Shrinking Violet: Looses the green streak. Keeps her growing abilities but doesn't use them as much as shrinking. Goes back to her old code name. Far greater focus on her detective skills and role in the Espionage Squad.
Timberwolf: Looses the B-movie vampire streaks. It's reavealed that his powers come from illegal experiments preformed on him by his father (on Zuun). Greater emphasis on his agility, rather than the claws. He and Violet become regular sparring partners.
Supergirl: Kara Zor-El gets ripped out of hyper time during a Time Traper escapade. She is quickly made a Legionnaire, but doesn't immediatly accept her new reality. Spends a lot of time with Brainiac 5 hoping to find a way home. Falls for him before a way can be found.
Apparition and Ultra Boy: Become reserve members and headmasters of the Legion Academy (located on Legion World so the two still live in the Legion quarters) so that they can devote more time to raising "Cub".
SUPPORTING CAST
Dr. Drura Sehpt: Legion World's head of pathology. Often works closely with Dr. Gym'll and Brainiac 5.
"Cub": Get's a real name. It's revealed that his fast aging will stop and either puberty or full growth. He grows at a rate of one year for every real time year. (ie. Ten years after Legion World #6 he'd be ten years old.)
Emerald Zoe: Frustrated by her latest transformation and feeling neglegted by her friends she releases the Emerald Eye and is transformed back to her normal self (except for the green hair, of course.) While not being actively manipulated by the eye, her lust for power is reawakend and she becomes far more ruthless. No longer willing to be constrained by the Legion Constitution (or any other law; think "chaotic-neutral") she resigns from the Legion. When the Legion is in great danger she will return to help, but her new attitudes make interaction with her friends and former teammates extremly uncomfortable for all involved.
-------------------- arachne3003.deviantart.com Current Obsession: Birds of Prey/Secret Six
From: Canada | Registered: Jul 2003
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My dream team will use the Legion/SW6 dynamic, with the Thirtysomething legion working in the same universe (the post Terra Mosaic one) as a younger Legion. The older Legion would be composed of exactly the same members as shown in the issue #13 poster, minus Ivy, and plus Jacques, Drura, and Spider Girl. Also, Mysa would be in her "Jewel" incarnation, from "Legion on the run".
The younger Legion would have the same origin as the SW6 Legion, but with the postboot legion taking its place. All members not on the original SW6 batch joined later, and the missing members (read:all of those in the SW6 batch who do not appear on the roster) all died during the war for Earth.
Official full time members
Cosmic Boy Ferro Braniac 5 (pre"upgrade") Kinetix (as seen around Legionnaires #53) Gates Gear XS Leviathan I Shrinking Violet (SW6/Postboot remix) Triad Spark (both lightning and gravity powers) Star Boy Kon-El( 1000 years old; restuck at 16; not called Superboy) Supergirl (Kara In-Ze, from the animated series; via time-travel) Ultra Boy Apparition Shikari Wildfire
Unofficial members (Superhuman Underground Battle Squad-S.U.B.S)
posted
Golly. I didn't even see this one until I saw it. And I can't resist a thread with such potential to surprise. Here goes...
Saturn Girl: Current incarnation. May have a steady, but doesn’t get married anytime soon. A good deal of power, but not a lot of finesse. A touch more of the Ice Queen persona too. Powers the result of centuries of very controlled reproductive selection by the authorities of Titan, with the goal of creating a race of telepaths.
Cosmic Boy: Current incarnation. Powers the result of his race developing on a planet with a very strong and fluctuating electro-magnetic field. Powers only surface off of his home world, and are affected by the electro-magnetic forces in any locale.
Grav Lad: Begins as Lightning Lad’s original (original) incarnation. His power to project lightning blasts was altered in an accident of dubious origins to the power of controlling gravity. He often uses his powers to make things “super-light” or “super-heavy.” He certainly has issues with his perception that his current powers are less useful than his first powers--and is a bit envious of his twin sister and evil brother, who maintain their original lightning-projection powers ever since the accident with lightning beasts gave them each their abilities.
Phantom Girl: New incarnation. Her abilities to phase through solid objects are the result of her extra-dimensional origins. Her race is scattered far and wide through many dimensions and spends their lives wandering amongst them. She joined the legion to be near Mon El, who she rescued after she discovered him, trapped as a phantom for 1000 years. Her years of wandering the dimensions make her a good deal more pensive than any previous incarnations.
Miss Multiple: The character is as Triplicate Girl was originally introduced, but not limited to three. Miss Multiple can make up to fifteen versions of herself. Each version has its own (though not necessarily distinct) personality. She must cycle through all of her various versions in sequence. If she extends her power to create all fifteen at once, she can be usurped as the dominant personality. Only the dominant personality can be killed, the others revert back to the dominant body when mortally injured.
