#durlan

[donnatroyprincessofthemyscira]

#Lynda Carter #Wonder Woman #Diana Prince #President of the United States #Supergirl #Durlan #Legion of Superheroes

[evilhorse]

I forgot—the Manhunters were universal creeps.

(Manhunter #8)

#manhunter #mark shaw #Manhunters #Durlan #creeps #invasion! #crossover #john ostrander #Kim Yale #frank springer #pablo marcos #dc comics #comics #80s comics

[nerds-yearbook]

Phase was introduced in Legion 9#, cover date November, 1989. She was created by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, and Barry Kitoson. Phase came from the 30th Century to the 20th Century and Durlan was sent from the 20th Century to the 30th Century. ("Second Chances", Legion 9#, DC Comic Event)

#nerds yearbook #real life event #first appearance #comic book #dc comics #dc #alan grant #keith giffen #barry kitson #legion #legion of super heroes #legion 89 #november #1989 #phase #durlan #lobo #garryn bek #lyrissa mallor #stealth #strata #vril dox #marij'n bek #mr starr #mister starr #time trapper #councillor dall

[world-of-advice]

#shapeshifter #words #pics #comics #comic panels #bolphunga #hunger dog #green lantern #john stewart #durlan

[radioactive-earthshine]

Wait, is Dox the AI named after Braniac?

THIS is what I was aggressively researching last night but I was attacking another angle entirely and did not come up with any clear answers, because there is something very interesting about Dox the AI that I feel most readers would miss entirely.

Up until you actually SEE Dox the AI we have no idea what he was supposed to look like, but it is none-the-less interesting that Bart claims that his name is Dox which is synonymous to the Brainiac family line. When you finally see what Dox is supposed to look like he is friend-shaped and has a body built like Ti'Julk Mr'azz (Gates of Vyrga) and does not seem to look like any Coluan from which the name Dox is from.

His appearance I feel throws a lot of people off that his name has anything to do with the Doxes until you pay attention to one small detail and that's when things get interesting.

Impulse #64

Here's Dox! He's just a little guy. But he has a very iconic emblem on his abdomen, some of you might immediately recognize it but I feel it's fair that most readers have no idea what it is.

It's actually the L.E.G.I.O.N. emblem which is solely specific to Brainiac 2, Vril Dox II whose base of operations was in the 20th century.

L.E.G.I.O.N. and then R.E.B.E.L.S. (1994) are adult comics that follow Vril's story and they ended in 1996 prior to the publication of Impulse #64, which was published in 2000. There were couple specials where Vril showed up in between 1996 and 2000, most notably in Showcase '96 #12 where he saved Querl from his tyrannical and deranged father, but other than that the comic title was complete. Finished. The story was wrapped up and given an end in the 20th century.

Why does a 'nanny AI' with the name of Dox have the L.E.G.I.O.N. emblem on his abdomen?

Why are they linking two comics that are VASTLY different in target audience, content and rating? If Black Label printing was a thing back then, L.E.G.I.O.N. probably would have been released under it because it was pretty edgy containing some very violent themes that are difficult to talk about openly without people getting very upset (and it's part of the reason why I am hesitant to talk more about these comics).

I was desperately trying to find an in-world link between them that was firmer evidence other than speculation, and when I came up with nothing, I reached into looking through letters to editors to try to see if someone asked if there was some link between Dox the AI and Vril Dox II.

No one did, and if they did, it was not published in the comics I have physically (because internet archives often omit the letters which can sometimes contain some really insightful stuff). I also began looking into the artist for this issue (the awesome Eric Battle) to see if he had any link to either of Vril's comics and... nothing.

So we're left with speculation as to why this AI is named Dox and WHY he is linked specifically to L.E.G.I.O.N.

Just by having that L.E.G.I.O.N. emblem on his abdomen confirms at least by intent I believe that he was at least named for Vril Dox II.

It could be that this AI's creator, whoever they are, had a keen interest in L.E.G.I.O.N. and named him after Vril as a sort of fond homage to history and there is no other real link.

The facility that was holding Bart in his VR containment we know for sure could not be highly reputable and very likely was employed by morally dubious scientists at the heels of Thaddeus Thawne I, so that is another angle that can be speculated on as L.E.G.I.O.N. for all the good it did do in the galaxy was a morally dark grey entity. Vril, is morally dark grey teetering on solid grey. So you have two sketchy entities together on this and no real link to either of them.

It's fascinating and frustrating and I might return to this later.

