Category Archives: Hero History

6
Hero History: Gazelle

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Or – “They Also Serve Those Who Only Stand And Wait Get Retconned After Twelve Issues…”

It’s a sad truth of the Legion of Super-Heroes that many readers consider them (in the words of my pal Otter Disaster) “an inside joke that I don’t get.” That confusion is understandable, given my own questions on whether Vol. 4 Laurel Gand and Rebooted Andromeda should be considered the same character, or whether Alchemist and Element Lad should be treated as one, sharing as they do little more than a real name in common. So, it’s nice to be able to take a character and give a straightforward explanation, without changing realities, wiped out figures, or reconstituted post-Crisis elements… Today’s entrant started as a crush for a fellow Legionnaire, and ended up becoming an emblem of how the team overcomes prejudices, heals old grudges and can even make a better hero. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Giselle Smith of Triton… Gazelle!

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11
Hero History: The Last Son(s) Of Krypton

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Or – “Boys Of An Unusually Superhuman Nature…”

During the Hero History Project, I have taken a few liberties here and there in the manner and tone in which I convey the life and times of the various Legionnaires. One of the most controversial has been my use of the name Tom Welling to refer to Kal-El’s boyhood career in the LSH and elsewhere, a choice which has led many people to pointedly needle me, even going so far as to question my journalistic integrity. With tongue firmly in cheek, I would like to respond thusly… Point the first: I make no pretense of being a journalist, and thus my integrity remains mint-in-package. Point the second: At the time the Hero Histories began, DC Comics was embroiled in a legal battle causing them to eschew the use of a certain S-word, and thus it was timely to make a joke (that I then proceeded to beat into the ground, as is the way of my people.) Point the third: My project, my rules, I make ‘em up. But as this last Hero History actually began to take form (which is the primary reason that you haven’t seen much of me this last week) it became quite clear that continuing with the joke would have finally been too much, even for me. Moreover, it would undermine the point of the Hero History: To examine each Legionnaire on their own terms, and to look at their own flaws and virtues on an individual basis, and to try and quantify what it is that he, she, or it brings to the table, jokes be damned. Given the historical importance of today’s entrant, I could do no less.

You’ve waited patiently, Faithful Spoilerites, the day that I’ve been dreading (and that you’ve all been waiting to see if I could actually pull off) is here. This, then is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Kal-El of Krypton, who became known as Clark Kent of Earth, as well as his young clone, Kon-El of Metropolis. They call them both…

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11
Hero History: The Last Legacy Of Krypton

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Or – “All The Powers At Once???”

When I began the Hero Histories of the Legion of Super-Heroes, my initial intention (after eulogizing the recently-dead-again Karate Kid) was to defend the honor of a couple of my old favorites, which is why we began with Matter-Eater Lad, Bouncing Boy, and Blok. It was some time before I really realized what this particular project needed to be about, indeed what the Legion itself is implicitly about. As we progressed through the history of the Legionnaires, I realized that the point of it all was that anyone, that EVERYONE can contribute to a better world, if given a chance. As the Histories continued, it became both easier and harder to do them, as it’s relatively easy to find something to say about a high-profile Legionnaire like Lightning Lad, but it’s hard to find something that hasn’t been said a dozen times before. This is the reason why I’m glad that we are where we are today… Naysayers may claim that today’s Hero History is the easiest of all, what with the undeniable awesomeness of the subject matter. Indeed, when Jor-El began the firing sequence that sent that fateful rocket into the sky, there was no way that he could have seen what was to come for the universe overall. It is thus that we are finally ready to examine the greatest achievements of the dead planet Krypton, the heroic legacy that keeps it alive in our memory, the very HEART and SOUL of the Legion and all that it eventually came to represent. It is truly the Major Spoilers Hero History to end all Hero Histories…

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13
Hero History: Cosmic Boy

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Or – “A Dash Of Courage To Go With The Brains And The Heart…”

Today’s entrant has been for half a century one of the most iconic of the Legion’s dozens of active members, existing (like his fellow founders) in virtually every iteration of the team to date. UNLIKE his fellow founders, though, he hasn’t been tweaked, twisted, and reshaped to fit into each “new” world, instead seemingly shaping each of those variant worlds with his own quiet strength and integrity. Never the most overtly powerful Legionnaire, he was nonetheless the unanimous choice for first Legion leader, he was instrumental in bringing the team back from the brink of oblivion after the Dominators dismantled it, and he supported a Legion lost centuries from home, bringing them home without a single casualty. It’s no surprise that when three futuristic heroes travelled back into history looking for the one being who most defined heroism to them, that they chose this man as the shining example of what the Legion of Super-Heroes really stands for. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Rokk Krinn of Braal… Cosmic Boy!

