Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Silver Age DC Comics)

Saturn Girl

(Profile #1 - the Silver Age)


Context

This writeup focuses on Saturn Girl during her Silver Age appearances in Adventure Comics and Action Comics. For a more modern version, see the .

Other variants of Saturn Girl include Danielle Mendus’s writeup of the post-Zero Hour Saturn Girl (now called Earth-247), and the someday-forthcoming Imra Ardeen Ranzz (ex-Saturn Girl) writeup featuring what is now an alternate timeline (the “Five Year Gap” version by Keith Giffen, appearing in DC Comics from 1989-1994).


Background

  • Real Name: Imra Ardeen.
  • Other Aliases: Saturn Girl.
  • Marital Status: Single.
  • Known Relatives: Unnamed parents, Imra Ardeen (aunt).
  • Group Affiliation: Legion of Super-Heroes, Legion Espionage Squad.
  • Base Of Operations: LSH Clubhouse, Smallville, in Earth’s 30th century; Later the LSH Clubhouse in Metropolis.
  • Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs.
  • Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde


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Powers and Abilities

Saturn Girl has powers of ESP, like most people from Titan, but her power of “super thought-casting” marks her as one of Titan’s mightiest telepaths. She can send and receive thoughts (in DC Heroes terms, Telepathy), perceive surface thoughts and emotions (Empathy), and probe for deep or hidden memories (Mind Probe).

Imra can “listen” for mental activity to see if living minds are present (Life Sense). Once she has identified a particular brainwave she can seek it out at will and track those brainwaves across great distances (Extra-Sensory Tracking). She can also telepathically transcend language barriers, even with alien beings (Comprehend Languages).

Imra’s thought-casting also allows her to plant suggestions or commands in the minds of others. She can affect humans and aliens (Hypnotism), sufficiently advanced androids and robots (such as a Superboy robot), and animals (Animal Summoning and Animal Control). She can also implant information and memories which surface at need, useful for Legionnaires engaged in undercover work.

She is able to resist control and hide her thoughts from prying by other telepaths (Iron Will, Mind Blank), though closing her mind completely also means she cannot send or receive thoughts. On occasion she has telepathically freed persons from the mental control of others (Exorcism).

Other assets

Saturn Girl is a skilled and experienced hero with some knowledge of judo and hand-to-hand combat (DEX, Martial Arts). She is also able to operate Legion vehicles and equipment (Vehicles/Space). From time to time she supplements her mental powers by carrying weapons such as blaster pistols (Weaponry/Firearms).


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Imra is also highly intelligent and a skilled scientist (INT, Scientist, Gadgetry, Stroke of Genius). She created Serum XY-4, which gives Daxamites temporary resistance to lead poisoning. It served as the basis for Brainiac 5’s later, longer-lasting antidote.

As a Legionnaire, Saturn Girl is able to fly through technological means. At first the LSH used jetpacks. These were quickly replaced with anti-grav Flying Belts. The rather bulky belts were later replaced by the early model Legion Flight Ring.


History

Imra Ardeen was born on Titan (the moon of Saturn) during the latter half of the 30th century. All Titanites possess psychic powers, which some attribute to the influence of Saturn’s rings and background radiation.

From a very early age, Imra showed high potential as a telepath, easily among the greatest ever seen on Titan. Her parents sent her to the prestigious Titan Academy, where her powers could be developed to their fullest extent and she could be taught the ethics of a telepath, including a strong respect for privacy.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) turns pistols into snakes during the Silver Age

Imra was an intensely dedicated student, mastering her powers and developing checks on her acute telepathic sensitivity. By the time she reached her teens, her powers of mind reading and mental communication were publicly known to be extraordinary. Some called her Titan’s strongest telepath.

When Science Police scouts came looking for telepaths willing to use their talents for law-enforcement, they were very interested in Imra. She felt this would be a good place to make a difference. She eagerly accepted the SPs offer, and embarked on a shuttle flight for Earth to complete the formalities of joining the force.

