Inspired by homeworld survivor, I decided to start posting the info from the Help File on each of the home planets of the Legionnaires. Rather than start separate threads for pre- and post-boot, I'll include both descriptions in the same post. Also included herein is the description for the United Planets.
[Edit Note]
These are not in any order nor will I be finishing it in one sitting like I did the timeline. So if I take to long getting around to your favorite planet, send me a note and I'll get right on it.
[ July 29, 2003, 10:42 PM: Message edited by: Lightning Lad ]
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
Winath (Post-Boot)
Winath, a farming world and one of the farthest-out worlds in the United Planets, is the homeworld of the Ranzz family, the three children of whom represent that world's only super-beings: Garth, the former Legionnaire Live Wire, Ayla, the Legionnaire Spark and Mekt, the villainous Lightning Lord. Winath is very tough in regard to juvenile runaways, and thus, Garth kept a low profile while trying to slip off-planet to search for Mekt (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0). Garth returned there only after finally finding Mekt and losing an arm to him, and it was there that he and Ayla heard the news that the Legion was involved in an effort to rescue Valor (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 74).
Probably the oddest thing about Winath is that almost all births involve twins, a fact which causes much prejudice against singles, and has occasionally led to the development of sociopathic tendencies among them, such as Mekt Ranzz (Legionnaires # 30). Winathians place so much psychological value in their connections with their twin siblings that a feeling that the connection is lost can cause headaches and other physiological problems, as was the case with Spark after her lightning powers were changed (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 101). Even if someone is born a twin, but his or her twin dies or departs, the remaining twin is usually shunned as a "solo." This happeneed to Ayla Ranzz when Garth ran away from home to find Mekt, although she was once again accepted, and even honored by Winathian society after her lightning powers saved Winath's presidents from the terrorist group of High-Brow, Klamorr, Slopp and Violence Queen (Legends of the Legion # 2).
Winath is a very respected member of the United Planets, but when the Affiliated Planets fanned the flames of a Durlan scare, the planet joined that organization for protection (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104). To investigate the matter, the Legion sent Spark and Triad to find out if any sinister motives were behind that action (Legionnaires # 62). While they were there, they attended a dinner with Zakk Arn and Fegg Arn (often mispronounced "Arzz"), the twin co-presidents of Winath (Legends of the Legion # 2, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104). At that dinner, the Composite Man, disguised as Chameleon and acting as an agent of the Dark Circle, killed Fegg Arn, apparently prompting Winath to declare war on Durla (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 106, Legionnaires # 63). The Composite Man later tracked down Spark and Triad, but the three of them were teleported to Colu before their battle had been concluded (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 107).
After the Dark Circle had been defeated, Zakk Arn, who had secretly sold out Winath to the Dark Circle in order to avoid his embezzlement of government money being discovered, was arrested by the Legion for that embezzlement and for the murder of his brother (Legionnaires # 65).
Winath is one of the planets that had been served by a Stargate that the Blight passed through on their way to Earth (Legionnaires # 78).
Klegworms are a form of invertabrate life that lives on Winath that Vyrgans consider an edible delicacy (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 81).
Winath (Pre-Boot)
Winath, also known as Amarta, is one of the Gandian worlds, which has the unusual property that almost every lifeform, plant or animal, is born as a twin. The doubled agricultural production has made Winath one of the best source worlds for produce in the United Planets, and the many family-run plantations spawn new ones as pairs of twins end up marrying other pairs. One of the most successful plantations is the Lightning Ring Plantation, run by Winathian former Legionnaire Garth Ranzz, his twin sister Ayla, his brother Mekt and his Titanian wife, Imra, which has served as a meeting place for Legionnaires and former Legionnaires whether on happy occasions (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 3) or whether they are needed due to dangerous situations (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 60).
Winathian philosophy is very heavily dependent on open expression of feelings and outside support, especially from one's twin. Tranquility reigns on the plantations, and it takes an event on the magnitude of an attack by Lightning Lord (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 6), Validus (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) Annual # 2), Roxxas (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 10-12, 19 (aftermath)), or the living dead (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 44, 48) to disturb the workers. The rare singletons, such as Mekt Ranzz, are therefore often socially maladjusted, and Mekt, before he reformed, was probably the most infamous Winathian criminal ever. Since society's spectacular failure with him, there have been agencies established to attach single-born children in an "adoptive twin" relationship, a program which has met with quite a bit of success, including a match for Mekt himself, named Holt (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 3). Before this, however, Mekt Ranzz had chosen Winath as his base for criminal activity due to his bitterness against its society, although this activity was ended in 2982 by Ayla Ranzz and her boyfriend, Timber Wolf (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 241). Winath's Science Police force has since been much more diligent in its investigations, such as the investigation of the murder of the private detective hired by Timber Wolf to find Ayla Ranzz (Legion of Super-Heroes # 7) and the investigation of a prowler on that murder scene...actually, Legionnaire Shrinking Violet (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) Annual # 1).
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Titan (Post-Boot)
Titan is a world on which everyone has telepathic abilities, at least to some degree. This fact causes great suspicion amongst other races, and has led to a United Planets rule demanding that all Titanians wear a badge shaped like the planet Saturn, around which Titan revolves (as it is actually a satellite rather than a planet). Those who refuse to wear the badge have the symbol tatooed to them, and such free spirits, such as the freelance telepath Nara Minsork (who even tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the tatoo) , who was hired by Warden Kreyton of Takron-Galtos to read Brainiac 5's mind and was eventually imprisoned for her failure and the crime of using a mechanical mind-grabber device to assist her in her task (an illegal act due to the danger it poses to the subject) (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 77). Telepathy is not the only mental ability that Titanians (also known as Saturnians) possess; some possess the ability to control others' minds, a practice much frowned upon, as in the case of the criminal Titanor. Prior to its joining the United Planets, Titan was involved in a war with the planet Braal which had been secretly instigated by Earth's President Chu for the sake of building up the United Planets's reputation as a peacemaking organization, and which ended only when the U. P. brokered a peace agreement. Even with the current agreement, tensions between the two planets are high, and Titan once again declared war when the Fatal Five, under orders from Chu, staged an attack on Titan from Drak IV on the Braalian frontier, making it look like Braal was attacking Titan. Only the timely intervention of Doctor Micah Aven, the extremely skilled telepath who heads the Titan Institute, trained Imra Ardeen and had helped broker the original peace agreement, and the Legion of Super-Heroes prevented this hoax from becoming a full-scale war, and only Valor prevented Titan's capital from being destroyed by the Fatal Five's attack (Legionnaires # 36, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 80).
Saturn Girl has returned to Titan twice since the (Legionnaires # 38, 57).
It is very hard to get away with a crime on Titan, as the local Science Police can get a lot of help from the local telepaths. The most skilled telepaths are drafted into this service at a young age, and are trained at the Titan Institute, as Imra Ardeen was ( Legionnaires # 38). (One exception to this was her cousin, Sarmon Ardeen, who was so powerful, that he has been kept imprisoned underground for fear of the destruction he could achieve with his mind if he were free (Titans / Legion of Super-Heroes: Universe Ablaze # 4).) Such was the case when an ambassador tried to steal valuable crystals from her own embassy and have the crime pinned on somebody else, only to be caught by promising S. P. cadet Imra Ardeen, who soon thereafter boarded the flight to Earth that would lead to her career as the Legionnaire Saturn Girl (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0).
Titan (Pre-Boot)
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and is occasionally called by the name of the planet around which it revolves. It was settled in the 24th century by humans with strongly-developed psychic abilities, and it is universally recognized as the most advanced area in the mental sciences. It boasts a very low crime rate, which Titanians like to attribute to ther efficiency of their Science Police, but which many credit to an ancient legend about psychoactive particles in the rings of Saturn which dampen aggressive instincts. Either way, it's a beautiful place to live, and the rings in the night sky make it a very in-demand place to hold weddings.
Titan is ostensibly ruled by the Aries family, but their actual command of the planet is similar to the rulership exercised by the rulers of Great Britain in the late twentieth century. One of the royal family's jewels, the Hypno-stone, had been missing for most of the thirtieth century, was returned to Titan in 2995 by the adventurous Eve Aries, known in circles as Saturn Queen, and she has thus taken the throne and is officially the ruler of the planet with former Legionnaire Tenzil Kem as her consort (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 50). Other members of the Titanese royal family are Saturn Queen's aunt Taka, who served as matron of honor at Eve's and Tenzil's wedding, the Lord Chancellor, who served as best man, and his daughter, Michi, who didn't want to be queen, even though he wanted her to (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 50).
Titan's proudest daughter is Imra Ardeen Ranzz, who became a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes as Saturn Girl with her incredible command of her inborn telepathic powers. She has become a major celebrity on Titan, and crowds throng to see her and her fellow Legionnaires any time she returns home, as she did to perform in a circus in 2976 (Adventure Comics # 325) and for her son Graym's baptism in 2986 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 16). Other Titanians have tried to take her place, such as Meta Ulnoor, who called herself Esper Lass and later joined the Legion of Super-Villains, and Delya Castil, Mentalla, who tried to prove her worthiness by infiltrating the Fatal Five, but was killed by the Emerald Empress. The Legionnaires once made a trip to Titan in order to track her down when she seemed missing, but had actually been with the Empress (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 25).
Titan has a quite varied wildlife, although there is some uncertainty about how much of it is native and how much transplanted. Among the fauna of Titan are the Stone Dragon, which dwells in caves (Adventure Comics # 342), the Scorpion-Beast, which drips deadly acid from its claws (Adventure Comics # 342), and the legendary Psycho-Beast, which was recently hunted to extinction for its ability to revitalize neural pathways in its dying moments by the Legion, who used its energy to save the life of Wildfire and of Redvik Chang, son of Earth councilman Marko Chang (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 235).
[ July 29, 2003, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: Lightning Lad ]
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
Mars (Post-Boot)
Mars, fourth planet from the sun circled by Earth, was the second one to be colonized by Earthmen in the early centuries of space travel. It once had a native species which was wiped out by a plague in the middle of the twentieth century, with the exception of J'onn Jonzz, who was teleported to Earth by an Earthling scientist before the plague hit him and went on to have a super-hero career as the "Martian Manhunter."
R. J. Brande has an estate on Mars, to which he retires when he feels he needs some peace. Shortly after he became president of the United Planets, he invited Valor there for a chat (Legionnaires # 37).
The Forte district of Mars is the home of the Science Police Academy, overseen by Chief Desmond Wilson and occupied by many S. P. officers in addition to the trainees. It was there that Gim Allon was bombarded by the radiation which eventually gave him his Leviathan powers from a meteor which struck when he chased a Durlan criminal (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 6, and it is Mars which Leviathan represented in the Legion of Super-Heroes (Legionnaires # 0). Prior to his leaving Mars to be a Legionnaire, he ended a hostage situation in a colonization office on Mars (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 6).
On Shanghalla, there is a monument called The Shrine to the Unknown Martian, but its origin is unknown (Legion of Super-Heroes Secret Files # 2).
In the far future, the evil New God Darkseid will convert Mars into a new Apokolips for the fulfillment of one of his schemes. Eventually, J'onn Jonzz, still alive in that time, managed to force him to abandon the battleground of the mortal plane and a result of that was that J'onn was merged with Mars, becoming the planet's soul, a situation that lasted into the 853rd century and beyond.
Mars (Pre-Boot)
Mars, third planet (fourth before Earth was destroyed) from the sun once circled by Earth, was the second one to be colonized by Earthmen in the early centuries of space travel. It once had a native species which apparently practiced magic of some sort, as it is believed that the ring containing the females Starlight and Starbright is of native Martian manufacture (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) Annual # 4). The entire native population was wiped out by a plague in the middle of the twentieth century, with the exception of J'onn Jonzz, who was teleported to Earth by an Earthling scientist before the plague hit him and went on to have a super-hero career as the "Martian Manhunter."
By United Planets law, Jonzz is the sovoreign ruler of Mars, and when he's there, he performs many official functions, such as solemnizing marriages. He prefers to wander, though, and in his absence, his appointed human deputies take care of the day-to-day runnings of the planet's small human community. This community has a planetary hero on call for emergencies, although he was unwilling to help the Legion drive away the Sun-Eater, since it seemd to be a hopeless cause (Adventure Comics # 352). Jonzz keeps a close watch to make sure that the natural landscape is not despoiled by humans, and has been thus far satisfied with their subdued presence. He grew quite friendly with the Legion of Super-Heroes over the years, and upon his order, the world of Mars sent the Legion a Mass Spectro-Analymeter as a housewarming gift in 2978 (Adventure Comics # 367).
Mars's largest active volcano is Nix Olympica, and the crater surrounding it contains a large portion of the planet's human-built structures. It is a dazzling sight, and one that many tourists enjoy seeing from their hotel rooms, most of which are within sight of it. It is the second-most popular place for weddings in the solar system (after Titan), and was the location of the wedding of Legionnaires Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy (Superboy (1st series) # 200). The Science Police Academy is also located on Mars, and has made the hotels and casinos considerably more popular through the appearence of safety. However, sometimes that appearance can be shattered by the intrusion of villains like Starfinger, who tried to extort money from the hotel owner Jonlor , but was stopped by the Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 29). Starfinger, not one to take such insults lightly, had Jonlor killed and attacked the hotel a second time some months later (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 41). Jonlor's son also refused to pay the extortion, and Starfinger ordered a hit on him as well, but fortunately for him, Chameleon Boy was working undercover for Starfinger at the time and warned him (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 47). The hotels are excellent anonymous meeting places, and once, Tarik the Mute sent his men there to meet a potential recruit, crook Vrenn G'ondd, upon which occasion he fell into a Legion trap (Adventure Comics # 372).
Near Nix Olympica are many canals, and Elvo of the Wanderers hid in one after he and his teammates stole the Seven Stones of Alactos. He was tracked down and taken into custody by Karate Kid and Valor (Adventure Comics # 375).
Another popular resort area, especially among the younger and less affluent crowd, is Mount Hedon, where Science Police Cadets Gigi Cusimano and Gim Allon were vacationing when Gim was nearly hit by the radioactive meteor that turned him into Colossal Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 39).
In 2987, Gigi Cusimano was named chief of the Martian Science Police branch (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 39). Soon afterward, in early 2988, she made her first big bust, when Colossal Boy called her in to help disposing of Starfinger's secret base, which was located on that planet (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) Annual # 4).
There are also some human settlements near the polar ice-caps, which are occaionally threatened by glaciers. In 2979, Valor melted a huge glacier, saving one such city (Adventure Comics # 378).
One well-known native of Mars is Doctor Landro, who was best-known for his micro-capule surgery techniques, until he was exposed as using them in service of a spy ring.
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New Earth
Much of Earth's history between the end of the twentieth century and World War VI toward the end of the twenty-eighth century is not reliably recorded. One things that is known, though, is that in the mid-millenium (22nd-24th) centuries, Earth made great use of Neo-Plasmic technology, a by-product of which was a highly toxic substance known as proton jelly. Originally, it was dumped into space, but when the colony worlds objected to this practice, Earthlings instead built waste-disposal tunnels in which to store the proton jelly, with intentions of finding something to do with it later. When newer, less wasteful forms of energy were discovered, the proton jelly was all but forgotten and the chambers were sealed off. For centuries, the substance began seeping through the bottom of the chambers, downward toward the Earth's core.
The chambers were rediscovered in 2989 by the Dominators, who took over Earth and used them to perform genetic experiments on humans; by this time there was only a residual amount of proton jelly in the chambers. In 2995, a band of freedom fighters took control of the Metropolis chamber and sealed all the chambers off, reworking the organic circuitry so that if one were destroyed, all would be. When the freedom fighters left the chambers on May 15, one of them, Grinn, was afraid that the Dominators would take the chamber subjects and use them as weapons against them, and triggered an explosion that would destroy every chamber.
One week later, after Earth had been liberated, a series of earthquakes in places with no known fault lines led to an investigation by the two Brainiac 5s which, on May 26, came the conclusion that the explosions had done more damage than the deaths of the people in and around the chambers themselves. They had started a chain reaction in all the old proton jelly, creating a sort of mineral virus that extended all the way down to the Earth's core. Earth's core was now unstable, and the planet would be destroyed in a matter of weeks, if not days.