Mon El: Altered incarnation. Mon El is Superboy’s half brother. He was nearly a teen when Kal El was born to their mutual mother. An accident with a phantom-zone projector purloined by Mon El and his friends cast him into a previously undiscovered phantom zone. He later witnessed Kal El’s great feats as Superboy/Man from the zone, and, inspired, succeeded in joining the Legion of Super Heroes upon being freed by Phantom Girl in the 30th century.
Chameleon Boy: Standard incarnation, but a less specific body form. He arbitrarily chose a form to use regularly when he ventured from his planet to other worlds, but can often be seen absentmindedly losing his humanoid shape.
Element Lad: As he was originally introduced in the 60s, but having rejoined the team after some progenitor-like episode that makes him very wary about his powers, and creates some tension amongst the team. Gay.
Lightning Lass: Standard incarnation, but being the team’s only lightning projector has given her a more subdued and less pissy personality. Never was or becomes Light Lass.
Lumin Lad: Altered Lyle Norg incarnation, but the serum gives him additional abilities to control light. After development his powers can include projecting the absence of light and visual illusions. Absolutely none of that alternate dimension nonsense. The team’s only native earthling.
Dream Girl: Slightly altered incarnation of Nura. She has developed extensive physical combat capabilities based on her ability to sense the immediate future (thus the next moves of her opponent). Thus, she exhibits much more confidence in herself than her standard incarnations. She can induce a trance which allows her to see further into the future. The further into the future she looks, the more potential for it to be altered. Her powers are well-trained versions of the powers standard to her race.
Bloom: Altered incarnation of Shrinking Violet. She can shrink and grow at will, powers which are natural to her race. She prefers to stay at a fairly diminutive height, a trait mirrored in her personality. None of the current nonsense about her powers coming from another hero, or being involved with the Emerald Eye.
A dozen is enough for one day isn’t it? More as they come to me.
quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: Lots of fun here. I really enjoy everyone's versions. Big Bad's "Superhuman Underground Battle Squad", much nicer and more interesting than Substitutes;
From the "Credit where credit is due dept.": Thank Giffen; I pretty much stole his idea and added Lyle to it.
From: San Juan, Puerto Rico | Registered: Jul 2003
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Yet another bump, so this won't be lost. I've enjoyed the articulate scenarios and commentary, and to me, they speak well for themselves ... besides, I comment too much, anyway {g}
The permutations on various eras of the Legion's history are fascinating. I especially like one of the efforts above to try to redeem the Batch SW6 concept, which was poorly introduced and left full of holes originally.
From: Starhaven Consulate, City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I’ve been writing this for ages, and only now have I finished it. Soo, here it goes… (I would love to hear your comments…)
See, Legionnaires should not be superheroing all of the time. Not even most of the time. This is supposed to be a group of people pulled from throughout the United Planets to show that the concept can work. And with a group as powerful, as diverse as this, much more good could be made than by just superheroing. They should be teachers, healers, scientists, politicians, trainers, artists, etc., not just super-heroes. Violet should be helping Brainy, Lyle and Chameleon in medical/biological research. Spark should be involved in agricultural research. Saturn Girl, Sensor and Shikari should be active in psychiatric wards, trying to cure people. Apparition, Gates, Chameleon and Sensor should be involved in politics. Cosmic Boy, Triad and Karate Kid should be teachers, inspiring young people through academics and sport. Wildfire, Kid Quantum, Element Lad, Quislet and Spark should be in engineering departments at universities, helping to develop new materials. M’Onel could for example be a writer, trying to develop the concept of a true valorianism, and sharing his experiences from a thousand years of observation of human endeavors. Dreamer should get her fingers (or somebody else’s) burned in some economic scheme, vow never to do such a thing again, and help people prepare for future personal tragedies. Not only would this ‘diversification of activities’ be fertile ground for the development of new stories, but it would give a plausible reason for not having all Legionnaires at Legion World all the time
I really liked the concept of Legion Worlds, I think that mini-series should be continued, those six issues really fleshed out the Legion’s universe. I want more United Planets to be explored (I loved the issue on Titan, and am eagerly awaiting the one on Talok). I want politics to play mayor roles in the stories, more Dark Circle, more Khunds, more Dominators. Where does the Blight come from? I want tensions within the UP, Chameleon on Durla, Star Boy on the new Xanthu acting as ambassadors (I didn’t mention Orando because I despise that world, perhaps Ra’s al Ghul should drop some of his ‘evolution bombs’ there). The titannet, the tesseracts and Robotica are cool additions to the Legion’s universe, but I’m still not sold to Legion World (why on earth do they need a whole planet that is bound to Earth? A planet is way too big, and it isolates the Legionnaires from the people they are supposed to protect.)
