This just randomly popped into my head: If Ultra Boy can only use one of his powers at a time, how does he punch things with his super strength without breaking himself? I don't recall it ever being discussed/explained anywhere, and being the Legion fan that I am, that bothers me. I'm sure we have ideas, but is/was there ever anything "official"?
Ha, that's a great question PG! I haven't a clue, but it does seem like it wouldn't work out too well.
I don't know if there even needs to be an official reason, personally. I think the real question comes down to what super-strength actually entails... if the "strength" comes about due to your muscles and skeleton becoming super-dense, it would make sense that that same density would keep him from breaking his hand punching someone.
Yep, what Tomato said.
Its the same as any other hero with permanent superstrength but no invulnerability, such as Spidey or Sunspot from the New Mutants. Superstrength entails sufficient toughness to withstand your own strength. Come to think of it, I've seen Ultra Boy slugging it out with a superstrong opponent and just get a bit beaten up (Titania, in LSH #254) and having to switch to Ultra-Invulnerbaility to survive. But, he wasn't completly pasted, as if he had Spidey's kind of tough stringiness, if you know what I mean.
BTW, I do remember during the Levitz era, when Jo gets kidnapped by that space pirate lass and loses his memory, that there's some speculation that his invulnerbaility doesn't just come from being very hard like Mon El or Superboy, but is more something almost mystical. I think he got zapped by some big space mining beam and became temporarily intangible and travelled back to the 20th C? His origin is fairly murky (space whale-induced mutate) - I'd say he's one of the Legion members closest to having a magical origin of some kind, in a kind of sciency/mathematical kind of way.
PS. Ultra Boy is way cool. I like this question :)
I mean this in the most kindly way, but, you're overthinking it. :)
Dr. Mike can probably overthink his way out of a kryptonite-laced phantom-zone prison, Xen.
Er... No offense, but of all the people in this thread, Dr. Mike is actually the least guilty. Panther Gunn asked the question, and I answered it. All Dr Mike did was come in and support the theory I posted with some bizarre techno-babble. I'll forgive your ignorance for now, but next time, you'd best give credit for thinking waay too much about comics where it is actually due... otherwise, you're likely to get stabbed in the face.
Hmm... tempting. Getting stabbed in the face might improve my looks.
Quote from: Xenolith on April 24, 2012, 11:52:17 PM
I mean this in the most kindly way, but, you're overthinking it. :)
You say that like thinking about how Ultra-Boy's powers work is a bad thing. :)
By the way, can the Vision and Phantom Girl interact with each other when they're both phased? I'd say not, but feel free to argue.
More importantly, has any link ever been established between PG's homeworld/dimension of Bgztl and the Fifth Dimension where Mr Mxyzptlk comes from? The extra-dimensionality and lack of vowels seem like a coincidence too big to ignore. The standard DC fifth dimension did feature briefly in Mark Waid's threeboot, as the nexus behind the teleportation system, and there were intimations in DC 1,000,000 and other Morrison comics about the fifth dimension people interbreeding wtrih Superman's descendants, but I dont think its ever played a part in standard Legion continuity.
Wondering about how super powers work is over thinking. Pondering obscure continuity points is most excellent. I just can't help you with that one since my DC knowledge stops around the year 1970. :(
He can use his super strength without breaking because he's secretly wearing Wonder Woman's girdle under his costume...and we all know, that things in indestructible! :P