#bart allen #dox the ai #dox #vril dox ii #vril dox #brainiac #brainiac 2 #l.e.g.i.o.n. #impulse #dc comics #i thought maybe rj brande might be involved but we don't know if rj brande of earth 247 #is vril's durlan for sure at least i think #so it's a fun rabbit hole

[cantsayidont]

March 1987. While the 1984 LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES series didn't focus exclusively on the female Legionnaires by any means, it gave many of them some of their finest moments, such as this exceptional spotlight on Legion founder Saturn Girl (pictured above left). Awakening to find herself a prisoner in a labor camp on an unknown planet, surrounded by virtually mindless fellow captives, Saturn Girl has to use every bit of her intelligence, strength, and telepathic ability to find a way out for herself and three other captured Legionnaires. This is a remarkable story in many ways, not least for its imaginative depiction of Saturn Girl's telepathic journey into the minds of her comrades. More under the cut …

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen of Titan) was one of the original Legionnaires, introduced in ADVENTURE COMICS #247 back in 1958. She had actually retired for a while after marrying cofounder Garth Ranzz (Lightning Lad), with whom she'd had two young children, and at this point was only occasionally involved in Legion business, although she and Garth had recently had a nasty run-in with one of the Legion's worst enemies, as seen in the 1986 LEGIONNAIRES 3 miniseries. Nevertheless, Imra in this period was one of the most experienced members of the team, having been a professional superhero since she was 14 years old.

This issue begins with Imra waking up after having been mentally controlled like her fellow captives; while she was out, her telepathic abilities had somehow managed to break the mental blocks suppressing her thoughts and personality. She immediately has a Beverly Crusher "No, it is the world that is wrong" moment:

For the reader, the "Universo Project" title banner on the cover has already tipped the identity of the story's villain: Universo, a former Green Lantern called Vidar, is a power-hungry would-be tyrant with formidable hypnotic powers. However, at this point, Imra doesn't have any idea what's happened or where she is. She proceeds to carefully analyze the physical layout of their prison:

She assesses possible escape routes, but quickly runs into a problem: Although there are no guards other than surveillance drones, Imra doesn't have superhuman strength or endurance, and without her Legion flight ring and transuit, she can't fly or hold her breath indefinitely, which means she won't be able to get out on her own. However, she knows that there are three other Legionnaires among the prisoners: Dream Girl (Nura Nal of Naltor), Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox of Colu), and Chameleon Boy (Reep Daggle of Durla). (Although Imra hasn't made the connection yet, they've all been singled out because they are the Legionnaires most resistant to Universo's hypnotic powers, and thus the greatest potential threats to his plans.) Together, the four of them might be able to contrive an escape, but first Imra has to help them escape the mental blocks that have made them virtual zombies.

With great difficulty, Imra manages to carry her three comrades one at a time to a cave that seems to be unmonitored. She then begins the even more challenging phase of her plan: entering the unconscious minds of each of her friends, something she had always made a point of not doing.

The 1980s saw an enormous improvement in the physical production capabilities of mainstream comics. The color hold and glow effect in the page above would not have been possible when Paul Levitz first started writing Legion stories in the '70s, and this story uses that technology to good advantage.

I'm skipping over some scene changes here; the story cuts away at several points to show what the other Legionnaires are doing and what Universo is up to back on Earth. That's less interesting than what's happening with Imra, as she enters the unconscious mind of Nura Nal:

Production technology is one thing, but flashy effects are meaningless if the story has nothing to say. These telepathy sequences are really visually inventive, and I'm curious how much of this is in the script and how much is the imagination of penciller Greg LaRocque, who outdoes himself here on what I assume was a challenging job.

As for what Saturn Girl is seeing: Dream Girl is a precog whose powers manifest primarily in the form of prophetic dreams. She was also one of the most scientifically proficient Legionnaires, although her intellect tended to be overshadowed by the fact that she was a high-maintenance diva and frequently a huge bitch. Her boyfriend, Star Boy (Thom Kallor), whose image Imra sees in Nura's head, generally took a smile-and-nod approach to Nura's fits of primadonna bullshit.

Did I mention that Dream Girl was kind of a diva? Even in this critical situation, Imra can't help but roll her eyes a bit at her friend's, ahem, robust self-regard.

With Nura freed, Imra enters the 12th-level computer mind of resident Coluan super-genius Brainiac 5:

Brainiac 5 was never depicted as an android or a cyborg, so what did it mean for him to have a "computer mind"? Levitz apparently gave that a lot of thought, and the result is an interesting visualization of Brainy's superhuman intellect.

