Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! The All-OBSCURE Characters Thread!

And hats off to Wraithor! He was a prosecutor with Jack McCoy's craggy bluntness, mixed with Ben Stone's futile principledness.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Amazing Arm-Fall-Off Boy. The boy whose arms fall off at will. I mean if someone came up to me and his arms fell off, it would strike fear into my heart! In fact, I would probably crap in my space-pants.

In a perfect world he would have his own book (written by Grant Morrison of course).

Sean Erin, Dr. Chaseer, Ambassador Jeryl, Algronsk and Gaston, Cyfril, Princess Elwinda and Janice Warren, Belladonna, Wolverine, Sidewinder and Manta, Trio, Power Boy, Galaxy and Reflecto III, Lucifer 7, Wraithor...

All need graemlins.

A tip of the hat to Magpie... without whom I'd still be nameless.

My favorite obscure character award goes to Luii. She appeared in the backup story of LSH #317 to help Duplicate Boy regain his psychosomatically lost powers while he was moping over Vi. Something else else about my 13 year old mind thought she was very cute.

Wow, tyrociscool, that *is* an obscure one! Boy, they had *instant* chemistry...or did they? Is Luii just a hired hand? Did she really like Ord?
She sure looks an awful lot like young Salu, doesn't she? Man, she's curvy! And here's something rare...she's wearing BAGGY PANTS!!! She's not afraid of her assets!

How'd this one get by us, Legionworlders? Thank you tyrociscool!!!

Yeah, I definitely approve of Luii!

Magpie is another fave! His appearance was one of the first Legion issues I owned!

Wow is Luii fun to sketch! Short, big booty, big chest, tiny waist, pretty as Vi, weird baggy pants that taper to her high shoes. I keep thinking of the Sir Mix A Lot song!

I'm totally wanting a Sketch Lad "Gallery of Legion Ex-Girlfriends"!

Er... once he's done with the SUPERMODEL stuff, of course!

My vote goes for Questor.

I always thought he'd make a cool Sub, being a glamour/PR guy in the group to give the subs more recognition. With training, maybe he wouldn't be such a wuss.

Although Polla had a pretty unimaginative name, Grell sure made the future Magnetic Kid's girlfriend *smoking hot*!

Too bad Rokk went on to slap them all off panel!

Jim Sherman's the only one who drew Polla. Still hot, though.

If you think these guys & dolls are obscure, you should see who Sketchy\'s into now.

Thanks for the plug, Teeds!

Yes, I'm currently attempting to analyze ultra, super obscure female characters depicted by John Forte in Adventure Comics. I'm using the Archive Editions, which are not the best at getting the colors right. It's been a blast re-reading these stories! I'm amazed at how much stuff there is to forget.

The "Fabulous Fortes" tend to have a lot in common. They're usually very pretty, they wear glamorous and/or stylish clothing. Usually perfect hairstyles. Good jewelry. Generally curvy, sexy bodies. Generally larger than average hands. Some of them actually have lines of dialogue, some don't. Sometimes they are the only woman in sight, amongst several men.

I'm not creating a Pinup Model competition at this time, but I'm putting in some serious research minutes....

It really *is* amazing how much detail there is in those Adventure Era tales. I think only the 5YL Legion surpasses it in raw "density" of material per story. That's one of the things that frustrates me about contemporary comics as well. Sometimes I think that the entirety of Waid's run thus far would've only filled up about four or five issues in th 60s.

I do want to do an "obscure character scan" of a more recent artist, but at this point, Barry Kitson's body of work has become pretty large. I think I'll pour through Jason Armstrong's work. Should be interesting...

Did you all see the smilies Gary made for the Fabulous Fortes? Oh, they're so fun!!!!

We at LW truly know how to take the obscure, put a spotlight on it, and make Super Stars!!

Like, WOW!

Alright, I have an obscure character spotlight I want to mention....

LONI LONDO!

You all remember her, right? From the Adult Legion story. She's the first daughter of Timber Wolf and Light Lady.

Loni probably has a lot in common with Uncle Mekt, because she's at least part Winathian and is a solo. She has adorable twin baby brothers, Brin and Bran, so she'll probably really feel the solo-ness when she visits her Mom's homeworld.

