Lar Gand
Encyclopedia
Lar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El (and alternatively as Valor and M'Onel), is a fiction
al character
in DC Comics
' universe
who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes
, Superboy
, and Superman
. The character has been reinterpreted over the years, but in all versions serves as a hero with abilities similar to those of Superman, sometimes serving as a substitute for the better-known character.
#80 (January–February 1953). He was named Halk Kar, and had a logo-less costume almost identical to Superman's, but with the red and blue colors reversed. He was created by Otto Binder
and artist Al Plastino
.
In the story, Halk Kar crash-lands on Earth in a rocketship
and is rescued by Superman, who discovers that Halk Kar suffers from amnesia
. Discovering that Halk Kar has a note from Jor-El
(Superman's father) mentioning his son, Superman assumes that Halk Kar must not only be from his own planet Krypton
, but he must be a son of Jor-El and thus also his own older brother.
Superman quickly realizes that Halk Kar is less powerful than he is and — instead of subjecting him to embarrassment over the fact that he may be weaker than his younger brother — opts to use his own powers to cover for Halk Kar's deficiencies. This plan backfires, as Halk Kar begins to assume a superior attitude to Superman and even begins to make romantic advances on Superman's girlfriend, Lois Lane
.
Finally, Halk Kar recovers his memory, and explains that he is from the planet Thoron, which is in the same star system as Krypton. Years ago, while on a pioneer voyage into space, he landed on Krypton with his damaged rocketship. There he met Jor-El, who explained that Krypton's destruction was imminent and repaired Halk Kar's rocketship, sending him away with the note which had a map from Krypton to Earth on it. Krypton exploded shortly afterward, causing Halk Kar to be put into suspended animation
until he drifted to Earth to meet Superman, the grown-up son of Jor-El referred to in the note. Halk Kar returns to Thoron in his repaired rocketship, leaving Superman with the experience of briefly having had a brother.
The Halk Kar plot was reused in Superboy #89 (June 1961), in a story set during Superman's career as Superboy
, one which simply disregarded the history outlined in the original (a practice common at the time). The character's name was changed to Lar Gand, his homeworld was changed to Daxam
, and he was made younger to roughly match Superboy's age. He was an explorer who had landed on Krypton, where Jor-El warned him of the planet's imminent destruction and gave him a map to Earth. He suffered amnesia upon landing on Earth, where he met Superboy. As he gained powers like Superboy, the hero concluded that he was a long-lost brother, and named him Mon-El: "Mon" because he landed on Earth on a Monday, and "El" for Superboy's own Kryptonian family name. He adopted a human secret identity
(Bob Cobb) to integrate into Superboy's hometown of Smallville.
However the character was then shown to be immune to kryptonite
, which is radioactively poisonous to all Kryptonians. Believing that Mon-El has been deceiving him, Superboy tries to trick him with a fake kryptonite meteor made of lead
, which ironically turns out to be Mon-El's one weakness. Furthermore, exposure to lead is irreversibly fatal to Daxamites, which Mon-El explains, having regained his memory. Guilt-ridden over inadvertently poisoning him, Superboy saves his life by sending him to the extradimensional Phantom Zone
, where he would be able to observe things happening in the outside world, but as a phantom would not age and his lead poisoning would not progress.
This provided for a means to use the character in contemporary stories set in the 30th century with the Legion of Super-Heroes
. In these stories, Legion member Saturn Girl
creates a temporary antidote to his lead poisoning, allowing him to be released from the Phantom Zone for brief periods of time, and he is considered an honorary Legionnaire. Brainiac 5
later creates a permanent antidote, and he becomes a full member. During his long career, he is written as one of the Legion's three most-powerful members along with Superboy and Ultra Boy
, and serves two terms as leader. Mon-El apparently dies after failing to take a dose of Brainiac 5's anti-lead serum in a timely fashion. Eltro Gand, a distant descendant of his older brother, sacrificed his life force to restore Mon-El to life. He marries fellow Legionnaire Shadow Lass
, with whom he has a long romantic relationship.
