The Exaggerated Death of Ultra Boy
Encyclopedia
"The Exaggerated Death of Ultra Boy" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics
, and presented in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #273–275 and #277–282 (March–December 1981). It was written by Gerry Conway
, Roy Thomas
and Paul Levitz
, with pencils by Jimmy Janes and Steve Ditko
. It depicts the long odyssey of Ultra Boy
, who is incorrectly presumed to be slain in battle.
By the story arc's conclusion, retired member Superboy
would return to the ranks of the Legion of Super-Heroes
, and the questions surrounding Reflecto
—first mentioned in "The Adult Legion
" story as a future member destined to die—were finally resolved.
) demands that the Legion of Super-Heroes
disband, since the Legion's by-laws prohibit Legionnaires from killing, and Brainiac 5
apparently murdered Rimbor
native An Ryd during a period of mental instability. To avoid dragging the team into a political quagmire, Brainiac 5 resigns. Chameleon Boy becomes convinced that Brainiac 5 was framed for An’s murder. He, Star Boy, Phantom Girl
and Ultra Boy
all travel to Rimbor to investigate. They gather enough evidence to clear their teammate, but are attacked by Pulsar Stargrave
, the stellar energy wielding android who is actually Superman
's 20th century foe Brainiac
. Stargrave strikes Ultra Boy with a nova blast, seemingly disintegrating him. Brainiac 5 journeys to Rimbor’s moon where he defeats Stargrave, who once masqueraded as his father.
Believing Ultra Boy to be dead, the Legionnaires hold a memorial service, and erect a statue of him in the Hall of Heroes. In reality, the unconscious Ultra Boy travels light-year
s through space until he is retrieved by the pirate ship Antares. He regains consciousness with no memory of his identity. The pirates' leader, Captain Frake, adds him to her crew when she sees him using his powers. Soon thereafter, the Legion answers a Science Police
distress call and attacks the pirates in orbit over Pluto
. Despite the Legion Cruiser's superior power, the Antares is able to escape, largely because the amnesiac Ultra Boy is on its side. Frake attempts to seduce him, but his hazy memories of his romance with Phantom Girl prevent her from succeeding. Gradually, the Legionnaire's natural heroic instincts reassert themselves, such that he turns against the pirates when the Legion locates the Antares again and destroys it. When Frake tries to use a massive radiation weapon to destroy the Legion Cruiser, Ultra Boy jumps in front of the blast. The blast ricochets, destroying the pirates and their lair. Ultra Boy disappears. Saturn Girl
, who had earlier sensed his thoughts after his supposed death, begins to think that her mind is playing tricks on her.
, Phantom Girl's leg becomes entangled in a huge strand of seaweed and she almost drowns. She is saved by a powerful metahuman named Reflecto
, who administers mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
and flies her back to Legion Headquarters. Shortly thereafter, Grimbor the Chainsman
erects a network of chain-like energy beams around the Earth. With spacecraft unable to bypass the chains, Grimbor demands that the United Earth Council surrender the Legion to him within twenty-four hours. In space, the Legionnaires are unable to destroy the energy chains, but Saturn Girl manages to track Grimbor to his stronghold near the North Pole
.
Reflecto follows a group of Legionnaires containing Phantom Girl, displaying genuine concern for her well-being. He displays super-strength, invulnerability, super-speed and vision powers, making him seem very familiar to Bouncing Boy
and Duo Damsel. Later, as the energy-chains contract and begin to compress Earth's atmosphere, the Legionnaires attack Grimbor's stronghold. Having prepared in advance, Grimbor manages to defeat each attacking member of the Legion, whom he blames for the death of his true love Charma, who was killed by her fellow prison inmates. Using the Augmatron, a device she has secretly built, Princess Projectra
determines that the main Earth Council satellite is the key to the energy field. Karate Kid
destroys the satellite, thereby dissipating the network of chains. Meanwhile, Grimbor concludes that Reflecto is actually Ultra Boy in disguise. While Reflecto is using his super-strength, Grimbor blasts him with a powerful energy weapon. Reflecto survives the blast using his invulnerability. With the hero using two superpowers at the same time, Grimbor realizes that he could not be Ultra Boy. Reflecto knocks Grimbor unconscious, and then collapses himself. As her teammates arrive, Phantom Girl discovers that Reflecto is wearing a mask, along with a second costume beneath his uniform. The Legionnaires are shocked to learn that the unconscious Reflecto is actually their 20th century teammate, Superboy
.
takes six Legionnaires with him to 20th century Smallville: Phantom Girl, Karate Kid, Dawnstar
, Saturn Girl, Blok
and Superboy himself. Their Time Bubble materializes as a nuclear bomb is detonating. Superboy funnels the radiation harmlessly into space, but is unexpectedly attacked by the U.S. Army, who claims that he stole and detonated the bomb. The Legionnaires flee, seeking sanctuary at the Kent home. The group decides to briefly return to the 30th century, but the Time Bubble begins to shake violently and shatters. Suddenly, the Time Trapper
reveals himself, stating that he is taking advantage of the Legionnaires' current dilemma to trap them all in the past.
