I like those thigh-highs with the holes. That’s all I got.

TRIPLICATE GIRL (Luornu Durgo, aka Duo Damsel, Triad & Una)

Silver Age Triplicate Girl:
-Triplicate Girl was one of the very first inductees of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which makes sense because she’s rather silly and not that well-thought-out as a concept (I mean, a regular girl turning into THREE PEOPLE? And she fights CRIME with those powers?). However, her age creates a strong sense of “Grandfather Clause” about her, in that she’ll ALWAYS be around because she was such a big part of the early stories. Even so, she was written as pretty worthless most of the time, occasionally saving the day (like EVERYONE, from Mon-El to Matter-Eater Lad), but really just being a normal girl who happened to Summon two other normal people. Thusly, she got written out eventually (after losing a clone in one story and becoming “Duo Damsel” from then on), becoming a minor supporting character for the most part.

Luornu Durgo could turn herself into three identical people, as could all the people of Cargg, who had three suns orbiting their world (because of course those things would be related). She is the first non-founder to join the Legion of Super-Heroes, which is pretty hilarious. She nursed an unrequited crush on Superboy, and was later shattered when one of her “bodies” was killed by Computo, a rogue creation of Brainiac-5’s. Thereafter, she became known as Duo Damsel- the experience of losing part of herself left her emotionally traumatized, and she would be too afraid to confront the rogue computer from then on.

A fan wrote in a bicolored costume that would “split” into monochromatic versions when she duplicated- something that every continuity (and even the cartoon!) would adopt, because that’s just a nifty idea. However, Luornu would retire from the Legion to marry Bouncing Boy, thirteen years after her debut (1974), and have many kinky, non-bigamist threesomes. Her other “self” was killed by the Time Trapper in a mission to avenge the death of Superboy, but this was retconned into being the villain Glorith’s doing later on. Later, this body turned up alive, because even DUPLICATES just aren’t able to be killed these days in comics. After a point, she could generate Force Fields thanks to a special belt from Brainiac-5.

Luornu would never rejoin the Legion, but remained in charge of the Legion Academy (alongside Bouncing Boy), and meet her “SW6” clone, who eventually took the name Triad.

Later Luornus:
-In the Reboot continuity, Luornu was considered defective- she shared THREE PERSONALITIES when she was born, instead of just one! Her mother eventually committed suicide after her father abandoned the family- a direct result of her “defects”. Her people tortured her in an asylum for years, trying to get her “selves” to act the same way. Eventually, she escaped confinement, and took up with a sympathetic R.J. Brande, who let her join the Legion, where she took the name “Triad” once more. She was one of the team’s most consistent members, never losing a “self”. This continuity gave her the biggest push to date, and she developed martial arts “Tri-Jitsu” know-how to become a Martial Artist-type character, overcoming the old weakness (I always say with weak-powered heroes: they have one more power than BATMAN or CAPTAIN AMERICA have, so they’re one karate lesson away from being bad-ass anyways).

In “Threeboot”, Triplicate Girl is the only inhabitant of Cargg, and has an unknown origin. She could split into nearly limitless numbers, all sharing a single consciousness. When three of herself travelled off-world as emissaries of Cargg, the others considered them “tainted” for having different experiences and met unknown people- they were no longer welcome on Cargg, and thus, joined the Legion, where they could merge into one being at will.

In the Post-Infinite Crisis run, a single Luornu, calling herself “Una”, aided Karate Kid in the 21st Century. However, both are killed in something involving Deadman and some OMACs- in The Legion of Three Worlds, she appears as “Duplicate Damsel”, then Duplicate Girl, able to create vast numbers of bodies. Here, she reveals that Una was the second and last of her original duplicates.

BOUNCING BOY (Chuck Taine)

Silver Age Bouncing Boy:
-On any other team, Bouncing Boy would be the Mortiest, loser-y member. But on the Legion, he’s merely #2 or 3 on the list. A classic case of a goofy creation from day one, writers have always had a difficult time making him useful, and thus he tended to lose and regain his powers at a rate of once per year just to get him out of the way. Still, the writers liked his PERSONALITY enough to give him a regular gal-pal in Duo Damsel, and help him save the day a couple times, so he always had a place (often as a Legion Academy trainer). Oddly, he’s become much MORE popular in recent years, all thanks to various cartoon appearances, where his goofy name & personality belied a pretty effective ricocheting battle-tactic that made him nigh-impossible to hit, and he can also dual as a Fan Insert character, and kind of a more humble “Regular Guy” character on a team of super-powered beautiful people. He’s actually the best possible use of “Lame Power Guy”, actually having the courage and capability to make himself useful in SOME way, while acknowledging that he’s not that great.

Chuck Taine is an Earthling who drank a super-plastic formula, which he thought was soda pop. This being 1961’s era of comics, he gained super-human powers. Twice rejected for Legion membership, he was finally allowed to join when he defeated an electrical villain (because he wasn’t grounded, having been bouncing in the air). He proclaimed himself the “Morale Officer” of the team, owing to his cheery personality. However, he was de-powered and left the team after a short while, returning only for the Computo tale in which one of Triplicate Girl’s selves was killed. He lost his powers TWO MORE TIMES before proposing to the now-Duo Damsel, and the pair retired, being the least-combat-capable Leionnaires at the time. Though they were a bit silly, the writers/artists made it pretty clear that yes, Chuck was banging both of her, AT THE SAME TIME. So, you know, score Chuck.

Chuck and his wife later founded the Legion Academy, training new generations of kids, and even formed the Legion of Substitute Heroes from assorted rejects. He’d even meet his young clone from the “SW6” kids. But for the most part, his fighting days were done by the mid-1970s.

Later Chuck Taines:
-Chuck, like Matter-Eater Lad, joined the Legion in the “Reboot” era, but in a “Support” role, as the team’s architect. He never appeared in the “Threeboot” version, but Infinite Crisis restored the oldest continuity, and Bouncing Boy returned, along with his wife, who could now split herself into limitless copies. Once more, he is the team’s trainer.