Colossal Boy
	Name: Gim Allon Home Planet: Earth Super-Power: Super-growth Member Since: 2962

Origin | Super-Power | Personal Data | Membership Record

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While visiting Mars on his summer vacation, Gim Allon encountered a strange, glowing meteor from outer space. Its radiation effect gave him the power of super-growth (Adventure Comics No. 371, 316 "Origins and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes"). First Appearance: Action Comics No. 267 (written by Jerry Siegel, drawn by Jim Mooney)

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Colossal Boy can will the atoms of his body to expand (Action Comics No. 267), making himself grow to giant size. Typically, Colossal Boy grows to three different size-levels:

The stature he most often and comfortably attains is 8 times his normal height - or about 50 feet tall (Adventure Comics No. 340 "The Legion Outpost", 361, 332, 348, 371). At this size, which is referred to as being "colossal" or "huge", he weighs about 50 tons (the weight of a baby blue whale). Since normally he can lift roughly double his weight, he retains his proportional strength, enabling him to lift about 100 tons at this size level.

The absolute maximum height he can achieve is double this, 16 times his normal height - or about 100 feet tall (Action Comics No. 267, Adventure Comics No. 315/2, 321, 335, 359). A normal person would only come up to his ankle by comparison (see picture at right). At this size he weighs about 400 tons (the weight of a typical train) and he can lift approximately 800 tons. Since it is more physically and mentally taxing to maintain this extreme size, which is referred to as "titanic" or "gigantic", he usually doesn't stay at this height for more than a few minutes.

Colossal Boy can also choose to grow to the relatively "lesser" stature of 4 times his height - or about 25 feet tall. Weighing about 6.25 tons, he is able to lift nearly 12.5 tons. At this size-level, which is referred to as being "gargantuan", he once coralled a Tyrannosaurus rex (Adventure Comics No. 333) and wrestled a jigsaw creature (351). This height is also comparable to Validus', though the Fatal Five member weighs substantially more and possesses far, far greater strength.

At the Legion headquarters, Colossal Boy has access to a set of goliath-sized weapons made for use at his maximum size (Adventure Comics No. 367). These weapons are designed to capture crooks, not kill them (376 "The Legion Oupost") and, so far, the Legionnaire has never been seen using them.

Colossal Boy's size changes are not instantaneous but rather progressive, requiring several seconds to attain maximum size and mass.

When Colossal Boy is rendered unconscious at giant size, he can no longer maintain the enlarged state of his atoms, and so he reduces to normal stature and mass (Adventure Comics No. 348).

Comments: Colossal Boy once displayed a "giant's strength" while at normal size when he bent a 1-inch think magnanium-steel bar in front of his combat class at the Legion Academy. This was a unique event caused by an adrenaline surge, triggered by the thought of his parents being killed by Tarik the Mute. The surge allowed him to tap into that greater strength that normally only kicks-in as he grows in size. He has only demonstrated this ability once so far in his Legion career.

Limitations and Weaknesses: While Colossal Boy becomes comparatively tougher the bigger he gets, he is not invulnerable and can be hurt by sufficient force (Adventure Comics No. 310, 349). He also tires from prolonged super-human exertions of his great strength (315). While he has been able to successfully defeat flesh and blood creatures of matching giant-size (301), he has always lost to inhuman robots because, being made of metal, they are of denser composition and do not tire or succumb to pain (319, 248).

Travelling back through time using Rond Vidar's time-cube has the unique side-effect of activating Colossal Boy's super-growing power and freezing him at colossal size. This is because the time-cube does not protect the traveller from the gamma-vibro radiations it uses, as the Legion's time-bubble would. This indicates that perhaps the radiation from the space-meteor that originally gave Gim his power was of a similar nature to gamma-vibro radiation. In this situation, because his body's cells were already loaded to capacity with the energy, the extra exposure via the time-cube caused him to grow to colossal size. This is why he could not control or "turn off" this growth, because it was of outside origin. Only by being brought forward through time, with the frequency of gamma-vibro radiation reversed, could he regain his normal size (Adventure Comics No. 349).

