New Animated Movie Trailer

The trailer for next year's (sometime in 2023) animated movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), aka The Tomorrowverse - not to be confused with the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), home of the TV series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited" - came out today and I screencapped the video to see what I could see.

Here’s the exclusive first look from Legion of Super-Heroes! pic.twitter.com/RFw8HuOVjL

— Warner Bros. (@WBHomeEnt) November 16, 2022

Here's what we already knew, from the 10/13/22 Hollywood Reporter:

Kara, devastated by the loss of Krypton, struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Her cousin, Superman, mentors her and suggests she leave their space-time to attend the Legion Academy in the 31st century, where she makes new friends and a new enemy: Brainiac 5. Meanwhile, she must contend with a mysterious group called the Dark Circle as it searches for a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault.

It seems certain to me that the powerful weapon must be the Miracle Machine.

The cast, as listed in the article (with some spelling mistakes corrected):

• Meg Donnelly voice stars as Supergirl/Kara
• Harry Shum Jr. stars as Brainaic 5
• Darren Criss as Superman
• Matt Bomer as The Flash
• Jensen Ackles as Batman
• Cynthia Hamidi as Dawnstar
• Gideon Adlon as Phantom Girl
• Ely Henry as Bouncing Boy
• Robbie Daymond as Timber Wolf & Brainiac 4
• Yuri Lowenthal as Mon El
• Eric Lopez as Cosmic Boy & Chemical King
• Darin De Paul as Brainiac & Solomon Grundy
• Ben Diskin as Arm Fall Off Boy & Brainiac 2
• Victoria Grace as Shadow Lass
• Jennifer Hale as Alura
• Daisy Lightfoot as Triplicate Girl
• Zeno Robinson as Invisible Kid & Brainiac 3

Screencapping the video, and not worrying about images of Superman, Batman, or Solomon Grundy, I noticed that none of the following with voice actors appear in this trailer: Flash, Chemical King, Alura, and Brainiacs 1, 2, 3, and 4.

This is a new version of the Legion HQ we've never seen before. Note the tilted "L" with the comet, that's the Bendis/Sook version. Their influence comes up a lot in this trailer. Zooming in, we can see Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad at the center - none of whom have listed voice actors, by the way - along with Ferro Lad and Sensor Girl in a purple glow above them. Below them, it could possibly be Tyroc, Lightning Lass, and Karate Kid. At the bottom of the screen is Wildfire in an orange glow. (Maybe XS and not Ayla? Or even the Jazmin version of Kid Quantum?)

Then we have a shot at characters in the Legion Academy. From left to right: Quislet, Dream Girl, Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, Monster Boy, Invisible Kid (Jacques), Bouncing Boy, and Arm-Fall-Off Boy, with Timber Wolf as the instructor. Interestingly, Quislet and Dream Girl don't show up elsewhere in the trailer, while Monster Boy makes an appearance, but none of those three have listed voice actors. So either they don't make it, they get killed off, or they are just background extras with non-speaking roles. (Or maybe it's the Retroboot costume on Stone Boy and not Monster Boy?)

Triplicate Girl has a different skin color than we've seen before. Arm-Fall-Off Boy, Bouncing Boy, Monster Boy, and Phantom Girl are behind her. (Although now I'm leaning towards Stone Boy and not Monster Boy.)

Mon-El is introduced to Supergirl by Superman. Since he's not in the Academy class, he must be an experienced Legionnaire....

As is Dawnstar, who lands before Mon-El and Supergirl

Bouncing Boy shows off his powers. Only Invisible Kid and AFO Boy join Chuck from the Academy class, wonder where the others are?

Triplicate Girl uses tri-jitsu against a Dark Circle member...

... While Arm-Fall-Off Boy uses his powers. Rather than using them as clubs to swing, he controls his arms at a distance (similar to TDK in "The Suicide Squad").

Shadow Lass talks to the Academy kids, she must be a veteran as well.

The trailer shows everyone in a fighting stance, including the newly-introduced Brainiac 5 (with no hair). 

Brainiac 5 looks a lot more like his ancestor than any of the other versions over the years. Note that this movie has voice actors doing roles for Brainiacs 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well.

Brainy and Supergirl's meet-cute.

This is a call-back to the holo-statues outside the clubhouse, as seen in the first image. This is Cosmic Boy (who does have a voice actor), Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad in front, with Sensor Girl and Ferro Lad flying overhead (none of whom have voice actors).

Closeup of Supergirl, revealing the details of her costume.

Supergirl mentions that she has met the Dark Circle before. 

Three rookies: Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, and Invisible Kid.

Dawnstar drops off Phantom Girl... 

...who plummets and pummels a Dark Circle guy.

Timber Wolf Wolverines his way through the Dark Circle.

Chuck flattens a Dark Circle guy in his own method.

An angry looking Supergirl flies out of LSH HQ.

Note that this is the name of the movie, it's not "Supergirl and the Legion". This is reminiscent of the 2006-08 animated series which also had the Super-S but didn't have Superman's name in the title.

Coming sometime in 2023. I notice that it does not say that it comes on DVD, and it doesn't say that it's streaming. I'd expect it to come out on physical media first, and then some short time later it will appear on HBO Max.

On the team (characters with voice actors known so far are in bold):

• Veterans: Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Ferro Lad, Karate Kid(?), Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass(?), Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Sensor Girl, Shadow Lass, Timber Wolf, Tyroc(?), Wildfire
• Rookies: Arm-Fall-Off Boy, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Dream Girl, Invisible Kid, Monster Boy, Phantom Girl, Quislet, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl
• Unknown: Chemical King

Suicide Squadcast: TDK vs Arm-Fall-Off Boy

We recorded this one on August 29, a couple weeks after The Suicide Squad movie came out, to give everyone a chance to watch and then we'd discuss it here without having to worry about spoilers. One of the topics we touched on was TDK, played in the movie by Nathan Fillion, and how he was "inspired" by the one and only Arm-Fall-Off Boy. So here's what I put together to talk about AFOB.

