Or – “That’s Right… Sandy Makes The Cut, Atmos Doesn’t. My Rules, I Make ‘Em Up.”
When making my final, official, multi-reality, complete roster of the Legion of Super Heroes, I ran afoul of a few conundrums.  Should I count one-issue plot devices like Command Kid or Dynamo Boy as LSHers? Should I treat the post-reboot Umbra, Leviathan, Alchemist, et al as separate entities from the pre-Crisis Shadow Lass, Colossal Boy, and Element Lad? Could I give the likes of Chemical King or Monstress, with their short tenures, the same kind of gravitas that I hope to impart to Mon-El and Cosmic Boy?? (Your mileage may vary, but I’m trying, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the shepherd…) And what about Legionnaires whose tenures have gone undocumented, like those during the 5 Year Gap era of the team? Do they count? The main thrust of my decisions came down to one important question: Does the character in question feel like a Legionnaire? Did he she or it embody that which edifies, elevates, and enlightens? Could Character X honestly stand alongside Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad and Tyroc, much less Brainiac 5 or WIldfire? I’ve been very open from the beginning about the fact that there will be no history of Atmos or Nemesis Kid (at least as Legionnaires…) I just can’t bring myself to take a character who manipulated his way onto the team and into Nura’s bed by using his “super-roofie” powers, and brought nothing to the Legion save invisible armpits. Same goes for Val’s murderer.  You may argue that each has his moments, and I agree, but so do many supporting Legion characters (Flynt Brojj, Karate Kid’s sensei, R.J. Brande, etc.) who don’t qualify. Call it “personal continuity,” if you need a name. And in that vein, today’s Hero History entrant is an unusual case. She served alongside the team without ever really seeming to belong, and her unpleasantness and snark weren’t the attitude you expected from a member of the LSH. Yet, somehow, she proved herself to the team, and to me, and was allowed to wear the much-vaunted Legion crest and flight ring. This then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of the girl who might be Sandy Anderson of Earth… Inferno!
