Super Friends of DorothyComics discussions, with flair…

It is the mid 1930s, the shadow of fascism has slowly begun to rise in Germany.   Based on the premise of the “Ubermensch”, Adolf Hitler rose to power and Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympic Games and in retrospect we have to assume that Hitler was confident that his superior race would win out.

Then came along Jesse Owens.  An American.  A Black American.  No one used African-American back then.  He won four gold medals in Berlin in track and field.  Humiliating the German ubermensch and enraging Hitler.  Now, was Hitler’s mad dash for power because of this?  God no.  But this mini drama is the opening salvo in America’s entry into World War II.

On September 1st, 1939, Germany invades Poland and the war is on.  America remains deeply divided as Germany conquers country after country.  And with America’s eyes firmly fixed on the foundation of isolationism while keeping on eye on Europe, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese surprise attack the United States in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor.  An enraged America rises up and Franklin Delano Roosevelt gives one of the most rousing political speeches of all time.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – The United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounding determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.“

This being the case that our history serves as a mirror to the history in our fictional universes, the question that fanboys must ask themselves is “Why do they not just send Superman over there to kick Hitler’s butt?”

Very good question and it deserves an answer that will hold substantial water.

And now we introduce our first official religious icon into the DC Universe.

³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”  John 19:  31-37  NIV Version.

This bit of text from The Holy Bible is a description of what soldiers did and did not do as Jesus’ dead body hung from the cross.   The spear is the key though that we will be focused on.  As any watcher of Indiana Jones movies knows, one does not mess with artifacts related to the Old and New Testaments.  It is a really good way to get your face melted off.

All these religious artifacts are rumored today to hold immense powers if used in the correct way and by those interpretations in modern pop culture.. the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail.. lets add this.  The Spear of Destiny or The Spear of Longinus.  We need to make the leap that this is a literal spear and not a metaphorical one for the purposes of storytelling in the DCU.

Now that the Spear is lost to time and memory…eventually falling into the hands of Adolf Hitler.  It is rumored that whomever has the Spear, will conquer the world.  Well, Hitler very nearly did conquer the world.  Did he have the real Spear or just a facsimile?  I won’t argue either side for now.

In the DCU, Hitler did have the Spear of Destiny and was quite an accomplished occultist.   Hitler used the Spear of Destiny to form large areas that would instantly assert mental control over any super powered being that entered into them.  Get too close to Europe or Japan and boom!  You’re suddenly a pawn of Hitler?

Nice solution really when you think about it.  We have to explain how Superman could let all these normal people go overseas and die for their country when Supes could zip in there and take care of them all at superspeed.

The Justice Society of America was formed prior to the All-Star Squadron, the All-Star Squadron is the “beefier” version of the JSA including every Golden Age character that existed.

Between these characters and our fighting men and women, the Axis never stood a chance.

Next Time:  JSA Roll Call!

Okay, we’ve eased into the idea of alternate earths correct?

Previously there was Earth-One, the earth where all our characters exist and…

Earth-Prime, the earth where all of us gentle readers live in a non-super powered world.

Well HANG ON FOLKS!  We’re about to blow that idea up to the ceiling.

Just take a look at this cover.

Here are the keys I would like to point out:

• The 20th Annual team-up of the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America.
• Guest starring the All-Star Squadron
• And who are those quasi familiar villains coming out of that cube?

All good questions… now, just park it for a second.

The Justice Society is the precursor of the Justice League.  Originally published back in the 1940s primarily for kids and to be shipped overseas for the boys far from home.  The Justice Society fought all sorts of Nazi saboteurs and their own super-criminals.

In the 40s most heroes veered on the “pulp” style of masked mystery men.  The only main DC characters published at the time who did not appear in the JSA were those with their own adventures like Superman and Batman as those characters were “too busy” in their own books.

After the world had vanquished the Axis threat, superheroes waned in popularity due partly to not needing heroes so much any more during the idyllic late 40s and 50s.  Additionally we can thank Dr. Frederick Wertham who wrote a snappy little dissertation called “The Seduction of the Innocent” in which comics (and a number of other things) are blamed for juvenile delinquency.

So, in the interim, the JSA declined and basically went away while the genres of the Wild West comic and Space Adventure (sounds very Toy Story, doesn’t it?) soared in popularity.  The only characters to continue throughout this drought were Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman with Aquaman and Green Arrow appearing in backup features.

Eventually, Editor par excellance Julius Schwartz decided it was time to bring back the Super-Heroes.  Instead of resurrecting the older heroes, he took their names and with various creators around DC Comics twisted them into origins that were less mystical and more scientific to relate to the new Atomic Age.

This is basically the break down of the Golden Age of Comics and the Silver Age of Comics.

The Golden Age heroes exist on an Earth called Earth-Two.  They were active during World War II.

The Silver Age heroes exist on an Earth called Earth-One.  They are active in the present day, for this story that is 1982.

Additionally on Earth-Two the Justice Society heroes got older, added some more modern characters, and exist in the present in 1982.

The JLA and JSA have met each other for 20 years at this point starting with this iconic comic.

NOW.. do you notice anything about this cover that looks.. odd?

