As with virtually all Legionaires and affiliated characters, my introduction to Infectious Lass came from the Who's Who in the Legion of Superheroes series. Consequently, this is her classic look as far as I'm concerned:
Okay, so she wasn't much to look at (unless you're into mucous) but I found her power set--and especially the backstory--terrifyingly cool. Drura Sehpt (IL's real name) came from the planet Somahtur, where the dominant sentient life form gained its position not by conquering and destroying "lower" forms of life (i.e., bacteria, viruses, etc.) but through complex symbiotic evolution with them.
The upshot was that every Somahturian became a walking CDC virology lab. Unfortunately, Somahturian symbiosis didn't play too well with off-worlders. Your average Somahturian could "quickly [and fatally] infect other living bio-organisms." (Infectious Lass. Comic Vine) So it's easy to understand why the United Planets kept a pretty tight quarantine on the planet, not allowing access to anyone other than a handful of select medical personnel. (Think about standard global protocols towards regions experiencing an Ebola, for example.)
Drura was atypically adventurous for her race, becoming one of the few to venture off-world. Her would-be galactic road-trip suffered a delay, however, as she was confined for sometime to Medicus One...due to her [species' aforementioned] health risk to others. (Infectious Lass. Comic Vine)
When Drura was finally released she bee-lined it for a Legion of Superheroes tryout where she demonstrated her power by making Star Boy terribly sick. Unfortunately for Drura she had more power than control, and the Legion rejected her application due to safety concerns.
The Long-Term Substitute
Following her rejection by the regular Legion, Infectious Lass was recruited into the Legion of Substitute Heroes by Polar Boy. She appeared pretty infrequently after that until the "Five Years Later" jump of1989. Below is a listed compiled from Comicvine (excluding Who's Who and other such "encyclopedic" appearances)
Possible inspiration?
Infectious Lass's 1974 debut may support a suspicion I've long-harbored--that her appearance owes something to the Andorians of Star Trek, who made their first appearance six years earlier in the episode "Journey to Babel."
Of course, blue skin and antennaes aren't exactly
unprecedented tropes in science fiction. I make no claim to have proven anything. This is only a speculation...but what say you? Does it plausible to imagine that the Somahtur doesn't fall far from the Andoria?
Okay, so she wasn't much to look at (unless you're into mucous) but I found her power set--and especially the backstory--terrifyingly cool. Drura Sehpt (IL's real name) came from the planet Somahtur, where the dominant sentient life form gained its position not by conquering and destroying "lower" forms of life (i.e., bacteria, viruses, etc.) but through complex symbiotic evolution with them.
The upshot was that every Somahturian became a walking CDC virology lab. Unfortunately, Somahturian symbiosis didn't play too well with off-worlders. Your average Somahturian could "quickly [and fatally] infect other living bio-organisms." (Infectious Lass. Comic Vine) So it's easy to understand why the United Planets kept a pretty tight quarantine on the planet, not allowing access to anyone other than a handful of select medical personnel. (Think about standard global protocols towards regions experiencing an Ebola, for example.)
Drura was atypically adventurous for her race, becoming one of the few to venture off-world. Her would-be galactic road-trip suffered a delay, however, as she was confined for sometime to Medicus One...due to her [species' aforementioned] health risk to others. (Infectious Lass. Comic Vine)
When Drura was finally released she bee-lined it for a Legion of Superheroes tryout where she demonstrated her power by making Star Boy terribly sick. Unfortunately for Drura she had more power than control, and the Legion rejected her application due to safety concerns.
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| Superboy #201 MAR 1974 |
The Long-Term Substitute
Following her rejection by the regular Legion, Infectious Lass was recruited into the Legion of Substitute Heroes by Polar Boy. She appeared pretty infrequently after that until the "Five Years Later" jump of1989. Below is a listed compiled from Comicvine (excluding Who's Who and other such "encyclopedic" appearances)
- Superboy #218 (Jul 1976)
- Superheroes Album #6 (Jun 1977)
- Legion of Superheroes #300 (Jun 1983)
- DC Comics Presents #59 (Jul 1983)
- Legion of Substitute Heroes Special (Apr 1985)
Possible inspiration?
Infectious Lass's 1974 debut may support a suspicion I've long-harbored--that her appearance owes something to the Andorians of Star Trek, who made their first appearance six years earlier in the episode "Journey to Babel."
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| Note the blue-skinned, antennaed chap in the right background |
No relationship whatsoever...imho. But a nice try!
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks for the compliment. I knew it was a long-shot. Maybe just as likely (or more so) that she was inspired by Chameleon Boy's look...at least the for the antennae.
ReplyDelete