Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Identity of R J Brande

Forgive me if this has been done to death.

But as I was reading my Legion collection recently, a thought struck me.

R. J. Brande. All around good guy. Some telepathic skills. Access to an amazing technology. Remembers the M2 Heroes with amazing clarity.

J'Onn J'Onzz, The Manhunter from Mars?

Hmmn. That would be an interesting parallel to the pre-boot revelation that Brande was a Durlan.

But telepathic skills? What gave you the impression he had "some telepathic skills"? Did I miss something?

Legionnaires 52 - Brande goes into Vi's mind to pull her out of her coma.

And the J'Onn thing's been speculated for a while. I think the guys who wrote that issue said that wasn't their plan, but since no-one's touched it ever since...

Aha! An excuse to bring up my favorite postboot-Legion pet theory!

I think the postboot R.J. Brande is really Adam "Captain Comet" Blake!

Now only 99,000 years ahead of his time!

I like it better than any of the other ways they've tried to tie the two eras together. And it's kinda cool to think that the group was founded by the former Martian Manhunter.

Seeing immortal characters or descendants appear is far better than time travel. Even Superboy could have been a descendant or legacy character. Much more plausible.

This is another good one.

I've moved this thread over to the Legion board.

Happy posting!

I think that the last creative team originally meant for RJ to be J'onn J'onnz but then decided against it.

They actually did that a lot aka. Kinetix becoming Emerald Empress, Lyle being 'outed'. etc. etc.

I like this a lot, despite my normal aversion to grafting 20th/21st century references onto the Legion, mainly because the Captain is one of my favorite DC characters. It's an intersting way to tie L.E.G.I.O.N. to The Legion.

If you want him tied to L.E.G.I.O.N., why can't he still be the Durlan who "befriended" Vril Dox? Until I see explicit, definitive proof otherwise in the comics, this is the origin I'm sticking with.

Now I understand the PM. Thanks, Stu.

Isn't it a bit dangerous to go tying the legion's founding to characters in current DC continuity again?

Absolutely. Which is why I'm normally reticent about these things.

But Captain Comet (and the Durlan) are such minor figures in the main DCU that the potential for harm down the road is lessened. The same likely isn't true for Martian Manhunter.

In one of the issues (maybe the aforementioned one where R.J. does some telepathic stuff with Vi, I don't quite remember) -- you can clearly see a Martian aura/outline around R.J. If that wasn't supposed to imply that he was J'onn J'onzz, I'm not sure what it meant.

I'll see if I can find an image.

Actually, I disagree. 1000 years is a long time. How many times have heroes and villains died and then been resurrected. They can do anything they please to J'Onn in the 21st Century, but he can still always wind up as R.J.

In fact, if they really wanted they could have Superman, Wonder Woman, or even Batman (Lazarus Pit) be alive and well in the 31st Century.

My new theory: R.J. Brande is really Wonder Woman.

Remember, DC One Million had both Kal-El and J'Onn surviving for millenia. And a follow-up issue of Martian Manhunter showed J'Onn active in the 31st century and meeting several Legionnaires.

I've always thought that RJ was Captain Comet too. And lots of clues point to it -

- Both have slight mental powers.
- Comet is a member of L.E.G.I.O.N. which could obviously have been an inspiration for his forming the Legion.
- Comet is described in the 20th Century as 'a man born 1000 years ahead of his time'. RJ comes into prominence in the 30th Century, 1000 years from now.
- Both have had dealings with 20th Century heroes, particularly the Justice League.
...and last but not least...
- RJ BRANDE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE AN OLDER VERSION OF CAPTAIN COMET!

Normally I am totally, completely and utterly against 20th Century connections to the Legion but this one just seems to work. I really hope it turns out to be so.

Thing is though, although he downplayed them verbally, Brande's telepathy wasn't "slight" - he reached right into Vi's mind when Sensor said they'd need "at least an eighth level telepath" - and little Miss powerful Imra was said to be L10.

Of course, it's impossible to judge precisely with these things, but that certainly was more than "slight".

Why in the world Brande's telepathy, combined with his tenure as President, wasn't used to set up a story about the treatment of Titanians (and other telepathic species) in 30th/31st century society I'll never understand.

Good point SoM and it adds credence to my argument - 1000 years would be more than enough time for Captain Comet to develop his mental powers to whatever level RJ is currently at!

Comet's mental powers were pretty substantial anyway, IIRC.

I still prefer J'Onn.
I don't know all that much about Comet. But I remember J'Onn as a rather paternal figure, especially towards Vibe, Steel, Vixen, Gypsy, Guy, Beetle, Booster, Fire and (sigh, my first love) Ice.
I've not read many of the most recent JLA comics but I think I'd like to see Brande reveal himself, in private, to be J'Onn.
For one.....Okay, Comet IS a mutant, but just because he's born 1000 years before his time doesn't mean he can live a long time.
Does anyone know the lifespan of J'Onn? Never been touched on has it?
Plus J'Onn's a shapeshifter and it'd help account for there being no trace of Brande just a few short years before LSH.

It's been established that Comet does have an extended lifespan. He debuted in 1951, a date DC has stuck with, and he has barely aged since then.

Hmm. 1951 and barely aged. Okay. I could go with that one. But, nuts! I like the idea of J'Onn being R.J. (being careful not to throw my dummy outa this pram here). Just because I like J'Onn and am not all that bothered about Adam, even though I read some of the L.E.G.I.O.N. stuff and liked him well enough.
For me, it'd just make the Legion better. Who better to step back from humanity and see the inherent goodness of our people and try to form a symbol of this to inspire and lead us into the future?
Who better than someone who does it on Earth in our century?
Plus I just like the big, green guy.