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LOL. This really made me laugh. Good one Klar.

What to think of these two? It seems solid for a while but later portrayals do suggest that neither of them were committed enough to the relationship to keep it going through life's changes and challenges. Some might point at Nura's appearance of vamp and playing the field so to say but equally Thom seems more interested in what Nura brings to the party than what he can contribute on his own. When Nura is leader he often appears to be complaining about their lack of intimacy rather than any other aspect of their relationship that might be strained due to demands on her time. We don't see for instance any effort on his part to support her in her leadership role. Even more we should have seen something after she was effectively raped by Atmos. Agreed there wasn't much time in the midst of the Magic Wars but still when we next see them they have both moved on, while remembering their previous romance fondly.

Retroboot does portray it differently, with both missing the other, and when they get back together it seems like they never were apart. No discussion or concern about Thom's months/years in 21st Century and mental struggles. And yes it comes to a tragic end.

So one of the classic relationships but not one that appears to stand the test of time.

A lot of the Legion couples were established early in the series, before individual personalities were well defined. Some of them stuck and we're left wondering what they see in each other - not unlike real life.

Thom may have found happiness with Yvyya but it's sort of strange that he maintained the attachment to Naltor (was it ever confirmed that Yvyya was Naltorian? She might have just owned the team.). You have to wonder if he wasn't just trying to stay close to Nura.

She might have broken off the relationship because of the demands of her position as High Seer (knowing he had problems with her being Legion leader). Vampy Nura with the male harem is less appealing; she's more self-indulgent and frivolous than retroboot Nura, who maintains her devotion to Thom. Who doesn't like a doomed lovers story? Nura heroically trying to save Thom, Thom trusting her, trying to reach her and it all fails in the end. The 5YL ending might be more realistic - two old lovers reconnect and have a nice chat - but the retroboot gave us a more dramatic story.

I think classic recipe Dreamy grew quite a lot over the course of her Legion membership, and Thom....didn't really so much.

I wonder if the reason Nura loves him is precisely because Thom's so predictable and he's not given to acting impulsively? For a precog, there must be some kind of security in being with someone with whose future is easy to map. Navigating relationships can be stressful enough for regular people, but if you can literally see that your partner's going to do something dumb to piss you off weeks before they do it that must be difficult to deal with in a healthy way. I have always thought Nura's flightiness is partially a defence mechanism (whether conscious or unconscious) to stop her getting too attached to anyone or anything.

I am reminded of that issue when Thom left the team to go back to Xanthu, and Dreamy had already taken his icon off the mission monitor board before Element Lad got a chance to do it. She said something along the lines of how being able to see the future means sometimes you just get your heart broken twice; while she doesn't really display that kind of vulnerability very often, that scene has stuck with me because it drives home how hard it must be coping with the knowledge that something bad is going to happen before it happens.

For Thom's part, I think he's the kind of person who just lets life happen to him. He grumbled about Dreamy being leader of the team, but I never really got the sense that he tried to actually talk to her about it. He just kind of shrugged and accepted losing his Kryptonian-level powers when other Legionnaires have risked their lives to regain their lost powers, he immediately went back to Xanthu when his homeworld told him to, and there's no real sense that he was moved to do anything after Atmos sexually assaulted Dream Girl.

Thom has eyes in his head so he obviously finds Nura attractive, and I do think he has a genuine affection for her, but I also think if he was a more self-motivated person they probably would have broken up way before 5YL came along.

That scene strongly informs my own thoughts on Nura. Naltorians 'get hurt twice.' Humans can get PTSD, as trauma loops force them to relive the anxiety of past events, but Naltorians take it to a whole new level, and can get *pre* traumatic shocks, an awareness of pain and fear and loss *before* it happens. And when it finally does happen, they may have experienced the 'pre-shock' multiple times, aware that it was coming, but probably not exactly when it was coming, so living in a state of horrible anxiety, knowing that the sword was waiting to drop (shuttle was about to crash, loved one was about to get that terminal diagnosis, relationship was about to end...). Naltorians must be almost superhumanly well-adjusted to be able to live with that sort of knowledge. Many of us humans, only able to recall our past traumas, are still unable to handle them, and yet Naltorians have so much more to deal with.

As for Nura's relationship with Thom, it feels entirely like something that Dreamy chose. She was the belle of the ball when she joined, all the boys were drooling over her, and she ended up choosing Thom. And that sense of control remains through their relationship. Thom, at times, seems almost like her handbag, the boyfriend accessory. She's everything. He's just Thom. She's got the forecast future as someday-High-Seer-of-Naltor, and that role doesn't come with 'and alien boyfriend, living on Naltor in her shadow, following a pace behind and respectfully staying silent and out of the way while she's holding audience.' (Or maybe it might, but Thom is not going to fit in that role, and she knows it, even if he doesn't.) They are temporary. Her chance at life and love and fun and freedom, before she steps into the High Seer-shaped role prepared for her by future history (fistory!). She lives and loves large and loud and messy, all the messy drama, and yes, all the pain, because she knows the days are limited, there's no time to sugar coat things or 'just be comfortable together' and little need to worry about 'getting things right' or compromising to keep the relationship together. And for all his apparent spectator-status in his own relationship with her, the fact that he's able to, for the most part, sort of acceptingly go along with her drama, is a sign of how perfect he is for this role she has cast him in. She loves their relationship, and he makes her happy in the time they've been allotted. And she knows that she's not going to break his heart, when it ends, because that's not how they work as a couple. He's not Brin, or Drake, or Brainy, or Mon, not as 'needy' emotionally, not the type to drunk-dial the ex months later, because he couldn't figure out how to move on, because she'd left a hole in his life that nothing could ever fill again.

She picked Thom knowing that she was going to have a future without him, and she picked him precisely because she knows that he can have a future without her, as well.

I could never be a Naltorian, TBH. I would overthink so much...

in the Reboot, the Thom/Nura romance starts out pretty much because Thom finds Nura beautiful, period. They meet during Nura's failed tryout; Thom is enchanted with her and helps Nura up after she falls asleep demonstrating her power. (Garth describes her as a narcoleptic fortune teller). (Legionnaires 43)

On one date, Nura has a nightmare as Star Boy brings her to her residence. Thom thinks that she has such a hazy, unreliable power. On another date, Nura falls asleep as Thom tries to kiss her; he panics,wondering what to do.(she wakes up immediately after). (Legionnaires 45, 46)

Their relationship does grow into a real, supportive one, it seems. Nura is there for Thom when his powers act up, including when he is suspended from active duty because of said unreliable powers, and again as punishment by Saturn Girl for abandoning his post (he leaves the Mission Monitor Board in Nura's hands, rather than in the hands of one of their support staff - though he does do so to join the Legion in battle, saving Chameleon's life in the process. still, rules are rules...) (See: Legionnaires 68, 74)

Nura gets unstoppable nightmares when the Blight come, and they continue even after the Blight leave. A heartbroken Thom takes her to Xanthu to recover; this is when the Stargates are broken, so they have to take the long way. (LSH 124)

Nura's powers expand because of Khund training, and Nura finally steps forward - becoming Thom's equal, if not "superior", when it comes to the defense of Xanthu versus Robotica (Legion Worlds 4). Thom leaves Nura behind to cover the escape of the Xanthu refugees, with Nura screaming for him. She later has visions of his grave, and acts cold to him upon reuniting (Leion 12); she later confides to Imra that she can't be normal around Thom, knowing that she had a vision of his grave, and not knowing when (Legion 19). This plotline is eventually dropped, and we see Thom/Nura acting normal with each other again at the end of the Reboot run (Legion 29, 33).

re Reboot Brainy and Laurel,

Brainy gets fascinated by Andromeda when she joins (LSH 66), but she is virulently xenophobic and racist, deeming all other planets "inferior". Brainy is in the position to save Andy's life from lead poisoning, upon which Andy starts returning his fascination (LSH 70). After she is thought dead, we get a scene with Brainy wrecking his lab in anger (LSH 72). He then builds a time machine; we're initially led to believe it's so Brainy can save Andy from death (LSH 74, Legionnaires 32). We later learn that his fascination with Andy was because she physically resembled his mother; tall and blonde. His mother abandoned him as a child, and he cannot even remember her face. The time machine was so he could see his mother's face (LSH 77).

