Hi. I thought it's time for another Superboy-related thread. Besides, this is a topic which became important to me at the climax of the Death of Superboy Saga, when they buried Kal-El.
Just about every Legionnaire was friends with Superboy-- but who were his best friends?
Let's make a game of it. But if we'd pick just 5 friends, it'd be easy.
Instead, pick the the 8 people you believe cared the most for Kal-El during the Silver and Bronze Ages. This means we're ignoring any character dynamics after Superboy and the Legion returned to the 30th Century, after they beat off the false Time Trapper in Smallville. For obvious reasons, I didn't include Supergirl in this poll.
After you picked your 8 Pals via the Poll, please return to this Thread, and rank them from 1 ("Best Friend") to 8, and give a short reasoning next to each friend, why you think he's ranking there.
I'll post the reasoning for my choices later on...
Posted by Silver Age Lad on :
1 Mon-El - Kal's big brother 2 Ultra Boy - the big three were always closest 3/4/5 Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy - The three founders were Kal's first Legion friends 6 Sun Boy - Lightning Lad's friend and strong willed guy 7 Star Boy - right back to meeting Lana Lang 8 Luornu - one way strong friendship not reciprocated by Superboy
Posted by Asteroid Al on :
I always thought that Superboy would become friends with Karate Kid simply because Val was willing to fight him to prove his worth.
Posted by Superboy on :
1. Mon-El: Was definitely his best friend in the Legion. 2. Luornu: She had a crush on him at one point. 3. Ultraboy: Looked up to him 4. Saturn Girl: She spent so much time messing around in his head they would have to be close. 5. Toss up...either Brainiac 5 or Karate Kid. Brainiac 5 because he was close to his cousin and Karate Kid because I do think he respected Karate Kid. And Karate Kid didn't have just one memorable moment against Supes, he had 2, the moment in EarthWar where Superboy was being mind controlled and Val restrained him.
I really hope somehow the real Val comes back...I really don't like the logic behind killing him because he has no Superpowers...especially since they turned right around and replaced him with Myg.
Better hope Giffen doesn't ever become the regular Batman writer or he will kill off one of DC's icons....because he doesn't have Superpowers.
Posted by Acid Digestion Lad on :
Ya know I'm agreeing with you Superboy. Lar, Lu, Jo and then prolly Garth and Rokk then Imra would be my additions. Would Brin count as well as like maybe Tinya?
Posted by jimgallagher on :
1 Mon-El - Kal's big brother 2 Ultra Boy - the big three were always closest 3/4/5 Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy - The three founders were Kal's first Legion friends 6 Brainy - the only other member with a super brain (besides Supergirl who wasn't included and Mon-El who I listed above), Supes defends him in Adv. 341, shown playing games together in Adv. 342, Supes calls Brainy "Pal" in Adv. 350, Supes helped throw Brainy's birthday party, Adv. 378 7 Karate Kid - KK got in on Supe's recommendation; KK gave him a black belt as a gift in Adv 350 (educated speculation); Shown hanging out and sparring in Adv. 368; Supes comes to see KK work out in Adv. 373 8 Luornu - Superboy eulogizes her in Adv. 341; Her crush on him caused her to position herself in his corner as much as possible: Adv. 348, 350, 360, 369, 370, etc.
Great topic, by the way.
Posted by Lone Wolf Legionnaire on :
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: 1 Mon-El - Kal's big brother 2 Ultra Boy - the big three were always closest 3/4/5 Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy - The three founders were Kal's first Legion friends 6 Brainy - the only other member with a super brain (besides Supergirl who wasn't included and Mon-El who I listed above), Supes defends him in Adv. 341, shown playing games together in Adv. 342, Supes calls Brainy "Pal" in Adv. 350, Supes helped throw Brainy's birthday party, Adv. 378 7 Karate Kid - KK got in on Supe's recommendation; KK gave him a black belt as a gift in Adv 350 (educated speculation); Shown hanging out and sparring in Adv. 368; Supes comes to see KK work out in Adv. 373 8 Luornu - Superboy eulogizes her in Adv. 341; Her crush on him caused her to position herself in his corner as much as possible: Adv. 348, 350, 360, 369, 370, etc.
Great topic, by the way.
