Lazon

The League of Super-Assassins was based in the pre-Zero Hour 30^th century of the DCU. But they are in continuity again as of this writing, as confirmed in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.

They are handy characters, useful in many campaigns. They’re deadly psychotic henchmen, comfortable working for a master villain but with an agenda of their own. They’ve got a handy array of abilities which allow them a lot of tactical choices. They excel at surprise attacks, but are less impressive when it comes to endurance.

I originally wrote up the LSA as a combination bribe/payback/thanks to Seb, but they could be useful in many campaigns. Just pick a criminal mastermind who could empower them and make them believe that your PCs are responsible for some tragedy, and set them loose.

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Background

Powers and Abilities

Lazon has the ability to transform himself into a kind of “living light”. It manifests either as a destructive laser (in DC Heroes RPG terms, Self-Linked Laser Beam) or a radioactive energy beam (Self-Linked Energy Blast). He can even tune his energy form to mimic kryptonite radiation, and probably red solar rays as well.

When transformed he can fly at the speed of light (Flight). His light form maneuvers with great agility and quickness, and has even been able to strike down Superboy and Dawnstar (DEX). In energy form he can function in the vacuum of space without harm (Sealed Systems).

While in human form he can still manifest some portion of his energies by firing laser beams from his hands (Laser Beam).

Lazon can handle a spaceship well enough to evade Earth-based SP patrols, at least sometimes. Since joining the Legion of Super-Villains he’s had access to their anti-grav and communications technologies as well as a transuit for surviving in space even in human form.

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History

Chey-Nu is one of six children (five humans and one alien rock creature) who blamed the Legion of Super-Heroes for the death of their homeworld.

The planet had been colonized by humans and named Korlon. But the colonists soon discovered that Korlon was already inhabited by a native race of sentient silicon-based beings. These rock beings called their world Dryad. Once the Dryads determined that the human colonists were peaceful, they revealed themselves. The humans and Dryads formed a harmonious and idyllic joint society.

End of the world

But that society was short-lived. Natural forces were leading to cataclysmic upheavals and the imminent destruction of the planet. The colonists appealed to the United Planets for aid, which sent ships and personnel.

The planet was successfully evacuated, thanks in large part to the additional aid sent by the UP. The core of that force was a team of Legionnaires (Superboy, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, Ultra Boy, Light Lass, and Timber Wolf).

But Chey-Nu and the other (possibly related) children were too young to understand what was going on. Furthermore, they were badly traumatized by these events. Their child-like minds absorbed the terror of evacuation, horrible views of the destruction of the planet, and noted the prominence of six colorfully garbed figures which they blamed for the whole thing.

Chey-Nu and the others became fixated on those six Legionnaires, blaming them for the death of their world and developing a pathological hatred of them.

Make them pay !

About five years later, the now-teenaged Chey-Nu and his cousins were approached by a benefactor calling himself the Dark Man. A clone of old Legion foe Tharok, the Dark Man knew he would sooner or later be opposed by the Legion and sought to weaken them. The hatred of the young Korlonians made them perfect for his plans.

Over the course of a year he granted the five humans super-powers. He renamed Chey-Nu “Lazon”. The others were Neutrax, Mist Master, Titania, and the Silver Slasher. These five, plus the young Dryad Blok, were now “The League of Super-Assassins”.

Giving them a starship, the Dark Man sent them to Earth to assassinate the Legionnaires they hated.

Discrepancies

It should be noted that there are several troubling discrepancies in the Super-Assassins’ story. They routinely address each other as “cousin” (Titania and Silver Slasher call each other “sister”). Including Blok, who is not human.

Maybe that could be explained away. Maybe, for instance, the Korlonians and Dryads were so thoroughly integrated that they formed joint households and “adopted” each other as family. But when they first came to Earth, the Super-Assassins (including Blok) seemed unaware that Blok was not human, and had not been granted his powers by the Dark Man.

Likewise, while the others all acknowledged the Dark Man as their benefactor and the source of their powers, they simultaneously blamed the Legion for robbing them of humanity. The Silver Slasher explicitly blamed the LSH for turning her into what she was, and for turning Blok into “a monster”.

The most likely explanation for all this is that the Dark Man, a telepathic vampire and super-scientific genius, brainwashed and mind-warped them as well as giving them powers.

Assassins Attack!

En route to Earth the Super-Assassins were intercepted by a Science Police patrol craft. In mere seconds, Lazon took on his light form and entered the vacuum of space to engage the SPs. He easily destroyed their ship before they could report to anyone else. Most of the SPs on board were killed.

With Earth’s defenses weakened by the aftermath of the Earthwar (a Khund invasion backed by the Dark Circle and Mordru), they were able to elude other patrols and make planetfall undetected. Lazon, the nominal leader, commanded them to split up and ambush their chosen Legionnaires.

The League members each defeated their targets: Mist Master incapacitated Colossal Boy, the Silver Slasher and Blok defeated Timber Wolf and Light Lass, and Titania and Neutrax defeated Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy. Last of all, Lazon himself attacked and defeated Superboy by becoming a green kryptonite laser beam.