In 1985, DC Comics' revamp of their superhero universe Crisis on Infinite Earths
removed Superman's adventures as "Superboy" from the character's history. Mon-El's character history remained unchanged, however, with his encounter with Superboy said to have taken place in a "pocket universe" created by the Time Trapper
, a mysterious being living at the end of the universe.
Severely injured and dependent on life-support equipment during a battle with the Time Trapper after Superboy's death
, Mon-El dies during the Magic Wars which destroys much of the technology throughout the United Planets
. The Time Trapper later revives him, hoping to use his body to preserve his own waning existence, but Mon-El kills him to prevent the Trapper from further manipulating events throughout history. This wipes Superboy's pocket universe out of existence, and alters the timeline. The Trapper's role and powers are usurped by his onetime underling Glorith
, and Lar Gand is recast as "Valor".
-led invasion of Earth, freeing thousands of humans who had been experimented on by the Dominators and seeding them on a series of worlds between Dominion space and Earth as a "buffer zone" to prevent future invasions. These colonists had gained metahuman powers due to the experiments and would (by the time of the Legion), evolve into many of the worlds that would join the United Planets. After completing this task and an indefinite number of other 20th-century ventures, he would be placed in the Bgztl Buffer Zone by the time sorceress Glorith
, to be rescued by the Legion in the 30th century. None of these events had otherwise been depicted in comics about the 20th century.
In his new history, Lar Gand was inspired by his father's sacrifice in the crossover
story Invasion!
to become a hero. He briefly joins L.E.G.I.O.N.
, where Vril Dox II cures his lead poisoning. He plays a significant part in the Eclipso: The Darkness Within
crossover, in which Superman gives him the name "Valor". A solo series Valor about the character lasted for 23 issues, beginning with Lar as an adventurous young man exploring the universe in a spaceship with a sentient A.I.
called Babbage, encountering various aliens and civilizations. After #12 however, things became complex.
Glorith had continued altering the timeline, inadvertently recreating the original Time Trapper in the process. Travelling back to when Lar Gand was a young man in another attempt to win his affection, she accidentally caused his death. Attempting to undo the damage this caused history, she called forth a duplicate Valor from the Legion's time (a second version of Valor created by the Time Trapper) to take his other self's place, "patched" into the 20th century timeline by Waverider
. He was tasked with completing Valor's legendary feats such as stopping the Dominators' second invasion of Earth and seeding the U.P. worlds so that 30th century history would play out as it was supposed to. However, history was playing out much earlier than it was supposed to which led to some changes in Valor's exploits. This was one of the many destabilizations of the timestream that eventually led to Zero Hour, and the "Legion Reboot".
The character appeared again following the Zero Hour reboot
, in Superboy vol. 3, #17. He was amnesiac, but had vague memories of his time with L.E.G.I.O.N. and the events of his own series. As Dox's anti-lead serum wore off, Superboy placed him in the "Stasis Zone" (the Phantom Zone by another name), where he was trapped for a thousand years before being released by the Legion and a time-traveling Superboy, and injected with Brainiac 5's improved version of his ancestor's serum. To avoid the religious fervor his return would cause, the Legion kept secret the fact this new Legionnaire was the legendary Valor. He took the name M'Onel, which, Legion founder R. J. Brande
claimed, was Martian for "He Who Wanders".
M'Onel would become a key player in the following The Legion comic book series. With the rest of the Legionnaires, M'Onel is lost when Superboy (Kon-El)
and the Teen Titans lose the Persuader
's axe while trying to return to their own time. M'Onel attempts to hold the Legionnaires in a human chain, but is sucked into a vortex
. Shikari
is the only one who escapes when she is pulled free by the temporal currents. She arrives in a changed future, leading into the current Legion of Super-Heroes comics.
As the events of Infinite Crisis
played out and time and space once again were realigned and altered, this incarnation of Mon-El and his exploits were thought to have been erased from the timeline. In Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 this version of Mon-El resurfaced as well as his post-Zero Hour Legion teammates.
of Legion history in 2004. In Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #23 (Dec 2006), Saturn Girl
senses a telepathic call for help, which turns out to be Mon-El in the Phantom Zone, suffering from 1,000 years of sensory deprivation and dying from lead poisoning. He is confused as to who put him in the Phantom Zone, but remembers the "S" symbol and attacks Supergirl
. Brainiac 5 makes an anti-toxin for the lead poisoning using kryptonite, but this wears off, requiring him to be returned to the Phantom Zone. It is revealed in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds that this future is not the future of New Earth but instead the future of Earth-Prime. The full actual past of this version of Mon-El is unknown.
