Contribute
to this page

• LEGION 1 (Current)
  • Membership
  • Who's Who
    • The Subs
    • Honorary + Misc.
  • Chronology
    • Introduction
    • 20th Century (Silver Age)
    • 21st Century and Beyond
    • 30th Century Years 1-2
    • Years 3-7
    • Years 8-11
    • Years 12-14
    • Years 15-present
• LEGION 1.5 (Original)
  • Membership
  • Profiles
    • Five Year Gap
    • The Subs
    • Teen Legionnaires
    • Honorary + Misc.
  • Tenure in the Legion
  • Chronology
    • Introduction
    • 20th Century
    • 20th-29th Century
    • Early 30th Century
    • Adventure & Action
    • Superboy & Legion
    • Legion v.2
    • Legion v.3
    • Legion v.4
• LEGION 2 (Zero Hour)
  • Membership
  • Profiles
  • Chronology
    • Introduction
    • Pre-30th Century
    • 30th Century
    • 31st Century
• LEGION 3 (Threeboot)
  • Membership
  • Profiles
  • Chronology
    • Part 1
    • Part 2
• ANIMATED LEGION
  • Membership
  • Chronology
  • Kids WB
• L.E.G.I.O.N.
  • Membership
  • Villains
  • Chronology
• PROFILES
  • Index
  • Legion 1.5
  • Legion 2
  • Legion 3
  • The Subs
  • Teen Legionnaires
  • Honorary + Misc.
• ELSEWORLDS
• FANFARE
• GALLERY
• LEGION LINKS
• RANT/FORUM
• SEARCH

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

Legion Rejects

Blogging @ Paul and John Review
Legion Clubhouse: Rejected Applicants

Super-hero groups have a long history of membership change. Add adolescence to the mix and you're bound for classic teenage drama. From the beginning, the Legion's three founders set its bar for membership rather high. For every Legionnaire admitted to the group during their famous "tryouts," scores of would-be heroes were turned away. Some were defeated, some inspired to do better, and others to revenge.

The campaign to expand the Legion's ranks began immediately after its formation. Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad advertised for applicants at they same time they were planning their new headquarters. Their call drew a veritable freak show of hopefuls, including:

• Arm-Fall-Off Boy, whose arm could be detached and used as a weapon. The Legionnaires found him hideous but politely declined his application.
• Mnemonic Kid, a girl who could induce memory loss. She was rejected for her callous disregard of others' feelings.
• And Fortress Lad (a native of the planet Fwang), who could transform his whole body into a large shelter.

Fortress Lad and Mnemonic kid met after their rejections and Mnemonic Kid was keen to have her revenge. Fortress Lad, however, was shocked by her malice and refused an alliance. When Mnemonic Kid moved to shoot the Legionnaires, Fortress Lad jumped in front of them, activated his powers, and surrounded them with his massive frame. Mnemonic Kid kept pouring on her memory powers, hoping she would reach the Legionnaires inside. Instead, her energies made Fortress Lad forget that he was anything but an inanimate structure. Mnemonic Kid tried one last time to kill the Legionnaires with a grenade, but caught the brunt of the explosion herself, and died. Sadly, Mnemonic Kid had succeeded in removing some of the Legion's memories, too, and they forgot about Fortress Lad — who then became the Legion's first headquarters! (Secret Origins #46) NOTE: Other applicants were shown in this story, but not named.

The next recorded Legion tryouts yielded powerful recruits like Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy and Chameleon Boy. In the latter tryout, a young hero named Calcu-Lad was rejected. (Legion v.3 #39)

NOTE: All the above characters were created in flashback stories about the Legion's early days. In Legion v.4 Annual #1, Reflecto was also shown as a rejected applicant at the same time Ultra Boy applied. That story could remain in continuity, but it's too hypothetical at this point for me to really include him in Earth-0 continuity.

+ The Legion of Substitute Heroes

The most famous Legion rejects are probably the Legion of Substitute Heroes. These five heroes took their rejections as a call to arms, rather than a slight. (Adventure #306) Over the years, they proved their worth and bravery many times over. Many candidates auditioned at this tryout. One (Estimate Lad) was known to be rejected, but five others from that day went on to make history, forming the Legion of Substitute Heroes:

Polar Boy Brek Bannin of Tharr Radiates intense cold	Night Girl Lydda Jath of Kathoon. Super-strength only in darkness	Stone Boy Ral Benem of Mardru. Powers over plants	Fire Lad Staq Mavlen of Shwar. Flame breath	Chlorophyll Kid Dag Wentim of Zwen. Turns to stone

Over the years, more rejects went on to affiliate with the Legion of Substitute Heroes. NOTE: The issue of each character's rejection appears in parenthesis.

