From: [d--u--a] at [yang.earlham.edu] Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc Subject: LSH FAQ: Part 2 Date: 23 Sep 93 03:27:04 GMT THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS LIST version 1.1 Compiled by Doug Atkinson ([d--u--a] at [yang.earlham.edu]) Part 2 Questions in this section: +2. What's the story with the Pocket Universe/Time Trapper/Glorith? 3. Who is Kid Quantum? 4. Who are the SW6 Batch? And which of them are clones? 5. Who were the Dominators holding in the Weisinger Chambers? +6. Are Ayla and Vi friends or lovers? And what about Jan and Shvaughn? ================================================================== 2. What's the story with the Pocket Universe/Time Trapper/Glorith? The story begins with John Byrne's revision of Superman following CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Byrne felt that a Superboy story had no innate tension, because the reader knew that he would have to survive to become Superman, so he decided to eliminate Superboy from continuity. The LSH editor of the time decided that LSH continuity had to be saved, however. The LSH origin was intimately tied to Superboy, so preserving him became necessary. The creative teams of both books concocted the Pocket Universe. Essentially, it was discovered that the Time Trapper had created (or saved) an Earth and Krypton, which he kept in a small, separate universe. All the pre-Crisis Superboy stories occurred there, and (with a few exceptions) all LSH time journeys to the past went to that world. However, Cosmic Boy discovered that the true 20th century was different from Superboy's, leading to a crossover that resulted in the death of Superboy to save the pocket Earth. (The pocket Earth was later destroyed in SUPERMAN.) This story, though cobbled together, served to preserve LSH continuity. (This story appeared in SUPERMAN v2 #8, ACTION #591, and LSH v2 #37-38.) Here is John Byrne's description of the creation of the Pocket Universe: (from _Comic Buyers' Guide_ #997) "And that brings us to the death of Superboy. "No, it wasn't 'a parallel universe or Earth-2 or just lack of continuity' that necessitated the death of Superboy in LSH #38. Actually, it was that ol' hobgoblin of small minds, an excessive allegiance to continuity which triggered this tale. Especially ironic, given that the prime mover in all this was Paul Levitz, he who has sneered his very best sneer at the Marvel mentality which demands canonical continuity. "Here's what happened: "Early on in the genesis of the 'new' Superman, I went into the DC offices for a conference with Jenette [Kahn], Paul, Andy Helfer, and Dick Giordano. We were getting, at that point, very close to the moment at which my pencil would actually have to touch paper for the first time, and we all wanted to be sure we knew where we were going. [Digression about Krypton deleted.] "One of the points I kept coming back to at this meeting was the matter of Superboy. We'd agreed there would be no Superboy in the new chronology (Confession: I now consider this a mistake. Ah, well...) and several times during this one meeting I addressed myself specifically to Paul, who, as scribe of LEGION, would be most directly affected by the 'removal.' If there was no Superboy--and never had been--how did the Legion come into existence? What was their inspiration? It was easy enough to fudge all the Legion stories in which Superboy had appeared, but hadn't the original Legionnaires created their club as kind of a tribute to Superboy? My suggestion was simple enough: When I was a child in England I had a book about the adventures of "Young Robin Hood." Like the Disney Kids or the Muppet Babies, this little tome presented the adventures of Robin and Marian, Little(r) John, and Tuck--everyone, in fact--with no regard to the mangling this caused to the original legend. And that, of course, is the best thing about legends: Since little or nothing is really real, it doesn't much matter what you shovel into the box. Only purists (like me) would be offended by, say, John Watson meeting young Sherlock Holmes years before Arthur Conan Doyle said they met. So, as Steven Spielberg must surely have said to himself, why not? This seemed to me the solution to the Superboy problem: Superman himself had become legendary by the time--Superboy was simply retrofitted into the legend. Paul nodded sagely at this and said he had his own solution and I should not worry. "I didn't worry--until I got a panicked call from Andy Helfer, a few months after I started the project. 'There's no Superboy!' Andy exclaimed. 