MON-EL
Real Name: Lar Gand
Class: Extraterrestrial (Daxamite)
Occupation: Legionnaire
Group Affiliation: Legion of Super-Heroes
Known Relatives: Cil Gand (uncle), Del Gand (brother), Eltro Gand (descendant), Kel Gand (father), Laurel Gand (descendant), Lauren Gand (descendant), Marisa Gand (mother), Tasmia Mallor (Shadow Lass, wife)
Aliases: Marvel Lad, Valor
Base of Operations: Metropolis, 30th Century
First Appearance: Superboy I #89 (June, 1961)
Powers: Like all Daxamites Mon-El had superpowers when not under the extreme gravity of his homeworld or under a red sun. Mon-El possessed the powers of flight, vast superhuman strength, durability and speed as well as super-vision and hearing.
History:
(Adventure Comics I #304) - The Legion were set to have their annual vote to elect a new leader, and Saturn Girl was the first to arrive at the Clubhouse. A crystal capsule sent from the Trylop Council of Mernl dropped from the sky warning that their computers predicted a Legionnaire would die using their powers during an upcoming invasion of Earth by Zaryan the Conqueror, and Saturn Girl resolved to sacrifice herself to protect her fellow Legionnaires. She used her thought control to nudge the Legion into electing her leader, then used a rainbow bar from their treasury to make medallions with her face printed on them, and demanded every Legionnaire wear one. She demanded the Legionnaires demonstrate effective use of their powers, and was able to temporarily duplicate each member of the Legion’s powers using the medallions they wore, and proceeded to forbid them for using their powers or going on missions during a probation period because she declared they were not using their powers properly. When Zaryan began his invasion of Earth she responded, and warned the other Legionnaires not to follow her because they were on probation. The Legion thought she’d gone mad with power, but Mon-El had observed her actions from the Phantom Zone, and knew her motivations. Sunspots interfered with him communicating with the Legion, but when they lifted he filled in Lightning Lad on the situation, and he flew into space, determined to keep Saturn Girl from sacrificing herself. He blew up Zaryan’s ship with his powers, but was fatally shot with a freeze-ray. The Legion honored him by placing him in a glass coffin with lightning generated over it by a perpetual motion device, and his funeral was attended by Superboy, Supergirl and Lori Lemaris. The Legion placed a statue of Lightning Lad in their Clubhouse as a tribute to the first Legionnaire killed in action.
(Adventure Comics I #305) - The Legion still mourned Lightning Lad, but had to fill the spot his passing left on the roster, so they held an open audition. Antennae Boy of Grxyor could use his ears as an antennae to tune into any radio station from Earth’s past present or future, but the screeching sound of radio programs blaring over each other drove the Legion nuts, and he admitted he couldn’t control his powers. Dynamo Kid was a reporter hoping to do a story on the Legion, and rigged a device to make it appear as if he had the same powers as Lightning Lad, but the Legion easily saw through his ruse. Marvel Lad demonstrated several of the same powers as Superboy, making the team suspicious. A metal-detector revealed he wasn’t a robot, and he proved he wasn’t Superboy in disguise by handling a piece of Kryptonite kept in the Legion Clubhouse. Cosmic Boy decided to give Marvel Lad a number of initiation tests before letting him on the team. He had Marvel Lad retrieve fluvium, which Brainiac 5 needed for his lead-poisoning antidotes he was developing to cure Mon-El, and Marvel quickly brought some back from a distant galaxy. For his next test fought a feeding Sun-Eater, a being that roamed the galaxy absorbing the heat and energy of suns, and made it flee by blasting it with his heat-vision, which was hotter than a sun. Marvel was told to clear the planet Brogg of space monsters so it would be safe to use as an emergency landing spot for space pilots. The monsters turned out to be illusions created by a 3-D generator. Marvel smashed it and found stolen treasure underneath it, realizing the charade was created by space pirates looking to protect their booty. For his final test Marvel Lad had to create a new element, and by crushing gold, silver and iron into powder and rubbing his hands at superspeed to vibrate the molecules of the three elements he formed a bar of element 152, an anti-gravity metal. Marvel Lad was accepted into the Legion, and pulled off the mask he wore, revealing himself as Mon-El. The day before Brainiac 5 had him test his latest antidote, but told him to wait a day to make sure its’ effects were permanent before revealing himself to the Legion, not wanting to get their hopes up as they had before when Brainiac came up with a cure that turned out to be temporary. Mon-El took one last trip to the Phantom Zone to tell off the Kryptonian criminals who’d tormented him for centuries, and reminded them that good always triumphed over evil. Mon-El was overjoyed that Brainiac had finally cured him, but his spirits were dampened by the passing of Lightning Lad, and vowed to find a way to revive him using Daxamite super-science.