Andy clearly thought Brainy was fascinated with him. When she chooses to leave the Legion, she says goodbye; Brainy is surprised, and coldly reacts by saying the Legion will miss Andy's talents, and he wishes her well, and to please seal the lab closed behind her when she leaves. Andy is angry at this, smashing something as she walks out (Legionnaires 37).

While they do have a few scenes together later, like in the Anomaly, they don't actually interact much. So this never gets picked up.

Their "relationship" never progresses beyond fascination. It's weird, really. Brainy's is explained; Andy's is... well... gratitude perhaps? At being saved, and at Brainy being the first non-Daxamite to show her that the White Triangle teachings are not correct, as she cannot bring herself to say that Brainy is inferior to her?

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IB: I will enthusiastically hand over to you care of the history of the Reboot Legion couples. Firstly, I don’t have a really good chronology in my head, and in the second place, I don’t really recall the Reboot Legion relationships evolving to a mature conclusion, as with 5YL and the Retroboot. (except Apparition and Ultra Boy)
That said, didn’t the Brainiac 5.1 / Andromeda relationship change after they passed through the “Fires of Creation” anomaly? It altered their appearances, and supposedly altered their powers and personalities as well.
And didn’t Star Boy and Insect Queen (Lonna Leing) spend a lot of time together on Xanthu during the Robotica invasion? Wasn’t there an indication of some kind of intimacy beyond a working relationship?
I probably have the chronology messed up.
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Klar -

While the Anomaly altered the powers, physical aspects and personalities of both Brainiac 5 and Andromeda, they had no significant interactions after the Anomaly. No relationship blossomed from that. After the Anomaly, they only really appeared together in LSH 104, which was when they emerged from it. After that... zip.

And while Star Boy and Insect Queen did fight the Robotican invasion together, Star Boy was still very much in a relationship with Dreamer then. The only significant interaction Star Boy had with Insect Queen then was showing worry when she exhausted herself digging a trench (all of this was in Legion Worlds 4). I don’t recall anything suggesting more than friendship between them - there was that one issue some time back, LSH 101, where Star Boy calls Insect Queen to gossip, as friends. But Star Boy was also dating Dreamer then.

As for other relationships evolving to a mature conclusion - Live Wire proposed to Saturn Girl in Legionnaires 78, but their wedding was delayed by the Blight and Legion Lost. They did have a conversation about their relationship in Legion Lost 9, and they concluded that then wasn't the time due to the mess they were in. Sadly, even after Garth returned in his crystalline Jan body (Legion 25), that wasn’t picked up. Though we do have a scene with Saturn Girl visiting Jarth and implying she was interested in picking up where they left off (Legion 30 I believe).

thanks Klar for this, and happy to do my part.

Might as well start from the beginning. Issue citations only for the issues relating to the Garth/Imra relationship.

Reboot Live Wire and Saturn Girl

History

Off to a bad start. Garth instantly gets smitten by Imra while boarding a flight to Earth. He tells new best buddy Rokk "imagine her and me, sipping drinks in a hot tub, wearing only..." Imra picks up on his lewd thoughts and shuts him down. Rokk will later call Imra out for being nosey, Imra says she does not pry but that lewd, strong thoughts broadcast themselves due to her telepathic sensitivity. (LSH 0).

Garth and Imra have a tense and awkward relationship for a bit, trying to avoid each other while still working professionally on missions (LSH Secret Files 1). Garth even steps up when some crooks broadcast scary thoughts of torture to Imra (Legionnaires 19). Imra is the one who takes the lead, talking to the President when she tries to kick Garth off the team (LSH 64). Sadly, any budding relationship is cut short when Garth does have to leave...

... until Imra's mind is damaged fighting the Composite Durlan. She reverts to childlike status. Her healing becomes critical when four Daxamites attack Earth. Rokk reinstates Garth as a Legionnaire, and sends Garth to snap Imra out of it; he finds her in a damaged hospital and comforts her... and Imra suddenly snaps back to normal, a big hint that they are good for each other (Legionnaires Annual 2). President forces Rokk to kick Garth out again; it is Imra who brings Garth to Rokk, trying to find peace and get Garth to stay on the team (LSH 72). (It doesn't work, but Rokk actually sends Garth on a secret mission).

Later, Rokk and Imra plan a goodwill mission to their homeworlds of Braal and Titan. Their worlds just went to war a few decades ago, and the evil President was trying to start a second war. So this was needed. A jealous Garth forces himself on the mission, ostensibly reasoning that 3 Founders are better than two - but Rokk and Imra can see right through his jealousy (Legionnaires 37). Garth spends the mission trying to impress Imra, though not to the degree of losing his professionalism (Legionnaires 38). (Garth also has to gently let down Imra's bratty younger sister, who is already envious of Imra's accomplishments, and tries to muscle in on her man - perhaps she detected the budding romance between Imra and Garth?

Rokk's own feelings for Imra become known when the Emerald Eye appears. A possessed Violet was using the Emerald Eye to grant her teammates' wishes. Rokk's wish was a romance with Imra. He kisses Imra, she returns the kiss (Legionnaires 39); and the Eye does a two-for-one while Rokk is on a mission; making XS appear to be Imra to him (XS' wish was for Rokk's love! oh, these tangled romances!) (LSH 83). When the Eye possesses the whole Legion, it keeps trying to push them together, with Rokk declaring his love for Imra when she gets freed of the Eye's influence, urging her to come back (LSH 84).

When the Eye sends half the Legion back in time, Garth's first thoughts are for his sister Ayla and also for Imra (Legionnaires 41). But Imra, Ayla and Rokk are all among the Legionnaires stranded in the 20th century (LSH 85). Imra latches onto Rokk, returning his feelings, ostensibly - much to Ayla's annoyance (LSH 86). Ayla later acts up, telling Imra and Rokk off for ignoring Garth's feelings for Imra - but Imra realizes that Ayla is really more afraid that the Imra/Rokk romance signals they are comfortable being stuck in the past, and that Ayla will never return home to the 30th century (LSH 89).

Doctor Psycho encounters the Legion, and accuses Imra of manipulating Rokk into a romance to give her security. Both Imra and Rokk affirm that there are real feelings behind the romance - at least on Rokk's part. Rokk also falls into a coma temporarily while stopping Dr. Psycho (LSH 90).

While all this is happening, Garth makes his jealousy known: when the 20th and 30th century teams communicate cross-time for a short while, Garth thinks that Imra and Rokk look like they don't care if they're stuck in the past, as long as they have each other (Legionnaires 44). And when the team is all stuck together in the timestream, Garth and Imra have a tense conversation where Garth says that everyone is worried about the comatose Rokk... perhaps Imra, most of all. Imra is left speechless by this (LSH 91).

Imra and Rokk decide to get married; the marriage is called off when it's revealed that Rokk is still in the coma caused by Doctor Psycho, and that Imra has subconsciously been animating him. At the moment of their vows, Rokk "transforms" into Garth, and Imra realizes it was Garth she truly loved all along. She tells a recovered Rokk, who accepts this turn of events graciously, and vows to do everything he can to reunite Imra with Garth (LSH 96).

When the team does reunite, we don't see (yet) a big bang reunion between Imra and Garth. Ayla pointedly encourages Garth to talk to Imra, saying they're perfect for each other and Garth would be stupid not to talk to her. Garth also avoids Rokk, still awkward as to the short-lived Imra/Rokk romance (LSH 100). Garth and Imra do talk, as we see them hanging out together (Legionnaires 57). Imra comforts Garth while Ayla is dead for a while (she gets better at the end of the issue) (LSH 101).

