ELEMENT LAD
Real Name: Jan Arrah
Class: Extraterrestrial (Trommite)
Occupation: Legionnaire
Group Affiliation: Legion of Super-Heroes
Known Relatives: Arn Arrah (father), Valla Arrah (mother)
Aliases: Mystery Lad
Base of Operations: Metropolis, formerly Trom, 30th Century
First Appearance: Adventure Comics I #307 (April, 1963)
Powers: Like all Trommites Element Lad could sense the elemental composition of any substance, and could change one element into another by creating or breaking electron bonds. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat and wore a Legion flight ring.
History: (Adventure Comics I #307) - Jan Arrah was a resident of the planet Trom, where the natives could transmute any element into another. The space pirate Roxxas and his crew learned of their world and raided it, wanting to force the Trommites to turn lead into uranium so they could create a doomsday weapon, the threat of which would let them conduct unopposed raids across the universe. The Trommites refused, fighting back and being slaughtered by Roxxas’ men. Jan was the final survivor and fled the planet, but Roxxas was determined to hound him across the universe until he captured him. During Roxxas’ search his crew raided the planet Oranz, stealing all their cold light globes. The Legion of Super-Heroes responded, with Sun Boy heating a mountain to white-hot temperatures to provide light for the natives until they could produce more cold light globes to light their cities. The Oranz shot down one of the pirate’s rocketships, which Brainiac 5 examined, declaring it capable of faster-than-light-travel. He immediately went about replicating the technology so the Legion could pursue Roxxas. With several members on offworld missions the Legion conducted an emergency membership drive. Jan Arrah approached them, saying he had an amazing power, but couldn’t reveal it to all of them. He didn’t want word of his powers getting out and alerting Roxxas. He showed his power to Saturn Girl, who promised not to reveal his power, but assured the Legion he’d be a worthy member. Dubbed Mystery Lad, he accompanied the Legion using the faster-than-light rocketships Brainiac 5 duplicated to the waterworld of Vuruna, where Roxxas and his men had looted valuable colored pearls. Roxxas dropped z-bombs on the pontoons of a city in Vuruna, and Cosmic Boy used his magnetic powers to keep the city afloat until repairs could be made, but Roxxas managed to escape. Saturn Girl used her telepathic powers to follow the pirates to a dead world, and Mystery Lad helped them escape an ambush., The captured pirates recognized Mystery Lad, who looked guilty on meeting them, and Invisible Kid suspected he was secretly a space pirate. The Legion continued to pursue Roxxas and his crew, and Mystery Lad got out in front of them, surrendering himself to the pirates. Jan said he’d rather die than help them, and turned the hull of their mothership into gas. The pirates had oxygen helmets and fled, only to be captured by the Legion. Invisible Kid, still suspicious of Jan being allied withe the pirates, had followed him onboard Roxxas’ ship, and gave him an oxygen helmet, saving his life. Cosmic Boy welcomed Jan as a full member of the Legion, dubbed him Element Lad, and promised that the nature of his powers would still be kept a secret to everyone but the Legion.
