Who's Who: Supergirl

Supergirl
by Russell & Siskoid & Anj

Real Name: Kara Zor-El (Linda Lee Danvers)

Super-Power(s): Super-strength, super-speed, super-invulnerability, various super vision powers, etc.
Planet of Origin: Krypton

Legion Seniority: Supergirl was asked to join after Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, and Invisible Kid but before Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, and Bouncing Boy. Although there is some disagreement on this, according to DC Role Playing Reference: LSH (co-authored by long-time LSH author Paul Levitz) she is Legionnaire #9.

Legion Log 
Supergirl made her debut in Action Comics #252 in 1959. She was rocketed to Earth from the dying Krypton city of Argo. She meets up with her cousin, Superman, and he arranges for her to live at the Midvale Orphanage until she is sufficiently proficient at using her super-powers. Supergirl met the Legion for the first time in Action Comics #267. In a plot similar to how the Legion teased Superboy in Adventure Comics #247, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad all meet Supergirl while she is in her Linda Lee identity but call her "Supergirl." Eventually, they reveal themselves to her and invite her to the future to join their club. Unfortunately, during this adventure Supergirl comes across some red kryptonite that temporarily ages her past the 18 year-old age limit for new members; she is therefore denied membership at this time. In Action Comics # 276 she is asked to join again, and this time succeeds, joining at the same time as Brainiac Five. 

Supergirl's membership with the Legion was uneven and inconsistent. Although she is shown to crave teen-age companionship in both of these initial appearances, she does not appear with the Legion again until Action Comics #287, nearly a year later. She does not attend any missions in the page of Adventure Comics at this time, only showing up to Lightning Lad's "funeral" in Adventure Comics #304. Incidentally, this appears to have been the first time Supergirl meets SuperBOY, but nothing is made in the story itself of this chronologically-odd occurrence.

When Supergirl did appear with the Legion she was helpful and friendly, enjoying her time with her super-heroine friends without making any particularly close friendships. Perhaps the on-again off-again romance with Brainiac Five was one of the reasons Supergirl did not attend meetings as regularly as her cousin.

Supergirl offers to quit in Year Seven, then does quit in Year Nine, citing her lackluster attendance record and her business in her own time as factors. In reality, during the Legion's Adventure Comics run, editor Mort Weisinger probably believed that Supergirl was not as strong an attraction to readers as Superboy was, and as The Boy of Steel was a regularly featured member, Supergirl was superfluous. This would help explain why in most of Supergirl's LSH appearances she is the victim of red kryptonite or is otherwise incapacitated, or is featured simply because she is a woman or because of her romance with Brainiac Five.

As a reservist, Supergirl helped fight Darkseid in The Great Darkness Saga as well as against the Emerald Empress and the Dark Circle. It was during this last adventure that Supergirl was annoyed at herself for the unsatisfactory conclusion of this mission. She then decided to stop spending time in the future until she had gotten her "present day" life in order; this was the last time the Legion ever saw her alive. In Year 14 of Legion history, Supergirl perished during the Crisis on Infinite Earths while defending her cousin from The Anti-Monitor. Supergirl has a memorial statue in the Legion headquarters' Hall of Heroes to honor her.

After Glorith changed Legion history, Supergirl's role was played by Laurel Gand AKA Andromeda. This change carried over into the Reboot era.

After the Threeboot, Supergirl joined the Legion once again. The title of the book was changed to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. This Supergirl initially thought she was having some vivid dream, but came to realize that, somehow, she had been thrust into the future. She became a powerful member of the team and was elected leader. She stayed on the team for 20 issues.

After Infinite Crisis, the original Legion history was more or less restored. One obvious change is that the post-Flashpoint Supergirl cannot have been a member. Who played her role in the stories now is not known.

Supergirl was one of The World's Greatest Super-Gals action figures dolls made by MEGO in 1975-1976. Supergirl starred in her very own motion picture in 1987 which starred Helen Slater as The Maid of Might. It also featured Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole. The TV-series Smallville featured "Supergirl" Kara Zor-El, from 2007-2011. Laura Vandervoort portrayed her. She played a role in both Superman:The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, where she was voiced by Nicholle Thom. She left the JL and joins the Legion in 'Far Away from Home' (Episode 36, Season 2 of JLU). She also has been the star in two recent DC Animated features: Superman/Batman Apocalypse (voiced by Summer Glau) and Superman Unbound (voiced by Molly Quinn). She was part of the recent Super Best Friends Forever DC Nation Shorts on Cartoon Network. And CBS recently picked up Supergirl as a series, planning to broadcast it in 2015.