A massive evacuation effort, which included members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, was organized. Since it was almost certain that all eight million wouldn't make it off Earth before the destruction, many volunteered to stay behind until the later ships (if they came), and of those who wouldn't, lotteries were held to see who would be lucky enough to get spots on the first ships off. In the meantime, another avenue of salvation was being explored. After the great wars of the twenty-eighth century, 480 cities were outfitted with domes and propulsion units so that if a world-wide danger would threaten, the cities would be able to go air-tight and blast off into space and preserve all the historical artifacts on them, then link together in a network and orbit Earth as a giant satellite. Only 102 of those cities had survived the destruction of the moon and the war against the Dominion, but Earth President Jacques Foccart ordered these cities into readiness. This was not easily achieved, The mechanisms were centuries old, and they were untested, indeed, untestable. There would be no margin for error. But on June 3, as the tremors got worse and this appeared to be an only option, Foccart ordered the domes raised and the cities rocketed into Earth orbit.
The operation was not without its problems. Many people, who lived in the places where the domes would either rise up or come down, refused to leave their homes, and were crushed when the domes were raised. The liftoffs themselves killed many in the aftershocks and blasts. Two cities, Barcelona and Tashkent, exploded in the lift-off attempt due to faulty engines. And, as the engineers aboard the remaining hundred cities tried to hook the cities up to each other, slips and errors caused the destruction of Chongqing, Nairobi, Dakar, Dresden and Santiago. Once the ninety-five remaining cities were linked together as New Earth, the structure had to be transported into the Bgztl Buffer Zone, otherwise it would have had no chance of surviving the blast. The dimensional portal necessary was huge, and a momentary lapse in the energy that held it open destroyed Seoul. Observing the destruction of three space arks in volcanic eruptions during evacuation attemps, President Foccart, at midnight Greenwich time of June 4, 2995 ordered all evacuation efforts halted. That was the last day of Earth's existence, and of the lives of the two billion people left behind (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 38).
New Earth's very existence was born of tragedy, but life needed to continue, and for that, what was necessary was hope. Legionnaire Reep Daggle offered the younger team of Legionnaires to provide a symbol of such hope, and they were duly deputized by New Earth's new president, Troy Stewart, who took over when Foccart decided the burden was too much for him, and its Science Police chief, Sean Erin (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 41). New Earth became the home of fifty million people. Among its cities are Metropolis (the capital), Melbourne, Jakarta, Paris, Tokyo, Acapulco, Essen, and the underwater cities of Tritonis (also inaccurately called Atlantis) and Marsala.
New Earth was okay for a while, but it was fundamentally structurally unstable, as it was intended to be made of 480 cities, not just 94. In early 2996, this problem was exacerbated by the older Rokk Krinn, who, due to gauntlets that the older Brainiac 5 gave him to enhance his latent powers, came to New Earth thinking he could re-assemble the planet (Legionnaires # 16, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 59). His magnetic powers, though, began to warp the artificial structure, and New Earth began buckling. It was patched up by Valor, Dev-Em and others, but what was really necessary was a true planet to take old Earth's place. R. J. Brande thought he had a solution when he had Valor, Dev-Em and Andromeda haul the Earth from Superboy's Pocket Universe into real space, but it proved to be an unstable planet itself, and would, within a few days, explode and destroy New Earth (Valor # 22). However, this proved to not be a great concern, as the time-crisis Zero Hour hit, and people started disappearing, making New Earth a lesser priority. New Earth became the base from which several heroes fended off the entropy rift that threatened the thirtieth century and the mind-controlled 21st-century beings known as Team Titans, but after all this, New Earth disappeared in the universal destruction before it could be blown up by the unstable pocket-Earth (Zero Hour # 2).
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Orando {Post-Boot)
Orando is a world whose dominant species is giant carnivorous serpentine beings, who rule the planet, and are served by a race of bipedal rodents (Legionaires # 49). The ruler of Orando is King CharlzSENSOR_RELATIVES, and he has two known children: the princess Jeka Wynzorr, who joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as Sensor despite his wishes that she remain on-planet to train for her duties as eventual queen (Legionnaires # 43), and Prince Wyllm, who wishes to inherit the throne, but who is not being allowed to ( Legionnaires # 46, 49, 55, 60). Jeka finally acceded to her father's decree after his dicovery of her spending a night out with Chameleon enraged him (Legionnaires # 60).
Shortly after she left the Legion, King Charlz got swept up in the anti-Durlan hysteria being spread by the Affiliated Planets and had the planet leave the United Planets and join the Affiliated Planets (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104). He set about mining the minerals which make Orando a valuable member of any interplanetary alliance it joins, but this act, which resulted in overworking of the rodents, was protested by both of his children. Under the direction of the young prince, the workers went on strike (Legionnaires # 62).
Following the defeat of the Dark Circle, Orando, its king having been duly chastised for his prejudice, rejoined the United Planets ( Legionnaires # 65).
Orando {Pre-Boot)
Orando is one of the worlds that was settled by emigrants from the Sorcerer's World Zerox. The founders are believed to have used some magical form of transportation to reach the planet, as its inhabitants are at a cultural and technological level similar to that of Earth in the middle ages. Technology is regarded with strong suspicion on Orando, and only the natives' absolute loyalty to their rulers (a vow the nobles must publicly swear every year (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 285)), who have been in favor of such advances, has allowed its introduction at all.
Orando's ruler in the late thirtieth century was King Voxv, until he died in 2983 (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 285). He was an aggressive advocate of relations with the United Planets, to the point that he sent his daughter Projectra to Earth to learn about the outside universe, where she eventually joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion has, in turn, aided Orando on several occasions, including an attack by the Chemical Conqueror Mantis Morlo (Adventure Comics # 362-363) in 2978. Despite his appreciation of alien cultures, Voxv was extremely loyal to Orandi tradition, and he even required the commoner Karate Kid to prove his valor in the primitive twentieth century before he could be allowed to marry Princess Projectra (Karate Kid # 1-15).
When Voxv died, Projectra should have automatically become Queen, but her cousin Pharoxx invoked a medieval-style rule that demanded she prove her innocence in her father's death through trial by combat. Pharoxx was aided in this plot by Hagga, the witch who was mother to King Voxv and grandmother to him and Projectra, and only the help of Karate Kid and the other Legionnaires proved her innocence and saved her life (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 286-288). After being coronated, Projectra wished to make Karate Kid her consort, and asked the Council of Orakills, who could speak to the souls of the dead and whose job was to rule in matters concerning the royal family, to allow the marriage. The spell they invoked summoned Legionnaires Invisible Kid and Wildfire to Orando, which they interpreted as a sign that she should be allowed to marry a Legionnaire (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 299). The wedding took place in the middle of 2984 (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) Annual # 2).
Alas, this love also brought suffering to Orando. In 2982, Karate Kid's father's protege, Sadaharu the Black Dragon conquered Orando in order to draw Karate Kid out of the twentieth century, a problem which took the entire Legion to correct (Karate Kid # 9-10 ). And when the Legion of Super Villains conceived a plot to conquer a planet and bring it to another dimension to rule, its leader, Nemesis Kid, decided to do it to Orando for the sake of his hatred for Karate Kid. With the help of Pharoxx, the villains took over the planet and killed many. When Projectra and Karate Kid returned from their honeymoon, the villains captured them, along with several other Legionnaires. Karate Kid sacrificed his life in order to prevent the villains from carrying out their plan, but the sacrifice was in vain. After killing Nemesis Kid to avenge her husband's death, Projectra blamed the occurrence on the introduction of technology to Orando, and ordered the transfer to that other dimension completed, so that the planet could once again be isolated (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 305, 308, Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 1-5). Projectra was judged by the Council of Orakills to be partially responsible for the crime and in atonement was required to spend some time in exile incognito (which time she spent with the Legion as Sensor Girl), but even after the Orakills (now calling themselves the Council of Regents to reflect their true position on the planet at the time) allowed her return in 2986, she refused, believing now that all rule of man was but illusion (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 27).
This view had changed somewhat by 2990, when the Orakills found that Orando's new dimension was not as capable of sustaining life as its original location, and Projectra, who had spent some time as Legion leader, consented to become Queen once again and help restore the planet to what it once had been. To help with foreign relations, Projectra hired former President of Earth Marte Allon, offering her and her husband sanctuary from the Dominators who had taken over Earth and harassed her. Since then, she has succeeded in restoring much of Orando's vitality, which has been sorely tested through a 2995 Khund attack and Dark Circle infiltration (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 15-18). Later in 2995, after Mordru's undead army was defeated, the Khunds made another grab at Orando, but they were kept at bay (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 52).
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Braal (Post-Boot)
Braal, a world where every native has the power to manipulate magnetic objects, is the home of Cosmic Boy, former champion in the sport of Magno-Ball, and later, leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes. For some time before the founding of the United Planets , it had been engaged in a war with the planet Titan, which had secretly been instigated by Earth's President Chu, wishing to build the United Planets based on a reputation as a peacemaker (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 80), and indeed, the fledgeling interplanetary organization managed to broker a truce between the two planets that allowed them to even run shuttle flights directly from one to another (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0). Tensions between Braal and Titan once again ingnited, though, after Chu hired the Fatal Five to attck Titan from Drak IV, on the edge of Braalian territory, with Braalian weapons.
Some time later, after Cosmic Boy had gotten trapped in the twentieth century due to a mishap involving the Emerald Eye of Ekron, Dyrk Magz, another Braalian, joined the Legion as Magno (Legionnaires # 43), and returned there after the loss of his powers in battle against Mordru, in the vain hope that a doctor there might be able to restore his powers (Legionnaires # 53).
Braal is one of the planets that had been served by a Stargate that the Blight passed through on their way to Earth (Legionnaires # 78).
Braal (Pre-Boot)
Braal is a Gandian world that was settled by survivors of the Dominion mutation camps with magnetic powers, who were capable of protecting themselves from the living iron monsters that lived there. Although most of the camp inmates were Earthlings, there is great suspicion that the original Braalians were not from Earth, as there are tales of a warlike past and traditions that come from no known Earth civilization.
Whatever their origins, the people of Braal are some of the toughest in the United Planets due to the magnetic abilities they inherited from their ancestors. The magnetic powers are treated with a religious reverence, and there is one day each year in which tradition forbids Braalians to use their magnetic powers (Superboy (1st series) # 215). Magno-ball is a popular sport not only on Braal but all around the U. P. (even though only Braalians are capable of playing it without artificial devices), and through this game, the most powerful Braalians stand out from the crowd. Despite their planetary sport's popularity, though, Braal is a poor planet, on which most youngsters, upon reaching adulthood at age fourteen, must go off-planet to earn a living. Even magno-ball champions such as Rokk Krinn aren't free of this burden, and it was in search of employment that he boarded the flight to Earth which resulted in the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, with him, as Cosmic Boy, its first leader. Other champions who have attempted a life of heroism are Rokk's brother Pol, a. k. a. Magnetic Kid, who replaced his brother in the Legion in 2986, and Kort Grezz, Magno Lad, who was rejected and instead joined the Legion of Super-Villains.
The Legion of Super-Heroes have several times had to save Braal from some external threat, once in 2982 against the Worldsmith , who tried to remodel Braal for an unknown employer before the Legion's interference made the operation unprofitable (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 236), and once in 2988 when Hywyndr the Elemental disrupted Braal's weather patterns for reasons unknown (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 52-53).
In 2991, Braal instigated a war with Imsk for economic reasons. This ended in disaster for Braal, when the Imskians set off a weapon called the damper at Venado Bay in the Braalian system. It disrupted the Braalians' magnetic fields, resulting in the loss of many lives and limbs, and the loss of many Braalians' magnetic powers. Imsk won the war and currently occupies Braal.
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Cargg {Post-Boot)
Cargg is the home planet of Luornu Durgo, the Legionnaire known as Triad...much to its dismay.
All Carggites are capable of splitting into three similar beings. In most Carggites, the personalities of these beings are identical, but when this is not true, as in Durgo's case, the Carggite is considered not only abnormal, but dangerous. Such individuals, when discovered, are taken to psychiatric hospitals and are reprogrammed, often painfully, to think alike. Durgo herself only managed to evade such a fate by escaping the hospital into the hands of R. J. Brande, who understood her plight and used his economic leverage to have her remanded to his custody...and later, to have her officially named Cargg's representative in the Legion of Super-Heroes.
The ironic thing about the whole situation is how wrong the Carggites are. They are taught from birth that they evolved with the ability to split into three bodies in order to defend themselves from large monsters, but in truth, they evolved this way for the sake of psychological stability, giving them the oportunity to see many (or at least three) sides of an issue without having to strain one mind. Instead, by making all Carggites make their bodies think alike, two-thirds of Cargg's population is, in effect, enslaved. ( Legionniares # 24).
Carggites have a higher-than-average reverence for Valor.
One other known Carggite is Luonel "Murl" Bordo, father of Legionnaire Apparition (Legionnaires # 28, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 94, 100, 102).
Two known Carggites in the seventy-fifth century are Triad-III and Triplicate, members of Wildfire's Legion of Super-Heroes ( Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Over the next eighty thousand years, the citizens of Carggg, still maintaining a respect for the number three, sealed themselves inside a tesseract, interacting with the rest of the United Planets, of which they remained a member, through their champion, who wore the container of this tesseract as a third eye and could access the skills of any Carggite. In the year 85271, this champion was called Implicate Girl, and she was a member of Justice Legion L (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Other notable Carggites in the 853rd century include Laris Orvo, a skilled pilot who has flown into a sun three times, and Seltoru Ergo, three-time champion of the Cargg tri-rodeo (Legionnaires # 1000000).
Carggg {Pre-Boot)
Carggg is a planet in a triple-sun system on which each inhabitant is able to split his or herself into three perfect copies. Generally, each of the three bodies have the same personality, and if something kills one body, the entire triad dies. The few exceptions to this rule are considered freaks, and are shunned on Carggg as "incomplete" people. Legionnaire Luornu Durgo found herself in just such a situation, and even though she is a hero throughout the galaxy, Cargggites are less than enthusiastic about her.
Carggg was one of the Gandian worlds settled by Valor, and he is held in greater awe on Carggg than anywhere else in the galaxy. Carggg's three suns create a high level of background radioactivity, and have discouraged trade with other planets. Recently, the Dark Circle took advantage of this fact and exploited the situation by starting a cult there, and from there they exported their influence to the rest of the galaxy. Valor, though, put a stop to this in early 2995 (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 18).
Because of the triple sun, almost everything on Carggg reflects the number three somehow. The architecture leans toward a pyramid motif, and powers of three are considered sacred numbers. Triplicating three times in one day is considered bad luck (Adventure Comics # 343).
Carggg is ruled by its Arch-Khana, a woman who, during the Dark Circle occupation was forced to submit to their wishes. She was not able to resist Valor when he came to stop it, though, and her daughter, the Khana-Rae used her triplicating ability to confound their oppressors. The outlook on Carggg is once again optimistic (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 18).
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Bgztl (Post-Boot)
Bgztl is a world on which every ihabitant has the power to phase through solid matter. While this ability is to some degree innate, it also owes something to the powers of touchstones, red gems worn by every Bgztlr that somehow create a portal between the realms of the living and the dead, symbolizing the Bgztlr's change in state from tangible to intangible (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 87). Its ambassador to the United Planets is Winema Wazzo, whose late daughter, Tinya, was the planet's Legion representative, Apparition. A young man named Phantom Lad tried to replace Apparition in the Legion when the Legion held an open call for new members some months after her death, but he was rejected (Legionnaires # 44).
