Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Personalities of Legionnaires

I don't think of Mysa as feeling inferior. I think she always had a sense of her own power. She did gain greater self-confidence as she pursued her studies on Zerox. Cettainly to weild the great power that she does, she cannot see herself as inferior to anybody. I do see her as a bit of an introvert.

Hm. Good points, Quis. Mysa's definitely the introvert to Nura's extrovert.

Something else else I'd meant to eventually talk up in a fanfic is how Nura, like most Naltorians, often seems a bit 'dreamy,' lost in a sea of potential futures.

Mysa, on the other hand, has spent years in study, all ritual and precision and everything in it's place, just so, and while she might seem distant when she's meditating, the rest of the time she's got a laser-like focus on the here and now, and the sort of situational awareness that you'd expect from super-sensitive or hyperaware folk like Dawnstar or Timber Wolf.

To someone capable of seeing auras or with mystical perceptions, *she'd* be the one who seems awash in a sea of potential and possibility, as the magic seethes around her, waiting to be uncoiled and transformed from possibility into reality.

To someone with eyes to see, like another magic-user, or a supernatural creature, Mysa would look like everybody else looks to her Naltorian sister, a hazy figure shrouded by layers of might-be and could-have-been.

I have enjoyed reading the various interpretations of the Legionnaires.

I really wish Douglas Nolan had been admitted to the Legion after the death of Andrew. (Though he was probably a retcon himself and didn't exist until Shooter needed a twin of Andrew for the Grown Legion story.)

Friends and I have had discussions about why 30 (31st) Century Andrew Nolan had a mutation that required him to wear a mask. Why couldn't surgery have been done to give him a more human appearance (Similar to Brin's reversion from his more feral look)?

My own take was that Andrew's power would cause Andrew's face to revert to its natural appearance every time he transformed and he was unwilling to give up his ability to help people for a more normal life.

(I keep meaning to write a fanfiction where we meet a Douglas Nolan who is a handsome-looking fellow who DID get the surgery who winds up in a situation where he has to use his power to help save the Legion, and then joins the Legion as the new Ferro Lad but I have yet to write it.)

I would love to read all your fic ideas!

I'm shocked I haven't done this yet, so:

WILDFIRE
-- One of the most powerful members of the team. Heavy-hitter.
-- Hothead. Brash and opinionated. Always throws himself into danger, though he could use a little more restraint and forethought.
-- Fiercely loyal to the Legion. Despite his abrasiveness, he totally believes in the ideals of the Legion and loves being a part of the team. He has championed many cadets and is a great mentor, even though a few of his cadets hate his guts but that's part of his charm - people seem to love him or hate him.
-- ANGST: Yes, he is tortured over losing his body and feeling like a freak, especially because of his love for Dawnstar and how they can never physically consummate their love. He's over-protective of her, but it's kinda sweet.

I feel like Drake has lost a lot, and so projects his old life goals into his Legion life (not gonna get married or have kids or whatever, might as well focus on the team). Even if he was young enough to not have *had* solid goals like '2.5 kids by 35' or whatever, having those *options* taken away from him has to sting a bit, and lead to 'what could have been' and 'grass is greener' notions.

As a side effect of that, he sometimes gets a bit short with his teammates, who haven't lost as much, in most cases, and so aren't as 100% focused on 'the team is all.' They can be flip, or unserious, or split their attention with other interests, and he sometimes feels like nobody but him is taking this whole thing seriously. (Even Brainy, who takes everything seriously, is as likely to be obsessed with his latest project, which might have nothing to do with the Legion, or, even worse, turn into the next problem the Legion has to deal with...)

And so he mentors at the Academy, hoping to instill more a sense of duty and gravity to the next generation of heroes, not entirely grokking that the students, just like his current teammates, are flesh and blood people, who are going to be just as distractible and 'flighty' (by his standards, that of a being that never eats or sleeps or unwinds by playing Dungeons & Dragons with his best friend or going out with other teammates to shop and dance).

His purported temper is what might also be his biggest secret. He's not entirely comfortable around people, second-guessing himself as to whether or not they are pitying him (which he'd hate) or feeling self-conscious and guilty whenever they eat or socialize or have a public display of affection in his presence. He puts on a big show of being gruff, but anger is a chemical emotion, as is fear. Those chemicals would have ceased to exist with the rest of his body, and so he's *probably* only capable of more cerebral emotions, and less hormonal ones. He's not likely to feel the fuzzy feelings of 'love at first sight,' but should be as capable as anyone of the comfortableness of a long-term relationship, long past the chemical highs, and settled into 'we just like being together' or 'she gets me.'