, the nature of Daxam, and thus Mon-El, was heavily retconned. He became the remote descendant of a male human and Bal Gand, a female Daxamite who visited Earth during the height of the Maya culture. She returned to Daxam, rather than let her child be born as an apparent demigod on Earth, but programmed her spaceship to return him to Earth if Daxamite xenophobia made that necessary. Generations later, her descendant Lar Gand gives in to his suppressed instinct to escape the increasingly isolated Daxam and travel the stars, and is brought by his ancestor's ship to its pre-programmed destination: Earth, the Central American continent.
February 2007's Action Comics Annual #10, gave a revised version of how Clark Kent met the character. It closely matches the 1960 story, but amnesiac Mon-El is poisoned when Clark tries to test whether he is Kryptonian with a piece of kryptonite, and the protective lead casing for the meteor both poisons him and restores his memories. He recalls that upon arriving at Earth, a sunspot
storm ruptured his fuel cells, causing him to crash (and explaining how his ship missed Central America by thousands of miles, crash-landing in Smallville instead) and lose his memory. Clark again uses a portal to the Phantom Zone to put Mon-El in stasis until his lead poisoning can be cured.
In Superman #685, Superman releases Mon-El from the Phantom Zone to save him from its collapse. Mon-El is cured of his lead poisoning by a cure left anonymously for him by the Legion. In the 21st century, he adopts the human alias of Clark's cousin "Jonathan Kent" from London, and acts as protector of Metropolis while Superman joins the off-Earth settlement of New Krypton, populated by refugees from the planet's destruction.
He briefly joins the Metropolis
Science Police, until he's captured by Sam Lane's Project 7734, who fake his death at the hand of Flamebird
and Nightwing
. Mon-El manages to escape, but ends up stranded in the Forlorn Dimension, helping Captain Atom
to get free from the clutches of Mirabai, the evil queen of the Forlorn and Sam Lane's chief ally.
Following his escape, Mon-El returns to Metropolis wearing a modified version of his red and blue costume (similar to the costume of the Golden Age Halk-Kar) complete with a Superman S-Shield
over his left chest. He assists the Science Police in capturing Parasite
. Mon-El also attempts to apprehend Bizarro
, only to turn back after he escapes to Bizarro World. Upon returning home, Mon-El asks Superboy to reprogram Kellex, the android at the Fortress of Solitude
, to repair the starship he came to Earth in. He also enters into a sexual relationship with Billi Harper, the Guardian's grandniece.
Following a battle with Atomic Skull
, Mon-El was invited to join the new Justice League of America
at the invitation of Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
. After helping to save New Krypton and seeding the UP worlds in accordance with time-loop instructions from the Legion, (Last Stand of New Krypton
), Mon-El, now near death having become immune to the lead poisoning antidote, is returned to the recreated Phantom Zone by Superman and Chameleon, where he remains until rescued by the Legion in 1000 years. Whether his long isolation has caused memory loss or he is carefully avoiding a time paradox by never mentioning his 21st century adventures is unknown. In the final issue of War of the Supermen, it is revealed that Billi is pregnant, presumably with Mon-El's child.
miniseries have also restored a close analogue of the Pre-Crisis
Legion to continuity, as seen in The Lightning Saga
story arc in Justice League of America
and Justice Society of America
, and in the Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes
story arc in Action Comics
. Mon-El is included in their number. In the latter story, it was revealed that Mon-El was banished back into the Phantom Zone by Earth Man
.
In the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, which follows after Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Mon-El is rescued from the Phantom Zone by his teammates. Upon leaving the Zone, Mon-El once again suffers the effects of lead poisoning, but as in the past, is inoculated with an antidote created by Brainiac 5
. He and Shadow Lass
are then sent on a mission to Oa
to recruit the immortal Sodam Yat
(the last Guardian of the Universe
) into the war against Superboy-Prime
and the Legion of Super-Villains
. Mon-El forms a bond with the reluctant Yat as both a fellow Daxamite and as one who has outlived family and friends.