Important Supergirl LSH Stories: 

Action Comics  #267

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Supergirl is asked to join the Legion for the first time

Action Comics #276

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Supergirl joins the Legion on her 2nd try (alongside Brainiac Five)

Action Comics #287

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Supergirl covers for temporarily de-powered Legionnaires

Adventure Comics #304

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Supergirl meets Superboy at the funeral for Lightning Lad

Adventure Comics #313

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 2)
 
Red Kryptonite splits Supergirl into herself and  Satan Girl

Adventure Comics #334

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 4)

 Red Kryptonite causes Supergirl to lose her memory

Adventure Comics #342

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 5)

 Supergirl votes against Star Boy's expulsion
(but why is Jimmy Olsen, an honorary member, allowed to vote!?!) 

Adventure Comics  #350
(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 6)

 Supergirl and Superboy both quit the Legion...

Adventure Comics  #351
(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 6)

...but then re-join an issue later!

Adventure Comics #368

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8)

Supergirl foils Thora's plot to take over Earth

Adventure Comics #374

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8)

Supergirl helps fight the Taurus Gang & Scorpius

Action Comics #387

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9)

 Supergirl offers to leave the Legion

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #204

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 13)

Supergirl officially resigns from the Legion

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #294
 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Great Darkness TPB)

 Supergirl helps fight against The Great Darkness

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #300

Supergirl attends the Legion Anniversary Ceremony

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #302-303

Supergirl helps fight the Emerald Empress

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #314-315

Supergirl helps fight the Dark Circle in what turned out to be her last Legion mission

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #16

Brainiac Five reacts to Supergirl's death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #25

Sensor Girl is unmasked and proven not to be, as some suspected, a resurrected Supergirl

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #16-36

 Supergirl joins the Threeboot Legion

Supergirl Action Figure (1975)

Part of The World's Greatest Super-Gals set

Supergirl (1987)

Helen Slater as Supergirl

Smallville (2007-2011)

 Laura Vandervoort portrayed Kara Zor-El  


Superman the Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited (1996 - 2006)

Voiced by Nicholle Thom; joins the Legion

Superman/Batman Apocalypse (2010)

Voiced by Summer Glau; retells new origin from 2004

Super Best Friends Forever 2012

Series of shorts on Cartoon Network; produced by Lauren Faust

Superman Unbound (2013)

Voiced by Molly Quinn; retells Geoff Johns' Brainiac storyline

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #4

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 3) #4 (Nov, 1984)

title: "Lest Villainy Triumph"

writer/plotter: Paul Levitz

plotter: Keith Giffen

penciller: Steve Lightle
inker: Larry Mahlstedt

letterer: John Costanza

colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger
cover: Keith Giffen & Larry Mahlstedt (signed)

Mission Monitor Board:  
Lightning Lass, Karate Kid, Princess Projectra, Element Lad, Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Shrinking Violet; cameos by Sun Boy, Dream Girl, White Witch, Brainiac Five, Star Boy, Colossal Boy, Mon-El, Dawnstar, Shadow Lass, Cosmic Boy, Bouncing Boy, Duo Damsel, and the Legion of Substitute Heroes.

Opponents: 
The Legion of Super-Villains, consisting of: Lightning Lord, Sun Emperor, Nemesis Kid, Chameleon Chief, Spider Girl, Magno Lad, Silver Slasher, Ol-Vir, Lazon, Radiation Roy, Mist Master, Hunter, Zymyr, Cosmic King, Terrus, Ron-Karr, Tyr, Esper Lass, and Titania.

The Legion Constitution Article 4: Getting Expelled

Calling this meeting to Order! 
A review of the Legion Constitution by Siskoid

Being the third of several essays on the bureaucratic choke hold the Legion Constitution has on Superboy's "student council". Legionnaires may find it a bit too much to handle, and so...