What is my dream roaster for the Legion? All right, here it goes. And remember that you asked…
1. Andromeda. Laurel Gand, in the way she was shown in Vol. 4, strong-willed, no-nonsense kind of person. Originally strongly valorian in belief, is going through a difficult transition after having met Valor, her “god”. Has made a big, big effort to get close to M’Onel, at first in order to understand him, later on because of real sympathy. Wouldn’t call herself valorian anymore (she disagrees with many of the more doctrinal aspects of that religion, as does M’Onel), but spends long hours with Lar discussing ways to truly help valorians in meaningful ways. She has become M’Onel best friend, but is not romantically involved with him (she is still single, and looking). Has expressed an interest in counseling troubled youths.
2. Apparition. Tinya Wazzo, from Bgztl, a full-fledged member planet of the UP that does not “occupy the same physical space as Earth but in another dimension”, or whatever that was. Everybody’s best friend, but really nobody’s, something that makes her quite lonely, Tinya is perhaps the Legionnaire that genuinely cares the most for others. Marriage with Ultra Boy rocky, but based on love. Has begun to express an interest in politics, and tends to be at odds (politically, as well as in other things) with her mother. This altercation is forcing her to confront (modify?) her own opinion of herself as one of the weaker-willed of the Legionnaires (because she can talk with just about any other Legionnaire, she is one of the few people who really know the true levels of strength in the group). Just one person, not three (this is a subplot that needs to be resolved quickly!), Tinya is beginning to experience a growth in her powers that she can’t control or explain, she can make things become phantoms (kind of like the guy in Mutant X).
3. Astro, Thom Kallor. The current version of Star Boy has really been much more interesting than any of his previous portrayals, DnA have finally managed to make me care for him. I really like his expanded gravity powers, and am intrigued by the subplots that are going on (I hope the current authors have a good surprise in store regarding Dreamer’s premonition, I DO NOT want Thom to die). I like Astro being quiet but with an exceptional strength of character (his reaction to the destruction of Xanthu and the appearance of Darkseid on Legion World display the best of the character), I would not like him to get ‘Superboy-type’ powers. Perhaps he should be considered for Legion Leadership next? I am not too sure about his relationship with Dreamer, the two just don’t seem to fit that well. Xs might be a better choice for love interest… Thom should be interested in physics, astronomy and, to a lesser degree, engineering.
4. Blok. An entirely alien life form (not this Stone Boy hybrid thing), Blok “becomes” part of the planet he is in, traveling instantaneously through it to any part of its surface. Makes bodies out of whatever material he finds, but is really more an immaterial “essence”. Extremely powerful on the surface of a world (and the Legion’s resident geologist), Blok becomes essentially useless once he is airborne, can’t leave his “husk” if he is physically separated from the ground. For that reason, he hates flying and is a big fan of tesseracts. Uses a rocky body most of the time that is as invulnerable as rock is, not more, and needs two flight rings to lift him. Timber Wolf’s best friend. Involved in a platonic ‘romance’ with the White Witch (doesn’t quite understand the concept of any other kind of romance, something that frustrates Mysa immensely). In temperament, the same gentle soul as in Vol. 3/Baxter, he is finding out that he may well be an artist (starts with sculpture, later on painting as well).
5. Brainiac Five. The same Querl Dox that we have right now, would not change a thing. I like his Calvin-esque Coipel looks and his occasional grumpyness. What makes Brainy so interesting is his willingness to interact with (and even actively like/love) people so much less intelligent that he is (imagine being among mentally retarded people ALL THE TIME). Has incredible amounts of patience (not that his fellow legionnaires necessarily realize that). I would be interested in knowing just what it is that interests Brainy about people, why does he choose to live with them and dedicate his life to fighting for them.
6. Chameleon. Much more alien in appearance and outlook than what we usually see. Why does the current Chameleon choose to walk around as an orange humanoid, with antennae? Why not go all the way and become either completely human-looking or entirely alien? I’ve never understood this. Not interested in sex: Durlans divide by binary fission and Chameleon is completely asexual (does not count as a “male” legionnaire). In temperament, level-headed and smart, but often puzzled by the ways of the world. Learns quickly, though. Escaped from Durla as a stowaway when the planet was first discovered by the outside world and traveled a lot before joining the Legion, thus his knowledge of creatures from throughout the universe. This knowledge of foreign forms is what distinguishes him from other Durlans, who have in principle also a shape-changing capacity but have not been exposed to other organisms. Chameleon tries very hard to make Durla “fit” with the outside world (more often than not unsuccessfully), and is also the Legion’s expert in biological matters, having an intrinsic understanding of shapes and functions that not even Brainy shares.
