Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Convince me that Shadow Lass is interesting!

She's always been kind of a "meh" character for me. Not one I disliked or anything, but she just never really did much for me.

Visually interesting, yes. But personality-wise, well... she's just okay.

So help me discover something cool about her, like the way Timber Wolf's ongoing drug dependency makes him interesting!

Shady was cool too me for a couple of reasons.

First she was the top hero of her planet. In a ideal world most of the Legionnaires should be this no?

The second thing I've always liked was her love for Mon-El. Her priority was always their relationship.

Another reason I think that is cool is because I enjoyed seeing members have an outside life. It was easier to relate. Except for Brainy they were usually shown around having a good time, etc. They saw the Legion as work.

I am sure others will have better reasons.

Also think like Storm of the X-Men she had prescense. The way she carried herself, her powers, her look, etc.

To continue what Jorg mentioned (all despite not mentioning her stunning visual, which is one of the best of the Legion):

- She was the first Legionnaire to ever join right in the middle of battle...with the expectation to die right after in said battle, alongside her new companions, the Legionnaires!

- She had a commonly forgotten brief romance with Brainiac 5!

- She was willing to do whatever it took to help Mon, and show her love for him, including mutlilate herself!

- In the Reboot, she was as bad-ass as any other Reboot character.

- Great hair always! Er, I guess I said no visual stuff...

I thought she would have made a great candidate for Legion leader in a post Sensor Girl era (given if Mon lived). I think she had all the qualities but never the chance.

I think initially Shady was trying to score with Brainiac 5. But when he failed to respond to her, she switched to Mon-el. I believe this was documented in the Modru story when Shady, Mon, Superboy, & Triplicate Girl (or was she Duo Damsel at the time) travel back to 20th century Smallville to escape from Mordru.

The switch from Brainy to Mon-El as a focus of her romantic affections has always intrigued me. I always assumed that there was pressure on her, because of her status on her planet, to make a marriage to someone of noble lineage (such as Brainy) or at least a semi-legendary figure (such as Mon-El).

That's one reason her current relationship with Ultra Boy just doesn't seem to work for me. Ultra Boy is exactly the kind of guy the Shady *shouldn't* go for.

I also never really bought the 5YL version of things where she goes into mourning after Mon-El's death. It seems to me she should've moved on.

I liked how during the Levitz Legion, Shady and Tinya were always standing around making snide/bitchy comments about other legionnaires. (esp. Timber Wolf and Brainy)

Thats something that was really lost in the post-boot "archie" legion. Its much more realistic for a team as large and diverse as the legion to have cliques and to have some members who genuinely just don't like each other or get along.

I actually really liked Tasmia's deep mourning from the beginning of 5YL. It was kind of intriguing and touching.

As for post boot and/or three boot Shadow Lass.... eh they never did much for me.

I never thought Shady was under pressure to reproduce, though I certainly get why anyone would with the whole hereditary 'Planetary Champion' thing in her background.

Reading the Brainy scene, I thought she was just *drawn* to him... that attraction later transferred to Mon-el. I don't recall-- was their initial romance 'onscreen'? It doesn't stick in my memory, if so.

When Grell drew her, I thought she looked a lot like Lt. Uhura from Star Trek... I thought so as a kid, anyway. And was still surprised to learn that Shooter had intended for her to be a black character (you couldn't really call her 'African', could you? What would be the PC term?)

Everyone else has talked about the original Shady, who I loved, but I'll admit that part of that love was with her unused potential. Oh, and Talok VIII has got to be one of the best-realized Legion Worlds... in three boots now (or four, depending on how you count).

I thought her potential was a tad more realized in the reboot. It was... unique... that she was this hereditary champion that those she championed were eager to foist off on the LSH. She had that distaste for 'two-in-one' beings as evidenced in Wildfire's origin (which otherwise was pretty crappy-- but *her* part in it was good). She still acted to save Wildfire, there.

Her later 'new' powers (remember them) never really gelled. I'm not surprised they were dropped with the new boot. I'm not sure if the 'action philosophy' she now espouses credits her or not.

Other things to love about Shady:

-- Best nickname: What's better than 'Shady'? Hell, I wouldn't mind if that *was* her 'call-name'.

-- Costume mysteries: 1) What the heck was that tuning fork on her head about? 2) Why did a character named 'Umbra' wear big 'S's on her wrists and chest?

-- The connection to Mikhail, the interim, bisexual Starman is a nice tie for someone to pick up, eventually. And to The Shade.