Later on, he is chosen to become a Green Lantern by Dyogene. Before leaving, he told Shadow Lass that even though he is a GL, the Legion, Earth and his friends will always be his family.
Lar Gand is considered to be the most powerful member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
, and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. The character has been reinterpreted over the years, but in all versions serves as a hero with abilities similar to those of Superman, sometimes serving as a substitute for the better-known character.
Halk Kar
A precursor to the Lar Gand character appeared in the story "Superman's Big Brother", in SupermanSuperman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
#80 (January–February 1953). He was named Halk Kar, and had a logo-less costume almost identical to Superman's, but with the red and blue colors reversed. He was created by Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
and artist Al Plastino
Al Plastino
Al Plastino is an American comic book artist best known as one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s, along with his DC Comics colleague Wayne Boring...
.
In the story, Halk Kar crash-lands on Earth in a rocketship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
and is rescued by Superman, who discovers that Halk Kar suffers from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
. Discovering that Halk Kar has a note from Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
(Superman's father) mentioning his son, Superman assumes that Halk Kar must not only be from his own planet Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
, but he must be a son of Jor-El and thus also his own older brother.
Superman quickly realizes that Halk Kar is less powerful than he is and — instead of subjecting him to embarrassment over the fact that he may be weaker than his younger brother — opts to use his own powers to cover for Halk Kar's deficiencies. This plan backfires, as Halk Kar begins to assume a superior attitude to Superman and even begins to make romantic advances on Superman's girlfriend, Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
.
Finally, Halk Kar recovers his memory, and explains that he is from the planet Thoron, which is in the same star system as Krypton. Years ago, while on a pioneer voyage into space, he landed on Krypton with his damaged rocketship. There he met Jor-El, who explained that Krypton's destruction was imminent and repaired Halk Kar's rocketship, sending him away with the note which had a map from Krypton to Earth on it. Krypton exploded shortly afterward, causing Halk Kar to be put into suspended animation
Suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
until he drifted to Earth to meet Superman, the grown-up son of Jor-El referred to in the note. Halk Kar returns to Thoron in his repaired rocketship, leaving Superman with the experience of briefly having had a brother.
Mon-El
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
, one which simply disregarded the history outlined in the original (a practice common at the time). The character's name was changed to Lar Gand, his homeworld was changed to Daxam
Daxam
Daxam is a planet within the DC Universe. It is home to a race called the Daxamites, who are descended from Kryptonian colonists.-History:Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld in order to explore the Universe. They are an intensely xenophobic race, and are fearful of alien...
, and he was made younger to roughly match Superboy's age. He was an explorer who had landed on Krypton, where Jor-El warned him of the planet's imminent destruction and gave him a map to Earth. He suffered amnesia upon landing on Earth, where he met Superboy. As he gained powers like Superboy, the hero concluded that he was a long-lost brother, and named him Mon-El: "Mon" because he landed on Earth on a Monday, and "El" for Superboy's own Kryptonian family name. He adopted a human secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
(Bob Cobb) to integrate into Superboy's hometown of Smallville.
However the character was then shown to be immune to kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
, which is radioactively poisonous to all Kryptonians. Believing that Mon-El has been deceiving him, Superboy tries to trick him with a fake kryptonite meteor made of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, which ironically turns out to be Mon-El's one weakness. Furthermore, exposure to lead is irreversibly fatal to Daxamites, which Mon-El explains, having regained his memory. Guilt-ridden over inadvertently poisoning him, Superboy saves his life by sending him to the extradimensional Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
, where he would be able to observe things happening in the outside world, but as a phantom would not age and his lead poisoning would not progress.
This provided for a means to use the character in contemporary stories set in the 30th century with the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. In these stories, Legion member Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
creates a temporary antidote to his lead poisoning, allowing him to be released from the Phantom Zone for brief periods of time, and he is considered an honorary Legionnaire. Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
later creates a permanent antidote, and he becomes a full member. During his long career, he is written as one of the Legion's three most-powerful members along with Superboy and Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained these powers when the space-speedster he was flying was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast , exposing him to...