• TDK is most likely based on Arm-Fall-Off Boy (who in turn was based off of a character in Legion fandom called Ear-Fall-Off Floyd, which is where the name Floyd Belkin came from). The character has appeared with the Legion 3 times in various continuities: Secret Origins #46 (Silver Age), Legionnaires #43 (Reboot), and LSH31C #16 (TV).
• For April Fool’s Day 2010, I wrote up an article on the Omnicom about the history of AFOB, starting with Ear-Fall-Off Floyd, and then interviewing via email Mark Waid and KC Carlson, both of whom said it was probably Gerry Jones who came up with the idea for AFOB. So I asked Jones, who wrote to me:
• Early in my comics-writing days I joined Interlac briefly and even afterward hung out with several of its members. From one of them — possibly Mike Forrester or Mike Valerio, but maybe someone else entirely — I'd heard, or thought I'd heard, about a pseudo-character in Legion fandom called Arm-Fall-Off Boy. It could be that they were saying "Ear-Fall-Off Floyd" and I misunderstood, or it could be that one of them had misunderstood Ear-Fall-Off Floyd as Arm-Fall-Off Boy and passed it on to me. In any case, when I stuck Arm-Fall-Off Boy into that Secret Origins story I thought I was making a nod to Legion fandom but later discovered that I'd accidentally brought in something entirely new. Had we had more time I probably would have talked to Waid about it and gotten all this clarified, but that story was a last-second replacement for an earlier story that had been cut. Which is fortunate, ultimately. Now we have Arm-Fall-Off Boy, and yet Ear-Fall-Off Floyd is still out there awaiting his moment in the spotlight. ... I think I left [AFOB's design] mostly to Curt, although I believe I did specify that when his arm pops off we should somehow see the open socket in his body. It was a thrill to be working with Curt Swan on a Legion story, I must say.
• Curt Swan was thanked in the closing credits of the movie, but Gerry Jones was not (for likely obvious reasons). Note that it’s not a requirement to get thanked, but for creator payment purposes, if they include Swan they’d likely include Jones as well. (For example, Joe Gill and Pat Boyette created Peacemaker for Charlton in 1966, but they weren’t in the credits either.)
• Roger Stern came up with the name Floyd Belkin for Splitter’s appearance in the Reboot #43, but I never got in touch with him to find out where that name came from. AFOB’s third appearance was in LSH in the 31st Century comic, written by Matthew Manning, who had come up with the story idea as part of a pitch he had proposed when Steve Wacker was the editor (around Shooter’s time on the Threeboot, I think). He was able to write the story for the cartoon’s tie-in comic, and proposed the Adventure 247 homage cover. 
• My headcanon: Cory Pitzner (TDK's real name) was a teenage superhero called The Detachable Kid, but then he grew up. He liked being a super-hero and he was well-known by that name, but he aged out of it and changed it to TDK. But what got TDK sent to Belle Reve and joining the Suicide Squad?
• James Gunn revealed that Nathan Fillion’s The Detachable Kid has a hidden ability that he never used in The Suicide Squad. The Detachable Kid can telepathically control his limbs after detaching. As per James Gunn, in The Suicide Squad, Fillion’s character’s legs are also detachable. Gunn said that “TDK is just a guy whose arms and legs come off. That’s his only power.” This revealed an ability that TDK never reflects on screen. (This was a deleted scene.)
• If you go to DC's character page for TDK, you’ll find the character with TDK’s costume description but a picture of AFOB from Secret Origins, and his real name listed as both Cory Pitzger and Floyd Belkin.
• There’s a TDK Funko Pop, but it’s a Hot Topic/Funko Summer Convention exclusive (#1122 if you’re keeping track)
• In a video interview with ET Canada, Nathan Fillion said (joked?) that when James Gunn offered him the part, he was told that TDK stood for “The Dark Knight”.
• Nathan Fillion has described the process that went behind creating the character of TDK along with director and writer James Gunn. He said that “My participation in the invention of the character kind of went like this, James saying, ‘Here’s how it’s going to go.’ And me saying, ‘That sounds good.’ That’s what I call dissipation…I take a lot of credit. It’s all about the function of the character in the story. What is his function in the story? And TDK’s abilities, for me, clearly spelled out his function and I got it. I know exactly what you need. I know what you’re looking for. I know what you want. Boom. Let’s do this. I get it.”
• Via Sean Gunn’s Instagram: “Thrilled to announce my new show ‘T.D.K & the Weasel’ with @nathanfillion coming soon to HBOMax!* *note: some information in this post may be untrue,” Gunn joked. “My catchphrase is, ‘Let’s see you WEASEL your way out of this one.’ And I lean on the word Weasel really hard,” Fillion joked in the comments. “…and announcings Javelin as the awkwerd naybor,” Flula Borg added. 
• TDK was never shown or otherwise confirmed as deceased; when he was last shown, he was in critical condition, but still alive. It is therefore possible that he survived.
• And now TDK has more discussion time in this podcast than he had screen time in the movie.

LSH v4 #49 annotations: The World's First Edible Blog

   Annotations for LSH v4 #49

• On sale 9/21/93
• It's OK, I'm a Senator: https://itsokimasenator.livejournal.com/24373.html
• Legion of Substitute Podcasters episode 668 (August 2, 2021)
• Timeline: August 5-6, 2995

Notes:

• Page 1: Tenzil trading cards
• Panel 1: parody of Terminator
• Panel 2: Eyeful Ethel first appeared in ADV 330, then next in the Subs Special
• Panel 3: Omega and the Miracle Machine from SLSH 251
• Panels 5-6: the captions got swapped for these two. The Monument to the Champions of Many Planets include Estimate Lad (Secret Origins 37), Double Header (intro in ADV 323, last seen DCCP 59), Eyeful Ethel, Tusker (intro in ADV 331, last seen DCCP 59), and Arm-Fall-Off Boy (Secret Origins 46)
• Panel 7: Tenzil frees Brek from prison (LSH v4 11)
• Panel 8: on Tartarus (LSH v4 14)
• Page 2 panel 1: “several weeks ago” from the last known date of 8/9/95, let’s call it about 5 weeks which puts this in late June or early July, in the month-long gap between when Brainiac 5 reveals he has given Luornu a force field power after rescuing her second body from Glorith, and when Mysa goes to Tharn to confront Mordru (there’s a gap from 6/27 to 7/29).
• Page 2 panel 9: info on the Hypno-Stone via the 2995 Sourcebook will be mentioned at the end of the story
• Page 3: Mordru in a song and dance, now all we need is him on a jet-ski
• Page 5 panel 3: Tenzil says “hated ditching the Legion like that, but at least we got that Mordru mess wrapped up”. He left the Legion on 8/4 with Nura and Projectra, so this is 8/5 at the earliest. 
• Page 13 panel 2: Spaceopoly Lad mentions Vavoona, which is a location as seen on the Legion’s Mission Monitor Board (ADV 342).
• Page 14: there had been a fan theory that Tenzil had retained some of the Miracle Machine’s energies after he was cured, which made it into his Who’s Who entry (the looseleaf version)
• Page 17: callback to the trading card from Tenzil’s date. That’s WWE wrestler Big Van Vader in the mask at the bottom in the crowd.
• Page 23 panel 1: the crowd turns out to see Tenzil and Eve leave. This is no earlier than the next day 8/6.
• Page 23 credits: Tom Bierbaum mentions that the Immonen pages for this issue were from a tryout he did a year or so earlier that got him the Legion job, so they repurposed the drawn pages
• Omnicom
• This TV show aired 5/22/95, which was the day that Nura propositioned Thom on the eve of the Galaxy Series finale, and Saturn Girl was kidnapped (LSH v4 #37)
• Reges Questar had a brief stint as the hero of Zentor (SBOY 222). 
• From the 2995 Sourcebook: The Hypno-Stone had been stolen from the royal family of Titan, per a private journal entry from Feb 2992 in which Universo mentions that “they have robbed me of my precious hypno-stone”. It amplified Universo’s super-hypnotism powers.
• From the 2995 Sourcebook: Meanwhile, on 9/12/94, on the night before his wedding to Eve Aries, Evillo journaled “It is with delight that I note she almost certainly enters into this unholy union with ulterior motives – the Hypno-Stone. She knows as well as I that it has been deposited on this world by Merg Gaterra, the legendary Magpie, and would now be mine if not for that unfortunate misunderstanding regarding his delightful female companion. Gaterra's jealous rage will subside, and he will eventually identify the Stone's location to me, but if my lovely new wife is able to lead me to it in the meantime, all the better.”
• Magpie (of Angtu) is a master thief who was once recruited by an unknown source, who turned out to be the Monitor working on a commission from Universo, to steal a chip from LSH HQ which contains the operating system for the Time Viewer (Tales 320). The story between Magpie’s female companion and Evillo remains unknown. Magpie escaped from prison (Legionnaires 4) when Persuader broke out Mano.

