Thu Mar 27, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg

Happy Birthday: Mon-El

Superboy's big brother... sort of

Lar Gand was born on the planet Daxam and, as a young man, took to exploring the galaxy. He was unlucky enough to land on Krypton just before the planet exploded, but Jor-El warned him away in time. Jor-El also provided Lar Gand with a map to a safe planet he’d already selected for his own infant son—a planet called Earth.

Lar Gand went into suspended animation for the journey, and upon arriving he encountered Jor-El’s now-teenage son Kal-El, also known as Superboy. The two hit it off immediately. Lar Gand was suffering amnesia from his trip and his Daxamite powers, plus the map from Jor-El, convinced Kal-El that Lar Gand was his brother.

He gave his newfound sibling the name Mon-El, since they met on a Monday. Unfortunately, Daxamites find lead even more poisonous than Kryptonians find kryptonite, and when Mon-El was accidentally exposed to lead he regained his memories but almost lost his life. Superboy placed his friend in the Phantom Zone to save him until they could find a cure.

In the 30th Century, Saturn Girl finally created a temporary antidote, which Brainiac 5 later modified to become permanent, and Lar Gand left the Zone and joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. He became one of their greatest members, and led the Legion several times.

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