LEGION OF SUPER-VILLAINS

Membership: Chameleon Chief, Cosmic King, Esper Lass, Grimbor, Hunter, League of Super-Assassins (Lazon, Mist Master, Neutrax, Silver Slasher, Titania), Lightning Lord, Magno Lad, Micro Lad, Nemesis Kid, Ol-Vir, Radiation Roy, Ron-Karr, Spider Girl, Saturn Queen, Sun Emperor, Tarik The Mute, Terrus, Tyr, Zymyr

Base of Operations: Mobile, 30th Century

First Appearance: Superman I #147 (August, 1961)

History

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #1) - Lightning Lord formed a new Legion of Super-Villains, with each of them swearing a blood oath to kill at least one Legionnaire. Lightning Lord swore on his oath to kill his brother Lightning Lad, which he said had been his destiny since he was born. Dream Girl had a prophetic vision about one of the Legion dying in the near future, and went on a retreat to the gambling planet of Ventura with Star Boy to take her mind off a grim future. Micro Lad robbed a casino’s bank in the name of the Imskian liberation movement, and when the Legionnaires confronted him, he shrank out of sight. They called in Shrinking Violet, who was eager to deal with the man who’d caused her so much pain in the past. She beat him to a pulp, further infuriated when he attempted to take her hostage again, but a dimensional portal opened up and whisked Micro Lad to safety. Colossal Boy, who’d only ever lived at home, and then at Legion hq, got an apartment with Yera. They settled into their new place, and Colossal Boy learned from the news that his mother Marte Allon had resigned as Earth President. Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy and Timber Wolf helped restore the topography of Daxam, and while Shady and Mon-El were hopeful for the planet’s future the cynical Chameleon Boy reminded them that the Daxamites were currently extremely unpopular with the U.P. They received a distress call from Takron-Galtos about a renegade Daxamite destroying the facility and laying waste to the guards. They found Darkseid’s acolyte Ol-Vir was responsible, and had freed a number of visitors. He committed a ritual sacrifice to Darkseid, killing one of the guards with his heat-vision before the Legion could stop him. Mon-El called Ol-Vir a disgrace to Daxam, and threatened to break every bone in his body, while his fellow Legionnaires fended off the escaped prisoners. Ol-Vir initially scoffed at Mon-El, but the battle turned against him, and when a dimensional portal opened up and a voice offered him membership in the Legion of Super-Villains he decided he might as well accept, and flew through. The Portal also scooped up Ron-Karr and Chameleon Chief. Light Lass, happy to retire as a Legionnaire and let her brother play hero, joined her friend Sarah’s commune on Winarth. Light Lass said she was sick of adventure, and much happier farming and looking after children. Unbeknownst to her she was being tracked and observed by M. Wayne, a private investigator hired by timer Wolf. Radiation Roy ambushed her, and after knocking he rout with a blast of radiation, a dimensional portal opened up, taking them both back to the Legion of Super-Villains.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #2) - Light Lass awoke in chains in a cell, and Lightning Lord promised her he wanted to help her, not hurt her. He said he loved her, and all the proof she needed was that she was still alive. He asked her to join the Legion of Super-Villains and help him kill Lightning Lad, saying he’d been talking to the storm, and the storm had assured him she’d come to him. Light Lass turned him down, saying he was more insane than ever. Element Lad tracked the resurgence of the Legion of Super-Villains across several planets, brief his team, and realized he was in for a major test of his leadership.  The League of Super-Assassins joined with the Legion of Super-Villains, and Lightning Lord sent them and Magno Lad to M-17W, a manufacturing center in the galactic core, to steal the plant’s fusion powerspheres. Shvaugn Erin alerted the Legion, and Dawnstar and Wildfire responded first, but Lazon gave Dawnstar radiation sickness with his light powers, and Magno Lad ripped Wildfire’s containment suit apart. Shadow Lass, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy and Timber Wolf arrived as support, but the villains escaped using a dimensional rift opened by Zymyr. Shadow Lass treated Dawnstar, while Chameleon Boy brought Wildfire a new containment suit. They pursued the villains, but were ambushed by Terrus, who attacked their spaceship with a meteor shower. Lightning Lord called a meeting of his Legion to discuss their plans, and Ol-Vir asked if great Darkseid would approve of what they were doing, saying their actions should always be in accord with his dark lord. Esper Lass used her psychic powers to calm him down. Esper Lass said he was a lunatic, and Lightning Lord agreed but stated having a Daxamite on their side was worth it. Sun Emperor stated that insane people were dangerous before grabbing servant girl Thora, forcing a kiss on her and incinerating her, shocking several of his teammates. Cosmic Boy checked in with the Legion Academy, and alerted Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl about the danger. They were on Medicus One, with Saturn Girl receiving prenatal treatment and her delivery date fast approaching. Lightning Lad worried about the safety of his sister, not knowing she was already in captivity. Zymyr opened a spacewarp that stole the polymer screen around Earth that served environmental functions and controlled space traffic. Element Lad, Lightning Lad, and despite everyone else’s objections, Saturn Girl, responded. Saturn Girl went into labor, and Tyr was disappointed to be fighting a pregnant woman, but contented himself with the fact that she’d be easy to kill. Zymyr ended the confrontation, warping his teammates away, and Element Lad and Lightning Lad rushed Saturn Girl to the Medicus One Maternity Ward. Dr. Gym’ll told Lightning Lad he’d been paging him, and that if he wasn’t planning on pulling any more moronic stunts it was time to get in the delivery room. Element Lad, who’d been pacing back and forth in worry, fainted. Queen Projects and Karate Kid flew back to Orando after their honeymoon, but the Legion of Super-Villains were waiting for them, and Magno Lad, Hunter and Mist Master brought their spaceship down. They took the heroes legion rings and sent out the alarm signal, saying the Legion would come running to their own doom.