One seventy-fifth century Bgztlr is Phase, a member of Wildfire's Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Over the next eighty thousand years, Bgztl joined in a "planetary marriage" with Colu, creating a race of super-intelligent, immaterial beings, who have and need no concern for physicality. One of these beings is Brainiac 417, who, in the year 85271, was a member of theJustice Legion L (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Bgztl (Pre-Boot)
Bgztl is a planet in another dimension with the same spatial coordinates as Earth. Before the twentieth century, it was under the totalitarian rule of a certain family, the last of whom was called the Dirigible Dictator due to his extensive use of lighter-than-air aircraft in keeping his regime in power (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 282). At that time, Bgztlrs had no ability to phase through solid matter, but toward the later part of that century, they gained it, the manner in which this happened disputed by thirtieth-century Bgztlrs. Most point to a legend of people whose youth was stolen by a demon living in a dimension between Earth and Bgztl and the demon giving them power to travel the dimensions in order to find it more victims as the origin of their ability to shift part of their bodily mass into a "Buffer Zone" (called the "Twilight Dimension" or Phantom Zone by some) and thus pass through solids (L. E. G. I. O. N. '93 # 59-60). Skeptics say that this power developed naturally in some individuals. Regardless of the origin, interbreeding between phasers and non-phasers resulted in a planet full of people with that ability, and the legend is the origin of the planet's name, which was supposedly the name of the leader of those stolen-youth children. The emergence of phasing people enabled the population to overthrow the Dirigible Dictator and set up a republic.
This is the state that Bgztl finds itself in today, a planet of phantoms with laws that closely guard people's privacy on threat of the removal of a transgressor's phasing abilities. A few people have enough of this ability to actually travel to Earth under their own power (they call the place Bgztl-2). Most others need a special adaptor to increase their ability. There is little tourism from Earth, since the dimensional shift is uncomfortable for non-Bgztlrs. There is some trade between Bgztl and Earth, as some Bgztlr foods are great delicacies, including Shorma Fruit and Roklar Punch (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 240). Bgztl discourages Earth travel, though, as it wishes to avoid large-scale emigration on the part of powerful phasers such as Tinya Wazzo, a. k. a. Phantom Girl, who ran away from school to join the Legion. Most Bgztlrs have no such option, though, as the level of their powers are lower.
Criminal enterprises greatly cherish Bgztlrs' skills, and have tried to smuggle a few over the dimensional divide. Doctor Landro and Meglaro have used Bgztlr's phasing abilities in their spying operations (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 42), an d pirates have used Bgztlrs' dimension-shifting abilities to throw off pursuers (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 12). Phantom Girl's Legion presence has proven extremely helpful in stopping these phantom criminals.
Due to the inherent problems of being a world of beings who can phase through solid matter, privacy law is one of the most strictly guarded set of laws on the planet. Walls are painted any color between black and white; black is permissible to phase through, and restrictions on phasing are greater and greater as the color gets lighter. Phasing into a white zone without invitation is the ultimate invasion of privacy, and the punishment could be a permanent removal of the transgressor's phasing ability. Phantom Girl's mother, Winema Wazzo Wlessey is a leading expert on privacy law on Bgztl (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 42).
One of the Bgztlr customs that has gained widespread acceptance on other worlds is the use of wedding wands, or wedding sticks featuring statuettes of members of the wedding party (Adventure Comics # 337). It was even used in the most recent marriage of the Titanian royal family, that of Eve Aries (Saturn Queen) to former Legionnaire Tenzil Kem (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 50).
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Colu (Post-Boot)
Colu, a planet populated by green-skinned, long-lived humanoids, is the center for all cutting-edge technological development in the galaxy. The average Coluan is a ten on the galactic intelligence scale (the average Earthling is a six), and in their ancient history, the planet was ruled by its greatest intellect, a title called Brainiac.
During Earth's middle ages, the Coluans built giant computers to help make policy and run their world in a logical fashion. To their surprise, though, the computers subjugated the organic beings, and, in an event now known as the "Robot Revolt," took control of the entire planet. The Computer Tyrants, as they were called, ruled Colu with a total disregard for feeling and compassion, and performed cruel experiments on any organic beings that came under their sphere of influence. Coluans were reduced to mindless drones in the service of the Tyrants.
To protect themselves against the possibility of revolt, the Tyrants created a humanoid robot to walk among the Coluans and act as their spy. This being decided that its task was illogical and fled Colu, taking on a more efficient mechanical form and calling itself Brainiac, as it considered itself the greatest intelligence in the galaxy. It caused some trouble for Earth's heroes, but dropped out of sight in the late twentieth century. It's final fate is unknown.
In Earth's late twentieth century, the Computer Tyrants discovered greater than average intelligence in the child Vril Dox, and granted him limited freedom if he would put that intelligence to work for them. He agreed to the deal, and was allowed to impregnate a female, who bore him a son, Vril Dox II. The elder Dox was extremely abusive toward his son, and the younger Dox grew to hate him and the Tyrants he served. In an act of youthful defiance, he freed a captured Durlan, and this Durlan filled his mind with visions of a free, just society, giving him ideas for an alternative to the Tyrants. When the elder Dox was executed by the Tyrants (although, unknown to them, he survived and went to Earth, taking, like others before him, the name Brainiac), Vril II was deemed expendable and was handed over to the Dominator-led alliance against Earth in exchange for peace. Dox escaped the alliance and, with several allies, overthrew the Tyrants, setting up organic Coluan rule once again, and forming the interstellar police force L. E. G. I. O. N.. The Tyrants were forced to adopt a semi-organic form, which has attempted to reassert rule over Colu several times since, but without success. L. E. G. I. O. N. was eventually usurped by Vril Dox's son Lyrl, who attempted to use it as a force with which to subjugate the galaxy. Although Vril eventually stopped this, the Dox family was considered persona non-grata on Colu for some time. The brief reconquest of Colu by Brainiac (Vril Dox I), despite the fact that Vril Dox II ended it, led to the official banishment of Brainiacs from Colu and to a thousand-year period of technological stagnation (Showcase '96 # 12). Eventually, the bloodline resettled there, where it was treated like royalty, and its talents were made use of. the Brainiac name was re-established, and new levels of cerebral potential were rewarded with a numerical suffix following the Brainiac title.
Coluan society is based on the value of knowledge and intelligence, and every night, all Coluans are hooked up to the Sleepnet, which imparts all of the day's gained knowledge into the sleepers' minds (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 77).
In the late thirtieth century, a great scandal ensued when Brainiac 4 left the planet shotly after being delivered of her child, Brainiac 5. Brainiac 5 was more intelligent than other Coluans, and his contempt for supervision over his scientific developments, which led to at least one known fatality, led the government of Colu to give his services to R. J. Brande (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 77). Colu had, by that time, become part of the United Planets federation and provided many advanced scientific services to them, including the use of Brainiac 5 as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and to repair the access tunnel to Planet Hell, which the Coluans built in the first place not for the U. P., but for the Wakeets, who stiffed them on payment...much to their regret (Legionnaires # 21).
When the Affiliated Planets began their campaign against the United Planets, Brainiac 5 and two other Legionnaires went to Colu to warn the Coluans not to trust the A. P. Brainiac 5 used the Sleepnet to communicate with the other Coluans, and during that time he was attacked by the A. P.'s hireling, the Composite Man. The Composite Man copied Brainiac 5's powers, and, since this included the ability to access the Sleepnet, the Coluans were able to probe the Composite Man's mind for details of the Affiliated Planets' (really the Dark Circle's) scheme and then shut his mind down temporarily (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 107).
Colu was particularly hard-hit by the disruption of science that accompanied the Elemental Ebb on its way from Gil'D to JS-1967 ( Legionnaires # 72).
One seventy-fifth century Coluan is Metrox, a member of Wildfire's Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Over the next eighty thousand years, Colu joined in a "planetary marriage" with Bgztl, creating a race of super-intelligent, immaterial beings, who have and need no concern for physicality. One of these beings is Brainiac 417, who, in the year 85271, was a member of theJustice Legion L (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Colu (Pre-Boot)
Colu, also known as Yod, a planet populated by green-skinned, long-lived humanoids, is the center for all cutting-edge technological development in the galaxy. The average Coluan is a ten on the galactic intelligence scale (the average Earthling is a six), and in their ancient history, the planet was ruled by its greatest intellect, a title called Brainiac.
During Earth's middle ages, the Coluans built giant computers to help make policy and run their world in a logical fashion. To their surprise, though, the computers subjugated the organic beings, and, in an event now known as the "Robot Revolt," took control of the entire planet. The Computer Tyrants, as they were called, ruled Colu with a total disregard for feeling and compassion, and performed cruel experiments on any organic beings that came under their sphere of influence. Coluans were reduced to mindless drones in the service of the Tyrants.
To protect themselves against the possibility of revolt, the Tyrants created a humanoid robot to walk among the Coluans and act as their spy. This being decided that its task was illogical and fled Colu, taking on a more efficient mechanical form and calling itself Brainiac, as it considered itself the greatest intelligence in the galaxy. It caused some trouble for Earth's heroes, but dropped out of sight in the late twentieth century. It's final fate is unknown, but Brainiac is known to be friendly with the Legion's enemy, the Time Trapper (Legionnaires 3 # 1).
In Earth's late twentieth century, the Computer Tyrants discovered greater than average intelligence in the child Vril Dox, and granted him limited freedom if he would put that intelligence to work for them. He agreed to the deal, and was allowed to impregnate a female, who bore him a son, Vril Dox II. The elder Dox was extremely abusive toward his son, and the younger Dox grew to hate him and the Tyrants he served. In an act of youthful defiance, he freed a captured Durlan, and this Durlan filled his mind with visions of a free, just society, giving him ideas for an alternative to the Tyrants. When the elder Dox was executed by the Tyrants (although, unknown to them, he survived and went to Earth, taking, like others before him, the name Brainiac), Vril II was deemed expendable and was handed over to the Dominator-led alliance against Earth in exchange for peace. Dox escaped the alliance and, with several allies, overthrew the Tyrants, setting up organic Coluan rule once again, and forming the interstellar police force L. E. G. I. O. N.. The Tyrants were forced to adopt a semi-organic form, which has attempted to reassert rule over Colu several times since, but without success.
The Brainiac title, deemed by Vril Dox II to have been irreperably tainted by his father, was, ever since then, given a numerical suffix. Since the twentieth century, the only people upon whom the title has been bestowed were descendants of Dox (who was himself Brainiac 2), and the most recent of these has been Querl Dox, who joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as Brainiac 5. (The title had also been offered to Earth scientist Francis Campbell, but he turned it down). Brainiac 5 has made a name for himself in many fields, most notably, time research, which he came to Earth to study, as it is debated on Colu only in theory. Brainiac 5 and the Legion have come to Colu several times, once to save the planet from the Tyrants, who have taken the name Pulsar Stargrave (Superboy (and the Legion of Super-Heroes) # 227), and once to research possible avenues for dealing with the Infinite Man (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 233). Brainiac 5 returned to Colu in 2988 after his falling-out with Legion leader Polar Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 55), and he proved instrumental in helping the Coluans survive the almost total collapse of their technological society during the Magic Wars of 2989 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 62), but he found restrictions on his research everywhere he turned, and left to return to the Legion in 2994.
The Coluan government did not give up on getting Querl Dox's talents to work for them, though, and in 2995, their leader, Chairman Audric, arranged to give the younger Brainiac 5 from the New Earth team of Legionnaires an award in the capital city, Metaire, in order to get him to Colu and convince him that as a product of Colu's gene pool, his greatest responsibility was to his home planet, and held him a government facility in the Eretrian Mountains. Brainy originally agreed with them, but he later became convinced that he should stay with the Legion. Secretary Yarin, who was placed in charge of this operation, became overzealous, and, against Audric's orders, treated Brainiac 5 with a mind-controlling drug that would make him say he wished to stay, but Brainiac 5 made his mind produce extra endorphins to counter the drug, and he left (Legionnaires # 8).
Colu has taken a leadership position in the United Planets since the economic collapse that affected most human societies, and has provided a stabilizing influence throughout the danger period.
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Xanthu (Post-Boot)
Xanthu, in the Curtuian system, is one of the oldest and most distant planets in the United Planets federation, which prides itself on claiming, as natives, a number of super-powered beings, most of which belong to the official planetary super-hero team, the Amazers. While some hostile races think Xanthu might be an easy conquest due to its isolation from the rest of the U. P., the Amazers usually teach them that this is an erroneous idea. One race that learned this lesson was the Algamenons (Legends of the Legion # 4). Every year, Xanthu's government runs a five-day competition to determine which of these will be Xanhu's official planetary champion for the year. Xanthu's first representative in the Legion of Super-Heroes, chosen by Prefect Davido and Prefect Ericson, was Kid Quantum, plucked from the competition against Star Boy and Atmos before its final day (Legionnaires # 0). After he died in action, the prefects of Xanthu chose Star Boy to take his place. When Star Boy became a prominent Legionnaire and the Legion draft was abolished, the government of Xanthu, always looking for ways to bring greater prestige to their backwater planet (which had received a blow upon disclosure of the circumstances of Kid Quantum's death), ordered him to return and rejoin the Amazers. Upon seeing that some of the Amazers, notably Kid Quantum II, would not work peacefully with Star Boy, and that Star Boy himself did not wish to leave the Legion, Prefect Lamar Zandoz, a presidential aide, saw an alternative way to make Xanthu look good: a fight between the Legion and the Amazers which would be rigged to let the Amazers win. However, partway through the fight, Kid Quantum II changed her mind about rigging the fight, and the Legionnaires won handily (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 82).
Later, three members of the Amazers joined the fight against Mordru (Legionnaires # 49-50), and Lamar had the sad duty of returning to Xanthu with only one of them, as Atom'x died and Monstress decided to join the Legion (Legionnaires # 51).
Shortly after the Legion was reunited, the Natra Dellons attacked Xanthu, causing a communications blackout (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 101). Star Boy and Monstress went to investigate the blackout and found the planet under full-scle attack, which they were inadequate to stop. Before Xanthu suffered irreversable damage, though, the Khunds stepped in and dispatched the Natra Dellons, thus showing up the U. P. by stopping the invasion and making it seem like the U. P. didn't care about them. It was Lamar who dealt with them as well (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 102). Soon, the Khunds set up emergency aid to Xanthu and have gained much influence on the planet, to the suspicion on Monstress and Star Boy ( Legionnaires # 59). During this time, Kid Quantum II joined the Legion as well (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 102). By the time the United Planets sent aid, Xanthu was already given aid by the Khund-represented Affiliated Planets, and, when the Legionnaires discovered intentional communications-jamming coming from the Xanthusian moon Pon, the Khunds took credit for the discovery, further ingratiating themselves (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 103). The Khunds then launched missiles at Pon, destroying the communications-jamming base. Star Boy, Monstress and Kid Quantum, who were there, saved themselves, but all evidence that someone other than the Natra Dellons was responsible for the jamming was destroyed (Legionnaires # 60). Nonetheless, Xanthu joined the Affiliated Planets.
Following the downfall of the Dark Circle, Xanthu remained part of the re-constituted Affiliated Planets and Lamar summoned the Legionnaires native to Xanthu to return home (Legionnaires # 65). Shortly thereafter, a dark mass appeared in space near Xanthu and began to grow at an astounding rate. Star Boy and Umbra came to Xanthu to help the Amazers investigate the so-called "Dark Colossus," but before the two Legionnaires could go in, the Amazers did and all but Atmos remained trapped there. Atmos himself was plagued with nightmares of what he had seen. Star Boy and Umbra were about to enter, when suddenly, a ship emerged from the dark colossus, and it bore two Starmen from the twentieth century. With the help of the two time-tossed heroes, Star Boy and Umbra made it to the center of the mass, where they found the twentieth-century immortal the Shade trapped inside, his darkness out of control. The two Starmen fixed the problem, and Xanthu was returned,for the most part, to normal (Starman (2nd series) # 49-50).
On the day that the Blight came to Earth, the Amazers were there to try to convince Star Boy, Kid Quantum and Monstress to return to Xanthu. Xanthu is also one of the planets that had been served by a Stargate that the Blight passed through on their way to Earth (Legionnaires # 78). Star Boy returned there with his girlfriend Dreamer to help her recover from traumas caused during the Blight occupation (Legionnaires # 81).