---

Cutting down the timeline to just the last few entries since it was getting so long. I'm color coding them based on whether the date appeared in the 2995 Sourcebook (yellow; text in yellow is as written in the Sourcebook), it's a confirmed date that was given in the comic (green), or an estimated date based on keeping track of events and days (cyan). Bold text is something new added this issue. Italics are unknown dates.

• 9/13/94: Evillo marries Eve Aries (LSH v4 #49).
• 5/22/95: TV show airs on the missing Hypno-Stone (LSH v4 #49).
• Late June/early July 2995: Eve Aries finds the Hypno-Stone but Evillo takes her and the stone into custody (LSH v4 #49).
• Wed 7/29/95: Jacques and Drura join the team; Mysa is possessed, and goes to Tharn to confront Mordru (LSH v4 #43), but she is defeated and is absorbed into Mordru. Using this power, he raises armies of the dead in a number of worlds in both UP and Khund space. The Legion agrees to help the Khunds, but they insist that the Legion take on four new Khundish members (LSH v4 #44).
• Sun 8/2/95: The Legion fights Mordru’s zombies on Sklar, Talus, Trom, and in space (LSH v4 #45). On Talus, the Legionnaires fight their own dead, and new Khund Legionnaire Bloodclaw is killed before the team halts Mordru’s magics on the planet. Jan fights the dead Trommites on Pasnic (LSH v4 #46). The Legionnaires bring the fight to Mordru on Tharn, losing the Khund Firefist in the process (LSH v4 #47). The dead on Talus are defeated, but during the fight Timber Wolf returns to the 30th century with Jamm (LSH v4 Ann #4). With the help of Devlin O’Ryan and the spirit of Amethyst, Mordru and Mysa are separated and Mordru is defeated (LSH v4 #48). 
• Mon 8/3/95: Jamm takes the Legionnaires on a prodigious trip before being returned to his own time (LSH v4 Ann #4).
• Tues 8/4/95: The Legion leaves Tharn for Khundish space, where Flederweb and Veilmist are forced to rejoin the Khundish forces. Jan recovers on Pasnic, while Amethyst and Mysa ponder the future (LSH v4 #48).
• Wed 8/5/95: Tenzil travels to Tartarus and with the help of Polar Boy and friends, they rescue Eve and defeat Evillo (LSH v4 #49). 
• Thu 8/6/95 : Tenzil and Eve depart Tartarus for Titan (LSH v4 #49)
• Fri 8/7/95: the SW6 Legionnaires spend the weekend at the Atlantis Dome on New Earth (Legionnaires #7)
• Sat 8/8/95: the SW6 Legionnaires encounter the race of Devil-Fish in the Atlantis Dome (Legionnaires #7)
• Sun 8/9/95: the SW6 Legionnaires leave the Atlantis dome on New Earth (Legionnaires #7).
• Mon 8/10/95: Several Legionnaires leave New Earth for Colu (Legionnaires #8).
• Tues 8/11/95: Brainiac 5 thinks of leaving the Legion and remaining on Colu (Legionnaires #8).
• Wed 8/12/95: Brainiac 5 returns to New Earth with the rest of his team (Legionnaires #8).

Legionnaires #2 annotations: Getting the Band Back Together!

Annotations for Legionnaires #2

• On sale 3/16/93 
• It's OK, I'm a Senator: https://itsokimasenator.livejournal.com/25640.html
• Legion of Substitute Podcasters episode 645 (February 22, 2021)
• Timeline: June 13-14, 2995

Notes:

• Cover: this is part 1 of what will be a multi-part connected cover
• This issue picks up right where #1 left off, which means it starts on 6/13/95. But LSH v4 #41 took place on 6/26-27 so we’ll have to try to pay attention to where things fall continuity-wise between the two titles.
• Page 10 panel 1 – with Sean Erin being Chief of Science Police Earth, reminder that Gigi Cusimano is now Chief of the Science Police mother organization (as seen in LSH v4 #13, replacing Zendak, who’s MIA)
• Page 11 panel 1 – Ligget is named after the now-late Jon Ligget and is a running joke with the Bierbaums. We previously saw references to Dr. J. Ligit in a medical paper discussing the Valdius Plague (issue #3) and Reep Daggle’s brother Liggt (issue #6). 
• Page 12 panel 1: Yay tryouts! There’s Arm-Fall-Off Boy (this is his only appearance this issue) and Cera Kesh, among others, including a guy with a black and white face who resembles Phade, a cyborg character from the Hammerlocke series (see cover to issue 2).
• Page 16 panel 1: Intro X-Bomb Betty. Her single-use power is possibly either an homage to ERG-1 or a reference to the 1957 Looney Tunes cartoon “Show Biz Bugs”, where Daffy blows himself up while trying to one-up Bugs Bunny. In both cases, the hero could only do that trick once.
• Page 17 panel 3: Cera Kesh can make things float using telekinesis – they haven’t had a telekinetic since Tellus
• Page 18 panels 2-3: Live Wire and Inferno are dicks
• Page 18 panel 6: Tenzil’s words to Plaid Lad sound like something that might have been said to a Legion reject before (see SBOY 201, composite of rejections of Porcupine Pete and Infectious Lass)
• Page 21 panel 1: The first Takron-Galtos was destroyed in the Crisis, and the prison planet was moved to Labyrinth. This is the first appearance of Takron-Galtos II.
• Page 21 panel 3: There’s someone who looks like the Emerald Empress and the Persuader’s Atomic Axe, I guess they’re getting the band back together!
• Let’s review the state of the Fatal Five:
• Tharok –  last seen disappearing at the end of the Dark Man story (LSH v2 271)
• Emerald Empress – rebuilds her own new Fatal Five (LSH v3 21-26), but apparently dies when Sensor Girl cuts off the Emerald Eye from her (LSH v3 57-58). The Emerald Eye has recently been seen in the possession of Leland McCauley IV.
• Persuader – killer for hire and a member of Emerald Empress’ new Fatal Five, last seen in LSH v4 #13 trying to kill Char Burrane II on behalf of McCauley
• Mano – before being captured this issue, he last appeared in LSH v4 #13 with Starfinger III 
• Validus – eventually cured of the effects of Darkseid’s manipulation and turned back to a normal child Garridan Ranzz (LSH v2 Annual #3)
• Flare – briefly a member under the Emerald Empress, later mind-wiped and battled the Legionnaires (LSH v4 #40)
• Caress – no further appearances after being on Emerald Empress’s Fatal Five 
• Mentalla – tried to infiltrate the Fatal Five after being rejected by the Legion, but killed and still dead (LSH v3 #25)