Brave New World

Upon arrival, her telepathy picked up an assassination attempt targeting R.J. Brande, one of the richest sentients in the United Planets. Imra called out a warning, and two other super-powered teens, Garth Ranzz (see Lightning Lad) and Rokk Krinn (see Cosmic Boy), intervened to help Imra foil the assassination.

Imra then probed the minds of the would-be assassins and revealed that Brande’s partner Doyle was behind the plot.

Brande, an avid fan of 20th century super-heroes, was reminded by the heroic youths of the legendary Superboy and Supergirl. He encouraged the three to make their team-up permanent, with him as their financier. Imra found this idea more appealing than that of becoming a policewoman, and thus she became a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Leaders

Computer analysis of the three founders, now called Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy, showed that Cosmic Boy had enormous leadership potential. He was chosen as the group’s first leader. Under his guidance the Legion blossomed, gaining status as deputies of the Science Police and becoming a Legion in fact as well as name.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) in an orange space suit during the Silver Age

The Legion became a modern-day legend, growing from the original three to 18 members during Cosmic Boy’s tenure. It was he who first suggested that the Legion Founders use the recently-invented Time Bubble to recruit Supergirl and Superboy themselves for Legion membership.

Imra became the second Leader of the Legion, though she manipulated the others with her telepathic abilities to ensure that she won the election. She had the best of reasons for doing so. Zaryan the Conqueror was on his way to attack Earth, and Saturn Girl had received a prophetic warning that a Legionnaire would die battling him.

Telepathically forcing the others to vote for her, she used her new position as Leader to trump up spurious complaints against each of her teammates so that she could suspend them from duty. This made her the only Legionnaire left to face Zaryan and die.

Lightning Strike, part 1

Imra’s plan went as anticipated, except for the one Legionnaire she forgot. Mon-El, who at that time was still confined to the Phantom Zone, had seen the whole chain of events. He managed to contact Lightning Lad just as Saturn Girl was going alone to confront Zaryan.

Lightning Lad, who had a then-mostly unrequited love for Saturn Girl, defied her orders and intervened in the battle. He single-handedly repelled Zaryan’s invasion, managing to destroy Zaryan’s flagship and sacrificing his life to save Imra.

It was soon discovered, however, that Zaryan’s freeze ray had actually placed Lightning Lad in a deathlike coma. The grief-stricken Saturn Girl, as Legion Leader, had the team scour the galaxy for experimental techniques that might restore him.

Lightning Strike, part 2

They succeeded in finding a technique that would transfer life-energy from one person to another, restoring Lightning Lad at the cost of someone else’s life. Several Legionnaires were prepared to make that sacrifice, but Saturn Girl once again secretly manipulated events so that the team would be spared and she alone would die for Lightning Lad.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) crying in Cosmic Boy's arms during the Silver Age

However, Imra was outmaneuvered by Proty, an alien mascot/pet of the Legionnaire Chameleon Boy. Proty, a shapeshifting telepath with a great affection for Saturn Girl, impersonated her and made the sacrifice himself. Though saddened by Proty’s loss, Imra was overjoyed at Garth’s revival, and the two soon become romantically involved.

Imra continued as Legion Leader, and proved to be as successful as Cosmic Boy. When it came time for a new election, she solved a puzzle posed by Proty II, and began a second consecutive term as Leader, which was also very successful.

Imra was succeeded as Legion Leader by Brainiac 5, and during his term she and Garth became the first Legion couple to get engaged. But because they themselves had written a clause forbidding marriage into the Legion Constitution, they put off marriage for several years and remained active Legionnaires.


Description

Saturn Girl is a pretty woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She most often has an expression of calm resolve on her face, giving little outward sign of her emotions but often appearing stern. Her costume is almost severe by superhero standards, blouse and pants AND skirt over the pants. Her sleeves come all the way to her wrist, and she has a high collar up to her chin.

