Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Daring 'Dos

So, I am a dude, NOT a hair stylist or a fashion expert. But clearly, there is a need, a GREAT need for this thread, so I will step up to the plate and kick-off--the great Legion of Super-Heroes hairdo thread!

First up: Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen, Titan, Telepath) through the years.

Adventure Era:

The 1970s:








1980s:

1990s:




2000s:



Today:

Forgive the all-over-the-place image sizes -- this was a quick internet clip job (ba-dum-bum!), but additional/better images are certainly welcome. I look forward to expert commentary on Imra's coiffures over time. I'm struck by a couple of things

-- that image (a happy accident) of Farrah in "Saturn 3" -- I feel strongly that someone (Kitson?) used this as a model for Imra, but didn't find that image in quickie web search. And yes, I consider "Saturn 3" from the 1970s even though the release date was in 1980. Quibble as you wish.

-- the pony tail was REALLY enduring, for almost 2 decades!

-- the 1980s swept out look reminds me why I don't fondly remember the 1980s, at least the more repressed and conservative aspects of it, which Imra's look from Giffen seems to personify.

-- There are no bad hairstyles, just poorly executed ones and ones that don't fit the rest of the person. Yildiray (I've met him, so I will call him by his first name) has designed this really beautiful version of Imra for which the short hair is a perfect complement. I can't express it in words too well, but it's a "know it when you see it" thing for me.

But enough incompetent hairdo harrumphing from me! What say the sartorial satraps of Legion World?!?!?!

Awaiting a Sketch Lad post in 5... 4... 3... 2...

Fun thread DC.

I remember liking Saturn Girl's pony-tail at the time but man does it look dated and dull now. Not to mention a bit too 'young' and immature. I'm glad she doesn't have one anymore.

I never would have thought I'd like Imra with the short hair if someone had told me about it before I saw it - but now that I have, it totally suits her IMO. I really think this could end up becoming her signature look. (Though it probably won't of course because Legion artists seem to change the team's appearances every 5 issues or so.)

It was Barry Kitson, with his 'pinned-out-of-the-way / disheveled' look that first gave me the notion that Titanians would generally not give much thought to matters of physical appearance, being more concerned with the inner characteristics of a person than their coiffure or complexion or ability to color-coordinate.

I kind of like a no-nonsense Imra!

The animated hairstyle makes Imra look like some corporate witch boss - too hard, with that widow's peak.

She had short hair in the 80s also- one version was quite short; there was also a softer and a bit longer version (which I can't find at this point). I like the new short hair better than this earlier version.

I like Saturn Girl's ponytail for a younger Imra....I do actually like Imra generally with short hair though (even if that Giffen pic above isn't necessarily the best example of it).

EDIT: I started writing the rest of this in the roll call thread as a separate post and then realised it was all about hair, so maybe I should do it here, lol..

Issue 1 hairdo thoughts:
- I like Cos's Superman-black hair being back.
- Perez made Imra look like a deer caught in the headlights, but Yildiray (hope I spelled that right) makes the short hair look pretty and practical at the same time.
- I can live with Sun Boy's hair...I don't love it, but I'm just glad he doesn't have the massive eyebrows so much anymore that Lightle used to draw him with..
- I hate Tinya's new hairdo. I really hate it. I like any of her previous hairstyles much better than what she has now, it kind of makes her look like a soccer mum.

That's all for now.

Guy Woodhouse: What the hell is that?
Rosemary Woodhouse: I've been to Vidal Sassoon.
Guy Woodhouse: You mean you actually paid for it?

Rosemary Woodhouse: They use blood in their rituals, and the blood with the most power is baby's blood!

This is the greatest thread of all time.

That Imra by Dick Dillon is STUNNING! I truly miss his artwork.

Dillon was amazing, wasn't he? I think when I read his JLA originally (I WAS pretty young at the time!), I undervalued it because "his" versions of the characters looked different from the regular artists on the characters' solo books. I think that's a typical attitude for a 10-year old. This burger is bad because it doesn't taste like MacDonalds. But that image IS stunning, and clearly Farrah-inspired.

It's also interesting to think holistically about Saturn Girl's 'dos and outfits over the years. Kind of a Grant Morrison/Batman approach -- what if one person could have gone through all these looks? What does that say about who she is and what her personality is like?

Ooh, that's a neat point. Tinya, Shady, Lu, Dreamy, etc. have gone through many less different 'do's. (And their most dramatic changes have been in alternate realities, so wouldn't have any bearing on a discussion of the 'classic' character.)