It's more than likely that his gruff persona is all a show, to push away people who would be pushed away (and therefore aren't really well suited to a long-term relationship anyway), and weeding out the 'looky-loos.'

It's perhaps a credit to Dawnstar that she's also a bit of a loner, who also can drive people away with her abrasiveness, and is also extremely practical-minded and serious and 'un-fun,' making the no-nonsense persona that Wildfire projects exactly the sort of thing she'd be comfortable with (while she'd roll her eyes at someone more sensitive and empathetic, like Jan, or playful and un-serious, like Dirk, since she's neither a fainting flower who needs constant gentle reassurance, nor a party-goer in it for the hedonistic thrill).

You'd think that by the 30th Century there would be some sort of VR technology Dawnstar and Drake could use or that Querl would be capable of creating an artificial body that would hold Drake's energy similar to his containment suit to allow them to have a more conventional relationship.

(Yes, I know that in the 70s and 80s it's not likely such a thing would fly in an all ages comic, but in some ways it feels like the "I love you but can't touch you" trope that Drake and Dawnstar have is due to selfishness on Drake's part. He could find other ways to be intimate with Dawnstar but isn't willing to participate in a romantic relationship where he can't receive physical pleasure out of it.)

I'm going to have to disagree with that part. There have been many times where we're in Drake's head and while not selfish, it's more that he can't get over feeling "less of a man" and not being able to offer Dawnstar everything a conventional relationship offers. He really should get over it since Dawnstar doesn't seem as phased by it, but then there'd be no angst for the mill...

Oh, I can see that reasoning too ... and I think it's more a result of the writers not anticipating how good 31st Century technology should be.

Okay. I want to try.

Superboy

It's not easy being the world's first super hero.

Superboy is handsome, world famous, and the most powerful person alive in his time. All before he's old enough to legally drive a car.


He's also the loneliest boy in the world.

The same people who cheer wildly for Superboy every time he flies through the skies of Smallville make a point of ignoring Clark Kent when they see him on the streets. He's laughed at, picked on, and bullied because he's timid and clumsy. Even Lana Lang-- who DOES care for him and usually knows better-- sometimes mocks and berates Clark.

If not for Pete Ross, Clark wouldn't have a friend in the world.

In a way, this is a good thing. Without close friends, Clark finds it easier to slip away to become Superboy when his help is needed. It's also given Clark the ability to sympathize and identify with the weak and downtrodden in a way that someone as adored and loved as Superboy would find difficult. It's also let him realize that people aren't always what they appear, and made him less naive than he might have been otherwise.

Clark tells himself it's a good thing and that his disguise is working perfectly, but that doesn't make it any easier when super hearing enables him to hear the things that people say about Clark behind his back they'd never say to his face. Clark makes Superboy human, but as a teenager he also makes him miserable.

And then Superboy meets the Legion.

For the first time in his life, Superboy has friends and peers-- people he can spend time with on a prolonged basis where he's more than just a super hero. People who are his "pals" that he can share Martian ice cream with or play Spaceoply with-- people who don't just sit on the sidelines waiting for him to save the day but pitch in and save it themselves-- sometimes without his help.

And in the Legion's time he's not just facing thugs with guns and the occasional Lex Luthor robot. He's facing things and enemies that could actually KILL him-- Validus, the Sun Eater, Mordru, and scores of other bad guys and monsters. He's learning how to win fights where he's not going in as the guy on top-- and he's discovering that he is MORE than just his super powers.


Superboy may have inspired the Legion, but the Legion also inspired Superboy and shaped him into the Superman he becomes.

And years later, when Superman is relating the story of how he and his friends were willing to lay down their lives to return Lightning Lad to the land of the living, he responds to Geo-Force's incredulity that anyone would do anything so risky and foolhardy with, "We were Legion."

And he means it with all his heart.

I feel like writing about the Legionnaires that no else is likely to do, so ...

Pete Ross.


Pete Ross is little more than a footnote in history by the 30th Century. Oh, he merits a brief mention in the Superboy wing of the Superman Museum, and the occasional academic paper will arise comparing Clark Kent's friendship with Pete Ross to Superman's with Batman's, and a few historians know him as the father of Jon Ross, legendary Warlord of Nyrvn whose Terran blood caused him to throw his adopted world's military might into alliance with Earth to thwart an intergalactic invasion that would have destroyed the Legion's future.

