Lightning Boy

Lightning Boy is an early alias used by Garth Ranzz, the Legionnaire later known as Lightning Lad, during the Legion of Super-Heroes' formative stories. Garth gained his electricity-generating powers after being struck by lightning beasts on the planet Korbal.

Lightning Boy crackles onto the page in Adventure Comics #491 (1982), a Bronze Age DC creation from the legendary team of Otto Binder and Al Plastino, and has kept remarkable company ever since — sharing adventures with the likes of Garth Ranzz, Imra Ardeen, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Rokk Krinn. With appearances stretching nearly four decades to 2021 and a collector-significant key issue to their name, this is a character whose modest footprint in the catalog belies some seriously prestigious page-sharing. Turns up in Adventure Comics, Bizarro World, and Bizarro Comics: The Deluxe Edition — an eclectic spread that makes Lightning Boy one of those intriguing deep-cut discoveries worth tracking down.