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WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN? – Episode #43 by Bruce MacIntosh
Every week, DC’s Countdown introduces characters unfamiliar to some readers. Fear not! THE PULSE is here to illuminate you about these characters, so that you will never be in the dark for long. In this Episode of Who Counts in Countdown? we’ll shed some light our favorite stellar schizophrenic, Starman! (Formerly known as Starboy from the Legion of Superheroes.) Who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he acting so strange and mumbling things like “Fifty-two, fifty-two”?
STARMAN (Thom Kallor) Any biography of a character from the Legion of Superheroes needs to be prefaced with a warning. You see, the team’s adventures have always taken place 1000 years in the future of the DC Universe. So, even the simplest stories in “today’s” continuity can affect events in the future, making prior stories told of the future Legion fall out of continuity. Make sense? No?
Okay, let’s use a hypothetical example: Let’s say there were 40 years worth of comic stories where a super-powered boy is involved in many adventures with a team of the future. Then, let’s say DC is involved in a dispute over the rights to this super boy’s character and can’t use that super boy’s name anymore. In fact, they have to – hypothetically, of course – eliminate that super boy’s entire existence from DC continuity. That means that any reference to that super boy in the future has to be removed from our collective comics memory, and every story that was previously told about that super boy and the Legion of Superheroes has to be either patched up with a replacement character or alternate future events, or ignored altogether. Got a headache thinking about it? I do.
This is an example of one of the many reasons for DC’s periodic re-boots of the entire universe, such as Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), Zero Hour (1994), and Infinite Crisis (2005). It is also part of the reason why Legion continuity is so convoluted, and the reason why it gets re-booted more often than a rodeo cowboy’s wardrobe.
That being said, a comprehensive survey of any Legion character’s “history” is difficult to document. Starboy/Starman’s is even more difficult than most, so – with apologies to any Legion completists – we’ll try to avoid many past story elements that are unlikely to be affect what is currently happening in Countdown.
Pre-Zero Hour (1961 – 1994) I suspect that most readers will recognize the Starman who appears in Countdown and “The Lightning Saga” that recently concluded in the pages of Justice League of America and Justice Society of America from his 1970s adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes. However, he first appeared in the earliest stories of the LSH in Adventure Comics in the late 1950s. In fact, he was one of the very first inductees of the team.
He was, in fact, discovered by a certain super boy – who doesn’t exist anymore – in the pages of Adventure Comics #282 (Mar, 1961). Young Thom Kallor gained a variety of super powers after taking the family’s spacemobile on a joyride through a comet’s tail. He wreaked the spacemobile, but mom and dad were so relieved that Thom… got super powers, that they immediately shipped him off to the LSH.
Without explanation, most of Starboy’s wide variety of super powers wore off, and he was left with the solitary ability to make objects super-heavy. One of his first acts as the lucky 13th member of the galaxy’s favorite teen super-team was to fall madly in love with resident supermodel, Dream Girl (Nura Nal). Dreamy’s power to… uh, dream random events of the future, was almost as fantastic as Starboy’s ability to make things heavy, and she was inducted into LSH membership immediately. (Actually it was the hormone-addled male members of the team who voted her in. The girls all voted ‘nay’.)
Unfortunately, Nura had joined the Legion under false pretenses, so was forced to resign. The heartbroken Starboy immediately went to visit mom and dad on his home planet, and had to kill a jealous suitor of Dream Girl in self-defense. Since this violated the Legion’s prohibitions against killing, Starboy was also forced to resign. The good news was that he and Dream Girl joined the Legion of Substitute-Heroes – which was a team of B-listers that was in some ways more interesting than the LSH because of their second-rate powers and personality quirks.
Eventually, Thom was again deemed worthy enough for the big-leagues and was called back up to the Legion. (I guess they decided they needed a “heavy-hitter”. Get it?) He took part in many adventures, and then the origin of his powers was rewritten in 1968. Now, Thom “was born in an orbiting observatory in space, where his astronomer-parents from the planet Xanthu lived, picking up starlight for research. This starlight gave Thom the power to draw mass from the stars and induce it into any object, making it super-heavy.”
The best thing to ever happen to Starboy was the late, great artist, Dave Cockrum, who in his brief tenure with the Legion of Super-Heroes modernized many of the costumes of the team members. Many consider his update of Starboy’s costume the most dramatic and positive. (Though I was partial to Princess Projectra’s uniform. Then again, I was a teenage boy – and still am at heart.) Gone was Thom’s bland, purple and yellow costume, to be replaced the now-familiar blank and white starfield suit. Although this costume was changed in subsequent versions of the Legion titles, it is this version in which he currently appeared in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and Countdown.