(Action Comics I #378) - With Ultra Boy absent on a mission Mon-El called a meeting of the LSH consisting of Dream Girl, Shadow Lass, Element Lad and Lightning Lad. The Legion computer alerted the team that one of them was an impostor, but before it could reveal who it was blown up through sabotage. Before the team could determine who the impostor was an alert went out that the criminal Sunburst was robbing the Metropolis Mint. When confronted Sunburst blasted the team with solar energy, knocking Mon-El for a loop. Lightning Lad and Element Lad both targeted the criminal with their powers, but missed, striking the mint and cracking it open. Shadow Lass blinded Sunburst with her shadow casting, allowing the revived Mon-El to knock out the criminal with one punch. The team started arguing about who was the imposter, with Mon-El being suspected because Sunburst’s powers had harmed him, but he replied that he hadn’t taken his daily serum that gave him immunity to lead and red solar energy. Accusals fell on Element Lad and Lightning lad for striking the mint instead of Sunburst, but Mon-El told the team to stop arguing and pulled off “Shadow Lass’” mask, revealing her as the criminal Uli Algor. Mon-El said Sunburst’s powers would have made the real Shadow Lass powerless, and Uliu confessed, saying she’d taken Shadow Lass’ place and conspired with Sunburst, hoping that by defeating him she’d prove herself as a genuine Legionnaire. She then intended to steal all of the Legion’s secrets and help her partner in crime escape prison. Uli led the LSH to Shadow Lass, who was momentarily jealous that Mon-El could have mistaken someone else for her, but he immediately reassured her that the imposter didn’t hold a candle to her.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #2) - Lightning Lord formed a new Legion of Super-Villains, with each of them swearing a blood oath to kill at least one Legionnaire. Lightning Lord swore on his oath to kill his brother Lightning Lad, which he said had been his destiny since he was born. Light Lass awoke in chains in a cell, and Lightning Lord promised her he wanted to help her, not hurt her. He said he loved her, and all the proof she needed was that she was still alive. He asked her to join the Legion of Super-Villains and help him kill Lightning Lad, saying he’d been talking to the storm, and the storm had assured him she’d come to him. Light Lass turned him down, saying he was more insane than ever. Element Lad tracked the resurgence of the Legion of Super-Villains across several planets, brief his team, and realized he was in for a major test of his leadership. The League of Super-Assassins joined with the Legion of Super-Villains, and Lightning Lord sent them and Magno Lad to M-17W, a manufacturing center in the galactic core, to steal the plant’s fusion powerspheres. Shvaugn Erin alerted the Legion, and Dawnstar and Wildfire responded first, but Lazon gave Dawnstar radiation sickness with his light powers, and Magno Lad ripped Wildfire’s containment suit apart. Shadow Lass, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy and Timber Wolf arrived as support, but the villains escaped using a dimensional rift opened by Zymyr. Shadow Lass treated Dawnstar, while Chameleon Boy brought Wildfire a new containment suit. They pursued the villains, but were ambushed by Terrus, who attacked their spaceship with a meteor shower. Cosmic Boy checked in with the Legion Academy, and alerted Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl about the danger. They were on Medicus One, with Saturn Girl receiving prenatal treatment and her delivery date fast approaching. Lightning Lad worried about the safety of his sister, not knowing she was already in captivity. Zymyr opened a spacewarp that stole the polymer screen around Earth that served environmental functions and controlled space traffic. Element Lad, Lightning Lad, and despite everyone else’s objections, Saturn Girl, responded. Saturn Girl went into labor, and Tyr was disappointed to be fighting a pregnant woman, but contented himself with the fact that she’d be easy to kill. Zymyr ended the confrontation, warping his teammates away, and Element Lad and Lightning Lad rushed Saturn Girl to the Medicus One Maternity Ward. Dr. Gym’ll told Lightning Lad he’d been paging him, and that if he wasn’t planning on pulling any more moronic stunts it was time to get in the delivery room. Element Lad, who’d been pacing back and forth in worry, fainted. Queen Projects and Karate Kid flew back to Orando after their honeymoon, but the Legion of Super-Villains were waiting for them, and Magno Lad, Hunter and Mist Master brought their spaceship down. They took the heroes legion rings and sent out the alarm signal, saying the Legion would come running to their own doom.