Of course, she'll probably have a lot in common with Daddy, since he was formerly Lone Wolf. In fact, I'm sure he'll spend time with her, teaching her acrobatics and so on.... I only hope he doesn't push her too hard, as he might be apt to do, based on his example of a father.
Or, Brin might be more permissive with his girl, since he understands the urge to be separate. What would Brin's stance be on drug use, if Loni decides to experiment? Would he turn the other cheek, or would he intervene? Would he tell Ayla?
A dilemma!

Ayla would probably be understanding of Loni's plight as the girl with two brothers, however, Ayla was always babied. Surely Loni would dominate over the boys, being their big sister?

IIRC, none of Ayla and Brin's kids exhibited superpowers, since they both received theirs externally, however, what if they manifested later? Maybe Loni inherits the ability to make *herself* super lightweight, plus the acrobatic skills taught by Dad. She'd be a impossible to defeat in battle! Naturally, as a teen and adult, she'd be stunningly beautiful.

Okay, I'm done! Just wanted to give some thoughts on yet another obscure Legion character.

Quake Kid I believe his name was. It's only a distant memory, but sometime in the seventies (YIKES those seventies outfits were HOT) he applied for and was turned down by the Legion for membership. Also, if I remember right, Infectious Lass, while attempting to comfort him instead made him sick to his stomach. All the while Absorbtion Lad (?) was looking on in disgust. Maybe less obscure but one I also had a soft spot for was Echo. And THAT folks was so long ago I can't even remember why.

He's Absorbancy Boy, but Quake Kid's the pick-up artist of the piece.

I didn't think it was worth making a new thread to discuss an obscure character, so I'm bumping this one.

Let\'s talk Trio!

This character just inspires the heck out of me. What were her powers? I've read that Dave himself couldn't remember what he had planned for her!

Some ideas;

1 – Triple-Threat-Trio. In conjoined form has three times the strength, toughness, reaction speed, agility, intellect, senses, etc. of a highly-trained well-exercised Carggite. That may not sound terribly 'super' until one remembers that Karate Kid, Batman, etc. have *one* times the intelligence, strength, toughness, reaction time, etc. of a (well-trained, highly-exercised) person, and they get by just fine.

When she triplicates, Hellion’s strength and toughness triples again (making her nine times tougher than, say, the Huntress or Black Canary), Vixen’s agility and intellect triples again (reaction speeds fast enough to dodge gunfire and an analytical and deductive brain powerful enough to annoy Batman), and Spitfire gains the ability to fly by manipulating currents of hot air (or projecting fire behind herself like a rocket) and to project fire at people.

(Why does Spitfire get 'real powers' instead of triple physical or mental capabilities? 'Cause I ran out of ideas.)

2 – Psionic Trio. In conjoined form, has limited psychic abilities, of all sorts, and retains three minds, linked in psychic gestalt, talking in an eerie voice that carries telepathic echoes, making it sound like three women talking at once. Is a bit aloof and 'better than thou' in her conjoined form, and other Carggites react very strangely to her, with some considering her a freak, and others a prophet of some sort...

When she triplicates, Hellion becomes a powerful telekinetic (mostly touch-telekinetic, able to protect herself and mimic super-strength, with her power rapidly weakening with range), Vixen becomes a telepath (focused more on deception and illusion, only probing minds deeply at close range and with concentration, more prone to scanning surface thoughts to find people and anticipate combat actions so that she can pre-empt them) and Spitfire becomes able to levitate and set things on fire with pyrokinesis.

3 – Carggite-Animal-Powers Trio. In conjoined form, has normal Carggite ability levels, and the ability to speak with and control Carggite animal life. Can also understand non-Carggite animals (and manipulate Carggite plant life), but isn't nearly as good at these stunts.

