CHAMELEON BOY (Reep Daggle)

Chameleon Boy- The Only Non-Caucasian Legionnaire:
-Seeing as how the ENTIRE CONCEPT of the Legion of Super-Heroes was based off of teenage aliens from across the universe banding together, it seems kind of odd that only ONE out of the first thirty or so entrants was anything but a caucasian-looking attractive person. But hey, it was the ’50s & ’60s- they hadn’t quite worked out what other kinds of aliens could look like yet. His unique appearance gave Chameleon Boy the ultimate group-posing position on the team- as a visually interesting type, he was often cast in big group shots where “white dude in funny clothes” might not be- thus, he became an iconic symbol of the Legion, despite doing less in general than many of his teammates. Sort of a comical background guy, I guess. Later iterations made him a bit of a super-spy and made him a little more serious, but he was still pretty low on the totem pole of importance.

It was the Paul Levitz run that revealed that Reep was actually the son of Legion founder/backroller R.J. Brande- the news shocked Reep, causing him to act rebelliously and take several dangerous missions- Brande finally convinces a tearful Cham to talk to him.

Reboot Reep:
-Now simply called “Chameleon”, he was not related to R.J. Brande, but was the son of Durla’s spiritual leader, and was the heir to that title. He believed, however, that he better served his people as a member of the Legion. The “Threeboot” Reep is also called “Chameleon”, and is an androgynous humanoid. Neither character has anything resembling a big Wikipedia bio- Laurel Kent has a longer bio that all three versions of Reep combined, I swear. Post-Infinite Crisis, Chameleon Boy was seen hiding out in 21st Century Earth, as part of Brande’s plan to save the future from the past.

R.J. BRANDE (Rene Jacques Brande, aka Ren Daggle)

Original Era:
-R.J. Brande is an interesting variation of a writing trick I wish more people would adopt: When asked one of those “hey, I just realized something” questions by fans (in this case, “where to the Legion get all of their crap, and who’s paying for it?”), instead of blowing it off or creating some half-assed explanation, you should write your explanation INTO THE COMICS, thus creating a real part of your creation’s concept rather than just a one-off reply. By answering the question of who funds the Legion, Bridwell & Swan created a new character, a ton of storyline possibilities (Brande is under attack; Brande is losing his money; Brande has a rival, etc.), and eventually, the long-lost father of one of their characters. Mark Gruenwald used to do stuff like this, too, and it’s really missing from a lot of comics.

Brande got written into the Legion’s “Origin Story”, as he was the wealthiest man in the world, and was rescued from assassins by Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy & Saturn Girl. He decided to fund the kids in their super-heroic escapades. And then his REAL backstory got revealed- it turns out that Brande, the richest man in the galaxy (he builds and sells SUNS), is actually a shapeshifting Durlan who was Mode-Locked by some random-ass fever, and is secretly the father of Legionnaire Chameleon Boy! This revelation causes Reep Daggle a lot of stress, and he’s temporarily imprisoned while acting out- eventually, the pair reconcile in tears. Post-Crisis, Brande is retconned as a 20th Century Durlan in the L.E.G.I.O.N. series, where he founds that intergalactic police force

Post-Reboot:
-Brande plays the same role in the Reboot era, but builds stargates instead of suns. He was originally planned to be revealed to be the Martian Manhunter, but JLA editor Dan Raspler vetoed the idea- many hints exist, however. He eventually becomes President of the United Planets. He does not appear in the “Threeboot” Era. Brande is restored in the modern era, but is actaully assassinated in Legion of Three Worlds, THEN is revealed to be a Durlan, and Chameleon Boy’s father. He reappears via hologram to give his last will and testament.