-- It's a positive thing that she's just about the only dark-powered character that hasn't been driven wig-whacky by her powers (though there was a 'slight' instability in LEGION LOST, that didn't really have anything to do with her being driven crazy *by* her powers).

-- She plays the violin! How many other Legionnaires (or super-heroes in general) have avocations like that? Not enough, I say!

She really seemed very competent in her earliest appearances, then was sort of subsumed by her relationship with Mon-el, and later, by her catty friendship with Phantom Girl (to both characters' detriment, I feel).

The self-mutilation thing kind of freaks me out-- but it's really not so different than some of the things we do in 'normal' Earth culture, is it?

I think if a bit of mystery and a noirish element were thrown into her heroic 'schtick', she might be more of a complete 'package'.

When I think of 'The Legion', she's definitely one of the faces/figures that *has* to be there. In terms of story and of the intitial team 'pin-up' silhouette.

Really? How so?
Not trying to contradict you or anything but I thought Shady and PG's cattiness was a boost to them both.

And I'll agree that Shady's untapped potential was a signifigant factor in my enjoying her.

I know it dosen't make any sense, but I always thought that legionnaires like Shady who never really got a spotlight during their long runs, were somehow more complex (and thus more interesting) than those who were constantly featured.

The pre-boot Phantom Girl would actually fit into that category, too. I think she had the single longest, unbroken stint as a legionnaire, but not once in all those years did PG ever have a single spotlight issue. And yet she was one of my favorites...

The first couple of times we saw it, it was a natural, sort of cool development. It didn't take long till that was pretty much all we saw Tinya and Shady do-- stand around being catty when they weren't fawning over their super-strong men. With exceptions, of course. I just think their interaction became very 'one-note'.

I so totally agree. I think that's one of the singular beauties of the LSH. There's so many characters that whichever one or two or three that you 'fall in love with' will only appear so often. Leaving your imagination to fill in the blanks. And, really, what can compete with that?

I always saw her initial attraction to Mon-El as fueled by her Champion status. Her children, whomever their father, are going to be the next Champions of Talok VIII, and, as a Legionnaire, she's seen that the threats facing the universe are bigger and badder than ever. Mon-El (apart from Superboy) is the strongest Legionnaire *whose power is hereditary* and would pass on, at least in part, to their children.

Ultra Boy? Who knows if his kids will have any Ultra-Energy derived powers.

Sun Boy? Same deal, although in the WaK-threeboot the Dominators clarify that his powers *aren't* genetic, as they can't steal them with their DNA scrapes.

Karate Kid? Good for a date, to enhance her own skill, but never as a mate. As a human, her children by Val would be *weaker* than a normal Talokkian, and have bad vision besides!

In a Legion without Mon-El (or Superboy), I could see Tasmia eyeing Cosmic Boy or Element Lad speculatively, as both have strong powers that would pass on to their children.

But that's never been shown in her actual thoughts about who she's attracted to-- we can assume it; it's perfectly logical. But we don't *know* that those are her motives in choosing romantic partners.

I never thought that they were, but that would be a direction that'd make sense. Just not the only one.

I look at Shady this way:

She's not a superhero. She's just not. She doesn't belong in the superhero genre at all.

Tasmia Malor is a swords-and-sorcery-type barbarian princess, who, for reasons of her own, has chosen to go along with the Legion's whole superhero thing. And she's good at it, and believes in it... but it's not where her roots are.

The Talokian Galactic Outreach Council wishes to let it be known that their world is *not* barbarian (at least not in the cities-- experience the best shopping in the quadrant! You haven't travelled till you've experienced Talokian hospitality!).

Matthew E.-- I don't see it-- unless you're just talking about the current version of Tasmia.

I agree with EDE that her with Ultra Boy makes little sense. Unless she's just having fun with the team blue collar stud.

I also liked her and Phantom Girl's clique. But I felt they really hated each other. Their boyfriends hung out so they were naturally double dating.


We already having Projectra and Timberwolf which I think fans like. It's like Lady & the Tramp. Shady/Jo don't work like that. I guess Shady is more of a warrior than a lady in this version which I don't like.

I actually don't think Jeckie/Brin makes much sense either, but that's a topic for a different thread.

I'm intrigued by the swords-and-sorcery idea for Shady. I'll have to think about it

From her first cover appearance, Shady has aroused interest.

I can see all the 60s kids now: "Who is that white lady on the cover of ADV 354 named Shadow Woman?" (of course, this also holds true for most of the other heroes depicted, but what a way to be 'introed'!).

Of course, when she finally was introduced, she had the very good fortune to be pesented with the Talokian hue we love!