(Adventure Comics I #308) - The Legion unveiled their official flag, made of an indestructible material and luminous enough to be seen for hundreds of miles. They draped a Legion flag over Lightning Lad’s coffin when his body began to twitch. Lightning Lad had seemingly been revived by the constantly firing electrical bolts above his coffin, , but claimed to be suffering from some memory loss. The Legion suspected that Lightning Lad’s powers might have worn off while he was dead, and agreed to secretly test his powers. Sun Boy was absolutely convinced Lightning Lad was powerless, but decided he’d cover for him, fearing his heart would be broken if he was taken off the Legion. Scientist Jon Arkol needed a massive amount of electricity to power his latest experiment, and the Legion had Lightning Lad fly to his lab’s hilltop condenser to charge it up. Sun Boy used his powers to heat the air, creating a lightning storm that powered the conductor. The commissioner of the Science Police learned that the rumored Thieves’ Planet where crooks from around the universe hid out was a reality, and although he didn’t know the exact location he knew which space sector it was in. The Legion flew to an asteroid in the sector, waiting for any criminal ships to pass by. When they spotted one Cosmic boy, still unsure of Lightning Lad’s powers, ordered the legionnaire to take it down with a lightning bolt. Sub Boy reflected a burst of heat and light off a cliff behind Lightning Lad, which struck the criminal ship, bringing it down. The criminals were from the Hydra World, and had stolen a group of rare animals from an intergalactic zoo. The Legion placed the animals safely onboard their own ship, but Chameleon Boy took a liking to Proty, a Protean that could shapeshift just like him, and decided to keep him as a pet. Thieves’ World was hidden from the world by an invisibility shield, but the Legion located it using the coordinates set in the Hydra World criminal’s spaceship. The Legion tried to pass themselves off as criminals, but the master of Thieves’ World was a telepathic sentient ball of electricity and soon found them out. He had his Atom Guard robots apprehend them and throw them in his jewel jail, but Chameleon Boy had his new pet transform into a gun, allowing the Legion to bluff their way out of prison when a guard came to feed them. The Legion tore through Thieves’ World, apprehending a number of criminals, and Lightning Lad used his powers to short-circuit the master. The Legion were all surprised to see Lightning Lad unequivocally demonstrate his powers, but sun Boy was especially shocked because he knew “Lightning Lad” was an imposter. He’d noticed that Lightning Lad was suntanned except on the back of his neck, indicating he’d had long hair until he recently clipped it, and Lightning Lad had no Adam's apple, which meant he was a woman. The imposter was Lightning Lad’s sister Ayla Ranzz, who wanted to carry on her brother’s heroic legacy, and the Legion let her join the team as Lightning Lass. They still hoped the day would come when they could revive Lightning Lad for real.
(Adventure Comics I #309) - The Legion furthered their education by taking classes via closed-circuit TV so they’d never miss a lecture no matter where they were in the galaxy. Mon-El and Ultra Boy were on a deep space mission, but took a break to take class notes in their spaceship.
(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 Uli confessed, saying she’d taken Shadow Lass’ place and conspired with Sunburst, hoping that by defeating him she’d prove herself as a ge nuine 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.
(Action Comics I #380) - A man snapped, climbed a high tower in Metropolis, and started shooting at air-cars. The police surrounded him with snipers, but Duo Damsel, seeing that he was mentally disturbed, pleaded with them to give her a chance to take him alive, and managed to disarm him. Mon-El told Duo Damsel he needed her to deliver important papers to Ikros, and when she grumbled that she’d just finished a mission he told her tough. Duo Damsel decided to split into two and sent her duplicate to Ikros so she could relax for a while. Bouncing Boy had planned on taking Duo Damsel to the movies, and was sad that her other self would not be present. He asked her who the real Duo damsel was, and she said it was difficult to explain, but even she couldn’t answer that because even when they were separate both her bodies and minds were identical. Bouncing Boy dubbed her Luornu I, and her offworld duplicate Luornu II. A month later Luornu returned from Ikros, engaged to Nam’Lor, the hero of that world. Bouncing Boy was incredulous, and Luornu II said she’d explain later, but was tired and wanted to merge with Luornu I. Mon-El suspected something had changed about Luornu II, and also alerted Bouncing Boy that a number of robberies had been committed around Metropolis by a superpowered male and female. Duo Damsel slept, with Luornu II’s memories coming back to her, about how she’d fallen from a sky-saucer and been rescued by Nam’Lor, who she later fell for. Her mind was, for the first time in her life, torn between the wants and desires of her two selves. Duo Damsel woke up in a fright, and Luornu II separated from her and ran away. Bouncing Boy and Luornu I responded to an alert of the Almagonite Refinery being robbed. They confronted the masked male and female robbers and Luornu I grazed the woman with a nerve ray, but the criminals escaped. Back at the Legion Clubhouse Lournu I was met by Luornu II, and realized that II had an injury where I had hit the criminal. Luornu I confessed to Bouncing Boy, speculating that Nam’Lor had corrupted II, and they planned to take out Nam’Lor with a super-power neutralizer. II confronted them for plotting against her and Nam’Lor, and when Nam’Lor arrived he easily disarmed Bouncing Boy, but when II commanded him to kill bouncing Boy he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Nam’Lor confessed that the hyper-aura that gave him his powers had turned II evil, but because he loved her he humored her and even stole for her, but he realized he was in the wrong. He announced that he was leaving, and that within days the radiation from his aura would wear off and II would return to normal. He told her to forget about him, but he’d always remember what could have been between them.