No history text, however, records the greatest fact about Pete Ross: that he was the first person to discover Clark's identity as Superboy, and that it was a secret that he took with him to the grave. Even Superman himself never knew how many times Pete secretly acted on his behalf to preserve the secret of his dual identity.

But even though Pete's loyalty to Superboy was enough to earn him an honorary membership in the Legion of Super Heroes, it wasn't the reason that Superboy cherished Pete's friendship. It wasn't the reason that Mon-El and Ultraboy were willing to crash through the time barrier for the sole purpose of sharing a birthday party for Pete. No, Pete's integrity made him a worthy Legion candidate, but it was his great heart that made him a once in a lifetime friend to a boy who would become the world's greatest hero.

Pete didn't become Clark's friend because he knew or wanted to know Clark's secret. He became Clark's friend and kept Superboy's secret because he WAS Clark's friend.

Pete was definitely a big fish in a small pond. A star athlete, an excellent student with a flair for acting and a penchant for amateur detective work, almost no one in Smallville understood why he chose to befriend timid Clark Kent. Clark was almost painfully shy, an easy target for bullies, and tended to keep to himself. For someone as popular and well liked as Pete, it would have been much easier to find other friends who were more popular and more open to his overtures of friendship.

But Pete Ross wasn't the kind of kid to give up on a friend. He reached out to Clark, and when Martha Kent (perhaps realizing that Clark could not simple be the hollow shell that Superboy lived in when he wasn't saving the world if her son was to be truly happy) invited Pete over to their house, a friendship was formed that would shape the rest of their lives.


It was Jo Nah who learned that Pete was keeping Clark's secret, and Jo is probably Pete's best friend in the Legion aside from Superboy himself. Jo attended Pete's birthday party (along with Mon-El) and later teamed with Pete to preserve Clark's secret identity. Coming from the rough and tumble world of Rimbor, Jo appreciates someone who shows that kind of loyalty.

Mon-El arrived on Earth after Pete became Clark's friend, but didn't have an opportunity to get to know Pete before he wound up in the Phantom Zone. Even so, it was Mon who prevents Superboy from wiping Pete's knowledge of Clark's secret identity from his mind after the team deals with Mordru in 20th Century Smallville thanks in no small part to Pete's assistance.

Pete Ross's heroic actions may be lost to history, but they are remembered by his valiant friends in the Legion, and I have no doubt they deeply regretted that history demanded Pete be parted from his son so that Jon Ross could become the hero he was destined to be. (And I am certain they were just as relieved when Superman found a way to rescue Jon that would still allow him to fulfill his destiny.)

Pete Ross wasn't a super hero, but the history of the world's greatest hero-- and the Legion-- would have been far different without him.

He may not have had super powers, but Pete certainly earned his membership in the Legion.

Really nice to see this thread getting some attention. s I continue to develop Legionnaires and villains I consult the efforts everyone has put into this thread. Just want to say I really appreciate what people have had to offer.

How about discussions about...

Matter-Eater Lad
Blok
Shrinking Violet
Colossal Boy
Light Lass/Lightning Lass
Element Lad
Shadow Lass
Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel
Lana Lang
Karate Kid
Princess Projectra

Time Trapper
The Fatal Five
Grimbor the Chainsman
Pulsar Stargrave
Starfinger
Mordru

Blue Battler, that was an awesome write-up for Pete Ross! I really like the idea that Pete's friendship had a tangible effect on Clark's future, and I had never really thought of it before but it makes perfect sense why Jo would have a lot of respect for him the way you've explained it.

With Mysa, I think it's fair to say that feelings of inferiority were what started her on her path to becoming the White Witch. With a sister like Nura Nal, I'd imagine you would feel inferior even without taking into consideration Mysa's lack of Naltorian precognition. Being the less attractive less charismatic younger sister with less achievements AND not having an ability almost everyone else on your planet takes for granted....I'd imagine that would have to sting.

I think it's a testament to her purity and her strength of character that Mysa channelled that positively, and I think that by the time she became the White Witch she'd well and truly learned to be proud of her own accomplishments on their own terms. It also explains why Mordru has always been so obsessed with tearing her down....in her place, he would have let those feelings fester and turn into resentment and jealousy. I think he needs to tear Mysa down because her successes highlight his shortcomings.

It's interesting that feelings of inferiority are not something you really associate with Mysa again until Mordru strips the identity of the White Witch from her and the Legion rescue her 5YL. The White Witch as an identity is really Mysa's ultimate acceptance of herself and her place in the world. Without that, I think she flounders.

Lana Lang.



Lana Lang is a complicated girl in a simple time and a more simple place.

