is already a Legionnaire), future Legionnaire Pol Krinn

Opponents: 
World-Smith

Who's Who: Infectious Lass

Infectious Lass
by Siskoid

Real Name: Drura Sehpt

Super-Power(s): Transmit any disease
Planet of Origin: Somahtur

Legion Seniority: Infectious Lass was the ninth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #37

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #37 (August, 1987)
title: "A Twist In Time"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Blok, Sun Boy, Polar Boy, Element Lad, Saturn Girl, Sensor Girl, Tellus, Lightning Lass, Timber Wolf, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Shadow Lass, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Dawnstar, Wildfire, Superboy

Guests: 
Cosmic Boy, Night Girl, Pete Ross, Ma & Pa Kent, Lana Lang

Opponents: 
The Time Trapper

Happy Birthday, White Witch!

According to the 2995 LSH Sourcebook, today will be the birthday of Mysa, better known throughout the galaxy as The White Witch.

White Witch joined the Legion during their most dangerous adventure: The Great Darkness! As Dream Girl's younger sister, she had already met many of the Legionnaires. So when they asked her to join, she was happy to expand her experiences with them. She served until a discussion of morality during the trial of Brainiac 5 caused her to return to the Sorcerers' World. She returned to the Legion after the events of the Magic Wars.

White Witch is a Virgo. What was complicated becomes super-simple today. It's all cause and effect. Everything she needs is in her realm. All she has to do is choose.

As an extra bonus, here's the scene where White Witch creates a Boom Tube of her own so that the Legion can bring the battle TO Darkseid!  (Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #294 with art by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt)

Tales from the Convention Floor (1995)

The year was 1995. The location was Novi, Michigan. The event was The bi-annual Motor City Comicon.

Polar Boy Elected Legion Leader!

In Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #36, Polar Boy was elected the newest Leader. His election was the main plot of the story in that issue, so we thought this was a good chance to look at the details of his election specifically and Legion elections in general.

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #52

Recap: This is a time of flux for the Legion of Super-Heroes. The war with Mordru might be over but the repercussions still resonate. The Khunds are reclaiming planets they lost in that skirmish. New/old members Timber Wolf and Wildfire have (re)joined the team. It is an eerie time of inaction, as if something is bubbling under the surface. But this pause gives the team time to reflect on things, especially Timber Wolf.

The Mordru War ended in issue #49 and with that issue, Tom & Mary Bierbaum bid farewell to this incarnation of the Legion. The style and tone of the book had been shifting since the departure of Keith Giffen over a year earlier. Now the book was in the hands of writer Tom McCraw. McCraw had been the colorist on the book since its inception. So he was enmeshed in this new timeline.

Justice League of America #147 & 148

Hey Legionnaires! Kord Kid here, back once again to explore another fun bit of Legion ephemera. The annual cross-over of the Justice League and the Justice Society gets crashed by Mordru and it’s going to take both of those teams plus the Legion of Super-Heroes to stop him. So sit back, relax, and read on as I give you my summary and thoughts on 1977’s Justice League of America #147 & 148, written by Paul Levitz and Martin Pasko with art by Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin.

Who's Who: Visi-Lad

Visi-Lad
by Siskoid

Real Name: Rhent Ustin

Super-Power(s): Telescopic vision, microscopic vision, heat vision, and hypnotic vision
Planet of Origin: Unknown, but found and raised on Earth

Legion Seniority: Visi-Lad was the ninth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Happy Birthday, Invisible Kid (II)!

According to the 2995 LSH Sourcebook, today will be the birthday of Jacques Foccart, better known throughout the galaxy as the second Invisible Kid.
Invisible Kid joined the Legion in its eleventh year as Legionnaire #32. He served with valor until the events of the Magic Wars.
Invisible Kid is a Virgo. The surface of things will tell one story, but the whole story will require more effort. When they know you are really interested, they will want to tell you the truth.