Imra later becomes Legion leader. She takes the move of permanently splitting the team into two sub-teams, one on Earth, one on the Legion outpost. To avoid showing favoritism, she assigns herself to Earth, and Garth to the Legion Outpost. Problem is, she doesn't tell Garth WHY she does this, causing a prolonged period of tension between the two - for his part, Garth gets angry, acts up, takes his anger out on his friends, and repeatedly tries to find excuses to get closer to Imra (LSH 111, Legionnaires 74). Garth eventually comes across a case which he brings only to Imra and Rokk (a case of them being impersonated on Wellur), and says it's "personal" because it's the founders. Imra sees through this, but Rokk plays along. Imra knows Garth is using this as a way to be close to her; Rokk says he knows, but that this has gone on long enough. During the mission, Garth still does act professionally; but he focuses completely on the mission after seeing how serious it is, telling Imra that they can sort their relationship out later. This moves Imra so much that she kisses Garth, saying she loves him for that focus. They do talk at the end, with Garth apologizing for his temper, and Imra apologizing for not communicating, and agree to take a vacation together (Legionnaires 75). (They do take a day off to the beach, joined by most of their friends, and they do make sure to spend time together then (Legionnaires 77).

While observing Apparition and Ultra Boy, Imra comments that the two are settling down. Garth proposes they follow their example, and Imra kisses him to accept his proposal (Legionnaires 78).

Then the Blight happens; Garth is thought dead (LSH 122). After defeating the Blight, Imra mourns Garth, only to see him return alive. She immediately runs to him in joy (Legionnaires 80). Then the Rift comes, leading to Legion Lost. All talk of marriage and relationships is put on hold, though Garth and Imra clearly still are in one (Legion Lost 6). They have a tense conversation after learning that Imra has been creating a fake Apparition to keep Ultra Boy calm; Garth is angry that Imra didn't tell him (he is not just her beau, but her unofficial Deputy Leader), and that she seems to have been more concerned about keeping Ultra Boy calm than about their relationship (Legion Lost 10). After which Garth "dies", telling his teammates to tell Imra that he loves her (Legion Lost 12).

Garth returns in Jan's crystalline body (Legion 25). Garth mentions not needing to sleep, so it seems his body is completely crystal - implying he can't feel, taste, or smell, either (if Ferro's own iron body is an indication). Imra appears to avoid him at first, but she does eventually come seek him out (Legion 26-30).

[b[Thoughts[/b]

Garth is initially only attracted to Imra physically, but as time goes by it does seem he's attracted to... to... I don't know, actually. Even after reading all of this, it does not quite become clear what. Maybe he likes her self-control? It does eventually blossom into true love, as Garth continues to have feelings for Imra despite being away from her.

On Imra's part, it's a fair bet to say she likes elements of Garth's impulsiveness. Imra has always been about calm self-control in the Reboot, because of her prodigious telepathy; she always needed to be on guard, lest she let her telepathy loose and alter people's thoughts subconsciously (as shown in the subconscious/unconscious animation of Cosmic Boy, revealed LSH 96!)

There were so many times I wanted to knock their heads together in the early Reboot. Legionnaires 75 was a breakthrough, where these two FINALLY talk like adults. Both have their faults here, with Garth making assumptions and not talking; and Imra also not communicating or taking action.

Legionnaires 78 was them finally taking a step further, coinciding with Garth becoming a more mature, level-headed individual (he loses most of his hot-headed impulsiveness by then, with Ultra Boy taking on the hotheaded role). Of course, circumstances again come into play that delay things... we last leave them on a bit of a hopeful note, but Garth is stuck in a rather bad state - with 3 of his senses lost, looking like Jan Arrah. Not the best of states to end things in, either.

Thanks for joining in, O Invisible One. Somehow I remember things better from my 2O’s than from my 5O’s. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.
Continuing on with my part:
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#7 Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy (TOS, 5YL, Retroboot)
“I will love you in every Universe.”

It all begins when Ultra Boy concocts the false identity of the Rimboran Rann Varal. (Adventure Comics #316)
Phantom Girl tells herself (in the long lost and lamented thought bubbles) that she cannot bring herself to vote against, or move against Jo.

It continues when the couple join Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad in fake marriages (Adventure Comics #337) in order to smoke out the Murrian spies. Phantom Girl says out loud that she hopes that someday the two will really marry.

But it is not to be. Star-crossed lovers (or, perhaps, plot-crossed) they lose one another as continuities shift.

(I should note that Jo and Tinya, in the first Adult Legion stories, (Adventure 354-355) are happily married with two children, Ronn and Arna, who each have their parent’s powers.)

Their romance is portrayed as hot and fiery. They cannot stand to be apart, pining for one other. Their initial attraction seems to be very physical, and the physicality continues even as the relationship matures-- it surely must mature, right?

Under later writers, Tinya has a pre-Legion history as a ‘bad girl’, attracted to ‘bad boys’. Jo has a history as a reformed ‘bad boy’, growing up among the gangs on Rimbor, where law and order is really more of a suggestion.

(I should note that Jo and Tinya, in the Reboot continuity, are happily married with a baby boy named Cub Nah, of all things. He has some interesting powers, too. But Tinya was also lost in time for a while in that continuity, and sort of died. Part Cargggan, something something and nobody ever found her third body.)

Jo has ultra-invulnerability as his default setting. But that does not protect him from being stricken with amnesia, lost in time, or other circumstances separating him from Tinya.

If I did some proper research, I could pull these events together in chronological order. But as I am lazy, I will just jot them down off the top of my head.

>> Ultra Boy is repeatedly injected with a serum invented by Brainiac 5 which causes temporary madness, when the rest of the Legion is being controlled by a telepathic super-villain

>> Ultra Boy flees (again) when framed for the murder of An Ryd by Brainiac 5

>> Ultra Boy’s encounter with Pulsar Stargrave results in temporary amnesia.

>> He joins the pirate crew of Captain Frake, then is sent back in time due to the interaction of a pirate blaster and his ultra-invulnerability. All in all, he is missing and presumed dead for a long time.

>> His consciousness is stuck in Superboy’s body, he still does not quite know who he is, and impersonates Reflecto

>> In 5YL, we have one of the weirdest and most unnecessary retcons. Ultra Boy first appeared in an issue in which he traveled to the to learn Superboy’s secret identity as part of his Legion initiation. This is retconned to him finding out the ultimate fate of the 2Oth-century Valor. In the process, he ends up creating the Glorith-Mordru stalemate that prevents either from coming to ultimate power in the 3Oth century. He and Brainiac 5 keep this knowledge from Glorith, giving the team a significant advantage…

Well, never mind. The re-introduction of the Pocket Universe Superboy makes the entire sequence irrelevant.

>> Phantom Girl is also lost in time, sent back by Glorith under cover of a shuttle explosion in 5YL. She is sent across continuities as well, as when she returns, she is a long-lost triplicate of the Reboot Phantom Girl.

My brain is hurting, and I have to stop. There are probably more amnesia / time-lost / on-the-run stories for Ultra Boy in the TOS / 5YL / Retroboot continuities.

I would characterize Jo and Tinya as the Romeo and Juliet of the Legion. A hormone-powered relationship, but it is not disapproving parents that keep them apart, but Fate and a host of super-villains: Glorith, the Time Trapper, Insaniac Brainiac 5, Captain Frake, and Pulsar Stargrave (and the writers).