Her first costume is green and yellow, but she quickly trades it for her trademark red, with white at her wrists, her belt buckle, and her knee-high boots. There’s also a broad white streak stretching from her neck to her waist, with a yellow Saturn symbol on her chest.


Personality

Even at this early stage in her career, and even given the primitive characterizations of comic stories in the 1950s and 60s, Imra has a distinctive personality and presence.

On the surface, she’s a typical stalwart of the Silver Age , defined by logic, courage, and unwavering resolve. Saturn Girl is at least equal to her male counterparts from her first appearance, which is unusual for Silver Age heroines.

Fiercely intelligent and scientifically trained, she is also observant and, as an ESPer, trusts her intuition. She won her second term as Legion Leader by being the only one clever enough to solve a puzzle crafted by Proty II. Saturn Girl is a quick thinker and an excellent Legion Leader, good at both strategy and tactics.

She does have an unconscious arrogance, though. A skeptic, she can be dismissive of her less rational teammates, especially if they have “foolish” superstitions. Imra is still young at this point, and has the rigidity of a smart and gifted young person who is (nearly) always right.

Ice queen

Imra projects a business-like attitude and usually keeps an emotional distance. Partly this stems from the need to maintain her mental barriers. Her powerful mind constantly picks up strong thoughts and emotions from others.

Equally problematic, she may naturally broadcast her own thoughts if without rigid control. A professional detachment seems to be her method of keeping those boundaries.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) flying over a city during the Silver Age

Imra is private and keeps her own counsel. She has deceived and manipulated her teammates in the past, albeit always with good intentions. While she has publicly vowed never to use her telepathy on a fellow Legionnaire without consent, she is ready to pick up stray thoughts when they don’t guard their minds.

She’s been known to pry more actively if it’s really important to her, for instance, trying to read Mon-El’s mind when she believed he was withholding a technique to revive Lightning Lad.

Saturn Girl never seems to see any discontinuity between these actions and her oath not to use her powers on her teammates. At the same time, Imra’s courage, self-confidence, and sense of responsibility sometimes drive her to keep secrets of her own. Keeping secrets is a recurring pattern, as she chooses to put herself in harm’s way to spare the team. 

Compassion

There’s no malicious intent in any of this, as Imra is more than willing to sacrifice her life for any Legionnaire. The rest of the Legion knows this. Despite her intermittent history of deceit, they have great respect for Imra and trust her judgment. She’s reserved, but she’s not Mr. Spock, and her rational bent shouldn’t be played to extremes.

Partly because of her insight and sensitivity into what others think and feel, Imra shows great compassion for people who are hurting. This is especially true after Lightning Lad’s (temporary) death, as her grief causes her to begin to open up.

The change is most evident in her attitude toward Lighning Lad himself. She’d previously treated him as just another teammate but was devastated by his death, weeping openly and constantly visiting his tomb. This didn’t change her dedication to the Legion; she continued as Leader and made Lightning Lad’s revival a top Legion priority.

But she began to display more attention to the emotions of others and to form deeper friendships herself.

For Garth’s sake, she gave a warm welcome to his twin sister when Ayla joined the Legion as Lightning Lass. She reached out as a confidante and friend to the orphaned Jan Arrah when he applied for Legion membership as Mystery Lad. As Element Lad, he remains one of her biggest supporters to this day.

She quickly developed close and devoted friendships with the aliens Proty and Proty II, fellow telepaths who could understand her.

Relationships

Though she grieved for Proty, Imra was overjoyed by Garth’s return. By the end of the Silver Age it’s clear that the couple share a deep and abiding love. Both also love the Legion and, at this time, are consciously avoiding the thought that the only way they could ever marry is to quit the team.

In the meantime, they enjoy working and serving together, and are generally good about not being too overprotective of each other.

In addition to Lightning Lad and Element Lad, Imra is close to fellow Legion founder Cosmic Boy and to Superboy, whom she helped recruit. She respects Mon-El as one of the Legion’s most loyal members, and has an “antagonistic friendship” with Brainiac 5.

