Invisible Kid
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
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]
Lyle Norg
Invisible Kid | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Action Comics #267 (August 1960) |
Created by | Jerry Siegel Jim Mooney |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Lyle Norg |
Species | Metahuman |
Place of origin | Earth (31st century) |
Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Heroes |
Abilities | Ability to stay undetected from many kinds of means (ocular, auditory and telepathic). |
The first Invisible Kid was Lyle Norg, an early member of the Legion who gained his powers from a chemical serum he invented.
Many years later, during the "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, Earth fell under the covert control of the
Reboot
Following the
He was 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.
Lyle served one term as Legion Leader; during his tenure, this version of the Legion defeated Mordru in their first and only battle with the sorcerer.
According to The Definitive Guide to The Characters of the DC Universe (2004), he was in a homosexual relationship with Condo Arlik. This, however, was never stated explicitly in the comic itself and never developed.
"Threeboot" continuity (2004-2009)
Lyle Norg is a genius with a skill for xenochemistry who was used by his father to develop an invisibility serum. His Science Police officer father used to bring him alien cell samples nearly every night to experiment with. By the time he had successfully created a serum, he discovered that his father promised to hand over Lyle's research to the Science Police all along. So he injected the only existing serum into himself and lied about it before contacting Brainiac 5 for help. Brainy invited Lyle to join the Legion. Eventually his father discovered the truth and tried to get Lyle to quit and hand over the serum. After the Legion was outlawed, Lyle reneged and produced a blood sample for his father to use. The sample was encoded with a monitoring virus allowing Legion access to the United Planets systemworks. Because of his relationship to Brainiac 5 his teammates have snarlingly nicknamed him "Brainiac 6".
When Lyle betrayed Cosmic Boy's trust by revealing to Brainiac 5 that several members had broken into Brainy's lab, he lied to the team by blaming everything on Shrinking Violet. He and Violet, who prefers the moniker Atom Girl, have since made a deal to continue the ruse, but his teammates still have a hard time trusting him. When Supergirl mysteriously appeared in the 31st century, Lyle, along with half the male Legionnaires vied for her attention. However, Lyle convinced Cosmic Boy that he did not have a crush on Supergirl to remove the competition for her affections. He recently had his arm torn off when his flight ring exploded, and was given an alien arm to replace it by a member of the Wanderers. He is left in Metropolis, the doctors reproducing his DNA to give him another arm.
His arm apparently healed, he returns to the active roster to save a young Tritonian mutant, Gazelle, for whom he carries a torch from then on.[9] During an invasion of aliens hailing from cyberspace, a small squad of legionnaires, including him and the recently appointed Gazelle, are digitized and sent into their home base: Invisible Lad has a customized avatar issued by Brainac 5, with a bulkier and more handsome physique that greatly impresses Gazelle. His idealized body is shown to be a trojan horse able to give Brainiac 5 complete mastery over the alien, digital universe. Invisible Kid, Gazelle and the other legionnaires spend some time trapped in cyberspace, while Brainiac 5 restores their physical bodies, damaged in a skirmish between the Coluan and some physical avatars of the invading aliens: in that week, Invisible Kid admits his feelings for Gazelle who happily reciprocates. Upon returning to the physical world, they both witness Brainiac 5 and Nura Nal exchanging their nuptial vows and inviting them to their marriage.[10]
Post-Infinite Crisis (2007)
The events of the
Jacques Foccart
Invisible Kid | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual #1 (1982) |
Created by | Paul Levitz Keith Giffen (based upon the Lyle Norg character by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Jacques Foccart |
Species | Metahuman |
Place of origin | Earth (31st century) |
Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Heroes |
Abilities | Ability to stay undetected from many kinds of means (ocular, auditory and telepathic) Formerly: Teleportation |
Many years later, Brainiac 5 was approached by Jacques Foccart, a teenage native of Earth from what was once the
Within days of Jacques' addition to the team, the Legion faced a new foe whom they initially referred to as the Master of the Servants of Darkness. The Servants' Master possessed a myriad of superpowers, including the ability to generate teleportation tubes out of thin air, and after one encounter Jacques decided to follow him. The sight of the real face of the Servants' Master—later revealed as the ancient villain Darkseid—frightened Jacques so deeply that a large strip of his jet black hair turned permanently white.[13]
Jacques soon learned that, unlike his predecessor, he had also developed the ability to teleport and shift into other dimensions. This talent served him well when he and his teammate Wildfire were almost killed by a Lyle Norg imposter. However, when he caused the death of a criminal by accidentally teleporting him into space, Jacques had the additional powers removed. Jacques served as a permanent member of the Legion Espionage Squad, along with Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, and Shrinking Violet.
"Five Years Later"
During the
At the time, Batch SW6 appeared to be a group of teenaged Legionnaire clones, created from samples apparently taken immediately following the team's first encounter with Universo.[14] Later, they were revealed to be time-paradox duplicates, every bit as legitimate as their older counterparts. In any event, the emergence of the SW6 Legionnaires allowed Jacques to meet their leader—the real Lyle Norg—for the first time.
After the defeat of the Dominators, Jacques became a planetary hero. The people of Earth rewarded his efforts by making him president of the planet, with Troy Stewart (Tyroc) serving as vice president. But soon thereafter, Earth was destroyed in a disaster reminiscent of Krypton's destruction over a millennium earlier.[15] A few dozen cities and their inhabitants survived, and the planet was reconstituted as New Earth. Eventually, Jacques resigned as president to rejoin the Legion (where he served as co-leader with Rokk Krinn), and Troy ascended to the presidency.
Post-Zero Hour
After Legion continuity was completed rebooted by the events of
Post-Infinite Crisis
Jacques has not appeared in the "Threeboot" Legion continuity which began in 2005. However, the events of the
Reception
Syfy ranked the first Invisible Kid as the 24th greatest Legion of Superheroes 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".[17]
In other media
- The Jacques Foccart incarnation of Invisible Kid makes cameo appearances in Legion of Super Heroes (2006).
- The Jacques Foccart incarnation of Invisible Kid appears in Legion of Super-Heroes (2023), voiced by Zeno Robinson.
- The Lyle Norg incarnation of Invisible Kid appears in Adventures in the DC Universe #10.[18]
- The Lyle Norg incarnation of Invisible Kid appears in the one-shot comic Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes.[19]
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ "Supergirl's Shocking First Meeting With the Legion". CBR. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-313-39751-6. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Learning to Love the LEGION: On Supergirl and Selective Continuity". Comicosity. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-893905-36-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4012-1389-3.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #38, Late December 1992.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 5) #38 (March 2008)
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 5) #50 (March 2009)
- ^ IGN: Superman/Green Lantern interview Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) Annual #1 (1982).
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #291 (September 1982).
- ^ The Legion first battled Universo in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #349 (October 1966). In the following issue, Star Boy and Dream Girl rejoined the team under the aliases "Sir Prize" and "Miss Terious", but the two are not included in Batch SW6.
- ^ Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #38, Late December 1992.
- ^ Legionnaires #66 (December 1998)
- ^ Murray, Jesse (12 January 2016). "Every Member of the Legion of Super Heroes, Ranked: #49-1". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Adventures in the DC Universe #10 - The Blobs (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- ^ "Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Atomic Batteries To Power, Flight Rings To Speed (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
External links
- Invisible Kid at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Invisible Kid at Legion of Super-Heroes fan site
- A Hero History of Invisible Kid
- Gay League Profile: Lyle Norg