Xanthu (Pre-Boot)
Xanthu is one of the oldest of the post-Gandian colony worlds, having been settled in the middle of the 27th century. It contains many unique natural formations, such as the incredibly hot Desert of Death and the incredibly vast Gwanth Ocean, though most humans live, of course, in the cities, especially Xan City, the planetary capital. It's ruled by a council of representatives of the founding families, and the person who leads the council is known as the Tribune. Xanthu is one of the leading planets for astronomers and deep-space explorers, and has several orbiting observatories around the planet which are considered among the best in the United Planets. One such observatory was the birthplace of Thom Kallor, who received superhuman powers as a result of his satellite birth and went on to become the Legionnaire Star Boy. He gained planetwide celebrity after gaining greater powers from a comet, and after he became a Legionnaire and solved several crimes on Xanthu, one with the help of Valor ( Adventure Comics # 282), and a crime wave caused by Yark Althu and his gang (Action Comics # 385), the people of Xanthu decided that they would feel safer with a super-hero in residence. The Tribune therefore ordered the scientists to attempt to recreate the comet event that empowered Star Boy, and the result was Atmos, champion of Xanthu. In 2986, Atmos was kidnaped by Universo, and the Tribune asked the Legion to help find him, and Kallor to take his place in the interim (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 28). Star Boy served as Xanthu's champion thereafter, sharing the duties with Atmos after his return in 2988 and engaging in a somewhat antagonistic rivalry with him (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 55) during this period. He was especially outraged at Atmos's apparent conquest of his former girlfriend Dream Girl, and claimed something of a victory when she rejected him in 2989 and revealed that he had been controlling her mind (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 63), but a loss two years later when he joined the Legion himself.
Xanthu has taken over a leadership position in the United Planets after the collapse of its economy and the secession of Earth.
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Daxam (Post-Boot
Daxam is a planet in a red solar system which houses a race hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years old. It is believed to share a common ancestry with Krypton, the homeworld of Superman, but it is unclear which planet was the parent and which was the colony, or if they were both colonies of a common parent world. Daxamites have shown little interest in space exploration, a possible indication that their race's extreme allergy to lead was known for a long time, but Daxam has no historical writings regarding the subject before the late twentieth century. This is considered extremely odd, especially since Daxamites have long been leaders in the field of biotechnology, that they knew so little about their own bodies' weaknesses.
The first confirmed contact between Earth and the modern Daxamite race was in the late twentieth century, when Daxam sent some observers along with the Dominion-led alliance to invade Earth. Under Earth's yellow sun, they discovered for the first time the super-powers the different sun gives them: super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, heat vision and x-ray vision. They at first wielded this power against Superman when he attacked the Dominion flagship they were on, but prolonged exposure to Earth's atmosphere led to their discovery of the adverse effects of lead on their systems. Before they could die, Superman saved them, leading them to conclude that Earth was not going to work against them and that they should join in Earth's defense efforts. The Daxamites' joining Earth was the turning point of the war, and most of the allied races agreed to peaceful terms and began diplomatic relations with Earth. Daxam's embassy was the first of a different planet to open on Earth, though, due to the lead problems, it remains unstaffed and serves only as a communications station (Invasion! # 1-2).
One Daxamite, Kel Gand, died in the effort to save Earth, leading his son, Lar, to go to Earth and see what was so special about it that his father should do that. Lar first attempted to join L. E. G. I. O. N., the intergalactic peacekeeping force from which he received an anti-lead-poisoning serum and with which he once actually visited Earth briefly, but he was fired and eventually made a costume similar to those of Earth's heroes and set off for Earth on his own. He became known on Earth as Valor, and under that name, he became a legend throughout the galaxy for his brave and noble deeds.
The late twentieth century also marked the first time an alien ship with lead in its hull landed on Daxam. The flakes of lead that its entry leaked into the atmosphere caused a planet-wide epidemic which killed Valor's own mother, and it wasn't stopped until Valor carefully removed the ship from the planet, revealing its lead content to be the source of the sickness rather than any microbes carried by the ship's pilot (Valor # 13).
It is possibly due to that incident that anti-alien sentiment caused a sect to arise on Daxam dedicated to racial seperation. This sect, called the White Triangle, founded villages far from the Daxamite cities so that they could raise their children with this philosophy (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 70). Over the centuries, the message was altered somewhat, to the point where the White Triangle preached some sort of Daxamite racial superiority, and began re-initiating contact with the Daxamite government, and through it, other planets, to which the message was spread. When the United Planets federation was formed, the White Triangle saw it as anathema to everything it believed in, and set out to destroy it covertly. They converted Roxxas, a high government official to their way of thinking, and he hid these views so that he could be appointed ambassador to the United Planets, the better to undermine it from within. Roxxas used his influence to ensure that Laurel Gand, from a White Triangle village, was selected to represent Daxam in the Legion of Super-Heroes as Andromeda (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 66 ). This was a development much disliked by Obin Der and other less racist embassy officials, who would have to deal with Andromeda's xenophobic concerns (Legionnaires # 23, 27).
Months later, Daxam was visited by the Khunds, who, acting on behalf of the Dark Circle, tried to recruit them to join the Dark Circle alliance. The xenophobic Daxamites were a naturally tough sell, but the scheme fell completely apart when the Legionnaire M'Onel (who, unknown to all, is the legendary Daxamite hero Valor) reminded the Daxamites of the Khunds' activities during the twentieth century, leading some overzealous Khund soldiers to attack him and eventually getting the Khunds driven from the planet (Legionnaires # 56).
Daxam (Pre-Boot
Daxam is a planet in a red solar system which houses a race hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years old. It is believed to share a common ancestry with Krypton, the homeworld of Superman, but it is unclear which planet was the parent and which was the colony, or if they were both colonies of a common parent world. In any case, Kryptonian/Daxamite society is extremely old, and an artifact discovered in 2976 indicates that millions, possibly tens or hundreds of millions of years ago, they colonized Earth, a discovery confirmed by time-travelling Legionnaires (Adventure Comics # 333). (The colony was later wiped out by a rampage of the great lizards thay had brought with them to Earth, possibly the ancestors of Earth's dinosaurs.) Daxamites have shown little interest in space exploration, a possible indication that their race's extreme allergy to lead was known for a long time, but Daxam has no historical writings regarding the subject before the late twentieth century. This is considered extremely odd, especially since Daxamites have long been leaders in the field of biotechnology, that they knew so little about their own bodies' weaknesses.
The first confirmed contact between Earth and the modern Daxamite race was in the late twentieth century, when Daxam sent some observers along with the Dominion-led alliance to invade Earth. Under Earth's yellow sun, they discovered for the first time the super-powers the different sun gives them: super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, heat vision and x-ray vision. They at first wielded this power against Superman when he attacked the Dominion flagship they were on, but prolonged exposure to Earth's atmosphere led to their discovery of the adverse effects of lead on their systems. Before they could die, Superman saved them, leading them to conclude that Earth was not going to work against them and that they should join in Earth's defense efforts. The Daxamites' joining Earth was the turning point of the war, and most of the allied races agreed to peaceful terms and began diplomatic relations with Earth. Daxam's embassy was the first of a different planet to open on Earth, though, due to the lead problems, it remained unstaffed and served only as a communications station (Invasion! # 1-2).
One Daxamite, Kel Gand, died in the effort to save Earth, leading his son, Lar, to go to Earth and see what was so special about it that his father should do that. Lar first attempted to join L. E. G. I. O. N., the intergalactic peacekeeping force from which he received an anti-lead-poisoning serum and with which he once actually visited Earth briefly, but he was fired and eventually made a costume similar to those of Earth's heroes and set off for Earth on his own. He became known on Earth as Valor, and under that name, he became a legend throughout the galaxy for his brave and noble deeds. Although time paradoxes have left some of the details of his exploits uncertain, some basic facts are undisputed: he brought peace to the planet Baaldur, he brought down the Dominion's ruling caste and set free thousands of metahuman prisoners to colonize planets between Earth and the Dominion, and his career ended abruptly with his vanishing mysteriously.
The late twentieth century also marked the first time an alien ship with lead in its hull landed on Daxam. The flakes of lead that its entry leaked into the atmosphere caused a planet-wide epidemic which killed Valor's own mother, and it wasn't stopped until Valor carefully removed the ship from the planet, revealing its lead content to be the source of the sickness rather than any microbes carried by the ship's pilot (Valor # 13).
In the late thirtieth century, several events brought Daxam back into center stage in galactic events. One was the 2969 attack by the Khundish conqueror, Zaryan, who butchered almost every staff member of the defense asteroid Ricklef II. The one he missed, the young girl Laurel Gand, activated the Electro-towers that Zaryan thought his spy has shut down, decimating the fleet and saving Daxam. This caused Laurel to become a Khundish target and one of the first Daxamites to leave her home planet in a long time, eventually joining the Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 9). A second was the Legion's discovery of Valor's whereabouts and their retrieval of him from the Bgztl Buffer Zone and his joining of the Legion (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 2). Valor, the greatest hero Daxam had produced, became an instant celebrity there, and he was showered with favor, including an offer from the High Commissioner himself to build a fortress to protect him when it seemed he was doomed to die in 2979 (Action Comics # 384). Yet a third was the attack on the planet by Doctor Mantis Morlo as part of a plot of revenge against the Legion for past humiliations, a series of chemical storms that led Professor Krondo of Daxam's Emergency Committee to call upon the Legion for help (Adventure Comics # 362-363).
But the biggest and most unwelcome bit of publicity that Daxam got was the conquest of their world by Darkseid in the early 2984 incident known as the Great Darkness. Learning of Daxam from reading the mind of Valor, Darkseid used his boom-tube teleportation abilities to exchange the galactic position of his home planet, Apokolips with that of Daxam, putting Daxam under a yellow sun and giving all of its inhabitants -- now utterly controlled by him -- super-powers. At his command, they forged the planet into a huge bust of his face, and then spread out across the galaxy, concentrating on Weber's World, seat of power in the United Planets. His initial first strike was a success, but the strain of controlling an entire planet full of people became too much for a sustained effort, and the combined powers of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, the Heroes of Lallor, Dev-Em (himself a Daxamite) and the Wanderers turned them back in Darkseid's direction, seeking to destroy him. Other Daxamites were defeated on Daxam itself by the Legion's Element Lad, who turned enough of the atmosphere to lead to weaken them, but not to kill them. Darkseid eventually surrendered, though his influence remained strong in certain individual Daxamites, such as the boy Ol-Vir ( Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 293-294). The Legion spent much of the next year helping to restore Daxam's former beauty and to erase the blemishes of Darkseid's influence (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 302, 313, Annual # 2, Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 1).
Then...something happened, but just what is uncertain. The members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Glorith and many others around the galaxy remeber Daxam's being destroyed by Glorith in an effort to prevent the Dominators from taking over the planet covertly (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 1). Until early 2996, everyone was certain of this. But at that time, while Valor was on Daxam, the recently-freed Time Trapper set about undoing much of Glorith's work in the time-stream...and this included restoring Daxam to its full glory, with Daxamites, including Dev-Em, who had actually survived the destruction, completely unaware that anything untoward had happened (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 57). This confusion of time-twists and memories turned out to just be part of the massive warping of time-lines that accompained the time crisis, Zero Hour. No matter which of those happened, one event during this period of Daxamite history is certain: in 2995, Mordru raised the dead of Daxam and attempted to use them in his campaign of galactic conquest, but most of the corpses were stopped from rampaging through the efforts of Valor and the Khundish sorcerer Harlak (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 4).
Daxam happens to be the most scientifically advanced world in the field of biotechnology, to the point where they even invented a machine that could revitalize a dead body, if another life-force were fed into it. The machine was used twice by the Legion of Super-Heroes: once in 2975 to revive Lightning Lad (after Saturn Girl overheard talk of it while on Daxam for emergency medical treatment), for whom Chameleon Boy's pet, Proty, sacrificed its life (Adventure Comics # 312), and once in 2980, when Valor's brother's descendant Eltro Gand sacrificed his to revive Valor (Action Comics # 384). What no one is aware of is the fact that the machine actually projects the mind of the life-force donor into the body of the recipient, which resulted in a mergence of Valor's and Eltro's mind (as Valor was not yet dead), and in a Lightning Lad with Proty's mind inside his head (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 1, 3).
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Imsk (Post-Boot)
Imsk is a world on which all inhabitants have an aura that allows tham to shrink to microscopic size, an adaptation to a world lacking in livable space (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 66). It is a member of the United Planets, which had been one of the stops on the shuttle flight that eventually brought the three founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes to Earth (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0).
Imsk, when it was called upon to send a representative to the Legion of Super-Heroes, answered by setting up a competition among its three best fighters: Ion, Micro and Shrinking Violet. Spark and Apparition were on hand to watch this, and other Legionnaires watched it through remote cameras. The competition was aborted when someone, later revealed to be Micro, planted a blade of Auraflux (the only substance that an Imskite can't shrink, which is used to prevent Imskian criminals from escaping their prisons) on Ion, killing her. The Legionnaires solved the crime, Micro was imprisoned, and Shrinking Violet was made a Legionnaires (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 66).
One Imskian technological specialty is micro-circuitry, which made the planet a target for robbery by Sklarian Raiders in the employ of the Dark Circle. Two technicians who were working during that raid were named Stasi and Bhob (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 106).
One Imskian creature is the Globeetle, an insect which absorbs radiation through a pod and uses it for energy, after which it must recharge itself (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 97).
By the 853rd century, Imsk, still a part of the United Planets, joined in a "planetary marriage" with Daxam, to allow a balance of the Daxamites' power with the Imskians' smallness in a galaxy that would require a greater sense of balance amongst planets. The heroes of the joined planet are the M'Onelves, members of Justice Legion L (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Imsk (Pre-Boot)
Imsk, in the star-sector of Irulan, is a pre-Gandian world, on which all the inhabitants are able to shrink, some to microscopic size. This ability derives from the presence of a certain type of radiation in the asteroids surrounding Imsk, and there are legends that the planet itself periodically shrinks. In the early thirtieth century, a swarm of Space Dragons made Imskian space its hunting grounds and ate the asteroids around the planet. In order to get the radiation to enable them to keep their shrinking ability, the Imskians hunted the dragons and collect the dragons' scales, which contain the radiation and would grow back on the dragon a year later, when it would be needed again by the Imskians. Outside hunting of these creature have resulted in a radical anti-United Planets movement on Imsk, but for the moment, it is still a member. This radiation, though, causes odd effects in high quantities, such as the accidental mergence of Shrinking Violet (who comes from Imsk), Colossal Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad into a mad Composite Legionnaire whose rampage almost destroyed Imsk and Earth in 2982 (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 234). Since that time, the Legionnaires have not helped in the acutal dragon-hunting, but only in the repairing of the space-beacon that the Imskians use to attract the beasts (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 15).
Most important structures on Imsk are constructed on a tiny scale so that only Imskians can enter them. Among these are the factories in which Imsk produces sophisticated microcircuits (microtechnology is one of Imsk's biggest exports, no pun intended), one of which was stolen by the Fatal Five in late 2981 to provide Tharok with materials he needed to create a more sophisticated, human-looking half-body (Superboy (1st series) # 219).
Imsk has a sister planet, Orsde, which is not heavily populated, but is habitable, and has been used by the anti-U. P. radicals as a base. Until 2985, those radicals had managed to sabotage any attempts to map the planet, but this operation was discovered and stopped by the second Invisible Kid (Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 324).
In 2991, Imsk was attacked by the planet Braal, and in order to defend themselves, created a weapon called the damper, which disrupted the magnetic field of a Braalian. It was detonated at Venado Bay in the Braalian system, killing many, and was the turning point which enabled Imsk to win that war. The Imskian army now occupies Braal (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 20).
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Rimbor (Post-Boot)
Rimbor is a world on which violent gangs rule the streets, one of thoughest being the Bone Spike Clan (Legends of the Legion # 1). Ultra Boy grew up on Rimbor, often challenging gangsters, until he was swallowed by a huge space creature and gained his super-powers, after which he sought to earn money through employment with Leland McCauley (Showcase '96 # 10, Legends of the Legion # 1).
Star Boy had an encounter with the bone Spike Clan when he was forced to stop on Rimbor to get his spaceship repaired while he was on his way to joining the Legion. His stopping there was an act of desperation, as Rimborian mechanics are notorious for cheating their customers (Legends of the Legion # 4).