Most girls her age (especially in Smallville) did not expect to have a career. If they were going to college, it was to find a husband. If they were to work outside the home, it would be as a teacher or a nurse. Lana wanted more.

The daughter of a famous archaeologist, Lana had been allowed to see just enough of the world to make her hungry for more. Although her father sometimes took her with him, all too often she was relegated to staying at home in Smallville because the places her father went were "too dangerous for a girl." To say this aggravated Lana would have been an understatement.

Lana was pretty enough that she could have her pick of boyfriends. The most popular and richest boys in school-- probably in the tri county area-- would have lavished her with gifts and affectation if she would have had them. If she had been less ambitious, less intelligent, that might have been enough for her.

But Lana didn't want to be the arm candy of the high school quarterback. She didn't want to be a farmer's wife, a banker's spouse, to be the good woman behind a successful man.

Lana wanted to be the star of her own life, not a supporting character in someone else's.

It wasn't easy to have that kind of dream for a girl in Smallville. There weren't many people she could share her hopes with. In fact, there was only one:

Clark Kent.

Lana couldn't remember a time a time when Clark wasn't a part of her life. He was always there. And he was always hers.

Oh she didn't think of him romantically.

(She didn't let herself think of him romantically because she was afraid if she did then she would have to give up her dreams.)

But it was Clark she talked to the most. Clark who escorted her to dances and movies. And it was Clark that she told of her desire to leave Smallville and see the world. And when she started writing, it was Clark that she showed her work to.

And if not for Superboy, it would have been Clark that she took with her when she graduated high school.

Superboy was larger than life ... brave, handsome, courageous and mature far beyond his years. It was as though all the mystery and adventure that Lana thought awaited her in the world outside Smallville had come to her in a red and blue caped package.

And Lana ... Lana who laughed at the quarterback when he expected her to fall at his feet ... found herself infatuated with this mysterious Boy of Steel.

Somehow, Lana seemed to continually wind up becoming a part of Superboy's adventures. She soon lost count of the number of times that he saved her life. It wasn't long before people started calling her "Superboy's Girlfriend."

And a strange thing happened ...

As Superboy became more prominent-- not just in her life, but in Smallville-- Clark seemed to fade into the background. Always quiet, he became timid. Always awkward, he became outright clumsy.

She might have gained Superboy, but she was losing Clark.

Clark deserved better. SHE deserved better.

She tried to bring back HER Clark back. When he was overly shy-- when he backed down from bullies-- Lana would stand up for him. Sometimes-- in frustration, in anger-- she would berate him and scorn him-- trying to make him stand up for himself.

Trying to make him be her Clark again.

At some point-- and Lana was never sure when-- she began to think that Clark WAS Superboy. Was it because she saw something about Superboy that no one else did-- that she knew Clark better than anyone else-- or was it because she thought Clark DESERVED to be Superboy more than anyone else?

Both Superboy and Clark denied it ... and yet sometimes she thought she saw a twinkle in their eyes ... almost as though they ENJOYED her efforts.

Lana's obsession with Superboy would often lead to her actions that she wasn't particularly proud of in retrospect. It's doubtful that she was ever able to look Starboy in the face without thinking about the time she blackmailed him into a pretend romance in order to make Superboy jealous.

But it would be a mistake to think that Lana was nothing but a shallow, immature girl who wanted nothing more than to trick Superboy into romance or to learn the secret of his dual identity.

Lana was always a brave, compassionate girl. Most girls-- and many grown men-- would have turned aside in fear and horror when an insectoid alien pleaded for help. Lana didn't; she helped the creature, and was rewarded with the strange power of the Insect Queen.

Lana was also capable of heroic self sacrifice. When warned by Dream Girl that becoming a Moth Maid would lead to tragedy, Lana did not hesitate to do just that when Superboy's life was on the line. That act earned her membership in the Legion Reserve.

Lana wasn't afraid to stand up to bullies ... whether the bully was a high school boy or Mordru the Merciless. The Legion did not call on her often, but she was always there when needed... even if that meant fighting the US Army.

Still, it's probably fair to say that most of the regular Legionnaires had a less than flattering opinion of Lana given the number of times she threatened to expose Superboy's secret identity.

Lar might have some fondness for her as he would have seen her grow up and drift in and out of Clark's life during his long exile in the Phantom Zone.

Thom was probably not Lana's biggest fan given their first meeting, but with his forgiving nature-- and the fact that Lana once saved Nura's life-- it's doubtful he held a grudge against her.

Prior to her romance with Chuck, Luornu definitely felt pangs of jealousy due to Lana's close relationship with Clark.