7. Cos. Rokk Krinn, the soul of the Legion, cares more about its whole concept than any other Legionnaire. He is the one who suggests making the Legion about more than just superheroing/protecting people. Most certainly not stupid. I like the way he was portrayed in Vol. 4 (but I prefer him with powers), except that I think he should be one of the people who uses the gym the most (he should be in the upper third in regard to hand-to-hand combat). Has nothing to do with the Time Trapper, except for the fact that he is interested in history. Cos is one of the most active Legionnaires outside Legion World, he is an excellent teacher and trainer who easily recognizes and shapes qualities in others. He is also becoming the Legion’s main spokeperson in talk shows and such, a role that he doesn’t particularly like (but people love seeing their magnoball champion as a super-hero).
8. Dolores, Drura Sepht. Solothur is a planet smack in the middle of UP territory full of friendly people eager to join the ‘federation’. The problem is that no non-Solothurian has ever survived more than a couple of days on Solothur, they always die of unknown diseases, and so the planet has been put in quarentene. Drura is extremely curious about the outside world, and so has dedicated her life to biological and medical studies; she is now a medical expert on virtually all known species of the Universe. She has also developed a way to control her disease-producing aura, and after some trials, has contacted Brainy to ask him to help her to test whether Solothurians as a whole can benefit from her discoveries and actually leave their planet. As a test-trial, Drura has been allowed to leave Solothur under close supervision by Brainy, and has found that her powers are so formidable (and so controlled) that she has been able to join the Legion. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to provide other Solothurians with the same degree of control, so they are still quarentained. People at large are even more cautious (distrustful) towards Solothurians than towards Titanians or Durlans, and so Drura has had a bad time adjusting. Nevertheless, she is extremely friendly, very intelligent and very funny, and so has managed to make quite a few friends. By the way, in case you are wondering, “dolores” means “pains” in Spanish. I’ve always wondered why anyone would want to inflict that name to their daughters… I guess it has to do with the mother’s most recent memory at the time of baptism… But I digress…
9. Dreamer. Nura Nal, also very close to the version we are seeing now. Beautiful, confident and purposeful, completely in control of her powers. She not only sees the future, but can tell the degree of certainty of her different visions, and so knows whether they are “changeable” or not. She never sleeps, and so has lots of time to pursue other activities. For example she is an avid reader and a quick learner, and is on track to becoming one of the Legion’s scientists. She also spends lots of time in physical training, and has become Karate Kid’s best student, the Legion’s fifth best hand-to-hand combatant (after KK, Timber Wolf, Triad and Shikari). Dreamer is not easy to get close to, she often appears distracted (a secondary effect of the way her powers work); her best friends are the White Witch and Saturn Girl. Made a mess with a well-intentioned economic scheme, and has vowed never to do such a thing again.
10. Element Lad, the Progenitor. Lightning Lad’s attack propelled Jan some ridiculous amount of years into the past. Having seen the revulsion of his teammates towards his acts during Legion Lost (including the murders not only of Monstress, but of entire civilizations), Jan decided to strand himself in a solitary planet and make penance while waiting for the Legion’s time to arrive: the best years of his very, very long existence were the ones as a member of the Legion, and he wants to relive them. He starts modifying his view of things (although not quite completely). So one day he just knocks on the Legion’s door, to everybody’s horror. They decide that the best place for him is among the only people who have any hope of containing him (Saturn Girl goes into training with the only objective of being able to shut down Jan’s mind should he ever become dangerous again). Jan is now even stranger than before, mostly because time has absolutely no meaning to him. To his teammates it looks as if everything is sort of a joke to him (which is not true, he is dead serious, but not always successful, about wanting to regain a sense of morality). He willingly lets Saturn Girl go into his mind to do two things: erase the memory of his long years of solitude, and limit his powers to what they were when he was a Legionnaire. And so he rejoins as Element Lad, strongly mistrusted by his teammates at first, but becoming more and more accepted as time goes by (but only because they know that he did his penance…).
11. Ferro. The time on Steeple with Karate Kid was spent on training, and Ferro returns as a mean fighting machine, reminiscent of the Silver Slasher in the way he uses his metallic form for fighting. He has also discovered that he can ‘amalgamate’ himself to metallic objects and travel through them and even control them to a certain degree. Not surprisingly, he is now Karate Kid’s best friend, and much more sure of himself. Now in training with Cos to develop ways of combining their respective abilities. Has a lot in common with Sensor, and starts to spend large amounts of time with her. Very interested in art/graphic design, he becomes the main creator of the Legion’s ‘merchandising’ face to the outside world.