(Legion of Super-Heroes Annual I #3) -
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #3) - Dawnstar, Wildfire, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl, Shadow Lass and White Witch set course for Orando, but were being followed by Terrus and Zymyr. Zymyr opened a spacewarp that warped in most of the Legion of Super-Villains to ambush the Legionnaires. On Earth Cosmic Boy agreed to keep watch on the planet while Element Lad assembled the rest of the Legion to fly a ship to Orando. Cosmic Boy was worried about Element Lad devoting all their resources to Orando, but trusted his judgment. He was thankful when Night Girl sent a video message offering the help of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Element Lad kissed Svaughn Erin, telling her they’d have a long overdue talk when he returned. Projecta and Karate Kid were chained in a cell next to Light Lass, and Lightning Lord visited her to again plead with her to join him, saying she’d join his Legion in a passage to a new world where they would rule. She made it clear she’d rather die, and he called her a traitor to her own blood, grabbing her and shocking her before walking off disgusted, saying he no longer had a sister. Dream Girl woke in her crashed ship on Orando, finding Star Boy and Shrinking Violet still unconscious. She recognized Projecta’s castle from her vision where a Legionnaire was die, and she was ambushed by Hunter and Silver Slasher. Dawnstar and her teammates were in danger of being overwhelmed by the Legion of Super-Villains until element Lad and his reinforcements arrived. Nemesis Kid, Cosmic King, Neutrax and Ron-Karr placed the polymer screen around Orando, and hooked it up to their stolen powerspheres. They planned to warp Orando away to another world where there was no Legion of super-Heroes. Nemesis Kid had always been drawn to the powerful, and couldn’t wait to arrive in a new world where he’d be the supreme power, planning on declaring himself the emperor of a universe. Zymyr was prepared to warp the planet, but Nemesis Kid wanted to give his Legion a little more time battling the Legion of Super-Heroes to see if they could kill any of them before they left. The Legionnaires were winning, so Nemesis Kid gave the order to warp away the Legion of Super-Villains, inadvertently taking some of the Legionnaires with them, and warped Orando to a space between dimensions.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #4) - Tyr was furious that Nemesis Kid had kept him away from battle, and reminded him of the blood oath they’d sworn to kill the Legion. Nemesis Kid reminded him that Zymyr’s warp had captured Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Element Lad, Chameleon Kid and Shrinking Violet, who sat in prison cells alongside Projecta, Karate Kid and Light Lass. Nemesis Kid said that finding and conquering new worlds was their priority, but Tyr demanded satisfaction. Nemesis Kid said he could take one of their spaceships and Zymyr would warp it back to the space where Orando once orbited so he could continue to fight. Tyr asked who’d join him, and Terrus, Titania, Silver Slasher and Hunter followed him. Silver Slasher and Titania claimed Blok for themselves, still bitter that he’d betrayed their League of Super-Assassins. In the space around Orando Brainiac 5 worked out how the LSV stole the planet and told his fellow Legionnaires his conclusions about their methods and motives. The disruptors Light Lass was manacled in exploded, and she could once again use her powers. She woke Karate Kid, who freed himself from his disruptors through sheer force of will, and he freed his wife and the other captive Legionnaires. Light Lass snuck aboard Tyr’s ship, and found that either the destruction of her disruptor manacles, the shock she’d received from Lightning Lord, or both, had restored her powers. She unleashed a massive lightning blast on Tyr and his allies, shocking them unconscious, and took control of the ship. Dream Girl, acting as deputy leader with Element Lad on Orando, called Cosmic Boy to check in on Earth. Cosmic Boy now had the back-up of reservists Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Legion Academy. On Orando the freed Legionnaires tried to destroy the powerspheres on the polymer screen around Orando, hoping that would return the planet to its’ proper spacetime, but they were overwhelmed by the LSV guarding the screen. Projecta pleaded with Karate Kid to save her planet, and he confronted Nemesis Kid in one-on-one combat. Nemesis Kid said he knew they’d end up fighting to the death from the day they’d first both joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. Nemesis Kid adapted Karate Kid’s skills and mercilessly battered him, but Karate kid refused to give up. Nemesis Kid demanded he lay down and die, but every time he knocked Karate kid down, the hero got back up. He’d sustained life threatening injuries, but Karate Kid managed to wrest his flight ring back from Nemesis Kid, told Queen Projecta he’d always wanted to die in battle, and flew into one of the powerspheres, causing it to explode and killing himself in the process.