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Post by redsycorax on Jun 18, 2021 1:58:34 GMT
I'm not sure about Superboy not meeting any peers in his own context. For one thing, there was Mon-El, until he fell victim to lead poisoning and ended up in the Phantom Zone. For another, there were the momentary appearances of Zar-Al (Krypton Kid) and Allen Vale (Supremo)- although, did that happen before or after Gravity Girl? . I suspect Superboy's problem might be that on mid=twentieth century Earth, he has no peers with his specific ability set, hence the unthinking paternalism. Although given the strength and fortitude of Saturn Girl as a Legion of Super Heroes character, particularly, I would've thought that twee sexism would be quickly cast aside. Perhaps she could have a conversation about their respective relationships with Superboy and Imra could confess that she feels protective of Lightning Lad for similar reasons (given his period in suspended animation and the loss of his arm shortly afterward? She definitely looked worried about Garth after the Space Whale encounter and her fear that he'd lost it, would violate the Legion code against killing and take his revenge against the Space Whale).
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Post by dans on Jun 18, 2021 12:02:53 GMT
It probably doesn't matter when those other stories occurred. Most 'life lessons' Superboy learned in any particular story seemed to be forgotten by the next story, and he (and Lana) were back to the same behavior as before these lessons. I agree, it would be interesting if he could have a heart-to-heart with Saturn Girl - and it would be interesting to see how he reacted to a _girl_ feeling like Garth needed to be protected. He thinks of Garth as an heroic peer, but Imra thinks of him as sort of a pesky, beloved pet that needs to be protected. What kind of cognitive dissonance would that create? 'Girls don't think like that! uh... do they? Boys aren't pesky and impulsive! uh... are we?'
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Post by redsycorax on Jun 19, 2021 0:04:14 GMT
Mind you, he has also worked alongside Saturn Girl and probably trusts her leadership skills and judgement because of that. I'm not sure about the pesky part, but Garth certainly does seem to be quite impulsive at times. And given he already sacrificed his life to save Earth from Zaryan before his revival, and then had to have one of his arms amputated, I think Superboy might agree that she's justified in feeling somewhat protective of her boyfriend. Although it might well be along the lines of 'Wow, I never realised girls could feel the same way as guys do about boys they care for. And no doubt about it, she's right about Garth's impulsive nature. Which is why Imra's probably the best one to help train Lana as Gravity Girl!"
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Post by dans on Jun 22, 2021 0:16:45 GMT
I just went back and re-read the original Gravity Girl story. Superboy recklessly gave Lana a microscopic pellet of compressed matter weighing two tons, in the expectation that she would put it down somewhere and it would crash through everything underneath it as it fell to the center of the Earth. He KNEW exactly what would happen - and yet he took no precautions about where she might put it down, or what might be underneath it when she released it. And then he lectured her about being careless. What if she had dropped it while she was flying over his house?
But even earlier in the story, he exhibits his own recklessness... he and Lana are breaking up a logjam near a lumber mill on the nearby river, and while Lana is carrying logs, Superboy just smashes them - launching potentially deadly slivers and splinters into a spray around him, one of which hurts Lana. And yet, he tells her "You're not clever enough [to use your powers]."
Good Thing the Super Teacher Robot wasn't around to see his mistakes; it might have grounded him forever. Although at least Super Teacher gave Superboy a chance to learn; Superboy gave Lana NO chance to improve.
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Post by redsycorax on Jun 22, 2021 0:34:41 GMT
I think that's a fair distinction to make, dans. When it comes to long-term strategic reasoning skills, research from pediatric medicine and developmental psychology tell us that adolescents develop it around thirteen or fourteen. Clearly, this either holds true for Kryptonians as well when it comes to neurological and psychological development, or it resulted from Terran parenting insofar as the Kents were concerned. And Superboy is being a sexist idiot and hypocrite because, as you point out, both he and Lana suffer pratfalls in this context, yet she's the one who has to abandon her superhero career. Interestingly enough, that wasn't the case with Executioner, Mon-El, Krypton Kid, Supremo or any of the other young male superheroes he encountered. Nor did he seem to try to deter Lightning Lass from assuming her brother's mantle when Ayla joined the Legion. In the context of the Legion, it could be because he reasons that the female Legionnaires have had long-term careers already and he respects them for that. Lana might be an exception because she's a novice, from that perspective.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Jun 22, 2021 1:55:49 GMT
It just shows that Superboy was as flawed as any other teenage boy, even a basically good one, and still had a lot of growing to do
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Post by dans on Jan 18, 2023 2:55:56 GMT
Here is what Gravity Girl looks like in this alternate universe, before and after Chameleon Boy gives her a holographic image inducer...
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