My list is almost the same as yours jim,except for 7 and 8. I had.
7. Wildfire - The super rivalry between Kal and Drake went on for quite a while,but after the Omega incident they seemed to have a deep respect for each other.
8.Phantom Girl - The Reflecto - Ultra Boy/Superboy story comes to mind,and later in LSH #300 I remember Tinya welcoming Kal to the 30th century with a hug and a kiss.
Posted by Blockade Boy on :
Well gee, it has to be Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, they did afterall teach him truth, justice and the american way.
Small town farm boy from small town farm family.
I'm thinking
Cham (emerging from shyness)
ME Lad (super burping, every teen's fantasy)
P-Girl (the original non-b one, a sweet small town, leave for the big city type)
all off camera of course.
Mon-el I see more of as a big brother, not best friend and same U-Boy, a brotherly thing.
Like all teen boys, he has a poster of Dream Girl in his bedroom, behind the door where Ma Kent wouldn't see. Underneath his mattress, tractor magazines from Wynyth.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
Founders plus his fellow super-boys, Mon-el and Ultra Boy plus villain-descendant Brainy are the easy calls.
There's no doubt that Luornu would've felt closest to Clark, but it wasn't reciprocated.
I almost chose Dawnstar because of that fast powerhouse in front of the other Legionnaires thing...
Karate Kid's a good choice, though I can't really recall them together off the top of my head.
I chose Star Boy, mainly because of Superboy's defense of Thom at his trial.
Last? I toyed with what *should* have been a connection-- the 'last son' legacy he shared with Element Lad. But not much was ever really made of that in the book (part of me thinks that's a good thing, the other part would've liked a big ol' pity party for two).
So, I chose Bouncing Boy. 'Cause Clark admired the morale-boosting efforts Chuck made and because of Clark's staunch support of those with 'useless', 'funny' powers (not that I think Chuck's power is really described by those words, but they ofter are applied to him.)
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Interesting question. To me, it depends on how one defines friendship. Kal, as Beyonder-Prime notes, was friendly with everyone, and everyone looked up to him as much as they regarded him as one of the guys. But was there anyone he was particularly close to in terms of hanging out with, sharing thoughts and feelings, or having common interests?
BB makes a valid point that Mon-El was a "big brother" figure more than a friend. Lu had an unrequited crush on Superboy; she loved him, but clearly couldn't confide in him.
I'll have to think about this some more before I vote.
Posted by Quislet, Esq. on :
I only picked five. I also went based more on which Superboy would pick for his best friends.
1) Mon-el - Thought he was his brother. Felt bad for giving him lead poisoning
2) Lightning Lad - As one of the first Legionnaires to met him. LL, does have a more adventurous spirirt that Superboy would be drawn to. Plus the initials help.
3) Cosmic Boy - As being one of the first to met with Superboy.
4) Saturn Girl - Again one of the first to met Superboy. I put Saturn Girl last of the three because Superboy always was a little nervous around the oposite sex. However, SG's no nonsense attitude and not acting all girly would make her the first female he would feel comfortable around.
5) Ultra Boy - Had spent sometime in Smallville where Clark got to know him.
After voting, I thought of Star Boy (because of the solo story with Lana)
I dismissed Brainiac 5 because I think Brainy focused more attention on Supergirl than Superboy and that would not make for best friend status. After reading other people's comments, I woould also add Karate Kid.
Any side bets on which legionnaires get no votes?
Posted by jimgallagher on :
I almost voted for Star Boy instead of Duo Damsel, based on the Lana story and the trial. Plus Superboy vouched for Thom to replace him in Adv. 350. But Beyonder phrased his question as "people you believe cared the most for Kal-El," as opposed to "people Kal-El cared for the most," which swayed my vote to Duo Damsel.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
Call me dense, but why wasn't Supergirl included? Because she was Kal's cousin? Or because she rarely interacted with his teen self?
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: But Beyonder phrased his question as "people you believe cared the most for Kal-El," as opposed to "people Kal-El cared for the most," which swayed my vote to Duo Damsel.
I'm glad you pointed this out, Jim, as it makes my choices a little clearer. However, I can think of only two Legionnaires who demonstrated a particular care of Kal-El: Mon-El (again, the big brother relationship) and Lu (the unrequited love).
