Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes How Would You Describe Each Legionnaire to a Newcomer?

Hi all, newbie Legion reader here

So I'm reading the Levitz run and just got up to the point where Light Lass becomes Lightning Lass again. I'm enjoying the actual stories so far, but the characters...

With such a big roster, the route I'm used to is giving the characters not focused on a line or two in big set pieces, ala X-Men, if only to reinforce them in the reader's mind when your roster is so huge. I'm not really getting that vibe here, and overall, I'm finding it REALLY hard to get a grasp on the Legionnaires' personalities. The ones I know are:

- Wildfire's an ass who kinda means well and is hotheaded.
- Dream Girl is very pampered but also bossy and serious when the need arises.
- Dawnstar is very traditional and independant.
- Blok struggles to understand human customs but is a gentle giant all around, unless you hurt his friends.
- Brainiac 5 is Reed Richards in his more obsessive phases, but more emotionally mature... and not (anything concerning Supergirl): he's a genius who feels he needs to make use of it to the benefit of others, and obsesses over any problem be can't fix. Kinda eccentric sometimes too.
- Karate Kid is the warrior guy who loves to fight and wants to be the best at it. He's the Shonen hero. He's calm usually but quick to anger if his friends are hurt.
- Bouncing Boy is the nice father figure. He's glad he's not an active Legionnaire anymore, but still appreciates them and wants to help them when he can. He's friendly, fun and fatherly.
- Star Boy seems to think entirely with his dick and likes goofing off.

That's all I really have that's concrete, though I got some others that I'm not really sure of. Everyone else kinda comes across as a Silver Age character where the stories were more important than actual personlity traits. So can you guys just run the Legionnaires' personalities by me real quick? Not just something they were like for a story, but a general guide to their character? E.g. Wolverine wants to be good even though he's seen all of the bad in life, and at the same time he wants to do all the dirty work so no one else will have to. He's proud and quick to anger but loving and protective. That was kinda long, but otherwise Logan would be a flat character, so I'd prefer longer.

I'm just really having trouble pinning personalities to a lot of the Legion, and it's affecting my reading of otherwise really good stories.

Since I'm just off out, can I refer you to ...describe the Legionnaires It was posted by Lightning Lad and covers what Jim Shooter and the Bierbaums thought of the characters.

Well, Quislet was shown to be a fun-loving being who joined the Legion out of a sense of adventure. But was also shown to have a sense of duty and seriousness as the situation required.


Monstress has a loving caring attitude as well as being stereotypically girly.

Also, know that different writers can and did put different personalities or spins on personalities on various long standing Legionnaires.

From what you said, I've never seen Karate Kid as someone who loves to fight. I see him more as someone who trained to fight and uses his fighting skills to help those in need.

Star Boy thinking with his dick seems like a new characterization to me, a bit out of character even.

I am wondering if he is confusing him with Sun Boy.

I know when I first started reading the Legion I though "isn't the sun just a star? so are these the same guy?"

Shooter's assessments in particular seem like they'd do more harm than good.

Agreed. If anything, Nura was the chronic flirt in that relationship, not the other way around. As for her thing with Atmos, didn't he either trick her or force her outright? I can't remember.

I was going to start listing all the guys during Levitz'es run who had off-the-scale neurosis, but even if you leave out Brainiac 5, that still leaves at least a couple of others.

Of course, neurosis is one of those things that's way more attractive in fiction than real life.

I remember being a little shocked at Shooter's descriptions. I don't think I'd thought of a number of them in the way he did.

I've been skimming through a few of the Baxter/ post Darkseid issues in recent weeks. I noted the change in Dream Girl and Star Boy's relationship. On a number of occasions when she is focused elsewhere he tries to distract her with nights on the town or something centred around their relationship. She repeatedly brushes him off as being selfish. Since Star Boy's idea of a "night on the town" will lead to one thing later on, it does match Fuzzy's description. I'm not sure about the goofing off part though.

I get the feeling that their physical relationship and the closeness they shared through their time in the subs was shaky, as Dream Girl has other needs in a relationship.