Zero Hour to “Threeboot”
In 1994, the mini-series Zero-Hour tried to do for DC’s messed-up time-lines what Crisis on Infinite Earths endeavored to do a decade earlier with the myriad parallel Earths (and accounts for the apologia at the start of this article). Essentially, what this meant was the elimination of the Legion and all the stories that had taken place before 1994. You all dreamed everything you had read for the previous 35 years! (And that volume of Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes on your shelf: You’re imagining that, too!)
There were several LSH titles that appeared in the decade following Zero Hour, including Legionnaires, Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 4), and Legion. These largely good stories and art, and Starboy/Starman appeared in a couple of dozen of these issues. But they don’t count now… at least as far as Countdown and the Starman who appears therein.
Within these series, Thom and Nura were an item for years, until her responsibilities as Legion leader began to take precedence over their relationship. Things finally fell apart for the formerly happy couple when Atmos, champion of the planet Xanthus, mind-controlled the Legion into letting him join – and Dreamy to fall for him. It was either Atmos’ overbearing personality or his wacky Mohawk, but everyone eventually came to their senses and rejected Atmos. Unfortunately, the damage was done and it was splitsville for Starboy and Dream Girl. All was not lost, however, as the ruling council on Xanthus asked Starboy to replace Atmos as their planetary protector. He accepted and resigned his commission with the Legion.
Upon reaching adulthood, Thom naturally changed his name to Starman. This is particularly confusing to DC continuity buffs, because at that time, he really had no connection to the Starman from the Golden Age Justice Society…
The confusion mounts, because the next big event in Thom’s life was that for unknown reasons, he chose to relocate from the 31st Century to the 21st and change his name to Denny Blaine. This is especially confusing because it occurred in the Mark Waid penned and Alex Ross illustrated series Kingdom Come, which until now was essentially considered an “Elseworlds”-type story and completely out of continuity. However, with the final panels of 52 and new teaser images for Countdown, we have learned that the alternate universe of Kingdom Come and its heroes have become one of the 52 new Earths. (Specifically, Earth-22.) James Robinson’s recent Starman series confirmed that it was Thom Kallor from the Legion of the 31st Century, as that character made several cameo appearances in that series.
Post Infinite Crisis
Following a crossover in Teen Titans #16 and the Teen Titans/Legion Special a new Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 5) was launched, initially written by Mark Waid and penciled by Barry Kitson. With the One Year Later events following Infinite Crisis (called “1001 Years Later” for this title) the series was rechristened Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Starboy appears it this title too, but that character is clearly not the Starman of our tale, especially since that character is African-American. (Waitaminnit… the Starman in Countdown is completely covered in his starfield costume from head-to-toe…)
Justice Society of America (2007) #1 re-introduced the Starman seemingly from Kingdom Come and/or 90s James Robinson Starman, and these events have tied into Countdown. He is borderline schizophrenic, and claims to hear voices in his head. Thom told the JSA’s Doctor Mid-Nite that he thinks he is losing his mind and asks Mid-Nite's to help him regain his sanity. While the condition is certainly no laughing matter, it affords him the best lines in whatever book he appears.
This is clearly the Thom Kallor which started in the Cockrum-era Legion of Super-Heroes, and not the version that is currently appearing in Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Hints in Justice Society of America #2 bolster the argument that he comes from the an Earth where the events of the Kingdom Come series occurred, and Issues #5 and #6 reveal that he is the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) Star Boy who previously resided on Earth-22 which caused his present mental condition. We also learned that he suffered from schizophrenia easily managed in the 31st century – but much more difficult in the 21st.
The Future for Starman It is unclear how Countdown will affect the “predicted” future based on past comic stories. However, it bears mentioning that James Robinson’s Starman series from several years ago stated that Thom Kallor will continue living in the 21st century. In that book, Jack Knight (the Starman from a few years ago, pre-Infinite Crisis) met a Thom a few years in the future. (That would be “now”.) That Thom – wearing the same starfield costume as the Starman now appearing in JSofA – verified that he was Jack's successor later in the 21st century.
NEXT WEEK IN WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN?
Two of Batman’s most popular and unique villains, Riddler and Clayface, will be making appearances in Countdown. So now is a good time to take a look at the stories of the enigmatic evil-doer and the malleable malefactor. This ought to be good!
Posts: 21381 | From: PA | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
aw hell! the fact that someone deems these articles as necessary to explain the facts of a character, makes me worry for those comic readers not yet knee deep in DC lore. How many more 'reboots' of the DCU before some one finally says "enough!". i guess erik larsen had the right idea with savage dragon, age him as if it were real time. so that 50 yrs later a reboot wont be necessary to answere why some characters are still in their late 20's early thirties.
