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

That would be awesome to see. Legion switcharoo!

And what would be interesting would be how our *perceptions* of them might change.

Shrinking Dirk might remain a babe-loving flirtatious go-getter, but, with shrinking powers, be seen as overcompensatory and masking deep insecurity, despite having not changed at all!

Shadow Gim might remain the guy who is quietly supportive and always has his arm around someone's shoulder, but be seen instead of the friendly 'big brother,' empathic and concerned, and more as a potentially 'shadowy' manipulator, always sleazing up to people and trying to learn their secrets, again, with no change at all in characterization!

Lightning Tinya might be seen as more proactive, and her vocal stances of the last year or so (during the big argument over whether Imra's mindjobbing Brin was acceptable or not, for instance, where Brin and her were one step away from violence) might be considered 'proof' that she's a live wire, an impulsive hot-tempered sort of person who leads from her gut. Her characterization could be completely unchanged, but *appear* very different, with different base assumptions.

KARATE KID


The picture of self-confidence, the poster child of self-esteem. Karate Kid has never doubted his skills and anyone who does soon revises their opinion.

While Val's unparalleled mastery of all forms of armed and unarmed combat is still questioned as an actual "super-power" by some, none of his teammates question what he has brought to the team.

Training with Karate Kid is mandatory for all new members and longtime members still frequently show up for sessions.

Val grew close to Triad as the team's chief combat trainers. He enjoys the company of mellow Element Lad. He also maintains a friendship/rivalry with Ferro Lad and was smitten instantly with Princess Projectra. He is proudest of his pupil Dream Girl.

SHADOW LASS


Strong-willed and opinionated, Shadow Lass is rarely found in the company of the Legionnaires with which she apparently shares the most in common with.

An incredible fighter, Shady refused to train with Karate Kid past her initial session for fear he might 'dilute' her Talokian skill with his training (though she respects his skills greatly).

The undisputed champion of Talok VIII, Shady has no interest in discussing planetary politics with Dream Girl or Princess Projectra.

She is generally recognized as the team's most accomplished female fighter, and enjoyed the distinct honor of being sworn-in during a battle with the deadly Fatal 5.

Because of this, she holds great (though usually unspoken) respect for Cosmic Boy, Karate Kid and Brainiac 5.

Some speculate Shadow Lass is driven by a desire to pair up with a fellow "planetary champion" as part of her duties, and romances (or attempts at, anyway) with Brainiac 5 and Mon-El lend some credence to this speculation.

Not even Tasmia's closest friend Phantom Girl knows about her secret training sessions with Substitute Legionnaire Night Girl (which Shady organized at Lydda's request).

Ultimately Shadow Lass is a proud, dependable warrior who keeps her motivations, if not her opinions, secret.

MLLASH continues to do a wonderful job on these.

Of course, we already have a case of that...

I gotta admit, I've never viewed Shadow Lass in this light (pun not intended)--but it fits and makes her a much more interesting character. Well done, Lash!

Thanks, Quis and HWW. I've had great fun doing this. And thanks to PG for starting the thread. I'm going to try to finish up this weekend.

Actually MLLASH it is I who should be thanking you (amongst everyone else who has participated). These are awesome reads, and so helpful.

Could I please get a description of White Witch?

Okay, since I had to wing her in a story, I'll do a description of LL, based on Action Comics. More winging...

Lightning Lad: The most honest, and emotional, of the three founders, wearing his heart on his sleeve. His life and his thoughts are an open book. Garth is the one who is more willing to smile, to laugh, to get angry. He's been getting angry a lot lately. The once sensitive, stay-at-home dad has become the Legion's new hothead. And why shouldn't he? His friends and his family are being persecuted, forced undeground. Their ideals are being called old-fashioned, and Garth himself is starting to question them. He hasn't seen his son in months, and everything he and the Legion have tried to do is being torn down by a group of psycho rejects with bad haircuts. What would you expect in this situation from the guy who wears his heart on his sleeve?

Thoughts on Mysa.

Born on Naltor, to a family promiment for their extremely advanced precognitive talents, Mysa was blind to the future, and, by her societies standards, a cripple. Science proved unable to help her, and an attempt to find a mystical means of giving her the Sight was an act of desperation.

