Legion Worlds: coming eventually

Here's an excerpt from a project I've been working on since May 2015. I call it "Legion Worlds" (for now, at least). Or maybe it should be "Where's Where in the Legion of Super-Heroes"? I guess "Encyclopedia Galactica" is already taken.

This logo by Josh Beatman of Brainchild Studios, as seen on Todd Klein's blog of Legion logo studies here.

Back in 2007, Geoff Johns (who apparently read my blog at the time) emailed me to ask if I could help with a project he was working on, which later turned out to be Legion of 3 Worlds. He asked "Do you know where I can get a list of the members of the United Planets from the original series - up to Crisis?" I was able to give him the list of UP worlds in a list that combined the "World Book" and the "Atlas of the DC Universe" from the Mayfair role playing game, "Who's Who in the LSH", and Mark Waid's Legion index (later published as "The Official Index to the LSH" from ICG). I came up with a list of 158 named worlds. If he used anything from my list, I don't know for certain.

But that exchange got me thinking, "I should do some more research to find out if such a list exists". Never found anything that had been created as part of Interlac of the Legion Outpost. But I eventually found a list generated by "Portfolio Boy" on the Legion Worlds message board in 2014, and it was just what I was looking for - but it only went up to Adventure Comics #349.

So beginning in 2015, I went back and looked up every Legion story starting with Adventure Comics #247, and made notes on every dimension, galaxy, solar system, star, planet, country, city, and building that I could find, including whatever history was given, notable inhabitants or animals, whose homeworld it is, and anything else the Encyclopedia Galactica said about it. I'm up through LSH v3 #45 now, covering up to early 1988 ("only" 30 years of history!). I intend this first volume to cover the Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, Five Years Later, Retroboot, and New 52; the Reboot, Threeboot, and Rebirth versions will come later (and will be far shorter). This should be the definitive list of Legion-related worlds (plus some 20th century places they visited).

Once I'm done (eventually), I will release it with a Creative Commons license.

This is just the list of "A" places (1958-1988). Who remembers all of these? I have 93 pages of notes so far, covering A-Z plus numbers and unnamed places.

1. Aarok
2. Aegea
3. Aktar
4. Aldebaran
5. Alkoz
6. Alkrania
7. Alpha-4
8. Alpha XVII
9. Altair
10. Althar
11. Amadus
12. Amarta
13. Amazonia
14. Ananke (12th Moon of Jupiter)
15. Andalu
16. Andromeda Galaxy
17. Angtu 
18. Anakar
19. Ankar
20. Antares II
21. Anterio
22. Anti-Matter Universe
23. Anv
24. Anvor
25. Apokolips
26. Arane II
27. Arbro
28. Arctoraan
29. Arcturus
30. Ardemo
31. Arguv
32. Arion Star
33. Arnak
34. Arok-1 and Arok-2
35. Arturus
36. Asteroid 108
37. Asteroid Archipelago
38. Asteroid 73-Q
39. Asteroid Belt
40. Asteroid X52
41. Asteroid YW-89
42. Asteroid Z
43. Asteroid Zone
44. Asteroid ZYX-1W
45. Avalon
46. Avatanda

Trivia Quiz #53

Trivia Quiz #53. Today's topic: random questions!

1. Which members of the Legion of Super-Pets debuted in a Legion story?

2. Speaking of the Super-Pets, several members of the LSP are also members of the Super-Pets team in DC's (non-canonical) kids line. Looking at both groups, which of the members are only in one group?

3. In one story, Cosmic Boy pressed a button, "activating the Selector Machine - round and round spin figures of our members, mounted on a wheel! Let's see who is chosen by sheer chance to.... " do what?

4. Glorith returned (sort of) at the Legion Academy. Back when she was the Time Trapper's assistant, what was the main reason that she was turned into a blob, yet the de-aged Legionnaires weren't, in ADVENTURE 338 (November 1965)?

5. In Dave Cockrum's original concept of the character we currently know as Wildfire, what was his code name?

6. Which two Legionnaires had this conversation:

Legionnaire 1: We're going to have to put on a "lovey-dovey" act to fool everyone, but don't overdo it, buster, or... POW!
Legionnaire 2: {chuckle} I promise... "Sweetheart!" Ha, Ha!

7. What does C.O.M.P.U.T.O. stand for?

Trivia Answers #52

Special (late) Legion election trivia edition, with late-breaking results!

1. Chronologically from the founding of the L1 Legion to the Magic Wars, three leaders were not elected leader by the rest of the members. Which ones, and what were the circumstances?

Cosmic Boy was chosen by computer to be the first leader; Saturn Girl became leader after winning Proty II's contest; and Element Lad (who was Deputy) became leader after the resignation of Lightning Lad

2. Who won the first Legion leader election that was based on a reader vote?

The announcement for the first reader vote appeared in the Legion Outpost letters page of Adventure 364.

Dear Editor:
In the Legion Constitution, it says a new leader must be elected every year. In ADVENTURE No. 323, Saturn Girl was elected. 14 months later, in No. 332 [sic], Brainiac 5 was put in command. Again, just 11 months after this, Invisible Kid took over the position of honor. The time is coming when a new leader should be elected. This time, before saying who the new top man (or girl) will be, why not hold an election in which the readers can vote, too? This wouldn't be like the popularity contest you held a couple of years back, for it would be based on ability, not mere popularity. Superboy and Supergirl should be excluded, because they live in the 20th century and couldn't devote their full time to the post. The former leaders (including Cosmic Boy, the first leader) should be left out of the running, too.

-Tredgar Waller, Rosemount, Minn.

(How about it, fans? Who would you like to see holding the Legion's reins? Phantom Girl? Ultra Boy? Lightning Lad? Duo Damsel? You tell us and we'll announce the results in this department. Make sure all votes are postmarked before Dec. 26 - the date the next issue of ADVENTURE hits the stands. -Ed.)