Posts: 28 | Registered: Apr 2002
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From my viewpoint, that these articles are getting published indicates a long and prosperous publishing life for DC Comics.
I don't know a lot about all the various incarnations of many of these characters, yet I have no trouble following Countdown. Getting all this extra information is a bonus and creates a larger enjoyment of the story.
It would be really sweet to see all these articles collected into book form some day.
Posts: 545 | From: Southeast Michigan | Registered: Mar 2002
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((...the series was rechristened Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Starboy appears it this title too, but that character is clearly not the Starman of our tale, especially since that character is African-American.))
I don't follow the new LSH series. Is the new Starman actually from the 31st century North or South American continents of Earth (which *would* make him African-American)?
And, snark off, what is his name? Is it Thom Kallor too?
Posts: 2 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Coverdale asked: "Is the new Starman actually from the 31st century North or South American continents of Earth (which *would* make him African-American)?"
He's not from Earth, but from the planet Xanthu.
"And, snark off, what is his name? Is it Thom Kallor too?"
Yes, his name is Thom Kallor. (BTW, What's "snark off"? )
-------------------- See Bruce write...Write, Bruce, write! My website about Me: Comiczar.com Posts: 109 | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Alan Coil: ... I have no trouble following Countdown. Getting all this extra information is a bonus and creates a larger enjoyment of the story.
It would be really sweet to see all these articles collected into book form some day.
Thanks for the support, Alan - I appreciate it. Seriously.
As for the "collected edition" of Who Counts In Countdown?, I think that is a capital idea! Here's what everyone should do: Write, email, phone or stalk Dan DiDio, Bob Wayne, Jann Jones, et al at DC and let them know that they don't need to hire anyone else to do a new "Who's Who in the DC Universe", because someone has already done it!
No... really.
-------------------- See Bruce write...Write, Bruce, write! My website about Me: Comiczar.com Posts: 109 | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I love the Post ZH Star Boy's costume more than any costume design of the last 25 years or so. Too bad it's gone.
Posts: 16 | Registered: Dec 2006
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It's funny. When I saw the old LSH in the JLA/JSA crossover, I said to myself: "Ah! Finally. They're back!"
But as for the post ZH costume... This is the post-IC multiverse! Nothing's gone! It's just a future Earth that hasn't been numbered yet!
Posts: 662 | Registered: Jan 2002
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WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN? – Episode #43
Unfortunately, Nura had joined the Legion under false pretenses, so was forced to resign. The heartbroken Starboy immediately went to visit mom and dad on his home planet, and had to kill a jealous suitor of Dream Girl in self-defense. Since this violated the Legion’s prohibitions against killing, Starboy was also forced to resign. The good news was that he and Dream Girl joined the Legion of Substitute-Heroes – which was a team of B-listers that was in some ways more interesting than the LSH because of their second-rate powers and personality quirks.
The best thing to ever happen to Starboy was the late, great artist, Dave Cockrum, who in his brief tenure with the Legion of Super-Heroes modernized many of the costumes of the team members. Many consider his update of Starboy’s costume the most dramatic and positive. (Though I was partial to Princess Projectra’s uniform. Then again, I was a teenage boy – and still am at heart.) Gone was Thom’s bland, purple and yellow costume, to be replaced the now-familiar blank and white starfield suit. Although this costume was changed in subsequent versions of the Legion titles, it is this version in which he currently appeared in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and Countdown.
Within these series, Thom and Nura were an item for years, until her responsibilities as Legion leader began to take precedence over their relationship. Things finally fell apart for the formerly happy couple when Atmos, champion of the planet Xanthus, mind-controlled the Legion into letting him join – and Dreamy to fall for him. It was either Atmos’ overbearing personality or his wacky Mohawk, but everyone eventually came to their senses and rejected Atmos. Unfortunately, the damage was done and it was splitsville for Starboy and Dream Girl. All was not lost, however, as the ruling council on Xanthus asked Starboy to replace Atmos as their planetary protector. He accepted and resigned his commission with the Legion.
The confusion mounts, because the next big event in Thom’s life was that for unknown reasons, he chose to relocate from the 31st Century to the 21st and change his name to Denny Blaine. This is especially confusing because it occurred in the Mark Waid penned and Alex Ross illustrated series Kingdom Come, which until now was essentially considered an “Elseworlds”-type story and completely out of continuity. However, with the final panels of 52 and new teaser images for Countdown, we have learned that the alternate universe of Kingdom Come and its heroes have become one of the 52 new Earths. (Specifically, Earth-22.) James Robinson’s recent Starman series confirmed that it was Thom Kallor from the Legion of the 31st Century, as that character made several cameo appearances in that series.
The Future for Starman
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