Yeah, that’s Black Canary up there with the JSA, not the JLA.. WTF is going on here???

Well, okay guys, just calm down.  There is a lot of things going on here and we’ll touch on all of it eventually.  Here’s what you need to know.

DC COSMOLOGY:

Earth-One: The home of the Silver Age characters.  These are the characters we read in “modern” comics and their official starting point at this point is the 1950s in the Atomic Age.

Earth-Two: The home of the Golden Age characters.  These characters started in and around WWII but continue into the present day as well.

So, that’s all well and good.  let’s go back to the next point…Who is the All-Star Squadron?

The All-Star Squadron is a World War II group that was formed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Earth-Two as a draft action to enlist every mystery man or woman into the service to combat the Axis threat.   Formed and then disbanded after WWII concluded the All-Star Squadron includes every Golden Age hero that DC Comics owns, but their stories tend to focus on the five heroes shown above:  Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Robotman, Firebrand, and Commander Steel.

Now, we also have to address those pesky villains coming out of the Transmatter Cube.

Ultra-Man, Superwoman, Owl Man, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring, together they are The Crime Syndicate from Earth-THREE!

On Earth Three, everyone who is good on Earth-1 is EVIL on Earth-3 and everyone who is EVIL on Earth-1 is actually good.  The one hero left on Earth-3?  Lex Luthor.  The villains correlate directly to Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, and Green Lantern.

Wait!  Darren, there can’t be two Johnny Quicks and two Green Lanterns?  ARGH!!! Slurpee headache!!!  Don’t worry, here.. breathe into this paper bag.  Nice and slow.

Since, I have more than blown your mind with this nugget of DC history.  So, rest your swollen noggins my peeps.

Next Time:  The All-Star Squadron and The Spear of Destiny!!!

And here we are three more stories into the Legion and the seeds being sown for one of their most successful tales ever.

In #287, Chameleon Boy leads an Espionage Squad mission to the home planet of the Khunds, Khundia.  There, Cham, Timber Wolf, and Shrinking Violet go under cover and wind up in the gladiator games.  On Khundia, like in so many sci-fi tropes, the strong lead and the weak serve.  The Legionnaires get involved in a battle with a Khund named Kharlak who is a cyborg Khund made for fighting in the games.

Back on Earth, Lightning Lad is furious that Chameleon Boy has left and taken Legionnaires with them.  Light Lass however confides in her sister-in-law, Saturn Girl about her fears regarding what may happen to Timber Wolf in this mission.  Saturn Girl agrees to go after Chameleon Boy’s team.

The three Legionnaires on Khundia are holding their own for the most part, but even they cannot stop a planet.  The Legionnaires decide on retreat and manage to get picked up by Saturn Girl and Colossal Boy in a cruiser, however, before the Legionnaires can escape the Khundish ships, the cruiser is destroyed by the Khunds.

In the back up issue, Legionnaires Mon-El and Shadow Lass have been called back from a vacation in order to investigate a planet that has a habit of destroying the United Planet probes that have been sent to it.  Upon arriving, the Legionnaires observe the planet is cold and every item left from an apparently advanced civilization seems armed to the teeth.  And it is.  The machines attack the Legionnaires, with Mon-El serving mostly as the shield until he is injured into unconsciousness.  Shadow Lass uses her powers to cast a darkness bubble around them both, and the machines draw back in fear.  Not knowing why the machines reacted that way the Legionnaires take the opportunity to high tail it to Orando to answer that distress beacon left by Karate Kid in our last issue.  As they leave, a mysterious figure rises off a stone altar and laughs.

In #288, we are back on Orando as Princess Projectra and Karate Kid are being held prisoner by the usurper to the throne of Orando, Pharoxx.  The Legionnaires are brought out in preparation to be burned at the stake.  Mon-El and Shadow Lass join Ultra Boy and Dream Girl on the planet’s surface and the four additional Legionnaires are attacked and added to the burning spider.  The Orandans leave the men unconscious but keep the women tied up and alive.  It is revealed that Pharoxx’s rise has also been due to the machinations of the royal witch Hagga.

Meanwhile, on an icy asteroid, Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Timber Wolf guess about their odds of survival in some of the most remote territory in the United Planets.  With supplies limited and no communication equipment functioning, the Legionnaires can only wait to be rescued.

Back on Orando, the fact that the medieval populace considers women powerless comes in very handy as Dream Girl professes her witchcraft and uses her flight ring to slip free of her bonds and rise into the sky.  All the Orandans begin to cower in fear as Dream Girl promises to blot out the sun.  Of course, Dream Girl can’t do that, but Shadow Lass can.  Shady exudes darkness from her eyes and uses it to cover the immediate area to make it eternal night.  With the Orandans confused, Dream Girl frees the other Legionnaires who make quick work of the Pharoxx supporters and once Pharoxx is knocked unconscious, the people give honor to Projectra by shouting.  “All hail Queen Projectra!”

With Projectra now Queen of Orando and Karate Kid her consort, both move from active to reservists status with the Legion, reducing the Legion’s active membership down from 23 to 21.

In #289, Lightning Lad begins to succumb to an electrical fever brought on by stress of leadership and now the possible loss of his wife.  The remaining Legionnaires split up to find the five missing Legionnaires.   As we see that EarthGov is in the midst of erecting a Polymer Screen around Earth to help control incoming and outgoing space travel, including invasions.