---

Here's what we know of the timeline to date. I'm color coding them based on whether the date appeared in the 2995 Sourcebook (yellow; text in yellow is as written in the Sourcebook), it's a confirmed date that was given in the comic (green), or an estimated date based on keeping track of events and days (cyan). Bold text is something new added this issue. Italics are unknown dates.

• 6/11/1992 - Aria tries to take the dying Brin Londo back in time to prevent his father from administering the first Zuunium injection, but accidentally dumps them both in the 20th century (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 1).
• 2/12/75 –  The inhabitants of the planet Trom are exterminated by the pirate Kivun Roxxas. The sole survivor is 12 year-old Jan Arrah (LSH v4 #31).
• 3/26/2978 Dark Circle obtained updated cell samples from when Dr. Zan Orbal restored bodies and powers to Matter-Eater Lad, Lightning Lad, and Bouncing Boy on Tartarus, to complete their collection (LSH v4 #22).
• 10/78 Doppelganger substitution during Dark Circle invasion (LSH v4 #22).
• 2/17/89 – Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute (LSH v4 #10).
• 6/23/89 – Magic Wars end (LSH v3 #63)
• 9/89 – Polymer shield around Earth removed, Earthgov debt soars (LSH v4 #30)
• 10/89 – the Great Collapse
• 11/2/89 – Tayla Wellington elected President (LSH v4 #30)
• 1/19/90 – Mutual assistance pact signed with the Dominion; Earthgov officially secedes from the United Planets (LSH v4 #30)
• 4/13/90 – Communique from Earthgov President Wellington, trying to legally disband the Legion, with Imra, Rokk, and Cham “currently out of the picture” (LSH v4 #1).
• 4/90 – Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps (LSH v4 #3).
• 6/7/90 – Legion Academy closes (LSH v4 #16).
• 7/6/90 – Former Legion Academy heads Chuck and Luornu Durgo Taine open the United Planets Militia Academy (LSH v4 #16).
• TBD 2990 – Earthgov secedes from the United Planets, and the Science Police Earth splits from the Science Police Proper (LSH v4 #2). Since then, “resistance forces have opposed Earthgov since the introduction of repressive measures… but with little success to date.” (LSH v4 #13)
• 4/12/91 – Tinya goes missing; she was secretly sent back in time by Glorith (LSH v4 #2).
• 5/8/91 – Search for Tinya called off; Jo resigns; Sun Boy is leader (LSH v4 #2).
• 5/27/91 – Mekt released from Labyrinth, rehabilitated (LSH v4 #10).
• 6/9/91 – Planned date of wedding of Tinya and Jo (LSH v4 #2).
• 7/91 – Reported threats regarding Earthgov failure to pay debts (LSH v4 #30).
• 8/12/91 – Black Dawn; Timber Wolf is seriously injured, Wildfire is lost; Starfinger II (Char Burrane) and the Khunds are somehow involved (LSH v4 #12, #28).
• 8/14/91 – It is now postulated that full Domination of Earthgov began at this time (LSH v4 #30).
• 8/15/91 – Blok, Dawnstar, and Dream Girl resign (LSH v4 #28).
• 8/17/91 – Crystal Kid resigns (LSH v4 #28).
• 8/23/91 – Element Lad resigns (LSH v4 #28).
• 9/1/91 – Impulse resigns (LSH v4 #28).
• 9/4/91 – Echo and Tellus resign (LSH v4 #28).
• 9/14/91 – Sun Boy resigns and appoints Polar Boy as unofficial temporary leader (LSH v4 #28).
10/8/91 – Imsk sets off the Damper weapon on Venado Bay on Braal-13 during the Imsk/Braal War. Rokk lost his powers, Loomis lost an arm. Salu was head of security on the damper project and knew what it would do, but fought against it (not hard enough, in her admission). Imsk won, as the army is occupying Braal (LSH v4 #1). She says that Braal attacked Imsk, and they were just defending themselves (LSH v4 #10).
• TBD 2991 – Garth and Imra, having left the Legion, start the Lightning Ring Plantation (LSH v4 #3).
• 1/21/92 – Rebirth Summit (LSH v4 #1).
• 7/6/92 – LSH leader Polar Boy disbands the Legion, mentions Black Dawn which “cost” the Legion (LSH v4 #1); Mordru coronated as the Supreme Teacher of Sorceror’s World (LSH v4 #6).
• TBD 1992 – Down and out, Dirk is rescued by Shvaughn Erin, who warns him not to trust Earthgov, but he doesn’t trust her. Dirk is later recruited by Circe (LSH v4 #28)
• 8/22/92 – Brek Bannin arrested for insurrection (LSH v4 #11).
• 9/9/92 – Dirk joins Earthgov as a spokesman and liaison (LSH v4 #28)
• 4/11/93 – Announcement of upcoming wedding of Grev Mallor (of the City People) to Kahnya Nahtahnie (Lady Memory of the Hill People) on Talok VIII.
• 8/14/93 – wedding of Grev Mallor and Kahnya Nahtahnie.
• 1/17/94 – Marzal reappears over Africa and the corrupt Earthgov destroys it, but not before Tyroc escapes (LSH v4 #16).
• 10/22/94 – Raid on anti-government terrorists, but ringleader Vidar (aka Universo) is not captured; Cham tells Marla he’s leaving (LSH v4 #1).
• 10/23/94 – Cham begins to recruit members for the new Legion, first approaching Rokk; Vi leaves the Imsk army for Winath; Dominator agents help Roxxas escape from Labyrinth (LSH v4 #1).
• 10/25/94 – Attack on Jo and Kono on Rimbor; Loomis and Lydda en route to Kathoon (LSH v4 #2).
• Fri 11/21/94 – Blok is killed by Roxxas the Butcher (LSH v4 #3).
• Thu 11/27/94 – Mordru crushes Rond Vidar’s ring; Rokk and Cham finally meet up with Jo and decide to go to Tharn to rescue Mysa; Dominators and Shvaughn Erin watch the tape of Roxxas and Blok, whose body is delivered to Winath; Mon-El resurrected (LSH v4 #3).
• Fri 11/28/94 – Mon-El goes to Talok VIII, then Shadow Lass and Mon-El visit Brainiac 5, then Mon-El destroys the Time Trapper (LSH v4 #4).
• Sat 11/29/94 – Mordruverse (LSH v4 #5).
• Sat 11/29/94 – Cham, Rokk, Jo, Kono, and Furball arrive on Tharn and are captured by Mordru; after being hired by Earthgov to find Blok’s killer, Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty leave for Trom (LSH v4 #6).
• Sun 11/30/94 – Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty meet Jan on Trom (LSH v4 #6); with the help of Laurel Gand, Rokk’s crew rescues Mysa and Rond from Mordru but are teleported to Grocz; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan leave Trom for Winath (LSH v4 #7); Earthgov links to Roxxas reported, riots ensue (LSH 4 #30).
• Mon 12/1/94 – Rokk, Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Rond, Laurel, and Mysa travel from Grocz to Zirr (LSH v4 #8).
• Tues 12/2/94 – Rokk, Laurel, and Rond take some R&R time on Zirr with baby Lauren, while the others go to Winath; Marla reminisces (LSH v4 #8); on Cygnus IV, Roxxas watches a holo of Laurel Gand; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan arrive on Winath (LSH v4 #9).
• Wed 12/3/94 – Rokk and Rond arrive in the morning, having left Laurel behind on Zirr; everyone (Rokk, Rond; Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Mysa; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, Jan; Brainy, Garth, Ayla, Vi, Imra) is on Winath when Roxxas attacks; Bounty, Mekt, Cham, and Celeste are seriously injured, while Jo disappears and is presumed dead; Earthgov linked to Roxxas; Tenzil arrives on Earth (LSH v4 #10).
