Oh shit- I wasn’t aware one of his powers was Ultra-Threatening-Jab’s-Heterosexuality.

ULTRA BOY (Jo Nah)

Silver Age Ultra Boy:
-I swear that this kid has one of the most popular power-sets I’ve seen, as far as what fans say they like. What’s funny about it is that very same distinctive power-set (“All Superman’s Powers- but one at a time!”) is what kind of holds him back. Certainly, if you read Paul Levitz’s run on the book, Jo almost never does anything, and is easily overshadowed by Mon-El (who has almost all of the powers- he can’t see through lead- but none of the drawbacks). But the amount of people I’ve heard say they LOVE this power-set arguably outnumbers any other power-set I’ve ever posted.

Ultra Boy is a major curiosity in Legion history, in that he’s a THIRD member of the Kryptonian-Level Power Trio of the team, yet has a totally different origin (like Jonah of the Bible, Jo Nah flew into the belly of a whale… a space one), and a unique weakness that actually makes him a bit more interesting in a fight: he can use only one power at a time. So Flight, Ultra-Strength, Flash-Vision, all that, is limited to one at a time- a truly unique concept, and one of my favourite super-hero power-sets of all time- it allows him both incredible feats of power, but also provides him with concrete, devastating limits that can leave him horribly vulnerable! And that costume somehow comes across looking pretty cool and iconic, despite every sensibility saying red & green on a costume would make you look like a Christmas decoration.

Like many early Legionnaires, Ultra Boy debuted in a Superboy story, coming into the past to prove himself worthy of Legion membership by engaging in Superdickery. He is extremely important to Legion history as one of their “Big Three” powerhouses (along with the -Els, Kal & Mon) and an early member, though all of the stories I’ve read feature him in much more minor roles, usually not even really getting involved in the fights that much (I would presume he holds back a bit to avoid being taken out in a slugfest). A pretty regular occurence was for Ultra Boy to be wiped out right away because he was using his Ultra-Strength instead of Ultra-Durability, and getting one-hit KO’d.

He was romantically linked with Phantom Girl for most of the Legion’s history (in Original & Reboot continuities), acting as an aggressive bad-boy at times to her more sensitive lady-like approach- later appearances after the ’80s would ramp up the Bad-Boy act and turn him into a grungy, stubble-ridden bad-ass ex-criminal. In the “Five Years Later” era, Phantom Girl was thought dead, leading to Ultra Boy joining a band of smugglers on his home planet of Rimbor. Meanwhile, an “SW6” Clone emerged, and stayed around until the Zero Hour crisis rebooted continuity.

Reboot Era:
-Here, Jo actually started out as a criminal on Rimbor, but being eaten by an “Ultra Energy Beast” gave him powers. He joins a rival team of the Legion’s called “Workforce”, and dates Spider Girl (Sussa Paka, not May Parker), but falls in love with Apparition (the Phantom Girl of the Reboot era). After being stranded on a prison planet with the Legion, he quits Workforce and joins them full-time. He & Apparition marry and have a son named Cub right before continuity is rebooted.

In the “Threeboot” continuity, Jo is dating Shadow Lass instead of Phantom Girl, and was framed for a crime he didn’t commit on Rimbor (oddly, his “criminal past” has stuck with him in all three variations of continuity). Karate Kid trains him in more responsible use of his variable powers. He has a brief affair with Saturn Girl before this continuity ends.

PHANTOM GIRL (Tinya Wazzo, aka Apparition, Phase)

Silver Age Phantom Girl:
-Phantom Girl is a VERY old-school Legionnaire who nonetheless had a very limited power set, but made herself a place by being extremely effective on recon and escaping, and by being the genuinely NICEST and SWEETEST member of the team. In a world plagued by Superdickery and cruel acts, she was one of the few who never seemed to be a part of it, often trusting people when no one else would. Plus, the pigtails & white bell-bottoms are adorable. Granted, this all left her the most bland of the Legionnaires, and I can’t find a single instance of her really showing ANY characterization in four trades’ worth of stuff- she’s basically Ultra-Boy’s Non-Combatant Girlfriend 24/7. ’90s mix-ups led to her being revealed as half-Carggite, explaining “Phase” from that weird L.E.G.I.O.N. team, but through everything, she was virtually always in a relationship with Ultra-Boy- a classic case of Good Little Girl falling for the rough ex-Bad Boy. Her mom being United Planets leader gave her an interesting place as well.

Phantom Girl was actually the fifth person to join the Legion, and is a native of Bgztl, which exists in the 4th Dimension, allowing all of that race to “phase” out of reality, becoming intangible. She quickly forms a relationship with Ultra Boy, and becomes the stealthiest Legionnaire, alongside The Invisible Kid. Thought to have been killed in the “Five Year Gap” era, she is actually transported to the 20th Century by the sorceress Glorith- she becomes “Phase” of the interstellar law enforcement agency, L.E.G.I.O.N. Meanwhile, the “SW6 Clones” are activated, giving us another Phantom Girl, who eventually takes the name Apparition. A few continuity shifts thanks to time travel later, and Phase is now revealed to be “Enya Wazzo”, Phantom Girl’s cousin (who of course had never appeared before), and Tinya reunites with Ultra Boy just as continuity ends.

Reboot Era Apparition:
-“Apparition” is again the fifth member to join, and also starts dating Ultra Boy. However, this version of Tinya is revealed to be Half-Carggite, with Phase as another one of her bodies- since Carggites are all able to triplicate. Here, Apparition chafes under the domineering control of her mother, Bgztlian Ambassador to the United Planets. She is thought killed by Daxamite White Triangle terrorists, but has actually gone permanently out of phase- only Ultra Boy and her mother can see her. Ultra Boy eventually marries her, despite being unable to touch her, and she “merges” with Phase, controlling their united body- it was here that she learns of her origins (her mother had slept with a Carggite traveller). Her “third self” is never found.

Tinya eventually becomes pregnant while Ultra Boy is lost in space, and stresses pull them apart- he kisses Saturn Girl out of stress, her child Cub grows abnormally fast, and teammate Timber Wolf and Tinya have grown very close. The Threeboot happens before any of this can become resolved.

Threeboot Phantom Girl:
-Tinya is again called Phantom Girl in the “Threeboot” Era, and Bgztl now exists out of phase, but in the same location as Earth. She is the only one of her people who can phase into Earth, leaving her visible on both planets, which can be confusing for those who see her conversing with “nobody”. She is badly beaten by a paranoid Princess Projectra, and this continuity ends before anything can be resolved. She barely appears in the Post-Infinite Crisis era, and now shows up in The Terrifics, about a team of heroes led by Mr. Terrific. This makes her one of the very few LOSH characters still active in the current DC Universe.