The blond woman in the circle near the top looks like Dream Girl, which doesn't make much sense: There was no love lost between Brainy and Nura in this era, and it seems unlikely she would be this much on his mind. I have an inkling that that image was originally supposed to be Supergirl — about whom Brainy DID have strong feelings and whose death he had been mourning not that long before — but that Levitz and LaRocque got an 11th-hour editorial reminder that Kara could no longer even be mentioned, resulting in that section being hastily redrawn. (I'm speculating, but it seems reasonable.) The guy with the headband, meanwhile, is former Legionnaire Lyle Norg, the first Invisible Kid, who died in SUPERBOY #203. Lyle was Brainy's friend, and there was sometimes the sense that Brainy had romantic feelings for him, so his presence here is noteworthy.

Finally, Imra must reach the mind of Chameleon Boy. Cham was one of a handful of pre-reboot Legionnaires who were genuinely not human: He was from the planet Durlan, whose inhabitants were all shapeshifters. By this time, it had been established that Cham's normal form (orange humanoid with antennae) was not his true shape, but a common "default" form Durlans used when engaging with humans so as not to freak them out TOO badly. As Imra discovers below, this means that Cham's mind is also completely inhuman:

This is a fascinating representation of the inside of Cham's head. Durlan bodies are unusually malleable — Chameleon Boy's shapeshifting never seems to be constrained by mass or volume, and he routinely becomes creatures of wildly different sizes and forms. So, what parts ARE Cham? Where does his personality reside? An interesting philosophical question, but this is still an adventure story, and Imra is on the clock:

Very impressive. What I find particularly compelling about how Levitz treats Saturn Girl in this story is that he resists the temptation to amp up her powers or turn her into a blond Batman; he stays within the established bounds of her abilities while emphasizing her practical resourcefulness. You also get a sense at several points that Imra is struggling a bit to keep herself calm (she reassures herself that her husband is probably looking for her and that she will be reunited with her kids), since she recognizes that if she panics, she's probably done for. (There's a notable contrast with LEGIONNAIRES 3, by Keith Giffen and Mindy Newell, where Imra does break down after she learns one of her sons has been kidnapped; she's not made of stone.)

It's not hard to see why this series is still considered the standard-bearer for modern Legion stories: Levitz was deeply concerned with the personalities and relationships between the characters — not only within the individual stories, but also across the group's long and convoluted history — but he also managed to come up with imaginative and exciting adventures through which to explore and develop those things. It doesn't always work, of course (although there are few real clunkers in this run), but when it works, it works really well, and even the less-successful arcs are generally interesting. Certainly, the female Legionnaires had never been treated with this level of care and respect before — and most of them haven't since then, either.

#comics #legion of super heroes #legion of superheroes #paul levitz #greg laroque #mike decarlo #saturn girl #imra ardeen #dream girl #nura nal #brainiac 5 #querl dox #chameleon boy #reep daggle #durlans

[katmaatui]

thaaros is supposed to be a durlan???? a durlan????

#Red Reads #Tuesday Spoilers #in a shocking move I don't think adams knows what a durlan is

[kilowogcore]

This is how Batman oughta be, Poozers! Unfortunately, I think he's only like this because he's scared a' what Oracle'll do ta him if he don't support Batgirl.

#comics #dc comics #superhero #batman #batgirl #stephanie brown #batgirls #He's definitely been replaced by a Durlan

[fancyfade]

I feel as if there was some lack of coordination going on with the artists. The main invasion comic stated that Durlans have forgotten their original form, and generally draws them in cloaks with tentacles peaking out mysteriously. Starman, Flash, and Manhunter draw them like humans with orange skin and big ears.

#invasion #fade reads dc comics #dc comics #durlans

[dcbinges]

Invasion! #1 (1988) by Todd McFarlane, Keith Giffen & Bill Mantlo

#durlans #khunds #garguax #todd mcfarlane #keith giffen #bill mantlo #dc comics #dc #80s #80s comics #invasion! #invasion #comics

[sisaloofafump]

Daily Diana #26

I am going issue by issue through Wonder Woman (1987—) and drawing my highlights on a very vague daily schedule.

Issue 26 and this isn't actually Diana, it's a Durlan impersonating her. No fancy background this time but I did have to draw a big gun so I think that counts!

