And it’s the last part of our intro to the Legion of Super-Heroes!!! So let’s jump in!!!

(I learned from Stan Lee, that one can never use too few exclamation points!)

 

So these symbols represent Wildfire, the star with wings; Tyroc, not really sure what his symbol means or how to describe it; Dawnstar, the twinkling star, and Blok, the building block.

 

Wildfire was originally introduced as ERG-1 whose real name is Drake Burroughs of Earth. ERG-1 has a multitude of powers when he shows up at Legion HQ for a tryout, unfortunately they all duplicate the other Legionnaire’s powers. He has one superpower that is unique, but he can’t demonstrate it for the Legionnaires, as a result, ERG-1 is rejected for membership. However he tags along on a mission to prove his worth and uses his “one shot” power to destroy a machine about to kill Colossal Boy. The Legionnaires only find his costume, completely empty. ERG-1 was apparently nothing but a containment suit filled with living energy.

A year passes. The energy that is Drake Burroughs makes its way to Earth a year later to find the suit that the Legion took. In his energy form Drake is apparently undetectable to the Legionnaires but he could not get to his suit as it was behind an energy shield. Drake also finds out that a new Legion applicant is planning to destroy the Legion and Drake is the only one who can stop him. Drake uses the Miracle Machine to wish himself to his suit, puts it on, and ends the threat. Drake rechristens himself Wildfire and joins the Legion.

 

Now, SHUT YO MOUTH!!!

 

Tyroc is Troy Stewart of the island Marzal, on the planet Earth. Marzal is an island populated by slaves gathered from Africa during the rum trade years who rebelled from their captors and found this island which is sometimes out of phase with Earth.

So, what happens when a bunch of 17th-19th century slaves live apart from the rest of the planet? Well, we get the stereotype of “the angry young black hero”. It’s a tried and true and SAFE place for creators to go at this point in comics history. Other black characters introduced at this time were mostly this stereotype which mirrored the films of the day, from Shaft, Supafly, etc.., Hollywood had cashed in on the blaxploitation movement and DC and Marvel had a quandry. While movies geared towards African Americans would no doubt garner some viewers, would comics? And in fact in multiple interviews the creators of the day had to wonder would their comics be returned from the less liberal areas of the country (i.e. the South).

 

Now, Tyroc is not alone in this, even the Titans’ Victor Stone/Cyborg suffered from some of this “angry young man” stereotype, however Tyroc is the hardest to reconcile because of the racial inequality in the Legion’s story thus far. Most of the Legionnaires are white, and even those that are not, are of races not included on Earth. Karate Kid squeaks by for being half Asian, and he has been drawn less and more Asian depending on the artist over the years. So the solution for the angry black man and the absence of black people in the 30th Century was that they were ALL on this island… Really? *thud*

So the solution? Turn racism around. Make the black character the racist one. Yeah. I am sure it sounded like a good idea at the time to the folks in power and maybe this is the only way a black character could get into the Legion at the time.

More about the whole different races in comics thing a bit later, but as a white, Southern male being raised in the 70s-80s I can say that yes, it was still an issue and still is, however the issue is not exclusively limited to Caucasians, nor to the South, yet the burden of the Civil War, slavery, lynchings, and segregation live on.

Tyroc’s powers were that he had sonic abilities that basically allowed him to do whatever the writer needed him to do at the time, he also has a snapping outfit reminiscent of Peter Pan in a way, evoking the Neverland quality of his home. Eventually it is discovered that Tyroc’s usage of his powers is lessening the time that his island can stay in phase with Earth, and Tyroc resigns from the Legion and the character disappears for a good long time. Other writers would find good things to do with Tyroc, but it will take a while.

 

Dawnstar’s codename is also her real name. Dawny is a member of a race called the Amerinds.. get it? (AMERican INDians). She’s a mutant amongst her people so add some wings on her, superspeed, able to survive in space without any protective gear, and the ability to track anyone through space and that outfit. It reminds me of someone.. oh wait..

Now that we have that out of the way. Dawnstar is rather aloof to her fellow Legionnaires. She’s all business as she started out as a bounty hunter, a great fit for her power set. She was discovered by one of the Legion’s benefactors and persuaded to enroll at the Legion Academy. Wildfire brought her into the Legion for her skills and her more obvious features. Drake carries an obvious torch for Dawny and their love is a tragic one, always there and burning, but never consummated.

 

Dawnstar is a fan favorite in part due to her design, the Legion of male fans are well, drooling at the pic above, but Dawny is more than a pin-up girl, she’s a Legionnaire. And like all Legionnaire women, she’s pretty damn tough.

 

Blok first appeared as a villain alongside the League of Super-Assassins. One of five children of the planet Dryad who was saved by the Legion when their planet exploded. The five youths resented the Legion for not doing more to save their world, a hatred that was fueled by an evil clone of Tharok called The Dark Man.

 

Blok broke free of his brainwashing and revealed he was a member of a sentient rock race located on Dryad. Humans colonized the world as the native Dryads revealed their presence. Blok tends to be horribly naive and is one of Timber Wolf’s best friends. That being said, Blok is a fiercely loyal Legionnaire and given his abilities is the best natural defense that the Legion has around.

Blok’s body is so dense that it takes three Legion flight rings to lift him off the ground. He has super-strength of course and is able to telepathically communicate with silicon based life forms. He is the latest and newest Legionnaire when we begin our Legion stories.

Well there we go, all the Legionnaires accounted for. When next we meet, we’ll be catching up with what they are doing.