The thought that maybe she's *okay* with not being able to see the future, like her family, hasn't entirely occured to them. They spent so much time trying to 'cure' her, that they never really accepted them for who she was, an intelligent, beautiful young woman with as much raw potential and possibility as any precognitive.

On the Sorcerer's World, Mysa found something more valuable than a 'cure' for her condition, she found a culture, a society, a family that respected her for who she was, regardless of whether or not she could see the future. Years later, a Legionnaire, respected for her own powers, Mysa still doesn't go home to Naltor, because Naltor isn't home. When she makes a home for herself, it is always on the Sorcerer's World.

Some people lacking a particular sense or ability attempt to compensate, using other senses or mental strategems to try and 'cope' or adjust for what is missing. Mysa could have studied heuristics or probability theory or psychology, in an attempt to learn how to 'predict' actions, events or even people, but she didn't attempt to compensate for what Naltorians thought was 'wrong' with her. She accepted her status and went sideways, deciding not to ever be a 'third-rate wannabe precog cripple,' but instead becoming a first-rate sorceress. Instead of running a race she knew that she could never win, she denied her handicap any power to control her life and crossed lanes into another race entirely, one where she could excel on her own terms, with no inherent disadvantage. This could be seen as 'Gordian knot' sort of non-linear thinking, where the ultimate player makes her own rules, rather than playing the games using other people's rules, or it could be seen as 'giving up' and refusing to even participate in a society that was stacked so far against her. Both are true, and regardless of how the different interpretations 'sound,' neither is any more right or wrong. Mysa doesn't judge herself and her choice by such a metric of whether or not she should have 'tried harder' to fit into Naltorian society. Abandoning her Naltorian life was the right choice for *Mysa,* and that's all that matters in the long run.

Mysa is often seen as quiet and shy, and yet it is made evident that her spellcasting requires intense focus and preparation. She does not lack for forceful will and personality, she simply chooses not to use it as a bludgeon, unlike her outgoing and socially dynamic sister. Mysa shares something with Karate Kid, in that her powers require training, practice and dedication. She didn't get them as a matter of birth, or because of some freak accident. Like Val, she *earned* them, through rigorous, even obsessive, study, and while she never criticizes her team-mates for the amounts of time they spend chatting and socializing, time that she feels that she must spend studying and refining her focus, she pointedly ignores suggestions from her sister that she should 'get out' and 'live a little.' Indeed, some of her reticence comes from a desire to hold herself apart from the standard Nura sets, as she doesn't feel that she could ever (or would ever want to) compete with her own her home turf of the party circuit. If Nura was not such a boisterous whirlwind of energy, Mysa might indeed stop seeming like quite such a contrasting personality. If Nura wasn't around to compare against, Mysa indeed might 'lighten up' a little more, but she sees her sister dancing and flirting, and turns with a smile and returns to her quarters to meditate, allowing her sister to live that part of her life for her, while she plays the part of the grown-up in their relationship, the 'sensible one.'

Despite her quiet demeanor, Mysa is every bit as passionate and strong-willed as her sister, and because of that, her power is not always as controlled as she would like. She has a touch for the dramatic, as she demonstrates in her first modern appearance, teleporting with a flourish into Legion headquarters, and unleashes on a Khund that has felled both Blok and Dawnstar before turning on her. It is only her very deliberate attempts at calming her passions that keeps her from becoming the monologuing dramatist, and she knows quite well that she treads a fine line between being assured and being *too* assured, and has the bad example of Mordru hanging over her to remind her what she could become, if she ever let her passion override her reason and her power go to her head...

Thanks Set. I needed this for a story I was doing with her in it. I just hope I got it right. Did I describe Garth okay though?

Felt right to me. Garth does lead with his heart, and tends to have 'big feelings' compared to someone who plays it closer to the vest, like Cos.

Well I'm trying to give a valid reason people can understand as to why he's been acting this way, instead of calling it bad writing.

I believe I'll try a villain...