Meanwhile on Ice Asteroid, supplies are dwindling.  Chameleon Boy is all but shunned for his failed mission.  Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet begin a relationship as Cham witnesses both of them kiss.  Saturn Girl and Timber Wolf commiserate on their lost loved ones and they bond, so much so that they overstep each other’s boundaries a bit, so that when Dawnstar and Light Lass find the Legionnairees, Light Lass’ heart is broken.  While not an action comic for the most part, this comic moves the characters in all sorts of directions with regards to romantic entanglements.

The back up story features Element Lad and Brainiac Five as Brainy attempts to cure Matter-Eater Lad of his insanity.  A quick and easy story to start which now puts into play Matter-Eater Lad’s cure as a slight subplot to the Legion ongoing.

Meanwhile throughout all of these issues.. we see the mysterious dark figure on that deadly planet, get stronger.

Next Time:  We go back to the JLA.  Introducing 3 new super teams, time travel, and the first Crisis?

Here we are finally actually talking about some Legion stories!

We’re going to start with Legion of Super-Heroes #284 which is two issues prior to when I started collecting, but I might as well include it as this is the beginning of what Legion fans call “The Levitz Era.”  Paul Levitz that is.  Paul was a lifelong writer, comic guy who started working at DC Comics back when he was in high school.  Paul had written the Legion prior to this run, but this is the definitive run of his writing in my opinion, and the definitive run of the Legion of Super-Heroes, so lets hop on in!

In issue #284,we witness Bouncing Boy staring at the bronzed statues of dead Legionnaires Chemical King, Ferro Lad, and Invisible Kid stating to himself that he’s getting himself out of the game.  His wife, Duo Damsel shows up to get him and they bounce off to a Legion meeting where they announce their resignations.

The Legion is called to stop some organ-leggers, a 30th century take on the tijuana kidney theft urban tales of today, but with more of a pirate bent.  Timber Wolf and Light Lass are already at the hospital called Medicus One where the pirates are stealing all sorts of organs and the two Legionnaires manage to cause the pirates a bit of trouble, but not before one of them leaves behind a mysterious canister.

Back on Earth, Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel are doing their last tour of duty at the Mission Monitor Board and Karate Kid calls in to inform the Legion that he is on Orando with Princess Projectra and they are taking care of some business with her father King Voxv and will be out of touch for a bit.

Several other Legionnaires manage to help clean up the damage and capture the raiders, meanwhile Lightning Lad, who is acting leader of the Legion at this time, wonders what two members were doing on Medicus One in the first place.   Timber Wolf was getting a bit of facial reconstruction surgery to look a little more human and a little less, Wolverine.  After going through all his identity crises a return to humanity was going to prove to be a good thing, but Wolf likes his privacy so the rest of the Legion leave without saying a word.  We are also treated to a brief cameo of the Legion’s future physician, Dr. Gym’ll.

When the Wolf comes out of surgery looking like a hunk-a-hunk-a burning love, he manages to once again say the wrong thing and a rebuffed Light Lass winds up storming out of the room.  Light Lass is wondering what she’s doing with such a complete…. BOOM!  No time to finish that thought, the capsule has burst open and out crawls this hideous mixture of body parts fused together calling itself Organus.  Before Light Lass can react, Organus hypnotizes the heroine and attaches its tongue to her head…  Altogether now. EWWWWWW!!!!   Timber Wolf comes to the rescue of his lady love, however, to no avail.

Back home at Legion HQ, other Legionnaires are called back to Medicus to deal with this more dire situation.  Element Lad is the deputy leader so he decides to take over this mission and he takes a crew to the medical satellite.  Element Lad, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac Five, Sun Boy, and Blok enter the hospital and one by one, they each have their abilities absorbed by Organus, who seems to have gotten larger.  Light Lass, who has recovered from the leeching that Organus gave her, tells Blok that he is the only one who can beat Organus.  Cue the “Fastball Special” maneuver!  Light Lass sends Blok speeding into Organus by lightening his weight and when Organus feeds on Blok, the feedback renders Organus inert.  Apparently Organus doesn’t like rock based life forms.

At the end of the issue the Legion meeting finally commences with an announcement that Superboy is going to stay in his own time for a little while now but will be back every now and then and that Tyroc is considered honorably discharged since his disappearance.   At the end of the story the active membership includes:

Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Brainiac Five, Superboy, Ultra Boy, Star Boy, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Mon-El, Element Lad, Light Lass, Dream Girl, Karate Kid, Princess Projectra, Shadow Lass, Timber Wolf, Wildfire, Dawnstar, and Blok.  A total of 23 active Legionnaires which keeps the Legion under their 25 member limit, for tax purposes.   More like for writer and artist headache purposes.  heh.

In issue #285, five Legionnaires find themselves on Nullport, the space drydock of the United Planets.  Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, and Colossal Boy are there to pick up a new space cruiser for the Legion, because they go through them like a gay boy goes through boyfriends.  Well, something happens to the cruiser and Violet suspects sabotage.

