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.]