The most powerful beings on Rimbor are the landlords, who own massive amounts of the land surface of the planet. One such landlord was Lord Pernisius, landlord of the entire continent of Pernisia. It was on Rimbor that Pernisius engaged in his final battle against the Legion of Super-Heroes for control of the power of Eternium. He gathered most of the Rock of Eternity to Rimbor, disrupting weather and seismic patterns, especially in Delta City. Pernisius lost when the Legionnaires learned how to power themselves with the substance. It was in the skies above Rimbor that the Legionnaires fully assembled the Rock of Eternity, but it soon disappeared from there back to the magical pocket of space/time in which is had always existed (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 117-118).
In orbit around Rimbor is the Blackstar Juvenile Correctional Facility, a privately-run prison for minors. It is run by a creature called Kprkrn, a cruel taskmaster who uses the prisoners as slaves to supply the power station of the prison's force-shield with fuel. They employ bounty hunters to capture children who are accused of committing crimes. Sensor was brought there by one of their hired bounty hunters when she was accused of telepathically transmitting hallucinations, a crime on Rimbor (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 116), and Gear was used as a tool. Also imprisoned there were Strobe Boy and Fantasticus, the Living Singularity (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 117). The general procedure in the prison is that all incoming inmates be examined by the sadistic Doctor Aywebn, who, if he sees an interesting specimen, oversteps his authority and attempts to vivisect them, such as Sensor (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 116-117). It was at that time that Gear rebelled, and through his interfacing with Blackstar's systems, caused all of the systems to shut down, enabling the prisoners, including Sensor, to stage a general revolt. Kprkrn was forced to flee Blackstar and the institution was shut down by United Planets authorities (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 117).
Rimbor is one of the planets that had been served by a Stargate that the Blight passed through on their way to Earth ( Legionnaires # 78).
In the seventy-fifth century, after centuries of no interplanetary communication, Rimbor remained one of the few bastions of open-mindedness in the galaxy. It was there that Wildfire based the various new Legions he organized, and two youths from that planet, Gizi and Ziga, served as his assistants (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Rimbor (Pre-Boot)
Rimbor is a relatively new world (although there was a different civilization on the planet in ancient times), and though it is officially independent of Earth, many people still think of it as a mining colony. The miners of the nearby asteroids give Rimbor a rough-and-tumble reputation that it tends to embellish somewhat for the sake of image, but which, to a large extent, is true. No Rimborian child grows up without having been part of a youth gang, and Rimborian society is rife with corruption all the way up to the highest levels of its government. Rimborian privacy laws, which make it almost impossible to obtain evidence from suspects, contribute greatly to the crime problem.
The gang-related crime is mostly a problem in the cities; the rural areas of Rimbor are taken up mainly by estates for the rich, whose brand of crime runs to the more organized, and wildlife reserves for Puffies, small furry hopping quadrupeds that burrow inside vegetation (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 46).
Two Legionnaires have come from Rimbor. The first is Jo Nah, also known as Ultra Boy, who was part of a gang until the power he gained allowed him to resist the crowd. He maintained some ties with the Rimborian underworld, though, and he had a hideout on Rimbor where he stayed when the Legion pursued him during his framing for the murder of former girlfriend An Ryd ( Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 239). His ties also helped when, a year later, he investigated the case to find the true murderer, and discovered Pulsar Stargrave behind the plot (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 273). The second is Stig Ah, Reflecto, who served as a hero on Rimbor before joining the Legion late in his career. Reflecto died in service to the Legion, but Jo Nah returned to Rimbor after his retirement from the Legion to run a smuggling ring of the government-controlled narcotic Silverale. He left later to help re-form the Legion.
Because of the extent of criminal activity, the Legionnaires have often found Rimbor's bars to be an excellent source of inside information on the criminal community, such as when Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet went to find a man named Javors, who they suspected was approached by the Persuader to become a member of the Emerald Empress's new Fatal Five. Also present at that time was a criminal named Kogus, who had been put behind bars by the Legion once before (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 23). Chameleon Boy also used Rimbor as a staring point for his attempts to infiltrate Starfinger's criminal organization (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 43, 46). Sugyn hid out on Rimbor in 2974, and Phantom Girl went to arrest him there (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 42, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 1), and so did Doyle Brande when he tried to hook up with the Khund spy network (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 9). Rimbor was also the world on which Ol-Vir formed a Darkseid-worshipping cult with Validus at his side (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) Annual # 2).
One of Rimbor's main products is a non-addictive stimulant called Silverale. The Rimborian government controls sale of the substance through a puppet company called Silverale, Ltd, who maintain a monopoly through force and intimidation, which is consistenly ignored by the government, and which keeps the price high. A few small independent producers exist, though, including Ultra Boy's parents (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 1). Distribution of cheaper, bootleg Silverale is handled by a variety of smuggling rings, one of which was once led by Jo Nah, who l eft it in 2994 to re-form the Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 2-3).
In 2995, the Legion returned to Rimbor to hide out in one of Jo Nah's hidden warehouses when Universo and the Khunds were framing them for treason (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 54). When he tried to get into his old warehouse, he discovered that Kelvin, to whom he left the leadership of his gang, had installed new security measures, as gang wars escalated due to the government's affiliation with the Broncs. Rather than leave immediately, as he had planned to do, Jo decided to take an active hand in uniting the other rival gangs and fighting back against the government-backed Broncs, exposing not only the government's affiliation with the Broncs, but also its Chairman Trombi's secret alliance with the Khunds. Jo gathered together his gang, the Ultras, as well as the Big D-led Dragins, the Razers, the Techs, the Skulls and the X's supposedly to auction off the Legion for their use as either enforcement or bounty, but in the middle of the gathering released the Legion, who forced them all into an alliance against the Broncs. Despite the Razers' betrayal, the first attack on the Broncs was a success and they netted the Broncs' leader, Zon and got him to spill the beans about Trombi. They then revealed to Zon Trombi's Khundish connection, and the Broncs switched sides and fought against the government. Rimbor's Science Police tried, on Trombi's orders to stop the gang attack, but Trombi lost all the people's respect when his connection to the Khunds was revealed publicly by the Legionnaires, paving the way for a less corrupt government, though the public exposure forced the Legion to move on (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 55-56).
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Naltor (Post-Boot)
Naltor is a world which was part of the United Planets federation at the time that Shvaughn Erin was assigned the duty of Legion liason officer (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 6). It is the home planet of Dreamer, who had been rejected for membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes (Legionnaires # 43).
In the year 85271, only one Naltorian, also called Dreamer, remains alive. Like her thirtieth-century predecessor, she has precognitive dreams, although in her, these dreams can be viewed by others through a video screen on her forehead. She serves as an oracle for Justice Legion L, and her dreams warned the JLL of a plot against Earth's sun at the time that the prime Superman was due to emerge from it...the same time that the United Planets was due to approach Earth (Legionnaires # 1000000).
Naltor (Pre-Boot)
Naltor is a planet that was settled by emigrants from the Sorcerers' World Zerox in the early part of the thirtieth century. The emigrants were highly prophetic, and while the rest of their magical abilities atrophied, this aspect stayed with them. From the start, the planet was ruled by its greatest prophet, and this has generally been a woman, leading to one of the few matriarchal societies in the United Planets. The use of prophecy has made Naltor an extremely efficient society, where all trends are anticipated and occur more quickly than they might elsewhere. The ability to foresee financial futures has resulted in Naltor's becoming one of the richest societies in the U. P., and the ability to foresee what new technologies would be needed have made it one of the most technologically advanced as well. The planet is naturally prone to earthquakes, a problem that has been all but solved since the installation of a gyro-stabilizer in 2983 (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 285). Naltorians are barred from many interplanetary activities due to the unfair advantage that their prophetic powers would give them, and the existence of Naltor's batball team, the Dreamers (which plays in Greenberg Park and won the league championship in 2978 (Adventure Comics # 366), 2980 and 2995) is contingent on Naltorians' restraint from foreseeing the games' results (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 37).
Until 2969, Kiwa Nal was the greatest prophet on Naltor, and when she died, many wished her elder daughter, Nura to take over. The teenaged Nura declined, though, and the post of High Seer instead went, for the first time, to a male, Kiwa Nal's disciple, Beren Kah . He served Naltor well, and maintained a very close relationship with Nura, to their mutual benefit. He has, at times, called upon the Legion of Super-Heroes' help, such as when Doctor Mantis Morlo slipped bad-dream-causing chemicals into Naltor's food supp ly in 2978 (Adventure Comics # 362-363) or when some unknown force canceled out the planet's prophetic powers in 2983 (as it turned out, the gyro-stabilizer was attuned to the same frequency as Naltorians' brainwaves, a problem Nura solved) (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 285), and they, in turn, have been able to turn to him for advice, like they did when the Infinite Man posed a danger to the universe in 2982 (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 233) or when four Legionnaires escaped from Universo's captivity in early 2987 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 34). It was Beren who helped Nura's sister Mysa find her place in the universe by sending her to the Sorcerers' World to learn magic (Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 314). The Legion also went to Naltor in 2984 to prevent the abduction of the White Witch by Darkseid's Servants of Darkness (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 291).
Beren died in 2991, while the United Planets was in the throes of an economic recession, and Nura left the Legion of Super-Heroes to become Naltor's High Seer. She helped steer Naltor through the troubled times, and its economy is now one of the most stable in the United Planets.
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Durla (Post-Boot)
Earth's first known contact with Durla was in the late twentieth century, when Durlans joined in the Dominion's twentieth-century invasion of Earth, with ships made up of hundreds of Durlans joined together. One Durlan was on the other side of that conflict. He had escaped Durla some time previously, and crash-landed on Colu, where he became the "pet" of a youngster, Vril Dox II. Dox was handed over by Colu's Computer Tyrants as a prisoner for the Dominion-led alliance, and the Durlan went along with him. He helped found Dox's L. E. G. I. O. N., but before long, disappeared. His fate is unknown.
A planet of xenophobic shape-changers, Durla was something of a surprise when it joined the United Planets under the theocratic rule of the somewhat liberal-thinking priestly class. Durlans are thoroughly unlike any other species in the United Planets, with a special sense that enables them to detect and remember the fundamental structures of other beings ( Legionnaires # 25), a mathematics system that uses base 9 (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 69), and a language unrelated to any linguistic developments among humanoid species. It was one of the members of this priestly caste that was sent to represent the planet in the Legion of Super-Heroes as Chameleon (Legionnaires # 0).
However, Durla's pre-priestly history continues to haunt the Durlans. Before the priests came to power, the secular Durlan government decided to engage in the creation of biological weapons, including using genetic engineering to create mutated Durlans who could mimic not only the forms of other creatures, but their properties as well. The priests considered this sacreligious, and when they came to power, they deactivated these living weapons by imprisoning them inside chemical crystals which would then be placed inside a volcano. The chemical, which deactivated their powers, had to be re-applied periodically, and at the most recent re-application ceremony, one of them broke loose and killed all the priests, who he justly blamed for his imprisonment. This creature, who later came to Earth to hunt down the remaining member of the priestly caste, Legionnaire Chameleon, became known as the Composite Man (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 68-69, Legionnaires # 25). Since the Composite Man's defeat at the hands of the Legion, a number of priests-in-training have been elevated to priesthood, and Chameleon, although off-planet serving as a Legionnaire, has become the de-facto spiritual leader of Durla (Legionnaires # 26). He has managed to resist attempts by other Durlans to make him leave the Legion and take the position actively (Legionnaires # 46), but was forced to return to Durla in response to reaction over a night spent with other Legionnaires in Paris (Legionnaires # 60). As part of his atonement, he had to turn over the spiritual leadership to Nyurt Roz and spend a long time meditating in a dark cave on Durla (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104).
One other Durlan of note is a criminal who robbed a storekeeper in Paris on Earth and was arrested by several Legionnaires with the help of the mysterious heroine Ink (Legionnaires # 58). On his way to being sent out of the United Planets for his crimes, he escaped the Science Police escorting him with the help of Kono, who was working for the Dark Circle, setting off a new wave of anti-Durlan paranoia (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104). The paranoia grew so severe, and the Dark Circle's theft of the living weapons was an emergency so dire, that a group of Durlans rebelled against the religious restrictions on contacting Chameleon during his period of penance and approached him to help combat the problem (Legionnaires # 62). Following the murder by the Composite Man of one of Winath's co-presidents, the Affiliated Planets organized a full-scale military blockade of Durla (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 106). Soon, however, the U. P. deduced that the A. P. was intentionally jamming all communication with Durla, and, after having Andromeda destroy the jamming devices, the U. P. managed to finally reach Durla in order to help the planet, where Chameleon and the rebels were in danger after trying to rescue survivors of the Dark Circle raid which freed the living weapons. With the help of several Legionnaires who "resigned" from the Legion to wear Science Police uniforms to enable them to diplomatically land on Durla, they found a single survivor who gave them coordinates of where the living weapons had been taken. They found one of the living weapons, who later took the name Leejah, on a planetoid around Durla, and, while she was not violent as the Composite Man was, she expressed anger at the Durlan culture which led to her imprisonment and inspired Chameleon to fight for change on Durla as well as against the A. P. (Legionnaires # 63). This had to be delayed, though, because before long, the A. P. declared all-out war on Durla. With the help of Chameleon and the other Legionnaires, the Durlans managed to defend themselves well, but true victory didn't come until an anomaly in space exploded, causing time to stop and giving the Legionnaires, who were not stopped along with everyone else, the opportunity to defeat the immobile Dark Circle soldiers (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 107, Legionnaires # 64). The Durlans thanked the Legion and released Chameleon from his priestly duties to resume his life as a Legionnaire (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 108). The spiritual leadership of the planet was taken over by Leejah, the peaceful former "living weapon," and she, as well as R. J. Brand and Orandan King Charlz addressed the galaxy from there for the first time ever in Durlan history (Legionnaires # 65).
One part of Durlan culture that is well-known amongst the United Planets is their music. The Durlan fleeglehorp takes three hands to play (Impulse # 12), and Durlan space-shanties are reknowned for their length (Legends of the Legion # 4).
In the seventy-fifth century, Durlans are very xenophobic and paranoid, and had been, for six centuries prior to that, engaging in the destruction of stars in order to prevent interstellar communications. This was finally stopped by the Legion of Super-Heroes led by Wildfire. Known Durlans from that time-period include the traitorous Legionnaires Graft, Shape and Shift (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Durlan xenophobia continued even farther into the future. While Durla maintained a membership in the United Planets cluster of planets in the 853rd century (known in that century as Chameleon World), it is completely cut off from all contact with outsiders. What outsiders know of Chameleon World is only that its champion, called Chameleon like his thirtieth-century counterpart, believes strongly in the Durlan taboo against using his shape-changing powers for any purpose other than camouflage. However, he is known to break with that taboo when the lives of his fellow members of Justice Legion L are in danger. When the citizens of Titan tried to cause the United Planets to break up, Durla's isolationism led some members of the JLL to suspect the Durlan of doing it, and Umbra even dared to visit the planet, but Chameleon convinced Umbra that Titan was causing the problem. In reaction to the suspicion, though, the Durlan leaders decided that it would be advantageous to open Durlan society more to the rest of the universe (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Durla (Pre-Boot)
Durla is the home of a race of shape-changers who seldom leave their home and even less often allow outsiders onto it. Once upon a time, the shape-changers were one of many Durlan races, but during the era that the Roman Empire was gaining dominance over a large part of Earth, there was a nuclear exchange known as the "six-minute war," which induced massive mutations in the world's flora and fauna, and left only the shape-changers capable of survival on the inhospitable wasteland the the planet became. The shape-changers are hermaphrodites (although a Durlan living among sexually seperate races will usually adopt a specific sexual identity), and a pair marries and mutually impregnates each other. The two children who are born are raised for several years, whereupon they are required to fight to the death, proving the winner deserving of survival. These savage ways, and the shape-changing nature of Durlans in general, have caused a great prejudice against Durlans on other worlds, which most Durlans don't care about.