12. Gates. I really quite like the bug as he is, he doesn’t need to be changed at all. But he should be given more screen time, I really miss his off-the-cuff socialist remarks. One thing I’d like to see: a one-on-one encounter between Gates and a ‘worthy opponent’, so that we can get to see Gates unleashed, I’d just like to see some of his tricks. I am also very interested in Vyrga, I’d love to see that world. Do Vyrgans go through metamorphosis? Are their life spans as long as those of humans? Gates is an avid reader of sociological treatises, and is a revolutionary at heart (I would like to see him succeed in promoting a revolution in some distant dictatorial world…)
13. Invisible. Lyle Norg, the head of the Legion’s Espionage Squad. Highly intelligent, highly observant and very quiet, he hates to be in the spotlight, but is very willing to intervene when necessary. One of the best scientists in the Legion, Lyle finds himself actually liking Brainy, their ‘rivalry’ is only skin deep. Has very firm ideas about what is right and what is not, something that sometimes puts him at odds with others (I loved his disagreement with Imra). Rather lonesome, has few friends (although Tenant and Chameleon are two of them). Seeing the effect that his serum had on Tenant (Jacques Foccart), he is researching ways of increasing his own powers. Gay.
14. Karate Kid. Val Armorr, introverted character, but highly aware of his surroundings and extremely interested in the well-being of others (with Apparition, one of the Legionnaires most empathic towards the suffering of others). Has two very mild metahuman abilities: a certain degree of super speed, and the ability to sense structural weaknesses in matter, but would have never been able to take advantage of them without his extensive training in the martial arts. The best hand-to-hand combatant in the Legion (M’Onel has not won against him at close range yet). Incredibly focused and very patient, Val is an innate teacher. He has become the Legion’s resident trainer (not only in fighting, but also in meditative skills), and also spends time training kids, inspiring them through sports. In spite of himself, Val has become somewhat of a celebrity (young kids just love him), and this attracts all sorts of people who want to test their fighting skills against him. Val absolutely hates this, and spends a lot of time trying to explain what martial arts really are.
15. Kid Quantum. This is another character that I essentially like as is, with one important caveat: her powers need to be defined much better. In ‘my’ Legion, she essentially alters the passage of time within confined spaces, with the effect that processes are speeded up or slowed down within those spaces. Nothing else, she does not shoot ill-defined energy beams (I wish the writers would be more consistent regarding the way her powers are portrayed). Intrinsically a “tinkerer” more than a scientist, Jazmin is starting to spend time at physics departments trying to better understand the way her powers work. She does not particularly enjoy this, but finds it necessary.
16. Lazon. Drafted together with Blok during the latest Legion-expansion drive, Lazon is a very powerful, very angry young man (perhaps because of emotional problems in his youth). His powers are like those shown pre-boot. In temperament, he is angry, he has big problems “fitting” in the Legion, but he is not quite evil…yet. Constantly on the brink of going bad, it remains to be seen whether the Legion’s influence will be enough to make him a better person. He would really like that. He spends a lot of time with Solar, sometimes also with Polar.
17. M’Onel. Intrinsically quite shy, Lar Gand strongly dislikes being the center of attention. This is one of the reasons he is so perplexed by finding himself at the center of a fundamentalist religion that he had absolutely no role in founding but that uses him as an icon. Since his release from the Phantom Zone, Lar has been reading a lot about valorianism, and finds himself strongly at odds with some of the most basic teachings of that religion. He has not quite decided what to do about it (he is discussing his options with formerly-valorian Legionnaires Andromeda and Triad, both of whom he cherishes as friends). In a ‘trial run’, he revealed himself as Valor in an isolated planet that he thought he could influence in a positive way, but found that nobody believed him and he ended up doing more harm than good. Since then, he is more focused on two things: being an excellent Legionnaire, and writing, using his extensive knowledge of human nature (gained by observing millions of people during his stay in the Phantom Zone) to try to counteract some of the more vile precepts of valorianism. Whether at the end of this process he will reveal himself as Valor or not remains to be seen. His hobby is to wander among the stars.
18. Neon. Celeste Vidar, Rond’s sister, has internalized the source of green energy that was given to her brother and has become herself a living weapon. Outspoken and brash, Celeste is often at odds with the rest of the Legion.
19. Polar. Very similar to the version we saw in the Levitz period, Polar is very ambitious and was determined to become a Legionnaire since his rejection. He eventually does so, and becomes Solar’s best friend (and a good influence on him, too).
20. Quislet. Not an energy being, but a small, fragile worm. Inhabits materials in the same way as Steve’s version used to do, forcing that material to desintegrate after he leaves (an important limitation to his powers, he often teams up with Blok, who can provide constant sources of material). Trying really hard to fit into the Legion (and into the UP as a whole), Quislet actively tries to interact with people as much as possible, tending to cause havoc wherever he goes, mostly because of misunderstandings. However, he is much less flaky than the old version.