Here's the announcement from Adventure 368:

Dear Editor:
In a recent issue, a reader suggested having an election for a new leader of the Super-Heroes. So I am going to cast my vote for Ultra Boy, even though I'm not old enough to vote.

-James Garner, Jersey City, N.J.

(You're old enough to vote in this election, Jim - and you were one of 7,810 readers who did just that. We have the final tallies; but before we announce them, let's see who some of the other readers picked, and why . -Ed.)

"I vote for Mon-El because he is older. He was in the Phantom Zone from the 20th century to the 30th and has 1,000 years of knowledge behind him" -Jeffery Martin, Rock Creek, Ohio . . . "I would like to see Karate Kid as the Legion Leader because he has a unique ability. I SAID ABILITY - not power. K Kid didn't drink a potion or get changed by rays. He had to practice long hours to attain his famed skill." -Robert Gold, Jackson Heights, N.Y. . . . "I cast my vote for Element Lad. He could defeat the whole Legion - or almost - with his element-changing power. He could even turn rock to Kryptonite to beat Superboy." -Lonnie Herzog, Bronx, N.Y. . . . "I vote for Dream Girl because she is Dreamy, Remarkable, Eager, Amazing, Marvelous, Groovy, Irresistable, Reliable, Law-Abiding. She could also see into the future and see what crimes will be committed and who she should assign to them." -Dan Patnode, Menomonee Falls, Wis. . . . "I vote for Lightning Lad because he is the only one of the original three members who has not yet been Leader. Besides, he has the most 'battle scars' of any living Legionnaire." -Unsigned, Freehold, N.J.

(And now - the big announcement! The Legionnaire you readers have elected as the next Leader is . . . ULTRA BOY! He racked up 1,262 votes. Coming in a close second was Mon-El, with 1,160 votes - so he'll be the new Deputy Leader. Every Legionnaire got several votes (except Shadow Lass, who hadn't joined yet). Even former Leaders got some - and Timber Wolf, who hasn't joined yet, officially, racked up a few. Here's the way the other Super-Heroes did in the final tally: Element Lad - 893; Karate Kid - 879; Lightning Lad - 615; Phantom Girl - 525; Chameleon Boy - 420; Sun Boy - 388; Superboy - 316; Matter-Eater Lad - 300; Supergirl - 267; Duo Damsel - 144; Princess Projectra - 139; Colossal Boy - 111; Brainiac 5 - 96; Star Boy - 84; Bouncing Boy - 73; Dream Girl - 68; Light Lass, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl - 32 each; Timber Wolf - 23; Shrinking Violet and Invisible Kid - who are obviously the hardest to see - 15 each. That's it! Watch for Ultra Boy and Mon-El to take over their new duties in an early issue of ADVENTURE. -Ed.)

Ultra Boy's term began in Adventure 371. Incidentally, this appeared the following year, in Adventure 378, which said that former leaders were NOT eligible:

Now to some serious business. Paul Williams, Cataula, Ga., points out that "The current Legion Leader, Ultra Boy, and the Deputy Leader, Mon-El, were elected by the readers. I believe you should have a similar election every year. That way, the Leader will be the one the readers want." We agree - so, since it's about that time, we'll give you all one month to send in your votes. All ballots much reach us by February 27, the date when our next issue hits the stands. Remember, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid and Ultra Boy have already held the post. That leaves the following members eligible: Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, Chemical King, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Duo Damsel, Element Lad, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Matter-Eater Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Superboy, Supergirl and Timber Wolf. Vote for your favorite. The winner will be the next leader; the runner-up will be the Deputy.

(Via the Silver Age Legion page)

3. Which Legion leader was disqualified after the readers voted, and why? Who became the leader instead?

Superboy won the 1976 election, but was disqualified at the inauguration (Superboy 225, 3/77) since he was not a regular inhabitant of the 30th century. Wildfire became leader. (You'd think that the Legion election rules would have been known to the Legionnaires...)

4. Considering what we know of the all of the various "regular" Legions - the L1 Legion (founding through Magic Wars), the v4-era Legion (post-Magic Wars til Zero Hour) and the SW6 Legion, the L2 Legion post-Zero Hour reboot, the L3 Legion Waid/Kitson reboot, the current retroboot, the DC Animated Universe (including Justice League Unlimited and Superman The Animated Series), and the Legion animated series - which Legionnaire has been the leader the most number of times? For this question, for counting purposes we'll consider different versions of the same character (Lightning Lad and Livewire, for example) to be the same.

For this question, consecutive terms only count as being leader one time.
L1: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Mon-El, Wildfire, Lightning Lad, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Polar Boy, Sensor Girl
L1v4: Sun Boy, Polar Boy, unknown after Legion reformation
L2: Cosmic Boy, Leviathan, Cosmic Boy, Leviathan, Shrinking Violet, Livewire, Invisible Kid, Saturn Girl, Livewire, Cosmic Boy, Kid Quantum
L3: unknown
Current: Cosmic Boy, Mon-El
DCAU: unknown
LSHAn: Cosmic Boy, Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy
I'm pretty sure I'm missing a couple in here, bu it looks like Cosmic Boy has been leader the most times across the various continuities, at least six. Nobody else even comes close.

5. In his two previous writing stints on the Legion, how many elections has Paul Levitz overseen and which leaders were chosen?

Levitz 1:  Wildfire (Superboy 225), Lightning Lad (Superboy and the LSH 247)
Levitz 2: Dream Girl (LSH v2 291), Element Lad (LSH v2 306), Element Lad (LSH v3 12), Polar Boy x2, Sensor Girl (LSH v4 60)
Incidentally, there were no leader elections between Lightning Lad and Dream Girl. Levitz wrote all the elections from 1977 to 1989.

6. What happens if the Leader resigns, is expelled, dies, becomes incapacitated, or otherwise can't fulfill his/her duties as leader? What about the Deputy? What if they both are?