 

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13
Hero History: From hand to hand, the strange case of Marvelman

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AUTHOR NOTE: This article is not an all inclusive study of the Marvelman character.  There are issues in the creation and subsequent history of Marvelman that have not been touched on in years, and this is a basic rundown of the evolution of the character from publisher to publisher.

The seeds of Marvelman as a character where planted in 1941, when National Periodical Publications (know today as DC Comics) sued Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement over their publication of the character Captain Marvel, saying it was to close to their own character Superman.  The case languished in court for years, and it was not until 1954 that an final decision was announced. During this time, sales of the Captain Marvel titles had begun to decline, McCarthyism was in full swing, and parent groups where beginning to take notice of the content published in their children’s comics.  The case was settled out of court with Fawcett agreeing to stop publishing the Captain Marvel characters.  The final Golden Age appearance of Captain Marvel and his family was in The Marvel Family #89, January 1954, just months before Dr. Frederic Wertham’s controversial book, Seduction of the Innocent, was released.

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13
Hero History: Saturn Girl

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Or – “The Brains Of The Outfit…”

So, last week (theoretically) we looked at the emotional center of the founding Legionnaires, this time around we look at the woman whose strength of will in many ways defined the team.  She is one of the strongest characters in the Legion (perhaps one of the strongest in her world’s history) yet her powers are entirely subtle in nature.  Like her namesake planet, she is an axis around which the LSH rotates, as much a cornerstone of the team as Brainiac 5 or Tom Welling, and she personifies the Legion in ways that no other character can.  One of the team’s first leaders, she was among the first Legionnaires to marry, among the first to start a family, and when everyone on the team was half-naked, she joined in and dressed like Strawberry Shortcake if she were a dominatrix.  Occasionally hard to understand, but always impossible to overlook, she represents Legion’s iron will.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Irma Ardeen Ranzz of Titan…  Saturn Girl! 

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9
Hero History: Lightning Lad

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Or – “The Legion’s Impulsive Heart…”

And here we are, at the beginnings of the whole shebang.  The three kids who started it all, who leapt into action to save the life of a stranger because they had the ability to do so.  The founding members of the Legion represent an interesting triad, a study in contrasts.  The studious, internally focused blonde whose powers are completely covert in nature.  The charismatic, team-oriented dark-haired one, whose abilities represent the ability to shape, to change, to manipulate.  The quick-to-action red-haired one, whose powers channel the destructive forces of nature.  Imra as commanding mother figure, Rokk as guiding big brother, but where does that leave today’s entrant?  A founding member, a powerhouse of the early team, but never quite comfortable in his own skin, his battles with his family (and, indeed, with himself) are as legendary as his clashes with any other opponent.  Sometimes called the unluckiest Legionnaire, he nonetheless has been an anchor of all incarnations of the team to date.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Garth Ranzz of Winath…  Lightning Lad!

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11
Hero History: Polar Boy

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Or – “Number Two Has To Try Harder…”

It’s absolutely amazing to me to think that we’ve been doing these Hero Histories now for over a year and a half.  I’ve had relationships that didn’t last that long!  When we started out, the list of Legionnaires seemed endless, stretching out into infinity.  Now, it would seem we’re in the home stretch, having come to the point where there are fewer than half a dozen LSHer’s yet unprofiled.  When I initially started this project, I knew where it had to begin, and I knew where it had to end, with a stretch of indecision in the middle.  But today’s Hero History entrant absolutely had to be placed where he is: alongside the founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes.  His devotion to the Legion was always second to none, and his impact on the team as a whole was eclipsed by very few heroes.  It can honestly be said that a large part of the Legion’s appeal was directly due to HIS actions and heroism as much as those of Cos and company.  It may have taken him longer than others to make the team, but once there, he made an indelible mark on Legion history.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Brek Bannin of Tharr…  Polar Boy!

