BLOK

Blok- One and Done:
-Blok is a semi-late addition to the original Legion line-up, but came to be one of their most recognizable members, since he’s a giant rock-dude and all. A giant silicon being from a dead planet called Dryad, he was a “Last of His Kind” type of guy who joined the team after first thinking they were the bad guys, and took up the resident role of “calm, rational and good-natured giant guy” as well, seemingly adopting two or three super-team stereotypes all by his lonesome. He actually feels much more like a Marvel character than a DC one. He’s one of the funnier guys in the books I’ve read, often crushing on White Witch or chatting with Brin Londo (who just insults him). He would eventually quit the Legion after they were under suspicion by Earthgov, spending years in “quiet contemplation”. Despite being well-liked, he was one of the semi-rare Legion casualties, being offed by some villain as a “message” to the other kids- this threat instead galvanizes the Legion, leading directly to its reformation. Blok’s final moments are of happiness, as Stratra of L.E.G.I.O.N. (part of his world’s mythology) leads him to the greater truth of his people. He turns up alive Post-Infinite Crisis, owing to the removal of the “Five Years Later” history. Here, he is finally in a relationship with the White Witch- something only hinted at in his obvious crush from the Pre-Crisis world.

-As Hero History notes, he’d attained a sense of popularity in that he was always one of the Legionnaires visible in group scenes (like in Crisis on Infinite Earths and other group-events), since he was one of the few who wasn’t some generically designed kid with a replaceable costume. Me, I think he’s one of the most “Marvel”-style Legionnaires- a big ugly rock-dude with a personality in contrast to his appearance, and a crush on a beautiful girl. And wouldn’t ya know it- he originated from the mind of Gerry Conway, the Spider-Man scribe who killed Gwen Stacy.

-Oddly, despite being visually interesting, he didn’t make it onto either the Reboot or Threeboot Legions (there was an imaginary tale in Threeboot, and some other members of his race seen in Reboot), even though the post-Zero Hour crew LOVED to feature non-human types. Granted, he is TOTALLY REDUNDANT on this team, being that he’s a super-powerhouse fighter in the Marvel Team Strong-Guy sense, and nowhere near the weight class of Mon-El or Ultra Boy, both of whom have multiple OTHER powers, too.

THE WHITE WITCH (Mysa Nal, aka Hag, Jewel, The Black Witch)

The Silver Age White Witch:
-White Witch is one of the more short-lived and less-popular members of the Legion, introduced early, but coming into her own during the ’70s, with a new white-skinned design that featured eyelash antennae and a big white dress. With the problematic super-power of magic, she was off-and-on, but perfect for stopping major threats with that “Just One Big Spell!” type of deal magic-types always end up getting, and the target of a cute crush by ugly guy Blok for a long time. 

-Mysa Nal is the sister of Nura, the Legion’s Dream Girl, but was born without the ability to see the future. She compensated for this by being trained on Zerox, the “Sorcerer’s World”, and slowly grew more chalk-white as time went on. She initially appeared as the “Hag”, a minion of Prince Evillo (EVILLO?!??), but Dream Girl & Star Boy removed her disguise (while disguised, naturally, as Sir Prize and Miss Terious). She was a big part of The Great Darkness Saga, being instrumental in defeating Darkseid, since she was both a wild card he’d not accounted for, and capable of the Ass-Pull stuff that “ah shit, how do I write myself out of this one?” writers always come up with.

-She turned up MARRIED to Mordru of all people, when he’d supposedly reformed, but she later took up arms against him and rejoined the group. She went undercover as “Jewel” after being de-aged by the sorceress Glorith, just as continuity ended.

Later White Witches:
-In the Reboot Era, Mysa was the daughter of Mordru, not the sister of Dream Girl. She’s spend a century plotting against Mordru when he returned (she was the sole survivor of a group that had attempted to stop him), and helped do so again. She settled on Sorcerer’s World and fell in love with Dragonmage. In “Threeboot”, she only appears as a member of Mekt Ranzz’s “Wanderers” group. In the Post-Infinite Crisis era, she turns up on Sorcerer’s World, being imprisoned by Mordru. The Legion frees her, and it turns out that she’s now in a relationship with Blok. And in Legion of Three Worlds, she again uses the “Magic Character Ass-Pull” power to become The Black Witch, sealing away Mordru and defeating most of the assembled villains single-handedly. Though dark and frightening, she & Blok attempt to protect the world from dark sorcery.

-Mysa is thus a semi-important character to Legion history, but one that’s prone to being written out until the writer needs to half-ass his way out of an ending by having her wave her hands around and do what Magic Heroes do best. She’s at least got a much more interesting design than the usual “Caped Guy” character- the weird “Antennae Eyelashes” and chalk-white look really stands out. She’s not bad overall, but throwing magic-types into the science & future-tech world of the Legion is just ASKING for trouble, as the deus ex machina nature of their powers always comes dangerously close to ending a threat before it even gets started.