From the Legion Constitution:

6.3 In the event of the resignation, expulsion, leave, death or incapacity of:
(i) the Leader, the Deputy Leader shall become Leader and shall appoint a new Deputy Leader;
(ii) the Deputy Leader, the Leader shall appoint a new Deputy Leader; or
(iii) both the Leader and the Deputy Leader, the senior active member shall serve as temporary Leader, with a new Leader and Deputy Leader to be selected at the first opportunity in a manner conforming to the requirements of Sections 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4 hereunder.
(Note that section 8 of the Constitution deals with voting)

7. In this election, which eligible Legionnaires have NOT been leader before (that we know of)?

Of the 25 people on the ballot, the following had been leader at least once in the L1 continuity: Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Mon-El, Polar Boy, Sensor Girl, Ultra Boy, and Wildfire.

That leaves the following: Chameleon Boy, Chameleon Girl, Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, Earth Man, Gates, Lightning Lass, Phantom Girl, Quislet, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Tellus, Timber Wolf, and Tyroc.

Trivia Quiz #52

Special Legion election edition! Reader elections are open today through Nov. 10th. Vote early but you can't vote often as it's one vote per IP address.


1. Chronologically from the founding of the L1 Legion to the Magic Wars, three leaders were not elected leader by the rest of the members. Which ones, and what were the circumstances?

2. Who won the first Legion leader election that was based on a reader vote?

3. Which Legion leader was disqualified after the readers voted, and why? Who became the leader instead?

4. Considering what we know of the all of the various "regular" Legions - the L1 Legion (founding through Magic Wars), the v4-era Legion (post-Magic Wars til Zero Hour) and the SW6 Legion, the L2 Legion post-Zero Hour reboot, the L3 Legion Waid/Kitson reboot, the current retroboot, the DC Animated Universe (including Justice League Unlimited and Superman The Animated Series), and the Legion animated series - which Legionnaire has been the leader the most number of times? For this question, for counting purposes we'll consider different versions of the same character (Lightning Lad and Livewire, for example) to be the same.

5. In his two previous writing stints on the Legion, how many elections has Paul Levitz overseen and which leaders were chosen?

6. What happens if the Leader resigns, is expelled, dies, becomes incapacitated, or otherwise can't fulfill his/her duties as leader? What about the Deputy? What if they both are?

7. In this election, which eligible Legionnaires have NOT been leader before (that we know of)?

Trivia Quiz #51

Here's a quiz to start off the second half-century of monthly trivia quizzes. These questions were submitted by Omnicom readers.

1. From Tom Galloway:
Many Legionnaires come from planets where everyone shares a particular ability, and people from those planets have also fought the Legion. Name the planets/races/Legionnaires for whom the Legion has never fought someone from that common-powered world. (To simplify, we'll look at the pre-Zero Hour/current retroboot Legion only)

2. From Michael X. MacArthur:
In Adventure 373, the creators inserted a clue in the center of the book to the identity of the Tornado Twins. What was the clue?

3. From Don Sakers:
Legionnaires have had code names that start with almost every letter of the alphabet, but which five letters have started no Legionnaire code names?

4. Another from Don Sakers:
Which Legionnaire’s parents were the very first ones we saw, and when? For extra credit, what were their names? (update: not including Superboy or Supergirl)

5. From Darrell Lawrence:
When was "Lar Gand" revealed as Mon-El's real name?

6. From Matthew at the Legion Abstract:
Name all the superhero names Ayla Ranzz has gone by, in all three-and-a-half Legion continuities (that's L1, L2, L3, and v4).

7. Another from Matthew:
Name both parties in each marriage involving Legionnaires. (Not including dreams, hoaxes, imaginary stories, or alternate futures outside of the 3.5 main continuities)

Trivia Answers #50

Call me Procrastination Lad. Here are the answers to Trivia Quiz #50 from last month:

1. The Alex Ross booth in San Diego had a huge floor-to-ceiling banner of his giant Legion litho that he did for the Warner Bros. Stores. When/where else have we seen Alex Ross draw/paint the Legion as a group or individuals, not counting Superman or Supergirl

With a little help from the Alex Ross Collector website, here's what I came up with:

• Kingdom Come miniseries
• Kingdom Come trading cards
• additional sketches in the Absolute Kingdom Come
• Justice miniseries
• Overstreet Price Guide cover
• Starman cover/poster (from the James Robinson series)
• Starman, on various JSA covers
• "Rough Justice" hardcover
• "Mythology" hardcover
• Crisis on Infinite Earths hardcover cover/poster
• Alex Ross Millennium Edition Special (Wizard magazine)

2. In LA, I went to Venice Beach. When the Legion played the New Teen Titans in volleyball (in a published DC comic!), who was on each team?

From DC Sampler #3, the teams were Ultra Boy and Star Boy vs Jericho and Lilith.

3. In San Diego they announced that a set of 12 action figures would be released next year. Of those 12, which ones have never had any kind of 3-dimensional figure commercially released before? Remember that the Legionnaires of one timeline/continuity are not the same as those of another.

The 12 figures are all from the Pre-Crisis timeline:
• Superboy
• Cosmic Boy
• Lightning Lad
• Saturn Girl
• Brainiac 5
• Chameleon Boy
• Ultra Boy
• Karate Kid
• Wildfire
• Matter-Eater Lad
• Timber Wolf
• Colossal Boy

Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy, Timber Wolf, and Colossal Boy all have had figures from DC Direct (among other places as well). Wildfire had a figure in the Mayfair box set of lead figurines in the mid-1980s. The L3 Karate Kid had a Heroclix figure, but the L1 Karate Kid didn't. So the answer here is Karate Kid and Matter-Eater Lad.

4. Paul Levitz announced that we'll see a Legion election soon. Assuming for the moment that his stories more or less remain canon up through the end of the Magic Wars, which Legionnaire had been elected leader the most number of times to that point?

Element Lad, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy had each been elected Legion leader twice.