The two have much in common, their own brands of mental acuity setting them apart from the others. But Brainiac 5 has an occasional patriarchal streak, and has tried to disqualify women from missions that were “too dangerous for a girl.”

Saturn Girl is the Legionnaire that immediately shoots him down on these occasions. She does not tolerate chauvinism, and often is the spokesperson for gender equality on the team.

Though Imra is a genuinely kind and heroic woman, dedicated to justice, and less reserved after Lightning Lad’s return, she remains brusque and business-like under normal circumstances. She has one of the most forceful personalities on the team, especially compared to other early Legion women. Her versatile powers, intellect, and courage mark her as one of the LSH’s most formidable members.


Quotes

“The scientists of Saturn, who are experts in telepathy, taught me how to read minds and also cast my mental commands anywhere !”

“Lightning Lad ! How dare you disobey my orders to let me handle this alone ? Return to Earth, at once !”

“I tried to save you, Lightning Lad ! If only I could have died in your place, as I intended ! But it wasn’t… *sob* …meant to be… *choke !* ….”

“Take cover, everyone ! I’m getting the thought of a trap here !”

“You and your masculine ego !”


DC Universe History

Saturn Girl’s been a mainstay of every version of the Legion of Super-Heroes since it was created in 1958. The original timeline lasted until the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, then (with modifications) persisted a few more years into the Post-Crisis era.

She was a reserve member during the new, more heavily modified timeline (the Keith Giffen/Tom & Mary Bierbaum version) published from 1989 until Zero Hour. (See the “Five Year Gap” write-ups.)

The post-Zero Hour period brought a completely new, revamped timeline, which during Infinite Crisis was identified as the Legion of Earth-247. (See Danielle’s post-Zero Hour write-ups.) Mark Waid and Barry Kitson started another, newer LSH several years ago, generally referred to as the “Threeboot Legion” (third reboot).

And in the wake of Infinite Crisis Geoff Johns wrote stories featuring a new Legion closely inspired by the original Pre-Crisis Legion, which Paul Levitz has begun writing again. (I’ll refrain from pointing out how Johns’ re-insertion of the Legion into Superman’s back-story parallels suggestions from the DCH Mailing List.) There are probably a few more versions of her, too!

In any case…

It doesn’t matter which version of the Legion you use, though, or if you create your own version for a Campaign setting. Saturn Girl’s role in every timeline is almost always the same, Legion founder, leader, as dedicated and formidable as they come.

She’s almost as essential to the LSH as Captain America is to the Avengers. (Don’t remind me that Cap got killed. Didn’t you see how the Avengers splintered? Anyway he got better.) If you use the Legion, she should be in your campaign.

Beyond that, Imra is easy to drop in just about anywhere, regardless of continuity. Given her one-time desire to enter the Science Police, she could easily be found as leader of an elite unit of the Science Police, SHIELD, the L.E.G.I.O.N., or just about any law-enforcement, intelligence, or diplomatic organization.


Marvel Universe History

The Shi’ar Imperial Guard were originally a direct homage to the Legion of Super-Heroes, with Saturn Girl’s counterpart being Oracle…though Oracle’s never had Saturn Girl’s strength or influence.

But I really don’t see porting Saturn Girl into the Marvel Universe’s 30th or 31st centuries unless you bring the whole Legion, and given their strong Superman family ties, you’d need Superman and Supergirl, too.&

Instead, there are some MU elements that could easily be ported into the DCU as part of Saturn Girl’s background. An LSH/Sovereign Seven crossover in the post-Zero Hour timeline suggested that a galaxy-wide fear of telepaths in the 31st century was due to the actions of Network in the 20th or 21st century.

As a result of her supposed actions, telepaths were required to wear the Saturn symbol at all times so people would know they were in the presence of a telepath.

