Lightning Lad

The Live Wire…

Garth Ranzz was born on Winath the older twin to Ayla Ranzz, on Winath twin births are the norm, which was an issue for Garth and Ayla’s older “solo” brother, Mekt.   While Garth and Ayla were fairly accepted by their peers, Mekt was shunned and eventually turned bitter.  The three siblings were joyriding in a space cruiser when it ran out of juice.  They landed on the planet Korbal, home of the famed lightning beasts, these large elephantine creatures that blasted electricity from their noses.

The three proposed that if they could get the beasts to charge their ship they could leave, well the beasts were not so cooperative and instead blasted the Ranzz siblings instead leaving them for dead.  When Garth awoke he was back on Winath with his sister in the hospital, Mekt had apparently charged up the ships and dropped them off at the hospital and had taken off for parts unknown.

Garth and Ayla soon realized that they both possessed electrical powers and Garth set out to find Mekt.  Garth ran into Rokk Krinn on his shuttle flight and quickly fell in love with Imra Ardeen from Titan on the same ship.  When the ship landed, Imra warned of an assassination attempt of Mr. Brande, the richest man in the Universe.  While Rokk stopped the bullets, Garth zapped the two attackers.   Under the insistence of R.J. Brande the three joined the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Garth served honorably and was the first Legionnaire to die in battle against the Khundian invader, Zaryan the Conqueror, in order to save Saturn Girl’s life.  The Legion was convinced that Lightning Lad would come back to life one day, and he sort of did, when Ayla impersonated Garth and joined the Legion as Lightning Lad.  Her disguise was foiled by Sun Boy, and she joined the Legion officially as Lightning Lass.

Lightning Lad was brought back through a sacrifice by Proty of the Legion of Super-Pets.  Once Garth was brought back to life, feelings were revealed and he and Saturn Girl began a long romance that culminated in their marriage and brief expulsion from the Legion, as there was a rule against married members at the time.  Not only did the pair come back, but Garth became Legion leader during one of the most tumultuous times.  He gave up his leadership position due to the stress which caused a strong electrical fever which almost claimed his life.

First Appearance

Created By:  Otto Binder & Al Plastino

Powers

Electricity – Garth can generate and blast out bolts of electricity, mimicking lightning effects.

Energy Absorption – Garth can absorb electrical energy and refocus it or harmlessly distribute it as long as he does not overload his limits.

Vulnerabilities

Garth is a normal humanoid and is vulnerable to most attacks except for electrical or energy based attacks which he may absorb.

Skills

Pilot – Garth is a trained pilot and can fly a space ship with ease.

Equipment

Legion Flight Ring – All Legionnaires wear a ring which enables them to fly, communicate with each other across the distances of space, call for assistance, or locate other Legionnaires.

Legion Transuit – A transparent spacesuit that activates automatically in the event of a vacuum