5. Vegas is all about money. Name five types of money from different worlds in the 30th/31st century.

Among others: In ADV 309 Monster Master once asked to exchange his Barakian Living Money for liquid money of the world Althar. In ADV 350 we saw the living crystal money of Rojun has 6 legs and eats through metal, gas money from Mercury, and Huopian energy money. In ADV 377, they mention dollars, "ergloks of radium", and a giant mirror coin from Dracksler. Plus, of course, we've seen gold and Galactic Credits.

6. In Canada, they talk funny (at least to me, they do!). Which Legionnaire(s) has/have a distinctive accent or speech pattern different from "standard" (meaning everyone else)?

A number of people had different speech balloons, which is meant to indicate something other than "normal".

From L1: Quislet, Blok, Tellus, Invisible Kid II, Comet Queen, White Witch, and RJ Brande. An anonymous poster reminded me that when she went back to the 20th century to hide from Mordru, Shadow Lass passed as a foreign exchange student. ("My name is Tasmia Conehead, and I am from France.")
From L2: Shikari, Chameleon
From L3: Gazelle, Saturn Girl (who's mute)

7. In Las Vegas you have to be 21 to drink alcohol. Before the Legionnaires grew up to drink Silverale, they drank kono juice. Where did we first see kono juice?

As Tom put it, "I believe that was in Adventure 378, as the Legion toasted Brainy with that Coluan delicacy on his birthday...on to find that the cups had been poisoned."

Trivia Quiz #50

I decided extend the deadline one more month for your trivia questions, you guys can take over Quiz #51. Email me your favorite trivia questions and I'll make the next quiz all yours.

So this trivia quiz is based on where I've been lately.

1. The Alex Ross booth in San Diego had a huge floor-to-ceiling banner of his giant Legion litho that he did for the Warner Bros. Stores. When/where else have we seen Alex Ross draw/paint the Legion as a group or individuals, not counting Superman or Supergirl

2. In LA, I went to Venice Beach. When the Legion played the New Teen Titans in volleyball (in a published DC comic!), who was on each team?

3. In San Diego they announced that a set of 12 action figures would be released next year. Of those 12, which ones have never had any kind of 3-dimensional figure commercially released before? Remember that the Legionnaires of one timeline/continuity are not the same as those of another.

4. Paul Levitz announced that we'll see a Legion election soon. Assuming for the moment that his stories more or less remain canon up through the end of the Magic Wars, which Legionnaire had been elected leader the most number of times to that point?

5. Vegas is all about money. Name five types of money from different worlds in the 30th/31st century.

6. In Canada, they talk funny (at least to me, they do!). Which Legionnaire(s) has/have a distinctive accent or speech pattern different from "standard" (meaning everyone else)?

7. In Las Vegas you have to be 21 to drink alcohol. Before the Legionnaires grew up to drink Silverale, they drank kono juice. Where did we first see kono juice?

Trivia Answers #49

Answers to July's Trivia Quiz #49. I was going to turn the column over to the readers for Quiz #50 but I haven't gotten enough questions yet, so please send them in. I'll save them for #51, I've already got a bunch for the next quiz.

1. Who were Jilly, Helen, Charlie, Sophie, Donna, and Jane?

Jilly Major, Helen Cage, Charlie Woodcock, Sophie Desjardins, Donna Ferri and Jane Washington-Carver were Inferno's mall-rat friends in her mini-series.

2. Name the 5 LSH members who held wands in an attempt to attract lightning and revive the dead Lightning Lad.

Superboy, Lightning Lass, Mon-El, Chameleon Boy, and Sun Boy. If you said Saturn Girl, you were wrong, because it was really Proty in disguise.

3. Fortress Lad was from Fwang, in the 30th century. When did we see residents of Fwang in the 20th/21st century?

Gerry Jones, who wrote the story introducing Fortress Lad in the Secret Origins of the LSH Clubhouse story, was also the writer of Green Lantern: Mosaic, starring John Stewart on a mosaic-planet composed of cities from many worlds. One such world was Fwang, as seen here in GL: Mosaic #10 (his first and only appearance).

4. Dave Cockrum redesigned a number of Legionnaires' costumes when he was artist. Here's an alphabetical list of those Legionnaires, put them in chronological order of when Cockrum changed their costumes. (Note: in several stories, multiple Legionnaires got new costumes; these 12 Legionnaires got new costumes in a total of 6 different stories.)

• Chameleon Boy
• Colossal Boy
• Duo Damsel
• Element Lad
• Light Lass
• Lightning Lad
• Phantom Girl
• Princess Projectra
• Shadow Lass
• Shrinking Violet
• Star Boy
• Timber Wolf

I guess this was too trivial! Although I should have said that these costumes were either redesigned by Cockrum or first brought into a story by him, I didn't get much luck at an answer. So here's the list:

• Duo Damsel, Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violet, Karate Kid (SBOY 193)
• Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, Princess Projectra (SBOY 195)
• Lightning Lad, Timber Wolf (SBOY 197)
• Element Lad (SBOY 198)
• Star Boy (SBOY 199)
• Light Lass, Shadow Lass (SBOY 200)

5. What do these five Legionnaires have in common, in this order, that no other Legionnaires have: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, and Dawnstar.

They were the Legionnaires who appeared on the "spotlight" covers on the "Legion of 3 Worlds" miniseries issues 1-5 (in that order).

6. How many Legionnaires (including honorary and reserve but not imaginary stories or Elseworlds) have had their own solo series, miniseries, or one-shot? That is, a book with their name in the title where they were the star, not someone who was in an anthology series or a backup strip.

You guys guessed Superman/Superboy, Supergirl, Superboy II, Mon-El/Valor, Cosmic Boy, Timber Wolf, Karate Kid, Inferno, Impulse, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. But although you differentiated between Superboy Kal-El and Superboy Kon-El, no such distinction was made for pre-Crisis Supergirl and the current version of Supergirl. 