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #5) - The Legionnaires waiting in the space where Orando once was were met by Gigi Cusimano, who recalled them to Earth by orders of the Science Police, and Brainiac 5 protested that the order was irrational. Gigi flirted with Sun Boy, and negotiated with Dream Girl, who convinced her to allow Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Shadow Lass and Mon-El to stay put should Orando return. Queen Projecta cradled Karate Kid’s charred corpse as the Legion of Sup-Villains surrounded her. Projecta raged at the villains, saying they’d ravaged her planet and killed her husband, and demanded they leave Orando. Nemesis Kid told his teammates to stay back, saying he wanted to be the one to kill her. Light Lass observed the events from Orando from her ship, and, unwilling to see another teammate die, changed course back to the planet. Light Lass charged into battle against the Legion of Super-Villains, but Lightning Lord demanded they leave her be, because she was his sister, and because she’d betrayed him he had the right to kill her. Light Lass almost pitied her insane brother, but after a fierce battle she soundly beat him. The rest of the LSV prepared to attack her when her teammates stranded on Orando came to the rescue, with Element Lad disabling several of the LSV by changing the air around them to helium, causing them to lose consciousness Nemesis Kid told Zymyr to call in the rest of their team as backup, and Projecta assured him she was going to kill him. Element Lad disabled Ol-Vir by turning his clothes to lead, poisonous to Daxamites. The rest of the LSV were soon overwhelmed, and Mist Master, Ron-Karr and Radiation Roy decided the fight was already lost, and boarded Zymyr’s ship, warping themselves back to the space around Orando. Zymyr decided that their dream of finding new worlds to conquer was never to be, and said he would no longer be burdened by humans, and prepared to warp away. His spacewarp accidentally took Light Lass and Lightning Lord with him back to his homeworld Gil’Dishpan. Projecta created illusions of Hell, telling Nemesis Kid that was where he belonged. His power dispelled her illusions, but she Projecta didn’t back down, saying she was the descendant of wizards and kings, and needed only her own strength to finish him. Projecta snapped his neck, and told her stunned former teammates that as queen it was her right to execute a condemned man. The villains aboard Zymyr’s ship crashed and were easily captured by the Legion, and Brainiac 5 hoped to repair the ship to brink back their stranded teammates, but Gil’Dishpan technology defied all known physics and his own super-genius. Projecta held a funeral for Karate Kid, and told her subjects she blamed herself for allowing such evil on her world. The remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains were contained in one of Zymyr’s spheres, and she instructed the Legionnaires to enter the remaining sphere. Projecta said Orando was ill-suited for modern times and contact with other planets, so she’d use Zymyr’s machine to find new worlds where Orando and her citizens could be left in peace, and told the Legion to never seek her out. Orando warped away, and the Legionnaires hoped their teammates would capture Zymyr and rescue them. Esper Lass sent a telepathic message to the Legionnaires, mocking them. She’d penetrated Zymyr’s mind, and knew how to use his spheres, allowing her to warp herself and her teammates away while the Legionnaires were stranded in their sphere between dimensions.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #6-8) - The stranded Legionnaires tried to think of a way to improve their situation. Ultra Boy’s ultra-vision spotted an inhabited planet, and used his superstrength to push their sphere to the planet, hoping they’d find someone who could help them. Chameleon Boy, Element Lad, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet and Ultra Boy landed on the planet and realized the entire world had been gutted and turned into a giant factory, with its’ only inhabitants being robots. Chameleon Boy turned into a bird to scout ahead, while Ultra Boy realized he’d landed his teammates on a giant conveyor belt being fed into a slag heap. Element Lad realized the slag was being processed for radioactive energy, and Ultra Boy flew them to safety. Chameleon Boy located the planet’s command center, and the Legionnaires wondered what the point of the planet was, since whatever it was manufacturing had no port to ship it out. Phantom Girl phased into the control center and discovered that what the planet was manufacturing was Sun-Eaters. The others traced the power source running the control center, and after fighting off robot security guards they found a robed figure running a control panel, and even though he was talking the Legionnaire’s telepathic plugs couldn’t decipher what he was saying. A Controller appeared through a stargate, was pleased that his Armorer was almost finished with his task, and warped him away through another stargate. The Legionnaires saw a stargate labeled with an icon of Earth, but they knew they couldn’t simply return home with the threat the Sun-Eaters being produced posed to the entire universe. Ultra Boy flew into the air, using his penetra-vision to find something to destroy the Sun-Eater facility before settling on the slag heap the