'That screws up Legion continuity!' This was followed by a hollow *thunk* as my forehead hit the drawing board. "Short form: Something had to be 'done' about Superboy, and the story which saw print, replete with its pocket universe and villainous machinations, was the 'solution.' I still think my idea--retrofitting the legend--would have been better, but at least I got to draw Krypto, and that alone was worth the aggravation." Some unspecified officials in DC later decided to remove Superboy completely. An edict was sent down to the creative team to eliminate the Pocket Universe. This involved then-dead Mon-El reviving, and being found to house the remains of the Time Trapper (apparently destroyed in LSH v3 #50). Mon-El was discovered to be from the Pocket Universe as well (a logical development, since his origin was intimately tied to Superboy). He wound up seemingly destroying the Time Trapper and eliminating the Pocket Universe (and thus the inspiration for the LSH) from history altogether. However, it had been revealed at some point that the Trapper had engineered the creation of the LSH. Their purpose was to defeat Mordru, who would otherwise have come to rule the galaxy with no opposition. With the Trapper, the Pocket Universe, and the LSH gone, Mordru ruled supreme (in what has come to be known as the "Mordruverse"). To restore the lost continuity, the writers brought back an obscure villainness named Glorith, who had previously appeared in ADVENTURE #338 as a stooge of the Trapper (and died in that issue). With the Trapper gone, she still lived as First Wife of Mordru. However, she (and others, including Mordru) realized that the LSH was missing. She sought to restore it, casting a magical ritual that left her in the role of Time Trapper. Because Superboy was gone, she chose Lar Gand (formerly Mon-El, now Valor) as the inspiration for the LSH. She brought R.J. Brande (a Durlan member of L.E.G.I.O.N.) to the 30th century to become the team's financier, and re-engineered Valor as Superboy's replacement. Continuity had been patched over again. The Time Trapper was revealed to still be alive and hiding in the remains of the Pocket Universe; Glorith consumed his essence, taking on the remainder of his power and his memories. Recent issues of VALOR suggest that he is still in existence, though. Later, however, other(?) DC higher-ups realized that eliminating the Trapper/Pocket Universe also eliminated the origin of Matrix, who was playing a major role in the Superman books. The Pocket Universe was restored to LSH history (re-created by Glorith), but Superboy played a much smaller role, existing for only 2 weeks. This fact was not explained in the comic, however; Superboy made only a one-panel cameo in an annual. However, the Superman cross-over series "Time and Time Again" had Superman meeting the current LSH, with all parties remembering Superboy...much to the confusion of the reader. The situation was not made clear until the Sourcebook was released. ================================================================== 3. Who is Kid Quantum? Kid Quantum is a retroactively inserted LSHer, who joined between Invisible Kid I and Laurel Gand. He served for under a year, then apparently died, making him the LSH's first casualty. He was arguably also the team's first minority member. His death prompted the team to outlaw members whose powers depended on gadgets. Kid Quantum first appeared on page 11 of v4 #9, in a flashback to Laurel's origin, although he was not identified. His statue appeared among that of other dead heroes in the same issue, although he was not identified until LSH Annual v4 #3. His origin was given in LSH v4 #33, and the reader is referred to that issue for details. Essentially, his cover story was that he was a Xanthuan who gained stasis powers from the same comet that empowered Star Boy. His powers were revealed to come from a belt, instead. He died in battle, but his body was never found. This is, however, untrue. The truth is: Glorith attempted to enslave the race of Antarean Proteans in 2973. In response, they took the sentience of all but seven of them and placed them into one body, christened the Soul of Antares. This Soul was stripped of the native Protean shape-shifting power, given a force-field belt and sent to join the LSH; when Glorith came close to finding him, his death was faked by Proty I. He wound up in hiding on Yal. (The seven Proteans were the Protean Sentients; both Proties were Sentients.) (The matter of the Protean Sentients is pure retcon. During the Levitz days, Proteans started out non-sapient but telepathically picked it up if exposed to sapience for long enough. This in itself was a retcon.) Fans generally reacted poorly to a new LSHer being retroactively introduced, and the character has not appeared since (except briefly, in stasis). There are some indications that he was intended to join the Legionnaires; their WHO'S WHO entry and DC COSMIC TEAMS cards both list him as a member. However, he has not yet joined, and may never. ================================================================== 4. Who are the SW6 Batch? And which of them are clones? The saga of the Clone Legion begins with LSH v4 #21, with the