, and serves two terms as leader. Mon-El apparently dies after failing to take a dose of Brainiac 5's anti-lead serum in a timely fashion. Eltro Gand, a distant descendant of his older brother, sacrificed his life force to restore Mon-El to life. He marries fellow Legionnaire Shadow Lass
Shadow Lass
Shadow Lass is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Adventure Comics vol. 1 #365 , and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan.-Fictional character biography:...
, with whom he has a long romantic relationship.
In 1985, DC Comics' revamp of their superhero universe Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
removed Superman's adventures as "Superboy" from the character's history. Mon-El's character history remained unchanged, however, with his encounter with Superboy said to have taken place in a "pocket universe" created by the Time Trapper
Time Trapper
The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes...
, a mysterious being living at the end of the universe.
Severely injured and dependent on life-support equipment during a battle with the Time Trapper after Superboy's death
The Greatest Hero of Them All
"The Greatest Hero of Them All" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Superman vol. 2, #8, Action Comics #591, and Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #37–38 from August through September 1987. It was written by Paul Levitz and John Byrne, and pencilled by Byrne, Greg LaRocque...
, Mon-El dies during the Magic Wars which destroys much of the technology throughout the United Planets
United Planets
In the , the United Planets is a fictional governing body, traditionally depicted as active in the 30th and 31st century.-History of the published versions of the United Planets:...
. The Time Trapper later revives him, hoping to use his body to preserve his own waning existence, but Mon-El kills him to prevent the Trapper from further manipulating events throughout history. This wipes Superboy's pocket universe out of existence, and alters the timeline. The Trapper's role and powers are usurped by his onetime underling Glorith
Glorith
Glorith of Baaldur is a fictional villainess appearing in stories published by DC Comics. Her primary foe is the 30th century team known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, and she was a major presence in Legion of Super-Heroes...
, and Lar Gand is recast as "Valor".
Valor
In the new "Glorithverse" reality, Lar Gand replaced the non-existent Superboy as the Legion's inspiration. As detailed in the story "The Legend of Valor" (Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) Annual #2, 1991), Lar Gand would enjoy a heroic career in the 20th century as Valor, stopping a second DominatorDominators
The Dominators, collectively known as the Dominion, are a fictional alien race from the outer cosmos of the DC Universe. They are highly technologically advanced, and live in a rigid hierarchical society, in which one's caste is determined by the size of a red circle on one's forehead...
-led invasion of Earth, freeing thousands of humans who had been experimented on by the Dominators and seeding them on a series of worlds between Dominion space and Earth as a "buffer zone" to prevent future invasions. These colonists had gained metahuman powers due to the experiments and would (by the time of the Legion), evolve into many of the worlds that would join the United Planets. After completing this task and an indefinite number of other 20th-century ventures, he would be placed in the Bgztl Buffer Zone by the time sorceress Glorith
Glorith
Glorith of Baaldur is a fictional villainess appearing in stories published by DC Comics. Her primary foe is the 30th century team known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, and she was a major presence in Legion of Super-Heroes...
, to be rescued by the Legion in the 30th century. None of these events had otherwise been depicted in comics about the 20th century.
In his new history, Lar Gand was inspired by his father's sacrifice in the crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
story Invasion!
Invasion! (DC Comics)
Invasion! was a three issue comic book limited series and crossover event published in late 1988-early 1989 by DC Comics. It was plotted by Keith Giffen, and ties up a great many plotlines from various Giffen-created DC series, including Omega Men, Justice League International, and Legion of...
to become a hero. He briefly joins L.E.G.I.O.N.
L.E.G.I.O.N.
L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1, and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane...
, where Vril Dox II cures his lead poisoning. He plays a significant part in the Eclipso: The Darkness Within
Eclipso: The Darkness Within
Eclipso: The Darkness Within was a 1992 comic book mini-series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics. It featured the heroes of the DC Universe fighting against Eclipso. Issue #1 debuted July 1992, and was created and co-plotted by Robert Loren Fleming and Keith Giffen...
crossover, in which Superman gives him the name "Valor". A solo series Valor about the character lasted for 23 issues, beginning with Lar as an adventurous young man exploring the universe in a spaceship with a sentient A.I.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
called Babbage, encountering various aliens and civilizations. After #12 however, things became complex.