Back on Orando, Karate Kid and Princess Projectra are watching Jeckie’s dad be greeted by the gentry and nobility.  When Projectra and KK approach the King to discuss the issue of a blessing for a union between a princess and a commoner he accuses the youths of impatience and then… keels over.

Back on Nullport, the Legionnaires discover that Violet’s suspicions are right and that the Khunds, a warlike conquering race are poised to destroy Nullport and all of its inhabitants.  Including the part horse, part octopus, part humanoid, all used space cruiser salesman H’hranth.

The Legion forms a plan and while the boys attack the Khunds… Fastball Special alert as Mon-El throws Colossal Boy through a Khund battle cruiser.  Shrinking Violet gets some space coordinates from Brainiac Five, Shadow Lass uses her power to blanket Nullport in the blackest shadows she can create, and Star Boy adds his power to Nullport to give it an artificial gravity so Nullport won’t fall apart as Mon-El takes Nullport to a new home deeper in protected United Planets space.

Grateful as he is H’hranth gives the Legion five Mark-494 cruisers for his gratitude.

Meanwhile on Orando, King Voxv is pronounced as dead.  Long Live the Queen.

A quick backup story features Dream Girl, who has been called back to her home planet of Naltor to discover why all the Naltorians have lost their powers.  Dreamy uses her powers of deduction, many people forget while looking at her beauty that she is one of the smartest Legionnaires in the roster.  Dreamy figures the problem out in five pages, but what this story really gives us is the first Keith Giffen Legion art.  And thus begins the Levitz/Giffen run of Legion of Super-Heroes!

In #286, old Legion foe Dr. Zaxton Regulus attempts to ruin a party weekend being held by the Legion’s benefactor, Mr. Rene Jacques Brande.  Mr. Brande would be the man that the original Legionnaires saved in their origin story, turns out R.J. had more money than anyone and he funded the Legion in its formative years until the United Planets took over.   It was also recently revealed that R.J. is a Durlan shapeshifter stuck in his R.J. Brande form and is the father of the Legion’s Chameleon Boy.  This revelation has led to some awkwardness and so Chameleon Boy takes off for Earth to get away from dear old dad.

Cue the bad guy causing R.J.’s artificial sun manufacturing plant to meltdown.  The Legionnaires begin to fight his and all are knocked out but Phantom Girl who in her immaterial form is able to avoid harm.  She runs through Dr. Regulus and into the reactor to stop the pending explosion.  Meanwhile, Sun Boy, has recovered from the initial attack and is ready to give Dr. Regulus a beat down.

Back on Earth, Legionnaires are discussing what to do about the Khunds given the Nullport incident.  Chameleon Boy interrupts them to say that he is going to conduct a mission to Khundia as leader of the Legion Espionage Squad.  He takes Shrinking Violet and Timber Wolf with him and they leave for enemy territory.  Meanwhile a tape delayed message from Karate Kid starts playing on the screen.

Regulus manages gets away when he tells Sun Boy about the reactor problem.  Sun Boy obviously chooses to save the galaxy from the explosion versus taking in Regulus.  The rest of the Legion recovers and Dawnstar, Lightning Lad and Colossal Boy take off after Regulus while Saturn Girl forges a telepathic bond between Superboy and R.J. Brande so that Superboy will know how to shut down the reactor.

Reactor shut down.  Dr. Regulus captured.  And a very pissed Lightning Lad when he discovers that Chameleon Boy left the picnic.  Overreaction much?  Oh yes.

The back up story here features Projectra and Karate Kid back on Orando as the planet mourns its King.  Now with the royal line in question and no official approval to marry a commoner, Projectra is free to do what she will do, until… her impending ascension to the throne is challenged by her villainous cousin Pharoxx.  But on Orando, Trial by Combat is perfectly within Pharoxx’ rights so the battle is arranged.  Pharoxx charges Projectra and Projectra’s illusions are useless.  Pharoxx knocks Projectra out and then reveals to Karate Kid that he wore a helmet which provided him immunity to Projectra’s illusions.

Karate Kid charges Pharoxx with a sword and while they swordplay for a little bit, Pharoxx reveals a surprise by shooting KK with a magical bolt of energy.  With the two Legionnaires unconscious, Pharoxx sentences them both to death.

Next time:  Three Legionnaires in too deep, Six Legionnaires burned at the stake, and Five Legionnaires marooned in space.

And it’s the last part of our intro to the Legion of Super-Heroes!!!  So let’s jump in!!!

(I learned from Stan Lee, that one can never use too few exclamation points!)

So these symbols represent Wildfire, the star with wings; Tyroc, not really sure what his symbol means or how to describe it; Dawnstar, the twinkling star, and Blok, the building block.

Wildfire was originally introduced as ERG-1 whose real name is Drake Burroughs of Earth.   ERG-1 has a multitude of powers when he shows up at Legion HQ for a tryout, unfortunately they all duplicate the other Legionnaire’s powers.  He has one superpower that is unique, but he can’t demonstrate it for the Legionnaires, as a result, ERG-1 is rejected for membership.  However he tags along on a mission to prove his worth and uses his “one shot” power to destroy a machine about to kill Colossal Boy.  The Legionnaires only find his costume, completely empty.  ERG-1 was apparently nothing but a containment suit filled with living energy.

