DC’s Legion of Superheroes is a group of time-traveling super teenagers from the 30th century. Inspired by Superman’s example, the group came together and sets out to do good however they can. Over the years, the Legion roster has expanded immensely to include a very wide array of young heroes. Some Justice Leaguers have even worked as members of the team.
While the typical members of Legion have some very intriguing and strong superpowers, there are definitely some members with very unique and straight-up odd abilities. However, just because the ability is strange, doesn’t mean it’s not useful. With the return of Legion’s solo series on its way, here is our list of 10 members with weird superpowers that are actually super strong.
10 Kid Quantum
There have been several versions of Kid Quantum throughout Legion history. Yet, all three versions have very similar powersets. Though Kid Quantum has been shown to possess telepathy and even shape-shifting, the power to create stasis fields is most associated with each interpretation of the character. This means that Kid Quantum can stop time or render objects motionless in a limited area.
While this may not seem like much, freezing an opponent in such a manner can make them completely and totally vulnerable. If Kid Quantum isn’t careful, this ability could easily prove lethal for the Legion's enemies.
9 Starboy
Starboy is one of the more popular members of Legion and even had a recent appearance in the Justice League vs The Fatal Five animated feature. As Starboy, Thom Kallor has the ability to alter the mass, density, or gravity of an object. This means that he can make something as light as a feather incredibly heavy. While this may not seem like much at first, Starboy has used this to pull off incredible feats over the years. At times, he has rendered objects immovable for some of the strongest beings in the galaxy. On other occasions, he has even opened portals to other dimensions using his abilities. While he may not seem like much at first, Starboy certainly has a lot to offer in regards to powers and abilities.
8 Brainiac 5
As his name suggests, Brainiac 5 is the 5th version of the supervillain, Brainiac. This version of the character, however, is one of the good guys and often seen as a member of the Legion. Brainiac’s biggest asset is his mind; he is incredibly smart and usually serves as the “lookout” of sorts for the team, meaning he assigns members to each crisis accordingly. His twelfth level intellect makes him incredibly valuable to the team, especially when a quick solution is needed. Though he’s not the strongest member of the Legion of Superheroes, Brainiac 5 can still be considered one of the most important members.
7 Bouncing Boy
Bouncing Boy’s ridiculous name coincides very well with his ridiculous abilities. Chuck Taine was actually born without his superhuman powers, obtaining them following his consumption of an experimental elastic formula. As a result, he discovered that he could inflate his body and bounce around like a ball.
While he certainly sounds like one of the stranger members of the team, Bouncing Boy's abilities actually make him virtually invulnerable. Furthermore, he can also maintain his mass and velocity by flexing his muscles, meaning that he can hit opponents with a greater force than normal physics would allow.
6 Matter-Eater Lad
Matter-Eater Lad likely has the worst name out of all other characters on this list. As his name suggests, he is able to consume anything that is derived from matter. Therefore, he can eat anything except antimatter.
Though this power may seem useless, it has definitely come in handy on occasion. Matter-Eater Lad can consume matter quickly, which certainly helps his case. He also proves to be very useful whenever the team is trapped, as he can eat his way out of just about any given cell. Despite a dumb name and weird power, Matter-Eater Lad is still someone you may want close by.
5 Element Lad
Jan Arrah, aka Element Lad, has the ability to change the chemical composition of any substance. At a quick glance, this ability may not seem like much, but it actually puts him on a power level similar to that of Dr. Manhattan. By restructuring the atoms of a given substance, Element Ladcan can change anything he wants into whatever he desires.
Unlike Dr. Manhattan, Element Lad isn't typically shown to change the shape of an object at will unless the substance goes from the likes of a solid to a liquid. This means that there are limits to what he can accomplish. However, knowing how these abilities can be used against other people makes Element Lad a great threat should he not be on the side of good.
4 Dream Girl
As she sleeps, Dream Girl receives visions of future events and outcomes. From there, she is able to alert the team and adjust to the forthcoming situation accordingly. While this ability may make Dream Girl useless in the field of battle, she is also far from defenseless. She is also an expert in hand to hand combatant, making her all the more valuable to the team. Likewise, she is also considered to be one of the most powerful and accurate precognitives around. Though she’s definitely not the strongest member of the team, Dream Girl is still a valuable member of the Legion.
3 Ferro Lad
Andrew Nolan possesses the unique ability to turn himself into iron at will. However, he can only turn himself into iron and nothing else. With one of the more useful sounding abilities, Ferro Lad is effectively Iron Man without the benefit of ranged attacks. While in his iron form, Ferro Lad can take immense amounts of damage without any issue. He can also deliver punches that hurt his opponents substantially more than his normal fists would. Aside from his name, Ferro Lad actually possesses a very helpful superpower.
2 Princess Projectra
Anyone who's seen the recent movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home knows that Mysterio can be a powerful threat despite his illusions being produced externally. Much like Mysterio, Princess Projectra creates powerful illusions to confuse and manipulate her opponent. However, unlike Mysterio, Princess Projectra’s abilities are all organic and don’t rely on external technology.
Of course, this ability has come in handy for the Legion on numerous occasions. For a time, she was even believed to be a clone of Supergirl. The bottom line is that what Princess Projectra lacks in her ability to deal physical damage she can easily make up for in mental damage.
1 Chemical King
With the ability to speed up chemical reactions, Chemical King doesn’t sound like he’d be all that useful in just about any setting other than a lab. However, Condo Arlik has proven to be more useful than imaginable at times. For starters, chemical reactions are happening around and within us on a constant basis. Since Chemical King can speed up those reactions, he can go so far to kill an opponent almost instantly. He can also rot any given substance or alter the composition of the air around him.
Though he may not seem like much on the surface, Chemical King is definitely worthy of his place in Legion.