Masterlist || Previous || Next

Original panel (and more) below:

Here is a side-by-side :) (it’s an imposter, not actually her). And here is more context and stuff:

#yup yup #dc comics #my art #wonder woman #diana prince #diana of themyscira #daily diana

[spandexinspace]

The way Vril's assault is depicted in the comics is odd in that it does follow a trend of male SA victims being treated very poorly in comics at that time, but unlike people like Nightwing or GA it seems like that's actually somewhat of a believable outcome for Vril. Because while he has people around him who follow and fear him he doesn't really have anyone around who actually gives much a shit about him. The Durlan, who cared more of obligation than love, is gone and Lyrissa, who didn't really care but at least occasionally seemed a little more sympathetic towards him, is dead. The rest of his closest associates don't actually like him.

There's no one around to sympathise with him. But there are people around who like Stealth far more than they like him, and it's probably not too hard for them to rationalise to themselves that what she did wasn't that bad. She couldn't control her actions, maybe he provoked her, etc. And she loaths him to her core, so if others are supporting her she might not even feel like what she did was wrong, that she can taunt him about it because he's a bad person who deserves bad things.

It's not right, but it would make sense for the setting. I think the main issue lies in Vril's reaction to it, or rather that it's left very ambiguous when it would perhaps have been appropriate to give slightly more info. It's entirely possible, even likely, that Vril internalised it enterily considering his history of parental abuse and torture and the way he talks about bottling things up later on. But considering how comics were generally depicting SA at the time it would probably have been better to be a little more obvious about it, if that was supposed to explain his response.

#cw sa mention #Dc comics #I'm not sure if that's the actual explanation or if it was just more of the same but it is at least a likely explanation #Considering how he acts about everything else

[evilhorse]

“Go on an adventure!” you said.

(Manhunter #9)

#mannunter #Durlan #disgruntled #alien #invasion! #crossover #Kim Yale #john ostrander #frank springer #pablo marcos #dc comics #comics #80s comics

[protytwo]

LoSH Appreciation Week Day 1 - Body Swap

Looks like Shrinking Violet and Timber Wolf are getting ready to go off on a mission with Chameleon Boy. You could be forgiven for assuming that's really Violet. It's not like we had any reason to suspect an imposter.

The first clue, in hindsight, was when the mission went bad and several Legionnaires were trapped on an asteroid. Colossal Boy confesses his feelings for Violet.

Why is she upset? Does she know something that she can't tell Gim?

When Shrinking Violet's longtime, long distance boyfriend Duplicate Boy finds out Violet is making time with Colossal Boy he flies off to confront them.

"Gim-- Who--" Odd that you don't recognize your own boyfriend, Violet.

But eventually Duplicate Boy calms down, and...

Yup, she's not the Violet you fell in love with. Luckily for her, Duplicate Boy goes away without any greater confrontation.

Then much later the Legion goes to Weber's World to confront the Emerald Empress.

Was Violet supposed to know the layout of Weber's World? Maybe.

But a Durlan Nerve-Cruncher move? That doesn't sound like our Violet.

But Shvaughn and Element Lad were already suspicious after the Duplicate Boy incident. With a little more research, they've pretty well figured it out. But if this isn't the real Shrinking Violet, then they need to find and save the real Violet without the imposter or the kidnappers figuring it out. A secret meeting takes place under Legion HQ.

After over a year, the whole plot is ready to be revealed.

In a Legion cruiser, on the way to respond to a supposed priority alert from Imsk, the fake Violet is caught out, and a psych-probe reveals the truth.

Yera, a Durlan actress has been tricked into helping the Imskian Liberation Movement without understanding that they had kidnapped Violet.

But the Legion is able to find the Movement and Violet.

The Legion then breaks up the Movement and frees Violet. The Violet who emerges after time to recover from her ordeal has been somewhat hardened, and has had to reevaluate her friendships and priorities.

#loshweek #loshweek23 #day 1 #body swap #shrinking violet #salu digby #yera allon #colossal boy #gim allon #duplicate boy #ord quelu

[radioactive-earthshine]

Impulse #25

R.J. Brande, multi-trillionaire and primary benefactor to The Legionnaires meets Bart (briefly) approximately 15 years prior to the creation of said team and is enthralled with him as of he's just seen a unicorn.

#bart allen #impulse #r.j. brande #losh #legionnaires #post-zero hour brande's confusing and nebulous origins #is he a durlan #is he j'onn #is he a human #who knows

[lemonyinks]

is the durlan character on the l.e.g.i.o.n team Brande or did i just wrongfully assume that for several issues?

#l.e.g.i.o.n #i read through all of Invasion! and a few issues of legion thinking it was him before realizing i might be wrong #i dont even know why that was my first assumption #unless of course it has literally already said it was him and i passed over it