As an extra bonus, here's the scene where Invisible Kid decided to embrace his destiny and remain as a Legionnaire. Originally he took the invisibility serum out of necessity to try to save his sister's life, but here he chooses to keep his powers rather than give them up. (Legion of Super-Heroes v3 #19 with art by Chuck Patton & Mike Decarlo)

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #36

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #36 (July, 1987)
title: "Peace, Quiet, and Impending Doom"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: John Byrne & Karl Kesel
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
All 24 members of the Legion of Super-Heroes appear!

Guests: 
Lightning Lad, Circadius Senius, Cosmic Boy, Night Girl

Opponents: 
there is no particular opponent, although Universo is shown in custody and the Time Trapper has a voice-over cameo at the end

Alex Ross and the Legion of Super-Heroes

Legion fans know Alex Ross created an absolute masterpiece with his wall poster depiction of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. It was produced in 1997 as a huge 29” x 54” Giclee print for the Warner Bros Studio Store Gallery, with a run of only 500. 

Matter-Eater Lad: Hot or Not?

A group of candy candid women with no real Legion knowledge tell us if each Legionnaire is hot or not. Will they devour this next one whole?

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art Girl - Always picking something out of restaurant salads. How she gets rid of Ranch dressing is unknown.
DJ Nath - Does not eat fish despite being from the Atlantic Coast, or eggs. Fish eggs are right out. Co-star of Mind Linked, on You-Tube, with her sister Lip-Bomb.
Havana Nights - Allergic to kiwis, pineapple and pecans. They make her mouth itch.
Lip-Bomb - She's lactose-intolerant, but that doesn't explain her dislike for tomatoes or her blind hatred for capers.
Science Girl - Denies the very existence of honey mustard, and will fight anyone who claims to like it. That usually means DJ Nath.
Shotgun - Does not eat Shepherd's pie or chocolate eclairs. Anything stuffed, actually.
Moderator: Siskoid - Shakes his head at the fact Shotgun hates AWESOME DELICIOUS foods. But if you like ham, you may shake your head at HIM.

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #51

Recap: The Legion is in a period of flux. The main group is recuperating on Talus. Kono has left the team. Wildfire has joined the team. And the team is wondering what their purpose will be, what their next mission will be. Two members of the team, Kent Shakespeare and Celeste Rockfish, have been on the medical satellite Quarantine helping with the patients there.

Last issue, the main creative team on Legion of Super-Heroes of Tom & Mary Bierbaum and Stuart Immonen took a tour of the Legion headquarters, taking stock of their cast, having some characters leave and some characters join the team. It felt like a sort of 'to do' list for checking in on everyone and setting the stage for the future. Two of the bigger characters of the book, Kent 'Impulse' Shakespeare and Celeste Rockfish, were absent from that issue.

Superboy and The Legion #235

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #235 (Jan, 1978)
title: "The Legion's Super Secret"

writer: Paul Levitz

pencillers: Mike Grell

inker: Vince Colletta
letterer: Milt Snapinn

colorist: Jerry Serpe

editor: Al Milgrom
cover: Mike Grell (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, Superboy, Timber Wolf, Light Lass, Sun Boy, Shadow Lass

Opponents: 
Sklarian Raiders, bad plotting, dull art

Synopsis: 
At the Legion HQ, Superboy is undergoing drastic brain-washing by his Legion pals, even though he was told it is a routine psycho-medical exam. Cosmic Boy questions the necessity of it, but the others argue the need. Suddenly, the Mission Monitor Board alert goes off, overloading the exam and freeing Superboy.