Legionnaires first landed on. As usual Ultra Boy went into action without thinking, and he was spotted by a number of repair and security robots that the Legion had to fight off. The Legionnaires ripped apart the solar feeders that powered the growing Sun-Eater and used them to destroy the control center, but concluded that they still might have to destroy the entire planet, and their only way home because there were hundreds of facilities where the Controllers could start all over again. A giant security robot incapacitated Ultra Boy Element Lad and Chameleon Kid with a molecular attractor, but Phantom girl phased and Shrinking Violet shrunk to avoid the attack. The robot brought the Legionnaires back to the Armorer, who was shocked when scanning his data banks he learned that the Legion had defeated a rogue Controller. He could conceive of no power great enough to conquer his masters. Shrinking Violet and Phantom Girl evaded the Armorer’s notice, with Violet shrinking and entering the Armorer’s main factory controls. She planned on blowing the facility sky-high by crossing wires, but Phantom Girl came up with a less suicidal plan. The other Legionnaires revived, and Element Lad turned the robot into a puddle of mercury. He demanded the Armorer tell him why the Controllers were creating Sun-Eaters but the Armorer replied that the powers and motives of the Controllers were beyond human conception. Chameleon Boy morphed his form into that of a Controller, and chided the Armorer, who knelt before him, allowing Ultra Boy to knock him out from behind. Phantom Girl and Shrinking violet met up with the rest of their teammates, saying they’d come up with a plan to destroy the planet and still return home. Element Lad turned the Armorer’s base into nuclear explosive material, and as they entered the stargate to Earth, with the Armorer in tow, Ultra Boy threw a ten pound rock of fissionable material behind them, blowing up the planet.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #9) - Dream Girl chaired a meeting of the Legion, and Cosmic Boy was concerned that they’d been operating at half-strength for so long and suggested a membership drive. Before Dream Girl could plan a drive the Legion were reunited with their teammates Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy and Ultra Boy, just back from Limbo. After a joyous reunion the Legion decided to throw a party. Element Lad skipped the party to surprise Shvaugn Erin, and she burst into tears at seeing him again. She took him back to her apartment, and said she felt they’d been getting really close right before he disappeared. Element Lad said he didn’t want to keep anything from her, and had some secrets to get off his chest, but was embarrassed. Shvaughn said he could tell her all about it after they had some intimate time together. They were interrupted by a holo-call from Kimball Zendak, who told Shvaughn there was trouble in Hong Kong and the Legion would have to be sent in. Element Lad apologized for having to leave, and arranged with Dream Girl to have Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet meet him there. Someone had set a fire at Hong Kong Interstellar Traders’ Mall, and was holding off the Science Police with blasters. The Legionnaires forced their way in, and Invisible Kid spotted the fleeing intruders, identifying them as Sklarian Raiders. Slar had signed a peace treaty with the U.P. so the Legion weren’t eager to storm the Sklarian embassy, so Chameleon Boy disguised himself as a Skalrian, while Shrinking Violet shrunk down and Invisible Kid turned invisible to sneak in. They discovered the Sklarians were illegally shipping frozen organs to their home planet and shut them down. Element Lad rushed back to Shvaugn’s apartment, delighting his friend and they spend the night together.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #10) - The Worldcomp computer chose the candidates for the next President of the Earth, and the Khunds assembled a terror team to assassinate the candidates. Chief Zendak learned of their plot, and fearing it was a diversion to pave the way for a Khund invasion of Earth he had the majority of the Legion of Super-Heroes fly a spaceship into Earth’s orbit to keep watch alongside Science Police crafts. The rest of the Legion were assigned to protect the candidates, with Sun Boy foiling a Khund assassination attempt on Candidate Lopyt of Acapulco and Invisible Kid saving Candidate Leung of Yangtzopolis. Invisible Kid accidentally opened a spacewarp during the fight, and he and the Khund ended up in Earth’s orbit. Invisible Kid’s Legion transuit protected him, but the Khund died, leaving Invisible Kid in a state of shock. Element Lad brought the Kid back to the Legion spaceship and told him to get some rest before they decided if he violated the Legion code. Wildfire guarded Candidate Mojai Desai of India, who bragged that his family had been leaders for generations, and he’d be sure to be elected. A Khund assassin burst into Desai’s flying mansion, and during his fight with Wildfire he brought the mansion down on his own head. Wildfire flew Desai to safety, and his family safely escaped in lifeships. Cosmic Boy announced to his teammates that he was taking an extended leave of absence to spent time with Night Girl. He went on to say he was making several changes in his life, but refused to elaborate. Colossal Boy, Yera and his parents celebrated Marte’s last day as President. She said she looked forward to going back to teaching at university. The Khunds tried a last ditch effort to spark a war with Earth, and sent an assassin to kill Marte. Colossal Kid fought him off, saving his mother’s life, but was wounded by a laserblast to his arm.