It's tempting to put Ultra Boy and Star Boy in this category since they shared "solo" adventures with Superboy when they first joined the Legion, and also because Superboy defended Thom at his trial. But these stories showed the Legionnaires doing what they needed to do in particular circumstances; I don't think they imply any special friendship.
(And in Thom's case, ADV. 342 and 350 may imply Kal's regard for Thom, but they don't really say much about the reverse.)
It's also tempting to vote for Rokk, Imra, and Garth since they were the first Legionnaires Kal met. But I don't recall any other stories which showed or implied a particular connection with any of them. (Although Supergirl once tried to play matchmaker between Superman and Saturn Woman . . .)
Another possibility is Element Lad, who shared with Kal the devastating experience of coming from doomed worlds. But I don't recall them ever bonding for that reason or any other.
Posted by Arm Fall Off Boy on :
1. Mon-El-He was the most powerful, and he and Supes were pals because only they knew what it was like to be a guy with such power.
2. Ultra-Boy-About the same as above-respected his power and understood his place as the Legion's inspiration.
3. Saturn Girl-Granted it was her job as the Legion's telepath, but she cared for him as she had to erase his memories in LSH #259.
4. Brainiac 5- Knew that he too was very intelligent (though not 12th level), and respected his place in Legion lore.
5.Shadow Lass-As Mon's girlfriend, she was almost a sister-in-law.
6. Duo Damsel/Triplicate Girl. Wasn't she the one at his death who said "I loved him, you know."
7. Cosmic Boy- The first leader knew the value of a friend and a powerful ally.
8. LL-The last of the original three-he respceted Supes' value to the team and his friendship.
Posted by DrakeB3004 on :
How many times did we see the Silver Age SuperMAN team up with his "childhood friends?" I imagine how grown-up Clark interacted with the Legion showed who he regarded as close friends.
Posted by Acid Digestion Lad on :
I think only once in the JLA/JSA/Legion Crossover thing.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
That was post silver age wasn't it?
The Legion often showed up in Superman's books as teenagers in the silver age. There was that story where they thought he was dying and went back to carry out his last wishes. Also the one where they guest-starred on "Our American Heroes" with him to name a couple.
They also sometimes showed up as adults.
Posted by Yellow Kid on :
Y'know, I still haven't figured this question out. Kal was always a kind and generous person but didn't appear to be extra close to anybody in particular. I can't think of a time where he'd hang up the cape and just kick back to shoot the space-bull with his BFF. Seems that he was really fond of several characters but he always had some emotional shield against being vulnerable to anybody. I think if there was anyone at all he felt most comfortable with it was the physical powerhouses like Jo, Lar and Brin.
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
Okay. Sorry it took me so long to answer to a poll I myself created.
But since I've got the time now and finally found my username and got a new password, it's highest time I returned to my fav legion board.
I originally voted for the following characters. For reasons of dramatics, I'll list them n descending order, from #8 ("least best friend of Kal-El") to #1 ("definitely Kal-El's BEST friend")-- though keep in mind that not only the "least best pal" of Supes is still as deep a friend as most of us will ever know, but also, ALL of them seemed friendly toward Supes, with the exception of Matter-Eater Lad, who never seemed to have ANY use for Kal-El, and, from Superboy's side, Element Lad, whom Superboy never really seemed to trust. But that particular item should be topic of another debatte entirelly, I suppose...
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
After reconsidering my original choices, I picked the following Legionnaires:
8) Sun Boy When Supes got news that Imra and Garth were getting married, he hustled to the future-- only to find out that the 30th Century had been retconned into a nightmare world almost as bad as 5YC. Very few Legionnaires were ready to believe him when he told them that the current reality was wrong, that the United Planets used to be a bright, sparkling space democraty, rather than the current, war-torn, paranoya-stricken cluster of planetary fortresses.
Shortly afterward, Imra & Garth were kidnapped by "space mongols". Most of the Legion wanted to free the 2 founders. Superboy disgressed, and wanted to find out (and revert) the cause of that nightmarrish retcon.