Colossal Boy needs room in which to use his super-growth power; small spaces "cramp his style" (Action Comics No. 385/2). He also can't enlarge if he is held too tight in stronger than steel bands (Adventure Comics No. 374).

Speculative Explanation of Power: The square-cube law of mathematical proportion states that if a man were to grow to a height of 8 times normal - or 50 feet tall - his three-dimensional volume (and, therefore, mass) would cube and increase 512 times, making him weigh about 50 tons. However, the same law also states that since the cross-sectional area of his muscles would only square, his strength would only increase by 64 times - meaning he should be 8 times weaker for his size. However, since Colossal Boy is indeed able to function normally at giant size, another factor must be coming into play to keep him from collasping under a comparative 8g force - one that enables him to tap into the necessary extra strength needed to compensate for his extra mass as he grows. At 8 times his height, therefore, Colossal Boy's strength increases 8 times, thus allowing him to function in a proportionately normal way.

The space-meteor which Gim Allon encountered filled the mitochondria of his body's cells with a special super-energy. When Colossal Boy wills his body to expand, this stored super-energy is released creating a "radiation effect" throughout the atoms of his entire body. This energy is rapidly converted into mass, increasing the size of his atoms, and causing his body to grow proportionately in size.

This "radiation effect" emerges from his skin like an aura which also enlarges inanimate objects that are in close contact with his body - such as his clothing, his flight-ring, etc. If he were to take off one of his gloves at giant size and toss it away, it would be removed from the "radiation effect" zone and therefore rapidly dwindle back down to normal size.

When Colossal Boy wishes to shrink back down to normal size, he mentally "puts a cap" on this "radiation effect", converting the extra mass back into super-energy to be stored once again in the cells of his body. Simillarly, if Colossal Boy was rendered unconscious, just as his eyes would automatically close, so is the "radiation effect" stoppered, causing him to return to normal size.

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Physical Description: Gim has wavy, dark brown hair, brushed back from the forehead. He has a strong, dimpled chin. When he was younger, he had freckles and his hair was curlier (Action Comics No. 267).

Personality: Gim is an emotionally sensitive person, and can get distraught at the thought of loved ones being separated (Adventure Comics No. 350, 371/372) or by being forgotten by his friends (351). He is extremely protective of his comrades, once sacrificing his life (though he was later magically restored) to save Light Lass (310). Being a devoted son, his first loyalty is to his family. He would sacrifice anything to protect them, even his career as a Legionnaire. He has even sworn to cast aside his code against killing in order to avenge their deaths at the hands of criminals: "Try it, Tarik, and you'll get a one-way ticket to the cemetery!" He enjoys family life and home-cooked meals, and lives with his parents in their Metropolis apartment home (371/372).

Skills: Gim often pilots the Legion time-bubble (Adventure Comics No. 315, 351) and cruiser (350). He is an accomplished weightlifter, able to clean and jerk 350 lbs. (371). Interests: Gim enjoys physical sports such as basketball (Adventure Comics No. 361) and weightlifting. Gim enjoys being in front of the camera, as seen when he thought he was being interviewed by Universe-TV (371), and he has co-starred with Shrinking Violet in an ultra-production from Solar Studios (Adventure Comics No. 374). He drives a red, two-seater air-car (371).

Nicknames: "Big Gim" (Adventure Comics No. 372)

Relationships: Gim's closest friends in the Legion are Superboy (Adventure Comics No. 315, 351) and Shrinking Violet, on whom he has a slight crush, once pushing aside Mon-El in order to wrestle Duplicate Boy himself and defend her honor (324). He is currently dating a girl on Earth named Irma (Action Comics No. 385/2, 389 "Metropolis Mailbag").

Known Relatives: His parents are living in Metropolis (Adventure Comics No. 371).

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Application: Colossal Boy tried out for the Legion of Super-Heroes in 2962, at the same time as Chameleon Boy, and even gave his fellow applicant his code name (Adventure Comics No. 350 "Meet the Legionnaires"). No doubt he impressed the others with a demonstration of his ability to grow to giant size.

Induction: Colossal Boy joined the Legion at the same time as his co-applicant, Chameleon Boy. At this time, the Legion did not have limits to how many members could join at one time.