7. Which Legionnaire(s) did Wally Wood draw, and where did that appear?

Although the Wood-inked Superboy stories technically fit this criteria, it wasn't what I was looking for. The one I did have in mind was this one, from the 1966 Comic Book Foldees card set. Wood did the art for the whole series:

And when you folded the halves over, you could make "hilarious" pictures like these:

Trivia Quiz #49

This is Trivia Quiz #49. I've been doing this monthly for 4 years now. Most of the questions have been my own, a few here and there I've taken (and tried to credit) from various message boards. For Quiz #50 next month, I want to turn this over to you guys - send me (do NOT post them here) your favorite Legion trivia questions with the answers (what, do you think I know everything?) and I'll post a bunch next month.

No particular theme this week, just questions that have been sitting around minding their own business, waiting for me to post them.

1. Who were Jilly, Helen, Charlie, Sophie, Donna, and Jane?

2. Name the 5 LSH members who held wands in an attempt to attract lightning and revive the dead Lightning Lad.

3. Fortress Lad was from Fwang, in the 30th century. When did we see residents of Fwang in the 20th/21st century?

4. Dave Cockrum redesigned a number of Legionnaires' costumes when he was artist. Here's an alphabetical list of those Legionnaires, put them in chronological order of when Cockrum changed their costumes. (Note: in several stories, multiple Legionnaires got new costumes; these 12 Legionnaires got new costumes in a total of 6 different stories.)

• Chameleon Boy
• Colossal Boy
• Duo Damsel
• Element Lad
• Light Lass
• Lightning Lad
• Phantom Girl
• Princess Projectra
• Shadow Lass
• Shrinking Violet
• Star Boy
• Timber Wolf

5. What do these five Legionnaires have in common, in this order, that no other Legionnaires have: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, and Dawnstar.

6. How many Legionnaires (including honorary and reserve but not imaginary stories or Elseworlds) have had their own solo series, miniseries, or one-shot? That is, a book with their name in the title where they were the star, not someone who was in an anthology series or a backup strip.

7. Which Legionnaire(s) did Wally Wood draw, and where did that appear?

Trivia Answers #48

Guess I forgot to post the answers. June's theme was "stuff I thought of while reading LSH v6 #1".

1. What were the names of the members of the original Wanderers, and what were their new names once they got their own series?

• The original Wanderers and their rebooted names are Celebrand (died, not rebooted), Ornitho (Aviax), Immorto (Re-Animage), Dartalg (Dartalon), Elvo (Elvar), and Psyche and Quantum Queen (both of whom kept their names).

2. In the Silver Age, just about every member had a name that fit the pattern "Descriptor + Gender/Youth", like Karate Kid, Dream Girl, and Princess Projectra. Which Silver Age Legionnaire(s) did not fit this pattern? (That is, everyone who joined before Wildfire).

• Brainiac 5, Shrinking Violet, Mon-El, and Timber Wolf. Everyone else in the Silver Age was a Kid, Boy, Girl, Lass, Lad, King, or Princess.

3. Which of the Legionnaires or their closely related characters has or had some sort of tie to the Green Lantern Corps?

• Rond Vidar and Universo were Green Lanterns. Celeste Rockfish became a living lantern of sorts (in a story that I don't think was ever fully finished) and later became Neon. I didn't think anyone would get "Teen Lantern" Jordana Gardner from the animated show's comic book series, but good call Don! And Earth-Man, of course. But nobody got the retroboot Rainbow Girl, as seen in the "Superman & the Legion" storyline, who has tapped into the rainbow spectrum even if she doesn't know it.

4. Not counting Adventure 247, who was the first Legionnaire to get a permanent costume change that is outside the "artistic license" boundaries (I consider "how many points were on the sunburst symbol on Sun Boy's costume" to be an example of artistic license; Cosmic Boy changing from his pink costume to the bustier-type is a major change)?

•  Although it's a judgment call, my vote for first significant permanent costume change goes to Saturn Girl, who exchanged her red and white outfit with a skirt for a red (later hot pink) bikini in Action Comics 392. Much earlier, Lightning Lass changed her logo but I wouldn't call that as significant. Yes, my wording of the question doesn't specifically rule that out, but I make the rules here.

5. Which other Legionnaire(s) were forced to join the Legion against their wishes or will?

• In the v4-era, the four Khund Legionnaires (Veilmist, Firefist, Flederweb, and Bloodclaw) were forced upon the Legion, who didn't want them. In the reboot Legion, Andromeda, Brainiac 5, and Gates didn't want to join but were forced to (is that all of them?). In the retroboot (current) Legion, the UP forced the Legion to accept Earth-Man.

6. Earth-Man is the latest Legionnaire to gain admittance to the Legion after his original tryout attempt. Who else failed at their first attempt, for whatever reason, and got in later?

• Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Supergirl (pre-Crisis), Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Polar Boy, Night Girl, Fire Lad, Stone Boy, Infectious Lass, Chlorophyll Kid, Color Kid, Wildfire, Nightwind, Crystal Kid, Porcupine Pete, Storm Boy, Calamity King

7. Which other Legionnaire homeworlds have blown up?

• Pre-Crisis: Krypton, Dryad
• Post-Crisis: Sorceror's World
• Glorithverse: Earth
• Threeboot: Orando
• Retroboot: Titan

It's San Diego Time.... Programming part 2

Part 2 of San Diego programming, covering Saturday and Sunday. Some of it's generic DC stuff, one with Levitz as a panelist. (See part 1 for Thursday and Friday here).