Antennae Boy Khfeurb Chee Bez of Grxyor. Receives radio waves (Adventure #305)	Double Header Dyvud & Frenk Retzun of Janus. Has two heads (Adventure #323)	Color Kid Ulu Vakk of Lupra. Changes colors (Adventure #342)	Porcupine Pete Peter Dursin of Earth. Projectile quills (Superboy v.1 #201)	Infectious Lass Drura Sehpt of Somahtur. Induces illness (Superboy v.1 #201)	Comet Queen Grava of Colony Extal (Grall III) Flight, partial invulnerability, emits noxious gases (Legion v.2 #304)

Some might argue that the Legion has admitted their share of "weak" Legionnaires in lieu of better candidates. Indeed, several Legionnaires were initially turned down the first time they applied, but each demonstrated true heroism and guile and eventually convinced the Legion they were worthy. Among them…

Shrinking Violet Salu Digby of Imsk. Super-shrinking (Action #276)	Sun Boy Dirk Morgna of Earth. Super-heat and light. (Action #276)	Bouncing Boy Chuck Taine of Earth. Super-bouncing (Action #276)	Magnetic Kid II Pol Krinn of Braal. Super-magnetism (Legion v.2 #304)

+ The Lame

Most rejected applicants were simply too ridiculous to admit, under any circumstance. They appeared once and apparently gave up their aspirations of super-heroics.

• Lester Spiffany assumed that he could simply buy his way into the Legion. The son of a wealthy jewel dealer, Spiffany was incredulous that the Legion was unimpressed by his riches. He left in a huff. (Adventure #301)
• "Green Boy" could turn anything to the color green. Not surprisingly, the Legion didn't find this useful. (Adventure #307)
• The boy with the Camera Eye was similarly worthless. He could project anything in his brain through his sole eye. (Adventure #307)
• Rainbow Girl (Dori Aandraison of Xolnar) was Miss Xolnar, a beauty whose colorful projections combined with pheromones to bewitch a subject. (Adventure #309) Though she couldn't charm the Legionnaires, she did manage to snare a rich husband on Earth. (Who's Who in the Legion #5)
• Rann Antar had a formula that could change the weight of objects. This wasn't a true power, and was duplicated by Star Boy anyway. (Adventure #317)
• The Mess (Meyer Qayd of Earth) could attract matter towards his body — but not expel it. Not very useful. (Adventure #330)
• Polecat (Dafe Meron of Earth) was born with the ability to emit a powerful stench from his horns. He was rejected for it's lack of application in battle. (Adventure #331)
• Animal Lad (Ennis Janhson of Earth) was rejected alongside two others who couldn't even make it onto the team after it was usurped by Vorm, the evil Dynamo Boy. (Adventure #331) Ennis could change humans and animals into one another. He took up a career in animal husbandry. (Who's Who in the Legion #1)
• Calamity King (E. Davis Ester of Touston) was a jinx. He caused bad luck wherever he went, creating spontaneous stress fractures (physical and mental) in people and objects. He was rejected on the basis that he'd be as much a danger to his teammates as he would be to the Legion's enemies. In fact, Star Boy's expulsion from the Legion was briefly blamed on the fact that he had shaken Ester's hand. (Adventure #342, Who's Who in the Legion #1)
• Estimate Lad was an unnamed applicant who even annoyed the other rejects. He could sort of estimate stuff ... sort of. He was rejected on the same day as the five heroes that would go on to form the Legion of Substitute Heroes. (Secret Origins #37)
• Quake Kid (Shanen Dreyus of Earth) could create earthquakes, but lacked control. After his rejection, he tried to hook up with Infectious Lass, but wound up with only a cold. (Superboy v.1 #218)
• Energy Boy (Sharles Gluck of Ventura) could control nuclear forces, sort of. He was rejected for his lack of control over his powers. (Legion v.3 #14)

+ The Embittered and Deceitful

Some applicants had ulterior motives ...

• Dynamo Kid could apparently wield lightning just like Lightning Lad, but he was revealed as a reporter using external technology. (Adventure #305)
• Jungle King, formed the Legion of Super-Monsters after being given the boot. He was eventually killed by one of his own creatures. (Adventure #309)
• Alaktor was a villain who pretended to want to be a Legionnaire. In truth, he only wanted to photograph the Legion's headquarters in order to steal a time-bubble and recruit villains from the past. (Adventure #314)
• The Molecule Master was an evil android and a pawn of the Time Trapper. (Superboy v.1 #201) He was ultimately destroyed in battle with the Legion.

+ The Legion of Super-Villains

Some teens did not handle their rejection well. Like Mnemonic Kid before them, they turned against the team they'd so wished to join. A handful of rejects took up a life of crime with the Legion of Super-Villains:

Ron-Karr of Neptune Flattens his body (Adventure #314)	Radiation Roy Roy Travich of Earth Emits radiation (Adventure #320)	Spider Girl Sussa Paka of Earth Prehensile hair (Adventure #323)

+ The Legion of Super-Rejects

That same year, a similar group called the Legion of Super-Rejects rose to challenge the LSH. These rejects all hailed from the same planets as current Legionnaires, and had the same powers, too. This was precisely the reason they could not be admitted. (Superboy #212) Some of these applicants were so incensed that they turned to the Legion of Super-Villains (Esper Lass, Magno Lad and Micro Lad). Others either went on to more productive careers (Calorie Queen), or were never heard from again (Chameleon Kid and Phantom Lad).

