Element Lad

DC Comics character

"Trom" redirects here. For the television series, see Trom (TV series).

Comics character

Element Lad

Element Lad as depicted in Adventure Comics #323 (August 1964). Art by John Forte (penciller) and George Klein (inker).

Publication information
Publisher| DC Comics
First appearance| Adventure Comics #307 (April 1963)
Created by| Edmond Hamilton
John Forte
In-story information
Alter ego| Jan Arrah
Species| Trommite
Place of origin| Trom
Team affiliations| Legion of Super-Heroes
Notable aliases| Mystery Lad, Alchemist, Starfinger, Progenitor
Abilities| Element transmutation
Flight and protection from vacuum of space and dangerous environments via ring

Element Lad (Jan Arrah) is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. A native of the planet Trom, he has the power to transmute chemical elements.[1]

## Publication history

[edit]

Element Lad first appeared in Adventure Comics #307, and was created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte.[2]

## Fictional character biography

[edit]

### Pre-Zero Hour

[edit]

Element Lad, whose real name is Jan Arrah, first appears in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #307 (1963). In this first story, he is briefly known as "Mystery Lad" as the Legionnaires do not initially know his powers.[3] Jan is the last survivor of Trom, as he was in space while the space pirate Roxxas massacred the Trommites for refusing to transmute valuable elements for him.

With the aid of the Legion, Roxxas is brought to justice and Jan joins the Legion, using the codename Element Lad. He is a member of the Legion for many years, serving terms as leader and deputy leader. He later enters a relationship with Shvaughn Erin, the Science Police's Legion liaison.

#### "Five Years Later"

[edit]

In November 1989, the Legion continuity jumps ahead five years. During this "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, Earth falls under the control of the Dominators and leaves the United Planets. In a storyline written by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, it is revealed in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #31 (July 1992) that Shvaughn had been born as a male named Sean, and took a drug called ProFem to change genders and thereby secure Element Lad's love.[4] With ProFem no longer available, Shvaughn reverts to Sean. Jan is unfazed, and continues their romantic relationship.[4]

At the same time, the Dominators' classified "Batch SW6" - temporal clones of the Legionnaires - escape captivity.[5] After Earth is destroyed in a disaster reminiscent of the destruction of Krypton over a millennium earlier,[6] a few dozen surviving cities and their inhabitants reconstitute their world as New Earth. The SW6 Legionnaires remain, and their version of Element Lad assumes the code name Alchemist.

### Post-Zero Hour

[edit]

After Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #61 (September 1994), DC Comics rebooted the Legion continuity as part of the Zero Hour company-wide crossover storyline. In post-Zero Hour continuity, Jan is still the last survivor of Trom, however the Trommites had been killed by the heat vision of Daxamite White Triangle terrorists who had decimated Trom from space. After a brief period of the traumatized Jan being brainwashed into becoming the villainous Starfinger, this version of Element Lad serves with the Legion for some time.[1] Jan's previous history with Shvaughn Erin is erased in this continuity.

After an encounter with the sorcerer Mordru, Jan's powers change so that he can transmute himself into elements as well; he is subsequently often seen in metal or crystal forms, exploring the nature of his physical self.

In Legion Lost, Element Lad is lost in deep space for billions of years, driving him insane and leading him to become the villain Progenitor.[7] Live Wire sacrifices himself to defeat Progenitor, but Kid Quantum recovers crystals from Progenitor's body which grow into a new body housing Garth's consciousness.[8]

In the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries (2008–2009), the post-Zero Hour Legion is brought to the pre-crisis Legion's timeline to help battle Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains. During this time, the Pre-Crisis Brainiac 5 uses a specially charged lightning rod to enhance Element Lad's abilities, allowing Garth to mutate the body itself into a match for his own.[9]

### "Threeboot"

[edit]

In the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson 'reimagining' Element Lad is the lone survivor of a lost planet.[10] This version's powers are triggered by touch and only last several minutes.[1]

This Element Lad and the corresponding Legion also appear in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. He attempts to fight Superboy-Prime by transforming the ground around him into Kryptonite before being killed by him.[11]

### Post-Infinite Crisis

[edit]

The events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries restore a close analogue of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion to continuity.

In the Last Stand of New Krypton storyline, Element Lad is part of a secret team sent by the late R. J. Brande to the 21st century to save the future, posing as a chemistry teacher at Smallville High School.

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Element Lad is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members who appear in the present after Doctor Manhattan restores the timeline, resurrecting the Legion and the Justice Society of America.[12]

## Powers and abilities

[edit]

Element Lad is able to transmute objects by touch and change one chemical element into any other, for instance, lead to gold or iron to aluminium. He can transmute an element even if it is part of a compound and can change solid objects into gaseous ones. Like all Trommites, Element Lad could sense the elemental composition of any substance, and could change one element into another by creating or breaking electron bonds. He also possesses extensive knowledge of chemistry and how to use his abilities effectively.

### Equipment

[edit]

As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Element Lad is provided a Legion Flight Ring, which allows him to fly and protects him from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.

## In other media

[edit]

* Element Lad makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Legion of Super Heroes.
* Element Lad appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[13]
* Element Lad appears in Adventures in the DC Universe #10.[14]
* Element Lad appears in the one-shot comic Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes.[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Jimenez, Phil (2008). "Element Lad". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 114\. ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC 213309017.
2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 100\. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
3. ^ Fleisher, Michael L. (2007). The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman. DC Comics. p. 62\. ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.
4. ^ a b Companik, Chris. "Element Lad & Shvaughn Erin". Gay League. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
5. ^ Adventure Comics #353 (1967). DC Comics.
6. ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #38 (Late December 1992). DC Comics.
7. ^ Legion Lost #10 (February 2001). DC Comics.
8. ^ Legion Lost #12 (April 2001). DC Comics.
9. ^ Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3. DC Comics.
10. ^ Action Comics #850 (L. July 2007). DC Comics.
11. ^ Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4. DC Comics.
12. ^ Doomsday Clock #12 (December 2019). DC Comics.
13. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
14. ^ "Adventures in the DC Universe #10 - The Blobs (Issue)". Comic Vine. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
15. ^ "Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Atomic Batteries To Power, Flight Rings To Speed (Issue)". Comic Vine. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* A "Hero History" of Element Lad covering his many incarnations.

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