Saturday, July 24

12:30-1:45 DC Universe: Event Horizon— Ian Sattler, senior story editor, and your favorite writers and artists are here for the main event: The DC Universe! What lies ahead for your favorite heroes and series? Got a question for your favorite DCU creator? Come on by! There's no greater gathering of top-tier creative talent! Room 6A

Sunday, July 25

10:00-11:00 Smallville Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con favorite Smallville returns for its last visit to Comic-Con in advance of the show's 10th and final season, as showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson join star/executive producer Tom Welling and series stars Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, and Justin Hartley to talk about the year ahead, answer fan questions, and give an exclusive sneak peek at clips from the final season. From Tollin/Robbins Productions, Millar/Gough Ink in association with Warner Bros. Television, Smallville airs Fridays at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7. Ballroom 20

2:00-3:00 DC Focus: Premiere Teams— DC Comics knows a thing or two about teams. From the company that brought you the first team in comics' history (Justice Society of America), don't miss this panel on the DCU's top teams roaming Earth (JLA, JSA, Secret Six, Titans), the farthest reaches of space (R.E.B.E.L.S.), and even across time (Legion of Super-Heroes)! Senior group editor Mike Carlin is joined by Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S.), Marc Guggenheim (Flash), JT Krul (Titans), Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes), James Robinson (Justice League of America), Matthew Sturges (JSA All-Stars), and others for this collaborative panel! Room 6A

3:00-4:30 Comics Pro/Fan Trivia Match— Len Wein (Microbots), Kurt Busiek (Kool-Aid Man), and Mark Waid (Batman Electric Talking Toothbrush) face off against fans Tom Galloway (former Google employee), David Oakes (college professor), and Michael Grabois (rocket scientist) in a match on significant pre-Crisis DC events in celebration of DC's 75th anniversary. Peter David (Captain America's War on Drugs) will moderate. Room 4

Trivia Quiz #48

This month's theme is "stuff I thought of while reading LSH v6 #1".

1. What were the names of the members of the original Wanderers, and what were their new names once they got their own series?

2. In the Silver Age, just about every member had a name that fit the pattern "Descriptor + Gender/Youth", like Karate Kid, Dream Girl, and Princess Projectra. Which Silver Age Legionnaire(s) did not fit this pattern? (That is, everyone who joined before Wildfire).

3. Which of the Legionnaires or their closely related characters has or had some sort of tie to the Green Lantern Corps?

4. Not counting Adventure 247, who was the first Legionnaire to get a permanent costume change that is outside the "artistic license" boundaries (I consider "how many points were on the sunburst symbol on Sun Boy's costume" to be an example of artistic license; Cosmic Boy changing from his pink costume to the bustier-type is a major change)?

5. Which other Legionnaire(s) were forced to join the Legion against their wishes or will?

6. Earth-Man is the latest Legionnaire to gain admittance to the Legion after his original tryout attempt. Who else failed at their first attempt, for whatever reason, and got in later?

7. Which other Legionnaire homeworlds have blown up?

Trivia Answers #47

This week kicks off the beginning of new Legion series by Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar, so in that spirit I present this issue of Legion Trivia.

1. Who were the main villains in each of the other #1 issues of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" series?

• Legion v1 #1 reprinted Adventure #328, the Command Kid story.
• There was no issue #1 for v2.
• Legion v3 #1 had the Legion of Super-Villains
• Legion v4 #1 had the Dominators behind the scenes
• Legion v5 #1 had a giant robot.

I was amused at how many other issues you guys tried to fit in, from LSH v2 #259 to Legionnaires to The Legion to issue #0s. I was only interested in the #1 issues of "Legion of Super-Heroes" series.

2. With the Legion appearing in two series next month (Adventure Comics and Legion v6), how many times in the past has the Legion had two simultaneous ongoing series?

By my count, four times:

• Adventure Comics [Digest] & LSH v2 (1982-83)
• Tales of the LSH & LSH v3 (1984-1987)
• LSH v4 & Legionnaires (1993-2000)
• LSH v5 & LSH in 31st Century (2007-2008)

I counted Adventure because the Legion had a regular ongoing reprint series (even thought it only lasted 13 issues). The LSH v1 series, 4 reprint issues, wasn't an ongoing series, and the Legion only had an occasional backup in Superboy at the time. Guest appearances and miniseries don't count.

3. Between his first story in LSH v2 #284 and the end of LSH v3 (including Annuals but not including miniseries), how many people were given some sort of writing credit along with Paul Levitz? This includes credits for plotter, scripter, dialog, etc.

I had forgotten that Paul helped finish out the Reflecto storyline, starting in issue 281, before taking the book for himself (mostly).

• Roy Thomas: plot LSH v2 281-282
• Keith Giffen: co-plot and/or co-script LSH v2 293-313 plus Annuals 1-3; Tales of the LSH 313-317; LSH v3 1-5, 50-55, 57-58, 60-63
• Mindy Newell: dialogue, script, and/or co-plot Tales 314-317, 320-325
• Steve Lightle: co-plot LSH v3 23

4. Assuming that Adventure Comics had continued its numbering as a monthly title and had not been cancelled with issue #503, with the issues coming out (in whatever format) regularly since then as a typical DC comic. What issue number would have been dated May 2010?

Mike McKean got it right: "Since Adventure #503 was cover dated Sep 1983, if the series had been published monthly, the May 2010 issue (which would have come out in March) should have been numbered #823. I'm assuming Adventure would have published #0 and #1000000 in the same months as other DC titles, which balances out the two "extra" 1988 issues, Winter and Holiday." (I meant to ask which issue would Levitz be starting on, which Duke got: issue 826.)

5. Who wrote "An Open Note of Suicide", and why? For that matter, why does that question fit this quiz?

As Anon wrote:
Saturn Girl's new costume design was submitted by K. Haven (Kim) Metzger. This outfit, later colored fuscia, would be adopted by the Bronze Age Saturn Girl. When nearly all the Legionnaires were eventually given new costumes in the Bronze Age, Kim wrote his famous "An Open Note of Suicide" letter/essay in the fanzine Legion Outpost No. 10 (Spring 1981) , saying:

"... since those new uniforms were introduced, it just doesn't seem like the Legion I knew. And I live with the knowledge that I am responsible. Whatever it is about the Legion that seems different now, that something had its birth with my Saturn Girl uniform. I cannot bear to watch anymore ... I ask no forgiveness; I deserve none. Rather, I deserve perhaps pity, perhaps contempt from my fellow Legion fans ... Let those who sneer at a super-hero's costume with dreams of changing it - recall my success and remember the wretchedness it brought me."

This question was inspired by Jim Lee's alternate cover to LSH v6 #1. Nobody answered that part of the question.