Since Network’s precise role in this was undefined and possibly still in her future, you could convincingly replace Network with the Phoenix. Phoenix’s power and uncontrolled nature might well lead to a general prejudice against telepaths, especially if the Phoenix Force continues to be drawn toward telepaths.

The MU’s general prejudice against mutants would gradually attach to, and be strengthened toward, telepaths.

Eventually, a group of mutant telepaths would decide to leave Earth to escape persecution. Another element that I like is to imagine this group being invited to re-settle Titan by the remnants of the Eternals of Titan. That society is mostly wiped out by Thanos a few times, but they have a ready-made home on Titan, room for extra folks, and are comfortable with telepathy.

That also leads to mention of Moondragon, who I suppose could also replace Network as the reason that telepaths are held in bad repute.

If you want to use a Saturn Girl-inspired character in the 21st century Marvel Universe, another approach would be to have her as an agent of SHIELD, in their psi division.


Misc. Universe History

I’ve incorporated aspects of Star Trek into my Legion campaigns, mostly by ignoring the official ST timeline and deciding that ST: TNG is set in the 30th century, not the 24th. (This makes the technology fit better, among other things.)

In general, I have TNG take place before the founding of the LSH, so that the Legion doesn’t exist yet during things like the Borg attack on Earth, or wars with the Klingons (Khunds) and the Dominion (from DS9). The DCU’s Dominion fought a war with Earth and the United Planets in the years prior to the Legion’s founding, so it mostly works out.

In Saturn Girl’s case, her initial career goal could have been to join Starfleet instead of the Science Police. Titan would of course replace Betazed. Conveniently, in some timelines Titan has a hereditary nobility (see the Saturn Queen writeup), so Lwaxana and Deanna Troi can still be daughters of the Fifth House, Holders of the Sacred Chalice of Riix, and Heirs to the Holy Rings of…Titan (or Saturn.)

If you’re amalgamating in the other direction, pulling Imra into a mostly Star Trek universe, then she’s a very powerful and gifted Betazoid like Tam Elbrun. Unlike him, she’s mostly managed to get her powers under control and has joined Starfleet as a science or command officer of some kind.

Her rigid control contrasts starkly with Elbrun’s near hysteria, and might make her an interesting foil for both Riker and Troi.



Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Saturn Girl

A 2453 Points Character

Dex: 05 Str: 03 Bod: 04 Motivation: Upholding the Good
Int: 09 Wil: 10 Min: 05 Occupation: Legionnaire
Inf: 05 Aur: 04 Spi: 06 Resources {or Wealth}: 006
Init: 021 HP: 65

Powers:
Animal Control: 11, Animal Summoning: 11, Comprehend Languages: 12, Danger Sense: 07, Detect (telepathic disturbances): 12, Empathy: 10, Exorcism: 10, Extra-Sensory Tracking: 08, Hypnotism: 14, Iron Will: 06, Life Sense: 11, Mind Blank: 08, Mind Probe: 06, Telepathy: 27

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • All Powers are Derived from Telepathy (-1 each except Telepathy).
  • Animal Control is usable at Range (+1) and doesn’t require Speak w/Animals as commands are transmitted telepathically (+0 to +1 depending on House Rules).
  • Comprehend Languages is with living minds only (-1), not written records or computer databanks.
  • Danger Sense, Detect, and Empathy all behave in some non-standard ways; see the special section “Big Sister is Watching You!” below for details. The total modifications to Factor Cost leave Danger Sense at +0, Detect at +11 (including a Range Bonus of +50 APs) and Empathy at +1.
  • Extra-Sensory Tracking can be found in the New Rules article on writeups.org. Saturn Girl has a Limited version of it; she can only track minds she’s familiar with via prior psychic contact (using Telepathy, Empathy, Mind Probe, or Life Sense, – 1).
  • Hypnotism can affect sufficiently advanced android and robot brains (GM Discretion, +1).
  • When Saturn Girl activates Mind Blank, she is unable to use any other power except Iron Will (-2).
  • Mind Probe suffers a -1 CS penalty to AV/EV when probing a victim of another’s Hypnotism or Control (-1).