• Thu 12/4/94 – On Winath, Roxxas is on the loose, and kills a doctor and nurse in the Bloomfield Free Clinic. On Earth, Tenzil participates in the Batcave dig, meets with Shvaughn and Brek (who is released for the first time since incarceration 2 years prior), has dinner with Prosecutor Jakobi, then falls asleep. (LSH v4 #11).
• Fri 12/5/94 – Tenzil and Brek in court; Holo Scene news article on the trial (LSH v4 #11); Celeste is healed by a green glow; the former Legionnaires team up to capture Roxxas, who reveals Dominion control of Earthgov (LSH v4 #12).
• Wed 12/10/94 – All-points bulletin on Persuader, who meets Kent Shakespeare in on Quarantine trying to attack Char Burrane Jr. (LSH v4 #12). Persuader is defeated by Kent and SP Captain Gim Allon, who then takes Kent to Toonar (LSH v4 #13).
• Thu 12/11/94 – Kent leaves Toonar for Winath; Laurel fights Khunds in deep space; Tenzil and Brek on Gnogg. (LSH v4 #13).
• Sun 12/14/94 – The Legion is formally reinstated.
• Mon 12/16/94 – Tenzil, Brek, and Calorie Queen are taken to Tartarus by Prince Evillo; Tenzil banished to the Realm of Darkness (LSH v4 #14).
• Thu 12/25/94 – Garth, Cham, and Rokk remotely survey Talus (LSH v4 #14).
• Fri 12/26/94 – Tenzil and Sugyn return from the Realm of Darkness, only to hear that Tenzil has been declared dead and his Senate seat vacated (LSH v4 #14).
• Sat 12/27/94 – Loomis writes his report on Talus’ suitability for being the new HQ; Tenzil leaves Brek behind on Tartarus and heads for Winath (LSH v4 #14).
• Sun 12/28/94 – The reformed Legion establishes headquarters on the asteroid world of Talus.
• Sat 1/3/95 – Tenzil Kem rejoins the Legion.
• Sun 1/11/95 – Orando falls to the Khunds (LSH v4 #15).
• Mon 1/12/95 – The Legion agrees to team with the United Planets Militia to beat back a Khundish invasion that threatens the heart of the United Planets (LSH v4 #15).
• Exact date unknown – Cham meets with a Khundish double agent; Venegar falls to the Khunds, who then make a deal with the Hill People of Talok VIII; the UP Militia tries to decide if Xolnar or Talok VIII will be attacked next; Valor and Shadow Lass appear on Talok VIII; Khunds attack Xolnar; Circe wants Dirk to give a pro-Dominator speech (LSH v4 #15).
• Exact date unknown – Last stand on Xolnar; introduction of the Resistance on Earth (LSH v4 #16).
• Fri 3/13/95 – SP Officer Roon Dvron’s police report on Sussa Paka (LSH v4 #22, 23, 27).
• Sat 3/14/95 - Sussa Paka escape SP custody, steals Starfinger's helmet for Molock Hanscom on the way out (LSH v4 #27).
• Sun 3/22/95 – Khund decoy fleet arrives at Talok VIII, while the main fleet attacks Xolnar, leading to the death of Jed “Power Boy” Rikane; after destroying the Talok fleet, the Legion and the UP Militia arrive at Xolnar to finish the Khundish fleet; Glorith sent to the end of time; the Khunds are driven back to pre-2995 borders, and the Legion concludes its participation in the war against Khundish encroachment (LSH v4 #17).
• Wed 3/25/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are arrested by Earthgov (LSH v4 #17).
• Thurs 3/26/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are put on trial (LSH v4 #17); Sussa Paka steals Earthgov Artifact J-1-WRTZ for Molock Hanscom (LSH v4 #27).
• Fri 3/27/95 – Tensions increase on Earth with the execution of Legion friends Don and Dawn Allen. (Note that 3/27/95 is a Friday, while the comic says it happened on a Monday) (LSH v4 #17); additional riots, and martial law is instituted (LSH v4 #30).
• Sat 3/28/95 – Daily Planet article on the Allen executions (LSH v4 #17).
• Exact date unknown – Valor and Shadow Lass help counter a Dark Circle attempt on Queen Projectra’s life on Orando, then remove the Dark Circle cultists from Carggg; Universo and Jacques meet; holo studio bombing allegedly by one of the Resistance groups (LSH v4 #18).
• Thu 4/9/95 – Valor and Shadow Lass leave Carggg on their way to some R&R in deep space (LSH v4 #22).
• Sat 4/11/95 – Luna is destroyed, ravaging Earth (LSH v4 #19) and causing powerspheres to detonate across the globe, with a death toll in the billions and widespread environmental devastation (LSH v4 #30). The mysterious “SW6" Legionnaires awaken in an underground Dominion chamber on Earth. (LSH v4 #20, 25) Earthgov authorizes executions. (LSH v4 #25).
• Sun 4/12/95 – Jo Nah returns from an extended journey through time (LSH v4 #19) and is added to the reformed adult Legion team; the SW6 Legion encounters Devlin O’Ryan (LSH v4 #20); all outside aid to Earth is rejected (LSH v4 #30).
• Mon 4/13/95 – Dacey and Doritt Ranzz are born to ex-Legionnaires Garth and Imra Ardeen Ranzz. Rokk recalls the events of Venado Bay as the Dominators start executing Science Police Earth officers who are revolting against the Dominators. Mysa Nal is contacted by the spirit of Amethyst (LSH v4 #20). After being exposed to the null radiation from the detonation of Metropolis' powersphere on the 11th, Devlin is getting worse. (LSH v4 #25).
• Wed 4/15/95 – Furball meets Aria on Zuun, unaware that she’s being hunted by Darkseid; Atmos revealed to have been killed by Project Champion; the Dominators begin harsher punishment of insurrectionists on Earth (LSH v4 #21).
• Fri 4/17/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent on the way to Zuun to get Brainy and Furball; on Talus, Kono reads Nura’s unanswered messages to Mysa; on Altair, Valor finds troubling news from a Dark Circle computer (LSH v4 #22).
• Sat 4/18/95 – Disease and rebellion reported widespread on Earth; Dominators performing mass executions (LSH v4 #30).
• Exact date unknown: members of the Dark Circle recount the history of Valor (LSH v4 Annual 2).
• Mon 4/20/95 – Devlin is healing and appears to have powers just like Reflecto of Rimbor (LSH v4 #29).
• Tues 4/21/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent arrive at Zuun (LSH v4 #22).They are briefly detained but they escape to the surface and meet up with Brainy and Furball, but Lobo captures and leaves with Aria; during the escape, Celeste generates a burst of intense green energy. On Earth, Resistance leader Jacques has Laurel and Bounty meet up with Circe, who has turned against the Dominators and Earthgov. Valor leaves Shady to go to Earth to check into what he found (LSH v4 #23).
• Wed 4/22/95 – Lobo brings Aria to Darkseid, followed by Jo, Kent, Celeste, Brainy, and Furball. Lobo is revealed to be merely a probe and Darkseid vanishes him, and then turns Furball back into Brin. The Gemini Matrix activates and Aria turns into an adult Gemini and blasts Darkseid, per his secret wish, who then disappears. Back on Earth, BION discovers the adult Laurel Gand while looking for the SW6 version, and the SW6 Legionnaires reveal themselves to Devlin (LSH v4 #24). The SW6 Legionnaires and Devlin escape the tunnels and link up with Universo and the Earth Resistance (LSH v4 #25), and then quickly go to the Resistance HQ in New Mexico. The Subs and Universo’s Resistance team capture the Weisigner Chambers from the Dominators, while BION follows Laurel to Talus (LSH v4 #26).