6. Which Legionnaire was featured in Yildiray Cinar's Sketchbook, which was first sold recently at the C2E2 convention and also posted online?

This had just been mentioned on my Twitter feed the day before, and it was still on the Twitter sidebar when this was posted. The answer is Shadow Lass.

7. Who is the only Legionnaire whose birthday is in May?

From the 1976 DC Calendar (which has since been made canon), only Condo Arlik, aka Chemical King, was born in May.

Trivia Quiz #47

May kicks off the beginning of new Legion series by Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar, so in that spirit I present this issue of Legion Trivia.

1. Who were the main villains in each of the other #1 issues of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" series?

2. With the Legion appearing in two series next month (Adventure Comics and Legion v6), how many times in the past has the Legion had two simultaneous ongoing series?

3. Between his first story in LSH v2 #284 and the end of LSH v3 (including Annuals but not including miniseries), how many people were given some sort of writing credit along with Paul Levitz? This includes credits for plotter, scripter, dialog, etc.

4. Assuming that Adventure Comics had continued its numbering as a monthly title and had not been cancelled with issue #503, with the issues coming out (in whatever format) regularly since then as a typical DC comic. What issue number would have been dated May 2010?

5. Who wrote "An Open Note of Suicide", and why? For that matter, why does that question fit this quiz?

6. Which Legionnaire was featured in Yildiray Cinar's Sketchbook, which was first sold recently at the C2E2 convention and also posted online?

7. Who is the only Legionnaire whose birthday is in May?

Trivia Answers #46

Special all-Mike Grell issue!

1. Name two places where Grell drew himself in a published Legion issue.

The one everyone knows is the All-New Collector's Edition C-55 (aka "That Damned Tabloid"). The other one is from the Meet "Iron Mike" Grell feature from Superboy 205.

2. Grell took over from Dave Cockrum. How many published stories did they collaborate on?

Just one - Grell's first issue (Superboy 202) was Cockrum's last. Cockrum pencilled "Lost - A Million Miles From Home!" and Grell inked it.



3. One of Grell's stories on the Legion prominently featured "a black man who had been colored pink". Who was this man? (I need the actual character's name, not the one he mis-remembered in an interview.)

Long story short: Cary Bates wrote a story in which a man seemed to turn against the Legion, for Grell to draw. Grell drew the man as black. Editor Murray Boltinoff said that they couldn't show a black man being the bad guy, even if he turns out good in the end. Plus, they were going to introduce a black Legionnaire soon. So they just colored him white. In Glen Cadigan's "The Legion Companion", Grell says: "It was about a young man who’s one of the Space Troopers who comes into a conflicting situation. He has to make a choice. Like a lot of us, he makes a couple of mistakes, but then he turns out all right. He does the right thing in the end. I saw that as a very positive thing." He's talking about Dvron (from Superboy 207), but in that interview he mis-remembers him as Soljer. See this Comic Book Legends Revealed episode for more quotes and pictures.

4. Why did Grell leave the artist's job on the Legion book?

From the Legion Companion: "I got off the title because Warlord had just been made monthly, and I was also doing Green Lantern/Green Arrow at the time. Given the choice between one or the other, since Green Lantern/Green Arrow, at that particular moment, was my favorite title - Green Arrow was always my favorite comic book character - it was a really simple choice to make."

5. What was the most recent Legion-related work Grell had published?

The alternate variant cover to Action Comics #861, one of the "Superman & The Legion" issues. (I own the original art to the preliminary pencil sketch to this one!)



6. Grell co-created Dawnstar with Paul Levitz. The way Grell tells it, what parts of the character did he come up with, and which were Levitz's?

From the Companion again: "I came up with the visuals for her, and the concept of her having wings and being an American Indian. That was about it. Paul [Levitz] came up with her superpower, and I'm pretty sure he came up with her name." She first appeared in Superboy 226.

7. Which of the following Legionnaires, listed alphabetically, did Grell design a new costume for (not counting minor alterations due to artistic license)? Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl

Surprisingly (to me), the only costume that Grell redesigned was Cosmic Boy's. All of the other redesigns in this list came before. (Note that while a caption in the original story says that Colossal Boy got a new costume too, but he actually got that one in the original Wildfire story in Superboy 195). He started out blue and orange, then was red and blue (as seen above in the Cockrum/Grell panel), then he lost the blue arms and legs for bare skin.

Trivia Quiz #46

Special all-Mike Grell issue! One of the most popular artists of the Bronze Age Legion, his Legion art is still highly sought-after. He's one of my favorite artists, and he drew my very first Legion story (Superboy 212). This is for "Iron Mike" Grell.

1. Name two places where Grell drew himself in a published Legion issue.
2. Grell took over from Dave Cockrum. How many published stories did they collaborate on?
3. One of Grell's stories on the Legion prominently featured "a black man who had been colored pink". Who was this man? (I need the actual character's name, not the one he mis-remembered in an interview.)
4. Why did Grell leave the artist's job on the Legion book?
5. What was the most recent Legion-related work Grell had published?
6. Grell co-created Dawnstar with Paul Levitz. The way Grell tells it, what parts of the character did he come up with, and which were Levitz's?
7. Which of the following Legionnaires, listed alphabetically, did Grell design a new costume for (not counting minor alterations due to artistic license)? Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl

Trivia Answers #45

Answers to the special no-theme trivia quiz...

1. How did Mon-El make Element 152?

Mon-El was shown making it in Adventure 305. From his speech balloon: "Swiftly, while concentrating mightily, I super-rub the block... thus rearranging its molecules so that Element 152 is created, an element which never before existed on this planet! You see, the atomic weight of gold is 79... silver is 47, and iron is 26! Add them up together - and the total is 152 - a new element..." (ellipses verbatim). No, really, it's he manually performed nuclear fusion on gold, silver, and iron without killing everyone. See the 30th century rare elements page.