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #11) - The entire Legion of Super-Heroes held a quorum to deal with Legion business that’d been kicked down the road for months. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl rejoined the team, and after the meeting they met with Cosmic Boy to reflect on their past. Cosmic Boy said they provided a sense of continuity since they were the original Legionnaires, and they all started to feel a little bit old.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #12) - The Legionnaires held an election to determine their new leader with Element Lad running against Brainiac 5. Element Lad had the full support of Shvaughn, and she was pleased that he had the support of the original Legionnaires as well. The original Legionnaires, with Graym Ranzz in tow, announced they were leaving active duty, but wanted to share their ideas for the future of the Legion with Element Lad. Element Lad convinced them to become permanent rotating advisors that could be called form the reserves in an emergency or offer guidance to new members. The votes came in, and Element Lad prevailed. The Legion’s biggest fan, Flynt Brojj, awaited the news and came to Legion hq to hear it first. The original Legionnaires and Element Lad decided their fans always stuck with them through thick and thin, so they’d let Flynt be the first to hear.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #13) - The Legion of Super-Heroes had a membership drive, and Blok was amazed at how many people showed up, assuring the crowd everyone would get a fair opportunity to prove themselves. Timber Wolf’s lawyer Ziirf showed up to give Blok a message globe from his client. The rest of the LOSH were enjoying some recreation time with Star Boy and Sun Boy playing holographic Dungeons & Dragons and Computo providing refreshments. Shrinking Violet distracted Sun Boy from the game by groping him. Block played Timer Wolf’s message for his teammates. He said he was going to the planet Lythyl to carry out Karate Kid’s last request. Lythyl was a sadistic planet full of sociopaths, and he wasn’t sure if he’d make it out alive, but he knew the billions in credits he’d receive if he was successful could help a lot of children. The Legion were forbidden from interfering with his business, but Element Lad wanted to assemble a covert team to rescue him from Lythyl if needed. Sensei and Timber Wolf arrived on Lythyl, where they were shackled and told they’d serve as slaves until they earned their freedom or died. Sensei revealed to Timber Wolf that Karate Kid’s father the Black Dragon ahd been corrupted on Lythyl, which was why he could never forget the planet. Sensei couldn’t stand by watching the Lythyls abusing one of their fellow slaves and went into action, attacking his guard. Timber Wolf joined him, and they showed they were easily a match for the Lythyls. The Lythyls were impressed, saying they might have what it took to become citizens, and took them to the judges of Lythyl to determine their fate. Judges Gorax, Steggus and the teenager Myg wanted to see their prowess, and sicced a water dragon on them, telling them to master the beast. Sensei and Timber Wolf fought the beast, and eventually were able to command it back to the water from which it came. Myg said he would test them next, and brought them to the multiverse nexus that was a source of legend on Lythyl. Myg was impressed with Sensei’s martial arts technique and wanted to test him, so the two engaged in combat but fought to a standstill. Sensei declared him a noble opponent, but still struck him unconscious so he could continue his mission with Timber Wolf. Sensei insisted they take Myg with them, hoping to take him away from Lythyl before the planet corrupted him entirely, because he saw potential in the young lad. They fought their way to the Sacred Oasis and the Island of Stones, the most sacred spot on all of Lythyl. Element Lad’s team of Mon-El, Invisible Kid and White Witch flew to Lythyl, with White Witch’s magic keeping them from being detected. Mon-El was glad Invisible Kid had been cleared for the death of the Khundian assassin he’d accidentally killed, but told him he had to make it a priority to learn how to control his new powers. Timber Wolf completed his mission and was rescued alongside Sensei and Myg by his fellow Legionnaires before the Lythyls could rip them to shreds. Timber Wolf said the Lythyls believed the Island of Stones was as hard as them, and that nothing would ever grow there. Prophecy said that if anything did grow there the Lythyls would grow soft so Karate Kid’s final request was to plant a seed on the island.