Jo is, so very much Jo. He's, IMO, kind of lazy, emotionally, intellectually, ethically. Physically, not so much. Those biceps didn't happen without work. And certainly *capable* of stepping up and challenging the status quo and seizing charge (of his gang on Rimbor, for instance), or of being clever and resourceful (outwitting the rest of the Legion during the An Ryd debacle), but he doesn't *choose* to put in that sort of effort on the day to day. He's just not very ambitious or 'intellectually curious' by nature, it seems, and easily content to float right where he is, which seems quite sensible, given how high he has risen from his Rimborian roots. Given how far 'up' he is from where he started, he's probably best to not do anything to screw it up! His friendship with Mon is also kind of suggestive of character. He gloms onto the one Legion dude who is just hands-down his superior, able to match every power he has, all at once. (At least for 'regulars,' Superboy can also hit those highs, but kind of comes and goes, and Jo seems to have a clingy nature, wanting people who stay around and reassure him with their solidity/stability, and not someone who comes and goes from his life.) That suggests that he's got zero self-esteem issues. Having a best friend whose super-power is 'everything you can do, better' would be a brutal ego-blow for some dudes but Jo seems cool with it, which might well stem from his lack of deeply reflecting on his life or choices or much of anything. On the downside, Jo also gets bored easily, and will absolutely sabotage his own happiness, with his lack of planning skills, doing or saying something on impulse that effectively takes a flamethrower to his own life.

And you'd expect someone like Jo to end up with someone who is decisive, to kind of steer him around the sorts of things he's generally (deliberately) clueless about, and sure enough, there's Tinya. Smart and curious and take-charge by nature, she's perky and outgoing and has found a steady (plodding?) sort of stability and dependability in Jo, who, by her standards, is one of the ghost-people of this barely-real, barely-tangible ghost-world she's just visiting, but never really 100% a part of. Being Jo, he has zero idea, nor any interest, in how marginal he is to her, a woman with a home, a life, *an entire world* he can never even see or touch. He lives for the moment, moving forward like a shark, no real introspection about the past or the future, so the fact that Tinya has an entire home-universe he knows nothing about, and will probably eventually return to, does not change that fact that their relationship is good, NOW. She's his opposite, as her Espionage Squad membership demonstrates, a role for the very much intellectually curious and nimble and perhaps a bit ethically flexible, all that lying and spying. The *exact* sort of sketchy seat-of-your-pants life that Jo escaped when he left Rimbor and *wants nothing to do with, ever again.* She loves it. Thrives on it. Loves him for still tasting of it, even if he walked away from it. (And, indeed, he's living proof that someone *can* walk away from it, and not be all tainted and messed-up and morally compromised by the ethical gray areas and betrayals required for a life of intrigue, espionage, criminal contacts, infiltration, etc.) I kind of like how Tinya freaked out about Shady ditching Mon briefly for Earth-Man during the retroboot. (Did not love that it happened, but did like her reaction!) She's completely flustered that Shady would leave Mon, because *she's* the one who leaves, in her mind, the one who is 100% made to 'ghost' from a relationship, while Shady, for all her hard-bitten poise, has always seemed to Tinya more like 'the clingy one' who would never leave. Tinya's a little pissy that Shady has 'broken character' and behaved inconsistently, in her mind, left the little box that she'd put Shady in, and put the lie to her notion that she's 'figured out' the people of our dimension. Like many clever curious people, Tinya can be a bit thrown when someone she thought she had pegged turns around and does something she didn't expect. (She'd make a great writer, or director...)

And so, ultimately, Jo and Tinya are kind of good together. She's still finding herself, and her place in this world, he's just happy to have landed in a pile of comfy pillows after a scary fall and does not want to rock the boat and 'go back.' They both, for different reasons, seem to have relatively low expectations of people and relationships (he because of his past, she because of her nature as a Btgzln 'tourist' visiting our dimension) and do not make any challenging demands of each other, than 'be there when I want you there, be able to amuse yourself when I'm busy elsewhere.' As relationships go, especially 'teen romance,' that's pretty mature, if not the stuff of big drama or purple prose.

There was definitely a similar Romeo and Juliet element with the Reboot couple, coming in the form of a Daxamite attack, and Legion Lost

Reboot Apparition and Ultra Boy

History

Jo is the one who sees Tinya first. Employed by Leland McCauley as part of his security team, the Workforce, Jo checks out Legion HQ with his penetra-vision. He sees a distraught Tinya crying after a difficult argument with her overbearing mother, Winema, and thinks "poor girl", maybe he can comfort her (LSH 64).

Problem is, Jo is dating one Sussa, Spider-Girl, who is also in the Workforce. Their relationship appears to be mainly physical, at least on Jo's part - with Sussa kissing Jo in the middle of battle - Jo even has to say "not now, honey!" Live Wire thinks "I wonder about that Spider-Girl... good thing Ultra Boy doesn't seem to be fazed by her!" A sign that their relationship isn't quite equal (Legionnaires 21).

Jo and Tinya lay eyes on each other during battle, and both immediately get drawn to one another and start talking. Later, while imprisoned by some bad guys, Tinya phases through the cells to check on the others; she walks in on Jo and Sussa in a hot and heavy make-out session, and walks away, shocked. Sussa shrugs it off, and goes to kiss Jo; Jo is distracted by Tinya, and earns Sussa's ire (LSH 65).

An angry Tinya vents to Jo about her friends; he sends her a cactus, of all things. She is also angry about Jo flirting with her while already having a girlfriend (Legionnaires 25). Tinya and Jo go on a "date", which ends with them meeting up with the rest of the Workforce; Sussa reacts angrily, and Jo tells her he can hang out with whomever he wants. After learning that McCauley has been selling weapons to racist White Triangle members, Tinya expresses disgust that Jo willingly chooses to work with McCauley (Legionnaires 26). When Jo chances upon Tinya again, he flirts with her, and she leaves angrily; Tinya's teammates tell him rather bluntly why she's upset; though Tinya gives in to their strong attraction and kisses Jo (Legionnaires 27).

Tinya and Jo team up to fight a White Triangle Daxamite. Tinya is the brains of the outfit, guiding Jo on tactics (telling him to stay invulnerable). Elated at defeating the Daxamite, Jo tells Tinya he loves her; she starts telling him she lvoes him back... and is burned to death, while an invulnerable Jo survives. A concened Sussa looks for Jo, only to find him cradling Tinya's body (Legionnaires Annual 2). Jo quits McCauley's Workforce, saying he wants to help people like Tinya did; but he is blocked from joining the Legion by President Chu (LSH 72). Jo would eventually join, though still pine over Tinya. This culminates in him somehow sensing Tinya; he and Tinya's mom Winema find out that Tinya's intangible spirit latched onto Jo's body, and only the two of them can see and hear her, plus she cannot touch, taste or smell (LSH 82).

Spider-Girl, thinking that Jo is now single, tries flirting with him; he rebuffs her without revealing Tinya's existence (Legionnaires 39).

Tinya and Jo get thrown back to the 20th century by the Emerald Eye. Saturn Girl, having telepathically sensed Tinya, uses her telepathy so everyone can see and hear her (LSh 85). Tinya later becomes visible and audible to everyone, though still cannot touch, taste or smell (LSH 87).

Jo becomes overprotective of Tinya, panicking when she seems to disappear (Superman plus the Legion of Super-Heroes 1, LSH 87).

Tinya would become jealous of other women, like Shvaughn, because Jo can touch them; she worries that he will stop loving her because he cannot touch her. Jo tries to reassure her, in vain - until the abandoned wedding of Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy inspires them, and the two wed (LSH 96). Despite Jo not being bale to touch Tinya, the two go on a honeymoon that is interrupted by COMPUTO - Jo even lets himself get burned saving the touchstone that Tinya is in (LSH 98). Tinya becomes fully tangible again (SLH 100).

Jo continues to support Tinya as she deals with learning she was half-Bgztlian and half-Carggite (LSH 101). The two develop a strong relationship, and appear genuinely happy with occasional minor married spats (Legionnaires 59, 64, 69, 72-74, 77).

