Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Visionaries of Tomorrow The Origin of ...

Awhile back Paul Levitz and I created a few Legionnaires, and assorted supporting characters.<br/>Sensor Girl was always more Paul's baby, just as Tellus and Quislet were more mine. He had this idea of doing a female character that had exaggerated sensory powers.

One thing that was important to me as I designed this new female Legionnaire character, was that she not be wearing a skimpy, or sexually provocative, costume. There were many Legionnaires that already represented that type. Since I've always believed that diversity was one of the great natural attributes of the Legion, I wanted at least one female Legionnaire who didn't seem to trade on her physical beauty. Sensor Girl wasn't supposed to even have the skintight costume that most heroes wear. You will notice that there have always been wrinkles in her costume rather than the "painted on" look.

I thought that there might be an interesting irony in having a character with sensory abilities which was completely blocked from sight, touch, taste, etc. In my original sketches of the character, Sensor Girl's mask was completely featureless, but I decided that taking such an extreme approach was visually boring and unoriginal. After all, Steve Ditko had already created his character The Question with a featureless mask. I then decided to add the color and pupil-less eye shapes, actually they are meant to be stylized feminine lashes. When Paul saw that I had designed a Legionnaire with a full mask, I think that sparked his desire to spare Supergirl from her Crisis fate, by making her the lady behind the mask. I believe the original idea was that even she didn't know her true identity, and that she had lost all her Kryptonian powers except those pertaining to her senses. This is why, in the early appearances of the character, she appears to have powers consistent with X-ray vision, heat vision, etc. It wasn't until Ms. Khan insisted that Supergirl should remain dead (she was very firm on this at the time) that Paul came up with Plan B ... Projectra. after all, who wanted to incur the wrath of Jeanette? : )

Steve Lightle

I've recently done a few new drawings of Legion characters. If you'd like to take a look at them, I've got them posted online at the LegionPics group.

Sensor Girl ... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LegionPics/message/10107

Sensor Girl dates back to my days on the LSH, but just for fun (and at the prompting of a fellow Legion fan) I looked to the Golden Age for reference on these next two.

Night Girl ... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LegionPics/message/10125

Shadow Lass ... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LegionPics/message/10129

You may want to Subscribe to by sending an email addressed to: LegionPics-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Do you mean that in her first PUBLISHED appearances it was Levitz' intention that she was (through whatever mechanism) Kara?

I recall at the time it seemed to be hinted at, but in such a heavy handed way that even then my assumption was that the Kara hints were a red herring.

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"The promotion of "self-esteem" in our schools has been so successful that people feel free to spout off about all sorts of things -- and see no reason why their opinions should not be taken as seriously as the views of people who actually know what they are talking about."

I think it's interesting that Giffen went with the featureless look you mention, Steve, when he "revamped" the Legion at the end of the Baxter run, just before The Magic Wars.

So Sensor Girl was supposed to be Kara... Let me add Ms. K to my "Must-perish-painfully-for crimes-against-the-Super-cousins" list... right next to that slime Carlin...

The Kara hints BECAME a red herring, but it was our intention, at the outset, to have Kara in the Sensor Girl costume.

Paul Levitz is very adaptable. It's a pity I can't seem to lure him back to writing comics. The guy needs extra hours in the day.

Steve

Steve, this came up in another thread, but I thought I'd post it here so you'd see it, and it's even vaguely close to being on-topic.

Can you give us any info on some of the background characters from the try-out issue (#14)? Particularly the two flying fish types and the red skinned girl with the bandana who made it on the cover.

Steve are you still doing series art and if so will you ever be a monthly artist again ?

I always believed you are one of the best dc artist and it would be great it you did more interior art.

Also what happened on your stint with DOOM PATROL ? Again it was tremendous art and then you were replaced , why ?

And there was "precedent" for an amnesiac Supergirl wearing a new costume with a mask: Adventure 334 and Unknown Boy. And sorta/kinda with Satan Girl from Adv 313. Would have been great if Kara could have stayed with the Legion. Hey it could been a reformed Satan Girl!

Kirk-like voice: "KHAN! KHAN!"

I love it! Inside info! More! More!