What does it take to GET OUT of being a member of the Legion?Nothing, actually. You can man up and just quit when you've outgrown it.
You can quit for no reason, but you'll be back. You'll be back.

You can also be put on "less active" duty. All the perks of a real Legionnaire with only the obligations of a reserve member. They won't even give your spot away to some newbie with cool powers. But beware the fine print. You're not really a free agent and you can't start breaking the Legion's rules. YOU'RE ONLY ON A BREAK!

4.3(i) basically says that if the reasons why we liked you in the first place vanish, we can kick you out of the club. Club only wants you for your Xbox or your car. In the Legion's case, don't you go losing your powers or control over them, or start being a meanie or a coward. If I read the document right, in the advent the Terran population suddenly developed, say, intelligence of the highest order, they could finally kick Brainiac 5's hazardous ass out of the Legion.
Ah yes, the day the entire Legion was forced to quit.

As for 4.3(ii), it's so obvious, no one would ever break it, right? Right. See Article 5.
Even if THIS is your leader?
I mean, she's clearly inventing constitutional amendments. Can she do that?

No, no she can't.
Like so:
And if you can throw in a couple of puns re: your powers, all the better.

No one needs to hear about this, for example:
Lightning Lad WILL have your head.

Well, OF COURSE you can't kill. Not if you based your superhero club on the Silver Age adventures of Superboy, Superman, and Supergirl.
What the--?!? That is HARSH, son!

Every Legionnaire has a right to a fair trial, at least. We all remember when Star Boy apparently killed someone in self-defense.
 
 And how Superboy turned out to be a lot more to the right than previously believed.
But in the end...
Seems like Star Boy's career is one long list of reasons for him NOT to be in the Legion, doesn't it?

Whoooooahhhhhhhh! A Zatanna Clause?!? I didn't know this! Holy crap! Can I exercise my rights under 4.1?

The present session is lifted for the moment. When it resumes: What would I do in the Legion anyway?

This article was originally published in some form at Siskoid's Blog of Geekery.

Art Institute of Zwen: Ramon Villalobos

Ramon Villalobos Profile by Siskoid
Ramon Villalobos has recently had his work published in Marvel's Original Sins' Young Avengers strip and What If? Age of Ultron, but he comes from an indie background, having co-created LP with Curt Pires and Theremin with Dalton Rose. Judging from his DeviantArt page, he'd sure like to do some work for DC though, and he loves, loves, loves the Legion of Super-Heroes, specifically the Silver Age era judging from his choices here and in other images. He cites Frank Quitely, Geof Darrow and Rafael Grampa as his influences, as well as Grant Morrison, Jack Kirby and "tons of Silver Age comics". Well there you go. I hope he gets to work on the LSH someday.

You can find more of his work on his DeviantArt page:
http://ramonvillalobos.deviantart.com/
And on his Tumblr:
http://ramonvillalobos.tumblr.com/

The Legion Returns! Justice League United Annual #1

Justice League Unlimited Annual #1
A review by Kyle "Metropolis Kid" Benning
"The Infinitus Saga: Part 1 of 5"
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Penciller: Neil Edwards
Inker: Jay Leisten
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Lettered by Dezi Sienty & Taylor Esposito
Editor: Brian Cunningham
Assistant Editor: Amedeo Turturro
Cover by Andrew Robinson
Variant Cover by Rod Reis

Synopsis:
The issue opens in Moosonee, Canada with Mon-El confronting Martian Manhunter, leader of the Justice League United, who has under his protection the child known as Ultra the Multi-Alien. Mon-El reveals that he has traveled across space and time to destroy the child, and if he fails the Legion of Super-Heroes will die. Martian Manhunter and Mon-El square off in a super-powered battle while JLU members Equinox and Alanna Strange protect the child. J’onn reveals that he has no idea who Mon-El is or who the Legion of Super-Heroes are, but he will die before allowing harm to come to Ultra. Mon-El quick dispatches Martian Manhunter while Alanna switches places on Rann with her husband Adam Strange. Equinox temporarily subdues Mon-El, giving her just enough time to inform Adam Strange that the rest of the JLU is in space assisting Hawkman. Adam Strange mentions that he thought Hawkman was dead, just as Mon-El breaks free and informs them that he is sorry, but he has no other choice.