Durlan physiology is a mystery to United Planets scientists, as no one knows what a Durlan's natural form is, and it's uncertain if even the Durlans themselves know anymore. What is known is that each Durlan has two organs, manifested as antennae when Durlans take on their United Planets-approved shape, which sense the internal structure of any object, living or unliving, and have a special memory bank which stores these shapes and formations, and enables them to recall a form to imitate as necessary. There are devices that can keep Durlans from changing shape that are clamped on a Durlan's antannae, and which can cause permanent loss of this capacity if left on too long. There is, however, a radiation fountain on Durla which can restore lost shape-changing abilities. Other things that can cause the loss of a Durlan's shape-changing abilities, either temporarily or permanently, are illnesses such as Yorggian Fever and the chemical solution cancellite. A Durlan can also be psychologically made to believe that his abilities have been lost if touched by a jinx-stone, which is extremely unlucky in Durlan tradition ( Adventure Comics # 343).
Earth's first known contact with Durlans was when a small group of shape-changers imitated the Greco-Roman gods and tried to build Greece as a base from which to take over the planet Earth. They encountered some time-lost Legionnaires, and fled the planet when Dream Girl told them about the impending six-minute war (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) Annual # 2).
Earth's next contact with Durlans was two thousand years later, when Durlans joined in the Dominion's twentieth-century invasion of Earth, with ships made up of hundreds of Durlans joined together. One Durlan was on the other side of that conflict. He had escaped Durla some time previously, and crash-landed on Colu, where he became the "pet" of a youngster, Vril Dox II. Dox was handed over by Colu's Computer Tyrants as a prisoner for the Dominion-led alliance, and the Durlan went along with him. He helped found Dox's L. E. G. I. O. N., but before long, was transported through time to the year 2949 by Glorith of Baaldur as part of a plot that led to the creation of the Legion of Super-Heroes. With the help of a young dock worker named Marla Latham and a Durlan smuggler named Theg, he was returned to Durla, and given the name Ren. He married and had children, but then contracted Yorggian Fever, which killed his spouse and would have killed him and Theg if they did not manage to get to the United Planets for treatment. The two of them took on human guise and became known as R. J. Brande and Doyle.
Durla has changed little in the intervening centuries, still being xenophobic to the point of killing all outsiders who set foot on the planet. The planet has seen many of its natives seek ways off in recent times, though, and some liberalization of its policies may soon occur. One known breach in the Durlan quarantine occurred in 2973, when a group of Durlans used a paralysis-gas on all members of the Legion of Super-Heroes except Saturn Girl, who they transported into the Bgztl Buffer Zone by surprise, as they were imitating the other Legionnaires. This group was defeated when Saturn Girl managed to use her telepathy across the dimensions to get an android built in the form of a Durlan, who would walk in on the unsuspecting group and free her. It is not known whether these so-called Chameleon Men had come to Earth with official sanction from the Durlan government or if they were rogues (Action Comics # 287). Meanwhile, the attitude toward Durlans in the United Planets has softened some, thanks in large part to the goodwill efforts of Chameleon Boy of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He was forced to return to Durla in 2984 to restore his shape-changing abilities in the radiation fountain, and had to fight for the right to leave again. His victory has given the tribal leaders of Durla some pause to reconsider their isolation (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 301).
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Vyrga
Vyrga is a United Planets member planet to which Leviathan and Chameleon traveled to evaluate one of its inhabitants, Gates, regarding suitability for Legion membership. Gates, seeing the draft as a form of political oppression, refused to go with them that time (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 66), but eventually, Gates became a Legionnaire (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 76). While most Vyrgans are satisfied with their world's matriarchal government, some, including Gates, feel that this form of government is not properly representative of the peoples' will. While Gates, despite his grievances, is obedient toward the government, another such free thinker, Mantis Morlo, used his knowledge of chemistry to create an army for a violent revolution, which the Vyrgan matriarch called in the Legion to help put down (Legionnaires # 45).
The matriarch has since then had great gratitude for the Legion, and offered the use of Vyrga as a hospital and supply world in the battle against Mordru (Legionnaires # 49).
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Aleph
Aleph is the home planet of Legionnaire Kinetix, to which Leviathan and Chameleon traveled in order to recruit her (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 66). It is one of the planets that had been served by a Stargate that the Blight passed through on their way to Earth (Legionnaires # 78).
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Talok VIII (Post-Boot)
Talok VIII is the home world of Tasmia Mallor, the Legionnaire Umbra (Legionnaires # 43), who is a distant descendant of the Talokian members of L. E. G. I. O. N., Lyrissa Mallor and Lydea Mallor. The first-borns of the Mallor family have held the position of planetary champion for millenia, with the exception of a few periods in time, such as the mid-21st century, when all living Mallors were cowards. At that time, in the year 2021, Starman Mikaal Tomas, the last survivor of a thirteenth "lost" tribe of Taloks who had inhabited the world Talok III, came to Talok and became champion (Starman (2nd series) # 50). Generally, these champions tended to act as protectors from threats rather than as social policy advisors. When Tasmia became planetary champion, she was led by the spirits of her ancestors to believe that it was her duty to safeguard the cultures of Talok VIII's twelve tribes from being lost through outside influence, but every time she spoke out against such things, she was ignored. The last straw for the Talokians came when she tried to attack an envoy from the United Planets who was offering Talok VIII membership. The tribal leaders wanted it despite Tasmia's objections, and removed her from her position as planetary champion, whereupon she left Talok VIII and joined the Legion (Legends of the Legion # 3).
Talok VIII changed very little over the next eighty thousand years. The only thing that changed significantly was the planet's champion, who continually adapted himself or herself to the universe around Talok. Talok VIII was still part of the United Planets in the 853rd century, and its champion, a being of living darkness who, like his thirtieth-century predecessor, was called Umbra, was a member of the Justice Legion L (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
Talok VIII (Pre-Boot)
Talok VIII is a world covered with sandy desert, on which, thousands of years in the past, the blue-skinned humanoid natives had all been worshippers of a diety called Makkas, whose rites included human sacrifice and necromancy. This was changed by an invasion from space, during which "Kings from beyond the Stars" subjugated the native Talokians through machines. The machines mined the world through their Talokian slaves, until a revolutionary movement gathered enough strength to raid the high-walled city the computers had built to safely rule the world from. The revolutionaries, led by a man named Mallor and his lieutenant Daran, stormed the city, losing a large number of their men, until Mallor himself found the machine that felt like it contained a lot of power. He stabbed the machine with his sword, shorting it out and killing the tyrranical Kings, who had been in the palace at the time, in the resulting explosion. This allowed the rebels their victory, and when Mallor, the hero, woke from being knocked out by the explosion, he found that he had absorbed the machine's strange energies, which gave him the power to project shadows. He encouraged his followers to make the city that the robots built their home, and to learn about its technologies, as it was much more comfortable than the mountains where they used to live before. Mallor became the protector of the city, and most Talokians moved into it, becoming cosmopolitans and interstellar merchants, such as Lustig, who helped the underground on Elia at the time Valor was liberating the planet (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 2). Many, however, remained true to the religion of their ancestors, and remained in the mountains. They became known as the Yakka-Mahor, and were, throughout Talokian history, often persecuted for their beliefs (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 8).
A member of the Mallor family has served as the city's protector since the time of that revolution. Family members are not born with the powers; rather, the power must be unleashed, which generally occurs in a ceremony in a cave on the outskirts of the city. Generally, the initiate desribes the experience as a meeting with his or her ancestors, who talk to him or her and then bestow upon him or her the power. Skeptics are of the opinion that the cave actually contains special gases which are hallucinogenic and which give the initiate the powers. Whatever the theory, there is no denying that the cave will do nothing for anyone not of the Mallor family, and there is something fearsome inside the cave that will be placated only by the unique darkness that Mallors produce (L. E. G. I. O. N. '93 # 52-55).
During the twentieth century, Talok's shadow-champion was Lyrissa Mallor, who was handed over to the Dominion-led Earth-invasion alliance as a hostage to ensure that the Talokians would not act against them. She was freed, with several other prisoners, by Vril Dox II of Colu, who used them to liberate his home planet from its tyrranical computer rulers, and then, to found the interplanetary law-enforcement corps L. E. G. I. O. N. (Invasion! # 1-2, L. E. G. I. O. N. '89 # 1-6). Lyrissa, seeing her duty with the group as a higher concern than just serving Talok, left her daughter Lydea with her husband, who was forced to hand her over to the priests of the city to prepare her to be shadow-champion, eventually, in her mother's absence. Unfortunately, the priest was actually Pulsar Stargrave, the bodily shell inhabited by the Computer Tyrants of Colu, who used his science to accelerate her growth to adulthood, unlock a harsher type of shadow-power within her, and instill in her a hatred for her mother. As revenge against the group that deposed him, he sent Lydea to the L. E. G. I. O. N.'s headquarters to kill her mother and any other members that she could. Lyrissa Mallor died at her hands (L. E. G. I. O. N. '90 # 14-22). Dox managed to deprogram Lydea and make her into a bona fide hero. She fell under the thrall of Dox's son, Lyrl, when he usurped his father's authority for a while, but when Lyrl's deeds were undone, Lydea Mallor became known far and wide as the greatest hero ever produced by Talok VIII. (Her genetic material was used by Darkseid to create a Servant of Darkness.)
In the late thirtieth century, the champion of Talok was Sarven Mallor, who died while the city was engaged in hostilities against the angry Yakka-Mahor. He left behind two grandchildren, Tasmia and Grev, who subjected themselves to the cave of shadows and came out Shadow Lass and Shadow Kid (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 8). The two of them helped the city-dwellers drive the mountain men away. Afterwards, Tasmia was chosen as champion because she was older, and Grev left the planet to find a place where he could be useful. In 2978, though, Tasmia had to leave the planet on a diplomatic mission, and the Fatal Five, trapped in another dimension, made contact with some people in the palace in Talok City, and promised them great rewars to build certain machines that would, eventually, allow the villains to free themselves. In order to hide their contact with Talok, the Five ordered that Talok close itself off to all outsiders and begin a massive armament program. Tasmia, unable to return home, called in the Legion of Super-Heroes for help. The Legion and Shadow Lass got onto Talok VIII, and fell into the Fatal Five's traps, freeing themselves, but expending a lot of energy to do so...just as the Five had intended. This energy was fed into the machines that would bridge dimensions, and the Fatal Five were freed. They made their way to Earth and attemoted to take over the United Planets by force, but the Legion, with Shadow Lass as its newest member, managed to stop them (Adventure Comics # 365-366).
In late 2983, the Legionnaires returned to Talok VIII to prevent the theft by Darkseid of a mystical atrifact called the Orb of Orthanax . Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, Darkseid sent his ervant based upon Lydea Mallor to Talok for this purpose (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 290).
Two years later, in 2985, the Yakka-Mahor geared up for another attack on the city, this time led by Lady Memory, the embodiment of Talok's racial memory, who had reached maturity after being raised for this purpose by the monks of Makkas. She hired the Persuader, at the time not working with other members of the Fatal Five, to lead her troops and act as her personal bodyguard. In this capacity, he caught Grev Mallor spying on their camp and captured him. Shadow Lass, who hadn't heard from Grev in a while, got worried and investigated with her boyfriend Valor, who was caught off-guard by Lady Memory's abilities to unlock old memories. This sent Valor on a rampage, which allowed Shadow Lass to get captured, too, a situation that much distressed Wervos Bommer , the 83rd and current Lord Mayor of Talok City. Fortunately, the other Legionnaires managed to sybdue Valor, make their way to Talok, protect the city and capture the Persuader. Lady Memory, on her own desire, fought Shadow Lass head-to-head, but lost. The situation restabilized, Tasmia and the Legionnaires left, leaving Grev as the city's new Champion (Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 318-319, Secret Origins (2nd series) # 8).
In 2993, Grev Mallor married Lady Memory in order to unify the planet. This diminished overt strife, but there was still a lot of animosity among the Yakka-Mahor, and when, in 2995, the Khunds volunteered to give them leadership of the planet if they'd attack the city at an advantageous time to draw the planetary defenses away, they agreed. The Yakka-Mahor danced their ritual Trimballa and began a battle against the city, but Shadow Kid and the city's army managed to drive them back while the United Planets fleet and the Legion of Super-Heroes held the Khunds at bay, with Brainiac 5 supplying the technology necessary to counteract the Khunds' weapons (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 15-17).
Among the fauna of Talok VIII are Death-birds, which nest in the mountains and will eat Talokians and humans if it sees them and is hungry (Adventure Comics # 365).
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Aarok (Post-Boot)
Aarok is the home planet of Legionnaire XS, and of her father before her. It is home to a number of prestigious scientific institutions, one of which was studying XS when she was drafted into the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Aarok (Pre-Boot)
Aarok is a world with tropical jungles populated by scantily-clad, large-proportioned women (or, as Jamm prefers to think of them, "Amazon Babes") that a few Legionnnaires brought Jamm to at his super-powered request (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 4). Its planetary time had been kept on a clock in the first Legion headquarters (Adventure Comics # 312).
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Kwai
The Kwai are a race of winged humanoids who have an armor-skin that can cover their body or can be retracted at will to reveal human-like flesh underneath. The evolution of their race was influenced by the appearance of the Progenitor, also knwon as Element Lad . Once upon a time, the Kwai were a warlike race, using their armor for protection in battle, but over time, they developed into a peaceful race of nomads, using this armor-skin only as protection against the rigors of outer space. Aggression is a trait found in only one out of a thousand Kwai, and those Kwai are considered primitive throwbacks, or, in the Kwai vernacular, "lone stars." The Kwai draw resources from the planets on which they land their "brief-homes," and collect water by catching comets.
The Kwai have developed an innate sense of navigation due to their many centuries of wandering, and most are born pathfinders, possessed of a tracking instinct that allows them to locate almost any object, even with only an abstract idea of what the actual object is. Their knowledge of the stars is unparallelled amongst the races in their part of the galaxy. As a result of their dependence on the constancy of the stars, they have developed a superstition around the behavior of meteors, or "feral stars" which are unknown to their maps and wander from place to place. They consider these to be good-luck signs and attempt to follow their path.
Currently, the matriarch of the Kwai tribe that has encountered several members of the Legion of Super-Heroes is Enkenet (Legion Lost # 3). This tribe followed the feral star that was actually the disembodied energy of Legionnaire ERG-1 that fell through a rift in space. This brought them into a sector of space that is dominated by the genocidal Progeny, which has forced the Kwai to constantly relocate their brief-homes in order to hide. However, the Progeny found a trio of Kwai, Kamlos, Reos and Shikari on a comet-hunt. They killed Kamlos and Reos, but Shikari escaped into the remains of the Legion Outpost, and the battle between her and the Progeny awakened the Legionnaires, who saved her (Legion Lost # 1). After escaping from a larger Progeny ship (Legion Lost # 2), Shikari led the Legion to the Kwai brief-home, where the Kwai helped the Legion fix their Outpost and convert it into a spaceworthy living environment and save the life of ERG-1, and supplied the Legionnaires with food, technology and navigational data. The Legion, in turn, bought the Kwai time to escape their brief-home before the Progeny caught up with them. Enkenet, at that time, assigned Shikari to remain with the Legionnaires until they find their way home (Legion Lost # 3).
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United Planets (Post-Boot)
The United Planets is a confederation of planetary governments working together for the sake of mutual peace and prosperity. It sets policies among member worlds on matters of trade, settlement of new planets, and the rights of sentient species everywhere. It was founded in the late thirtieth century after the invention of the Stargate made transportation between planets much easier and faster. While there was much resistance to the idea of peaceful confederation at first, notably among Earthling xenophobes (Flash (2nd series) # 114), the general populace of the worlds eventually came around to support it. Its best-known achievement is the treaty it brokered between Braal and Titan, two eventual member worlds which had been at war for decades ( Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0).
The official law-enforcement arm of the United Planets is the Science Police, which enforces U. P. law (but not local law unless specifically requested by the local authorities) on member planets. Every member planet has a Science Police base. The Legion of Super-Heroes is sanctioned as law-enforcement as well, handling cases too dangerous for ordinary S. P. officers and often handling problems on not-yet-member worlds, thus serving as de-facto ambassadors to show the outsiders what the unity of the U. P. is like. Despite some resistance to the Legion at first, the United Planets council, during the vote which made the confederation official, agreed to the idea once the original members saved the U. P. council chambers from a bomb planted by White Triangle terrorists, to whom the very idea of a union between different species was anathema (Legionnaires # 0).