Glorith had continued altering the timeline, inadvertently recreating the original Time Trapper in the process. Travelling back to when Lar Gand was a young man in another attempt to win his affection, she accidentally caused his death. Attempting to undo the damage this caused history, she called forth a duplicate Valor from the Legion's time (a second version of Valor created by the Time Trapper) to take his other self's place, "patched" into the 20th century timeline by Waverider
Waverider (comics)
Waverider is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe, a time traveler who was merged with the time stream. Waverider first appeared in Armageddon 2001 #1 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Dan Jurgens....
. He was tasked with completing Valor's legendary feats such as stopping the Dominators' second invasion of Earth and seeding the U.P. worlds so that 30th century history would play out as it was supposed to. However, history was playing out much earlier than it was supposed to which led to some changes in Valor's exploits. This was one of the many destabilizations of the timestream that eventually led to Zero Hour, and the "Legion Reboot".
M'Onel
Legion of Super-Heroes (1994 team)
The 1994 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the DC Universe. The team is the second major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes after the 1958 version and followed by the 2004 version. It first appears in Legion of Super-Heroes The 1994...
, in Superboy vol. 3, #17. He was amnesiac, but had vague memories of his time with L.E.G.I.O.N. and the events of his own series. As Dox's anti-lead serum wore off, Superboy placed him in the "Stasis Zone" (the Phantom Zone by another name), where he was trapped for a thousand years before being released by the Legion and a time-traveling Superboy, and injected with Brainiac 5's improved version of his ancestor's serum. To avoid the religious fervor his return would cause, the Legion kept secret the fact this new Legionnaire was the legendary Valor. He took the name M'Onel, which, Legion founder R. J. Brande
R. J. Brande
Rene Jacques "R. J." Brande is a fictional DC Comics character in the 30th and 31st centuries with the Legion of Super-Heroes.-Pre-Crisis:Originally a Durlan named Ren Daggle, Brande was frozen in human form by the deadly Yorggian fever...
claimed, was Martian for "He Who Wanders".
M'Onel would become a key player in the following The Legion comic book series. With the rest of the Legionnaires, M'Onel is lost when Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
and the Teen Titans lose the Persuader
Persuader (comics)
The Persuader is the name of three fictional characters featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Nyeun Chun Ti first appeared in Adventure Comics #352 , and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan...
's axe while trying to return to their own time. M'Onel attempts to hold the Legionnaires in a human chain, but is sucked into a vortex
Vortex
A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
. Shikari
Shikari (comics)
Shikari is a fictional character, a superheroine in the future of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Coipel and first appeared in Legion Lost #1....
is the only one who escapes when she is pulled free by the temporal currents. She arrives in a changed future, leading into the current Legion of Super-Heroes comics.
As the events of Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
played out and time and space once again were realigned and altered, this incarnation of Mon-El and his exploits were thought to have been erased from the timeline. In Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 this version of Mon-El resurfaced as well as his post-Zero Hour Legion teammates.
2004 "Threeboot" Continuity
The character was introduced again following another rebootLegion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)
The 2004 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the third major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes after the 1958 and 1994 versions...
of Legion history in 2004. In Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #23 (Dec 2006), Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
senses a telepathic call for help, which turns out to be Mon-El in the Phantom Zone, suffering from 1,000 years of sensory deprivation and dying from lead poisoning. He is confused as to who put him in the Phantom Zone, but remembers the "S" symbol and attacks Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
. Brainiac 5 makes an anti-toxin for the lead poisoning using kryptonite, but this wears off, requiring him to be returned to the Phantom Zone. It is revealed in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds that this future is not the future of New Earth but instead the future of Earth-Prime. The full actual past of this version of Mon-El is unknown.