A year passes.  The energy that is Drake Burroughs makes its way to Earth a year later to find the suit that the Legion took.   In his energy form Drake is apparently undetectable to the Legionnaires but he could not get to his suit as it was behind an energy shield.  Drake also finds out that a new Legion applicant is planning to destroy the Legion and Drake is the only one who can stop him.  Drake uses the Miracle Machine to wish himself to his suit, puts it on, and ends the threat.  Drake rechristens himself Wildfire and joins the Legion.

Now, SHUT YO MOUTH!!!

Tyroc is Troy Stewart of the island Marzal, on the planet Earth.  Marzal is an island populated by slaves gathered from Africa during the rum trade years who rebelled from their captors and found this island which is sometimes out of phase with Earth.

So, what happens when a bunch of 17th-19th century slaves live apart from the rest of the planet?  Well, we get the stereotype of “the angry young black hero”.  It’s a tried and true and SAFE place for creators to go at this point in comics history.  Other black characters introduced at this time were mostly this stereotype which mirrored the films of the day, from Shaft, Supafly, etc..,  Hollywood had cashed in on the blaxploitation movement and DC and Marvel had a quandry.  While movies geared towards African Americans would no doubt garner some viewers, would comics?  And in fact in multiple interviews the creators of the day had to wonder would their comics be returned from the less liberal areas of the country (i.e. the South).

Now, Tyroc is not alone in this, even the Titans’ Victor Stone/Cyborg suffered from some of this “angry young man” stereotype, however Tyroc is the hardest to reconcile because of the racial inequality in the Legion’s story thus far.  Most of the Legionnaires are white, and even those that are not, are of races not included on Earth.  Karate Kid squeaks by for being half Asian, and he has been drawn less and more Asian depending on the artist over the years.  So the solution for the angry black man and the absence of black people in the 30th Century was that they were ALL on this island…  Really?  *thud*

So the solution?  Turn racism around.  Make the black character the racist one.  Yeah.  I am sure it sounded like a good idea at the time to the folks in power and maybe this is the only way a black character could get into the Legion at the time.

More about the whole different races in comics thing a bit later, but as a white, Southern male being raised in the 70s-80s I can say that yes, it was still an issue and still is, however the issue is not exclusively limited to Caucasians, nor to the South, yet the burden of the Civil War, slavery, lynchings, and segregation live on.

Tyroc’s powers were that he had sonic abilities that basically allowed him to do whatever the writer needed him to do at the time, he also has a snapping outfit reminiscent of Peter Pan in a way, evoking the Neverland quality of his home.  Eventually it is discovered that Tyroc’s usage of his powers is lessening the time that his island can stay in phase with Earth, and Tyroc resigns from the Legion and the character disappears for a good long time.  Other writers would find good things to do with Tyroc, but it will take a while.

Dawnstar’s codename is also her real name.  Dawny is a member of a race called the Amerinds.. get it?  (AMERican INDians).  She’s a mutant amongst her people so add some wings on her, superspeed, able to survive in space without any protective gear, and the ability to track anyone through space and that outfit.  It reminds me of someone.. oh wait..

Now that we have that out of the way.  Dawnstar is rather aloof to her fellow Legionnaires.  She’s all business as she started out as a bounty hunter, a great fit for her power set.  She was discovered by one of the Legion’s benefactors and persuaded to enroll at the Legion Academy.  Wildfire brought her into the Legion for her skills and her more obvious features.  Drake carries an obvious torch for Dawny and their love is a tragic one, always there and burning, but never consummated.

Dawnstar is a fan favorite in part due to her design, the Legion of male fans are well, drooling at the pic above, but Dawny is more than a pin-up girl, she’s a Legionnaire.  And like all Legionnaire women, she’s pretty damn tough.

Blok first appeared as a villain alongside the League of Super-Assassins.  One of five children of the planet Dryad who was saved by the Legion when their planet exploded.  The five youths resented the Legion for not doing more to save their world, a hatred that was fueled by an evil clone of Tharok called The Dark Man.

Blok broke free of his brainwashing and revealed he was a member of a sentient rock race located on Dryad.  Humans colonized the world as the native Dryads revealed their presence.  Blok tends to be horribly naive and is one of Timber Wolf’s best friends.  That being said, Blok is a fiercely loyal Legionnaire and given his abilities is the best natural defense that the Legion has around.

Blok’s body is so dense that it takes three Legion flight rings to lift him off the ground.  He has super-strength of course and is able to telepathically communicate with silicon based life forms.  He is the latest and newest Legionnaire when we begin our Legion stories.

Well there we go, all the Legionnaires accounted for.  When next we meet, we’ll be catching up with what they are doing.

So, three more Legionnaires to add to the list… I promise ONE more of these and then we are caught up!

Shadow Lass is represented by the letter “S” with the line through the middle, Chemical King is the beaker, and Timber Wolf is the stylized wolf head… so let’s begin.

Now, all of these characters have appeared prior to their “first” real appearance.  Timber Wolf appeared as Lone Wolf in an early Legion adventure destined for membership but that would not happen for some time to come.

Both Shadow Lass and Chemical King appeared for the first time on this ominous cover.