Jo tries to join a mission Tinya goes on, but she tells him to stay behind - "It's enough that you want to be there for me, you don't need to be there for me all the time. We've had problems lately, Jo. Consider this an exercise in trust" (Legionnaires 78). Bad mistake, as that mission got Tinya off earth for the Blight invasion; it would take a month for Tinya and company to return, by which time Jo had been Blighted. Somehow, a combination of Tinya's phasing and their love (I mean, that's the only explanation) frees Jo from the Blight, and Tinya and Jo help turn the tide, defeating the Blight (Legionnaires 80).

Then the Rift happens, and Jo is one of the Legionnaires lost. He panics upon waking up and not seeing Tinya; Saturn Girl decides to create a fake Tinya to calm him down. Seeing how much Jo needs Tinya, Saturn Girl decides to maintain the illusion as long as possible, with bad implications; after all, the two are implied to be sexually active. Jo and Saturn Girl talk, and both apologize; Imra for tricking him, and Jo for acting in a way that made Imra decide to trick him. They kiss, but both are ashamed by it. Both manage to return to United Planets space (Legion Lost 1-12). When Triad tells Jo they are doing everything they can to find Tinya, Jo reacts dismissively, appearing to care more about an injured Saturn Girl (Legion 3).

At the same time, Tinya realizes she is pregnant; she tells nobody, and hadn't even told Jo. After Jo disappears in the Rift, Tinya escapes from her overbearing mother. She visits Rimbor to feel connected to Jo again, and ends up befriending Timber Wolf and giving birth to a son named Cub. Upon seeing that the Lost Legionnaires have returned, Tinya rushes back to Earth (Legion Worlds 6, Legion 9)

Jo later realizes that he only kissed Imra because she "became" Tinya; he writes a letter to her to say that, but Tinya sees it before it is delivered (Legion 11).

Jo and Tinya finally reunite with a kiss, and Jo learns he has a son (Legion 14).

We see Jo reacting jealously to seeing Tinya with Timber Wolf, and Tinya reacting jealously to Jo about Saturn Girl (Legion 15, 19).

The tensions in their marriage persist for a time, but fade away slowly - or at least, they don't pop up every time we see them. Jo maintains a grudge against Timber Wolf, though.

Through it all, Tinya's mom Winema maintains her cold disapproval of Jo; ironically, Tinya's father is a man very much like Jo in physical appearance, mannerisms and personality. Like mother, like daughter; and maybe that's one reason Winema hated Jo so much.

Thoughts


Lovers at first sight. Honestly, their relationship is built upon physicality as a foundation, though the two would eventually come to appreciate each other's personalities, I guess. Tinya was smart, and Jo realized she was smarter than him. He also appreciated her beauty, and her fierceness. Tinya probably appreciated Jo's ruggedness and his well-meaning nature. Of course, being a relationship primarily of passion also brought with it a lot of jealousy...

Their strong love was commented on by everyone else - Monstress finds it romantic that Jo was Tinya's tether back to the living (LSH 102); Kinetix teasingly asks Tinya (in front of all the Legion girls) how it is being married to Jo, now that she's tangible again (LSH 100), and Triad calls Tinya and Jo "the Smitten Kittens" (Legion Lost 9). The two are often assigned on missions together, though not always (LSH 104).

Sadly, there's not much to write about Reboot Lu and Reboot Chuck.

First hints of anything between them come when the Legion unexpectedly get a free day. Each of Triad's selves (each with a different personality) go off to do something else. It's "main" body, Neutral, who asks Chuck what he's up to. Chuck has two tickets to a ball game; he was going to take Tenzil, but Tenzil cancelled. So Neutral goes along. We don't really see Chuck's attraction to Lu, but rather Neutral starting to like Chuck. (Legionnaires 59)

Later, Violet wants to go out and asks Chuck on a date. Neutral gets so angry and jealous, that Triads Orange and Purple have to physically restrain here. Violet later thanks Triad for letting her go on a date with Chuck, saying that Chuck clearly likes Lu - Triad is so relieved that she cries. Note, we never actually see Chuck say this! (legionnaires 66)

The last glimmers of a Chuck/Lu relationship are when the Legion goes to the beach. All three Triads now hang out with Chuck; Kinetix thinks it's "hard to picture any of the Triads hanging out with an engineer type like Chuck", but thinks that Orange finds him comfortable, and even Purple must think he has hidden depths.

Though both characters appeared under DNA, they never interact in any meaningful way, sadly.

Not much to go on here. Triad gets to be jealous one time, but Chuck never comforts her, nor does Triad bring her concerns up with Chuck. Well, they weren't "dating" dating yet then, and it seems they never truly did. A bit of a shame really, the seeds were sown, but... yeah.

Didn’t Brainiac 5.1 at one point help Garth use some remnant of crystal-Jan’s powers to restore him to his original appearance?
I used to know this stuff. I even wrote a very nice “I, Monstress” story set in the Progenitorverse.
https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=892378

Continuing on:

#8 Karate Kid (Val Armorr) & Princess Projectra (Projectra ‘Jeckie’ of Orando)

A Fairy-Tale Romance

In the Threeboot, Projectra’s full name is revealed as Wilimena Morgana Daergina Annaxandra Projectra Velorya Vauxhall. How that applies to TOS and Retroboot Projectra is unclear, but I like it.

In any case, she is a literal Princess, and assumes a nom de guerre only when she creates the Sensor Girl identity. Her father is King Voxv, and he is a piece of work. He sends her to the Legion to learn the ways of super-heroing, and then is offended when she takes up with a super-hero-- a ‘commoner’ who has to prove himself.

Projectra is inducted with Karate Kid, and two other candidates: one of whom is the first ‘permanent’ Legion death, and the other is a traitor, and future super-villain. That the two form a bond is likely inescapable.

Unlike some of the Legion teen-age girls, interested in trim-rays, kissing boys, and wild dancing (Adventure Comics #326) Projectra has a sober, regal and authoritative air. She naturally takes command of a situation, when others hesitate to act. She is powerful: her illusions are based on magic, and affect the mind as much as the senses. Not only do they look real, they feel real. Projectra and the Nal sisters’ powers were once sufficient to take on Mordru himself.

Although a ‘commoner’ in King Voxv’s eyes, Val is wholly a match for Projectra.

The son of a super-villain, but raised by that villain’s heroic arch-nemesis, Val is not only a master of innumerable martial arts, but profoundly spiritual as well. While by the 3Oth century, modern religions of all kinds will surely have evolved, Val’s spirituality tends more toward the ritual and order of Jukyo (Confucianism) and rather than the easy spontaneity of Dokyo.(Taoism).

Projectra’s religion is mediated by the Orakills and is a form of ancestor-worship. She is a true believer, as it is from her ancestors she gains her powers, and as an accomplished medium, they presumably talk in her head from time to time. (I once called Projectra a necromancer, and offended those who only know the term from Dungeons and Dragons. But the original meaning is one who speaks to the dead: e.g. clairvoyant who conducts a seance, for example.)

Despite their interfaith relationship, the two accept, and even respect, one another’s beliefs, and this surely is one of the foundations of their relationship.

King Voxv sends Val back in time, to ‘prove’ himself worthy of the royal daughter. It may be as much a test for Projectra as well, for she becomes jealous of the attentions paid to Val by women who have been dead a thousand years.

But after a year in the past, Karate Kid returns to find that King Voxv is dead, and must assist Projectra in ousting a pretender to the throne. With Princess Projectra becoming Queen Projectra there is nothing to do but marry and leave the Legion, Val becoming Prince Consort.

It appears Prince Val is beloved by his people, as well as his wife, showing that Jeckie made a good choice.

The two reign for an indeterminate number of years in comic-book time, until the Legion of Super-Villains targets Orando. Val sacrifices himself to save his kingdom, and Queen Projectra, exercising her royal prerogative, executes Hart Druiter, the nearest available super-villain.

And then things get weird.