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #14) - The Legion interviewed applicants during their membership drive and had them demonstrate their powers. The Legion Academy all tried out, with Bouncing Boy on hand to cheer them on. Mentalla applied for membership, saying she’d be a valuable addition because her powers were similar to Saturn Girl, although her telepathy was used to control minds instead of reading them. Comet Queen, Magnetic Kid and Tellus all made it to the second round, and were given a trial by fire, joining the Legion on a mission to find out why the bridges and drainage systems of the California Coastal District were breaking down. Brainiac 5 led the mission, and had Mon-El team up with Magnetic Kid to use their powers to raise the newly sunken sections of California. Comet Queen rescued civilians in danger of drowning and Tellus picked up the thought-patterns of someone with sabotage on their mind. At Legion hq Energy Boy demonstrated he ability to create nuclo-globes when Polar Boy interrupted him by freezing his nuclo-globe and hands to show the Legion that he’d gotten much better at controlling his powers. He told the Legion he’d dissolved the Subs, and asked that they waive their old rule that new applicants had to be under 18 to consider him. Tellus led his teammates to the northern cost, where he sensed the thought-patterns coming from. The coast buckled and Mon-El went to investigate, finding Dev-Em on the scene. Dev-Em was now working for the U.P.’s Counter-Intelligence Corps and was also investigating the damage being done to California. Dev-Em made it very clear he was not impressed with the new would-be Legionnaires, and said the Legion would be better off if they offered him membership again. Dev-Em said the Corps had learned that the Dark Circle left behind a few stragglers on Earth to commit acts of sabotage, and Tellus tracked down the saboteur, an Ontiir clone. The clone sat in a weapon-chair and was set off another destructive device that caused a tidal wave. Mon-El used his heat vision to evaporate the tidal wave while his teammates tried to pierce the clone’s forcefield. Quislet, an adventurer from a microscopic dimension flying in a miniatures Trans-D Vessel, joined the fray in an attempt to impress the Legion. Quislet could animate inanimate matter, and took control of the clone’s weapon-chair, using it to defeat him. Quislet returned to his Vessel, and the weapon-chair crumbled to dust, as was usually the case for any matter Quislet possessed. The Legion inducted Magnetic Kid, Polar Boy, Quislet and Tellus as new members. Saturn Girl said she had a recruit with an excellent reason to join the team, Sensor Girl. She wouldn’t reveal anything about Sensor Girl, but asked the Legion to trust her, much like they trusted her telepathy when she recommended Element Lad as a member, and the Legion welcomed Sensor Girl to their ranks.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #15) - Wildfire took the new Legion recruits on a training course aboard a Legion cruiser, but a solar flare hit their vessel. Wildfire’s containment suit was destroyed, and he had to return to a Legion storage tesseract to get a new suit, grumbling that Brainiac 5 was unable to mass produce suits that gave him consistent powers. The beacon that lured spacefaring dragons away from Imsk while migrating malfunctioned, and Colossal Boy, Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Shadow Lass and Mon-El went to deal with the situation. Sun Boy used his solar powers to keep the dragons away from Imsk until the beacon was repaired. Element Lad contacted them via holo-screen and told them the new recruits were missing, and sent them to investigate. He assembled Blok, Dawnstar, Lightning Lass, White Witch and Ultra Boy to act as backup if needed. Dream Girl questioned his leadership abilities, asking why he was spreading the Legion so thin without going on the mission himself, and Star Boy told him to ignore her. The Legion went to the quadrant where the rookies were last seen and came across a star that shot solar flares at them, dragging them to a nearby asteroid. The Legion realized that a beam from the asteroid was guiding the solar flares. Dr. Regulus was behind the attacks and revealed his captives. He was being aided by the burning ones, flame creatures that lived on the asteroid, and promised to free his hostages if Sun Boy fought him in one-on-one combat. Regulus’ quest for vengeance had driven him near madness, and he still blamed Sun Boy for costing him his job. The Legionnaires left Sun Boy to his confrontation with his nemesis, and although Regulus had the upper hand with the Burning Ones at his side Sun Boy slipped his Legion flight ring on Regulus, causing him to fly upward and knock himself out against a cavern wall.
Comments: Created by Edmond Hamilton & John Forte.
Element Lad had a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #7 and Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #2. Jan Arrah received a profile in Who’s Who in the DC Universe #7. He received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 under the Legion of Super-Heroes entry.
Element Lad's appearances in Adventure Comics I #307 was reprinted in Adventure Comics I #500, Legion of Super-Heroes III #2-15 was reprinted in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #327-340.
All characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com.