Skills:
Gadgetry: 06, Martial Artist: 04, Scientist: 06, Vehicles (Space): 04, Weaponry (Firearms): 04

Advantages:
Confined HQ (Apartment in Metropolis), Credentials (Science Police, High), Iron Nerves, Leadership, Popularity, Rich Friend (R.J. Brande), Stroke of Genius (Serum XY-4).

Connections:
Legion of Super-Heroes (High), Legion Founders (High), Element Lad (High), Mon-El (High), Superboy (High), Science Police (High), R.J. Brande (High), Titan Academy for psychics (High), UP Government (Low).

Drawbacks:
Public Identity.

Equipment:
Initially, a Legion Flying Belt. This was later replaced with an early model LEGION FLIGHT RING. See the Legion Equipment writeup for details on both devices. At this time the Legion didn’t make regular use of telepathic earplugs or Transuits.


Previous Stats

Except for an Adult Legion story set in Saturn Girl’s future, Imra did not demonstrate judo skills until shortly after Karate Kid joined the LSH. Presumably, she learned them from him. During the first few years of her career, she would therefore have had no Martial Arts and her Initiative would have been 19.

As an aside, shortly after Karate Kid joins the team, Invisible Kid I becomes Legion Leader and pushes both for greater physical fitness and for the founding of the Legion Academy, where (among other things) hand-to-hand combat is taught. Eventually, the Legion would require such training of all its members.


Inquiring Minds

Saturn Girl is a gifted telepath, but at this point in her career her sensitivity cuts both ways. Her highly attuned mind can easily be read by others, and Imra often worries about leaking Legion secrets to another telepath.

In terms of Game Mechanics, this is represented by Imra’s MIND, which at 05 APs is no better than average for a super-hero, especially a mentalist. When she concentrates, which refers to as “closing her mind”, Imra can shield her thoughts well. In Game terms, she activates Mind Blank.

However, when Mind Blank is active, she can’t use any of her other powers (except Iron Will). She effectively cripples herself, so that she can’t receive thoughts from others, nor project her thoughts or mental commands to anyone else.


Big Sister is Watching You!

Imra’s highly sensitive ESP powers often “accidentally pick up thoughts”, a fact writers (and Gamemasters!) may use to speed plots along. She may sense that she’s being spied on, feel duplicity from a teammate, pick up a telepathic distress call (even from another planet), or overhear the “death-cry” of a planet or another telepath, even from light years away.(Think “Alderaan” in Star Wars IV.)

The Brande Incident that led to the founding of the Legion is an example of a danger Saturn Girl picked up without intentionally focusing her powers.

This ability is modeled via Danger Sense, Detect, and Empathy. Her Danger Sense functions to pick up malicious intent. It’s strictly a telepathic sensitivity to hostility, not any sort of clairvoyant or precognitive faculty. On one occasion Imra returned to LSH HQ from a mission and immediately detected that she was being spied on, leading her to discover a plot by alien invaders to learn the Legion’s secrets.

On another occasion she detected an invisible machine set to spy on the Legion by the Time Trapper. She was actually not picking up the machine, but the Trapper’s thoughts as he observed from afar. The spies and the Time Trapper were only gathering information for a later assault, but Saturn Girl’s Danger Sense doesn’t rely on an imminent threat, only threatening thoughts. GMs should therefore feel free to be flexible in the interpretation of what Danger Sense can pick up, but her level of sensitivity is pretty remarkable.

Saturn Girl’s Detect, like her Danger Sense, is a power that the GM may activate automatically when appropriate (+1), as it too is generally a plot device. Saturn Girl is likely to pick up the distress cries of millions of minds all feeling fear (in the case of a planetary disaster) or all disappearing (in the case of a planet’s destruction). She can also pick up such disturbances and death-cries from other powerful minds, i.e. other telepaths. Her Range for this is an incredible 60 APs (Range increased by 50 APs, +10 FC).