• Thu 4/23/95 – Garth and Imra decide to hold the christening of their new twins next week, on Saturday May 2 (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
• Sat 4/25/95 - Legionnaires in Africa with the Resistance and the SW6 Batch become aware of each other; the Subs and Grin’s resistance team discover others in the Weisinger Chambers; Rokk, Kono, and Loomis manage to subdue BION on Talus (LSH v4 #27). Dirk Morgna’s pod is discovered (LSH v4 #28).
• Sun 4/26/95 – On Talus, Brainiac 5 studies BION, and Valor suggests that the adult Legionnaires may be clones. Monica Sade is released from the Weisinger chambers, and then Dominator troops temporarily gain control of the Chambers. Circe and Bounty plan to take out Pinnacle Command, while the Dominators prepare mind-wiped agents to attack the Subs (LSH v4 #29).
• Thu 4/30/95 – Tensions on Earth reach the breaking point when President Tayla Wellington is assassinated by the Dominion during a live broadcast (LSH v4 #29, 30). Aria tries to take the dying Brin Londo back in time to prevent his father from administering the first Zuunium injection, but accidentally dumps them both in the 20th century (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 1). Legionnaires begin to arrive on Winath for a reunion to attend the christening of Dacey and Doritt Ranzz (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
• Fri 5/1/95 – On Earth, the Subs battle mind-wiped Dominator agents; the Dominators and UP fleets meet up in orbit around Earth (LSH v4 #30). More Legionnaires arrive on Winath for the christening; the Naltor Dreamers defeat the Winath Jaybirds 6-1, clinching their first pennant since 2980 (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
• Sat 5/2/95 – Dacey and Doritt's christening; Pol Jath Krinn is born to Rokk Krinn and his wife Lydda; Ayla Ranzz learns that Garth is really Proty I, inhabiting her brother's re-animated body (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).On Earth, Jan helps Shvaughn Erin and sees his SW6 self, while in space the adult Valor meets his SW6 counterpart (LSH v4 #31).
• Wed 5/6/95 – Cham begins a search for R.J. Brande; on Earth, Circe and Bounty capture Spider Girl; the Subs escape from the Weisinger chambers with the help of the SW6 Legion, but Grinn sets off a self-destruct mechanism that destroys all the chambers; SW6 Chameleon Boy, Karate Kid, and Princess Projectra are killed fighting Dominion troops (Note: the Sourcebook says this happened on 5/15, but that's too much time since the christening) (LSH v4 #32).
• Thurs 5/7/95 – Cham arrives on Yal and finds Brande; the Dominators get intel on the Soul of Antares (LSH v4 #33).
• Fri 5/8/9 – Adam Orion arrives on Yal to capture Brande, but fails; the Antareans are hijacked by someone using the Emerald Eye; the SW6 Legionnaires find Crystal Kid still alive, along with Catspaw, Dragonmage, and Computo (LSH v4 #33).
• Fri 5/15/95: The battle for Earth begins, with fighting on the ground and in the skies. SW6 Laurel Gand and the UP capture Pinnacle Command. King Jonn declines the adult Legion’s offer for help from off-world, but asks them to be prepared to defend the UP from other outside threats (LSH v4 #34).
• Sun 5/17/95: The crippled Dirk Morgna encounters his SW6 counterpart; the Dominion fleet is defeated by the U.P. militia with the aid of the SW6 Valor; Pinnacle Command orders his troops to surrender; Earth is liberated and Jacques Foccart is named the new acting President of Earth; on Gallan, Universo and Leland McCauley raise a toast to their imminent conquest of Earth (LSH v4 #35).
• Tues 5/19/95: Circe kills Dirk Morgna and then takes her own life; Bounty is badly wounded in a fight with Sade; the Bounty entity leaves its host body, who the Legionnaires realize is Dawnstar (LSH v4 #36).
• Wed 5/20/95: Jan Arrah takes his leave from Jacques now that the fighting is over (LSH v4 #36).
• Fri 5/22/95: Nura propositions Thom on the eve of the Galaxy Series finale; Saturn Girl is kidnapped (LSH v4 #37).
• Sat 5/23/95: Naltor Dreamers beat the Toonar Pilots to win the Galaxy Series; SW6 Brainiac 5 arrives on Earth and sends SW6 Valor back to 2978 (LSH v4 #37).
• Sun 5/24/95: The Tokyo sinkhole opens up (LSH v4 #38).
• Tue 5/26/95: The two Brainiac 5s report that the Earth is doomed (LSH v4 #38).
• Wed 6/3/95: Seismic disturbances spur Foccart to order the takeoff of the cities equipped for it. Of the 480 cities with escape domes, only 94 make it to safety in the Bgztl Buffer Zone (LSH v4 #38).
• Thu 6/4/95: The Great Terran Disaster – the Earth explodes, killing the two billion people who could not be evacuated in time. The cities that were saved joined together in the moon's former orbit as New Earth (LSH v4 #38).
• Sat 6/6/95: After Jan gives a speech to the evacuees, the adult Legionnaires head back to New Earth (LSH v4 #39).
• Sun 6/7/95: Several SW6 Legionnaires rescue the kidnapped Cham, RJ Brande, Kid Quantum, and the Proties from Leland McCauley IV (LSH v4 #39).
• Tue 6/9/95: SW6 and Adult Legionnaires battle mind-wiped Dominator agents from the Weisinger Chambers; Nura enlists the help of J’onn J’onzz to help Mysa; and the old and young Legions finally get together (LSH v4 #40).
• Thu 6/11/95: Sean Erin becomes Chief of the Science Police for New Earth. Reep Daggle resigns from the reformed adult Legion to organize and lead the youthful Legionnaires. Jacques Foccart resigns as president of New Earth to rejoin the reformed adult Legion and names vice president Troy Stewart to succeed him. Catspaw, Dragonmage, and Computo II join the SW6 Legion (LSH v4 #41).
• Sat 6/13/95: The new group, "The Legionnaires," is deputized, with its membership consisting of the youthful versions of the original Legion and several new recruits. Computo stops the Djakarta dome from colliding with the Melbourne dome, Cosmic Boy is elected leader and names Computo deputy, and then the Espionage Squad encounters Mano (Legionnaires #1). The Legionnaires capture Mano (Legionnaires #2).
• Sun 6/14/95: The Legionnaires hold tryouts, while Leland McCauley IV and a green-haired woman steal the Persuader’s Atomic Axe (Legionnaires #2).
• Sat 6/20/95: "The Lore of the Legion" timeline printed in "Our Times: A Review of Contemporary News"
• Fri 6/26/95: Luornu, Rond, Laurel, and Brainiac 5 are all captured by Glorith, who has returned from the End of Time, with the assist of the previously-thought-dead Luornu’s second body. They defeat Glorith and bring Luornu-2 back to Talus (LSH v4 #42).
• Sat 6/27/95: Back on Talus, Brainiac 5 reveals that he gave Luornu a force field power. She reunites with Chuck and accesses her personal journal (LSH v4 #42).