The United Planets also maintains a fleet in case of war against outside powers. Two of the higher-ranking officials in the fleet are General Hol and Fleet Admiral Everett (Legionnaires # 49-51, 57, 63,74). Amongst the soldiers of this fleet are Rimmer, Reyep, Rios and Richards, who served in the campaign against Mordru (Legionnaires # 51) and Ryder and Merk, who stood guard over Mordru's prison after the Elementals attack (Legionnaires # 76)..
The U. P.'s headquarters are on Earth, and the organization employs a lot of staff to maintain the building and its annexes. The inert Composite Man had been kept in a U. P. warehouse, but he was freed during an attack by Sklarian Raiders (Legionnaires # 53), and he killed two U. P. employees who went to survey the damage, Muhr-Rey and Moort (Legionnaires # 55).
The United Planets Council, made up of ambassadors from every member world, meets on Earth and was headed by Earth's President Jean Chu before she confessed to a host of crimes. Her place was taken by Earthman R. J. Brande (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 80). Among the other members are Winema Wazzo, ambassador from Bgztl, whose daughter Tinya became the Legionnaire caled Apparition, Roxxas, the former ambassador from Daxam and his successor, Obin Der, Ambassador Dowal, the representative from Aleph (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 72), Representative Arn Kwin of Braal (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 72), Representative Xamuel Ivar of Titan (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 72 ), a long-necked delegate named Gollo (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 78), Ambassador Dao Ilbruct, who invited Talok VIII into the U. P. (Legends of the Legion # 3) and Ar'By of Gil'Dan, secretly a spy for the Dark Circle (Legionnaires # 62).
The United Planets is a very generous organization and often extend a helping hand to non-member planets or races which are suffering, with hopes that that race will join. The U. P. offered the Sklarians whose home planet was destroyed by Mordru a new planet on which to settle, but the Sklarians were not satified with it, and even attempted to kill President Brande over the perceived insult. (This was actually due to active manipulation of the Sklarians by the Dark Circle (Legionnaires # 57).
Recently, the Dark Circle-run Affiliated Planets has been actively competing with the U. P., and trying to steal away its member planets, such as Xanthu, by staging emergencies and "solving" the problem (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 101-103, Legionnaires # 58-59). The Dark Circle used a Durlan thief to scare other planets, such as Winath and Orando into leaving the U. P. and joining the A. P. (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 104). They then used the Composite Man as an agent of terror to induce Winath of the Affiliated Planets, to wage war against Durla and the United Planets. The Legion had already been investigating the A. P., and when total war broke out, the Legion managed to expose the Dark Circle and defeat them, thanks to the fortutous halt of the flow of time (Legionnaires # 62-64, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 106-108). Soon, Orando and Gil'D rejoined the United Planets, but other A. P. planets decided to keep the new federation, restructured to avoid the kind of tactics that the Dark Circle used to manipulated them (Legionnaires # 65).
A partial listing of members includes: Aarok, Aleph, Anatac, Alkoz (since left to join the Affiliated Planets), Angtu (before it was destroyed), Ardemo, Bgztl, Bismoll, Braal, Cargg, Chiron, Colu, Corvan IV, Cyranus, Daxam, Domar, Dryad (before it was destroyed) Durla, Earth, Enwa, Exor, Fandua, Fawcettworld, Gahhn, Ganz, Gil'D (before it was destroyed, and except for a brief period of Affilaited Planets dual-membership), Grxyor, Ikro, Imsk, J'ff'n (since left to join the Affiliated Planets), Jorna, Kathoon, Korr, Lallor, the Lycidian Hegemony, Lythyl (since left to join the Affiliated Planets), Manna-5, Mars, Mellorus-7, Mohado, Myar, Naltor, Nitwon, Orando (left to join the affiliated planets and then rejoined), Orsde, Pasnic, Phlon, Plevitz (since left to join the Affiliated Planets), Quarantine, Rann, Remor, RimborRIMBOR_NEW, Risijs, Rovann, Rygor, Schwar, Silvan, Swizzar, Syngtom, Talok VIII, Taltar, Tanvor, Tharr, Titan, Toonar, Tsuron, Vaalor-7, Venegar, Vyrga, Winath (since left to join the Affiliated Planets), Xanthu (since left to join the affiliated planets), Zadron and Zuun.
New planets are constantly applying for membership to the U. P., including Anthropologia, Mox and Sarccus, which are all still under consideration (Showcase '95 # 6), and Trom, which had its population completely killed (with the exception of Jan Arrah) during the conference to discuss its possible membership (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 71). (Trom was later awarded honorary membership in the U. P. (Legion of Super-Heroes Secret Files # 2).
Four millenia after it was first founded, the United Planets was dissolved due to a lack of ability to maintain communications. This problem was brought about by Durlans, who distrusted other races and wished to sow dissention amongst them in order to keep themselves safe froma possibly hostile galaxy. The Durlans used a cannon to emit an energy-pulse which rendered interplanetary communications impossible. This was a process that they repeated every hundred years, until the seventy-fifth century, when Wildfire managed to organize a new Legion of Super-Heroes which stopped the Durlans before they could fire the cannon again, and this success spurred the re-creation of the United Planets (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Over the next eighty thousand years, United Planets citizens expanded their range to the point where they ended up forming United Galaxies as well. However, a few worlds of the original, thirtieth-century United Planets saw in themselves a special bond as part of humanity's constant cycle of expansion and contraction. Thus, in the 853rd century, the planets Braal, Titan, Cargg, Talok VIII, Durla, Colu-Bgztl and Daxam-Imsk joined themselves together through Braal's magnetism as the United Planets Cluster, and traveled throughout the galaxy broadening their diversity with the intention to return to Earth in the year 85271 to introduce their new races to Earth and to take on new pure-blooded Earthlings as anchors for their expansion, properly timed to co-incide with the emergence from Earth's sun of the prime Superman. However, as the United Planets Cluster headed for Earth, their champions, the Justice Legion L, received a warning of something dire that was to happen on Earth. The Titanians, who did not want their perfect society affected by such a disaster, built an engine to propel their planet free of the U. P., and their champion, Titangirl, attempted to sabotage the Justice Legion L's efforts to stop the disaster from occurring by mentally making the heroes think that the Cluster's magnetism was fading. Titangirl, however, was exposed by her teammates and Titan was expelled from the Cluster. Eventually, the remainder of the U. P. cluster reached Earth (Legionnaires # 1000000, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 1000000).
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United Planets (Pre-Boot)
The United Planets is a quasi-governmental body formed in the wake of the surge of colonization activity following World War VI in the late twenty-eighth century. At first, it served solely as a vehicle for diplomatic relations between Earth and its colony worlds; its mission, over the early decades of the twenty-ninth century, grew to include coordination of settlement policy, trade agreements, and inter-species relations, including arbitration of disputes. Its efficiency in handling these matters became widely publicized to the point where non-human planets joined and formed, in addition to the above, a massive defensive alliance against hostile races such as the Khunds and the Dominion. The U. P. runs a fleet and a Militia Academy to aid in the defense of its borders, and it also runs the central Science Police to coordinate law enforcement on member worlds.
Due to its origin as a meeting place for Earth's and its colonies' representatives, it maintained its headquarters on Earth for over a century. However, the space demands and inconvenient location made it necessary for the organization to leave Earth in the early thirtieth century, and the artificial planet Weber's World was built to be the new meeting place for the United Planets. Despite the fact that it has not been located on Earth for a long time, Earth has always been a player with great influence on the galactic scene, and the Dominion-inspired secession of Earth in late 2989 almost caused an organizational crisis. The leadership of other worlds and the encroaching Khunds kept the United Planets solidly together despite Earth's non-participation, and the organization managed to hold up, if not exactly thrive.
In 2994, former Earth Ambassador Anton Relnic, who severed his ties with Earth in order to remain in diplomacy, was named chairman of the U. P. Council. He came with an impressive resume, which included the negotiation of diplomatic accords with the Dominion (Superboy (and the Legion of Super-Heroes) # 225, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 241-245, Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 29, 32-34, Annual # 3) and attempts at such with the Khunds (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 307-310) and the rooting out of Dark Circle agents in the Science Police heirarchy (Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 314-315 ). He ranked so high that both Mordru and Universo, through impersonation (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 241-245 ) and hypnosis (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 29-34) respectively, found it advantageous to influence others using his image. It was he who was in charge of organizing the evacuation of Weber's World during the Magic Wars and keeping whatever would be necessary for the U. P.'s recovery afterward (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 62). He made recapture of Earth at earliest opportunity one of his highest priorities, and, when Earth President Tayla Wellington was murdered, he orchestrated the activity (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 30-36). Months later, he was again controlled by Universo, this time into believing the Legion guilty of conspiracy with the Khunds, even as he attempted to negotiate with them (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 50, 53-59).
Vice-chairperson of the United Planets Council is Aplynn Jeryl of Arcturus, who had some shady incidents in her past and was thus blackmailed in 2983 by a scoundrel named Giy Delor in a scheme undone with the help of Legionnaire Chameleon Boy ( Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 249). She dated him for a while, but they broke up after his ill-advised mission to Khundia later that year. She visited Naltor for the pre-game ceremonies of the batball championships in 2995 (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 37), and New Earth later that year to see what kind of assistance the U. P. could give it when she was attacked by the re-formed Fatal Five, and saved by the New Earth team of Legionnaires (Legionnaires # 5-6). She also serves as a regular member of the council, unlike Relnic (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 53).
Commander-in-Chief of the United Planets military forces is King Jonn of Pasnic, in exile due to the Khunds. Working under him is Admiral Darios, a Hykraian under whose command the U. P. Fleet recaptured Earth (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 30 -36), Captain Heiple, who captained one carrier in that fleet, the Kenrik (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 35), Braden, who helped defend the Militia Academy from th e Khunds (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 15), and Luornu and Chuck Taine, who run the Militia Academy. The main Fleet base is the planet Amadus (Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 324). H'Wann is one of the shipbuilders who customizes starships for the special needs of the United Planets (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 30). The Fleet supplied major assistance in the evacuation of Earth when the planet was destroyed; one crewman involved in the operation was Cotreau (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 39).
The Galactic Coordinator is the title held by the most senior official in the United Planets, which happens to be a being named **Q from the planet (CR)dx. His job is to appear at every official ceremony, including the signing of peace treaties, such as the one between the U. P. and the Dominion in 2982 (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 245) and the inauguration of Earth's Presidents, such as Mojai Desai's in 2985 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 11).
The diplomatic corps includes Councillor Hathoir, who in 2973 got the Council to amend a law that would have otherwise prevented R. J. Brande from forming the Legion of Super-Heroes (Secret Origins (2nd series) # 25), Ambassador Yeasmir, a Gil'Dishpan whose powers of negotiation are highly respected, and who sat in on the Relnic-Khund negotiations of 2985 (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 307-310), Consul Gldran, who was attcked during the Earthwar and saved by the Legionnaires ( Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 242), Ambassador Sten, from Rimbor (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 55-56 ), Ambassador Kaye of Winath (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 56), and Ganet of Orando (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 54).
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Binderaan
Binderaan is a planet which, as of the thirtieth century, had never been inhabited by sentient beings. Centuries later, after Earth was destroyed, humans colonized it. At some point before the ninetieth century, it became home to a portal that led to the Rock of Eternity, the home of the wizard and former Earth hero Captain Marvel.
In the ninetieth century, in Binderaan's largest city, Schaffenburgh, a terrorist attacked a crowd of people including yound Cece Beck. The attack teleported Cece to the Rock of Eternity, where Captain Marvel endowed her with his powers, turning her into the heroine Thunder. Thunder later captured that terrorist and became a well-known hero on Binderaan (Power of Shazam Annual # 1).
Months later, Cece was traveling through time by using the Rock of Eternity when it exploded, leaving her stranded in the late thirtieth century. It was then that Cece visited Binderaan and discovered it to be uninhabited (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 110).
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Fawcettworld
Fawcettworld is a United Planets member planet inhabited by descendants of the inhabitants of the ancient Earth city Fawcett City, former home of the hero Captain Marvel and his family. It is home to both human beings and a race of humanoid tiger-like beings. The planet, for most of its history, ran on magic power derived from the Rock of Eternity and a magical ancient flame which channeled the power once wielded by Captain Marvel and his compatriots. This power also powered Fawcettworld's leader, a computer called S.H.A.Z.A.M. which, due to the flame's magic, exhibited extraordinary wisdom and worked with extraordinary speed.
This existence came to an end in the late thirtieth century when Doctor Savant, who had left Fawcettworld and learned science, went on a fanatical campaign to wipe out all magic. He succeeded in destroying the Rock of Eternity and shutting down the flame, which caused worldwide disasters on Fawcettworld. Fortunately, the Legion was there when the disasters occurred, as they were trying to track down the source of the rocks which had once been pieces of the Rock of Eternity. They saved most Fawcettworld residents from harm in the ensuing disasters, and Thunder, a future wielder of the Captain Marvel power, stopped Savant from sealing off the portal that leads to the Rock of Eternity's former location. Savant was imprisoned, but the damage had already been done, and Fawcettworld was forced to build power plants based on scientific principles (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 110).
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Teall
Teall is a dimension accessible through a black hole in which energy is more stable than matter. It is the home of a group mind of non-sex-specific energy-beings who are capable of inhabiting and manipulating solid matter. In 2985, they conceived the possibility that their universe might contain other energy-planets with other energy-beings that could be assimilated into the group mind. They chose their most independent thinker as their "astronaut" for this mission of exploration, but instead of looking for new beings to include in the group mind, it went through a black hole and ended up in the dimension of matter. The astronaut didn't come back; instead, it decided it was having fun in the matter universe and joined the Legion of Super-Heroes under the name Quislet. Quislet was therefore labeled a thief and a traitor to Teall.
In 2987, the Teallians used a black hole to kidnap Quislet from its room in the Legion's headquarters, and by accident, they also broiught Wildfire, an energy-being who was being taught by Quislet to control his form. Wildfire escaped on his own, but Quislet remained captive until it bluffed the Teallians into letting it go by telling them that the ship, with which it was captured, was booby-trapped. They let Quislet go, but Quislet remained a criminal in their eyes (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 44).
Quislet's ship was destroyed by the Emerald Empress in early 2989, and this forced it to return to Teall (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 58). Quislet's fate since its return is unknown, but is suspected that Quislet had been punished somehow.
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I can't believe I forgot Starhaven. Sorry Grey!
Starhaven
Starhaven is a world near the galactic core, which was settled in the 27th century by Native Americans looking for a more spiritually pure land than Earth was at that time. While the planet is technologically in tune with the rest of the United Planets, technological artifacts are limited to specific areas of the globe, leaving most of the natural areas pristine. Through genetic mutation and selective breeding, Starhaveners have become excellent trackers and navigators, with something of a sixth sense about their quarries, and some have developed wings, invulnerability and flight powers, which, after several generations, enabled the best of them to exceed the speed of light. Many natives of Starhaven earn livings as navigators and bounty-hunters, including Dawnstar, the most developed of them all, who eventually came to the notice of R. J. Brande and used these powers to join the Legion of Super-Heroes (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 240).
The Starhaveners continue to keep some traditions, some of them slightly modified, they brought with them from Earth, including taking a "grand tour of the galaxy" upon one's eighteenth birthday to discover the person who would become one's mate. Dawnstar did this in 2984, and was interrupted by Wildfire just when the face of the person was supposed to appear to her. She originally took this as a sign that Wildfire himself was the chosen one, but has since experienced doubts about that (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 306-311). They also have a trial for helping one confront his or her fears, involving some form of hallucinogenic herbal smoke, which Dawnstar went through after her recovery from possession by the Bounty entity (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 55).
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Marzal
Marzal is an island that had been populated completely by Africans until the decimation of its inhabitants by the Dominators in 2994. It was discovered in the seventeenth century by African captives of European slavers who, led by their chieftain St'balla, rebelled and took over the ship on which they were held captive. The Africans steered the ship until discovering the island, which they named Marzal, a word which meant "New World" in their language. Soon after they settled it, the island disappeared into another dimension, which they took as a sign from the gods that they would be safe there from the "white devils" who had plagued them before.
In the late nineteenth century, Marzal re-emerged into Earth's dimension, whereupon the Marzallians understood that the island was dimensionally unstable, and it stayed in Earth's dimension for about thirty years out of every two hundred. Marzallian society progressed in approximately the same way that Earth technology did over the next thousand years.