Nura did warn Lana of a dire fate after Insect Queen saved her life, and I believe that she would have appreciated Lana's strength of character and refusal to do what was expected of her.

If Imra and Lana had spent any time together, they would either have become great friends ... or hated each other. Like Lana, Imra was not one to accept the dictates of Society-- or take any of Querl's "This mission is too dangerous for a girl" guff.

The other Legionnaires probably ranged from respect to indifference. Tasmia, Violet, Reepj, Gim and Ayla had fought beside Lana against Mordru and would respect Lana's bravery, but many of the other Legionnaires would know her only by a reputation tainted by her many attempts to learn Superboy's secret identity.

Ultimately, Lana would grow up and leave her past with the Legion behind. She would achieve her dream of leaving Smallville behind and become a successful reporter. She would even one day be reunited with both Clark and Superman ... and if she any regrets about how things had turned out with them, she carried them with the grace and dignity befitting a Legionnaire.

Hope I didn't kill the thread.


Jimmy Olsen.

Jimmy, I think, makes for an interesting Legionnaire.

At first glance, Silver Age Jimmy doesn't seem like a good fit for the Legion. Although he winds up with powers a lot, he's not known as a costumed hero, and his most consistent identity of Elastic Lad isn't really capable of doing anything that Reep can't do.

And Jimmy's personality is certainly more of a mixed bag than the other Legionnaires.

Jimmy can be egotistical, self centered, an attention-seeker who wants to BE the story more than he wants to report it. He has an inflated sense of his attractiveness to the ladies. He won't just jump to conclusions sometimes-- he'll pole vault.

He takes great pride in being "Superman's Pal."

On the other hand, Jimmy is ALSO brave, quick witted, loyal, and will time and again risk his life -- not just for friends, but for complete strangers. He might be the guy who'd be showing off for all the cute girls, but he's also the same one who would be kind and shower attention on a girl who ISN'T one of the cute girls. He isn't afraid to stand up for what's right.

Superman sees him as something of a little brother. I'm sure there are times when he's tempted to exile Jimmy to the Phantom Zone so he can spend a day without hearing "ZEE ...ZEE ...ZEE" to let him know he needs to get Jimmy out of being forced to marry a gorilla or something, but I'm sure he also gets a great deal of amusement in seeing what mess Jimmy got himself into this time.

It was certainly nice of the Legion to offer him an honorary membership, and there were a few times when he proved to be useful to the team ... helping the Legion with their newsletter, for example ... and the Legion DID allow him to vote on whether or not Star Boy should be expelled from the Legion. The Legion girls liked him well enough to attempt to help him score points with his girlfriend by pretending to be in love with him themselves.


All in all, I think Jimmy got into the club because enough of the Legionnaires liked him. He's not the first guy they're going to call on if they need help-- but they know that he wouldn't hesitate to come if they called him.

Some thoughts on the Classic Versions of the Founders.

Cosmic King: Rokk is the proverbial alpha wolf. Of the three founders, he's the one who's used to celebrity ... albeit on a lower level than he would achieve in the Legion. He's the type of guy who would be the first one in and the last one out. He's got absolute trust in his team and knows what each one of them can do, but in his heart he feels like the team's success or failure depends on his every action and thought.

Saturn Girl: like Rokk, Imra is used to being the best. She's good at what she does, and she knows it. She's one of the most successful leaders in the Legion's history, and she's wiling to do whatever it takes to save the day ... whether that's using subterfuge to expel her fellow Legionnaires to save their lives or use telepathy on a flying steed's mate in order to win a race. Imra does not like to lose.

Lightning Lad: later iterations to the contrary, Garth is NOT an alpha wolf or hothead. He's brave and loyal and willing to die for his friends, but he's fully prepared to admit that he's not the most talented or aggressive Legionnaire.

But you don't have to be an alpha to be valuable to a team. In fact, without Garth to serve as a buffer between Rokk and Imra, the Legion never would have survived its early days. Garth and his team spirit, his willingness to listen to both Rokk and Imra, gave them the validation they needed to work together instead of tear each other apart in their determination to prove who was best suited to leader.

Outsiders might have expected Rokk and Imra to wind up together, but they're too alike to be a good romantic match.
Rokk respects Imra, but his taste in women tends to run towards women like Lydda Jath. Lydda is an intelligent, heroic young woman but she's happier to follow than to lead. Similarly, Imra needs to be the dominant partner in a relationship ... not that she doesn't love Garth and value his opinion, but she's the one who wears the flight ring in the relationship and they're both happy with that.