Legion of Substitute Heroes
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The Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who banded together (originally Polar Boy, Night Girl, Chlorophyll Kid, Fire Lad, and Stone Boy, although others joined over the years), hoping to prove to the Legion that their powers were not as useless as the Legionnaires claimed. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #306 and appeared periodically for several years. They were depicted as reasonably effective super-heroes until Keith Giffen, during his notable Legion stint, began depicting the team as something of a joke.
Several of the Subs went on to join the Legion proper; these members include Dream Girl, Night Girl and Polar Boy. Star Boy was also a member for a time, after he was forced out of the Legion.
Other members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes include:
- Antenna Lad, who has the power to tune into any broadcast from any era, but mostly at random.
- Chlorophyll Kid, Ral Benem from the planet Mardru has the power to make plants grow super fast. He gained this power after falling into a vat of super plant growth formula as a small child. He has stated at various times that he can only accelerate plant growth, not control plant life, although some of his appearances seemed to contradict this.
- Color Kid, Ulu Vakk hails from the planet Lupra and can change the color of objects. Gained his power after being struck by a ray from another dimension (Adventure Comics #365 – Meet the Legion). In the 1985 Legion of Substitute Heroes one-shot comic, he was temporarily known as Color Queen after being exposed to Granderian Gender-Reversal Germs by Infectious Lass.
- Double-Header, who has two heads as a result of gradually splitting into two identical beings.
- Fire Lad, Stag Mavlen from the planet Schwar. Gained the power to breathe fire (often accidentally, as he suffers from allergies that cause him to sneeze)after inhaling vapors from a crashing meteor.
- Infectious Lass, (Drura Sepht) spontaneously generates infectious diseases.
- Porcupine Pete, (Peter Dursin) has quills he can shoot from his body (although generally not very accurately).
- Stone Boy, Dag Wentim from the planet Zwen. The people of Zwen gained the power to turn into stone as a way of hibernation on a planet whose night is six months long. Throughout most of his appearances, Stone Boy could only transform into an inanimate, insensate stone statue and was often used in humorous ways (e.g. being dropped on a villain from above by his teammates), or at best as a distraction while the other "Subs" carried out some mission. However, during the Five Year Gap, he underwent hypnotherapy and gained the ability to stay conscious during his transformation and, eventually, even to move in his stone state.
After a colorful, if not exactly impressive, career, the Substitute Heroes were disbanded by Polar Boy, who went on to attain full membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Many of the remaining members would eventually join the Legion as well, during the Five Year Gap.
During the V4 Legion of Super Heroes, the "Subs" came into their own as an insurgent group that was helping the Terran resistance to the Dominators. This pleased many of the Substitute Legion's many fans that felt they deserved full status as heroes. Night Girl had been a continual character in this volume of Legion Lore, appearing as Cosmic Boy's wife.
[edit] Post Zero Hour
Following the Zero Hour reboot, the Subs appeared in issue Legionnaires #43 during Legion tryouts. Infectious Lass, Fire Lad, & Color Kid were seen on the cover, while Stone Boy, Chlorophyll Kid, Night Girl, and Polar Boy all tried out. Night Girl knew very well that the Legion wouldn't accept her because of her power's drawback, but she was really planning on meeting Cosmic Boy who, at the time, was trapped in the 20th century.
Polar Boy and Night Girl appear in one panel of Legionnaires #49, concluding that their unseen team is not ready to aid the Legion against Mordru (Night Girl calls them a "poor substitute").
Infectious Lass also reappeared just before the Legion was rebooted again as a student at the Legion Academy.
[edit] One Year Later
Polar Boy and Chlorophyll Kid (renamed Plant Lad) appeared as a part of the new Wanderers led by Mekt Ranzz.
Infectious Lass recentley made an appearance in Tales of the Unexpected.
[edit] Animated Appearances
Characters from the Legion of Substitute Heroes first appeared in the recent episode of the Legion of Superheroes entitled "Lightning Storm", and then again in the episode "The Substitutes", which focused completely on them.
The Legion of Substitue Heroes in the animated series consist of Porcupine Pete, Chlorophyll Kid, Stone Boy, Color Kid, and Infectious Lass. They are portrayed as a mix of sympathetic and comedic characters, who are determined to be heroes, but not entirely aware of their limits.
- Porcupine Pete is something of a "mother's boy" who is not always good with his powers, but is determined to be a hero and has a definite sense of responsibility. Pete easily forgets that his quills can hurt others. He is the unofficial leader of the team.
- Chlorophyll Kid is portrayed as a classic nebbish, but clever at using his limited powers, such as creating cacti to distract an enemy with human-like shillouettes. When pushed, he'll take risks to protect others.
- Stone Boy is highly intelligent - he once uses a fall in his stone form to strike an enemy - but speaks little. His ability to use his stone form ranges from ineffectual to clever, perhaps because he doesn't have the sense of humor to realize when he is doing something silly. He also at times seems to forget to change back to flesh.
- Color Kid is energetic, enthusiastic, often ignorant of danger, and a bit flamboyant and campy (in a way some may take as a gay stereotype). He has an excellent eye for color, but hasn't caught on entirely how limited his powers are. His most noteworthy use of his abilities is to conceal an obstacle to trip a villain and conceal his fellow heroes.
- Infectious Lass is withdrawn and seems to suffer from a mild asthma-like condition and sounds permanently congested. Her powers involve creating an infectious slime, but it seems limited to creating a quick, mild cold.
In addition, Polar Boy, Fire Lad, Double-Header, and Night Girl all appeared in cameos in both episodes, as prospective members of the Legion.