(Action Comics I #382) - Industrialists Cosvarr and Zorla used super-hypnosis to capture Superboy and Mon-El during a Legion mission, and after studying them found a way to duplicate their solar based powers to create a line of robots called the Protectors. Ultra Boy went shopping for a birthday present for Phantom Girl when he was ambushed by a Protector robot, who challenged him to combat. Ultra Boy was caught unaware, and after being slammed into a wall was hospitalized. Cosvarr gave a speech at the UP’s interworld security council, calling the Legion of Super-Heroes outdated as guardians of the UP, and showed them a tape of his Protector injuring Ultra Boy to prove it. Cosvarr then visited the Legion Clubhouse, delivered the same tape and pitch to Karate Kid and Shrinking Violet to gloat. Karate Kid worried that the UP would start buying Protectors, and any planet without them would feel endangered, sparking an arms race. Karate Kid sent out an emergency signal, and Light Lass and Timber Wold responded. They arrived on Jupiter to visit Cosvarr’s Protector production plant, with Light Lass posing as heiress Carina Walter, who was interested in purchasing Protectors. Cosvarr was immediately interested in seducing her, much to the annoyance of his partner Zorla, who said he chased after every woman he met. “Carina” questioned him about the source of the Protector’s powers, and Cosvarr showed her the unconscious Superboy and Mon-E.. Cosvarr then veered off topic, talking about his unhappy childhood and his need to make his mark in life before sending Zorla off and offering “Carina” a drink. Timber Wolf, Violet and Karate Kid infiltrated the plant, but were caught by Zorla, who realized “Carina” must also be a Legionnaire. She presented her captives to Cosvarr, who was trying to force himself on Light Lass, and Zorla was furious. She’d had enough, and allowed the Legionnaires to rescue Mon-El and Superboy and leave the plant before pressing a destruct button that atomized the plant, destroying the Protectors and killing herself and Cosvarr in the process.
(Superboy I #190) - The Legion prepared to vote on their new leader, with their revised bylaws allowing them to choose between re-electing Mon-El or placing Saturn Girl in charge. As the Legionnaires voted Mon-El confessed to Saturn Girl that he’d decline leadership if re-elected, he’d lost faith in his nerves and leadership qualities. Tharok used a teleport beam to spirit Mon-El and Saturn Girl to a remote planetoid. He planned to eliminate the Legion by having Validus kill their leaders. Mon-El was overmatched by Validus, so he pretended to go over to Tharok’s side and convinced him to take leadership of the Legion. Once Tharok accepted Validus continued his programming to destroy the Legion leader and friend Tharok’s computerized side with his mental lightning. Mon-El and Saturn Girl returned to Legion hq, with Mon-El once again feeling fully confident in himself.
(DC Comics Presents #2) - Superman was traveling to the future to prevent a civil war between the Volkir and Zelkot alien races, and the communicator the aliens placed on him disrupted the normal rules of time travel. He found himself stuck in the 30th Century alongside Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes. Recalling a dream he had as Superboy he forced a super-collision between himself and his younger self, returning both of them to their proper times
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #1) - 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. Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy and Timber Wold helped restore the topography of Daxam, and while Shady and Mon-El were hopeful for the planet’s future the cynical Chameleon Boy reminded them that the Daxamites were currently extremely unpopular with the U.P. They received a distress call from Takron-Galtos about a renegade Daxamite destroying the facility and laying waste to the guards. They found Darkseid’s acolyte Ol-Vir was responsible, and had freed a number of visitors. He committed a ritual sacrifice to Darkseid, killing one of the guards with his heat-vision before the Legion could stop him. Mon-El called Ol-Vir a disgrace to Daxam, and threatened to break every bone in his body, while his fellow Legionnaires fended off the escaped prisoners. Ol-Vir initially scoffed at Mon-El, but the battle turned against him, and when a dimensional portal opened up and a voice offered him membership in the Legion of Super-Villains he decided he might as well accept, and flew through. The Portal also scooped up Ron-Karr and Chameleon Chief.