Storm Boy: A complete downer of a person, who has no original goals other then to belong. His powers are a basic rip-off of the Ranzzes and Shadow Lass, simply adding wind effects. He is totally miserable and his mind is one-tracked in his quest to be the chosen rather than be rejected, which at first was because of the fraternity he tried to join, later being placed on the Legion itself. He is childish in his goals, seeing the Legion as a bunch of big bullies, and his quest to become special knows no end, further making him a truly psychotic character.

I'm very curious about some of the Legionnaires that happened along in my absence-- either before I was reading or after.

Tyroc, XS, Computo II, both Kids Quantum. Also, nobody's written up Blok or Invisible Kid II yet (unless I missed it). Any takers ?

I'll try Computo.

Computo II: Danielle Foccart is the younger sister to the second Invisible Kid. She has grown out of her role as the "kid sister" and has become a self-reliant, single-minded Legionnaire who knows how to get the job done and how to work with others. She takes her role as secondary leader seriously and works hard, as she was forced to do so when she and the others were held in the Dominion labs. She does not like being patronized or treated like a child, nor does she like it when other people toss aside her commands. She also sometimes comes to blows with Cham, as she feels that he has no right to usurp her commands simply because he is older and more experienced. She is not bossy though, and is somewhat modest when given honors, such as when Cos named her co leader, and simply shrugs off having single handidly repaired the wandering city domes in a matter of minutes with no struggle at all.

Veilmist: Temptress, schemer, insecure. A Khund woman of high standing, which isn't surprising since she bounced her way up the social ladder by convincing her latest paramour to kill her current husband, something which she's done over and over and over agin. But, given the way male Khunds treat women, it's a very "survival of the fittest" world they live in. She has shown that she does want to help, as proven when she aided the Legionnaires, but even so she'll always try to find someone to kill her current husband, and she's set her sights on Jo.

four things to comment on:

#1 - love this thread!!! some threads make me cry, some threads make me agreeing/disagreeing, some threads make me realize that there is something about the character....I love it!

#2 - hmm, about Ayla - i have often observed her as that she has the spunky and most free-spirited ones.

#3 - Can't remember the magazine (Back Issue???) where there are 3 or 4 pages devoted completely to Saturn Girl's history and her personality traits....which I remember being enjoying reading that and wished that they should have started devoting those pages to each legionnaires, subs, villains, etc every monthly issues. Anyone know what I am talking about?

#4 - any future observations on Substitute heroes (Night Girl, Stone Boy....), supporting characters (Shvaughn Erin....), and perhaps aliens/races?

Keep it going!

Catspaw: April Dumaka's animal urges have presented themselves in the worst way since her transformation. She borders on the fringes of nymphomania. And the fact that she views most of the boy Legionnaires as her own personal beefcake bakery doesn't help matters. Some might compare her as the SW6's substitution for Timber Wolf, and their might be a bit of credit for that. April's grammar has been somewhat fractured since her powers appeared, and she does fight like a wild animal, and God knows she isn't terribly bright. Deep down however, April is insecure and lonely, and she searches for male attention and satisfaction for her urges to make up for the sense of betrayal left behind when her lover Ansis turned her over to the Dominion.

Dragonmage (Glorithverse): Xao Jin is insecure of himself and his powers, until properly motivated. He has strong magic abilities and could have the potential to become one of the strongest, if not THE strongest, of the Legionnaires. But he is afraid to push his limits, his judgment is clouded by the treatment his former teacher gave him as he began studying the mystic arts.

Dragonmage (Earth-247): A male version of Kinetix in a very loose sense. While Zoe Saugin was motivated to find more power in order to help more people, this Xao Jin is very prideful and more willing to show others up. He seems to be a complete opposite of his counterpart, whereas the Glorithverse Xao wasn't too sure of himself, the 247 Xao thinks he's all that and a bag and chips. At least until his screw up results in someone getting hurt, in which case he's brought down lower than his counterpart.

Polar Boy: The eternal freshman among seniors, the one guy who never seems to grow up like the rest of his classmates, but that's what gives him his charm. He's young at heart. A big kid. Others view him as a bit of a geek, or the "Legionnaire Who's Still A Sub", but his eternal optimism in the ideals of the Legion and Superman and what they can do for the universe keep Brek straight, and it helps him keep the others in line when they begin to doubt if they're making a difference. In a way, if the eradication of xenophobia in the world is a child's dream, then Brek Bannin is happy to be that child.

