JulianPerez
09-21-2006, 03:34 AM
A few that come right to mind...
INVISIBLE KID
He was leader during the best swath of the Jim Shooter/Curt Swan run, a period that included the Sun Eater story, and the Fatal Five destroying the first Legion clubhouse, and Universo disguised as president of Earth, outlawing the Legion.
Invisible Kid's best quality is his incredible chutzpah. The defining moment of his entire tenure came in during "The Forgotten Legion!" ADVENTURE COMICS #351 (1966) which has two mysterious Legionnaires join: Sir Prize and Miss Terious, who the Legionnaires have vowed not to learn their identities. Believing them to be traitors, Ultra Boy called up his Penetra-Vision to look through their masks.
Just then, Invisible Kid slugged him in the jaw. "I'll tolerate NO insubordination! When the Legion leader gives a promise, EVERY member KEEPS IT!" This was to Ultra Boy. Holy cow.
Other definining elements of Invisible Kid's tenure include being the one to win Orion the Hunter's game when his team-mates were defeated, and acquiring the new city-block sized Legion HQ.
If he was running for leader, I'd vote for him.
DREAM GIRL
Boy, what a surprise it was to see Dream Girl as leader, a character that got into the Legion in the first place by every single male member voting to let her in, and every female member voted to leave her out. A character who the male roster visibly letched over in a way that would not fly in the age of sexual harassment (you just know in the Legion Cruiser that Matter Eater Lad played a game of grab-ass).
But Paul Levitz remembered that Dream Girl had a good head on her shoulders; she, after all, chemically changed the powers of Lightning Lass to Light Lass (Jim Shooter once said he believed that the White Witch was responsible for this change, but didn't want the Legionnaires to know about her - Levitz went for the kinder characterization). Dream Girl's defining moment as Legion leader was during "The Omen" story, when she flies up WITH a bomb, and defuses it by using her powers to see what not to do.
As far as election slogans go, she easily had the best: "vote for Dream Girl, because she wouldn't put herself in the running unless she saw herself winning." MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED, PEOPLE.
I liked Dream Girl as leader, but I wouldn't want another writer to make her leader again. For one thing, the shock of having the Legion "dumb blonde" turn out to be brainy and competent has worn off. Now we expect that sort of thing of her.
SATURN GIRL
Saturn girl was the first two-term Legion leader (and was the first leader when the Legion got full-length stories), and consequently many people associate the position of leadership with her; she's the one you think of when you think of the Legion leader. It should be noted that she became leader by solving a puzzle (and using her brain), not through an election. Saturn Girl also was leader during the first death in the Legion: Lightning Lad.
BRAINIAC 5
Though he was not leader as long as Saturn Girl was, Brainiac 5's tenure had some pretty extraordinary high points, principally based on Brainiac 5's computer mind getting the Legionnaires out of jams. The definitive "Brainiac 5 as leader' story was "The Super-Stalag of Space," where he came up with various escape plans and discovered who amongst them were traitors, and was subjected to psychic torture by Nardo (his computer mind able to resist) before finally coming up with a plot to negate Nardo's atomic powers with lead dust.
ELEMENT LAD
Legion Leader during the tail end of the Levitz years. Though E-Lad's a great character (for a boy that wears pink), principally I remember that he didn't care who Sensor Girl was.
ELEMENT LAD: So, Saturn Girl says you're legit, huh? ...Well, I guess that's good enough for me!
SUPERBOY, MON-EL, ULTRA BOY
All of these guys were deputy leaders at one point (Ultra Boy for three terms, no less), and except for Ultra Boy (who was leader for a year), I don't see any of them being leader. Superboy is a commuter member and not able to devote his full attention, and as for Mon-El, the characterization that most rings true for me was Cary Bates's, which has him be a nice, but underconfident big guy. Superboy's tenure as Deputy Leader was rather embarassing in one way: his major action was dissolving the Legion under Controller influence.
INVISIBLE KID
He was leader during the best swath of the Jim Shooter/Curt Swan run, a period that included the Sun Eater story, and the Fatal Five destroying the first Legion clubhouse, and Universo disguised as president of Earth, outlawing the Legion.
Invisible Kid's best quality is his incredible chutzpah. The defining moment of his entire tenure came in during "The Forgotten Legion!" ADVENTURE COMICS #351 (1966) which has two mysterious Legionnaires join: Sir Prize and Miss Terious, who the Legionnaires have vowed not to learn their identities. Believing them to be traitors, Ultra Boy called up his Penetra-Vision to look through their masks.
Just then, Invisible Kid slugged him in the jaw. "I'll tolerate NO insubordination! When the Legion leader gives a promise, EVERY member KEEPS IT!" This was to Ultra Boy. Holy cow.
Other definining elements of Invisible Kid's tenure include being the one to win Orion the Hunter's game when his team-mates were defeated, and acquiring the new city-block sized Legion HQ.
If he was running for leader, I'd vote for him.
DREAM GIRL
Boy, what a surprise it was to see Dream Girl as leader, a character that got into the Legion in the first place by every single male member voting to let her in, and every female member voted to leave her out. A character who the male roster visibly letched over in a way that would not fly in the age of sexual harassment (you just know in the Legion Cruiser that Matter Eater Lad played a game of grab-ass).
But Paul Levitz remembered that Dream Girl had a good head on her shoulders; she, after all, chemically changed the powers of Lightning Lass to Light Lass (Jim Shooter once said he believed that the White Witch was responsible for this change, but didn't want the Legionnaires to know about her - Levitz went for the kinder characterization). Dream Girl's defining moment as Legion leader was during "The Omen" story, when she flies up WITH a bomb, and defuses it by using her powers to see what not to do.
As far as election slogans go, she easily had the best: "vote for Dream Girl, because she wouldn't put herself in the running unless she saw herself winning." MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED, PEOPLE.
I liked Dream Girl as leader, but I wouldn't want another writer to make her leader again. For one thing, the shock of having the Legion "dumb blonde" turn out to be brainy and competent has worn off. Now we expect that sort of thing of her.
SATURN GIRL
Saturn girl was the first two-term Legion leader (and was the first leader when the Legion got full-length stories), and consequently many people associate the position of leadership with her; she's the one you think of when you think of the Legion leader. It should be noted that she became leader by solving a puzzle (and using her brain), not through an election. Saturn Girl also was leader during the first death in the Legion: Lightning Lad.
BRAINIAC 5
Though he was not leader as long as Saturn Girl was, Brainiac 5's tenure had some pretty extraordinary high points, principally based on Brainiac 5's computer mind getting the Legionnaires out of jams. The definitive "Brainiac 5 as leader' story was "The Super-Stalag of Space," where he came up with various escape plans and discovered who amongst them were traitors, and was subjected to psychic torture by Nardo (his computer mind able to resist) before finally coming up with a plot to negate Nardo's atomic powers with lead dust.
ELEMENT LAD
Legion Leader during the tail end of the Levitz years. Though E-Lad's a great character (for a boy that wears pink), principally I remember that he didn't care who Sensor Girl was.
ELEMENT LAD: So, Saturn Girl says you're legit, huh? ...Well, I guess that's good enough for me!
SUPERBOY, MON-EL, ULTRA BOY
All of these guys were deputy leaders at one point (Ultra Boy for three terms, no less), and except for Ultra Boy (who was leader for a year), I don't see any of them being leader. Superboy is a commuter member and not able to devote his full attention, and as for Mon-El, the characterization that most rings true for me was Cary Bates's, which has him be a nice, but underconfident big guy. Superboy's tenure as Deputy Leader was rather embarassing in one way: his major action was dissolving the Legion under Controller influence.