When almost everyone in the Legion stood against Superboy, Sun Boy stood by him, alongside very few others. Though his very memory of his past (he *did* live through the war-torn nightmare universe created by the Trapper, after all)proved the universe right and Superboy's claims wrong, he still stood by him and was willing to follow him. Even though Garth was one of Dirk's best friends.
This showed an incredible leap of faith on Sun Boy's part. I think he deserves the place in Superboy's inner circle of friends, even though they never chummed around on panel.
7) Princess Projectra For very much the same reason as Sun Boy-- although she did seem closer to Supes than Sun Boy was.
6) Wildfire Whenever Supes and Wildfire were on the same mission, the sparks would fly. Mostly due to Drake's hot-headeness, immaturity and abbrassive nature (which grated on the nerves of *everybody*, including *me*), partly due to Kal-El's impatience, lofty ideals and the fact that Superboy clearly admired everything the Legion stood for, while Wildfire seemed (on the surface) to want to merely exploit the Legion to get the missions done.
That started to change after the Time Trapper and Omega cases. From now on, Wildfire was one of Kal-El's best friends, and used only the *mildest* tauntings on him. Heck, he was nastier toward Star Boy.
5) Karate Kid They always were friends. Supes often spend time with him, while he never did so with Matter-Eater Lad or Shrinking Violet.
Furthermore, Val proved his deep friendship for and enduring trust toward Superboy the same way Projectra & Sun Boy did. Guys like Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl and even Ultra Boy *failed* to do so. When it really counted, they abandoned Superboy to his fears.
4) Brainiac Five Querl & Kal-El always get along with each other quite well. Supes also seemed to like Brainy more than almost any other Legionnaire (with the exceptions of Kara, Krypto, Imra & Mon-El), and when Supes wanted to relax, it was most often in games with Querl. Also, Brainy's the *only* Legionnaire Supes feels relaxed enough to banter with, not caunting Wildfire who usually screamed not for mere "banter" but a spanking.
3) Saturn Girl Of all the Silver Age Legionnaires, she was the best friend Superboy had in the whole Legion, and that trend continued into later eras. Of all the Legionnaires prior to Shadow Lass, only Imra was regulary worried whenever he was in any form of danger. She didn't seem to feel romantically for him, but she *did* love him, albeit it was a non-romantic, non-sexual love. Superboy has only two better friends in the Legion, and even *that* is highly debattable.
2) Mon-El "Superboy's big brother". You know it all.
1) Shadow Lass And the big surprise winner is... not Mon-El.
It's Tasmia. Whenever Supes and Tasmia interacted with each other, Tasmia's deep, enduring and utterly platonic love for Kal-El shines through. She's not naively enamored of him, like Lournu was, nor does she consider him her "little brother". She doesn't lie to him, as Imra does, either. And even when things make Superboy look as if he's not the swell guy he seemed to be, she *still* gives him the benefit of the doubt, even when Superboy himself contradicts here, so she's not some mind-less hero-worshipper, either. She cares for Superboy *himself*, not for his role in history-- and she cares about him even deeper than Imra and Mon-El do. She's definitely the best friend Kal-El has inthe 30th Century.
[ February 04, 2010, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life ]
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: Call me dense, but why wasn't Supergirl included? Because she was Kal's cousin? Or because she rarely interacted with his teen self?
Yes, it's because she is his cousin. Kinda disqualifies her.
Also, when you tak a look at their relationship, you'll notice that even when they *do* interact, they just don't relate that well to each other...
They don't hate each other, but they're not really interested to speak with each other, either.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Very interesing list, Beyonder-Prime. I would never have guessed Tasmia to be one of Superboy's closest friends.
Even now, I'm hard-pressed to think of stories in which they had meaningful interactions. Can you provide examples?
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
Of course, He Who Wanders.
The chronologically first would be "...And who will lead them?", the story where Wildfire becomes the leader of the Legion. In that story, we see the first indication that Tasmia may be Superboy's best friend-- but ONE moment isn't enough to count against Saturn Girl's, Brainy's and Mon-El's multiple moments.
Then, there's the "wedding album" of Saturn Girl & Lightning Lad, AKA "That Damned Tabloid". The first Legionnaire who steps up in defense of Superboy is Shadow Lass. And she is rather beligerent at it, I might add. Clearly, she doesn't just defend Superboy's "wild story", but Superboy himself.