Jump to the Polaris Star System where the other members of the Justice League United team, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Animal Man, and Stargirl are searching for someone amidst the Plexus-6 Pleasure Station Casino & Brothel. Green Arrow mentions once again that Hawkman died and that they are searching for whoever stole his Justice League Transmitter. Supergirl plays bad cop and starts a brawl with the alien riff-raff aboard the space station until they flush out the small alien who has Hawkman’s JLU Transmitter. The small alien, that according to Animal Man “looks like an Ewok,” reveals that he got the Transmitter in a trade with a Khundian Merc co-worker. He claims the mercenary liberated the Transmitter from a temple on the Thanagarian moon Ryngor, where Hawkman’s body is in the possession of a cult led by Byth.

Back on Earth, Adam and Alanna Strange once again swap places on Rann mid conversation with Mon-El, distracting him just enough to allow the Martian Manhunter to knock him out. Just as J’onn begins to read Mon-El’s mind, Brainiac-5, Phantom Girl, and Saturn Girl intervene. Cooler heads prevail, and Brainiac 5 proceeds with a history lesson of what the Legion of Super-Heroes is, where/when they come from, and divulge the terrible tale of the planet-destroying entity known as Infinitus. Brainy recounts how the massive being Infinitus arose out of a cosmic doorway in the Polaris system, doing his best Galactus impersonation and swallowing up Thanagar and Psion, and in doing so, slaying billions. The Legion and United Planets scrambled to stop the monster before he engulfs his next target, Rann. Brainy was able to identify and match Infinitus’ unique time energy signature to that of Ultra the Multi-Alien, and now he along with Mon-El, Phantom Girl, and Saturn Girl have ventured to the past to stop Ultra.


Meanwhile, the other members of the JLU have called in a favor to Sardath of Rann, who has used Rann’s Zeta-Beam technology in conjunction with Stargirl’s staff to transport the team to the Thanagarian moon Ryngor. As Buddy Baker makes a long distance phone call home to his wife to tell her he won’t be home for dinner, Byth subdues Supergirl and Green Arrow before confronting the rest of the JLU team with his loyal soldier…Hawkman! Alive and in the flesh!

Back on Earth in the Great White North, Brainiac 5 finishes his tale and informs Martian Manhunter that he has allowed them 24 hours to determine how or why Ultra is fated to become Infinitus, and prevent it, or the other members of the Legion will join their comrades in the past, and together destroy Ultra the Multi-Alien in order to save the lives of billions in the future. Just as Brainy provides Martian Manhunter with this ultimatum, their conversation is interrupted by a distressed Green Arrow, who warns Martian Manhunter that Byth is involved and that he wants Ultra, and that Hawkman is alive, before having his transmission cut off when the battle resumes on Ryngor. Byth rambles on about being the master manipulator and having planned everything, including every step the JLU has made since being founded, and creating Ultra, all to usher in the “True New Universe” and finally break the paradox loop. His agents confront the Legion and remaining cast of the JLU on Earth as the issue closes with Byth’s promise “I performed the ceremony right before you arrived…it’s too late to stop now! I have opened time and space. And soon, from that remarkable child…Infinitus will be born!”

To be continued in Justice League United #6! 

Closing Thoughts:
The issue, like all annuals, carries an extended page count, and despite a couple of full page splashes and two page spreads, the story is fairly dense and a hearty read. It has a lot of the aesthetic that make a Legion comic great: Time Travel Paradoxes, a do or die situation, a plethora of alien worlds, a little mystery, and a whole lot of action. I have not been following Justice League United at all, but Lemire does a great job of cuing new readers into what is going on, and has some really nice character moments that establishes the dynamic between certain team members really well. Green Arrow is the leader, Supergirl is a hot head and who hasn’t yet embraced the role of team member, and Martian Manhunter is a force to be reckoned with as a worthy toe-to-toe foe of the very powerful Daxamite Mon-El. In Brainiac 5’s account of the destruction Infinitus wreaks on Thanagar and Psion we get to see a ton of Legionnaires in action including Star Boy, Phantom Girl, Element Lad, White Witch, Lightning Lad, Shadow Lass, Blok, Bouncing Boy, Duo Damsel, Shrinking Violet, Lightning Lass, Ultra Boy, and more. The story is an enjoyable read, and very well paced, hats off to Jeff Lemire. He did a great job of transitioning back and forth between the two groups of characters in the story, and starts the issue off with a bang. He does a great job of mixing action, plot development, and character moments throughout the story. The art is hit-and-miss at times, but it is a whole lot more hit than miss.