With the Trapper's Iron Curtain of Time firmly in place, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Karate Kid and Saturn Girl venture into Smallville incognito. They are quickly recognized by Lana Lang
, who is an honorary Legionnaire in her guise as Insect Queen. In order to protect Superboy's secret identity, they refuse to answer most of her probing questions. Soon, a new Molecule Master android attacks the group, who is joined by Blok and Dawnstar. After confirming that he was created by the Time Trapper, he battles the Legionnaires until he is overwhelmed and implodes. With the Army still viewing Superboy and the Legion as a threat, Phantom Girl shifts Superboy, Dawnstar and herself to her homeworld Bgztl, which lies in a parallel dimension at the same space-time coordinates as Earth. The other Legionnaires are captured by the military.
The implosion of the Molecule Master restores Superboy to normal. As Phantom Girl leads her teammates through trans-dimensional space back toward Earth, Dawnstar senses a familiar presence. Using her tracking powers, she manages to locate Ultra Boy -- alive but immobilized by a strange aura. He explains that Pulsar Stargrave's energy blast propelled him backward in time, in a ghost-like state. Travelling back to 20th century Smallville, he tried to enlist Superboy's help, but unintentionally superimposed his memories over those of the Boy of Steel. He tried to use the A-bomb test to break free, but only succeeded in further scrambling their memories. Upon travelling back to his own century, Saturn Girl’s hypno-pathic command over Superboy asserted itself, subconsciously forcing him to create the Reflecto identity.
Using nearby radioactive rock, Superboy frees Ultra Boy. Meanwhile, Lana uses her Bio-Ring to become Insect Queen and attempts to free the jailed Legionnaires. Just as the military is about to defeat her, Superboy's group arrives and frees their teammates. The heroes travel to Bgztl, from which Superboy and Ultra Boy are able to bypass the Trapper's Iron Curtain and return the group to their own era. They attack the Trapper in his Citadel and defeat him -- for the time being. Saturn Girl mentally erases Superboy's knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his parents' deaths, and he returns to his time period, where he plans to explain things to the President of the United States and obtain a pardon. The Legion converts the Ultra Boy statue into a Reflecto statue, making Ultra Boy the only living Legionnaire enshrined in the team's hall of deceased heroes. Thrilled to be reunited with each other, he and Phantom Girl go on leave for a few days.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and presented in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #273–275 and #277–282 (March–December 1981). It was written by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, with pencils by Jimmy Janes and Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
. It depicts the long odyssey of Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained these powers when the space-speedster he was flying was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast , exposing him to...
, who is incorrectly presumed to be slain in battle.
By the story arc's conclusion, retired member Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
would return to the ranks of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, and the questions surrounding Reflecto
Reflecto
Reflecto is a fictional superhero from DC Comics who first appeared as a statue of a dead Legion of Super-Heroes member in Adventure Comics #354 in the "Adult Legion" story, which purported to depict the Legion farther in the future than the regular Legion series...
—first mentioned in "The Adult Legion
The Adult Legion
"The Adult Legion" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Adventure Comics #354-355 . It was written by Jim Shooter, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein...
" story as a future member destined to die—were finally resolved.
Ultra Boy: Pirate
Newly-elected Earth President Marte Ida Allon (the mother of Colossal BoyGim Allon
Colossal Boy , also known as Leviathan and Micro Lad, is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe who has gone by a variety of superhero names over the past several decades, although originally Colossal Boy. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He...