The third (and to my knowledge biggest) evidence comes up when Tasmia travels with the Legionnaires to the past to help Superman against the twin-menaces of Mongul and the Sun-Eater.
In that story (DC Presents #43), it is stated that should the 20th Century Earth perish, the 30th Century wouldn't just vanish but become part of some alternate reality, so the Legion's survival doesn't depend on Supes' survival. Despite this, Tasmia's reaction when she thinks the adult Superboy could die is quite eye-opening-- and, especially in combination with all other evidence, actually managed to sway my evict away from Imra or Lar toward her.
By the way, you never told us who your choices were?
[ February 05, 2010, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life ]
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Can you clarify what you mean by the "ONE moment" is S/LSH # 225? Describe the scene for those of us who don't remember the issue very well or may have a different interpretation of the scene.
My choices? Hm, I can't recall if I even remembered to vote in this poll. But when I think of friendship, I think of people I hang out with when I don't have to be in their company (e.g., at work). So, with that very general observation in mind, here are some possibilities:
Mon-El: In addition to their shared history and identical powers, Mon was shown vacationing with Superboy at the Kents' in the 20th century (Superboy # 208).
Karate Kid: Kal sparred with Val in Adventure # 368. Of course, Legionnaires were always sparring with each other, so there may not be anything special about this. However, we do know that Val earned Superboy's respect by fighting him during the former's Legion tryout.
Brainiac 5: Superboy was one of four Legionnaires who helped Brainy celebrate his birthday in Adv. # 379.
That's all I can think of at the moment. One thing that needs to be mentioned, however, is that friendships evolve and sometimes simply die out because people have grown in different directions. There's no reason to assume that Superboy had the same close friendships for the entire duration of his Legion membership.
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: Can you clarify what you mean by the "ONE moment" is S/LSH # 225? Describe the scene for those of us who don't remember the issue very well or may have a different interpretation of the scene.
Okay. It's from SUPERBOY/LSH #225. The story begins with Supes disrupting the Legion's leader election ceremony. He pretends to be pissed at Wildfire because Drake was elected Leader even though Supes had *technically* more votes than Wildfire.
Supes grabbs Wildfire by the neck and pretends bullying him. At this point, Mon-El (who's *always* extremely touchy about super-beings abusing their might against weaker beings) steps in and smacks Supes brutally across the face. (Mind that, he *still* loved Kal-El like a brother-- he just thought Supes was losing control and wanted to constrain him).
Very shortly afterward, a (seemingly) pissed Supes is about to leave the ceremony, when Shadow Lass stops him. She pleads with him to calm down, telling him that this behavior is not like him. She explicitely describes him as "too good, too noble" to do something like this. In fact, even in the face of the evidence of Superboy's horrible, petty behavior at the ceremony, she flat-out refuses to believe Superboy could be at fault, but suspects Wildfire of being the true cause for Superboy's seeming rampage from just moments ago.
Later, in the same story, when Superboy feigns false evidence for Wildfire's supposed "incompetence", and the Legionnaires discuss this, Tasmia again defends Superboy, not out of naivete but out of good faith. And as it later turns out, she was right about Supes all the time: he only acted like an idiot to protect Wildfire's life.
This is the first time (at least to my knowledge) that we see evidence that Tasmia cared more for Superboy than any other Legionnaire did.
Note the fact that the known friends of Superboy, namely Brainy, Ultra Boy, Imra and even Mon-El didn't bother to try to calm Superboy down: even Lar was rather heavy-handed in his attempts to "constrain" Kal-El. Only Tasmia spoke to Superboy's heart. Only she viewed him as somebody who might require her aid. Mon-El only viewed his "little brother" as a possible problem, somebody who needed to be slapped down.
But I notized that the choice of Tasmia as Kal-El's #1 friend seems to disturb you?
If so, there's scant reason for that. The Tasmia of the late Seventies is a very different person from that Mon-El-obsessed creature of the mid-Eighties and later. The two Tasmias are as different as Kon-El is different from Kal-El. The later depiction of Shadow Lass could never have possessed the purity her earlier depiction had. The mid-eighties plus version of Tasmia Mallor was sick, she was corrupt. Remember, she forced marriage on a comatose Mon-El...