Calorie Queen Taryn Loy of Bismoll	Chameleon Kid Toog Lintens of Durla	Esper Lass Meta Ulnoor of Titan	Magno Lad Kort Grezz of Braal	Phantom Lad Solon Darga of Bgtzl	Micro Lad Lalo Muldroon of Imsk

+ The Legion Academy

Some rejects chose to train further, in hopes of mastering their powers and someday warrant Legion membership. They entered the Legion Academy:

Crystal Kid Bobb Kohan Turns things to crystal (Legion v.2 #272)	Lamprey Tayla Skott Electrical discharge (Legion v.2 #272)	Nightwind Berta Harris Power over winds (Legion v.2 #272)	Laurel Kent A Manhunter in disguise (Legion v.2 #304)	Power Boy Jeddiah Rikane (Legion v.2 #304)	Shadow Kid Grev Mallor of Talok VIII Shadow casting (Legion v.2 #304)

Two impressive applicants were nearly admitted to the team, but for various reasons did not get the vote. They have both died bravely and are honored with statues in the Legion's Hall of Dead Heroes.

• Kid Psycho (Gnill Opral of Hajor) was the sole survivor of his world, and actually had a pretty useful power: he could create force fields. But when the Legion learned that the use of his powers shortened his life span, they could not in good conscience ask him to risk his life that way. He was admitted as an honorary Legionnaire (Superboy v.1 #125) and eventually died in the first major Crisis. (Crisis #3)
• Mentalla (Deyla Castill of Titan) thought she had a pretty good shot at filling Saturn Girl's recently-departed shoes. her powers were indeed impressive, but she was passed over in favor of Tellus. (Legion v.3 #14) To prove her worth, she went undercover to join the Emerald Empress' new Fatal Five. (#25) When her duplicity was uncovered, the Empress killed Mentalla. (#26) The Legion erected a statue of the heroine for their Hall of Heroes.

+ The Justice League of Earth

The formation of the 31st century Justice League is the pinnacle of "reject revenge." After failing in his audition (Superboy #218), young Kirt Niedrigh (Absorbency Boy) gave up on a career as an adventurer and took up his studies. He eventually traveled to the Arctic, where he unearthed a crystal tablet bearing what appeared to be the true history of Superman. This document claimed that Superman was not born on Krypton, but on Earth.

To Kirt, this all made sense. He reasoned that the Legion had brought Superman from the past in order to lend legitimacy to their claims of racial harmony and galactic peace. He regarded the Legion's presence as an alien invasion.

And although many Legionnaires hailed from Earth, many more worthy Terrans were denied membership in their club. (Action #859) Kirt turned his conviction into a crusade to dismantle the Legion and the United Planets. He took the name Earth-Manand formed the Justice League of Earth with Spider-Girl and several other powerful rejects ...

Earth-Man	Golden Boy	Tusker	Spider-Girl	Radiation Roy	Storm Boy

• Original costumes:

  Absorbency Boy	Eye-ful Ethel	Golden Boy
  Storm Boy	Tusker

  Storm Boy (Myke Chypurz of Earth), who was rejected for using technology to control the weather. His application began as a fraternity stunt. When Myke wanted to join a prestigious fraternity, he was assigned the task of becoming a Legionnaire. Using his precocious scientific knowledge, he miniaturized a weather-control device and hid it in his pocket. When he applied as Storm Boy, he was unable to fool Cosmic Boy, and, in sending Myke away, the Legion publicized its rule that an applicant's powers could not be created by external devices. (Adventure #301)
• Golden Boy (Klint Stewirt of Earth) could turn anything into gold. The Legion rejected him because his power would devalue precious the mineral. (Adventure #331) Eventually, Klint's own skin turned to gold and he learned to use his metallic form to greater advantage.
• Tusker (Horace Lafeaugh of Earth) was rejected by Vorm, the evil Dynamo Boy. Tusker could extend his unbreakable tusks, an ability which grew to include an entirely unbreakable skeleton. (Adventure #331) Horace turned to an unsuccessful life of crime before joining Earth-Man's Justice League. Tusker was rejected the same day as his sometime-ally ...
• Eye-ful Ethel (Ethel Lyn Niwtyn of Earth), a mutant born with eyes all around her head. When she was rejected for having such a superfluous power, she joined with Tusker to try their hand at crime. After being foiled by the Legion of Substitute Heroes, she became a school teacher, working closely with Earth-Man's Justice League. Who better, than a woman with "eyes in the back of her head"? (Adventure #330)

+ List of Legion Rejects List

This list does not include those who went on to become Legionnaires.