Post-Infinite Crisis
In conjunction with the crossover Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
, the nature of Daxam, and thus Mon-El, was heavily retconned. He became the remote descendant of a male human and Bal Gand, a female Daxamite who visited Earth during the height of the Maya culture. She returned to Daxam, rather than let her child be born as an apparent demigod on Earth, but programmed her spaceship to return him to Earth if Daxamite xenophobia made that necessary. Generations later, her descendant Lar Gand gives in to his suppressed instinct to escape the increasingly isolated Daxam and travel the stars, and is brought by his ancestor's ship to its pre-programmed destination: Earth, the Central American continent.
February 2007's Action Comics Annual #10, gave a revised version of how Clark Kent met the character. It closely matches the 1960 story, but amnesiac Mon-El is poisoned when Clark tries to test whether he is Kryptonian with a piece of kryptonite, and the protective lead casing for the meteor both poisons him and restores his memories. He recalls that upon arriving at Earth, a sunspot
Sunspot
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....
storm ruptured his fuel cells, causing him to crash (and explaining how his ship missed Central America by thousands of miles, crash-landing in Smallville instead) and lose his memory. Clark again uses a portal to the Phantom Zone to put Mon-El in stasis until his lead poisoning can be cured.
In Superman #685, Superman releases Mon-El from the Phantom Zone to save him from its collapse. Mon-El is cured of his lead poisoning by a cure left anonymously for him by the Legion. In the 21st century, he adopts the human alias of Clark's cousin "Jonathan Kent" from London, and acts as protector of Metropolis while Superman joins the off-Earth settlement of New Krypton, populated by refugees from the planet's destruction.
He briefly joins the Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
Science Police, until he's captured by Sam Lane's Project 7734, who fake his death at the hand of Flamebird
Thara Ak-Var
Thara Ak-Var is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, created by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. The character first appeared during the Superman: New Krypton storyline in Superman #681 . She is the latest character to take on the role of Flamebird...
and Nightwing
Chris Kent (comics)
Christopher Kent is a fictional character, a Kryptonian in the , who first appeared in Action Comics #844 , the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". Created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns, he is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa, and the foster son of Clark...
. Mon-El manages to escape, but ends up stranded in the Forlorn Dimension, helping Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
to get free from the clutches of Mirabai, the evil queen of the Forlorn and Sam Lane's chief ally.
Following his escape, Mon-El returns to Metropolis wearing a modified version of his red and blue costume (similar to the costume of the Golden Age Halk-Kar) complete with a Superman S-Shield
Superman logo
The Superman logo, also informally known as the S shield, is the iconic emblem for the fictional DC Comics superhero Superman. As a representation of the first superhero, it served as a template for character design decades after Superman's first appearance...
over his left chest. He assists the Science Police in capturing Parasite
Parasite (comics)
The Parasite is the name of several fictional characters that appears in Superman comic book stories published by DC Comics. A supervillain, Parasite has the ability to temporarily absorb the energy, knowledge and super-powers of another being by touch, making him a formidable foe for the Man of...
. Mon-El also attempts to apprehend Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
, only to turn back after he escapes to Bizarro World. Upon returning home, Mon-El asks Superboy to reprogram Kellex, the android at the Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
, to repair the starship he came to Earth in. He also enters into a sexual relationship with Billi Harper, the Guardian's grandniece.
Following a battle with Atomic Skull
Atomic Skull
Atomic Skull is the name of two different DC Comics supervillains.-Albert Michaels:Albert Michaels was a brilliant but distinctly unfriendly scientist-administrator at S.T.A.R. Labs with a rare nervous system disorder that short-circuited the electrical impulses in his brain, creating painful and...
, Mon-El was invited to join the new Justice League of America
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
at the invitation of Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
Doctor Light is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe.Kimiyo Hoshi is a distinct character from the DC villain of the same name...
. After helping to save New Krypton and seeding the UP worlds in accordance with time-loop instructions from the Legion, (Last Stand of New Krypton
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton
"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen....
), Mon-El, now near death having become immune to the lead poisoning antidote, is returned to the recreated Phantom Zone by Superman and Chameleon, where he remains until rescued by the Legion in 1000 years. Whether his long isolation has caused memory loss or he is carefully avoiding a time paradox by never mentioning his 21st century adventures is unknown. In the final issue of War of the Supermen, it is revealed that Billi is pregnant, presumably with Mon-El's child.
