Or, “This Rockman has absolutely nothing to do with Megaman…†The Golden Age was a time of wonder in the comic book industry. New heroes where popping up at dozens of new publishers every week, and if the idea could translate to paper, it was given a shot. Some were never seen after their first appearance, others lasted for decades. Oddly enough, some characters were forgotten and not seen in new adventures for over fifty or more years. The peculiar Rockman, Underground Secret Agent, is one of those recently “re-discovered and re-imagined†heroes of the past.
Browsing: Hero History
Or – “The Thirtieth Century’s Answer To Donny And Marie…” One of the unavoidable biases inherent in our Terra-centric translation of the events of the various 30th Centuries has been the fact that many more Legionnaires come from Earth than from any other planet. With Karate Kid, Wildfire, Sun Boy, both Invisible Kids, Bouncing Boy, Ferro Lad, Tyroc, as well as a host of shorter-lived Legionnaires, Sol III holds the record for gestating LSH members, but planet Xanthu (home of Star Boy, Monstress, Atmos, 50% of the rebooted Wildfire, and today’s dual entrants) has a strong heroic tradition of it’s own. Heck,…
This week, as we continue our look at the “forgotten†heroes of the past, we find another hero who learned his powers from Tibetan monks. This time he is not as steeped in Buddhism as our previous entry, The Green Lama, but he spent more time in training. He also has one of the most recognized, yet unknown cover appearances of the Golden Age. I mean how many other covers have a nearly naked man, in chains, biting a cobra!
Or – “In Small Things, We Reveal Ourselves As We Truly Are…” One of the things for which the 30th Century has never lacked is strong female characters. From the steely nature of Legion founder Saturn Girl, to the tenacity of Dream Girl, to the self-determination of Dawnstar and beyond, the females of the LSH are every single iota the match for their male colleagues. But with that many dominant personalities on one place, someone is bound to end up in the shadows. Today’s Historical subject spent the greater part of her Legion career in the shadow of her own relationships, from her first teenage crush,…
Not Llama. LAMA. Om mani padme hum… the Green Lama strikes, for Justice! The Green Lama, a Westerner who wears the robes of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, recently returned to the public eye as one of the mysterious protagonist in the Dynamite Entertainment comic series, PROJECT: SUPERPOWERS. Although the concept of the series is well publicized, the use of characters whose copyrights have slipped into the public domain, few people know the full history of the individual characters. Today I decided to research The Green Lama, who has one of the most varied of these histories, which ran from the…
Or – “Further Adventures In A World Without Tom Welling…” Today’s Hero History marks a watershed in our examination of the history of the Legion. For the first time, we’re actually going to be looking at THREE different women, bound by a common origin and name, but who are NOT precisely the same character. Previous Hero Histories have dealt with Legionnaires who might as well have been different individuals between Legion incarnations (Element Lad and Triplicate Girl come to mind) but today’s entrant takes that to the extreme. In her tenure(s) with the LSH, she showed courage unparalleled, ingenuity without…
Or – “An Ocean Is A Desert With Life Underground, And The Perfect Disguise Above…” Sometimes we set ourselves a challenge that we cannot easily overcome. With the heroes of the Legion, it’s generally a challenge of will, involving combat or the evil machinations of agents of chaos like the Fatal Five. In my case, it’s the realization that there are nearly 100 Legionnaires, and that some of them never actually got their defining moment in the spotlight. Some might consider this to be a liability and write off those particular LSHers as deadweight. Not on my watch, Faithful Spoilerites.…
Or – “Living Proof That The Powers Do Not Always Make The Hero…” In a very real way, to study the history of today’s subject is to study the history of the Legion itself. Initially a smiling young teen with what I’ll charitably call “limited” superhuman abilities, she was at the center of one of the LSH’s first great tragedies. When the team began growing up and dealing with responsibility, she was the first Legionnaire to marry and take on an adult role. When the team began actively recruiting and training young heroes, she took on a leadership position, and was crucial (even…
Or - “My Initiative Is Simple: No Legionnaire Left Behind!” In the early 1980’s, Marvel Comics began printing up their “Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe,” an in-depth, encyclopedic examination of events, people and places in Marvel history. DC soon followed suit with their “Who’s Who In The DC Universe,” which took a different tack, essentially covering the high points of a character’s publishing history, as well as one-upping Marvel’s static costume shots with a full-size collage of the character’s history and heroic feats. It was here that I first encountered today’s Historical subject… As a Legion fan, I was…
Or – “A Bright Enough Light Can Hide The Shadows Within…” The study of the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes inevitably leads to the study of many unusual superhero archetypes and attitudes. Whereas most teams consist of six or seven clearly defined characters, a group the size of the Legion has room for Wildfire’s snarkiness, for Dawnstar’s occasional narcissism, for the roguish charm of Ultra Boy, for Shadow Lass’ antisocial tendencies, even for Quislet’s complete disregard for convention. It also leaves room for your classic cocky womanizer, smart but not the smartest, charming but not the most so, certainly…
Or – “The Thirst For Power Isn’t Always A Selfish Endeavor…” Even when you take into account the length and breadth of my comic knowledge, and my love of the Legion, there’s inevitably going to be somebody who is my least favorite. (My Top Ten fave-raves? 1) Blok. 2) Matter-Eater Lad. 3) Bouncing Boy. 4) Wildfire. 5) Pre-Crisis Ferro Lad. 6) Ultra Boy. 7) XS. 8) Tyroc. 9) Polar Boy. 10) Mon-El.) Still, the entire point of the Hero History exercise, other than serving as an outlet for my creative/didactic urges, is to identify that which makes each hero uniquely awesome,…
Or – “Making The World Safe For Skin-Tight Red Hotpants… Thank Rao!” In the 70 years since the advent of Superman, there have been a great many superheroes, with varying raisons d’etre. Some came to cash in on trends, some to break new ground, some to irritate, some to ingratiate, and some to infiltrate. But today’s entrant seemingly comes from the basest of all creative wells: protection of copyright. Like Jessica Drew, Carol Danvers, Kathy Kane, and others, our hero du jour is a female version of an existing hero. Unlike any of those others, she managed to carrying her…
Or – “Overlook Him At Your Own Peril…” Lyyyyle Nooorg! Lyyle Norg! Riding through the laaaand… Lyyyyle Nooorg! Lyyle Norg! With a beige headbaaaand! Sometimes I write little bits of doggerel to fill in the spaces and format the images in Wordpress, but that one cracks me up so completely, I thought I’d leave it in. Of the many Legionnaires over the years, there have been a seemingly inordinate number of what the superhero RPG community calls “bricks.” Mon-El, Tom Welling, Andromeda, Supergirl, Thunder, Ultra Boy, Kent Shakespeare, even my beloved Blok fall into the category of “Legionnaires Whose Job…
Or – “You Waste 10 Lifetimes In A Cosmic Peepshow & See How Normal YOU Are…” In this, the fiftieth anniversary year of that futuristic bunch of super-teens known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, we’re continuing our in-depth look at children of the future (teach them well, and let them lead the way to kick the behinds of the Fatal Five.)  We turn our sights today to the man who was, quite possibly, the most powerful hero alive in the pre-Crisis DCU. When Superman could fly through suns, move the Earth out of orbit, and see thousands of miles in…