(Legion of Super-Heroes III #2) - 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. 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 #7, 8) - Lightning Lass demanded Dream Girl and the Legion readmit her to the team despite their rule against duplicate powers, and she said she didn’t want Dream Girl to change her powers again. Dream Girl responded that she wouldn’t think of tampering with her powers again, as she knew better, and told Lightning Lass she was not up on current events, because her brother was on leave taking care of his newborn son. Lightning Lass was in shock, but overjoyed that she was an aunt. Cosmic Boy mused that Lightning Lass replacing her brother on the team fell right in with his plans, and he told Wildfire he had some ideas to discuss with him. Colossal Boy helped his mother pack up her belongings so she could return home. He said he was just getting used to the idea of her as President, and she responded that she felt the same way, which was part of the reason she resigned. Chief Zendak sent out an alert asking for Legion assistance. The remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains were approaching Earth, and he wanted them arrested before landing. Colossal Boy was quick to respond. The rest of the Legion met with Shvaugn Erin and prepared for takeoff in their hangar. Timber Wolf confronted Lightning Lass about ghosting him since she left the Legion. She said she’d cut ties with him because he’d decided the Legion was more important than their relationship. He pointed out that she just rejoined the Legion, and she replied that she came to that decision after soul-searching and a journey of self-discovery that he chose not to join her in, and made it clear she had no more romantic feelings for him. Cosmic Boy tried to figure out a way to make his plan to shake up the Legion work. Night Girl visited him, asking him to take a trip with her to Kathoon. Cosmic Boy said that if the Substitute Heroes could survive without Night Girl the Legion could survive without him once they found their missing teammates. He told Night Girl he was considering going off active-duty permanently, saying his exit might be the perfect catalyst to move the Legion forward. The Legion and Gigi Cusimano and Shvaugn Erin in their new Science Police battle armor, cornered the remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains on the planet S’cardas IV. The Science Police attached an intensifier to Sun Emperor, giving him feedback from his own power, and blasted Spider Girl unconscious. Wildfire defeated Cosmic King while Blok took out his former teammate Neutrax, saying he was more confused than dangerous. White Witch used a dispersal spell to reveal Chameleon Chief, who was trying to hide by disguising himself as a rock, and Lightning Lass accidentally stepped on Micro Lad, putting an end to the evil team. The Science Police loaded the LSV on a ship to Takron-Galtos, and Erin asked Wildfire if he’d like to join them and say hello to all the criminals they’d put away. Wildfire said he’d seen quite enough of Takron-Galtos lately and told Erin to make sure the Science Police started doing a better job keeping their prisoners locked up. Erin shed a tear, asking Wildfire to find Element Lad and the other missing Legionnaires and promising to personally throw away the keys to the prison 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. The Sklarian Raiders caused a incident in Hong Kong, so Dream Girl sent Element Lad, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet to deal with it. The Sklarians were illegally shipping frozen organs to their home planet and the Legion shut them down.
(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 #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.
(Superman I #684) - Superman and the Science Police freed the criminals trapped in the Phantom Zone by the Kandorians to return them to prison. Mon-El warned Superman that Zod and several other Kryptonian criminals were missing. Parasite took the opportunity to briefly pull Mon-El from the Phantom Zone to absorb some of his Daxamite power, and while Superman saved Mon-El, the Parasite liked what he'd tasted. Superman promised to visit Mon-El soon, and he morosely told Superman not to worry, he wasn't going anywhere.
Comments: Created by Robert Bernstein & George Papp.
Mon-El received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #16 and Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #4. He received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 under the Legion of Super-Heroes entry.
Mon-El had a cameo in Legion of Super-Heroes III #6, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #331.
Mon-El's appearance in Adventure Comics I #304 was reprinted in Adventure Comics I #403, 499, Adventure Comics I #305 was reprinted in Adventure Comics I #403, Adventure Comics I #308 was reprinted in Adventure Comics I #403, 500, Adventure Comics I #309 was reprinted in Adventure Comics I #500, Legion of Super-Heroes III #1-5, 7-11, 13-15 was reprinted in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #326-330, 332-336, 338-340.
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.