But Superboy’s super-senses had detected the Assassins before they launched their attacks. Furthermore, Superboy had overheard Lazon boasting about his ability to become kryptonite radiation. Because of this, Superboy chose not to battle the Assassins head-to-head. Instead he faked his death and that of his teammates.

Substitutes

In actuality, each of the six targeted Legionnaires was placed in suspended animation while battling the Super-Assassins. Meanwhile Superboy alerted Brainiac 5 to the danger.

Brainiac 5 recruited the Legion of Substitute Heroes for help. With his tactical guidance, the Subs turned the tables and ambushed the assassins. The Subs beat them soundly, and Brainy was then able to revive the Legionnaires, overcoming the suspension effect by draining Lazon’s energies.

The Super-Assassins were imprisoned on Earth. Later that year the Legion battled the Fatal Five and the Dark Man, and came to the Super-Assassins seeking information and assistance. The human members of the Super-Assassins angrily refused, shouting threats that showed they still intended to kill the Legionnaires.

Blok switches sides

All attempts to convince them that the Legion had helped save their people were useless. This lends support to the notion that the Dark Man had brainwashed them, permanently warping their minds.

But Blok (who has shown heightened resistance to human telepathy) did agree to help. Apparently his conditioning had faded, and his assistance to the Legion was so valuable that he soon earned Legion membership.

The other five remained in prison a year or two more, until they were teleported away to join the Legion of Super-Villains.

Legion of Super-Villains

As part of the LSV, the Super-Assassins swore a blood oath to each kill at least one Legionnaire. Thus, they transferred their hatred for a few individual Legionnaires to the team as a whole. The five former Super-Assassins intended a special vengeance on Blok, who they believed had betrayed them.

After the defeat of the LSV, Lazon was imprisoned on the UP prison planetoid, Takron-Galtos. When the prison planet was evacuated during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, he was transferred to the United Planets’ new prison world, Labyrinth. During the evacuation some prisoners (including many LSVers, Titania and Silver Slasher among them) got free and tried to escape. But the LSH stopped them.

Lazon did not get free during the evacuation. But some months later a Khund warrior called “Garax of the Glow” infiltrated Labyrinth. He caused a massive systems failure. Hundred of prisoners escaped their cells or woke from suspended animation. Lazon, Titania, and Silver Slasher were among them, and Lazon acted as a ringleader for the prisoners.

The great escape

He led them to the armory, burning through its protective force field. That allowed the prisoners to arm themselves and assault the hangars to capture ships and get off-world. But the Legion intervened in force. They were able to help the Science Police recapture almost all the prisoners. But the Emerald Empress escaped, which had been Garax’s intention.

Lazon was still on a UP prison world a few years later, when he and dozens of other super-villains were broken out to aid Superboy-Prime against the LSH. He presumably went back to prison after the events of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.

Not long afterwards, Saturn Queen led another prison break and started another iteration of the Legion of Super-Villains. But Lazon and his family are not among the escaped prisoners.

Description

Lazon is a slim but athletic man with blond hair and a costume of orange and yellow.

In energy form his human body sometimes seems to “melt” into a beam of light. At other times he seems to be fully human, flying and leaving a light trail behind him.

Personality

Lazon is extremely enthusiastic in his villainous endeavors, and is fond of spouting clichés. You know — he is so deadly, no one can escape him because he is fast as light, the defeat of the heroes is inevitable, yadda yadda yadda.

He often seems inordinately cheerful, especially during his first attack on the Legion. At least a little demented, he went into battle with a bright smile on his face.

Like all the Super-Assassins, he’s pretty much a cipher outside his desire to get the Legion. The Dark Man really seems to have messed up their heads, and he’s not playing with a full deck. He’s a little more with it than his cousins, though, serving nominally as their leader. They tend to say things to him like “You’re correct as always, Lazon.”

Whatever his cousins think, he is by no means a great thinker. He is overconfident and he certainly doesn’t have tactical skills or anything resembling DC Heroes RPG Leadership. But he is slightly less impulsive than the other Super-Assassins and is less prone to panic when surprised.

He is very loyal to the others and works to smooth over their conflicts and disagreements. He also works well with the other members of the Legion of Super-Villains.

His conditioning from the Dark Man may have faded somewhat. His hatred for the Legion is unwavering, but he seems more serious and a little less daft.

Quotes

“Please, Slasher, Blok — let’s not quarrel among ourselves. Remember, we’ve come here for a purpose — to kill these six Legionnaires!”

Silver Slasher: “Lazon, your light-powers are magnificent !”
Lazon: “And deadly, Slasher. So very deadly !”

“Greetings. I am Lazon, of the new Legion of Super-Villains.”

“Don’t bother running, Dawnstar — I am as fast as light in this form !”

(During a prison break on Labyrinth) “Kill them all — and let’s get off this torture chamber world !”

By Chris Cottingham.

Helper(s): Andrew Lee (help above and beyond the call of duty), Michael Andrew, Mayfair’s LSH v.1 Sourcebook for the 1^st ed. writeup, Who’s Who in the Legion #3.

Source of Character: DCU (Pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes).

Revision completed on June 9, 2011.