21. Reflecto. Devlin O’Ryan. Completely and utterly invulnerable, but not stronger than a normal human. His invulnerability applies to almost all forms of physical harm, energy, mental threats, etc, but he does have one weakness that he doesn’t know. In other words, every time he confronts a new form of threat he knows that this could be the one that kills him. He spends lots of time with fellow Legionnaires trying to find out what that weakness is.
22. Saturna. Imra Ardeen, essentially the same character we have right now, would not change a thing. The same strong, vulnerable woman, with the same high levels of mental powers. I would keep her single for a while. Most Legionnaires tend to keep their distance from her, and this saddens her greatly, because at heart she is quite gregarious. She tries hard to ‘connect’ with other Legionnaires, but finds herself being clumsy at socializing. No really close friends (although she really likes Cos, and now Dreamer). Heavily active in psychological wards, where she does her best to help patients with mental illnesses.
23. Sensor. Jeka Wynzorr. This is a big step for me, putting Jeka in the team instead of Projectra (Sensor Girl is my favorite Legionnaire). But I like what I’ve seen of the new Sensor, and I think I will be able to accept her, possibly even like her. The trick is to consider her as a unique character, completely different from Projectra. Nevertheless, something horrible needs to happen to Orando. Maybe Ra’s-al-Ghul will do some terraforming/forceful evolution there? Sensor has some growing up to do, but I’m sure eventually she’ll accept her new form (even if the rest of her people won’t), and we’ll get back the quiet, regal, smart Legionnaire that she was, perhaps a bit scarred (which will be a good thing). She is active in two fields other than superheroing: politics, as a member of the Royal Family of Orando, something that she does rather reluctantly, and psychiatric medicine, where she often teams up with Saturn Girl to try and help the mentally ill.
24. Shikari. Not much to say here, I like her as she is, and think that her powers are being developed quite nicely. A bit of training with Karate Kid would make Shikari one of the fiercest fighters in the Legion.
25. Solar. Dirk Morgna, with full control of his heat and light powers. I just can’t understand why he has been left out of the current Legion, in the preboot he was one of the most interesting characters in the group. Very much a womanizer and a troublemaker, Solar often has trouble accepting authority. Good-looking, intelligent and rich, Dirk has not had to deal with much hardship in his life, and so at first he is treated as a “pretty-boy” by the rest of the Legion. Nobody, not even himself, knows what he’ll be able to do under duress, and whether he has the stuff to be a good Legionnaire. He spends a lot of time with Lazon and with Polar. Has not decided what to do when he is off duty, he’s too busy whooing women (Astro is trying to convince him to help him help him in physics/astronomy departments of universities, rather unsuccessfully). Eventually he’ll discover an entrepreneurial spirit within himself and will found a big company that aims as much at providing employment to Braalians as much as it does at making money.
26. Spark. Determined to take Live Wire’s place in the Legion, Ayla is growing up quickly. She is working hard to develop her powers, and is in the process of becoming quite powerful. She is also much less “happy-go-lucky” than she used to be, and is becoming a lot more like the Lightning Lass we saw in the preboot’s LSV arc (in my opinion by far the best rendition of her character). At the moment not quite sure of her sexuality, and so she keeps flirting with boys, but eventually she’ll marry Violet. While working with engineering departments, Ayla is discovering an affinity towards that field that she didn’t know she had (engineering is not common on Winath, and so she was not exposed to that early on). She also likes working with small kids.
27. Swarm. An alien life form, Swarm is composed of a myriad of bee-sized particles, all bound together by a common mind, and each of them carrying a powerful sting. Each of these particles (‘bees’) is wholly replaceble, they can be squashed with no major complications for the organism as a whole (as long as a single ‘bee’ remains alive, the whole organism can regenerate in a relatively short time). Swarm considers itself an individual and is, as Chameleon, an asexual entity.
28. Tenant, Jacques Foccart. The effect of Invisible’s serum on Jacques has shifted over the years: Jacques does not only become invisible but intangible as well, but he cannot stay invisible/intangible for more than ca. 15 seconds before he starts to dissipate. There are two ways of counteracting this: becoming visible again, or ‘inhabiting’ the body of anyone who is nearby. In this situation, Tenant takes control of the body he is inhabiting, and is able to use all its powers. He doesn’t know how long these possessions can last, but he has inhabited bodies for many hours. After a period of tension, he an Lyle have rediscovered their old friendship, and Jacques, although not really a scientist, is doing his best in helping Lyle fully understand his serum. Jacques is a very gentle man, he hated his time as a spy and would like nothing more than spend time with children. Eventually he’ll discover an interest in politics.
