The Legion of Super Bloggers! : Who's Who: Luck Lords

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Who's Who: Luck Lords

Luck Lords
by Russell & Siskoid

Super-Power(s): Probability control
Planet of Origin: Ventura

Relationship to Legion: Villains

Legion Log
The Legion first heard of the Luck Lords when several individual Legionnaires appeared to suffer from a prolonged series of unfortunate accidents. Intent on investigating whether there was any truth to the rumors of the Luck Lords wielding power over them, Saturn Girl went to their home planet of Ventura. When she did not return, several Legionnaires followed.

On Ventura, the Legion were met by alien criminals pretending to be the Luck Lords. They had used an advanced long-range super hypnotic ray that was subtly influencing the Legionnaires, making them think that they were "jinxed." These Luck Lords intended to destroy the Legion so that they could more easily pursue their criminal careers. With the help of the Legion of Super-Pets, the Legion was able to capture these "fake" Luck Lords and bring them to justice.

Several years later, the true Luck Lords revealed themselves to be mystics living on Mount Ziggurat. The Luck Lords watched over all cosmic incidents, sometimes gently guiding players or forces so that "grand scheme" results could occur more to the Luck Lords' liking. For example, they were directly responsible for the escape of Lighting Lord from the prison planet Labyrinth when they set in motion a complex string of "coincidences" that allowed Mekt Ranzz to succeed in his attempt.

The Luck Lords believed that if Lighting Lad were to be killed before a certain stellar convergence occurred, the universe would be thrown into a state of chaos. This was their hope. However, even without knowing that the world around him was being manipulated by the Luck Lords, Lighting Lad was somehow able to survive their attempts on his life. The stellar alignment happened without his death, and the Luck Lords retired themselves to investigate the next convergence and ponder their next machinations.

Several years later, it appears likely that the Luck Lords found a stellar convergence that they were able to successfully take advantage of that did, in fact, send the universe into "blissful chaos" with the events of the Magic Wars or those of the Five-Year Gap. Or maybe it was just luck.

In the Reboot, the Luck Lords run casinos across known space and will take any payment for debts incurred. Indeed, when Apparition's father was unable to pay, he sold two of his daughter's selves (she being half-Bgtzlian and half-Carggite) into indentured servitude. They worked as croupiers until one of them was sent back in time and became Phase of the L.E.G.I.O.N. The other was never found by her sisters.

During the Threeboot era, we learn that in the 21st Century, the Luck Lords take advantage of Destiny casting aside his Book, and through a complicated scheme involving an alien from the gambling planet Ventura, came into its possession. It was then leaked to the Rannians, who were in the midst of the Rann-Thanagar War. With the book to counteract the Thanagarians Absorbascon, the war evolved into a thousand year long stalemate, with each side developing super advanced weapons that the Luck Lords used to further their conquest. The plot was thwarted by several heroes, including Adam Strange who sent the Luck Lords into stable orbit around Oa, until the Guardians of the Universe could arrest them.

After Infinite Crisis, the Luck Lords' original history has presumably been more or less restored.

Important Luck Lord stories:

Adventure Comics #343
(reprinted in The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 5
and Showcase Presents: The Legion Vol. 2)