Right alongside the recently deceased Ferro Lad and two other heroes that have yet to be introduced, Quantum Queen and Reflecto.  One interesting note here Shadow Woman’s skin color is white, meanwhile Shadow Lass’ when she is introduced…

is of decidedly bluer tint.  I have to guess that the artists were inspired by the Orion Slave Girls of Star Trek fame (thank you Yvonne Craig) and there was increasing pressure at this time for the Legion to have a person of color.  Sure Chameleon Boy was orange and Brainiac Five was green.. and now Shadow Lass was blue.  Not exactly racial equality here is it?

So how do you suppose these two different characters were explained?  Well a coloring error most likely and then we probably thought nothing of it.  However, what if it was something more… diabolical than that?

This is a story telling device that both excited readers and hamstrung writers.  If this is a future story, then it must come true right?  Well, sometimes yes, sometimes no.  More about the “adult Legion” concept later.

Shadow Lass is Tasmia Mallor of Talok VIII.  She is the latest in a line of planetary protectors selected by her ancestors to carry the ability to project darkness and to see through darkness.  Shady comes from a harsh desert world where there are tribes of people that are rather barbaric.  Shady is a consummate fighter and after brief flirtations with Brainiac Five and Superboy, she settled down with Mon-El.  Shady is the first Legionnaire to be elected to membership as a result of performance in the field, as opposed to being tested by the entire membership.

Chemical King is Condo Arlik of Phlon.  Born a mutant child with the ability to control chemical reactions, he is a human catalyst.  Kept under lock and key as a safety to himself and others until he could control his powers, Condo left his home world and traveled to Earth to join the Legion in hopes of finding a purpose for his abilities.  Arriving there, he enrolled at the Legion Academy and was eventually called up to assist in an important mission along with fellow Legion Academy student…

Timber Wolf, who is Brin Londo of Zuun.  Brin’s father had been experimenting with androids and using Zuunium to give his son super powers.  Unfortunately, this resulted in a very smart android assume Brin’s identity while the android told Brin he was an android.  Total Recall, eh?  So, Brin eventually gets that straightened out thanks to the Legion and gets involved with Lightning/Light Lass to a degree, but Brin is a loner.  Eventually the Zuunium affects how Brin looks and gives him a more feral look, which eventually is returned to a more normal human look, however Brin’s eyes turn red the more savage he gets.  He possesses superspeed, super-strength, and amazing acrobatic skills making him one of the Legion’s key fighters.   (p.s.  Don’t tell Hugh Jackman, but Timber Wolf was first, just sans claws.)

(Sometimes not wearing the red shirt is a bad thing..)

Chemical King and Timber Wolf help the Legion infiltrate the Legion of Super-Villains Headquarters and as a result they were both elected to membership.  Unfortunately for Chemical King it was not to last.  Chemical King gave his life to save the Earth from World War VII.  Yet, Shady as of this time is still kicking around the Legion.  What’s UP with that?  Hmmm?

When next we meet:  A big bag of anti-energy, 70s blaxplotation comes to the 30th century, cher’s half breed outfit gets an update with wings, and the Easter Islands get their very own super-hero.

And you are like, “when are we done with these Legionnaires?”  Well, soon.  I promise.  I hope to finish them off by the weekend.  So, just hang on and we’ll get to some meatier stuff soon, at which point you’ll be saying “who is that?”  and I’ll go. remember those Legion articles I did…?

The tragic threesome…

So these symbols belong to Ferro Lad represented by the elemental abbreviation for Iron “Fe”, Karate Kid (no. not Ralph Macchio) by the Yin/Yang symbol, and Princess Projectra who is represented by the crown.

Ferro Lad is Andrew Nolan of Earth, a mutant born with the ability to turn his skin into iron yet it moves like skin, making him fairly impervious to damage and a great attacker as no one likes being hit with a cast iron skillet right?  Andrew wears a mask to hide his hideously deformed face from all, as his power comes with a curse.

Karate Kid is Val Armorr of Earth, the son of an Earth woman and a criminal from the planet Lythyl.  Karate Kid is actually half asian, so points for being the first Asian character in DC Comics that I ever met.  Karate Kid’s ability is first called “Super Karate” which sounds as hokey as it is in reality.  In super-power terms, Val has the ability to detect that hidden flaw, that weakness that allows him to strike where it will do the most good.  He is a master of thousands of martial arts and is undoubtedly one of the best hand to hand combatants in the DC Universe and thanks to that 70’s Martial Arts craze he is the first Legionnaire besides Superboy and Supergirl to get his own ongoing title.  Thank you Bruce Lee!

(Cape, opera length gloves, one piece swimsuit. the costume just screams Princess doesn’t it?)

Princess Projectra is more than a code name, it is her real name.  Projectra is a princess royal of the planet of Orando.  Orando’s culture is stuck in what appears to be a cross between Earth’s European medieval age and Dungeons & Dragons.  Given the ability to project amazingly realistic illusions, Projectra can send any villain into a frenzy of confusion.  As love often strikes Legionnaires, Karate Kid and Projectra became a couple, but when things get serious, Projectra’s dad, King Voxv, sends Karate Kid on a quest to the 20th Century to prove his worth as a commoner.  That would be the premise of starting that whole Karate Kid book.