And again, what an intro for a character. That 2-parter was definitely Shady's best ADV-era story involvement.

As a young 70s fan, I loved her batwing boots and her barely-there costume... mysTERious!

Her intro cover finally led into one of Levitz' defining moments, when she exited the dreaded Science Asteroid very much alive. I'll admit that whole scenario gave me quite the scare.

Shady also had the good fortune to have her hair 'styled' postboot by Olivier Coipel.

And tough enough to whip a larger powerhouse opponent (Monstress) barehanded? Oh yeah, THAT'S why she's the planetary champion!

3boot? Like most of the rest of it, fairly mehsville.

There's no question that the best thing about Shadow Lass is her visuals. I mean, she's a nice girl, good and heroic, but there really isn't a lot more to it than that. It's kinda cool that she likes supermen, whether it's Brainy's super smarts or Lar's super superness, but having a type doesn't exactly make someone a very interesting person.

However, she has been shown to be very devoted, to Lar and to Tinya. She's a good friend. There's a good trait.

Postboot Tasmia was far more interesting, with her sorta wicked personality and arrogance.

Current Shady is fine. We hardly know her. What we have seen seems cool enough. How many issues into this era are we, again?

I love that portrayal of her. Very John Carter. If John Carter was a girl...

It's most true of the current version, but there's some of it in the previous versions too.

She was educated with a school-a-tron. That's pretty interesting!

I see something of the fantasy/barbarian in her as well. Maybe it's the Planetary Champion thing, the ancestors, the landscape of Talok VIII, her post-boot costumes... the cave was more of a fantasy than superhero motif... her personality has been quite harsh and tough throughout Legion history. This wasn't a girl who giggled over lingerie or had pink ruffles in her bedroom. This was a girl who would slug Conan.

She was tough enough to kill; she badgered her way across the galaxy when Lar was dying; she didn't take no for an answer. She had this kooky clinginess to Mon-el, a real single-minded devotion - yet you got the impression that she told him what to do. In this series, she dumped Karate Kid, but has kept him strung pretty close to her, while involved with Jo. To what extent is she managing their lives? I think she's quite a complex personality, and always has been.

Her power is also curious. Shadows are associated with fear, unknowing, our dark side. So Jungian! We don't really see her use this aspect of her shadow power, but it's there.

And yet, she's so direct, no matter the boot. She's been blunt, brusque and direct in every interpretation I've seen, never the 'lady of mystery.' It's like she's playing against type.

Plus, fearless. Not that any of the Legion have been particularly fearful, but she comes off as even harder-edged than most of them.

Mon-El saw something in Shady. That's enough for me.

For me, Shadow Lass didn't really come into her own until the Levitz/Giffen era, when she adopted a costume that completely covered her body, in defiance of the long-standing tradition that female Legionnaires had to wear bikini-type costumes. It seemed to be her way of saying she was going to be her own person.

Great topic, EDE.

The overwhelming appeal from the beginning was that she was a blue-skinned chick from a desert/warlike planet where she was the planetary champion. Remember the original green-skinned Orion slave-chick from Star Trek? Same effect, at least on me.

I never liked her Shooter-era portrayal (how can a planetary champion be such a girlie-girl?) or her Levitz-era persona (catty tag-team wrestling diva to the Legion's strong man?!?!? Ick!)

Tasmia has flourished in the subsequent 'boots. The sight of her dining on raw meat in a harem tent with Atom Girl - priceless.

I have too many gaps in my collection to be able to give an accurate summary of Tasmia, so I'll just list some random thoughts:

- I don't see her as black, I see her as Latin. But then, being Latin myself, I'm biased.

- The threeboot Tasmia makes up with feistiness what she lacks in finesse.

- Levitz wrote her longer than anyone else, yet I feel she was one of his least effective characterizations. The cattiness didn't feel right to me, nor did the whole single-minded "Ooh, my love, my big, strong man." Her devotion to Mon-El only worked towards the end of Levitz's run, when she became his protector and would-be savior.

- I hate, HATE, the makeover that Giffen gave her, with the short hair and the all-black-all-covered-up costume. Steve Lightle has my eternal gratitude for giving her long hair again, and a costume that was colorful without being skimpy.

- I think the "tuning fork" was a tiara. And I liked it, because it heightened the regal air that she had when she was written right.

- Her powers have the potential to be awesome. Alan Grant and Barry Kitson mined some of that potential in Tasmia's ancestor, Lydea Darkstar Mallor, in L.E.G.I.O.N.