During my first reading of the story, I had one sticking point with the writing, and it was with the characterization of Mon-El. After seeing his growth and development as a more level-headed and poised character during the New Krypton Saga and Adventure Comics/Legion of Super-Heroes volume 6 pre-New 52, I was thinking as I read along that it was a little disappointing to see him reduced to the “angry powerful guy.” However, it is revealed later in the story that this seething anger results from him believing that Shadow Lass had died at the hands of Infinitus. She didn’t and this revelation relieves a lot of his blind rage. So one of my initial complaints ended up being an even greater appreciation of Lemire’s great grasp on the characters. I really enjoyed his little Star Wars reference, it’s small, but a nice little nod to pop culture, something that used to be really prevalent in comics during the 70’s and 80’s and is few and far between nowadays.

Most of the art is well proportioned and very detailed with interesting and engaging panel layouts, which really overshadow the few stiff panels and occasional wonky anatomy instances (Martian Manhunter’s fists). Edwards and Leisten do a pretty solid job of capturing emotions with their face expressions during the character beat segments of the story. I’m not real familiar with either one of their past work, but I am disappointed that they won’t be the team on the art duties for part 2 of the story. They really seem to have a grasp on the Legion cast and bring a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in their approach to bringing the characters to life with their art. There have been rumblings of DC about to have another Universe ending or expanding event in the vein of a “Crisis” level event, most people believe that will be spinning out of Future’s End. It will be interesting to see if this Infinitus Saga will just simply be a 5 part self-contained story, or if its resultant ramifications will contribute to this upcoming shake-up of the DC Universe.

Legion Cosplay Spotlight: Rusty Winns

Over the last couple years I've had the opportunity to build something of a friendship with the very cool Rusty Winns. If you've visited my other blog, Kord Industries, you may have already seen some of the pics and interviews I've posted with him. Today though, we're taking a look at Rusty and his friends' Legion of Superheroes cosplay!

(Lightning Lad: Rusty Winns)

Rusty Winns: Thank you for taking an interest in my Lightning Lad costume. 

Tim "Substitute Blogger" Wallace: Of course! So the Legion of Super-bloggers wants to know why Lightning Lad? Is he a favorite of yours? 

Rusty: When I first started reading Legion of Superheroes I was a Timber Wolf fan. That was until the cartoon Legion of Superheroes started airing. As soon as I saw Garth portrayed as a tough but likable character he became my favorite. 

(Cosmic Boy: Jay Tallsquall, Saturn Girl: Heather Kelly, Lightning Lad: Rusty Winns)

Tim: What's your favorite character to cosplay? 

Rusty: I would have to say my favorite character to Costume as is Blue Beetle. The way he is normally written tends to be the most like my personality. Lightning Lad was a lot of fun too. But without the help of expert photo artists like Stacy Hockett at SGH Photoart it is a bit difficult to make lighting appear through my hands. 

(Livewire: Ash Wednesday, Lightning Lad: Rusty Winns, 

Superboy: Nick McFly, Cosmic Boy: Jay Tallsquall)

Tim: What's your favorite and least favorite cosplay experiences? 

Rusty: My least favorite part of this hobby is when I happen upon people that want to impress their friends by doing something silly to the "costumer". There is always that person that wants to make themselves feel bigger by making someone else feel smaller. Needless to say that does not work to well when it is attempted on me. The best parts of Costuming for me is costuming with my friends. There is nothing better than spending the day with a big group of friends and family. Especially when they enjoy the hobby as much as I do. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with me. It is truly a pleasure to represent such a great classic character as Lightning Lad.

(Lightning Lad: Rusty Winns, Cosmic Boy: Jay Tallsquall, Superboy: Nick McFly)

If you like what you see, be sure to check out my other page for more. I'd like to recommend the post from my own blog (here) where I had a chance to discuss Rusty's charity work with Costumers With A Cause. I started the month of October with that post, so it seems fitting to bookend it with this one here!