Orando drifts in and out of another dimension. Projectra returns in the guise of Sensor Girl. And somehow Val returns as Karate Kid. And dies again. And then is back, with no explanation. (Lather, rinse, repeat)

What is going on? Have the mystical Orakills found a way to resurrect the Queen’s Paladin? Is he merely one of Projectra’s (very convincing) illusions? A clone? A doppelgänger? A ghost? Is something sinister going on? Projectra treats him like her one and only true love, but we never get an explanation.

A spiritual couple. A fairy-tale romance. If you have ever read the Brothers Grimm, you know that things can get very, very freaky in fairy-tales.

no, that was Retroboot Brainiac 5 with the lightning wand containing Bart Allen's essence in Legion of 3 Worlds

I fondly remember your story, and thank you for the reference in the opening post

#9 Shadow Lass (Tasmia Mallor) & Mon-El (Lar Gand)

Up until Byrniac rewrote Superman’s history, Lar Gand had a perfectly straightforward story.

But I am not even going to attempt to recapitulate his maze of twisty little histories now.

Suffice to say, Mon-El is the Superboy of the 3Oth and 31st centuries-- but without the baggage of a secret identity. (He left Bob Cobb back in 2Oth-century Smallville.)

He is also a little older than Kal, and possibly a bit more mature.

(In the Adult Legion stories, where Shadow Lass Woman is deceased, Mon-El is a wandering space explorer, doing good here and there across the galaxy. A kind of Superman-at-large.)

In the regular continuity, he is also frequently off on space-missions, but it does not seem to significantly affect the couple’s relationship. In fact, Tasmia often accompanies him.

Shadow Lass first meets Mon-El (at least on the printed page) when she accidentally releases Mordru the Merciless from his airless prison in the Legion Clubhouse basement. With Superboy and Duo Damsel, the couple flee into the past. Mon-El re-adopts his alternate identity as Bob Cobb, traveling brush salesman.

In Superboy’s basement, Mon-El comforts Betsy Norcross-- I mean, Shady-- who is beating herself up over releasing Mordru. It all works out.

Back in the 3Oth century, when Mon-El goes off to fight the Wanderers, Shadow Lass expresses concern over his welfare. This is how we know they are romantically involved.

They become a lot more involved when the two are possessed by the alien frenemies-with-benefits entities Krogl and Marlxa.

Tasmia and Lar become almost inseparable after this; one is seldom depicted without the other.

During a rare separation, Shady and Dawnstar are almost trapped forever in the other-dimensional world of Marzal. This is so traumatizing to Tasmia that she and Lar take a leave of absence from the Legion, doing Lar’s favorite thing: aimlessly wandering the spaceways.

Which is when they accidentally discover Apokolips, and begin the Darkness Saga.

That wrapped up, their adventures continue. When Talok VIII is attacked by the Persuader (again) Tasmia rescues Mon from Lady Memory, who is using his thousand years of memories in the Phantom Zone against him.

In another case, they encounter the Science Asteroid while on yet another space-jaunt, where we know Adult Legion Shadow Woman met her end. But the future is malleable, and this time, Tasmia survives.

There is eventually an encounter with the Time Trapper in which Mon-El is beaten to a pulp. We return to Talok VIII, where they evidently have excellent health care. When Lar wakes up, still in bad shape, he discovers that Tasmia, in an ancient Talokan ceremony, has married him without his consent. This ritual involves cutting off the pinky finger of her hand. (Evidently, Talokan physiology allows her to grow back her finger, as she is not portrayed as a nine-fingered woman going forward.)

Sadly, just before the Magic Wars, Mon-El dies nonetheless.

Five years later, the Time Trapper reappears, accidentally resurrecting Mon-El. Mon-El returns the beat-down, more-or-less destroying the Trapper, and the timeline resets.

Then resets again.

Now we are in the Glorithverse, and Talok VIII is under attack by the Khunds. Mon and Shady’s relationship is… changed. But before this Universe ends, they are drawn back together again.

And now we come to the Retroboot.

Mon-El and Shadow Lass appear to be still married, or at least in a very serious relationship. But things are not going well. There are signs of stress. There is bickering and cold-shouldering.

It is time to address the elephant in the room. And by elephant, I mean Kirt Niedrich. If I must accept TOS-to-5YL and TOS-to-Retroboot as acceptable alternate futures, how does the Alternate Shadow Champion’s fundamental attraction switch from heroic Mon-El to villainous Asorbancy Boy / Earth-Man make any sense?

And make no mistake: Earth-Man is a villain, not an anti-hero.
In his first appearance, he is merely roguish, using the energies of the Zaroz costume to attack the Legion, in an effort to impress them.
Later, as the leader of the ‘Justice League of Earth’, he lies, kidnaps, tortures, and murders in an effort to gain and retain power.
Like many ‘strong-man’ political leaders throughout history, he gains followers, and he is installed as a Legionnaire in a political compromise.
In this third incarnation he is merely roguish again, and ultimately redeems himself-- or, just dies, depending on your point of view.

So this is my long-standing theory about the Shadow Champions of Talok-VIII:

They have persisted for over a thousand years.
There has always been a desire to improve and empower the Champions.
As a consequence, there is something of a eugenics program on Talok, at least among the Malloreans.
This includes interbreeding with powerful aliens and alien races, in an effort to bring new abilities into the Shadow Champion line.
A consequence of this is that Shadow Champions are naturally attracted to powerful members of the opposite sex.
This may have emerged naturally, it may be due to genetic manipulation, or it may be due to acculturation and social conditioning from childhood. Or some combination of all three.

When the Legion first meets Shadow Lass (already serving as a planetary champion) she is immediately attracted to Brainiac 5, who, if not the most powerful, is by definition the smartest of all the Legionnaires. Thought-bubbles tell us that she considers him out of her league, and does not expect her interest to be reciprocated. Ironically, he feels exactly the same way. Thus, nothing comes of their mutual attraction. {In an entirely irrelevant aside, it is immediately after the introduction of Tasmia that Fortress Lad suffers serious injuries}

Shady’s attention swiftly focuses on Mon-El, and their relationship lasts until the end of everything.

Everything falls apart in the Retroboot. But in the final issue, Tasmia is bringing Lar, badly damaged again, this time by the Emerald Empress, back to Talok VIII for repairs. Hopefully, they live happily ever after.

======================================================================
I also would like to say a few words regarding Tasmia’s cousin, Shadow Kid (Grev Mallor, Shadow Champion of the City People of Talok VIII) and Lady Memory (Kahnya Nahtahnie, High Priestess of Maakas of the Hill People of Talok VIII).
This is a purely political marriage, intended to unite the warring factions of Talok VIII. It is evidently one of their duties to produce an heir, a descendant of both lines, that both factions can claim as their own, to further unite the people.
Kahnya seems most enthusiastic about this duty, but Grev is also a very willing participant.
This is entirely in line with the theory outlined above.
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#10 Superboy (Kal-El) and Insect Queen (Lana Lang)

“Gracious, Lana! A trip to a strange world in the future might be dangerous!” - Mrs. Lang, Adventure Comics 282

“Superboy still isn’t giving me a tumble…” - Lana Lang, Adventure Comics 282

I read recently an argument that Lana Lang peaked in High School.

One of the most intelligent, as well as one of the prettiest girls in school, she accompanies her father on archeological digs, and ends up having a number of super-hero identities.
(e.g., Insect Queen, Gravity Girl, Sky-Girl, Flying Girl, Super-Lana, Superwoman-Red, Girl Atlas. Probably more.)

Lana’s first contact with the Legion is when she meets Star Boy before she gets the bio-ring and becomes Insect Queen. Thom becomes the centerpiece of a plot to make Superboy jealous, but it all falls apart when Superboy begins romancing Star Boy’s girlfriend Zynthia. (Who is never given a last name, nor ever seen again.)

Lana’s next encounter with the Legion is when Superboy, Mon-El, Shadow Lass and Duo Damsel flee to Smallville in the past to escape Mordru. Lana, in her Insect Queen identity, helps them ultimately defeat the evil sorcerer.

