Over the years, many young heroes have tried out for the Legion of Super-Heroes. The tryouts are a Legion tradition, with every version of the team holding at least one call for new members. Issues like Adventure Comics #346 and Legion of Super-Heroes #14 even gave the process cover status.
With these tryouts, there have been many rejections. Some, like Fortress Lad, Porcupine Pete, Eyeful Ethel, and Plaid Lad, have become hilarious footnotes. Some have become super-villains, like Radiation Roy, Storm Boy, and Tusker. Others have even become Legionnaires, such as Bouncing Boy, Shrinking Violet, Spider-Girl, and Comet Queen.
10 Power Boy's Dense Molecular Structure Gave Him Great Strength.
Power Boy was a mainstay at the Legion Academy. When the Legion held an open call for new members, he tried out and demonstrated the strength that his dense molecular structure provided. Timber Wolf upset his balance, which showed a lack of awareness of potential danger. He didn't get enough votes from the observing Legionnaires to move on.
Different versions of the Legion's future showed different fates for Power Boy. During the Five Years Later story, he became a drill sergeant at the United Planets Military Academy. He was killed in a Khund attack. In a rebooted continuity, he joined the Science Police before his boyfriend, Gravity Kid, joined him.
9 Esper Lass Is A Powerful Telepath
Esper Lass joined a group that was all rejected for being from the same world as members of the Legion. Hoping to prove their worth, they challenged their counterparts. Failing, Esper Lass, Magno Lad, and Micro Lad went on to join the Legion of Super-Villains.
Like Saturn Girl, Esper Lass had powerful telepathic abilities. She was capable of reading thoughts, even from alien minds. She was powerful enough to put the Daxamite Ol-Vir to sleep, but her powers wouldn't work on the inorganic Legionnaire Blok.
8 Night Girl's Power Only Worked In Darkness
Night Girl's father made his daughter superhumanly strong. She tried out for the Legion, hoping to meet Cosmic Boy, whom she nursed a crush on. She was rejected because her strength vanished in sunlight or sudden brightness. She hadn't noticed because her homeworld of Kathoon was in a perpetual eclipse.
Night Girl was a founding member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Eventually, she got Cosmic Boy's notice, and the two began dating. In the Five Years Later continuity, the two married and had a son they named after Cosmic Boy's dead brother.
7 Infectious Lass Could Stop Almost Any Foe With A Variety Of Germs And Viruses
Infectious Lass was rejected from the Legion because she couldn't completely control her powers. She could give someone any number of illnesses from a variety of planets. It often made her a forgettable character, considered weak. However, She was anything but.
Often Infectious Lass demonstrated the ability to take out even the most fearsome opponent with her power. She could give someone even an alien disease. Over time, she gained more control and provided valuable support to her teammates, often working subtly until the effects of the Oomarrian Plague or Toonari Stomach Flu.
6 Polar Boy Would Go On To Lead The Legion Of Super-Heroes
Rejected because of a lack of control, Polar Boy formed the Legion of Substitute Heroes. The Subs became a valuable backup for the Legion, and Polar Boy became very adept with his powers. He took the Legion up on an offer to waive the age limit for new members and joined the Legion. A year later, he was elected leader.
Polar Boy's powers could reduce temperatures to nearly absolute zero. His desire to prove himself to the Legion drove him to practice relentlessly. This gives him the drive to succeed beyond his expectations.
5 Sun Boy Lost To Supergirl During His First Tryout
Sun Boy was present for Supergirl's second tryout for the Legion. He was beaten out for Legion membership by Supergirl and Brainiac 5. His powers were limited to emitting light. In his next tryout, he expanded his control to create fire.
Sun Boy's extended tenure as a Legionnaire makes some forget that he failed in his first attempt to join the Legion. He served so frequently that the Legion created a new rule for members. No member could go on more than five missions in a row.
4 Wildfire Was Rejected At First Because He Wouldn't Reveal His Unique Power.
An accident turned Wildfire's entire body into anti-energy. Using a special containment suit, he attempted to join the Legion. The costume could channel his energy to duplicate all the powers in the Legion. The Legion's rule about each member having a unique superpower kept him out, so he was rejected because he wouldn't demonstrate his.
He followed three Legionnaires to a crisis and saved them from a runaway harvester by using that original power. He released all of his anti-energy in one blast, seemingly dying. Many months later, he made his way back to Legion headquarters. He then saved them against the robotic Molecule Master. They accepted him into the Legion for his bravery.
3 Atmos Was The Champion Of A World And Knew It.
Atmos was the champion of Xanthu but went missing as Universo sought to take over the galaxy. During his imprisonment, he became obsessed with Dream Girl, so he sought to join the Legion. Despite his vast power, he was rejected due to his arrogance.
He began a relationship with Dream Girl. She soon deduced why she had grown content to stay with Atmos, even quitting the Legion to be with him. Atmos had the power to overwrite people's wills with his own. She quickly left him because of this violation and assault, being sure to punch him in the face before leaving.
2 Absorbancy Boy Would Go On To Become Earth-Man
Absorbancy Boy was rejected at the same tryout as Infectious Lass. He felt he was more deserving than even the recently recruited Tyroc. He used his power to absorb the residual energy from superpowers and duplicate them to prove he deserved membership. It failed because he couldn't control the duplicated abilities.
Later, Absorbancy Boy spread the lie that Superman had been an Earthling, creating a xenophobic Justice League of Earth. He took the name Earth Man but was defeated by the unified efforts of Superman and the Legion. Afterward, he was forced to join the Legion, where he sacrificed himself to defeat the Legion of Super-Villains.
1 Supergirl Failed In Her First Tryout
The Legion's third appearance had them recruit Supergirl, just as they had done with Superboy. During a demonstration of her abilities, Supergirl dug a tunnel through the earth, finishing it for high-speed travel. When she emerged, the Legion had to inform her that she couldn't join the Legion.
The Legion has an age limit for all new members of 18, and Supergirl was now past it. She had gotten too close to some underground red Kryptonite, and it aged her into an adult. She had to return to the 20th century, hoping the effect would wear off.