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7
Hero History: The Legion Of Substitute Heroes

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Or – “Sometimes You Have To Work Your Way Up To The Big Leagues…”

There’s a lot of confusion regarding the early days of the Legion and their recruiting practices. Bouncing Boy got in, but Radiation Roy did not. Matter-Eater Lad got the nod, whereas Animal Lad was told no. The reasoning behind this has been the subject of much discussion (though I like Geoff Johns’ recent revelation in Action Comics that some of the Legion rejects were rejected because Saturn Girl could tell that there was something wrong with their minds) but the whole issue really seems to boil down to “Who Do We Like Best?” Come on, we’re looking at a bunch of teenagers, even with vast super-powers, and teenagers do a lot of stupid, arbitrary, exclusionary stuff. We should be glad that the team wasn’t smoking super-elastic fluid, or piercing their pancreas. Some heroes who didn’t make the cut, though, wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer, knowing that their day in the sun was just around the corner. These stalwart few decided to prepare themselves for the inevitable moment when they would be the ones called upon to save the day. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Lydda Jath of Kathoon… Ral Benem of Mardru… Ulu Vakk of Lupra… Staq Mavlen of Schwar… Drura Sehpt of Somahtur… Peter Dursin of Earth… Dag Wentim of Zwen… The Legion of Substitute Heroes!

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8
Hero History: The Honorary Legionnaires

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Or – “What A Difference A Few Decades Make…”

If you’re a regular reader of our Hero Histories, you’ve probably gleaned that the team’s adventures have been somewhat unorthodox for a comic super-group. The Legion has been up and down the popularity charts, have run the gamut from super-silly to ultra-serious tales, and have dealt with grown-up subjects like marriage, death, betrayal, and sexual issues long before the rest of the comics world was ready to do so. The Legion’s earliest adventures, though, were steeped in the rules of the Silver Age of comics, and the rules of Mort Weisinger’s Superman titles especially. For a long time the LSH was considered nothing more than Tom Welling’s little pals from the far future, and no matter what happened, the boy in the red cape had to be the center of attention. Nowhere was this more evident than when his non-super pals made the scene in the Legion and were given special status due to their proximity to the boy of steel. (It’s good to have powerful friends…) Awesomely, though, the pals and gal of Superman ended up PROVING the point of the Legion rather than undermining it, showing once again that heroism is a state of mind. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Pete Ross of Smallville… James Bartholomew Olsen of Metropolis… Gnill Opral of Hagor… Lana Lang of Smallville… Rond Vidar of Earth… The Honorary Legionnaires!

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7
Hero History: The Five-Year-Gap Legionnaires

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Or – “Eight Heroes Are Better Than None…”

In recent weeks, we’ve been examining those heroes who joined the Legion in it’s second major incarnation, after harassment from a corrupt Earthgov (undermined by Dominator spies) drove the team to disband for over three years. The team was eventually brought back together by the murder of longtime member Blok (*sniff*) and rose like a phoenix from the ashes, only without sleeping with the kid in the visor. But there is something that we’ve only touched upon briefly that you may not have known… The Legion was active for several months during that Five Year Lacuna. And during that time, took on new members (including the already-covered Kent Shakespeare) whose Legion tenures were mostly undocumented. But, thanks to the miracles of modern technology (and a collection of Legion comics bigger than the average minivan) their stories can be told… Sort of. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of E. Davis Ester of Touston… Bobb Kohan of Earth… Myke-4 Astor of Calish Aetia… Myg of Lythyl… Berta Skye Haris of Earth… Stig Ah of Rimbor… Myke Chypurz of Earth… Rhent Ustin of Earth… The Five-Year Gap Legionnaires!

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9
Hero History: Wave

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Or – “The Path To Heroism Is Seldom Easily Traversed…”

One of the great joys of the Legion of Super-Heroes has been the vast array of heroes to choose from.  Don’t like planet-juggling mighty men?  Maybe you can find the love for Phantom Girl, or Invisible Kid.  Looking for somebody more cerebral?  Try Brainiac 5 or Chameleon Boy.  The post Five Year Gap members of the Legion were especially diverse, with members like Matter-Eater Lad and a powerless Cosmic Boy taking irreplacable roles in the team structure, and showing that you don’t have to be a combat powerhouse to contribute to the team dynamic.  This Legion also welcomed a sneak-thief, a smuggler, a private eye, and even a cub reporter to their numbers, so it’s not that strange to see them welcoming one of their former foes on board as well.  She came to the team looking for help, and ended up supporting them during one of their darkest hours.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Sussa Paka of Earth…  Wave!

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