29. Timber Wolf. I’m liking him, this far, I think he should be strong, fast, a mean fighting machine (second only to Karate Kid), and fiercely loyal to his teammates. He should be a bit of a loner, too. His acrobatic ability should be upped a notch, though, he should be able to do really amazing feats of contortion (Cirque du Soleil sort of stuff, the kind of things that make you wonder whether the owner has a spinal cord…). He should surprise people and be able to get through small spaces just by contorting his body, the limit to this should be the diameter of his skull. He should also have heightened senses, particularly hearing and smell. I loved his preboot friendship with Blok.
30. Triad. I keep thinking that Triad could be much more powerful than what she is now. First of all, although she has three different personalities, she should share a common mind. This comes handy in fighting (tri-jitsu is not like fighting three different people, it’s like fighting three perfectly-coordinated bodies that share a common mind), but also in sharing information: what is known by one body should automatically be ‘relayed’ to the other two. Triad should also be able to merge over long distance, something that would have the effect of one-way teleportation of the separate bodies. When splitting, physical barriers should not be able to stop the different bodies from materializing. In other words, Triad should be able to materialize her bodies at any place within a radius of say a meter or two, independently of whether there are physical barriers or not. For this reason, as well as because of her ability to teleport when merging, she is by far the most difficult Legionnaire to contain/imprison. She is very athletic, relishes training sessions with Karate Kid and is becoming one of the most efficient fighters in the Legion. As for outside interests, she is a businesswoman, is interested in economics and wants to someday build her own enterprise.
31. Ultra. He is probably the Legionnaire whose portrayal has suffered the most in the reboot. He’s become good-looking, but nothing else. I absolutely despise his portrayal as a dimwit. Jo Nah is NOT stupid!!!! He should be the street-smart, cunning man we saw in volume 4 (I’ve never liked this character more than when his efforts against Glorith were explained). His rivalry with Timber Wolf should also be resolved, quickly, I actually think the two characters have so much in common that they should become the best of friends, they should form a post-boot “clique” with Apparition. I like this character’s relationship with Imra, I think Ultra and Saturna should become really, really good friends (to Tinya’s annoyance). But his relationship to Tinya should remain the most important in his life, Ultra’s and Apparition’s marital problems should be resolved soon.
32. Umbra. Not much to say about her, other than I think her powers should be defined better: can her shadows solidify or not? I generally like the way the character has been written in the postboot: she is brash and not particularly friendly, but an excellent warrior and very dependable.
33. Vapor. A Khundish woman, Vapor can turn herself into a gaseous form. She has also full control over gases, and to a lesser degree also over liquids. Disliked by many in the UP (people distrust her, mainly because of her brashness) and in Khundia (many think she is a traitor to the planet), Vapor is finding it hard to adapt to the Legion.
34. Violet. She needs a haircut. And she definitely needs to get rid of that silly green streak in her hair. Generally speaking, Violet needs to start moving towards the person she was shown to be in the late Levitz/vol. 4 periods, she is much more interesting that way: although shy, Vi has an exceedingly strong personality, and this needs to start to shine through. I don’t mind her having growth powers as well as shrinking powers, but she should be much more confident shrinking, shrinking should be her ‘gut’ reaction in most cases. One thing I really don’t like is to see her as an oversized background (why would she choose to be big an uncomfortable if she has a choice?). On the other hand, disappearing “into thin air” as she did in the Legion World series is a neat trick. As to her ‘extracurricular’ activities, Vi would perhaps be most effective as a micromanipulator of small samples in scientific research or as a tool for medical treatment.
35. The White Witch. Mysa, daughter of Mordru. The Legion’s resident magical expert, Mysa is in temperament the same sweet, determined, very principled woman we saw in the Levitz Legion (and not the weak-willed victim of volume 4). One of her main characteristics is her love of books, she reads all the time, mostly arcane treatises on magic. She also has an uncanny ability to pick up and understand languages (perhaps through magic?). Although she has a few spells ready at all times (often spells that transform one thing into another), she is not a Deus ex machina, she needs to prepare most of her spells in advance. Her main motivation is the fact that she is Mordru’s daughter, she wants to dedicate her life to counteracting the many wrongs he has caused. However, on her own , she is much weaker than Mordru or Dr Fate, for example, in fact she considers herself mostly just a student of magic. Her best friend in the Legion is Dreamer, whom she often meets in the library, and she is exploring a romantic relationship with Blok. Most of her free time is spent studying, but she often tries to spend time with Brainy (one of the few people she finds very difficult to get along with) trying to open his mind to the possibilities of magic.
36. Wildfire. Drake Burroughs, one person. At the time of “fusion”, he thought that he was composed of two beings, as he told us, but with time he is realizing that one of his “beings” (I really don’t care which one) is vanishing. It turns out that this “two-fused-sentients-thing” was just an illusion, a strong impression he got at the time he became an energy form. Wildfire has been pretty subdued, lately, he really should become the grumpy, extrovert Legionnaire he was pre-boot. Head of the Legion Academy, he is being sucked into dealing with educational matters, not always willingly. But he is discovering that he does like working with youngsters.