Now, why are these the “tragic threesome”?  Well, to start with lets go with the fourth character on that cover.  Nemesis Kid.  All four of these characters joined the Legion at the same time, but Nemesis Kid spent the first two issues framing Ferro Lad as a Khund spy.  Nemesis Kid was of course kicked out for his villainy, but it would not be the last time that he would cross paths with Karate Kid and Projectra.

Ferro Lad’s story begins and ends quickly.  The Earth’s sun, Sol, was being threatened by a creature known only as the Sun-Eater.  The Legion had to attempt to stop the creature and with the other Legionnaires off on another mission it was up to Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Sun Boy, Princess Projectra, and Ferro Lad to take care of the problem.  They have the idea to recruit five powerful villains to assist them in this task.

The five villains  (The Persuader – axe guy, The Emerald Empress – green woman, Mano – dark globe head, Tharok – half-man/half-robot, and Validus – huge creature) become the Fatal Five and assist the Legion in attempting to take care of the Sun-Eater.  All the assembled attack the creature to no avail.  Tharok, a cyborg built a bomb capable of destroying the Sun-Eater, but did not build a delivery system so the bomb had to be manually delivered.  None of the villains were going to volunteer for the task and Superboy was still weak from the red sun rays the Sun-Eater used on him.  Ferro Lad decked Superboy and zipped out of the ship and delivered the device, destroying the Sun-Eater and himself.

The Legion create a memorial for the cemetery asteroid known as Shanghalla.   The Fatal Five escape and begin a career of causing problems for the Legion throughout the galaxy.    Ferro Lad’s quick entrance and exit made him a comic book legend, a symbol for heroic sacrifice, and a permanent fixture in the Legion’s Hall of Heroes.

But just because you are dead, doesn’t mean that you are forgotten.

Next up:  The dark lady, the catalyst, and the lone wolf.

Part Five of the Legion of Super-Heroes roll call.. Here we go!!!  4 Symbols, only 3 Legionnaires though.  It’s okay, it DOES make sense, promise.

Here we have Element Lad, represented by the Interlac letter “E”, Lightning Lass, the electric “L”, Light Lass who is the feather, and Dream Girl who is represented by the thought balloon.

Element Lad is Jan Arrah of the planet Trom and on Trom all Tromites have the ability to transmute elements into one form or another.  Trom was a very spiritual culture and Tromites never used their powers for evil gains.  Unfortunately, Roxxas the pirate was willing to use the entire race to build his personal fortune.  When the Tromites refused, Roxxas destroyed the planet.  Jan is the only known Tromite to survive the explosion.  He joined the Legion on Saturn Girl’s say so and disguised his element changing abilities so Roxxas would not find him.  Eventually the Legion encountered Roxxas and he was brought to justice.  Jan is now utterly dedicated to the Legion.

Lightning Lass is Ayla Ranzz of Winath,  the twin sister of Garth Ranzz.  She joined the Legion disguised as her twin brother Garth, after Garth had lost his life in battle versus Zaryan the Conqueror.  The new Lightning “Lad” fooled nearly everyone but Sun Boy who denounced her disguise, but Ayla was accepted into the Legion despite her deception.  Eventually Garth was resurrected, leading to a long string of heroes dying and being resurrected in comics in general.  However the Legion Constitution prevented two members possessing the same powers from being members at the same time….

And here comes Dream Girl, who is Nura Nal of Naltor, who used her prophetic powers to witness the death of seven Legionnaires.  In order to prevent the tragedy, Dream Girl used her feminine wiles to join the Legion, much to the boys happiness and the girls chagrin.   Dream Girl remains a vamp to this day.

Dreamy prevented the seven Legionnaires from dying, but in the interim used Naltorian super science to change Lightning Lass’ power from electricity to making objects super-light weight, thus Light Lass was born.  With a different set of powers, Ayla was free to stay in the Legion along with her twin brother.

Dreamy left after this initial mission as she had joined the Legion under false pretenses, but later rejoined.  Honing her future casting powers, Dream Girl is a formidable fighter who can foresee her opponents moves and an able leader, even though she has some personnel management issues.  Given her scientific background she is one of the most intelligent Legionnaires, she just hides it behind a facade of flirtation.

Next up:  A tragic threesome.

Four more Legionnaires up to bat.

Here we have Sun Boy, the stylized Sun pictograph, Bouncing Boy, who is the bouncing ball, Mon-El, who is the interlac version of the letters M, E, and L, as well as Matter-Eater Lad who is represented by the tooth.

Sun Boy is Dirk Morgna of Earth.  The son of a solar physicist and quite the junior scientist in his own right, Dirk was trapped in a nuclear reactor by his dad’s rival, Doctor Regulus.   Instead of killing Dirk, it imbued him with the ability to project light, heat, and even fire.  Sun Boy is one of the Legion’s best pilots and scientists however, he does have a bit of a tendency to be a womanizer, he has not settled down with any of the Legion ladies.

