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I can't stop thinking about alt versions of classic Legion tales, which would totally change the direction of certain characters. Yes, I admit it, fanfic. Here we have Dream Girl, Brainiac 5, and Mon-El...let's say curing Ayla of a deadly electrical fever—similar to the one Garth had during the great darkness saga—by evolving her powers to the light-based ones she had in the Alan Davis Legion. That would make her much more powerful, and Dream Girl far less duplicitous, and allow the reader to see her hold her own with Brainiac due to her knowledge of advanced Naltorian science.
I'm not sure what the other one is, but Mon-El is stripped naked for examination. And on both pages, you get Lyle and Condo. Left, in Condo's space car he acquired in Action Comics #381, and the next, flying side-by-side utilizing Legion flight rings.
I hadn't known of SECRET ORIGINS #47 (1989), featuring dead Legionnaires. I was able to get my hands on my copy to great disappointment! First, the art. I am a fan of Ty Templeton, but he and Chris Sprouse drew the characters like they were 25-40 years old...not 14-17. The script even says Condo is 14, so therefore Lyle couldn't have been more than 16 at that time?
Oh well...aside from the art, it was an interesting take on Condo and Lyle...one which I must discard as a post-CRISIS retcon, rather than an "untold story" of Silver Age canon. In the first 30+ years of the Legion's history, they had one continuity. In the past 25 years, they've had at least 3-5 reboots, new timelines, etc. etc. etc. I can't keep up. My ideas all swirl around pre-CRISIS Legion.
Long story short, in SUPERBOY #176 (1971), Invisible Kid's interaction with Chemical King is that of acquainted colleague and not that of intimate friend as the 1989 origin tale suggests (looks like they lived together, and Lyle got Condo in to the Legion Academy). Therefore, I ignore it. :-)
Above, alt sketches if Invisible Kid smashed Tharok's brain just 1 second sooner than he did in SUPERBOY #203, followed by being tormented by the demonic/ghostly Myla once he realizes that no, he isn't in love with her, he was just a little bonkers after his latest break-up with Condo.
The ending of Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #203 doesn't make too much sense for the 30th century no need to hide our gay love angle, so the 4th delete scene really only requires one more panel, after Phantom Girl declares how Lyle and Myla can now be together forever, the romance of a lifetime.
So here I tack on a final panel, which puts everything into homo-friendly perspective.
After this issue, Chemical King makes almost no appearances, as I suppose writers couldn't figure out how to write his powers effectively, and I think he was seen in the hall of dead heroes in a future tale. He died preventing the outbreak of World War VIII.
In my fanfic, he'll be far more tormented by Lyle's death, the fact that they never fully reconciled, that Lyle was seemingly going bonkers and he wasn't there for him. Plunging into despair, he won't have much to live for and very willingly plays the pivotal role in issue 228.
If you haven't read S/LSH, or #203 in particular, none of this will make much sense to you. Your take-away is that many fans assume Lyle and Condo were a couple, and I am feverishly writing out their romance in my head and sketchbook. :-)
I couldn't remember the chain of events too precisely, and the way issue 203 unfolded presented a few challenges. Invisible Kid's love for Myla is revealed early in the issue, and is crushed to death by Validus at the end. In my favor was the mid-80s storyline featuring the very same "invisible dimension" which if memory serves was filled with demons trying to ensnare Legionnaires to their doom.
However, adding a deleted scene between pages 6 and 7 (which would probably require a page and a half) and a second deleted scene of two pages between pages 12-14 would provide a fuller picture of the homo-friendly version of the attempts to grab Invisible Kid.
But then there's the chat Lyle has with Phantom Girl, who, if you take her reaction at face value, seems to endorse this newfound love. So this deleted scene, also inserted between pages 12-14 solves that, as she contacts Chemical King.
I won't reveal much, but in my head, at this point, Condo is probably struggling with his own insecurities about being a useless Legionnaire and focusing on his career and candle handle all Lyle's lonely clingyness.
Inspiration is fun!
Instead of posting my planned-for posts yesterday, I was consumed with "research" thanks to GeorgiaUnity's comment that Invisible Kid and Chemical King were gay, and with each other.
So, I dug through my collection and scanned through Adventure Comics #s 374-380, and Action Comics #s 378-392 (basically, from Chemical King's first appearance onward) looking for hints, clues, or anything I could read into.
In his first fight, against Spider-Girl, Chemical King assumes a full bottoming position—sold!
I was also scanning for tales where they were together, or both absent so I could write out an elaborate fanfic of their bittersweet romance. Of course, it has to have all the classic Tim Fish ups and downs, but let's face it, they were both killed in action, so it would be ending poorly no matter what.
In the last issues of their run in Adventure, the Legion stories generally included half or more of the roster, either as focal or background players. Still, there are moments here and there I can work with. The get to know you flirtation time, I guess.
As a backup feature in Action, the shorties generally featured 3-6 Legionnaires, and only once, in the same issue, were they present. I noted the rosters of all these, so I know which other team members would be fair game for my fanfic. Or dare I say, pitch?
I skipped ahead to Invisible Kid's death, but next I need to backtrack to the backup stories in Superboy, then Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #197-202 before Lyle was crushed by Validus. Then, I'll scan through Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes up to #228 looking for Condo's rare appearances.