Positions Held: Legion treasurer (Adventure Comics No. 304)

Career Highlights:

Adventure Comics No. 315 (Dec. 1963) "The Titanic Boy of Steel"

Watching a Superboy on the Legion's time monitor, Colossal Boy saw him rendered into a giant by red kryptonite. He sped back to Smallville in a time bubble and disguised himself as the Boy of Steel so he could help preserve Superboy's secret identity.

Adventure Comics No. 324 (Sept. 1964) "The Legion of Super-Outlaws"

When Dr. Marden King duped the Super-Heroes of Lallor into fighting the Legionnaires, Shrinking Violet was chased to the war-wrecked plant Mlain by the team's leader, Duplicate Boy. Shrinking Violet sent a distress call to the other members, and when they arrived, Colossal Boy claimed the first shot at the enemy and tackled Duplicate Boy at giant-size. Unfortunately, Duplicate Boy was able to mimic his super-power and managed to kayo him.

Adventure Comics No. 333 (June 1965) "The War Between Krypton and Earth"

As part of the team of Legionnaires who travelled back in time to ancient Krypton, Colossal Boy coralled a number of tame, great lizards so they could be brought to Earth with the colony. These lizards became some of the dinosaurs of Earth's past.

Adventure Comics No. 341 (Feb. 1966) "Colossal Boy's One-Man War"

In order to free Sun Boy and Star Boy from imprisonment within two of Computo's computer-robots, Colossal Boy pretended to "kill" them by smashing their captors and throwing them into the stratosphere. There they were able to fly free and rejoin their comrades, but because the computeroids thought Colossal Boy was trying to destroy the Legionnaires, they made no move against him.

Adventure Comics No. 349 (Oct. 1966) "The Rogue Legionnaire"

Through the use of Rond Vidar's time-cube, Colossal Boy went back in time to England in the year 693 in order to track down Universo. Unfortunately, the trip activated his growing power and rendered him temporarily unable to return to his normal size. Thought of as a monstrous giant by some of the native knights, Colossal Boy was attacked and had to battle dozens of medieval archers on a siege tower.

Adventure Comics No. 350/351 (Nov./Dec. 1966) "The Outcast Super-Heroes" / "The Forgotten Legion"

When Apollo of the Devil's Dozen robbed the main branch of the Interplanetary Bank, a distress call was sent to the Legion. Colossal Boy was part of the team sent to stop the villain. However, before the Legionnaires could reach Apollo, they had to fight the bank's beast guards, whom Apollo had "charmed" using his harp. Colossal Boy fought and sucessfully defeated the gargantuan jigsaw creature by using his smarts and tricking the beast's four parts into fighting itself. Later, Colossal Boy was part of a group of Legionnaires who took a time-bubble back to 20th century Smallville in order to enlist Superboy's aid in getting a lock of Mxyzptlk's hair as an ingredient for a spell. Colossal Boy's giant size helped get Superboy's attention - but Superboy was currently unable to remember them as his team-mates due to a green kryptonite capsule placed inside his brain.

Adventure Comics No. 371/372 (Aug./Sept. 1968) "The Colossal Failure" / "School for Super-Villains"

In the worst event of his career, Colossal Boy was blackmailed into betraying the Legion's training secrets after Tarik the Mute had his parents turned to glass before his eyes and threatened to shatter them unless he helped train at his School for Super-Villains. After deliberating flubbing on a mission he was sentenced to retraining at the Legion Academy, where he began to take illegal notes and steal secret training manuals. When Bouncing Boy discovered his treasonous actions, Colossal Boy waived his right to a defense rather than risk his parents' lives by confiding in the Legion. He was summarily expelled without a vote, then hunted by the Science Police for committing treason against the Legion, and therefore, the United Planets government.

Picked up by the villains, Colossal Boy found that he had no choice but to do as they asked and train the young criminals himself. When the Legion turned up undercover, Colossal Boy blew the whistle on them, but when Tarik pushed his finger on the trigger of the glass-doom gun and apparently killed Superboy, Colossal Boy was pushed too far and stuck back with a vengeance. After the school was defeated, he was voted back into the Legion of Super-Heroes and sent on a little vacation with his parents to relax.

For information concerning Colossal Boy after 2969, click here.

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