[ February 05, 2010, 08:00 PM: Message edited by: Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life ]
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: My choices? Hm, I can't recall if I even remembered to vote in this poll. But when I think of friendship, I think of people I hang out with when I don't have to be in their company (e.g., at work). So, with that very general observation in mind, here are some possibilities:
Mon-El: In addition to their shared history and identical powers, Mon was shown vacationing with Superboy at the Kents' in the 20th century (Superboy # 208).
Karate Kid: Kal sparred with Val in Adventure # 368. Of course, Legionnaires were always sparring with each other, so there may not be anything special about this. However, we do know that Val earned Superboy's respect by fighting him during the former's Legion tryout.
Brainiac 5: Superboy was one of four Legionnaires who helped Brainy celebrate his birthday in Adv. # 379.
That's all I can think of at the moment. One thing that needs to be mentioned, however, is that friendships evolve and sometimes simply die out because people have grown in different directions. There's no reason to assume that Superboy had the same close friendships for the entire duration of his Legion membership.
Don't worry about it. I reconsidered my choices, too, after I returned to this board. If I remember right, Tasmia was in, but below Brainy, and Projectra and Sun Boy were missing altogether.
And, yes, I share both your (general) definition of "friends" and your opinion about changing friendships.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life:
But I notized that the choice of Tasmia as Kal-El's #1 friend seems to disturb you? [/QB]
It didn't disturb me; it confused me, as I couldn't think of any evidence to support it. You make your case quite well.
quote:If so, there's scant reason for that. The Tasmia of the late Seventies is a very different person from that Mon-El-obsessed creature of the mid-Eighties and later. The two Tasmias are as different as Kon-El is different from Kal-El. The later depiction of Shadow Lass could never have possessed the purity her earlier depiction had. The mid-eighties plus version of Tasmia Mallor was sick, she was corrupt. Remember, she forced marriage on a comatose Mon-El...
Corrupt? You obviously have a different take on the storyline than I do. Mon-El was dying; Shady refused to accept this and performed the marriage rite in order to bind herself to him forever. I thought it was a loving act from a strong-willed woman who had been raised in a warrior culture.
Posted by Beyonder-Prime, Champion of Life on :
"Corrupt" in that regard that her love was obsessive.
Make no mistake: I *know* that this particular version of Tasmia was deeply in love with her Mon-El-- but in her case, that love was *too* strong. It overruled much of her morality.
Mon-El had said "No." Tasmia just ignored that and married him anyway, when he was unable to do anything about it.
I know she did this out of honest love, not merely because she wanted to be "Mrs. Mightiest Legion Member". But it's creepy and wrong all the same.
Anyway-- did my argument about Shadow Lass being Superboy's best friend convince you?
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
As I said, you made your case quite well. Your conclusion is plausible, although there are other possibilities: Tas may have held Superboy up on a pedestal (as Lu did for Lar in the reboot), or she may have just been able to discern things other Legionnaires could not. I'm not ready to proclaim her his best friend based on this scene or the others you've cited, but I recognize that as a possible interpretation.
As far as Tasmia's love "overruling" her morality is concerned, I think we have to balance that against her extraordinary cirumstances. Faced with losing her love forever, she not only married him but she went against doctor's advice by taking him out of the hospital to search the galaxy for a cure. On one hand, it might be considered immoral for her to remove him from the hospital, where he could at least be guaranteed to die as comfortably as possible. On the other hand, perhaps it was immoral from her vantage point to do nothing.
One should be careful about judging others (even characters) solely through the lens of one's own morality.
Regardless of whether Tasmia's actions were "right" or "wrong," those scenes were brilliant in bringing out a side of her character we'd never seen before. People usually don't know how they will react to an unthinkable situation until they find themselves in the midst of one. Rather than doing nothing, Tasmia took the only actions available to her.
I also think she forced us to examine what we would do in similar circumstances. Would we pledge our love to someone who was terminally ill and had no chance of recovery? Would we ignore medical advice and devote our lives to searchng for a cure? There is no clear right or wrong answer to such questions, so it's hard-pressed to judge the actions of someone who tried to find her own answers.