Gim Allon
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Gim Allon is a fictional character in the 30th century of the DC Comics universe who has gone by a variety of superhero names over the past several decades, although originally (and most commonly) Colossal Boy. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He first appeared in Action Comics #267. In the 1990s, the entirety of the Legion of Super-Heroes were changed in what was referred to as a "reboot" of those characters continuity, including Allon. Later on, these superheroes were again restarted in what has been referred to as the "threeboot" of the Legion of Super-Heroes. This last version is currently being published by DC Comics.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Original Continuity
Gim Allon was mutated by a radioactive meteorite, gaining the superhuman ability to increase his size, and went by the superhero name of Colossal Boy. With his parents' blessing, he joined the Legion of Super-Heroes, becoming a member in good standing. He had an unreciprocated crush on fellow Legionnaire Shrinking Violet; this crush was only returned when Violet was replaced by a shapeshifting impostor, a Durlan named Yera. The two were married; when the deception was exposed, he discovered that he was still in love with Yera, and they remained married.
His real name was probably devised as a science-fiction version of "Jim Allen"; but later its similarity to the standard Israeli surname "Allon" led writer Paul Levitz to identify the character as Jewish in the 1970s. Colossal Boy's mother Marte Allon was for a time President of the Earth.
[edit] 1994 Reboot
In 1994 the original continuity of the Legion ended and their story was restarted from the beginning. In this post Zero Hour version, Gim Allen was known as Leviathan.
He was the first official leader of the team, but resigned after one mission, following the death of the first Kid Quantum and realising that Cosmic Boy was more suited to the role - although Rokk persuaded him to take on the deputy leadership.
He then became ensconced in a love triangle, while he nursed a crush on Kinetix, Shrinking Violet nursed a crush on him. This ended in tragedy, however, when the Emerald Eye - on orders from Violet to give each member of the team their heart's desire - caused him to die in battle with Doctor Regulus, fulfilling his wish to have a heroic death.
[edit] 2004 Reboot
In the 2004 relaunch, Gim Allon is a member of race of giants created by Bizarro-Brainiac 200 years prior to the start of the "Legion Era". He considers his super-power to be the ability to shrink to six feet tall and prefers the code name Micro Lad. Still, all Legionnaires, as well as the public in general, know him as Colossal Boy. He often affects a bemused manner with his comrades, enjoying his time spent with "little people." Gim is often both the first and last Legionnaire in a fight, as his size grants him first strike ability as well as serving useful in the cleanup operations which inevitably follow.
He should not be confused with the Imskian villain who used the name Micro Lad, in preboot continuity.
[edit] Powers
As Colossal Boy or Leviathan, Gim Allon could increase his size to many times the height of a human, with proportionate increases in strength and mass. In the current run of Legion of Super-Heroes, the character insists that his powers involve shrinking instead of growing, although the effect upon opponents appears to be the same.
[edit] Other media
Colossal Boy made a cameo in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Far From Home".
Colossal Boy also appeared in three epsiodes of the animated TV series Legion of Super Heroes. First, in "Timber Wolf," where he is only seen on a monitor, and in "Lightning Storm", where he helped the Legion stop a squid-like alien in space. He also appeared in "Chain of Command" for a mission.
[edit] Elseworlds and other versions of Colossal Boy
Colossal Boy appeared in the DC/Marvel Comics Amalgam title Spider-Boy Team-Up. He was merged with Thor adversary Growing Man to form the character Growing Boy. He was a member of the Legion Of Galactic Guardians 2099.