As an aside, I absolutely loved your art on the Baxter Legion. Whoops, there's something on my nose....

how was the story supposed to be? what happened to her, she gets beat to crap and the last hit it appears she's just destroyed but in actuality punched forward to the 30th century. no memory of who she is and then over time becoming kara again but not supergirl, something different.
thank you for any information.

I recently reread those DP issues and it stated in one letters page that Steve "asked off" the book.

Thanks for the inside info, Steve! I always thought it was odd that Projectra returned, especially after Levitz had made such a big to-do about writing her out. Now, I know why.

By the way, you won't remember me, but you signed some LSH issues for me at the KC con back in March or so. I just wanted to say thanks again and for taking the time to chat and show me samples from the Legion "cartoon" that somebody was making. Probably not the best light we'd like to see our heroes portrayed in, but, hey, it's Hollywood. If such a cartoon ever does get made, we'll be lucky if they don't reduce the cast to seven plus a robot sidekick.

[rant] Perhaps the lines curved to fit the contour of a face proved too difficult a feat for him. [/rant]

To keep on topic...Great images as always Steve.

I'll second draub's rant and raise him one ...

Steve has shared many dozens more images, published and unpublished, over in LegionPics these past two years. He also is generous with commentary, such as reminiscing about the "Tales of the LSH" reprint covers when I sent along some scans. (When DC reprinted the Baxter books, LSH v3, they got new covers, mostly by Steve.)

I don't think Steve ever "asked off" the Legion, Lash LaRue ... that's yet another euphemism, anyway. On several occasions, though, he's since -been asked- to do something with the Legion, and they've aborted the project. Again, many tales are available at LegionPics.

Whoops! Lash was talking about "Doom Patrol," not "LSH."

Thanks for sharing, Steve.

I truly love hearing all the little tidbits about past Legion lore. It would have been nice to see Kara back again.

Excellent pics on the website, too.

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Patrick

Hmm... what if it was the "Satan Girl" aspect of her that survived? She was never really evil, per se, she was just trying to find a way to continue to exist.

She did survived! (In Supergirl!!) A really cool one! I am hoping that we may see her again sometimes later in Supergirl...

DC did use a blonde woman named Kara in a Christmas special post-Crisis. She could see Deadman, which amazed him since he had been alone so long in the afterlife. At the end of the story Kara makes reference to the fact that "...some of us still remember..." while looking at the reader (IIRC).

It was a nice "silent tribute" to Supergirl. If I was at home right now, I'd dig out the issue number for those who'd want to track it down. If there's interest, I can find it this weekend.

I remember that issue. I think it was Christmas with the Superheroes 1 or 2.

Nice story.
Pity Mark Waid lost his job for it.

???????????

I don't think I've heard that before. Care to elaborate?

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Scott S.
http://www.lightningladslegion.com/

Steve, a quick question-- was your design for Mentalla a nod to Saturn Girl's original look, way back in Adventure 247? An off-hand comment in the LMBP Y-group got me wondering...

Steve, another question, but unrelated to above. This one is based on a teensy deduction and a leap of wondering.

Are you pencilling or about to start pencilling a fill-in issue of Legion? Or even discussing storylines with DNA and/or McAvennie?

I'm asking because current speculation is that if there's fill-in issues before Coipel's replacement takes over, they'll probably start with # 16, which because of usual production schedules, can be deduced as having to be drawn right around now.

Are you already in the pipeline?

I've heard that there is a Legion team in place already. Still, when I made my availability and interest known, Mr. McAvennie did contact me about doing a single story or story arc ... but I haven't gotten word on a script yet. I'd gladly brainstorm with the current writers, as I did with Paul Levitz back in the day, but I'd have to know that my input was welcome. I certainly don't want to appear to disrespect the current writers in any way. Paul made it clear, when I started my run on the Legion, that he enjoyed trading ideas with his collaborators and welcomed my input.
As for the idea that my fill-in might be a rush job ... I certainly hope not. You see, when I was asked to take over the "Baxter" Legion, that book was about three months behind schedule, and digging out of a hole like that wasn't fun.

Steve

Thanks for the info, Steve.

But to be clear, is it your understanding that a fill-in penciller/art team has been selected or that a regular penciller has been selected. Or, I guess, even both.

And by "in place" do you mean already in current production of drawn pages?

Look forward to your issue whenever they appear. (BTW, what Legionnaires are you really looking forward to drawing?)