Arm-Fall-Off Boy: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

CHAPTER 1: The Introduction

When you have a series with the history that the Legion has, dating back more than 50 years, you accumulate baggage, for better or worse, sometimes both. One concept both awesome and silly is the try-outs. In 50 years, I think the Legion is still unique in that it holds them. And dating back to the Silver Age, you've got your winners and you've got your losers.

This is not about one of the winners.

Today, on April Fool's Day, when everyone else is joking about serious things, I'm going to seriously cover one of the Legion's biggest jokes: Arm-Fall-Off Boy.

Most of the time when you see an article on the internet talking about the lamest super-heroes ever (like this, this, this, and this) three Legion-related characters often show up: Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, and Arm-Fall-Off Boy. They don't seem to realize that Arm-Fall-Off Boy, at least, was created specifically to be lame, and therefore shouldn't really count against lame characters.

Anyway, in honor of April Fool's Day, here's a look at the history of Arm-Fall-Off Boy and his literary "older brother", Ear-Fall-Off Floyd.

[Note: I got started on this too late and didn't have enough time to get in touch with Jay Zilber or Roger Stern for their sections. I'll fill in the appropriate info if and when I get it.]

 
Also: visit Arm-Fall-Off Boy's Facebook page.


CHAPTER 2: Ear-Fall-Off Floyd

But believe it or not, Arm-Fall-Off Boy's roots go back to at least the 1970s, well before he first appeared in print. Legion fandom grew up in the late 1960s and early 1970s through letter columns and fanzines like Interlac and The Legion Outpost. Among the many members of these groups, for varying lengths of time, were people like Tom & Mary Bierbaum, Jim Shooter, Mike Flynn, Harry Broertjes (whose names together inspired the Shooter-created character Flynt Brojj), Jay Zilber, and Gerard Jones.

Ear-Fall-Off Floyd (who briefly had his own now-deleted Wikipedia entry from which this information was taken) was a comic book superhero parody strip in which the would-be hero's "superpower" was that his ear would fall off in moments of crisis, written and edited by Jay L. Zilber and drawn by Jim McPherson. He appeared in the fanzine Fandom Funnies #3, December 1976. Fandom Funnies #3 was a parody of The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom (currently The Comics Buyer's Guide), titled "The Buyer's God for Comic Fandom". Ear-Fall-Off Floyd, whose name pretty much describes his super-power, was featured in two stories, one drawn in the DC Comics style, the other in the Marvel Comics style.

Here are a couple of images of Floyd from a statue, from photos on Jay's public Facebook page. Apparently the sound of one's ears popping off is POIK.

 

I couldn't get in touch with Jay himself, though, to see what he had to say about Floyd. But he later wrote this on Facebook (in the comments).


CHAPTER 3: Arm-Fall-Off Boy and the Pre-Zero Hour Legion

Now, flash forward from 1976 to 1989. Writer Gerard Jones and artist Kurt Schaffenberger turned in their story for "Secret Origins" #46, featuring the secret origin of the Legion Clubhouse. In this story, the clubhouse was actually a facility sent by Jor-El and Lara of Krypton before it blew up; their son Kal-El would, of course, need Kryptonian supplies. But in the Post-Crisis DC Universe, that couldn't have happened, so the story was scrapped and a new one commissioned (this unpublished story survived and can be seen, among other places, at Cosmic Teams).

Mark Waid, editor of "Secret Origins":

I want to say that, as the SECRET ORIGINS editor, I pitched him writer Gerard Jones when we had to come up with an emergency replacement story for his original Schaffenberger-pencilled HQ origin. But it's entirely possible that Gerry came up with AFO on his own; historical records, as they say, are sketchy at best.  Either way, it was after KC Carlson pitched "Fortress Lad" as the centerpiece hero of the story.

The published story, written by Jones and with art by Curt Swan and Ty Templeton, brings Fortress Lad into continuity, but also introduces a failed applicant named Arm-Fall-Off Boy.

KC Carlson recalls (or not):

I'm sorry to say that I can't help you in determining the origins of Arm-Fall-Off Boy. I suspect that he's a creation of Mark Waid or Gerry Jones' fevered brains. And don't believe Waid's denials for a second. Ever since Mark Waid has become Evil, he's been backtracking or denying everything that he's ever said or done that fundamentally made him Mark Waid in the first place. Now, that's evil.