It reached the point that Star Boy complained that Dream Girl hadn't asked for his help once since her time as leader. He was really at the end of his tether. Later, Dreamy would explore other relationships (not thinking of Atmos) only to get caught by gossipy Quislet. One patched together make up later, and Star Boy was off to stay on Xanthu.

So, Star Boy started as a vastly powered and mature hero but ends up lost in a physical relationship with Dreamy. He's unable to adapt quickly when she moves away from needing only that in a partner.

Characterizations definitely vary from one writer to the next (sometimes pretty wildly), but here's my quick take on the first few Legionnaires. More to follow later.

Cosmic Boy
Charismatic. A natural born leader in many ways, though not a particularly innovative thinker on his own. History buff, stickler for traditions.

Saturn Girl
She cultivates the personality of the cold and aloof alpha female, supremely confident and competent, but this hides deeper insecurities.

Lightning Lad
Somewhat brash and impulsive, with a reputation for bad luck, sometimes of his own making. Extremely loyal to family and friends, and inspires the same kind of loyalty in them.

Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel
The "girl next door" of the group. Everyone's natural confidante. She had a rough time as an active Legionnaire, but has really come unto her own as Head of the Legion Academy.

Phantom Girl
The "popular girl". From a well-to-do background, but with somewhat of a rebellious streak, willing to break the rules when necessary.

Chameleon Boy
Extremely smart. Motivated initially by combating prejudice against his species and the desire to fit in, he is also a natural detective and competent leader, at least within his own little kingdom of the espionage squad. Definitely a playful streak as well.

Colossal Boy
The "loyal soldier" of the group. Not the brightest or most charismatic member, but definitely dependable. Athletic, religious, an extremely loyal friend.

Invisible Kid I
The "inventor" or "engineer" of the group. Extremely smart and analytical, though also with a tendency towards superstition. Tough and competent as a leader, if somewhat reluctant to take charge.

Brainiac Five
Obviously a genius. Obsessive. Massive guilt complex over his own past failures as well as his family legacy. Experience has humbled his natural tendency towards intellectual arrogance.

Supergirl
Generally good-natured and optimistic. Grew up in the shadow of her more famous cousin. Always trying to find her own place in the world.

Superboy
Unquestionably heroic, with a strong moral compass. Somewhat lonely, however, and finds in the Legion the group of friends he's always wanted. Always views the Legion as equals, despite his legendary status in their time.

Star Boy
A hapless hero, and a grumbler. Feels somewhat out of place in the Legion, but stays primarily because of Dream Girl. Would probably be happier in the Subs or as planetary champion of Xanthu.

Sun Boy
Bright, optimistic, hedonistic, and very smart. A genuine desire to do good, but also to enjoy life as much as possible while doing so. It's important that he be seen as a hero as well as being one.

Shrinking Violet
Initially the shy and quiet one, after her sens-tank experience, she reinvents herself as tough as nails. She has anger issues from her trauma, but at the core is smart and competent and is going to make sure she is now acknowledge as such.

Bouncing Boy
The stereotypical jovial fat kid who sees himself as the team cheerleader, he was constantly proving himself as a member. He delights in his role as Instructor at the Legion Academy, where he can encourage potential new heroes with his example.

I love your one-line take on each Legionnaire, Eryk. Can't wait to see the rest.

I also enjoyed Fuzzy Barbarian's take on them. It's interesting to see what a relative newbie picks up.

Quis is right that personalities sometimes changed from writer to writer, and Fuzzy makes a good point than many of them can be seen as one-dimensional Silver Age heroes. Still, most of the characters had recurring personality traits that could be perceived over time or which took on new meaning in hindsight. Sun Boy, for example, was very prominent in the early stories. Levitz and Giffen later expanded that into his hedonistic streak and desire to be perceived as the hero.

It's also interesting to note how their personalities evolved during the reboot. Cosmic Boy, in this version, was a teenaged sports hero back home and took this larger-than-life personality with him into his role as Legion leader. He also had a temperamental streak that came out from time to time. One can see similar traits in the preboot version, though they are less obvious.

Ultra Boy
Grew up on a rough world, though less "from the wrong side of the tracks" than he sometimes presents himself as being. Also, smarter than pretends to be. Shares with Phantom Girl a certain independence and willingness to act on his own when need be.