2. Which Legionnaire(s) appeared on the covers of all three Legion Sourcebooks from Mayfair?

Only Ultra Boy appeared on the Legion Sourcebook vol 1 (Mayfair #213), vol 2: The World Book (Mayfair #216), and the 2995 Sourcebook (Mayfair #263).

3. What is inertron made of?

I'm pretty sure it was never explicitly explained in the comics, but according to the Legion Sourcebook vol 2 (page 71), inertron is "an alloy of 20 parts titanium to 1 part dwarf star metal". I'm not even going to try to work that one out.

4. Who were the Legionnaire counterparts to the Legion of Super-Rejects?

The Rejects were Micro Lad, Magno Lad, Esper Lass, Calorie Queen, Phantom Lad and Chameleon Kid, so their counterparts were Shrinking Violet, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Matter-Eater Lad, Phantom Girl, and Chameleon Boy. (This was my very first-ever Legion issue, by the way.)

5. Which Legion villains have been related to each other?

Hunter and his son Otto Orion; Jungle King and his brother Marden King; Lars "Starfinger I" Hanscom & Molock the Merciless; Charma, Grimbor, and their daughter Charma II; Tharok and his clone the Dark Man; Lightning Lord and his nephew Validus; GDS Darkseid and his Orion Servant of Darkness; L2 Darkseid and his older self; and, since I'm allowing clones, the various members of the Dark Circle.

IDLE suggested Lex Luthor and his descendant, and Mr. Mxyzptlk and his descendant, but in the Adult Legion both 30th century descendants were good guys. There was another evil Mxy, true, but the original is not a Legion villain.

6. Which Legion-related character was inspired by Tom McCraw?

From the June 7, 1996 LSH AOL chat report (back in the days when we had a weekly chat on AOL with various Legion creators):

Atom'x--who appeared in LSH #82--was intended to be a preboot character named Atmos, but a switch was made in production. The switch was made because Lee Moder drew the character incorrectly. Tom stresses that the mistake was not Lee's fault. The mistake was not caught until after the book had been inked, and it was faster to create a new character rather than redraw the book.

Tom Peyer used the Atom'x name--which is based on Tom McCraw's screen name [ATOMC]--without McCraw's knowledge. McCraw vows revenge, and promises that the revenge character will wear pink or pastel purple. Tom did not know that the character would be named after him when he was coloring the character.

7. How many domed cities made up New Earth following Earths' destruction in v4?

The 2995 Sourcebook (page 171) says that there were 94 domed, linked cities that made up New Earth.

Trivia Quiz #45

Special no-theme trivia quiz!

1. How did Mon-El make Element 152?

2. Which Legionnaire(s) appeared on the covers of all three Legion Sourcebooks from Mayfair?

3. What is inertron made of?

4. Who were the Legionnaire counterparts to the Legion of Super-Rejects?

5. Which Legion villains have been related to each other?

6. Which Legion-related character was inspired by Tom McCraw?

7. How many domed cities made up New Earth following Earths' destruction in v4?

Trivia Answers #44

Answers to the special road-trip edition...

1. What did the Legion do when they used the Time Bubble for the first time?

As explained in various retcon stories, they wanted to go back in time to visit Superboy and ask him to join. But they didn't want to mess things up with the Boy of Steel, so they first went back 1000 years to visit Supergirl instead. Once they were able to control their stopping points, then they went back for Superboy.

2. Why did the Legion switch from flight belts to flight rings?

Vibrex, master of vibration, disabled the Legion's flight belts (see LSH v2 #267, which takes place immediately prior to Adventure 329), so Brainiac 5 used an experimental flight ring he'd been working on, made of Element 152 that Mon-El created. (Here's a "Not Approved" look at Vibrex from Living Between Wednesdays.)

3. What was the 11th version of the Legion Cruiser known as?

Not the Mark XI, as you'd suspect (which was actually the 12th version), but the Mark 494. See Get-a-Life Boy's history of the Legion Cruiser for the details.

4. What was the name of Captain Frake's space pirate ship?

She commanded the Antares.

5. The "Secret Origin of the LSH Clubhouse" story that introduced Fortress Lad was a last-minute replacement for a story which showed a different origin, one in which the clubhouse really was a rocket. Where did that rocket originate?

As seen in a number of places, the original story had the spaceship coming from Krypton. See page 10 of the story for the details; it's a cute story and I don't want to spoil it further.

6. What was the name of the ship that Garth Ranzz, Imra Ardeen, Rokk Krinn, and R. J. Brande were travelling on when an assassination attempt was made on Brande's life?

I thought I knew the answer but I can't find my copy of Superboy 147 to double check, and the Sannings' Silver Age Legion page doesn't specify the ship's name. Was it it specified? The Legion Wiki doesn't have an entry for that story. I'll update this if someone can verify. The original story in Superboy 147 didn't say, but in a v4-era retcon, the ship's name was the Nova Express - which was also the same ship that was shown to have a fuel leak in Adventure 247 during Superboy's recruitment.

7. What are the names of Metropolis' two Spaceports?

The smaller of the two was Grand Central Spaceport, located on what is now Staten Island. It was primarily used for industrial and government traffic. The bigger, more well known one is the Metropolis Spaceport.

Trivia Quiz #44

Special road-trip edition! I just got back from a Houston to Orlando to New Orleans to Houston road trip (part of the reason I've been incommunicado) so I thought I'd have a travel-themed quiz this month.

1. What did the Legion do when they used the Time Bubble for the first time?
2. Why did the Legion switch from flight belts to flight rings?
3. What was the 11th version of the Legion Cruiser known as?
4. What was the name of Captain Frake's space pirate ship?
5. The "Secret Origin of the LSH Clubhouse" story that introduced Fortress Lad was a last-minute replacement for a story which showed a different origin, one in which the clubhouse really was a rocket. Where did that rocket originate?
6. What was the name of the ship that Garth Ranzz, Imra Ardeen, Rokk Krinn, and R. J. Brande were travelling on when an assassination attempt was made on Brande's life?
7. What are the names of Metropolis' two Spaceports?