Post-Infinite Crisis Legion
The events of the Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
miniseries have also restored a close analogue of the Pre-Crisis
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
Legion to continuity, as seen in The Lightning Saga
The Lightning Saga
"The Lightning Saga" is a comic book crossover story arc that took place in DC Comics' two flagship team books: Justice League of America and Justice Society of America. It was written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns, and illustrated by Ed Benes, Dale Eaglesham, and Shane Davis...
story arc in Justice League of America
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
and Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, and in the Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes
"Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" is a comic book story arc from DC Comics by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, featuring the Superman character and the return of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion of Super-Heroes...
story arc in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
. Mon-El is included in their number. In the latter story, it was revealed that Mon-El was banished back into the Phantom Zone by Earth Man
Kirt Niedrigh
Kirt Niedrigh is a fictional character, a semi-reformed supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. Created by Cary Bates and Mike Grell, Niedrigh is a former hopeful for the Legion of Super-Heroes under the guise of Absorbancy Boy...
.
In the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, which follows after Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Mon-El is rescued from the Phantom Zone by his teammates. Upon leaving the Zone, Mon-El once again suffers the effects of lead poisoning, but as in the past, is inoculated with an antidote created by Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
. He and Shadow Lass
Shadow Lass
Shadow Lass is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Adventure Comics vol. 1 #365 , and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan.-Fictional character biography:...
are then sent on a mission to Oa
Oa
Oa is a fictional planet that lies at the center of the DC Comics universe. Since its inception, Oa has been the planetary citadel of the Guardians of the Universe and the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps...
to recruit the immortal Sodam Yat
Sodam Yat
Sodam Yat is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 , and was created by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill...
(the last Guardian of the Universe
Guardians of the Universe
The Guardians of the Universe, alternatively known as the Guardians or Oans are a fictional extraterrestrial race in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #1 , and were created by John Broome and Gil Kane. Here they do not reveal their existence to Hal, bringing his...
) into the war against Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
and the Legion of Super-Villains
Legion of Super-Villains
The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of fictional supervillains that appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future...
. Mon-El forms a bond with the reluctant Yat as both a fellow Daxamite and as one who has outlived family and friends.
Later on, he is chosen to become a Green Lantern by Dyogene. Before leaving, he told Shadow Lass that even though he is a GL, the Legion, Earth and his friends will always be his family.
Powers and abilities
Generally, the abilities of Lar Gand (and other Daxamites) are identical to those of Superman and other natives of the planet Krypton (super-strength; speed; flight; x-ray, heat, microscopic and telescopic vision powers; invulnerability; and super hearing), with three major exceptions:- He is vulnerable to the inert element leadLeadLead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, instead of the radioactive element KryptoniteKryptoniteKryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
. - Lead poisoning is fatal to Daxamites, and Lar is kept alive only through regular ingestion of anti-lead serum, such as the one modified by Brainiac 5.
- As a side-effect of the anti-lead serum, the radiation of a red star will not rob him of his powers, as it would with most Daxamites and Kryptonians.
Lar Gand is considered to be the most powerful member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
In other media
- Mon-El's alias, Bob Cobb, is briefly referenced in an episode of SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. "The Maestro" (a short-lived recurring character) prefers that people do not address him by his real name (Bob Cobb), instead preferring to be called "(the) Maestro".
- The animated Legion of Super HeroesLegion of Super Heroes (TV series)Legion of Super Heroes is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that debuted on September 23, 2006, based on characters appearing in the DC Comics comic book series. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a...
series featured a teenaged Legionnaire named Superman X, who was conceptually based on Mon-El, Kon-ElSuperboy (Kon-El)Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
, and the EradicatorEradicator (comics)The Eradicator is a fictional comic book superhero character having a recurring role in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Originally created as a weapon by an ancient alien race, he is over 200,000 years old and is considered an artifact of Krypton...
, wearing an outfit with elements from all three heroes. Like Mon-El, Superman X lacked a weakness to Kryptonite and was treated like a brother by the real Superman. According to the series producer James Tucker, Superman X was specifically created to fill the role created for Mon-El after several Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
executives voiced opinions about Mon-El being "too similar" to Superman to work on a children's show.