Who's Who: Fire Lad

Fire Lad
by Siskoid

Real Name: Staq Mavlen

Super-Power(s): Fiery breath
Planet of Origin: Shwar

Legion Seniority: A founding member of the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, Fire Lad was the eighth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #35

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #35 (June, 1987)
title: "The Universo Project Chapter 4: Forgotten Friends"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Saturn Girl, Dream Girl, Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Lightning Lass, Shadow Lass, Element Lad, Sun Boy, Magnetic Kid, Polar Boy, Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, White Witch, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Tellus, Wildfire, Timber Wolf, Sensor Girl, Blok, Invisible Kid, Duo Damsel, Lightning Lad

Opponents: 
Universo

Legion of Super Heroes: The Animated Series - Introduction

Everyone knows who the Legion of Super-Heroes are. No, really. They do. If you say the name, you might get a quizzical look, but if you explain they are the super-powered teenagers who came back in time to recruit Superman/boy, they know who you're talking about. Whether it's from Howard Stern references on the radio to their guest shots on "Smallville," "Justice League Unlimited," or "Superman The Animated Series," they know. Between that and almost sixty years of comic book history, why not an animated series?

Hot: Dream Girl (vol 6)

The argument about "Who is the hottest Legionnaire?" will never end. And really, when we have this discussion, we are ALL winners, because we get to consider various examples of hot-ness in our debate! (And I'm talking both male and female Legion hotness here, by the way.) 

HOWEVER....*always* on the list of finalists, no matter which version of the Legion we are talking about, is Ms Nura Nal from Naltor, the one and only Dream Girl. 

Here she by Yildiray Cinar and Wayne Faucher and Francis Portela, from LSH (v6) #5. Hot? 

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #50

Recap: The Legion has defeated Mordru and peace has returned to the universe ... for now. Matter-Eater Lad has rescued Saturn Queen from the grips of Evillo. Timber Wolf, who had been time displaced, was back in the 30th century but was slowly dying from addictions and maladies. And Element Lad was dying after turning all the resurrected  Trommite zombies into tsarin crystals. If there was ever a time for a 'day in the life' issue to catch up on everybody, it would be the special 'anniversary' 5oth issue.

Legion of Super-Heroes #50 is a giant-sized special issue, an issue with a higher page count, a pin-up gallery, and a short strip in the style of the Batman Animated Series in the back. It also seemed to be an issue where writers Tom & Mary Bierbaum as well as Tom McCraw decided they needed to take stock of the book's characters, trimming away plot lines that just didn't seem to be going anywhere and trying to narrow the focus of the title.

Superboy and The Legion #234

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #234 (Dec, 1977)
title: "Wanted---Dead or Alive: The Composite Legionnaire!"

writer: Gerry Conway

pencillers: Ric Estrada

inker: Jack Abel

colorist: Anthony Tollin
lettering: Ben Oda

editor: Al Milgrom
cover: Mike Grell (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Superboy, Colossal Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Shrinking Violet, Wildfire, Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Duplicate Boy, (!?!) Princess Projectra

Guests: 
Hero of Lallor Duplicate Boy, although he appears as if he is a full-fledged Legionnaire

Opponents: 
Bounty, transmuting and transforming Imskian dragons, the EarthGov, bad writing, awful art

Synopsis: 
Out in Imskian space, Shrinking Violet has asked Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Colossal Boy, and Superboy to join her in a dragon hunt. She explains why her home planet, Imsk, is asking for increased space zones around their planet in order to hunt space dragons. The dragons have an important radiation that the people of Imsk must expose themselves to once every year. Because the dragons are migratory, Imsk needs the space where the dragons fly. The five Legionnaires then catch a dragon and start to harvest its scales for its radiation. Colossal Boy becomes too exuberant, growing large and trying to scale too many too quickly. This causes the dragon to explode, which causes four Legionnaires to merge into one monstrosity. He/she/it then blasts Superboy, and somehow their powers actually knock him unconscious.

Who's Who: Crystal Kid

Crystal Kid
by Siskoid

Real Name: Bobb Kohan

Super-Power(s): Transmute matter into crystal
Planet of Origin: Earth

Legion Seniority: Crystal Kid was the seventh recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #34

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #34 (May, 1987)
title: "The Universo Project Chapter 3: Forgotten Foe!"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Saturn Girl, Dream Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Tellus, White Witch, Wildfire, Quislet, Element Lad, Blok, Mon-El, Ultra Boy

Opponents: 
Universo, Zymyr