God help me, I'm already credited with the creation of Fortress Lad. Isn't that enough?

Wikipedia says that Gerry Jones created him. They would know. They're Super-Geniuses there.

Seriously though, I have no idea who came up with Arm-Fall-Off Boy. I was as surprised to see him in that story as was everybody else. Except maybe his mom, the former Arm-Fall-Off Girl. Perhaps she, along with the unnamed father, are the actual creators of Arm-Fall-Off Boy.

Now, to briefly digress, listen to Mark Waid's podcast "15 Minutes with Waid - Fortress Lad's Lament" in which he discusses the original Jones/Schaffenberger story and then the Fortress Lad story.

So that left Gerard "Gerry" Jones, writer of the Legion Clubhouse story. I asked if he had any recollections about it to share:

Early in my comics-writing days I joined Interlac briefly and even afterward hung out with several of its members. From one of them — possibly Mike Forrester or Mike Valerio, but maybe someone else entirely — I'd heard, or thought I'd heard, about a pseudo-character in Legion fandom called Arm-Fall-Off Boy. It could be that they were saying "Ear-Fall-Off Floyd" and I misunderstood, or it could be that one of them had misunderstood Ear-Fall-Off Floyd as Arm-Fall-Off Boy and passed it on to me. In any case, when I stuck Arm-Fall-Off Boy into that Secret Origins story I thought I was making a nod to Legion fandom but later discovered that I'd accidentally brought in something entirely new. Had we had more time I probably would have talked to Waid about it and gotten all this clarified, but that story was a last-second replacement for an earlier story that had been cut. Which is fortunate, ultimately. Now we have Arm-Fall-Off Boy, and yet Ear-Fall-Off Floyd is still out there awaiting his moment in the spotlight.

... I think I left [AFOB's design] mostly to Curt, although I believe I did specify that when his arm pops off we should somehow see the open socket in his body. It was a thrill to be working with Curt Swan on a Legion story, I must say.

You may not remember, but Arm-Fall-Off Boy has the distinction, as seen in this issue, of being the very first rejected Legion applicant. As can be guessed, his power was the ability to detach his limbs (in particular, his arms) with a PLORP and use them as clubs. The Legion didn't quite think that this was up to their standards of applicants, and considering he was their first applicant, that says something. Oh, and that's Fortress Lad of the planet Fwang in the familiar red and yellow in the back right corner of the first panel below.

Also: "A" is for Arm-Fall-Off Boy.

This was Arm-Fall-Off Boy's first and only appearance in Pre-Zero Hour continuity.


CHAPTER 4: Splitter and the Post-Zero Hour Legion

Believe it or not, Arm-Fall-Off Boy was lame in three continuities. After the Zero Hour reboot, Floyd Belkin applied to the Legion from Lallor, in Legionnaires #43 (the big try-out issue), as Splitter. That didn't go over well either. His costume is similar to his alternate-universe counterpart, but the Earth-247 version is much less bulky. Note Live Wire's comment about "Arm-Fall-Off Floyd".

Later, Splitter tries to help out in a battle, but has a panic attack and goes to pieces - literally. Wait, what's that sound that his limbs make as they pop off? POIT? Nearly the very same POIK that we saw and heard above, coming from Ear-Fall-Off Floyd.

Roger Stern wrote this issue. I asked him about his updating of Arm-Fall-Off Boy to Splitter, and where the name Floyd Belkin came from, but I contacted him too late to get a reply for this article (and I'll come back here with an update once I do). I figured that Floyd was an obvious reference to the earlier Ear-Fall-Off Floyd.

Ian Rowland says:

It is my crusade to make the comics people bring back Arm-Fall-Off Boy. I want the TV people to make an Arm-Fall-Off Boy live-action TV series, and Hollywood to make a major motion picture. Superman, Batman etc. are all very dull compared with Arm-Fall-Off Boy. Think of the merchandising - for the first time in history, you could have a doll or action figure where it doesn't matter if the arm comes off!

Can you imagine a comic book artist coming up with this idea? Discussing it with the guys down at the office? Isn't it majestic that someone actually gave the go-ahead for this character to appear? Life is more wonderful than we can ever imagine.

To the best of my recollection, this is the only place that Splitter appeared.


CHAPTER 5: Arm-Fall-Off Boy and the Animated TV Show Legion

The third Floyd appeared in the animated TV series continuity, in Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #16, written by Matthew K. Manning and art by Shawn McManus (cover by Alexander Serra). In this story, which is actually Floyd's story with the Legion as supporting characters, we see how even getting rejected by the Legion doesn't necessarily mean that you're TOO lame.

The original solicitation:

Written by Matthew Manning, Art by Shawn McManus, Cover by Alexander Serra

It's the issue you've been waiting for: The untold story of Arm-Fall-Off Boy! The embarrassingly powered would-be Legionnaire wants nothing more than a flight ring and for Saturn Girl to know his name. But since flight technology and easily detached limbs don't always mix, Arm-Fall-Off Boy has his work cut out for him!

Note that while the costume is similar, Floyd is now very scrawny, very far removed from his original counterpart.

  

Writer Matthew K. Manning posted on his blog at the time (May 2008) a series of sketches showing the evolution of this cover and how they came about using one that was a parody of the cover to Adventure 247. I asked him about his use of AFO Boy in that series:

Well it wasn't too hard to research Arm-Fall-Off Boy's history, as he's only made a few appearances that have all found their way into my collection over the years.  Essentially, this story came about as I was working up a Legion back-up pitch to try to show to Steve Wacker back when he was editing the title.  Unfortunately, the book ended before I got a chance to finish the pitch, and so I was stuck with a story that I really liked with no title to find a home for it.

When the new Legion cartoon debuted, I petitioned to write the tie-in comic, and despite becoming one of the title's regular writers, only ended up penning three issues before its cancelation.  Luckily enough, in that time I was able to sneak my Arm-Fall-Off Boy spotlight issue through.  Getting Shawn McManus to draw the issue made it even better, as I've been a fan of his since his Sandman days.  And the icing on the cake was Alex Serra's cover, an homage idea I pitched to him and luckily, both he and my editor, Jeanine Schaefer liked.  The "Applicant 247" in-joke was all Alex, though. 

I'm sure if the series continued, Arm-Fall-Off Boy would have at least made a cameo or two in other issues.  And if I ever get another shot at writing a Legion book, I'll do my best to continue Floyd's illustrious legacy.  Because if I don't, who will?

CHAPTER 6: Acknowledgements

Thanks to (alphabetically) KC Carlson, Gerard Jones, Matthew K. Manning, Mark Waid, and Jay Zilber, all of whom provided some information here and allowed me to excerpt their emails.

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Previously on April Fool's Day:
2009: What if Superboy met the Legion on Facebook?
2008: Easiest Legion Quiz Ever and Mordru's Vaudeville Career
2007: Legion cartoon season 2 episode list
2006: Animated Legion exclusive news