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #3) - Dawnstar, Wildfire, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl, Shadow Lass and White Witch set course for Orando, but were being followed by Terrus and Zymyr. Zymyr opened a spacewarp that warped in most of the Legion of Super-Villains to ambush the Legionnaires. On Earth Cosmic Boy agreed to keep watch on the planet while Element Lad assembled the rest of thew Legion to fly a ship to Orando. Cosmic Boy was worried about Element Lad devoting all their resources to Orando, but trusted his judgment. He was thankful when Night Girl sent a video message offering the help of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Projecta and Karate Kid were chained in a cell next to Light Lass, and Lightning Lord visited her to again plead with her to join him, saying she’d join his Legion in a passage to a new world where they would rule. She made it clear she’d rather die, and he called her a traitor to her own blood, grabbing her and shocking her before walking off disgusted, saying he no longer had a sister. Dream Girl woke in her crashed ship on Orando, finding Star Boy and Shrinking Violet still unconscious. She recognized Projecta’s castle from her vision where a Legionnaire was die, and she was ambushed by Hunter and Silver Slasher. Dawnstar and her teammates were in danger of being overwhelmed by the Legion of Super-Villains until element Lad and his reinforcements arrived. Nemesis Kid, Cosmic King, Neutrax and Ron-Karr placed the polymer screen around Orando, and hooked it up to their stolen powerspheres. They planned to warp Orando away to another world where there was no Legion of super-Heroes. Nemesis Kid had always been drawn to the powerful, and couldn’t wait to arrive in a new world where he’d be the supreme power, planning on declaring himself the emperor of a universe. Zymyr was prepared to warp the planet, but Nemesis Kid wanted to give his Legion a little more time battling the Legion of Super-Heroes to see if they could kill any of them before they left. The Legionnaires were winning, so Nemesis Kid gave the order to warp away the Legion of Super-Villains, inadvertently taking some of the Legionnaires with them, and warped Orando to a space between dimensions.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #4) - Tyr was furious that Nemesis Kid had kept him away from battle, and reminded him of the blood oath they’d sworn to kill the Legion. Nemesis Kid reminded him that Zymyr’s warp had captured Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Element Lad, Chameleon Kid and Shrinking Violet, who sat in prison cells alongside Projecta, Karate Kid and Light Lass. Nemesis Kid said that finding and conquering new worlds was their priority, but Tyr demanded satisfaction. Nemesis Kid said he could take one of their spaceships and Zymyr would warp it back to the space where Orando once orbited so he could continue to fight. Tyr asked who’d join him, and Terrus, Titania, Silver Slasher and Hunter followed him. Silver Slasher and Titania claimed Blok for themselves, still bitter that he’d betrayed their League of Super-Assassins. In the space around Orando Brainiac 5 worked out how the LSV stole the planet and told his fellow Legionnaires his conclusions about their methods and motives. The disruptors Light Lass was manacled in exploded, and she could once again use her powers. She woke Karate Kid, who freed himself from his disruptors through sheer force of will, and he freed his wife and the other captive Legionnaires. Light Lass snuck aboard Tyr’s ship, and found that either the destruction of her disruptor manacles, the shock she’d received from Lightning Lord, or both, had restored her powers. She unleashed a massive lightning blast on Tyr and his allies, shocking them unconscious, and took control of the ship. Dream Girl, acting as deputy leader with Element Lad on Orando, called Cosmic Boy to check in on Earth. Cosmic Boy now had the back-up of reservists Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Legion Academy. On Orando the freed Legionnaires tried to destroy the powerspheres on the polymer screen around Orando, hoping that would return the planet to its’ proper spacetime, but they were overwhelmed by the LSV guarding the screen. Projecta pleaded with Karate Kid to save her planet, and he confronted Nemesis Kid in one-on-one combat. Nemesis Kid said he knew they’d end up fighting to the death from the day they’d first both joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. Nemesis Kid adapted Karate Kid’s skills and mercilessly battered him, but Karate kid refused to give up. Nemesis Kid demanded he lay down and die, but every time he knocked Karate kid down, the hero got back up. He’d sustained life threatening injuries, but Karate Kid managed to wrest his flight ring back from Nemesis Kid, told Queen Projecta he’d always wanted to die in battle, and flew into one of the powerspheres, causing it to explode and killing himself in the process.