Lana has an unexpected opportunity to learn Superboy’s secret identity, but controls her curious impulses. As a reward, Superboy takes her to the 3Oth century in her Insect Queen identity, and she tries out for the Legion.

She is rejected due to the Kid Quantum Rule in the Legion Constitution, but she ends up saving Superboy and the Legion’s bacon anyway, and becomes an Honorary Member. She also strikes up an immediate friendship with Dream Girl on this trip to the future, perhaps because of how much she resembles Nura’s sister.

Lana has a close enough relationship with Superboy that he takes her to the 3Oth century again for her birthday. This time the Legion battles a skinny, alien mind-controller named The Master, and Lana almost dies in the process. This time it is Superboy who saves her.

As an adult, Lana was always a poor #2 after Clark met Lois, but frequently served as her rival and frenemy, especially in the ‘Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane’ series. There was never a ‘Superman’s Other Girlfriend Lana Lang’ comic.

For much of her time as an adult, she had no explicit career, but later joined Lois and Clark in the journalism business. Television journalism.

She was important enough to Superman that she got herself a Bizarro duplicate. (Adventure Comics 292-297) This is not something Bizarro #1 does for just anyone. For example, I do not remember there ever being a Bizarro Pete Ross.

That’s about it for Superboy’s girlfriend Insect Queen. Although I want to mention Curt Swan’s imaginary story "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!", in Superman #162 (1963). In this utterly absurd take on the Man of Steel, all his wishes come true. Split into twins, they together solve the problems of crime, poverty, and disease everywhere on Earth, even reforming Lex Luthor, who becomes their partner in creating an Eden and Utopia for mankind. They manage to enlarge the Bottle City of Kandor, and marry both Lana and Lois; one of the families living on Earth, and the other on New Krypton. And many super-babies! But I love this story, despite its problematic elements, because everyone gets everything they want, and everything is ‘happily ever after’. Of course it is a ridiculous daydream of happiness, with many problematic elements, but it warms my heart.

I haven't been commenting recently but I am still enjoying these articles and your thoughts KK. I look forward to you continuing with them.

#7 Jo and Tinya - it is hard to imagine a Legion without this one.

#8 Val and Jeckie - another one and very much as you describe a fairy tale romance. There are a number of unclear things about the Retroboot but certainly Val's story (and to a lesser extent Jeckie's) is one of the worst. In the end I just go with it.

#9 Mon/Lar and Tasmia - you make some very good points here. Their relationship seems quite strong and yet challenged particularly by Lar's PTSD. Towards the end of the original there are suggestions that Lar is not as strong of character as he sometimes appeared. This is explained away in 5YL as Eltro Gand, but the older Lar is not really a focus of the book except for occasional bits, and the younger SW6 Lar has a focus towards the end but without Shady in the picture. I don't think this relationship exists at all in Reboot. In Threeboot - well exactly what Lar's background is, is a bit flexible, and again nothing with the even more militant Shady. Retroboot - I didn't enjoy that twist myself but I wonder if it is not only the strength but also the issues the male character has that attract Tasmia. Lar has his personal strength physically and in character but also his PTSD, and Kirt comes across to me as someone else who has suffered somehow and is a wounded personality. Very few people are naturally as opinionated and self-aggrandising as Kirt without a tragic upbringing or experience. This is all speculation of course and does not in anyway excuse his criminal behaviour, but I wonder if something in Tasmia also finds that damaged goods aspect appealing. Just a thought.

#10 - Kal/Clark and Lana - this one suffers from the Silver Age approach to Superman/boy's romances. Frankly neither Lana nor Lois are appealing to a modern audience. Supes treatment of them wasn't much better. (I like the Superman Red-Superman Blue story too.) This improved as the Bronze Age progressed, and the older Lana is an interesting character. I rather like the post-Crisis take on her, being Clark's best friend and knowing his secret, but also "knowing" that because of it a relationship between them is never possible. In New52/Rebirth she is in a serious relationship with Steel/John Henry Irons and they are currently engaged. Of course none of this has any real Legion relevance with only the original (and maybe but probably not Retroboot) Lana having any connection.

#12 Wildfire (Drake Burroughs) and Dawnstar

“As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, I am not aware of any specific romance or story involving characters named Dawnstar and Wildfire.” -- ChatGPT

======================================================================

Dawnstar has had at least a couple of romantic interests.

There was Jhodan, from the unnamed technology-free planet she and Brainiac 5 crashlanded on. Looking back at the experience, she thinks, “It almost all seems like a dream, but it wasn’t. What happened was real. I can’t deny it… or how the experience changed me. I’m no longer innocent. I know what it is to hate now… to kill… and I know what it is to love a man… Oh, Jhodan, why did you enter my life? I’ll be back someday, Jhodan. I need to know the answer… I need you.”
And he was never heard from again.

Time-traveling to the 21st century, Dawnstar has a relationship with a (unnamed?) Thanagarian woman, leaving behind her flight ring, as a token that she will return.
And she was never heard from again.

Of course, the one constant in Dawnstar’s romantic life is Wildfire. Very constant. So constant. Sometimes, annoyingly constant.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Dawnstar’s characterization is something of a puzzlement. At times, she appears stand-offish, stoic and spiritual, at other times over-emotional, impulsive, and hedonistic. Maybe she’s just drawn that way. (Her design looks like a Victoria’s Secret Angel twenty years before there were any Victoria’s Secret Angels) That decolletage in her costume gets progressively deeper, eventually reaching below her navel. Wider, as well. She has a predilection for casual nudity. (She was roommates with Laurel Kent at the Legion Academy, and from those depictions, we know she sleeps in the nude)
My in-universe perspective is that she is naturally proud, passionate, and decadent, comfortable with being physically open, but very private emotionally. She strives for spirituality and stoicism as part of her cultural upbringing and personal values.
Studies have shown that bottling up emotions can make people more aggressive, and increases physical and emotional stress. Super-heroing on a regular basis could be a way of blowing off steam.

In her very first appearance, Wildfire defends Dawnstar against Supeboy’s skepticism of her abilities. (Oddly, Superboy expresses disbelief that she can do what he cannot-- in a Legion where nearly everyone, as a requirement, can do what he cannot.) This Superboy vs. Wildfire animosity, and the Wildfire-Dawnstar rapport will continue well into the future of the Legion.

Wildfire was born human, but in his teens became something else. (A common observation for many parents of teens) Usually described as a being of pure anti-energy, he is also sometimes described as composed of energy or antimatter. Despite the fact that he appears, in his natural state, a formless, mostly invisible blob, he still retains all his memories, personality, and emotions, as though he still has a functioning physical limbic system.

{At this point, I will take a quick aside to advance my wholly unsubstantiated theory that Wildfire is actually an Anti-Energy Elemental with Drake Burrough’s memories, and the real Drake is long-dead, and living in one of DC’s afterlife dimensions. Heaven or Hell, I don’t know. Rather like Swamp Thing is not really Alec Holland. All kinds of Elementals exist throughout the DC Universe. Brother Power is a Doll Elemental, for Pete’s sake.)

Drake is not inexperienced in matters of the heart. Whilst still human, he had some ill-defined romance with Zera Vultan. At first cold and stand-offish, eventually warmed up to some degree. After he became Wildfire, she tried to kill him.

But while his containment suit does appear to augment Wildfire’s vision powers, there does not seem to be an accommodation for the sense of touch. (or smell, or taste, for that matter), and this is the challenge at the heart of Dawnstar and Wildfire’s relationship.

And they never move beyond this. For decades, the relationship is defined by he wants-- she wants-- but they can’t. They break up, they make up, they are torn apart, they get back together. Quislet helps Wildfire manifest in a more physical form, but it is unsatisfactory.