When she triplicates, Hellion gains the strength / toughness of some sort of hairless purple-hided six-limbed four-horned bear-bull-centaur like creature native to Cargg and is occasionally surrounded with a purple animal shaped aura when she exerts herself, Vixen gains the stealth and swiftness of a hundred-spiny-limbed serpentine Carggite creature and sometimes has a greenish serpentine aura when she's moving flat-out or using the creatures chameleon skills to hide, and Spitfire can fly and project superheated ranged attacks, similar to a Carggite ‘bird’ that can launch poisoned quillions at prey. While flying, Spitfire appears to have red energy wings, and the fiery darts come from her energy wings. The actual animal’s venom causes the victim to become feverish and feel like they are burning up, although the animal itself is not super-heated.

4 – Emotional Spectrum Trio – in conjoined version, is a normal Carggite.

When she triplicates, Hellion becomes controlled by rage and is infused with red energy that boosts her offensive abilities, Vixen becomes supernaturally calm and is infused with green energy that boosts her intellect and coordination, and Spitfire becomes compassionate, yet fiercely protective of those she loves, infused with a purple energy that allows her to calm the emotions of others, soothe pain and reassure / inspire others.

The red energy strengthens Hellion’s body, the green energy focuses Vixen’s mind, and the purple energy ennobles Spitfire’s spirit. Despite these associations, and the obvious similarities to Geoff John’s emotional spectrum, Trio does not have any ability to manipulate the energy externally, like a Green (Red, Violet, whatever) Lantern, just receiving the appropriate upgrade to her body, mind or spirit, and the appropriate exaggerated personality traits.

5 - Trimurti Trio - When she triplicates, Hellion becomes the Destroyer, gaining the ability to destroy things she strikes (even with a thrown item, which she can charge with her destructive energy!), either by locating weak spots instinctively, or by weakening molecular bonds, with tougher materials taking more time and stronger blows to 'break down,' Vixen becomes the Preserver/Architect and gains the ability to transmute items to a limited extent (with solid/liquid/gas transmutations being easiest for her), and to repair stuff (even a living person!) that is broken or damaged, or cause incomplete items to reassemble, flying together telekinetically, and Spitfire becomes the Creator, able to conjure up simple items from loose particulate matter in the air or dust on the ground, etc. Spitfire cannot create any energy source more advanced than burning fire, and so cannot create a charged blaster pistol, battery or high energy explosive, and generally can't create anything with complicated parts, since she's pretty clever, but not able to hold the blueprints for a 30th century computer in her head.

Combining their powers, Hellion can reduce rocks or debris to dust, Spitfire can can create not-terribly-complicated components from this free-floating matter and Vixen can cause those components to assemble into structures or devices too large or complicated for Spitfire to have created by herself.

In her conjoined form, Trio becomes the Avatar, with some of the power of all three forms, but with the powers being limited to herself. In this form, she can grow to triple height, using the power of the Creator to add to her mass, reduce herself to a weightless gaseous mist, by 'Destroying' herself temporarily, and waft about as a misty ghost, and heal any injury she sustains at great speed with the power of the Architect/Preserver.

Whatever power she is using, the energy of destruction, creation or reconstruction/repair is represented as flames, greenish as Vixen, reddish as Spitfire, purple as Hellion and golden as Trio.

.

And that's where my creativity ends. Five different options, and I kinda like the emotional spectrum and 'Carggite animal totem' versions the best. The psionic version reminds me too much of Jean Grey and / or Xavier's son 'Legion.' The Creator/Architect/Destroyer one is too explicitly Hindu.

Anyone have other ideas for what three different powers the three different forms of Trio have?

I based my choices, more or less, off of some combination of their names (Hellion, Vixen, Spitfire), their colors (purple, green, red) and their stances (bold/resolute - suggesting strong and tough, curious/in motion - suggesting speedster, acrobat and / or detective, serene/aloof - suggesting flier, phaser or otherwise able to remove herself from the fray and act from a distance).

But, obviously, those are my preconceptions, and I'm sure others will look at the picture and have completely different ideas.

Indeed, I'm hoping so!

Let's have it!

What other sets of three could her powers be based on? Solid (Hellion turns to stone), liquid (Vixen turns to water), gas (Spitfire turns to mist)?

Is she a shapeshifter, with a land-based form (Hellion), a water-based form (Vixen) and a flying avian form (Spitfire)?

Did her Ambassador mother have three different husbands, from three different species, and her daughter was born with traits from these three races (Hellion - half-Braalian, Vixen - half- Titanian, Spitfire - half-Bgtzln?).