Mon-El
A natural explorer, deeply haunted by his experience in the Phantom Zone. Generally strong and quiet, given to bouts of wistfulness and depression. Powerful and heroic.

Matter-Eater Lad
The class clown, sometimes given to saying things he shouldn't have. Enjoys being a hero, and tries to make it as fun as possible. Embraces absurdity. Surprisingly successful as a politician, despite his "big mouth".

Element Lad
Quiet, shy, and sensitive, he is nonetheless fairly well-adjusted considering the vast tragedy of his origin. Extremely powerful, but competent rather than flashy.

Lightning Lass
Generally friendly and optimistic, she tends to come off as the "kid sister" to Lightning Lad, despite being his twin. Smart, but still looking to find her own place in the world. Less willing to put up with Mekt's crap than Lightning Lad is.

Yeah, I almost mentioned the temperamental streak, but ended up leaving it out.

It's fun doing these because I actually haven't read much Legion for awhile, so I'm really going on my cumulative memory of the character from various portrayals through the years.

That's the best way to do it. What resonates with you must be something close to the truth.

[snip]



Yeah... I don't know. I'd probably have to read that last arc again to know if I agreed with this or not. But the fact that he was willing to return to Xanthu when they needed him? That seems to fly in the face of the idea that he was irresponsible and unable to move on to the next phase of adulthood. In a way, it even foreshadows some of the events in 5YL, where several characters were pulled back to their places of origin by circumstance, or Fate maybe...

Oh, and I know I shouldn't keep picking on Shooter over something he wrote a century ago, but... Dude, c'mon! No such thing as being slightly militant.

I'm liking the capsule descriptions of each Legionnaire too, and the discussions on this thread.

Star Boy as a grumbler is interesting, he certainly seemed much more optimistic once upon a time, but definitely became a grumbler later on (after he was expelled I think). This seemed to carry over into the Reboot too.

Of course, a lot of these characterizations would be vastly different in other Boots. EDE's Colossal Boy is spot on for Preboot Gim, but not so for Reboot Gim.

EDE's descriptions really hit the mark for the classic era and 5YL, where we left them after the Magic War and beginning the TMK run. The characters evolved through time and their own experiences (such as Violet becoming angrier and tougher after her abduction and sens-tank treatment).

We also, as individuals, read different characteristics in each personality. Somebody might pick up more on Brainiac 5 as an outsider to both his world and the Legion, or see Mon-el's depressions as weakness.

In the end , I think his sense of duty gave him an out. He knew it wasn't working and was indeed the one to end it. But I think it took him quite some time of getting rebuffed by Dreamy moving on first. Had the Xanthu thing not come along, I wonder if he would have left.

Great one liners EDE!

Also, Star Boy was labeled the Unlucky Legionnaire due to being the 13th member. Examples of his unluckiness included his losing his Superboy like powers and having to kill in self-defense and subsequently booted off the team.

Cool, thanks for the thoughts everyone. Especially you, Eryk

I got the Star Boy thinking with his dick thing mainly from how much he complained about Dream Girl being too busy for him. I remember him being called an unlucky Legionnaire once, but I thought that better applied to Lightning Lad. I know Star Boy for either being really, really needy in the current Levitz stuff I'm reading or being a borderline Grant Morrison creation in Justice Society of America.

I get that writers can warp the personalities of certain characters -- I'm an X-Men fan, so yeah, trust me, I get it lol -- but I think having a solid idea of what a character's personality and history are like helps define that character. Like, Wolverine is ALWAYS the gruff asshole. How much of one, and whether that's all there is to him, varies between writers, but it's at least something of a constant.

I think the process EDE has is the right way to go... the Legionnaires all have some characteristics that (mostly) pass over from creator to creator

And we all have our faves

I think the magic of the Legion is that it is big enough to fit all these competing versions, interests and preferences ... Much more than other teams IMO

There are always archetypes in fiction (especially fantasy works), but with a team so large you get to play around with multiple permutations of a single archetype.

Which annoys or confuses a lot of fans, I guess. To each their own. Maybe I just enjoy confusion.