Bouncing Boy is Chuck Taine of Earth.  As an errand boy, Chuck was charged with delivering a serum to a laboratory, well Chuck wanted to also watch the Moopsball game.  So, Chuck went to the game with the serum and of course, mixed up his serum with his refreshment.   His body naturally inflated and he began to bounce like a big rubber ball.   Chuck is the morale officer of the Legion, he’s always the one to keep everyone’s spirits light.  He lost his powers twice during his career but gained them back, eventually left the Legion when he and Duo Damsel got married.  Together he and his wife run the Legion Academy where they train the next generation of Legionnaires.

Mon-El.. Hmmm, “El”  Where have you heard that before?   Well, Mon-El landed in Smallville in the 20th Century and because of his abilities duplicating those of Superboy it was assumed that Mon-El was Superboy’s older brother, of the house of El.  Of course, Mon-El had amnesia and had no recollection of his true origin.  Superboy named Mon-El this because of Monday, the day Mon-El landed and El, for the house of El, Superboy’s last name.  Mon-El was revealed to be immune to kryptonite but was poisoned by Lead instead.  To save Mon-El’s life, Superboy placed Mon into the Phantom Zone where he lingered for 1,000 years.   In the Legion’s time, Brainiac Five found a cure for Mon-El and he emerged from the Zone to become a full time Legionnaire.

Mon-El is actually, Lar Gand of Daxam, where under a yellow sun the Daxamites duplicate the Kryptonian powers, but suffer from severe lead poisoning if exposed that is irreversible.  Mon-El takes a daily dose of serum to stave off his poisoning.  Mon-El is involved with fellow Legionnaire Shadow Lass.

Matter-Eater Lad is Tenzil Kem of the planet Bismoll, where all the inhabitants have evolved to be able to eat solid matter due to the poisonous nature of all organic matter on the planet.  One of the oddest names for a super-hero Tenzil is rarely in an adventure unless the writer needs them to escape from some prison that Tenzil can eat his way out of and then comment on how tasty the substance is, like “mmm, these iron bars sure are filling.”  yuk yuk.

Tenzil leaves the Legion once it starts getting a bit serious to be drafted into politics on his home planet, however he comes back to perform a very important service to the Universe.  He eats the “Miracle Machine”, a machine so powerful it makes your every wish come true.  This has caused Tenzil to go a wee bit loopy and so the Legion checked him into the “nervous hospital” until Brainy can cure him.

Next on the list:  A mysterious lad, a cross dresser, and a buxom beauty.

Here we are again, ready for the next ones?  I hope so, because here they are.

These would be Superboy, Ultra Boy is the large “T” or very stylized bird, Star Boy, and Shrinking Violet.

Superboy is the junior high-high school version of Clark Kent prior to his leaving Smallville and going off to Metropolis.  The Legion became a plot device to get Clark out of the rather boring Smallville scene and into the future for some sci-fi stories, and the Legion has existed ever since.   Clark is an outcast in Smallville due to his powers and the Legion comes back in time to be his friends.  The Legion winds up teaching Clark what it means to be a hero, which they learned by watching historical records of what Superman did.  You have to love time travel loops, huh?

(the awkward implications of X-Ray vision.. and why are the guys checking each other out?  Poor Lana never had a chance.)

Ultra Boy is Jo Nah from the planet Rimbor.  While piloting a space cruiser, Jo Nah was swallowed by a space whale (Jo Nah and the whale?  easy to remember huh?)  While in the space whale he became imbued with Ultra Energy which he can use to duplicate most of Superboy’s powers, the problem is Ultra Boy can only use one of those powers at a time, making him much more vulnerable than Superboy.  Also, Ultra Boy’s version of X-Ray Vision known as Penetra Vision can see through lead, unlike Superboy’s.  Jo has a long standing romance with Phantom Girl/Tinya Wazzo.  Jo does things his way, which makes him the rebel of the Legion, and Phantom Girl’s practicality helps to serve as a foil for Jo’s impetuous nature.

Star Boy is Thom Kallor of the planet of Xanthu.  Thom got his powers from being in the wrong place at the wrong time as he passed through a comet which imbued him with cosmic powers, at first able to do everything Superboy could do, that was later scaled back to the power to increase the gravitational pull on objects making them “super-heavy”  Thom is in ga-ga love with Dream Girl of the Legion.   Thom is frequently called the unluckiest Legionnaire as he has lost his most impressive powers, killed a man when there was a way to capture him without killing him, was kicked out of the Legion, and recently it’s been revealed that Thom is a little touched in the head.  It is during the era that I started reading that Star Boy acquired his facial hair and that star field costume is inspired.

Shrinking Violet is Salu Digby of the planet Imsk.  This is a planet where all the inhabitants developed the power to shrink their natural size.  Violet is of course a wallflower in the Legion’s early adventures. Only later on does Violet come out of her shell and she plays an important part in missions.  Violet goes through some serious challenges and emerges a strong female character.  She is frequently shown carrying tools and weaponry that shrinks with her and she eventually takes martial arts training from fellow Legionnaire Karate Kid to improve her combat skills in hand-to-hand.   She proves that you do not have to be a man in order to kick arse.  Due to Violet’s abilities she is a permanent member of the Legion Espionage Squad.

Next time:  The Bright One, The Bouncy One, The Older Brother One, and the .. well fine.. Matter-Eater Lad.