Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Waiting for the other arm to fall

Actually, what I'm really wondering is, when did the first one drop?

A current usenet thread on silliest heroes naturally features Arm-Fall-Off-Boy. No less a luminary than Kurt Busiek says there that AFOB was a "gag among Legion famdon for years" and did not actually appear until Secret Origins 46.

I could have sworn that AFOB made a tryout cameo during the Adventure era. Is this not the case? Did he at least appear in a Bits 'o Legionnaire Business column?

There was a character who called himself "Splitter" in the Legion tryouts issue in LEGIONNAIRES 43 - could HE be the re-invented Arms-Fall-Off Boy?

I think you're right but it's going to take one of our really dedicated trivia experts to quote chapter and verse on the subject. There was indeed a character who tried out during one of the Adventure issues that could remove his limbs but I don't think he was actually named in the book.
Legion Fandom gave him the infamous joke name.

Quick Cobie! You just read ALL the issues of the original boot. Where and when?

Splitter is indeed the post-boot, AFOB.

Um...I've just indexed the entire Adventure Era and I did not come across a character that could remove his limbs.

And as for appearing in "Bits" there's "BRITTLE BOY . . . who can break himself into hundreds of pieces and then re-unite" from ADVENTURE COMICS #308 (May 1963) or there's "Ripper Robert can rip himself in half to avoid bullets, then reunite" from ADVENTURE COMICS #350 (November 1966) .

And I can back Gary up as I've just gone through all the Adventure and Action issues and the two instances he gives are the only ones I found.

But in Adventure Comics #350 the following was sent into the Bits of Legionnaire Business column (same issue as the above Ripper Robert):

"Jay Sabatucci, Arlington, Tex. - "Reflexo Lad; when he's hit, his arms automatically shoot out and sock his opponent by reflex action."

Could that be the one everyone is thinking of?

I was pretty sure it was from one of those
Keith Giffen "humor" spots that occasionally
appeared outside the main series during
v3-v4...

And indeed, I just found it in one of my LSH long boxes:
"Secret Origins" #46, from 1989, features
"Arm-Fall Off Boy" in the story "The Little Clubhouse that Could".

I guess the only question might be: did this pre- or post- date the humorous references, i.e. did this START the humorous references, or was this an HOMAGE to them.

wait...just re-read the orignal post...
you already knew that...

Sp obviously, it was an homage...

Interesting, though, that Adventure #350 has so many "body parts detaching" references, since
it also introed the Guardian beast the came apart into pieces....

This was a popular issue, so I guess some combo
of all the references in Adv#350 could have started it ...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure there was no AFOB in the Silver Age.

Thank goodness

Yeah, AFOB's first appearance was set during the Silver Age, effectively retconning him into that era, but he didn't actually ever appear there.

Actually, I found that whole "Fortress Lad" premise (from AFOB's first appearance) so grotesque, I was glad Zero hour wiped it out.

Mnemonic Kid was a scary villainess.

Can you imagine having to live in Fortress Lad? What a upchucking thought!

Ha ha ha
I thought the Fortress Lad story was cute...but of course I didn't give any real thought to the practical side of it so I wasn't so grossed out as you guys.

Rats. I would have sworn there was a guy in one of the tryouts scenes that fit that description of AFOB. I guess that's what years of retconning and apochraphal tales can do to a memory like mine.

Still though, making up fake Legionnaire names has been a favorite fan activity for decades. Homage of a sort from the industry and comic fandom as a whole.