) demands that the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
disband, since the Legion's by-laws prohibit Legionnaires from killing, and Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
apparently murdered Rimbor
Rimbor
Rimbor is a fictional planet in the 30th century DC Universe, best known as the home planet for Legion of Super-Heroes member Ultra Boy.Rimbor has a reputation as a rough, tough planet where crime runs rampant....
native An Ryd during a period of mental instability. To avoid dragging the team into a political quagmire, Brainiac 5 resigns. Chameleon Boy becomes convinced that Brainiac 5 was framed for An’s murder. He, Star Boy, Phantom Girl
Phantom Girl
Phantom Girl is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in books published by DC Comics. In the Post-Zero Hour continuity, she is known as Apparition, and is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries...
and Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained these powers when the space-speedster he was flying was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast , exposing him to...
all travel to Rimbor to investigate. They gather enough evidence to clear their teammate, but are attacked by Pulsar Stargrave
Pulsar Stargrave
Pulsar Stargrave is a fictional supervillain featured in DC Comics as a foe of the Legion of Super-Heroes.-Pre-Crisis origin and character biography:A native of the planet Colu, Stargrave originally claimed to be the father of Brainiac 5...
, the stellar energy wielding android who is actually Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's 20th century foe Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Stargrave strikes Ultra Boy with a nova blast, seemingly disintegrating him. Brainiac 5 journeys to Rimbor’s moon where he defeats Stargrave, who once masqueraded as his father.
Believing Ultra Boy to be dead, the Legionnaires hold a memorial service, and erect a statue of him in the Hall of Heroes. In reality, the unconscious Ultra Boy travels light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s through space until he is retrieved by the pirate ship Antares. He regains consciousness with no memory of his identity. The pirates' leader, Captain Frake, adds him to her crew when she sees him using his powers. Soon thereafter, the Legion answers a Science Police
Science Police
Science Police is a fictional law enforcement agency in the . They were referred to as "World-Wide Police" in their first appearance in the 30th century. They were featured in a four issue limited series titled Legion Science Police. In the 30th and 31st centuries, the Science Police serves the...
distress call and attacks the pirates in orbit over Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
. Despite the Legion Cruiser's superior power, the Antares is able to escape, largely because the amnesiac Ultra Boy is on its side. Frake attempts to seduce him, but his hazy memories of his romance with Phantom Girl prevent her from succeeding. Gradually, the Legionnaire's natural heroic instincts reassert themselves, such that he turns against the pirates when the Legion locates the Antares again and destroys it. When Frake tries to use a massive radiation weapon to destroy the Legion Cruiser, Ultra Boy jumps in front of the blast. The blast ricochets, destroying the pirates and their lair. Ultra Boy disappears. Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
, who had earlier sensed his thoughts after his supposed death, begins to think that her mind is playing tricks on her.
Behold: Reflecto
While helping to rescue a sinking cargo-craft in the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, Phantom Girl's leg becomes entangled in a huge strand of seaweed and she almost drowns. She is saved by a powerful metahuman named Reflecto
Reflecto
Reflecto is a fictional superhero from DC Comics who first appeared as a statue of a dead Legion of Super-Heroes member in Adventure Comics #354 in the "Adult Legion" story, which purported to depict the Legion farther in the future than the regular Legion series...
, who administers mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
and flies her back to Legion Headquarters. Shortly thereafter, Grimbor the Chainsman
Grimbor the Chainsman
Grimbor the Chainsman is a DC Comics supervillain featured in the pages of Legion of Super-Heroes. Grimbor first appeared in Superboy #221 .-Pre-Crisis:Grimbor is a master craftsman able to create confining devices that didn't fail...
erects a network of chain-like energy beams around the Earth. With spacecraft unable to bypass the chains, Grimbor demands that the United Earth Council surrender the Legion to him within twenty-four hours. In space, the Legionnaires are unable to destroy the energy chains, but Saturn Girl manages to track Grimbor to his stronghold near the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
Reflecto follows a group of Legionnaires containing Phantom Girl, displaying genuine concern for her well-being. He displays super-strength, invulnerability, super-speed and vision powers, making him seem very familiar to Bouncing Boy
Bouncing Boy
-Fictional character biography:Bouncing Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century. He is Chuck Taine of Earth, and he has the power to inflate like a ball and bounce. He received his powers when he accidentally drank a super...
and Duo Damsel. Later, as the energy-chains contract and begin to compress Earth's atmosphere, the Legionnaires attack Grimbor's stronghold. Having prepared in advance, Grimbor manages to defeat each attacking member of the Legion, whom he blames for the death of his true love Charma, who was killed by her fellow prison inmates. Using the Augmatron, a device she has secretly built, Princess Projectra
Princess Projectra
This page discusses the humanoid version of the character. For the post-Zero Hour/pre-Threeboot version, see Sensor.Princess Projectra is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. She lives in the 30th and 31st centuries, and is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
determines that the main Earth Council satellite is the key to the energy field. Karate Kid
Karate Kid (comics)
Karate Kid is a fictional character, a superhero in the future of the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is a master of every form of martial arts to have been developed by the 31st century...