What an endless trove of possibilities!

Set, I like your emotional spectrum and triple-threat ideas the best...for Spitfire for the triple-threat one, how about someone with heightened emotional awareness/manipulation (so Vixen would be more of an intellectually cunning/inventive person whereas Spitfire would be able to instantly taunt villains into losing their temper with a well-placed barb, or reducing someone to tears with a really scathing assault of words). She could also go the other way and calm down people who are scared, be great for hostage negotiations etc, but the Spitfire name comes from her ability to reduce hardened villains to emotional putty just with her words..

I will give Trio a go: how about a character based on the Blessed Trinity invoked by Luornu occasionally in the 5YL Legion?

Hellion is a sadistic demonically-influenced character with dark urges she's always struggling to control...she has an affinity for evil forces and dark magic. She would be able to summon minor demonic entities to do her bidding.

Spitfire sees herself as a servant of the light; is completely unforgiving of evil and reverent of purity. She can fly on wings of celestial flame and shoot blasts of soulfire which have no effect on the physical world but are direct attacks on the soul.

Vixen is the synthesis of the two; highly empathic because she understands light and darkness equally, extremely cunning but also an extremely good-natured person; sort of Superman's moral core, but Batman's guile.

What do you think?

Interesting. I'm not familiar with the reboot, or the 'blessed trinity' of the Carggite faith, but that's a neat way to go with it. I had considered, in addition to the Hindru trimurti, going with a Christian trinity (old testament fire and brimstone for one, new testament peace and creation-miracles for the other, and some sort of holy spirit-analogue for the third), but decided to skip any potential controversy (plus, Carggites are supposed to be at least a little bit alien, so mapping a 'trinity' over to either Christian or Hindu faiths would seem artificial, to me).

I do like the idea that one self focuses on higher 'celestial' concepts, the other is down-and-dirty 'fiendish' and the third is more of a balanced blend of the two. It's a neat way of taking a traditionally dualistic way of looking at things (good vs. evil, black and white, up and down) and adding a third component that makes sense, representing humanity / mortal existence, a blend of both extremes, stuck in the middle, neither perfect nor irredeemable.

Batman's guile / Superman's morals was an interesting analogue for that sort of thing.

The breakdown works interestingly with the stances in the artwork. The 'angelic' Spitfire is in a confident but aloof stance, suggesting restraint. The 'demonic' Hellion is in a brash and challenging stance, as if urging the viewer to get something started. The 'mortal in the middle' Vixen is in an active, exploratory pose, as she tries to find a moderate middle path between the two extremes of her darker and lighter aspects.

The colors don't really make much sense, unless the Carggite faith associates purple with the darker forces, red with the higher forces, and green the growing world between them... (Since that sort of detail may have never been detailed, in the reboot, it could be retconned in without changing anything.) If that's the case, Lu's custume, which has orange (not quite red) and violet (not quite purple) elements, is intriguing, as it would suggest that she's more of a dualist (or triadist, whatever), and not explicitly devoted to one end of the 'blessed trinity.' (Since, presumably, exclusive worshippers of the 'red' celestial angelic corner of the Carggite trinity would shun the color purple, and prefer red clothing. Assuming such monotheists would even exist. Perhaps turning too far towards any branch of their trinity, 'good,' 'evil' or 'worldly,' would be considered inappropriate, to orthodox Carggites...)

Neat stuff.

I also wondered whatever happened to Reges Questaar of Zentor, the cowardly con-man faux-hero, who actually had at least one pretty impressive power.

I also wondered about the dozen or so unnamed girls who frequently showed up at Legion tryouts dressed as Catwoman.

It was a prank from some holovision show. Show up to Legion Tryouts dressed as Catwoman and send in a recording of your being rejected. The best rejection wins an all-expenses paid vacation to Phloston Paradise.

The angry contestants met outside after the contest turned out to be a scam, and decided to form their own Legion of Substitute Cat-Girls.

They had their reality TV show, purportedly of them attempting to make it as crime-fighters, but mostly getting into scripted 'cat-fights' in their plush 'crime-fighting lair.'