revelation of the existence of a mysterious "Batch SW6" that the Dominators were keeping under Metropolis (they had escaped when the powersphere blew up). Valor discovered their existence, but they were first encountered by Devlin O'Ryan shortly afterwards. They were first revealed to the reader on the last page of LSH v4 #24. Essentially, the Dominators created clones of the LSH some time between ADV #349 and 350. (There is some evidence that the Dark Circle was involved.) Either the entire original team was placed in storage and the clones replaced them, or the clones were placed in storage; or (more likely) there was a mixture of both. Members that were cloned were: Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Duo Damsel, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Invisible Kid I, Laurel Gand, Brainiac 5, Valor, Ultra Boy, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Element Lad, Light Lass, Princess Projectra, Ferro Lad, and Karate Kid. (Star Boy and Dream Girl were members of the Subs at this point in history, and Bouncing Boy was powerless.) Projectra, Karate Kid, and Chameleon Boy died in an explosion, and Valor vanished in a trip to the past. (Apparently, his whereabouts will be revealed in a crossover sometime next year.) There existed some disagreement among the creative team as to which group was the clones. Giffen wanted the older LSH to be the clones; once he left, T&M altered things so at least some SW6ers were clones. (See LSH v4 #41.) It has been stated that the clones and originals have are mixed between the groups. Three Legionnaires suffered from physical handicaps when cloned; all these handicaps were missing from their SW6 versions. Specifically, Lightning Lad had a metal right arm, Duo Damsel had only two bodies, and Matter-Eater Lad was extremely fat. Although it is not impossible that these SW6ers are the originals, it seems unlikely that the Dominators would cure the originals, store them for 17+ years, and cripple the clones. The SW6 Luornu is the best candidate for being a clone; while obesity and arm loss can be cured, no scientific means appears to exist for her third body to have been restored. (Or, none was ever found.) Note: While it is assumed otherwise, it is not theoretically impossible that _neither_ group contains the originals. Though it seems unlikely, it could be true [and remember, you heard it here first]. Another question that has been asked regarding the clones is: How is it that people who got their powers through mutation, like Sun Boy or Colossal Boy, have clones with powers? Their powers shouldn't be genetic, should they? The nature of the metagene must be considered at this point. During the 1988 series INVASION! it was discovered (by Dominator scientists) that some humans possessed a gene that allowed for mutation under stress. Sun Boy is a classic example of a metagene origin. He was locked in an active nuclear reactor, but instead of dying, he mutated and gained heat/light powers. In this case, the metagene was activated by the stress, altering his body (and his genes) to save his life and give him powers. It has been established that the effects of the metagene are inheritable. Given this fact (and the fact that a clone of Invisible Kid in SUPERBOY had powers), the fact that the clones have powers is not unbelievable. ================================================================== 5. Who were the Dominators holding in the Weisinger chambers? In LSH v4 #27, page 4, a list appeared of the subjects held by the Dominators in their chambers under Weisinger Plaza. Most of them were pre-existing characters. These characters were: STATUS: MIND WIPE COMPLETE Hold Atovlo: Enhanced Strength/Grip Holdur, agent of Pulsar Stargrave. SLSH #223. D. Spengler Bonita: Enhanced Speed Unknown. Dafe Meron: Pungent Toxic Emissions Polecat, rejected LSH applicant. ADV 331. Wray Muntz: Reality Distortion Unknown. Kirt Niedrich: Absorbs Residual Super-Energy Absorbancy Boy, disgruntled LSH reject. SBOY 218. Chi Tsan: Acidic Secretions Caress, of the Emerald Empress' second Fatal Five. LSH v3 #25. Leemac Allen: Deceased Unknown. Flynt Brojj: Sensory Enhancement and Deprivation The LSH's greatest fan. SBOY #209. The powers are new. Squire Burroughs: Object Animation Brother of LSHer Drake Burroughs. He appeared in v4 #40. Concheta Drisden: Hypnotic Control of Males Daughter of Charma Drisden, who first appeared in SLSH #221. Father unknown, though he may be Grimbor, from the same issue. She apparently does not have her mother's additional trait, that of making females hate her. She appeared in v4 #40. Myg: Sonic Emissions Karate Kid II, former LSHer. The powers are new. LSH v3 #13. Mick Yardreigh: No abilities manifested. Black Mace of the Taurus Gang. ADV 374. STATUS: NO MIND WIPE Shanen Dreys: Tremor Projection Quake Kid, LSH reject. SBOY #218. Annie Foxmoor: Misfortune-Probability