The All-Inclusive, Multi-Reality Legion of Super-Heroes Roster

by John L. Censullo

Presented below is a multi-reality roster of the Legion of Super-Heroes. It lists the four major realities side-by-side for comparision. Prior to displaying the rosters however, a little background information is needed in order to better understand the layout.

Way back in early 1958, a minor super-hero team was introduced in what was expected to be just another Superboy tale. Little did the creators know that that group would quickly become a fan favorite. The team appeared in various DC comics and finally won their own feature in mid-1962. This group was, of course, the Legion of Super-Heroes. Now, 39 years later, the Legion is one of the most popular super-hero groups of all time. Over the last 12 years, the history of the DC Universe has undergone a number of revisions in an attempt to rejuvenate a company that has existed since 1935. Unfortunately, these revisions had disastrous effects on the history of the Legion. In order to best present the various Legion revisions, four of the main versions have been chosen for review.

The original version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which was inspired by Superboy (Superman as a teen), will be referred to as having existed in the pre-Crisis reality for reasons that will become clear. This reality's Rokk Krinn (Cosmic Boy) would eventually become the Time Trapper, a powerful entity who plotted his mysterious agendas at the end of time. He would play out his role as one of their worst enemies. The Time Trapper even created an Iron Curtain of Time to prevent the Legion from traveling or seeing into their future, thus foiling any attempts to interfere with his plans. This version existed from the Legion's creation in 1958 up to the destruction of the DC Multiverse in 1986.

During the 12-issue maxi-series CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, all parallel universes were merged into one and a new history was formed. This new reality, which will be referred to as the post-Crisis reality, contained no Superboy ... the revised Clark Kent did not begin his career as a crimefighter until he was an adult! The Legion's inspiration had ceased to exist. The solution was to have the pre-Crisis Time Trapper, whose essence survived the destruction of the Multiverse, create a separate "Pocket Universe" in which a Superboy did exist. It was on his legend that the new Legion was based. Any time the Legion time-traveled into their past, the Time Trapper would redirect them into this Pocket Universe, which they believed to be their own. The Time Trapper manipulated events so that Lar Gand of the 20th century Pocket Universe world of Daxam was projected into the Phantom Zone, emerging 1,000 years later to join the Legion. Lar Gand's existence in the 30th century provided the Time Trapper with an invulnerable vessel within which the Trapper could preserve his essence in case of bodily injury. The Time Trapper also transported a Durlan from the late 20th century to the mid-30th century; this Durlan eventually became R. J. Brande, the Legion's financier. In order to balance the force of displacing an individual in the timestream, the Time Trapper snatched a Bgztl female from the 30th century and sent her back in the Durlan's stead. The female (either Tinya or Enya Wazzo) joined the 20th century interstellar law enforcement group, L.E.G.I.O.N., as the heroine Phase. Unbeknownst to the Legion, their very existence was essential to the eventual birth of the Time Trapper. Without them, the powerful wizard Mordru would have conquered the universe, in turn preventing Rokk from ever mastering the secrets of time. The Time Trapper also knew of the coming "crisis in time" and created both the Iron Curtain of Time and the SW6 heroes in an attempt to counteract that event.

A few years later, the Legion writers decided to rewrite Legion history once again by having the Legionnaire Mon-El wipe the Time Trapper out of existence. This act altered history such that there never was a Legion of Super-Heroes. Without them to stop him, the evil Mordru conquered the universe, just as the Time Trapper had feared. However, his first wife, Glorith, was able to weave a spell which enabled her to again rewrite history. She manipulated the formation of the Legion, which was now based on the legend of the 20th century hero Valor (previously known as Mon-El), and created what will be referred to as the Glorith reality. Glorith traveled to the 20th century in order to seduce Valor into helping her conquer the universe. When he spurned her, she poisoned him with lead and then imprisoned him in the Buffer Zone, a phantom zone which exists as a buffer between Earth's universe and the phantom universe of Bgztl. Glorith transported the 20th century Durlan who would become R. J. Brande into the future, creating the Iron Curtain of Time in the process. Glorith would later punish Ultra Boy by using the force of the Iron Curtain to blast Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy's love, and her cousin Enya Wazzo into the timestream. Enya materialized as an amnesiac in the late 20th century, at the exact point where the Durlan had disappeared, and joined the 20th century interstellar law enforcement group, L.E.G.I.O.N., as the heroine Phase (Phantom Girl was later retrieved during ZERO HOUR). Later, Glorith absorbed the power of the barely-existing Time Trapper and thus completely took his place in this new reality. This included her creation of the Pocket Universe which, she discovered, was critical to events in the 20th century. However, although the Superboy of this Pocket Universe occasionally met the Legion, he never became an active Legion member. This version lasted 4 years.

Then came the mini-series called ZERO HOUR: CRISIS IN TIME. DC had decided that too many inconsistencies had been created by the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and decided they would once again clean house. During ZERO HOUR, the DC Universe experienced a "crisis in time" ... it was revealed that the timestream itself was continuously being altered by various forces and that time was breaking down. A short time before the crisis had fully manifested itself, Glorith decided to travel back to the 20th century. She arrived a few years prior to her first trip there, causing Valor's lead poisoning early ... "this time" he died! This event fractured time enough such that the original Time Trapper was able to re-exist. In the 30th century, Rokk Krinn began his journey towards becoming the Time Trapper, as was his destiny. With the Time Trapper's aid, Rokk altered his fate and followed a different path ... one which he hoped would enable him to somehow save the timestream. Unfortunately, the 30th century was subsequently wiped out. The Legion writers took this opportunity to begin fresh. Following ZERO HOUR, they decided to start over from the beginning. This new reality, the current one, is referred to as the reboot reality.

Well, there you have it. Everything you need to know in order to understand the complex history of the Legion of Super-Heroes. And now, without further interruption, I present to you ... the Legion roster!

NOTE: These are listed in the order in which the characters joined the Legion.

Pre-Crisis reality:

Post-Crisis reality:

Glorith reality:

Reboot reality: