Imposters & Infiltrators

Imposters, Infiltrators, and Other Impersonations
by Emsley Wyatt

I've recently written posts about who joined the Legion and when, and I also looked at the “flip side” of the coin; namely, which characters were rejected.  

But every so often when you flip a coin, it lands on its edge.  And those circumstances are what this article is all about. In other words, today we're looking at infiltrators, imposters, and other impersonations in or by the Legion. Once again, if I left anybody out, please let me know.

The Original Legion: Who Joined When? (Part Two)

Who Joined When? (Part Two)

By Emsley Wyatt

Continuing our review of the original Legion of Super-Heroes and the order of the induction of their members. Previously I profiled the sixteen members who joined before the Legion got their own series in Adventure Comics. Now they had an ongoing series of their own. So from here on out, it's all pretty straightforward.  No more guessing games, no more interpreting panels, or reading tea leaves.  You see a new Legionnaire and you know it.

The Original Legion: Who Joined When? (Part One)

By Emsley Wyatt

Who joined when?

When the Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958) it was as a group without a history.  They were just sort of there.  

The story was intended as a one-and-done, as most comic stories were in those days. But it didn't stay that way.  Readers wanted more and what readers want, they usually get. More and more Legion stories were written and more and more members were created.  Then, readers started to demand a history for the group.  What was their origin?  When did the various members join? This two-part post will attempt to answer that question! 

The Least Helpful Legionnaire?

In the Legion story from Action Comics #387 (April 1970) the Legion is faced with the problem of having to drop one member to meet a heretofore unmentioned, archaic membership limit rule.

Brainiac 5 hits on the idea of asking the Legion's computer to tell them, "Which Legionnaire is the least helpful to the group?" The idea is that the computer would tell them the least powerful, or least useful, or least active member.....but we really don't get any criteria other than this one panel (above) reprinted from the story in question.

So we here at the Legion of Super-Bloggers thought it would be a fun experiment for a few of us to throw out our ideas as to who WE thought was "the least helpful" Legionnaire.

The only rules are 1. the Legionnaire(s) we suggest had to be one of the 26 then-current members from 2970, as shown below; and 2. we have to explain why or how we think s/he are the "least helpful."

Want to play along? Well, read on and see if you agree with any of our choices!

Legion Profiles 1964

Here are the four pages of Legion Profiles that were featured in Superman Annual #4 (1961) and then re-printed and expanded for Adventure Comics #316 (January 1964).

Best of DC Digest #24 "Meet the Legion!"

Paul Levitz returned to the Legion after a few years absence to lead it to one of its greatest heights. Before he got to that point, however, there was still little gem. His chronologically first Legion of Super-Heroes story after his return is a much-forgotten treasure called The Best of DC Digest #24, from May 1982.

These 100 pages feature a brand-new story set around a classic 2-part reprint, plus another two separate reprints.

But what we want to showcase today is the feature of this book, the  "PLUS: 16 Pages of NEW COSTUMES!" that were head-lined on the cover.

Sandwiched in-between the framing sequence and the main reprints regarding Colossal Boy's mother being turned into glass and the other two separate reprints were, yes, sixteen pages of beautiful art by none other than George Perez.

Legion: Secret Files 1998 Profiles

Legion: Secret Files 1998 (Jan, 1998)
title: "Profile Pages"

editor: K.C. Carlson

For the Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Files (which we reviewed last week) there was a second, "variant" cover in this issue by the multi-talented Alan Davis. We saved if from last week's post to use *this* week.

There were 18 Profile Pages of the Legionnaires as part of the "extra" pages in the book. These "Who's Who" profiles were by some of the best artists in the industry at the time. All pages were written and colored by Tom McCraw. 

James Shermans' Legion

In the parade of Seventies' Legion artists, James Sherman is one of the more talented guys over-shadowed by Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell. Sherman had the unenviable responsibility of taking over as main Legion artist after Mike Grell moved off the series in late 1976. Sherman stayed with the book nearly two years, and during that time was bogged down by heavy inkers such as Jack Abel. When he inked himself, or was teamed with an inker with a more gentle touch like Josef Rubinstein, his art was just beautiful.

Today we present his "Origins and Powers of the Legionnaires" profiles from Limited Collectors' Edition #C-37, featuring the wedding of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad.

Alternate History: Power Girl and the Legion of Super-Heroes

Today we're hopping in our Legion Time Bubble and heading back to 1986 to fix the time stream! Come along as we speculate some alternative history!

Crisis on Infinite Earths really put a retcon-whammy on Legion continuity. We lost Supergirl and Superboy, which also removed the inspiration for the Legion. Our favorite 30th century heroes spent the next 20 years trying to make sense of their history. To be fair, the Legion weren't the only ones hit hard by the Crisis. Wonder Woman, Hawkman, the JSA, anyone connected to the Superman family, and many more. Most characters found their Post-Crisis footing fairly quickly. For whatever reason, the Legion continued to struggle. There was another character that never quite made the adjustment to the Post-Crisis universe -- Power Girl. Now, let's connect some dots...