With a human, the dazzling array of changes could suggest someone who is never truly happy with their self, and is always seeking to change, to 'discover themself.' But for a telepath, those sorts of generalizations are thrown on their head by the concept that she could *literally* see herself as a different person, day to day, measuring herself more on her psychic state / mood / whatever personality traits she is exploring at present than on being the same physical person.

Imra's hairstyle could be the real-world equivalent of one of those little lines at the bottom of some blog posts that say, 'current mood is annoyed!' or 'current mood is intrigued.'

Garth might wake up one morning and Imra has tied her hair back and he might recognize that today she's all business, and it will be a good day to talk about Legion bylaws and UP diplomatic initiatives, and to avoid mushy romantic talk. A few weeks later, she'll have gone with the magnificent Farah mane, and he'll recognize that she's in a powerful, confident, sexual woman headspace, and it's a good day for physical combat training (or romance!).

Or take it on a larger scale. We all change over time based on our interactions with the people around us. How much more would a telepath unconsciously absorb from their surroundings?

Heh, Imra as mushroom, flavorless by herself, but picking up the flavor of the stuff around her?

Also neat. Titanians would be a self-reinforcing people, almost the social versions of Durlans, adapting to the 'flow' of the people around them.

One could imagine the following arc for Imra:

1) She's one of the 3 founders, and an early leader, so in the beginning with the Legion, she's pretty much all business -- hair short to shoulder length, the severe costume, etc. She has lots of other responsibilities too, balancing the personalities of Cos and Garth (and Brainy), controlling Superboy's knowledge of the future. Garth's death and resurrection keeps her pretty stern and focused. It's interesting to wonder if Imra was always so serious as a kid on Titan.

2) By the end of the Adventure/Action era, the Legion is pretty large, with lots of other natural leaders (Invisible Kid, Mon-El) and has attained a position of influence and stature on Earth and in the UP, having fended off Mordru, the Khunds, the Dark Circle , Universo, the Sun Eater and the Fatal Five. The kids are a little older and loosening up, as it were. Also, Superboy leaves the Legion the first time, so that responsibility is gone, too. So Imra literally lets her hair down, and struts her space bikini stuff. Her romance with Lightening Lad fully blossoms and the two marry and leave the Legion.

3) Earth War brings Imra and Garth back into the Legion, and Garth soon becomes leader, a position he isn't well suited to. He breaks down. Imra gets stranded on the asteroid and her openness leads her into Timber Wolf's arms. Darkseid nearly destroys the Legion, devastates Daxam and much of the UP, and leaves a sense of darkness growing over the Legion. Imra becomes pregnant. She reverts back to iron butt Imra, short hair and full body costume.

4) Things get even worse. The JLE turns Earth against the Legion and the UP. Imra and Garth grow apart, perhaps separating. The Legion's ranks are thinned and strained, with Sun Boy abducted and so many members on critical missions in Earth's past. Imra has to help take charge again, and be a mom too. These events are more time in the fire of the crucible for Imra. All the non-essentials are stripped away just so that she can focus on the survival of her family and friends. It's no surprise then that her hairdo reflects this.

Wow, a grand unified theory of Saturn Girl revealed by her hairdo. Who'da thunk it?

It would be neat if she's one of those 'gotta be different' kids, who was a rebellious troublemaking scamp on her stodgy traditionalist home world, and then, in the much more cosmopolitan and free-wheeling Metropolis scene, was all buttoned up and professional.

The Sherman. Definitely.

Oh, Sketchy even makes the Action look good on her!

But I'm torn between the Kitson, Coipel, Sherman, Grell, Staton and Forte!

I'm just that decisive!

Not a fan of either of the Giffens, and the Sprouse is so dowdy! Ick. She looks like Ma Brady.

I actually like the Action style best; serious, capable, practical - it totally negates the hussy image. All that long, flouncy hair looks like sex kitten, the pony tail looks too young and and the Giffen is more avant-garde fashionable than Imra would be. She'd be avant-garde in her actions, not her look.

These are amazing! And I am going for the Mortimer. He drew LOVELY women, for one thing. And I've just always had a thing for the clash between rectitude and abandon that the 1960s 'dos represent, and I think that contradiction works for Imra.

For me, it's between Forte, Swan and Lightle. It's amazing how much the 5YL pic looks like Dolly Parton!

Fun and interesting topic- but I can't help thinking that her hair just isn't something that Imra would spend a lot of time thinking about.