The relationship between Polar Boy and the Legion is, to me, very much like the relationship between Worf and Klingon society.

He grew up outside, reading the books and codes and 'honor' strictures, and then, when he finally 'got inside,' everything was different. People he had admired from afar broke the rules he'd been told were sacred, and he felt betrayed in spirit. Unlike Worf (whose people are basically backstabbing dicks, who talk big about honor while sharpening their knives for the next honor-less betrayal), it wasn't that the Legion were honor-less, it was that they had years of experience living with the Legion codes, and were all-too-aware that the codes are meant to discourage abuse of power, not tie the hands of a Legionnaire who *has* to break a rule to save lives (or worlds, or the entire universe!).

Polar Boy grew up outside, thinking of the rules as inviolate and sacred, while the more experienced Legionnaires regarded them as best practices. The very day that Polar Boy becomes a Legionnaire, Saturn Girl, a *Founder*, is pushing Sensor, a Legionnaire who committed murder, back onto the team in disguise, as if attempting to do an end-run around the rules she herself helped write.

As a Sub, he was easy going and forced to improvise, thanks to the occasionally problematic powers of his teammates. Whatever worked, worked. He built up the Legion, in his head, as some sort of monolithic ultra-professional organization, and then is shocked to find out differently, that these Legionnaires he's practically worshipped are as likely to cut corners to get the job done as his Subs were.

And so his dissappointment turns to bitterness, and he becomes a bit of a tin-plated tyrant, trying to force the Legionnaires to uphold the impossible standards he's built them up to following in his head.

The Trial of Brainiac 5, which the rest of the team would have skipped, had he not pushed and pushed the issue, ended up being a nail in the coffin of his being taken seriously. Over half the team voted to absolve Brainy of responsibility, and then Brainy walked anyway, making it look like Brekk had put the entire team at each others throats, and cost the team one of it's greatest assets (and, if a Top Five Legionnaires were made, Brainy, along with Superboy and the Founders, would be there, while Brek himself would be lucky to make the top 20, which must be a bitter pill for the man who spent years idolizing, and idealizing, the Legion from afar).


Wow, my description of Mysa back in February reads differently now that she's become the Black Witch. It was telegraphed back in Lo3W#1, in, uh, the early Pliocene, IIRC, that she'd embrace dark magic to get revenge on Mordru, but I was kinda hoping she wouldn't go there.

Thanx for giving another take on Polar Boy. I was just going on what I know from Action Comics. How'd I do on April and Xao?

I know nothing about them. They were from a time I didn't read the Legion (sacrilege, I know!). Xiao sounds awesome. I always wanted some more mystically-powered Legionnaires (although Projectra, Shady and possibly Nura kinda/sorta count), and just as there are a dozen alien-powered Legionnaires, I'm sure that there is room for one or two other than Mysa!

Andromeda (Glorithverse): See Supergirl.

Andromeda (Earth-247): The hero seeking redemption. A case of nature vs nurture. She'd been raised to believe that all aliens were inferior beings compared to Daxamites. But put into the real world around different people, she learned that the only thing that was "inferior" was what she'd been taught all her life. She feels remorse for her actions and is now trying to atone, successfully, for what she's done.

Kinetix: Quite possibly the only candidate for an Orange Power Ring who'd be good. She's power hungry, but she only wishes to use her powers to help people. But she learned that her powers need limits. The hard way. Starting from when she saved her mom's life. In the early days, in the BFF grouping of Zoe and Vi, Zoe filled the role of the outgoing one while Vi was the shy one. Then after Zoe left, Vi began coming out of her shell, albeit because of her possession by the Emerald Eye. Then after going through one transformation too many, Zoe was rendered nearly catatonic, in a trance like state, before and after her transformation into a Terrorform, while Vi naturally began coming out of her shell, even going on a date with Chuck.

Hey Legion fans, can you give me your opinion on the difference between Triplicate Girl and Triad's personalities. I think at one point with Triplicate Girl I understood that each one has the same personality and elsewhere it was just the opposite. What's the ruling here? What are each personality like?