What I'm proposing today is we travel back in time to 1986 just before Crisis began affecting DC continuity. Upon arrival our task is to convince the DC creative staff to retcon Power Girl into Legion continuity. This simple change would fix decades of headaches for numerous characters (and fans).

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. 

Who Is Sensor Girl?

Who Is Sensor Girl?
by Bilingual Boy

Real Name: Unknown

Super-Power(s): Unknown
Planet of Origin: Unknown

Legion Seniority: Sensor Girl joined at the same time as Polar Boy, Magnetic Kid, Quislet, and Tellus. Tradition had her listed before her male team-mates, making her Legionnaire #34.

Legion Fact Files: Greg LaRocque

In the back of Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #17 Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo drew profiles of the then-current membership. All twenty-five members get "fun facts" of official name, real name, and power. Some poses are very static, but others are quite fun. Oddly enough, there is no particular order for the members, which makes it difficult to find someone you are looking for. 

Legion Icons

Have you ever noticed in certain stories, when the Legionnaire is on monitor duty and looks up at the Mission Monitor Board, who or what the icons are that represent the membership of the Legion?

Here then are the icons associated with the members of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I like how each of the Substitute Heroes have their own icons, too.

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

Adventure Comics #403 "Fashions From Fans!"

A brief fashion note by Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

I know, this is supposed to be the chronological run-down of the Legion in Superboy. I hear the hundreds of fans thinking, What is an issue of Adventure Comics doing here? Well, I'll tell you. You might find it interesting....or odd.

After the Legion got the boot from Adventure Comics in #380 they went over and staked out the loft apartment in the back of Action Comics. They were relatively popular (more so than, say, The Private Life of Clark Kent). They were getting fan letters and regular costume designs. In fact,  somebody at DC actually decided to use a fan's costume design for Saturn Girl's hot pink bikini. So DC decided to test the Legion waters, sort to speak, and made the next Giant Sized (reprint) of Adventure Comics #403 (April 1971) into a Legion special. ("Ya know, Mort, we prolly shouldn't have cancelled that Legion crap....!")

This reprint special featured the stories of Lightning Lad's death and resurrection. Which is all well and good, except that there were still five pages to fill. So...E. Nelson Bridwell, the reprint editor and long-time Legion fan, commissioned Ross Andru & Mike Esposito (in some of their last DC work before they moved to Marvel) to illustrate "Fashions From Fans!"

The Legion of Super-Heroes Year Two

Here's a two-page spread from SUPERMAN ANNUAL #4 (1962) that features the almost correct then-current membership of the Legion of Super-Heroes! In Legion history these twelve members all joined in the first eighteen months of the Legion's existence. So this makes this sort of LSH: Year Two.

Because the Legion did not have a true home until ADVENTURE COMICS #300 (Sept 1962) it was very hard to keep track of who the membership was! For example, Sun Boy made his debut in the same issue that included Brainiac 5 and Supergirl earning membership over him, but the boys are both included here and she's not! Also, in ADVENTURE COMICS #282 (March 1961) Star Boy appears as a member, but is not shown here. More confusing is the exclusion of Ultra Boy, who made his debut and earned his Legion membership in SUPERBOY #98 (July 1962) but in Legion history is considered a member *before* Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, and Bouncing Boy! How is that possible?!


Oh, well. Enjoy the art! 

Lore Of The Legion part two

In the early 1970s, DC included all sorts of special text pieces and quizzes as well as reprints in their "One Hundred Pages for Sixty Cents" super-giant comics. In Superboy #205 (Dec 1974) we got a second selection of profiles of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The text is most likely by former Legion writer E. Nelson Bridwell. The art for the first two pages is by Dave Cockrum, of course. 

These members and costumes were correct at this time, but four issues later Karate Kid went back to his yellow-black-white uniform that Cockrum had given him and then discarded. Mike Grell, who had taken over the art chores after Dave had left, preferred the high collar look to the dull beige robe.

To fill out the membership roll call, pictures were clipped from actual stories to illustrate the late Ferro Lad, Jimmy Olsen, Kid Psycho, Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Rond Vidar. It's interesting to notice that three of the Reservists were Superboy/Superman supporting characters, making the link between the Legion and Kal-El even stronger. Rond Vidar appeared frequently in the pages of LSH, but Kid Psycho was not seen again in an actual story until his death during CRISIS. 

Lore of the Legion part one

In the early 1970s, DC included all sorts of special text pieces and quizzes as well as reprints in their "One Hundred Pages for Sixty Cents" super-giant comics. In Superboy #202 (June 1974) we got a special four page profile on some of the Legion of Super-Heroes. According to the LEGION ARCHIVES #10 the text is by E. Nelson Bridwell. The art, of course, is by Dave Cockrum.

These members and costumes were correct as of 1974, but Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy had just gotten married and left the Legion two issues ago. And Matter-Eater Lad was colored incorrectly, as he should have yellow leggings and green boots. 

Superboy #202 was the last issue that Dave Cockrum drew as regular artist, but his effect on the Legion never went away. His Lightning Lad re-design, for example, is still the template all others base their Garths off of.