Gim Allon

Last updated
Gim Allon
Leviathan (comics).png
Gim Allon as Leviathan, as depicted in Legionnaires #31 (November 1995). Art by Jeff Moy.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Action Comics #267 (August 1960)
Created by Jerry Siegel
Jim Mooney
In-story information
Alter egoGim Allon
Species Metahuman
Place of origin Earth (31st century)
Team affiliations Legion of Super-Heroes
Science Police
Notable aliasesLeviathan
Micro Lad
Abilities(As Colossal Boy and Leviathan):
  • Self-magnification
  • Superhuman strength and durability

(As Micro Lad):

  • Size reduction

(All):

Gim Allon, also known as Colossal Boy, Leviathan, and Micro Lad, is a superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Jim Mooney, the character first appeared in Action Comics #267 (August 1960).

Contents

He has gone by a variety of superhero names over the past several decades, although Colossal Boy is the first and most common. After realizing that Gim Allon's surname Allon was of Israeli origin, writer Paul Levitz identified the character as Jewish in 1980. [1] [2]

In the 1990s, the entirety of the Legion of Super-Heroes were changed in what is referred to as a "reboot" of those characters' continuity, including Allon. Later on, these superheroes were again rebooted in what has been referred to as the "Threeboot".

Fictional character biography

Original continuity

Gim Allon as Colossal Boy, in his Silver Age costume; art by Curt Swan and George Klein. Colossalboy.png
Gim Allon as Colossal Boy, in his Silver Age costume; art by Curt Swan and George Klein.

Gim Allon is an officer of the Science Police who was mutated by a radioactive meteorite, gaining the superhuman ability to increase his size. With his parents' blessing, he joins the Legion of Super-Heroes as Colossal Boy. [3]

Gim has an unreciprocated crush on fellow Legionnaire Shrinking Violet. This crush is only returned when Violet is replaced by the Durlan imposter named Yera, who he ends up marrying. [4] [5] [6] For a time, Colossal Boy's mother Marte Allon was the President of Earth.

During the "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, Earth falls under the covert control of the Dominators and withdraws from the United Planets. A few years later, the members of the Dominators' Batch SW6 escape captivity. [7] Initially assumed to be genetic clones of the Legionnaires, the SW6 Legionnaires are later revealed to be temporal clones who were displaced from their time.

1994 reboot

In 1994, following the events of the Zero Hour crossover, the original continuity of the Legion ended and their story was restarted from the beginning. In this continuity, Gim Allon is known as Leviathan and originates from a human colony on Mars rather than Earth. He is the first official leader of the Legion, but resigns after one mission and passes leadership to Cosmic Boy. [8]

Leviathan is killed after the Emerald Eye of Ekron fulfills his wish to have a heroic death, causing him to die in battle with Doctor Regulus. [9] Shrinking Violet gains Leviathan's power of growth and assumes his codename.

2004 reboot

In the 2004 relaunch, Gim Allon is part of a race of giants created by Bizarro Brainiac 200 years prior to the start of the 31st century. Allon considers his superpower to be the ability to shrink to six feet tall and prefers the code name Micro Lad. Still, all Legionnaires, as well as the public in general, know him as Colossal Boy.

Post-Infinite Crisis

The events of Infinite Crisis restore an analogue of Colossal Boy and the pre- Crisis Legion to continuity. Colossal Boy makes further appearances in Doomsday Clock and The New Golden Age , where Doctor Manhattan erases him and the Legion from existence before Superman convinces him to restore them. [10] [11]

Powers and abilities

As Colossal Boy or Leviathan, Gim Allon can increase his size into many times normal height, with strength proportionate in mass. He additionally possesses expertise in law enforcement. In the 2004 and 2019 reboots of the Legion of Super-Heroes, he is normally giant-sized and can shrink down to six feet tall. [12]

As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Gim Allon is provided a Legion Flight Ring, which allows him to fly and survive in the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments. Brainiac 5 modified his ring so it would enlarge with him, supporting the additional mass.

In other media

Television

Video games

Gim Allon as Colossal Boy appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . [13]

Miscellaneous

References

  1. Kaplan, Arie (2008). Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books. Jewish Publication Society. p. 192. ISBN   978-0-8276-0843-6.
  2. Woo, Benjamin; Stoll, Jeremy (August 16, 2021). The Comics World: Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Their Publics. University Press of Mississippi. p. 187. ISBN   978-1496834652.
  3. Cadigan, Glen, ed. (2004). The Best of the Legion Outpost. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 8. ISBN   9781893905368 . Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. Levitz, Paul  ( w ), Giffen, Keith  ( p ),Mahlstedt, Larry ( i ), Gafford, Carl  ( col )."Siege Perilous" Legion of Super-Heroes ,vol. 2,no. 304(October 1983).DC Comics.
  5. Levitz, Paul  ( w ), Giffen, Keith  ( p ), Schaffenberger, Kurt  ( i ),Gafford, Carl ( col )."Violet's Story" Legion of Super-Heroes ,vol. 2,no. 305(November 1983).DC Comics.
  6. Bierbaum, Tom ; Bierbaum, Mary  ( w ), Peterson, Brandon  ( p ),Hanna, Scott ( i ),McCraw, Tom ( col ). Legion of Super-Heroes Annual,vol. 4,no. 3(July 1992).DC Comics.
  7. Gordon, Al  ( w ), Giffen, Keith  ( p ),Gordon, Al ( i ),McCraw, Tom ( col )."The Quiet Darkness: Part IV" Legion of Super-Heroes ,vol. 4,no. 24(December 1991).DC Comics.
  8. Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Cosmic Boy", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 89, ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC   213309017
  9. Peyer, Tom  ( w ),Moder, Lee; Collins, Mike  ( p ),Boyd, Ron ( i )."Big Tears" Legion of Super-Heroes ,vol. 4,no. 83(August 1996).DC Comics.
  10. Johns, Geoff  ( w ), Frank, Gary  ( p ),Frank, Gary ( i ),Anderson, Brad ( col )."Discouraged of Man" Doomsday Clock ,vol. 1,no. 12(February 2020).DC Comics.
  11. Johns, Geoff  ( w ),Janín, Mikel; Santucci, Marco ( p ),Janín, Mikel; Santucci, Marco ( i ),Bellaire, Jordie; Plascencia, Ivan; Kalisz, John  ( col )."The Gentleman's Game" Justice Society of America ,vol. 4,no. 10(September 2024).DC Comics.
  12. Bendis, Brian Michael  ( w ), Jurgens, Dan ; Rapmund, Norm ; et. al ( p ),Jurgens, Dan; Rapmund, Norm; et. al ( i ),Shaner, Evan; Bellaire, Jordie; Mack, David  ( col )."The Trial of the Legion of Super-Heroes - Part 1" Legion of Super-Heroes ,vol. 8,no. 8(October 2020).DC Comics.
  13. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  14. "Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Atomic Batteries To Power, Flight Rings To Speed (Issue)". Comic Vine . Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  15. "Teen Titans Go! #25 - Oil's Well; Claus of the Batman (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved September 17, 2023.