In the thirtieth century, a mutant child was born on Marzal, who had the power to draw on the energy of the dimensional rift around the island to produce odd effects with his voice. Troy Stewart was given the name Tyroc, a Marzallian word meaning "scream of the devil," and appointed the island's protector. When Marzal reappeared on Earth late in the century, it was beset by difficulties, and the Marzallians had to deal with them on their own, a fact which led them to conclude that thirtieth-century Earth society was prejudiced against blacks. So when a satellite carrying stolen jewels crashed on Marzal in 2981, and the Legion tried to retrieve it and prevent the criminal Beta Gang from doing so, they were received coolly by the Marzallians, and chased away by Tyroc. However, when Tyroc was in deadly danger from poison radiation emissions from the stolen jewels, the Legionnaires rescued him and convinced him that they treated people of all races equally. Tyroc eventually joined the Legion ( Superboy (1st series) # 216).
Tyroc spent most of his Legion career on detached duty, though, since he was still responsible for defending Marzal. In late 2983, Marzal disappeared again, a bit earlier than usual, due to the effects of Tyroc's power. Tyroc went with his people, and Marzal was not expected to appear again for two centuries (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 265).
Those who did not expect to see Marzal again were mistaken, though. In early 2994, when the Dominators controlled Earthgov, they felt their popularity among the peoples of Earth slipping, and felt they needed a quick boost. In order to do that, they decided to fake an attack by the Khunds and claim victory, so they could convince the Earthmen that they were on their side in a common battle. Using recordings of Tyroc's voice, they managed to get Marzal to reappear in Earth's dimension, and then destroyed the city (which this time appeared in the middle of Africa rather than in the ocean like usual), claiming the Khunds had teleported in a city full of terrorists. Tyroc and the few other survivors made their way to the resistance movement led by Jacques Foccart, and have helped defeat the Dominators, getting, in small measure, their revenge for the destruction of their people.
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Korbal (Post-Boot)
Korbal is a barren planetoid uninhabited by any sentient creature. The only significant beings that live there are lightning beasts, which absorb and discharge electrical energy such as is found in abundance flashing through Korbal's skies. Some months before the founding of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Garth, Ayla and Mekt Ranzz were stranded there and attempted to trick the lightning beasts into recharging their spaceship, but the beasts turned on them instead and they received powers similar to the beasts' own abilities ( Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 0, 64).
Mekt, who embarked on a life of crime as Lightning Lord, discovered that the lightning beasts, when killed, discharged their lightning and that he could absorb it, making him more powerful. When Garth, as Live Wire, came looking for him, Mekt brought him to Korbal and showed him this phenomenon, telling him that he would soon be the only lightning-powered creature alive...no more lightning beasts, or Garth or Ayla. Garth fought him, and with the arriving Ayla's help, defeated him, but at the cost of his right arm. The lightning beast herd has been decimated, but not completely wiped out, as Mekt had hoped (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 73, Legionnaires # 30).
Months later, after Ayla, a. k. a. Spark, had been to the twentieth century and had her power changed, she returned to Korbal in the hopes of getting them back. A lightning beast attacked her as she hoped it would, but it killed her rather than empowering her, and she was revived only through the delicate application of electricity gathered from Korbal's skies, which is full of lightning since the killing of most of the lightning beasts. The revival gave her back energy powers of some sort, but they appear to be somewhat different from her original lightning powers (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 101).
Korbal (Pre-Boot)
Korbal is the planetoid where lightning beasts come from; due to the constant electrical storms in its atmosphere, they are the only creatures that could possibly thrive there. In 2971, the siblings Garth, Ayla and Mekt Ranzz were forced to make an emergency landing there when their ship lost its power. They tried to get the lightning beasts to recharge the ship; instead, the creatures attacked the Ranzzes, empowering them and turning them into Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass and Lightning Lord, respectively (Adventure Comics # 308, Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 45). When Lightning Lad died in 2975, Lightning Lass brought his body there and took his place in his crypt to join the Legion and keep his memory alive (Adventure Comics # 308), and the Legion of Super-Heroes left his body there. When they found a Daxamite life-force transfer machine they could use to revive him, they set it up in Korbal, so that the selection of who would sacrifice his or her life for Lightning Lad's would be properly random, whoever was struck by the atmospheric lightning, which turned out to be Chameleon Boy's pet, Proty (Adventure Comics # 312).
The Science Police maintains a post on Korbal to prevent others from killing themselves trying to duplicate the Ranzzes' empowerment.
[ July 30, 2003, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: Lightning Lad ]
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Dryad (Post-Boot)
Dryad is a world whose native population consists of rock-like beings. There were originally two distinct races of Dryadians, one of which lived on the surface of the planet, the females of which had a crystalline surface after the onset of sexual maturity. The last known member of this species was Strata, who was a founding member of the intergalactic police force L. E. G. I. O. N. in the late twentieth century. The other race has a rocky appearance, and they live under the surface (Trinity # 2). The members of this race are very reclusive, and the world came to be thought of as unpopulated.
Shortly before the origin of the Legion, lifeforms from the United Planets attempted to colonize the world, making it part of the U. P. Their attempts at transforming the terrain came to the attention of the native Dryads, who eventually accepted the colonists' peaceful intentions and signed a treaty with them. However, the natives were naive and expected the colonists to honor their traditions and needs even if they were not specified in that contract. This caused tension between the natives and the colonists, and led to some wary natives remaining awake at a time of year when most of them choose to hibernate. One of these wary natives was Brika. Her suspicions proved justified when the colonists attempted to start developing land under which many of her clan were hibernating. Brika pleaded with the colonists to hold off developing that region until the other Dryadians could be awakened and relocated, but the colonists, citing the treaty, refused (Legionnaires # 71).
The conflict came to a head when, during this stand-off, Brika was possessed by the Elemental Rrox. Rrox sensed Brika's disappointment over the treatment of her planet and, responding to what it perceived to be its host's desires, caused the planet to explode beneath its feet before taking off for JS-1967 in order to destroy Mordru (Legionnaires # 71-72). However, the Legion of Super-Heroes worked to stop them from inadvertantly awakening the powerful sorcerer, and during that fight, Brika's personality was re-asserted. Not being the violent type, Brika rejected the Elemental's possession, allowing it to be re-captured by the sorceress Mysa ( Legionnaires # 73). Then Brika, distraught over what she had done and feeling no reason to continue with life now that her beloved home planet no longer existed, committed suicide (Legionnaires # 74).
It is unknown if any other Dryadians survived the planet's destruction.
Dryad (Pre-Boot)
Dryad, also known as Korlon, has been inhabited by silicon-based rock-beings since before the twentieth century. There had apparently been two different species, the surface-dwellers, among whom the males are rock-like and the women crystalline, and the cave-dwellers, among whom all are like rock, but whose shapes of each sex look more similar to carbon-based humanoid lifeforms (Trinity # 2), though males go through a rather radical metamorphosis in their adolescent stage. The surface species apparently died out, but the greatest hero of Dryad until its destruction was Strata, a surface being who helped found the L. E. G. I. O. N. in the late twentieth century.
The absence of life on the surface led Dryad to be dropped from the planetary star maps, until it was "discovered" by colonizing humans in the thirtieth century. Not detecting any carbon-based lifeforms, the humans assumed the planet to be devoid of sentient life, and colonized it. Several years later, after determining their peaceful intent, the silicon-based Dryads revealed themselves to the humans, and the two species lived peacefully side-by-side for decades.
Then, in 2980, the planet's core was discovered to be unstable, and the Legion of Super-Heroes led a massive evacuation effort. It was mostly successful, but they failed to rescue six youths, five human and one silicon, who were instead taken by the Dark Man. He duped them into believing that the Legionnaires had actually destroyed the planet, and gave them super-powers. Titania, Lazon, Mist Master, Neutrax, Silver Slasher and Blok became the Dark Man's League of Super-Assassins and went to Earth in 2983 to fight the Legion, a fight which they lost (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 272, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 253-254). While the Dark Man had done a good job of brainwashing the humans, Blok was less susceptible to his psychic abilities, and when the Dark Man engaged in another scheme against the Legion, he joined the Legion against his former master (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 270-271).
Blok was believed to be the last silicon survivor of Dryad before his death at the hands of Roxxas the Butcher in 2994. It is possible, however, that others survived the planet's destruction. The humans all escaped the dying planet, including the Super-Assassins. Among the human colonists of Dryad are Doctor Hosono, who first set foot on the planet, and Jorj, Marta and Gretal, the family of three to whom the silicons first revealed themselves (Legion of Super-Heroes (1st series) # 272).
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Bismoll (Post-Boot)
Bismoll is a United Planets world on which every inhabitant is capable of eating all forms of matter, through a super-corrosive agent in their saliva. Tenzil Kem, the Legion of Super-Heroes' chef, hails from this planet (Legionnaires # 35).
One seventy-fifth century Bismollian is Nervosa, a member of Wildfire's Legion of Super-Heroes (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) Annual # 7).
Bismoll (Pre-Boot)
Bismoll is a world which was settled by human beings without super-powers, but when deadly microbes infested all organic matter on the planet. Cut off from all outside contact, the Bismollians reached inside themselves to keep from starving to death...they engineered a genetic change in themseves that enabled them to eat inorganic materials. As the generations went by, natural selection favored those who were able to get the most efficiency out of their food, and those with extremely strong teeth and jaws, to the point where most Bismollians are capable of taking a bite out of anything, even objects which are normally indestructible, such as the Miracle Machine (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 251) and the Persuader's Atomic Axe ( Legionnaires # 6), both of which were destroyed by Matter-Eater Lad, who joined the Legion of Super-Heroes with his ability to eat matter in all forms. Unlike many other Legionnaires whose powers are present in all natives of their home planets, whose abilities are stronger or better-developed, his eating ability is typical, a fact that has aroused the jealousy of others, who have tried to take his place in the Legion, such as Calorie Queen, who could actually convert her food energy into super-strength ( Superboy (1st series) # 212), and his own brother Renkil (Superboy (1st series) # 184). Bismoll tries to encourage tourism, but the local cuisine tends to chase potential tourists away.
The political system of Bismoll is a strange one, in which a person gets drafted for political service, much in the way that governments at war draft people into their armies. Matter-Eater Lad was drafted by his parents' party to run for parliament in 2981, for the sake of lending his popularity to the party's platform rather than for any ideas of his own. He ended up turning the tables on them, though, and quickly became so popular that he was able to pursue an independent agenda and his career has been one of the most productive of any politician in the United Planets. His only notable loss came in late 2985, when he voted against the installation of a new computer system for Bismoll, but the attack by Pulsar Stargrave that this brought about and his subsequent stopping of Stargrave with the help of the Legion of Substitute Heroes only increased his popularity (Legion of Substitute Heroes Special # 1). His political enemies were quick to vacate his parliament seat when he was believed dead in late 2994, but his replacement, Calorie Queen, has proved to be quite capable at advancing his former agenda.
The local fauna is quite varied, and includes the Puffer Fish that is very difficult to breed in captivity. The first specimen ever to be so bred was the object of an attempted theft soon after its birth by Garak of the Glow (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 51).
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Trom (Post-Boot)
Trom is a world on which every inhabitant is capable of transmuting substances from one element to another. Trommites led a very spiritually-oriented life, spending much of their day in prayer, and believing that all life...and death...is just a series of transmutations to another state, each of which is sacred in its own way. For a long time, the only outsider who knew of Trom's existence was R. J. Brande , who struck up a partnership with Tarn Arrah, its leader, for the creation of a new element, Tarnium, which could power Brande's Stargates. After prolonged contact with Brande, though, Tarn decided that his planet should join the United Planets federation. This would have gone smoothly if not for the treachery of Roxxas, the Daxamite ambassador to the United Planets who was secretly a member of the White Triangle cult, which felt threatened by the U. P. in general, and knew they'd never be able to destroy it if Trom joined. Therefore, during the very conference that was intended to discuss Trom's potential membership in the U. P., Roxxas sent twelve Daxamite White Trianglers to use their laser-vision powers to burn every living thing on Trom (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 71).
The only survivor of Trom is Jan Arrah, Tarn's son, who went off-planet with R. J. Brande shortly before the destruction in order to create Tarnium for Stargates to replace those that the White Triangle had destroyed. After helping stop the Trianglers from destroying Earth as well, Jan returned to Trom, where he was making monuments for the deceased Trommites until he was interrupted by President Chu ( Legionnaires # 29, 34, Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 80). He stil occasionally returns there to continue that work (Legionnaires # 43, 45).
Trom was granted honorary U. P. membership in memory of the deceased Trommites (Legion of Super-Heroes Secret Files # 2).
Trom (Pre-Boot)
Trom is a world that is highly radioactive, on which there is only one small valley that is at all inhabitable. It was settled by humaniods well before Earth had invented space travel, and the humans developed the ability to change one element to another. They built a highly spiritual society around this ability, and strongly discouraged the use of the ability off their world, for fear that they might kill with a whim. Even on Trom, self-control is one of the first things a Trommite baby learned. There had been a few rogues in Trom's history, most notably Dagon-Ra, a space pirate who terrorized the Alpha Centauri sector during the late twentieth century before being stopped by the L. E. G. I. O. N.
Trom had occasionally been approaced by pirates and profiteers who tried to induce them to use their Trommite powers for financial gain. None ever had any success. In 2974, Roxxas the Butcher threatened to wipe them all out if they wouldn't agree to help him, and when they refused, he attacked the valley in which they lived, not realizing that this was the only place on the planet that they lived. By the time he was done, there was only one survivor...a young boy named Jan Arrah, who fled the planet and eventually found refuge in the Legion of Super-Heroes as Element Lad. The Legion captured Roxxas and put him in prison for his crime of genocide (Adventure Comics # 307). However, he escaped several years later, and returned to the scene of the crime, using Trom as a hideout that no one would find. He was captured there by the Legion, though, who discovered he went mad from being haunted by the supposed spirits of dead Trom (Superboy (1st series) # 211).
Element Lad, as the sole survivor of Trom, is legally considered the planet's sovoreign, and has decided to leave the world unsettled. He has placed a Tsarin crystal to mark the resting place of every corpse, and caretaker robots supplied by the United Planets have kept them unmolested by weeds and predators. Element Lad returns there often for contemplation, and he once brought his girlfriend Shvaughn Erin along (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 27). It has been attacked by the Emerald Empress in 2989 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 58) in a battle that led to the departure of Quislet for its home dimension. When the Legion broke up, Element Lad went there to meditate, and that is where he was found, in 2994, by Devlin O'Ryan, Celeste Rockfish and Bounty when they were on the trail of Roxxas (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 6-7). He was also there when Roxxas returned at Mordru's behest to raise the Trommite dead, and he was able to stop their destructive rampage on Pasnic only by turning their bodies into Tsarin crystal, an act which gave him a brain hemmorage (Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd series) # 44-47). He has since recovered, but has yet to return, preferring to convalesce on New Earth.
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Hykraius
Hykraius is a world with a thick methane atmosphere, which the telepathic, telekinetic, yellow-skinned fish-like inhabitants call "Great Mother Ocean." The Hykraians were completely unaware of the existence of any other planet until they were visited by the Gil'Dishpan, a space-faring methane-breathing race. With the help of the Gil'Dishpan, the Hykraians reached the stars and Hykraius eventually became a member world of the United Planets (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 29).
Because methane atmospheres are not common on inhabited wotlds, most Hykraians don't leave their planet. But one youngster named Ganglios decided that he could do a lot of good with his telepathy and telekinesis and asked the Legion Academy to accommodate him. They did, first, with a special chamber, and later, with a helmet, and in 2986, he won Legion membership as Tellus. He brought other Legionnaires to his home planet later that year when the trail of some missing Science Police officers seemed to lead through there, actually, the reported sightings were a trap set by Universo, who had hypnotized a Hykraian to lead the Legionnaires into a trap in the Valley of Peaks, where Zymyr laid in wait for them, to teleport them to deathtraps that would wear them out defending themselves, and then to Universo's headquarters on Earth, where, in their tired state, they would fall to his hypnotism easily (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 30, 32-34).