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Invisible Kid

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This article is about the superhero. For other uses, see Invisible Kid (disambiguation).

Invisible Kid is the name of two superheroes in the DC Comics universe, both of whom are members of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries.[1]

Publication history

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The first Invisible Kid debuted alongside Chameleon Boy and Colossal Boy in Action Comics #267 by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney.[2] He was introduced as a new member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.[3][4][5] In Legion of Super-Heroes #203 (1974), Lyle was killed by Validus. Following his death, a second Invisible Kid, Jacques Foccart, was introduced in 1982. Lyle was resurrected following the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! event, which rebooted the Legion's continuity.

Fictional character biography

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Lyle Norg

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Invisible Kid
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAction Comics #267 (August 1960)
Created byJerry Siegel
Jim Mooney
In-story information
Alter egoLyle Norg
SpeciesMetahuman
Place of originEarth (31st century)
Team affiliationsLegion of Super-Heroes
AbilitiesAbility to stay undetected from many kinds of means (ocular, auditory and telepathic).
Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)

The first Invisible Kid was Lyle Norg, an early member of the Legion who gained his powers from a chemical serum he invented.[6] His abilities made him a valuable asset to the Legion Espionage Squad, of which he was a permanent member. Lyle also served one term as leader of the Legion. He was killed by Validus in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #203 (1974).[7]

Many years later, during the "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, Earth falls under the control of the Dominators and withdraws from the United Planets. A few years later, "Batch SW6" - temporal clones of the Legionnaires - escape the Dominators' captivity, with a clone of Invisible Kid being among them.[8]

Reboot

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Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (1994 team)

The original Lyle Norg is resurrected following the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! event, which reboots the Legion's continuity. In this version, Lyle is a professional spy who invented his invisibility serum while in Earthgov Intelligence's spy school. Rather than his scientific aptitude resulting in his getting on well with Brainiac 5, they had more of a rivalry. While Querl was more intelligent, Lyle had more imagination, being quicker to see unexpected applications for discoveries.

Lyle is the de facto leader of the Legion Espionage Squad, consisting of himself, Chameleon, Apparition, Triad, and Shrinking Violet, and was instrumental in bringing down the corrupt administration of United Planets President Chu.

According to The Definitive Guide to The Characters of the DC Universe (2004), he is in a homosexual relationship with Condo Arlik / Chemical King. This was never stated explicitly in the comic itself and never developed.

"Threeboot" continuity (2004-2009)

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Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)

In the "Threeboot", Lyle Norg is a genius with a skill for xenochemistry who was used by his father to develop an invisibility serum. His father, an officer in the Science Police, used to bring him alien cell samples to experiment with. By the time Lyle had successfully created a serum, he discovered that his father intended to give his research to the Science Police. In response, Lyle used the serum on himself and lied about it before contacting Brainiac 5, who invited him to join the Legion.[9][10]

Post-Infinite Crisis

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The events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries restore a close analogue of the pre-Crisis Legion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga" story arc in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc in Action Comics. Lyle is depicted as a member of this version of the team in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #5 (June 2007), and Action Comics #858 (late December 2007), but this incarnation of the Legion shares roughly the same history as the original Legion up to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.[11] Therefore, this version of Lyle is presumably deceased.

Jacques Foccart

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Invisible Kid
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceLegion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual #1 (1982)
Created byPaul Levitz
Keith Giffen
(based upon the Lyle Norg character by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney)
In-story information
Alter egoJacques Foccart
SpeciesMetahuman
Place of originEarth (31st century)
Team affiliationsLegion of Super-Heroes
AbilitiesAbility to stay undetected from many kinds of means (ocular, auditory and telepathic)

The second Invisible Kid, Jacques Foccart, is a teenager from what was once the Ivory Coast. Jacques' younger sister Danielle has a life-threatening neurological disorder which appears to be incurable, with Jacques taking her to Brainiac 5 as a last resort. Brainiac 5 decides to utilize a piece of circuitry from Computo, a supercomputer he had created years earlier. Computo possesses Danielle's body and takes control of Metropolis. Jacques uses Lyle Norg's invisibility serum to save the Legion and becomes the second Invisible Kid.[12]

"Five Years Later"

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After the Dominators take over Earth, Jacques becomes the leader of a resistance against them alongside Tyroc and the Legion of Substitute Heroes. The resistance successfully defeats the Dominators, with Invisible Kid and Tyroc respectively becoming president and vice president of Earth.[8] Following the destruction of Earth, Jacques resigns to rejoin the Legion and Tyroc becomes president.

Post-Zero Hour

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In post-Zero Hour continuity, Jacques Foccart is a friend and classmate of Lyle Norg. Charma, a fellow student who had developed mind control abilities, forced Jacques to drink Lyle's serum as a test to see if it would be safe for her. Jacques was believed to have been killed by the serum, as Lyle had calibrated it to only work with his physiology. In truth, he was saved by the Intelligence Division. The serum worked differently for him than for Lyle, granting him the ability to become invisible.[13]

Reception

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Syfy ranked the first Invisible Kid as the 24th greatest Legion of Super-Heroes member, stating that during "his time in the 1960s, Invisible Kid was a constant, but not noteworthy presence, until he was killed by Validus. When the Legion rebooted in 1994, he became a major player, showing he was one of the savviest members of the team". Syfy ranked the second Invisible Kid as number 38 describing the character as "boring" and "notable because of his name and his Rogue inspired haircut". Syfy opined that despite "later becoming President of Earth, he never did a whole lot except shout French expressions".[14]

In other media

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References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Cronin, Brian (April 4, 2017). "Supergirl's Shocking First Meeting With the Legion". CBR. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Booker, M. Keith (2014). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39751-6. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. ^ Ziegfeld, Amy (September 10, 2019). "Learning to Love the LEGION: On Supergirl and Selective Continuity". Comicosity. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Cadigan, Glen (2004). The Best of the Legion Outpost. TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 978-1-893905-36-8.
  6. ^ Fleisher, Michael L. (2007). The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Three: Superman. DC Comics. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.
  7. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  8. ^ a b Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #38 (December 1992)
  9. ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 5) #38 (March 2008)
  10. ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 5) #50 (March 2009)
  11. ^ IGN: Superman/Green Lantern interview Archived February 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual #1 (1982).
  13. ^ Legionnaires #66 (December 1998)
  14. ^ Murray, Jesse (January 12, 2016). "Every Member of the Legion of Super Heroes, Ranked: #49-1". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Couch, Aaron (October 13, 2022). "DC's Legion of Super-Heroes Sets Voice Cast With Meg Donnelly and Harry Shum Jr. to Star (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  16. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "Adventures in the DC Universe #10 - The Blobs (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  18. ^ "Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Atomic Batteries To Power, Flight Rings To Speed (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
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