There would seem to be a lot of resources available in the 31st century to deal with their problem. Brainiac 5 is credited with manufacturing Wildfire’s containment suits. Each has slightly different capabilities from the last, each new suit takes a little getting used to, and none is as good as the original E.R.G.-1 containment suit. I imagine these custom-made suits are expensive, and Wildfire goes through them like some people change their socks. (Hyperbole: he probably destroys no more than a half-dozen a year)

But would it be so hard for Brainiac 5 to add better tactile support? Or some non-essential but useful paraphernalia? (Amanda Palmer implies some 2Oth-century solutions in her song/video “Coin Operated Boy”)

The Legion has access to a lot of resources.

There are the Android Masters of Earth, located right there in Metropolis. Could the anti-energy containment technology be merged with an android body?

They have friends on the Sorcerer’s World who might be able to utilize appropriate accommodation spells.

And are there no holo-suites in the Legion Universe? (OK, probably not)

Their troubled relationship is never resolved. In 5YL, Wildfire is believed dead, and only returns through the combined media of a new containment suit, and Sun Boy’s corpse. Dawnstar loses her wings, and is possessed for months by the Bounty entity.

Remember the ‘Heroes in Crisis’ arc a few years ago, where Tom King and Clay Mann deconstructed the trauma of being a super-hero? Well, Legion of Super-Heroes did it first. Several times.

In the Retroboot, Dawnstar and Wildfire are irretrievably lost in time a thousand years in the past. Well, at least they are together, but they never seem to have a moment to themselves, with the other five ‘Legion Lost’ always hanging around.

Unresolved. That is the word I would use for Dawnstar and Wildfire’s relationship. Unresolved.

So I will leave it there.

Ooh, so much fun history here, back to the golden age and 'Bob Cobb!'

I've always been fascinated by the power dynamic. As 'Lights Out Lass,' classic continuity Shady has always been one of the 'weaker' Legionnaires (unlike Reboot Umbra, with her darkforce-y 'Shadow Lantern' powers), and yet has partnered with arguably the strongest (full-time) member!

And yet, I'd theorized before that Shady might be able to block the sunlight that powers Kryptonians and Daxamites, and 'shut them off like a light,' and that was amusing fanon, until Legion of Three Worlds, when she actually tried that very stunt on Superboy Prime (and clearly expected it to work better than it did...). I love that notion, that, like Color Kid switching yellow sunlight to red, this 'weak' Legionnaire has a power that can be used to reverse the power dynamic and shut down Lar's great strength advantage.

Personality-wise, they are an interesting contrast. Shady's a warrior - champion from a planet long on tradition and roles, and still remains attached to that world and that role. Mon's an explorer and scientist by nature**, not at all a 'warrior,' and has zero attachment it seems to his home world of Daxam, where everyone he ever knew or loved has been dead a thousand years. She is confrontational and outspoken. He is avoidant and quiet. About the only thing they share is a gift for *fast* decisive action. Neither of them likes to stand around and talk about a situation, a result of impatience and practicality on her part, and perhaps a reflection on both his inherent super-speed, and deep well of reverence for life (the longer we stand around and talk, the more damage gets done!).

** I like how Yildray Cinar, IIRC, drew Mon and Jo near each other a lot, with Jo baring those big biceps and having a broad chest, while Mon was comparatively slender, and easier to visualize as a fit normal dude, who *happened* to have great strength as a super-power. It was a neat contrast to how golden age super people all basically had identical bodies, with different hair colors and costumes to differentiate them, and served as a sort of 'visual storytelling,' I thought in that it not only showed off different body types, but actually kind of said something about these characters. One works out a lot, this matters to him. One doesn't feel the need to...

Well put. Not much else to say. Great setup for a tragedy, but then again any story that did bring resoltuion would probably be unfavourably compared to the previous tragic status quo. Or maybe that failure of imagination is just mine.

Being more fanservice that Fanservice Girl herself is quite an accomplishment for Dawnstar.

Great analysis, as usual. Since Wildfire is my second favorite Legionnaire, I was looking forward to discussing him and Dawnstar.
As much as I've always adored Wildfire, I never really cared all that much about Dawnstar and was just annoyed at their eternal will-they-won't-they situation.
Until my retrospective reached Volume 3 and in particular her stories in "Tales of the Legion" and then I realized that Dawnstar is. Just. The worst.

She started out very overconfident of her abilities, looking down at everybody else. Which for me is a good thing: I love heroes who have an unpleasant side... mostly because I like seeing them develop as persons and get over it.
Except Dawnstar never gets over it. EVER.
Sometimes I even question why she's in the Legion. Maybe to blow off steam as you suggest? Aside from wanting to leave Starhaven to see the galaxy, she doesn't seem all that interested in being a superhero.
Does she even have friends in the Legion? The nearest thing is Laurel Kent, but they don't seem all that close.
Pretty much every other Legionnaire has a teammate that he/she hangs out often.. Phantom Girl and Shadow Lass, Star Boy and Sun Boy... but Dawnstar seems to only interact with either Wildfire, who she treats like crap, and Brainiac 5 when it's required by the mission. And then he treats him as crap.

She knows Wildfire is in love with her, but she's wishy-washy on whether she has feelings for him. Even going as far as constantly bringing up his condition in a demeaning manner with the subtlety of a Khund.
Even when she goes in her galaxy tour to find her "soulmate", Wildfire goes as far as give his blessing to whoever she finds!
Then she falls in love with Jhodan.
The religious zealot who can't understand a single word she's saying, and she can't understand him.
Granted he kind of saved her life, but come on!!!

Wildfire deserved SO much better than Dawnstar. The guy just can't catch a break.


With all due respect, I hate this idea. The reason why I love Wildfire is that despite not having a body he's the most human of the Legionnaires, plus the fact that he still has his sanity after what he's gone through.
Turning him into an Elemental would deprive him of what makes him unique, especially since as you say there's many Elementals around.


Someone MUST have written a fanfiction where Wildfire asks Brainiac 5 to build him an anatomically correct containment suit, right?


Which never made much sense to me. Are we seriously supposed to believe the smartest man in the universe can't replicate the original design? My headcanon is that the reason why Wildfire lost those extra abilities is that he ran out of SOME of the energy that transformed him into Wildfire.


One of the rules of technology is that once an invention spreads to the public, it WILL be used for naughty purposes as soon as possible.

I love it when people disagree with me. And I completely understand your point of view.

I'm always taken back to that time when Drake got shunted into an extradimensional realm where he could manifest his desires, and they were a flesh-and-blood body, and a harem of hotties in belly-dancer bikinis. A realm from which he had to be knocked unconscious and dragged away by Invisible Jacques, because he said he was never leaving! I did not like that look, at all. It felt completely out of character for him.

Both Dawny (with her thoughtlessness, self-centered-ness and arrogant dissmissiveness) and Drake (with his impatience and hot temper, both fairly surprising for a dude with no glands or limbic system, who *should* be incapable of chemical emotions like anger, or lust, or fear) got some pretty bad looks, over the years, and their 'romance' with all it's angst and drama, didn't help.

And yeah, also not a fan of the 'anti-energy elemental' thing, although, in my case, it's less with the idea specifically, so much as how the idea went from a neat concept with Swamp Thing, to a 'hot new thing' that had to be tied to Aquaman, Vixen, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Beast Boy, Poison Ivy, Terra, etc. Boring! (Felt like an early case of the same proliferation-think that went into making a dozen Lanterns of different colors. Hey, this idea was popular once, let's beat it into the ground until everyone is thoroughly sick of it!)

Out of character for Wildfire or for Invisible Kid?
Because I can buy it for Wildfire without problem. I consider it like offering a paraplegic who crapped on by the entire universe the chance to live in a world where he's fully healed and can live out any fantasy... can anyone seriously blame him for being tempted?
If anything, that story made me angry at Invisible Kid. Because when he dragged Wildfire out of that dimension he still didn't know it was the work of an evil interdimensional entity, plus he really acted insensitive towards Wildfire both in the moment and in the following issue where he wasn't taking seriously the psychological effect on Wildfire of both leaving the place where he could be human AND being without his suit for a while.