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #5) - The Legionnaires waiting in the space where Orando once was were met by Gigi Cusimano, who recalled them to Earth by orders of the Science Police, and Brainiac 5 protested that the order was irrational. Gigi flirted with Sun Boy, and negotiated with Dream Girl, who convinced her to allow Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Shadow Lass and Mon-El to stay put should Orando return. Queen Projecta cradled Karate Kid’s charred corpse as the Legion of Sup-Villains surrounded her. Projecta raged at the villains, saying they’d ravaged her planet and killed her husband, and demanded they leave Orando. Nemesis Kid told his teammates to stay back, saying he wanted to be the one to kill her. Light Lass observed the events from Orando from her ship, and, unwilling to see another teammate die, changed course back to the planet. Light Lass charged into battle against the Legion of Super-Villains, but Lightning Lord demanded they leave her be, because she was his sister, and because she’d betrayed him he had the right to kill her. Light Lass almost pitied her insane brother, but after a fierce battle she soundly beat him. The rest of the LSV prepared to attack her when her teammates stranded on Orando came to the rescue, with Element Lad disabling several of the LSV by changing the air around them to helium, causing them to lose consciousness Nemesis Kid told Zymyr to call in the rest of their team as backup, and Projecta assured him she was going to kill him. Element Lad disabled Ol-Vir by turning his clothes to lead, poisonous to Daxamites. The rest of the LSV were soon overwhelmed, and Mist Master, Ron-Karr and Radiation Roy decided the fight was already lost, and boarded Zymyr’s ship, warping themselves back to the space around Orando. Zymyr decided that their dream of finding new worlds to conquer was never to be, and said he would no longer be burdened by humans, and prepared to warp away. His spacewarp accidentally took Light Lass and Lightning Lord with him back to his homeworld Gil’Dishpan. Projecta created illusions of Hell, telling Nemesis Kid that was where he belonged. His power dispelled her illusions, but she Projecta didn’t back down, saying she was the descendant of wizards and kings, and needed only her own strength to finish him. Projecta snapped his neck, and told her stunned former teammates that as queen it was her right to execute a condemned man. The villains aboard Zymyr’s ship crashed and were easily captured by the Legion, and Brainiac 5 hoped to repair the ship to brink back their stranded teammates, but Gil’Dishpan technology defied all known physics and his own super-genius. Projecta held a funeral for Karate Kid, and told her subjects she blamed herself for allowing such evil on her world. The remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains were contained in one of Zymyr’s spheres, and she instructed the Legionnaires to enter the remaining sphere. Projecta said Orando was ill-suited for modern times and contact with other planets, so she’d use Zymyr’s machine to find new worlds where Orando and her citizens could be left in peace, and told the Legion to never seek her out. Orando warped away, and the Legionnaires hoped their teammates would capture Zymyr and rescue them. Esper Lass sent a telepathic message to the Legionnaires, mocking them. She’d penetrated Zymyr’s mind, and knew how to use his spheres, allowing her to warp herself and her teammates away while the Legionnaires were stranded in their sphere between dimensions.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #8) - The Legion and Gigi Cusimano and Shvaugn Erin in their new Science Police battle armor, cornered the remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains on the planet S’cardas IV. The Science Police attached an intensifier to Sun Emperor, giving him feedback from his own power, and blasted Spider Girl unconscious. Wildfire defeated Cosmic King while Blok took out his former teammate Neutrax, saying he was more confused than dangerous. White Witch used a dispersal spell to reveal Chameleon Chief, who was trying to hide by disguising himself as a rock, and Lightning Lass accidentally stepped on Micro Lad, putting an end to the evil team. The Science Police loaded the LSV on a ship to Takron-Galtos, and Erin asked Wildfire if he’d like to join them and say hello to all the criminals they’d put away. Wildfire said he’d seen quite enough of Takron-Galtos lately and told Erin to make sure the Science Police started doing a better job keeping their prisoners locked up. Erin shed a tear, asking Wildfire to find Element Lad and the other missing Legionnaires and promising to personally throw away the keys to the prison planet.

(Superman / Batman #14) - In order to preserve their own timeline the Legion of Super-Villains Cosmic King, Lightning Lord and Saturn Queen traveled back in time to kill the Kents the moment they found Kal-El on Earth and claim Bruce Wayne right after his parents were murdered. They also killed most of the heroes Flash, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. Their interferance in the past altered the timeline. They raised Kal-El and Wayne as their own, and the boys grew to become Batman and Superman, who helped the Legion subjugate Earth.

Comments: Created by Robert Bernstein.

The Legion of Super-Villains received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 and Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #4.

The Legion of Super-Villains had a cameo in Legion of Super-Heroes III #7, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #332.

The Legion of Super-Villains appearance in Legion of Super-Heroes III #1-5, 8 was reprinted in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #326-330, 333.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com