Colossal Boy

Background

Powers and Abilities

Colossal Boy has the power to enlarge his body to giant size, growing in height to as much as 25 meters (in DC Heroes RPG terms, 3 APs of height, or 9 APs of Growth) or more. The limits of his power have not been established and there are some reports of him growing to even greater heights, perhaps as much as 100m.

In practice, though, he generally chooses heights of 5, 15, or 20m (or say, Growth 3-8 APs). At larger sizes it will be increasingly difficult for him to distinguish between friend, foe, and bystander.

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Gim has been known to reach heights in the 9-12 APs range. However, it is only advisable when fighting alone, on open terrain. He pretty much never can get that big inside a building, and a giant this size his bound to inflict significant damage on anything nearby, such as by stepping on people, vehicles, etc.

It also becomes extremely hard not to endanger his own team mates or get in their way. He did, however, Push his Growth Power at least once, when trying to stomp Omega – at that point he was roughly 300‘ tall.

Other assets

Gim completed training with the Science Police prior to becoming a Legionnaire, and learned police work and deductive skills (in DC Heroes terms, Detective). He also received training in self-defense and the use of SP vehicles, equipment, and firearms (Martial Artist, Weaponry/Police, Vehicles).

As a Legionnaire he has supplemented this training with the Legion’s personal combat course and regular intensive exercise. As a result, he is one of the team’s most skilled hand-to-hand combatants.

Colossal Boy uses the standard LSH equipment. He flies with his Legion Flight Ring, and can survive and communicate in space with his Transuit and Telepathic Earplug.

History

Gim Allon was born into a Jewish family on Earth in the year 2956 of the 30^th century. His mother was a political science professor at Metropolis University, and his father was an Admiral in the United Planets Starfleet. Gim was raised by them to be a good person and to contribute to the good of his fellow sentient beings.

As he grew closer to adulthood, Gim decided he’d put those lessons into practice as an officer in the Science Police. He enrolled in the Science Police Academy on Mars. There he and his girlfriend, fellow cadet Gigi Cusimano, were among the top students at the Academy.

He might be [a] giant

During one vacation from classes, extraordinary events started happening to Gim. While speeding along a sand-ski course, Gim was thrown off his sand-ski by a falling meteor. This injured him and put him in the SP Academy’s infirmary. The second event, during his recuperation, was his and Gigi’s impromptu investigation of a theft at a Mars resort.

The third and most unusual event was that when the thief tried to escape Gim via a ‘transtube’ elevator — with Gigi as his hostage. Gim managed to rescue her by growing to a height of 15 feet tall and grabbing her away from the thief. The radiation of the meteor had caused changes in Gim’s RNA, giving him powers of growth and superstrength. The thief escaped during the confusion.

Afraid that this rather unsubtle power might not be the best for policework, Gim and Gigi decided they needed to prove that Gim could still be effective around normal-sized people. They did this by tracking down the thief who’d escaped them and bringing him in, making their first arrest. Years later this thief would seek revenge against Gim as the second Starfinger.

Still confounded by the problem of how his unusual powers would interfere with an SP career, Gim consulted with his parents for advice. His father suggested, not for the first time, that Gim would make a fine Fleet Officer, and might be able to use his powers in Intelligence.

His mother suggested another alternative, a way Gim could remain in law enforcement. It was a fledgling group of SP-deputized young people with bizarre powers called the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Colossal

So Gim went to Earth and tried out for Legion membership under the codename Colossal Boy. He tried out alongside candidate Reep Daggle of Durla, and suggested that Reep adopt the codename Chameleon Boy to fit his shapechanging powers. Chameleon Boy and Colossal Boy were inducted into the Legion together, as its sixth and seventh members.

Gigi meanwhile became an SP and was posted far off-planet, on Takron-Galtos. The distance and the different direction their careers took ended their relationship. But once Gigi was posted back on Earth, they once again became close friends.

Gim meanwhile prospered as a Legionnaire. For a short time, until Supergirl and Superboy joined the team, Colossal Boy was the muscle of the group. He has remained one of their more powerful and faithful teammates and has proven to be the epitome of a “good guy”.

Consequently his teammates were extremely surprised when they discovered Gim passing their training secrets to Tarik the Mute’s School for Super-Villains. Gim’s theft of the Legion Academy’s training manuals got him briefly expelled and had him join Tarik’s Legion of Super-Villains.

The LSH then discovered the circumstances. Colossal Boy’s parents had been kidnapped, turned to glass, and would be shattered if Colossal Boy didn’t help them. As a response the Legion infiltrated the LSV, helping Gim rescue his parents and pack the criminals off to prison. Gim was immediately reinstated to the team and his record cleared.

Big time

Years later, when Gim’s mother Marte became President of Earth, criminals tried a similar kidnapping scheme but were quickly dispatched. However, Gim’s close relationship with his parents was a bit strained after Marte became President. The two argued many times over Earthgov policy towards the Legion.

Eventually the two repaired their strained relationship, and with Marte’s recent return to civilian life, those arguments have ended.

For many years, Gim had a crush on fellow Legionnaire Shrinking Violet, but his interest was never reciprocated. When the Durlan shapechanger and actress Yera infiltrated the Legion by taking Violet’s place, the two fell in love and had a whirlwind romance ending in marriage.

When Yera’s true identity was revealed, the stunned Colossal Boy chose to stay with her. His crush for Violet had grown into love for the woman who had finally noticed, and fallen in love with, him. They seem to have a happy marriage, though Yera does worry about the danger he faces as a Legionnaire.