Has not appeared before. (See question #14.) Bobb Kohn: Crystal Projection and Transmutation Crystal Kid, former Academy member and LSHer. LSH v2 #272. Monica Sade: Teleportation An original character; appears in #29. Roy Travich: Paralysis Radiations Radiation Roy, LSH reject and LSV member. ADV #320. Rhent Ustin: Enhanced Vision, Hypnosis Visi-Lad, of the Academy and the LSH. LSH Annual v3 #3. Many of these subjects appeared in #40; Holdur, Squire, Cocheta, Flynt, and Roy (or Mick) were identifiable, and possibly Rhent. Other subjects include Danielle Foccart (Computo), Xao Jin (Dragonmage), and April Dumaka (Catspaw), all of whom joined the Legionnaires. ================================================================== 6. Are Ayla and Vi friends or lovers? And what about Jan and Shvaughn? Vi and Ayla: This question has not been definitively settled, although there is considerable circumstantial evidence that they are lovers. Examples: In #20 we see them in a bedroom; Vi is half-dressed, and Ayla has just stepped out of the shower. In #38, while watching the destruction of Earth, they are holding hands. In #39, they appear to be discussing their relationship-- "I'd like to be needed by you every once in a while, too." "Oh, Vi, I *always* need you. More than *anything*." They are also sitting on the same bed. This is the strongest evidence to date. Circumstantial evidence dating back to v3 (the Levitz days), beginning in the early 20s. There is also evidence that the SW6 Vi is developing an interest in women, as seen in her diaries. In #25 she speaks approvingly of Ayla's figure. (Enviously, but it shows she was looking.) In #35 she writes, "She [Saturn Girl] hugged me too and was nearly crying. It's different to hug a woman because of her chest. Saturn Girl's uniform makes her chest look so nice. What am I talking about? I'm insane." Additionally, then-LSH editor Michael Eury hinted at such a relationship in an "Inside DC" column. T&M mentioned this in the letter column without confirming or denying it. Such a relationship would not be out of character for either one. Though both have been involved with men in the past, it has never been said that they are *not* bisexual. (To be fair, lack of negative evidence does not equal positive evidence; but nothing established is being contradicted.) However, there has been no definitive proof offered yet, and the letter columns have been vague on the subject. Also, while circumstantial evidence is easy to find, such a conclusion cannot be disproved through the same means. There is one piece of evidence that can be seen as saying they aren't lovers; in v4 #45, Ayla is startled when Vi bodily throws her to the ground and out of the way of an attack. It could be said that she is surprised by the close bodily contact, which she wouldn't be if they were lovers. In addition, their most recent WHO'S WHO entries, written by T&M, refer to them as "close friends." WHO'S WHO is not averse to identifying characters as gay, since Pied Piper is clearly identified as such, so this is a decision of the writers, not the editors. Until proof is given, the conclusion must be: They are definitely close friends. Whether there is something more is uncertain, but the reader may be excused for believing so. Jan: For a long time, Jan had never been in a relationship of any sort. ("I'm...er...out of my *element* when it comes to romancing girls, but..." ADV #327) Jim Shooter, writing the series in the mid-'70s, suggested in a fanzine interview that he might be gay. (Interlac APA, 1975: "Element Lad: Hmm. An introvert who covers with snappy patter! Could be gay; who knows? He is confident, almost arrogant. He has a right to feel very special, and his is an overwhelming power.") There was speculation about this among the fan press in the early-to-mid-80's as well; possibly in response, then-writer Paul Levitz brought him together with SP Officer Shvaughn Erin. (See below.) This is generally cited as evidence that he is not exclusively gay, though he could be bi. In LSH v4 #31, it was a) revealed that Shvaughn was actually a man, Sean, using chemicals to change his gender; and b) hinted strongly that Jan was gay, without actually saying so. (Page 11: "...are you trying to tell me you find *this* as attractive as *Shvaughn*?" "Don't you understand? *Anything* we ever shared physically...it was in *spite* of the Profem, not *because* of it...!" This statement can be interpreted in a number of ways.) Again, the lettercol has been vague on the subject. Although I prefer to stick with information from the comic, this diary entry from the Sourcebook clears it up pretty well: "Shvaughn. I probably did love her sexually at one time, despite our incompatabilities...but there was always something else--some unspoken tension, some hidden reality that was coming between us. I always assumed it was me, and in part it must have been. There