Empathy functions in a similar way, activating automatically at times (+1). GMs should also allow the Player controlling Imra to freely use Empathy on someone, even a teammate, when Imra would have no ‘in-story’ reason for doing so, so long as the PC roleplays this as if any knowledge gained was obtained accidentally.

It’s normal for Saturn Girl to pick up thoughts from others without trying, especially thoughts of menace or duplicity. Of course, ferreting out the exact nature of those thoughts requires her Mind Probe, which is considerably less powerful than her Empathy, and she is often not able to get the details.

Moreover, intrusions on the minds of her teammates could have adverse consequences, given her vow never to read their minds without permission. These consequences may be GM-imposed (a reduced HP award, if the player uses this too often), or may take the form of another PC angered by the mental violation.

Whatever information Saturn Girl receives, GMs should be careful to reveal such knowledge only to Saturn Girl’s player. Saturn Girl has a history of keeping such information secret in order to “protect” her teammates, which is fertile ground for role-playing.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen), Superboy and Cosmic Boy during the Silver Age


Stop Thinkin’ about Tomorrow

The Legion frequently had to wipe information that might affect the past from Superboy’s mind, and occasionally from Supergirl’s. They used a number of techniques to do this, including placing kryptonite in their brains (!!).

One less extreme technique involved Saturn Girl blocking information from their conscious recall. For a time Saturn Girl had blocks in Superboy’s mind that would erase sensitive future information whenever he went to the past, but then return it to his conscious mind whenever he came back to the Legion’s time.

All of this is simply a long-winded way of saying that, if you’re unsure, you can assume that Saturn Girl’s Hypnotism allows her to alter or erase people’s memories. Some list members interpret Hypnotism differently, but in Saturn Girl’s case, this is something she can definitely do.


Titanomachia

On the subject of differing interpretations on the DCH Mailing List, there was, um, mild disagreement as to whether Saturn Girl needed Comprehend Languages. Some list members believe that Telepathy should automatically transcend language barriers, since this is a staple of much classic science fiction.

On the other hand, some fiction has characters blocking mind probes by thinking in a foreign tongue. YMMV, but for maximum clarity I’ve chosen to include the power of Comprehend Languages in the writeup.

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) doing a mental probe over the ocean during the Silver Age


Pet Psychic

In several stories with the Legion of Super-Pets, Saturn Girl demonstrated that her Telepathy had the Usable on Others Bonus by giving each of the Super-Pets a couple of APs of Telepathy so they could communicate with humans and each other.

These were the only occasions when Saturn Girl demonstrated this ability, so I’ve chosen to regard it as a plot device (no big deal, since my own campaign doesn’t include a Pet Legion in the first place). If you use the Super-Pets, you should incorporate the following Bonus — Telepathy is Usable on Others, but Saturn Girl may choose how many APs are transferred (+6 FC).


Design Notes

For the obsessive among you, Saturn Girl v1.0 was the published writeup in the LSH v.1 Sourcebook by Mayfair Games. That one used 1st edition DCH rules. It was updated, using 2nd edition rules, in the 2995 LSH Sourcebook by Mayfair. I consider that to be v1.1. My previous take on the character, which was informed by both of those write-ups, was therefore v2.0.

This completely rewritten and newly researched writeup is, therefore, v3. It’s gone through two slight updates, making this v3.2.


By Chris Cottingham.

Source of Character: DCU (Adventure Comics, Action Comics, Superboy).

Helper(s): Sébastien Andrivet, John Colagioia, Dr. Peter S. Piispanen, Pufnstuff, Roy Cowan, and Frank Murdock; all those who helped develop the Extra-Sensory Tracking power (see the New Powers article on writeups.org); Mayfair’s Legion Sourcebook v.1; and the defunct /www.studiosanning.shawbiz.ca/legion_of_super-heroes/mainpage.htm .