His parents were a bit startled, but adjusted quickly enough, though they are concerned that any children be raised Jewish…

Down but not out

Yera herself, who did surprisingly well as a Legionnaire, has been a confirmed non-combatant ever since her true identity was revealed. The couple maintain quarters in Metropolis, away from Legion Headquarters, and often entertain Gim’s parents, as well as friends like Chameleon Boy and Gigi Cusimano.

In relatively recent years Gim was injured by Starfinger II, the very first criminal he and Gigi caught. This injury to his leg required a lengthy rehabilitation but he was fit to return to active duty in time to fight in the Magic Wars, and remains one of the Legion’s most faithful members.

Description

Gim is a big guy, whether he’s using his powers or not. He’s tall, very muscular — perhaps the most “built” of the Legion men — and has brown hair and eyes. See the illos for pictures of his various costumes.

He had an intermediate version between the green-and-yellow suit and the blue-and-red suit ; it’s basically the same as his blue-and-red suit, except with bare arms and legs, but still wearing boots. It’s not pictured here because it’s one of the most hideous costumes I’ve ever seen…

Personality

Gim Allon is an honest and hard-working man whose main goal is to use his powers and skills to help people. He’s the epitome of Upholding the Good, with a bit of the thrill of adventure thrown in. He’s very brave and doesn’t hesitate to put himself in the line of fire to help innocents or his teammates.

Gim is basically a “guy’s guy.” He gets excited over sports, works out incessantly in the gym, likes adventure, and doesn’t generally say much about his feelings. Normally he’s the strong, silent type; he had a crush on Shrinking Violet for years, but never said anything about it — presumably because she was already spoken for, and he’s not that kind of guy.

He can sometimes become verbose and argumentative, or even whiny, when faced with a particularly bad situation. That doesn’t mean battles, but things he can’t fight, such as being lost and stranded in space.

On occasion, when his wife or parents are endangered, his normal good humor has given way to a deadly ferocity until they are safe. His best friend in the Legion remains Chameleon Boy. He also pals around with many of the guys on the team, watching Moopsball with Timber Wolf, jogging with Sun Boy, etc.

Quotes

“You little tyrants thought you’d take over your world – did anybody ever tell you what an old stupidity that is ? People like you never worry about who you hurt, do you ?”

(To Duplicate Boy) Colossal Boy : “Listen, I wasn’t trying to pull anything ; but you know I loved Violet too — and somehow, it just…”
Duplicate Boy : “Cut it. It took me until now to realize it, Colossal Boy, but I made a mistake coming here. You can *have* her. She’s not the Violet *I* fell in love with.”
Ultra Boy : “I’ll be a space dragon’s uncle ! He traveled all those light years just to punch Gim out. Buddy, if you didn’t have bad luck, you’d have none at all !”
Colossal Boy : “Oh, I dunno, Ultra Boy. I’ve got Vi — and that’s all I wanted.”

“You rotten fiend – that tears it ! You’ve pushed me too far !”

Yera : “I shouldn’t have let you marry me at that Himalayan hideaway, Gim.”
Colossal Boy : “Oh, that’s ok, Yera… I love you, not ’Violet‘. Only problem is, can I get used to having a Durlan wife…?”
Yera (crying): “Well – do you think you can ?”
Colossal Boy : “Sure.” (He kisses her.) “It’s gonna be a piece of cake.” (Long pause) “Ohmigod…I just realized. What am I gonna tell my mom ?”

DC Universe History

Colossal Boy existed in the post-boot LSH, of course, as Leviathan I, before being killed off. Either version of Gim Allon is only likely to be seen again via Hyper-time.

Just have the LSH meet a teenage Clark Kent and invite him to the 30^th century to become a Legionnaire, honorary or not as you please, as Superboy.

If it’s important to you that Superman was never Superboy, then just stipulate that his only adventures as Superboy were in the 30^th century, with the Legion, and that thanks to Saturn Girl he didn’t remember those adventures when he went back to his own time.

With that in place, the most essential gap in the Legion’s back story, the inspirational role of Superboy, is filled, and the Legion’s pre-Crisis history can be as intact as you please. Any inconsistencies you can blame, like Paul Levitz did, on imaginary stories or chronicler’s errors. I sometimes blame them on 30^th century cartoons.

There are all sorts of other possibilities if you are mixing and matching timelines to come up with your own. Some of these include:

• Swapping Supergirl for Superboy’s ‘active’ role.
• Leaving Kal-El’s involvement largely honorary.
• Filling Superboy’s historical place with Arn “Iron” Munro of the Young All-Stars.
• Using Power Girl or Fury I or Fury II for Supergirl.
• Substituting the Martian Manhunter for Superboy (hey, he fills in for everybody else, and I don’t -think- he’s R.J. Brande this week…).
• And so on.

By Chris Cottingham.

Helper(s): Andrew Lee, Danielle Mendus (Leviathan writeup in WORG), Michael Andrew, 2995 LSH Sourcebook and LSH v.1 Sourcebook by Mayfair, Who’s Who Supplement by Mayfair, Who’s Who in the Legion #1, Who’s Who V (July 1985), Chaim Mattis Keller’s Legion Help File (available on-line); text sections liberally adapted/combined/edited from the Help File, Who’s Who, and Who’s Who supplement; age and chronology from 2995 LSH Sourcebook.

Source of Character: DC Comics (pre-boot Legion of Super-Heroes).