37. Xs (the name could be Flash, too). Jenni Ognats, in a red Flash costume. I like the way she is being forced to grow in the Legion comic, from being happy-go-lucky in the early days to being forced to deal first with the Blight, then with the destruction of Xanthu. I’m really interested in seeing the effect these things have had on her, she is one of the Legionnaires sorely needing a spotlight story. One side-effect of her super-speed is that she is able to read books much faster than the average person. The effect this is having is that Xs is, with Dreamer and the White Witch, one of the most well-read/educated Legionnaires, she is also fast becoming one of Brainy’s most reliable helpers. I’d like to see Xs getting romantically involved with Cos. By the way, much more care should be taken in the writing involving scenes with Xs (and also M’Onel), half of the time I’m left wondering why they just didn’t take out the supervillain with superspeed.
So, that’s it, thirty-seven Legionnaires (and note that that does not include Live Wire or Superboy, I can live perfectly well without them). Before finishing, one word on a villain that in my opinion has always been mishandled: the Emerald Empress. First of all, she should not be part of the Fatal Five, she is too powerful for that. The Empress should be, together with Glorith and Brainiac 4, one of the mayor female villains of the Legion. Sarya of Venegar should get hold of a second green eye, one that NEVER talks, and they should go on a quest to destroy the first one, the annoying, whiny one, and his wielder, the incredibly boring Empress impostor from the Fatal Five. And then the true Emerald Empress should go off to do her thing, together with an eye that, although extremely powerful, has real limitations that the Legionnaires have to discover the hard way. I’d like the Empress and Sensor to develop a sort of rivalry similar to the one we saw in the preboot. The Fatal Five could then get another female member. Maybe Mentalla?
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Jul 2003
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Juan, thanks for bringing this topic up again with your intricate, enthusiastic contribution. It deserves a more careful reading on my part, but I wanted to bring up this point at once:
{[...] This is supposed to be a group of people pulled from throughout the United Planets to show that the concept can work. And with a group as powerful, as diverse as this, much more good could be made than by just superheroing. They should be teachers, healers, scientists, politicians, trainers, artists, etc., not just super-heroes. }
I'd only alluded to this, but you've thought out much more carefully just where their talents could be useful. It makes far more sense in dramatic plausibility, especially when they're 20somethings or older. Hanging around the HQ Rec Room is understandable and reasonable for teenagers, but they wouldn't want to give up a unique and productive career forever. If only to fulfill their needs for individual creativity.
It doesn't work as well with their being a super-powered police force -- and that was the allusion, for many years of stories, with their being Science Police deputies. And having them tied to a Mission Monitor somewhat precludes their being off in independent careers. (We tend to forget what "Legion" connoted before 1958 -- mostly, the French Foreign Legion, where they were famously isolated from all other concerns, like it or not.)
Yet even if it couldn't be dramatized very well in graphic-art action terms, or placed in with the existing concept, I'd like to see something showing their being embedded in fuller and more individually-shaped lives. We can certainly dream it, and that's the point of this thread.
From: Starhaven Consulate, City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
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Icefire, please post your story in the Outpost! We'd be glad to see it. Fanfic can run rampant here, unlike at the old or new DC message boards.
From: Starhaven Consulate, City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Greybird: Yet even if it couldn't be dramatized very well in graphic-art action terms, or placed in with the existing concept, I'd like to see something showing their being embedded in fuller and more individually-shaped lives. We can certainly dream it, and that's the point of this thread.
James Robinson, in his Starman One Million story, had the future Starman tell Ted Knight that Lyle Norg will be remembered for his work in science rather than his superheroics.
Just a one sentence mention, but it kinda fits in with what you're talking about.
I loved many of your ideas! We seem to have similar 'slants' informing our takes on many of these characters.
Thank you, thank you for your inclusion and description of Element Lad. Your scenario is one that could really 'work'.
As I read your summaries of M'onel and the White Witch, I thought that their common love of language (his in writing, hers in reading) could be the basis of a sweet, long-unfolding love story. They are also two Legionnaires who've lived much longer than a decade or two... and might have similar (or opposing) viewpoints formed by their experiences.
Also, I applaud the idea of XS as a student of Brainy. I thought the way he took to Impulse (snicker- the way he saw to *use* Bart) was great, and should be echoed with Jenni.
Question-- is 'Vapor' a rebooted Gas Girl? Any Lallor connection at all?
I loved many other of your ideas... I'm sure I'll return to reread this again and someone else will 'jump' out at me.
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
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