I was, pretending to be stimulated sexually at a time when my journey required that I deny my own sexuality, much less hers." The evidence is clear that the writers consider him gay, despite his previous relationship with a woman. The continuity- conscious reader may consider him to be bi if they prefer. There can be little doubt that Sean is gay. Relevant to the discussion is this excerpt from AMAZING HEROES #143, in Andy Mangels' article "Out of the Closet and Into Comics:" "It must be the blond curly hair or something, because both characters with that hairstyle in the DC Universe have long been the subject of a debate of 'is he or isn't he gay?': Star Boy of the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and Jericho of the NEW TEEN TITANS. [Note: Presumably he means Element Lad, not Star Boy.] "Although it has largely been assumed in LEGION fandom that Star Boy [Element Lad] is gay, creator Paul Levitz apparently felt that none of the 30-plus members of the Legion were gay (even though, statistically, three of them should be). When the rumors about Star Boy were at their highest, Levitz promptly gave him a girlfriend, an idea which met with much disapproval not only from fandom, but from the professional community as well. "'Element Lad at this point has a girlfriend,' says LEGION co-plotter/artist Keith Giffen. [This article was written at the time LSH v3 #52 was out. He and Shvaughn had been involved for five years or so at this point.] 'I've always contended that he was gay. First, I didn't see anything wrong with it. He's gay, big deal! It's like he's Lutheran or Methodist, big deal. Cosmic Boy's Jewish, so what? They still can grow. I would think that by the 30th Century homophobia is sort of looked back upon as a quaint aberration of human nature. I mean, you're dealing with alien races who don't even have the same equipment! That was one of the theories about Element Lad--no he's not gay, it's just that his equipment won't fit into anything else because he's the last survivor on his planet [sic]. That's kind of dodging the issue. It looks like now that he's pretty much heterosexual, although that does disappoint me. Just the fact that people were saying "Is he gay, isn't he gay?"--just the fact that it was so understated and so naturally done, without holding up the banner and saying "Gay guy, gay guy, right over here!" If people did gays in comics naturally, there wouldn't be a big brouhaha every time someone did a character that might even be remotely intimated as gay. Something that should just be a natural part of a character becomes a controversy. "'I believe Paul was of the "piece of the equipment not fitting" angle, and thought that was more logical,' concludes Giffen. 'We never agreed on Element Lad. I've just gotten back on the book [as co-plotter with Levitz], and if we did introduce a gay character it wouldn't be like "Hi, I'm Mesmer Lad. I'm six- foot-two, blond-haired, blue-eyed, and gay." It wouldn't be like that. It would just be introduced and played out as part of the character's personality. There'd be no banner, no banging of the drums, and no speeches on how socially aware we are, wink-wink, nudge-nudge. I don't want to introduce a gay character just to prove how liberal I am. I'd like to think if we did it we could do it as well as Element Lad's alleged gayness, so that people do start picking up on it after a while but it doesn't become this shrieking, screaming match.'" Although I am unaware of any gay characters introduced in the last year of v3, the Ayla-Vi situation almost perfectly fits what Keith describes above. The Jan story is closer to what he wanted to avoid, but even in that story the gayness issue was secondary. Mekt Ranzz was implied to have a male lover in LSH v4 ANNUAL #3, and there was no fanfare whatsoever. [One point to consider: This topic should not necessarily be considered in terms of modern concepts of sexuality. Consider that alien humanoids may differ in sexual identity from Earth humans. Winath was settled from Earth, but Imskites and Trommites aren't descended from humans. It is possible that Trommites may exhibit radical changes in sexual orientation throughout their lives, or that they become homosexual when not exposed to Trommites of the opposite sex, or that they are all naturally bisexual. They may not even have sexual orientations as we define them. It may not be possible to pigeonhole Jan or Vi into "gay," "straight," or "bi." For that matter, real people aren't always that easily pigeonholed, either. The very concept of "sexual orientation" is relatively modern, and many people don't fit into nice, neat categories. It is certainly not unknown for someone to have a relationship with a member of the opposite sex and then later decide they are gay. In other words, Jan being exclusively gay isn't a total violation of continuity, as some readers have claimed.]