Who's Who: Magnetic Kid I

Magnetic Kid I
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Xaxan

Super-Power(s): Ability to attract or repel organic life-forms; power was temporary
Planet of Origin: Murra

Relationship to Legion: Villain; temporary Legionnaire

Legion Log
When super-powered agents from an unknown world decided to invade Earth, their preliminary step was to plant monitoring devices in the Legion clubhouse in order to learn of Earth's defenses. However, their actions alerted Saturn Girl, who with Brainiac 5 came up with a plan to draw the unknown forces out into the open. Saturn Girl and three other Legionnaires faked quitting the Legion, opening spots for these super-powered spies to take their places. Magnetic Kid I was one of the three spies who joined the Legion at this time.

The scientists on Murra had developed a machine that could create "super power pills" that when swallowed, gave the person temporary super-powers such as super-strength, invisibility, shape-changing, and mental telepathy. The three spies Aarl, Xaxan, and Graah took a supply of these pills with them to Earth, so that the Legion initially thought that each had incredible super-powers.

In order to infiltrate the Legion, the three spies then each took specifically designed pills to give them a unique super-power. Xaxan took a pill that allowed him to attract or repel organic life-forms. He called himself Magnetic Kid. He and his cohorts were successfully inducted into the Legion.

Magnetic Kid and the other two spies made it look like they were attacked and injured by the invasion's spies. However, this was only a ruse so that they would be brought back to the Legion clubhouse. They immediately knocked out their escorting Legionnaires in order to ransack the place. When they found what they thought were confidential documents regarding Earth's defenses, they returned to their natural Murran identities and left Earth. As soon as they escaped back to Murra, the Legion then knew the destination of the secret invasion and followed them. The Legion then made quick work of the super-power pills, the machinery, and the Murran invasion force.

Magnetic Kid's real name was not used in the actual story.

In the original story Magnetic Kid was shown as a Caucasian. Reprints, such as the Legion Archive, re-colored him as having purple skin. That is the version that appears in Who's Who (shown above).

This Magnetic Kid has no connection whatsoever to the Legionnaire Pol Krinn. When he chose this code name, Xaxan's identity was retrofitted to be Magnetic Kid I. 

Neither Magnetic Kid I, nor the Murran spies appear during the Reboot or Threeboot.

After Infinite Crisis, Magnetic Kid I's original history has presumably been more or less restored.

Only Magnetic Kid I story:

Adventure Comics #337
(reprinted in Adventure Comics #411, 
The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 4
and Showcase Presents: The Legion Vol. 2)

Magnetic Kid's one and done appearance