destroys the satellite, thereby dissipating the network of chains. Meanwhile, Grimbor concludes that Reflecto is actually Ultra Boy in disguise. While Reflecto is using his super-strength, Grimbor blasts him with a powerful energy weapon. Reflecto survives the blast using his invulnerability. With the hero using two superpowers at the same time, Grimbor realizes that he could not be Ultra Boy. Reflecto knocks Grimbor unconscious, and then collapses himself. As her teammates arrive, Phantom Girl discovers that Reflecto is wearing a mask, along with a second costume beneath his uniform. The Legionnaires are shocked to learn that the unconscious Reflecto is actually their 20th century teammate, Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
.
The Return of Superboy
Superboy awakens, with Ultra Boy's conscious memories and personality overriding his own subconscious memories. Baffled by the Boy of Steel's appearance in the 30th century, particularly in light of Saturn Girl's hypno-pathic command that he remain in his own era, team leader Lightning LadGarth Ranzz
Lightning Lad , also known as Live Wire, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He has the superhuman ability to generate electricity, usually in the form of lightning bolts. He is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries...
takes six Legionnaires with him to 20th century Smallville: Phantom Girl, Karate Kid, Dawnstar
Dawnstar
Dawnstar is a fictional superheroine in comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell.- Fictional character biography :...
, Saturn Girl, Blok
Blok (comics)
Blok is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th century of the DC Comics universe. He has a massive, stony body possessed of incredible strength and endurance.-Fictional character biography:...
and Superboy himself. Their Time Bubble materializes as a nuclear bomb is detonating. Superboy funnels the radiation harmlessly into space, but is unexpectedly attacked by the U.S. Army, who claims that he stole and detonated the bomb. The Legionnaires flee, seeking sanctuary at the Kent home. The group decides to briefly return to the 30th century, but the Time Bubble begins to shake violently and shatters. Suddenly, the Time Trapper
Time Trapper
The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes...
reveals himself, stating that he is taking advantage of the Legionnaires' current dilemma to trap them all in the past.
With the Trapper's Iron Curtain of Time firmly in place, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Karate Kid and Saturn Girl venture into Smallville incognito. They are quickly recognized by Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
, who is an honorary Legionnaire in her guise as Insect Queen. In order to protect Superboy's secret identity, they refuse to answer most of her probing questions. Soon, a new Molecule Master android attacks the group, who is joined by Blok and Dawnstar. After confirming that he was created by the Time Trapper, he battles the Legionnaires until he is overwhelmed and implodes. With the Army still viewing Superboy and the Legion as a threat, Phantom Girl shifts Superboy, Dawnstar and herself to her homeworld Bgztl, which lies in a parallel dimension at the same space-time coordinates as Earth. The other Legionnaires are captured by the military.
The implosion of the Molecule Master restores Superboy to normal. As Phantom Girl leads her teammates through trans-dimensional space back toward Earth, Dawnstar senses a familiar presence. Using her tracking powers, she manages to locate Ultra Boy -- alive but immobilized by a strange aura. He explains that Pulsar Stargrave's energy blast propelled him backward in time, in a ghost-like state. Travelling back to 20th century Smallville, he tried to enlist Superboy's help, but unintentionally superimposed his memories over those of the Boy of Steel. He tried to use the A-bomb test to break free, but only succeeded in further scrambling their memories. Upon travelling back to his own century, Saturn Girl’s hypno-pathic command over Superboy asserted itself, subconsciously forcing him to create the Reflecto identity.
Using nearby radioactive rock, Superboy frees Ultra Boy. Meanwhile, Lana uses her Bio-Ring to become Insect Queen and attempts to free the jailed Legionnaires. Just as the military is about to defeat her, Superboy's group arrives and frees their teammates. The heroes travel to Bgztl, from which Superboy and Ultra Boy are able to bypass the Trapper's Iron Curtain and return the group to their own era. They attack the Trapper in his Citadel and defeat him -- for the time being. Saturn Girl mentally erases Superboy's knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his parents' deaths, and he returns to his time period, where he plans to explain things to the President of the United States and obtain a pardon. The Legion converts the Ultra Boy statue into a Reflecto statue, making Ultra Boy the only living Legionnaire enshrined in the team's hall of deceased heroes. Thrilled to be reunited with each other, he and Phantom Girl go on leave for a few days.