Origin | Super-Power | Personal Data | Membership Record
Ferro Lad is able to transform his body and costume into iron. While in this form he is "nearly indestructible" and possesses "almost inconceivable" strength (Adventure Comics No. 346, 354, 365 "The Origin and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes"). While in his iron form, Ferro Lad is capable of surviving in freezing, airless space. He communicates in space by means of a radio built into his mask (351), which can also be picked up on Science Police intercoms (352).
Limitations and Weaknesses: Ferro Lad is not completely invulnerable and was "knocked for a loop" by a beam from one of Brande's sentinel satellites. An intense enough heat, like in the core of the Sun-Eater, turns his body white hot, and only his will-power can keep him from melting. When he carried the absorbatron bomb into the "creature", the awesome forces and scattered energies released and then absorbed by the blast proved too much for even his super-tough body to withstand (Adventure Comics No. 353). Speculative Explanation of Power: Scientists have proven that carbon (with oxygen) can quite easily be transmuted into iron through the use of electricity. During the process of transmutation, a radioactive isotope of nickel is temporarily produced and lasts for only one-thousandth of a second. In these experiments, transmutation of up to 20% of the material is immediate, with a larger percentage occuring gradually afterwards in the air. The iron that is created from this experiment is stainless, does not rust easily, and is less affected by heat than ordinary iron due to its composition with silicon, which also results in it having a gray color. The Nolan brothers were born with the mutant ability to generate a sufficient arc of eletricity through their body that combines with the oxygen in their blood and transforms them from carbon-based life forms into iron-based life. The process combines their iron atoms with the silicon atoms in their bodies. (Biogenic hydrated silica is essential to life and exists in human connective tissues, skin, eyes, glands, and organs. It is a major constituent of collagen, which helps keep the skin elastic. In bones and teeth it helps calcium maintain bone strength.) The result of the composition is that his body turns gray and becomes incredibly strong and durable, though just as flexible, as well as rust-proof and highly resistant to heat. Scientists speculate that iron-based life is not only possible, but could have existed on Mars at one time. Ferro Lad wears a special costume made of carbon and silicon because the transformation process extends to objects that are in close contact with his skin. In this way, he can transmute his clothing into near-invulnerable iron as well. It is known that nuclear fusion can turn iron into carbon and oxygen. It is possible that intense heat can reverse the process of his transformation, for when Ferro Lad passed through the Sun-Eater he had to use his will-power to keep from melting, and possibly to maintain his invulnerable form as well. In a similar process, Ferro Lad uses his will-power to "fuse" himself back to his non-iron form.
Skills: Pottery-making (though he claims not to be an expert; Adventure Comics No. 351) Interests: Unknown. Unfortunately, Andrew's career as a Legionnaire did not last long enough for others to get to know him as well as they would have liked. Relationships: Andrew's closest Legion friends are Matter-Eater Lad (Adventure Comics No. 351) and Superboy (352). Known Relatives: Douglas Nolan (later Ferro Man; twin brother)
Induction: As the Legion was short-handed at a time when the Earth and the rest of the United Planets was potentially under threat from the Khund empire, they accepted more members than ever at one time, and Ferro Lad was voted into the Legion along with Princess Projectra, Nemesis Kid, and Karate Kid (Adventure Comics No. 346). Career Highlights: Adventure Comics No. 346/347 (July/Aug. 1966) "One of Us Is a Traitor" / "The Traitor's Triumph"
Adventure Comics No. 350/351 (Nov./Dec. 1966) "The Outcast Super-Heroes" / "The Forgotten Legion"
Adventure Comics No. 352/353 (Jan./Feb. 1967) "The Fatal Five" / "The Doomed Legionnaire"
Adventure Comics No. 357 (June 1967) "The Ghost of Ferro Lad"
IN MEMORIAM ANDREW NOLAN (FERRO LAD) A MUTANT WHOSE NON-HUMAN FACE WAS KEPT HIDDEN BEHIND A MASK. HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO SAVE THIS GALAXY. For information concerning Ferro Lad after 2969, click here. |
Andrew Nolan and
his identical twin brother, Douglas, were born
mutants with the power to turn their bodies into
iron. They were also born with grotesquely
inhuman faces and so wore full head masks to keep
others from reacting aversely to their
appearance. Unfortunately, even this proved to be
a target for the taunts of their classmates, who
did not know what lay beneath the masks (Adventure
Comics No. 354).
Physical
Description: Since Andrew wears a mask,
his facial features are mostly unknown but what
is seen through the eye-lets - his eyes and the
bridge of his nose - appears to be
normal-looking. 
Personality: Andrew is an extremely
daring and courageous person, often hurling himself
headlong into dangerous situations, usually to save his
friends (Adventure Comics
No. 347, 351, 353). Andrew is a forthright, honest, and
outgoing person. Blunt in his observations and
glib-tongued, Andrew is a bit of a wild card, but he is a
highly respected and well-liked Legionnaire (350/351,
352). Probably the person he is hardest on, though, is
himself and he cannot abide personal failure (352). This
self-criticizing side to his nature may have led him to
the decision to wear a mask to conceal his
"less-than-perfect" features, which in his mind
were hideous.
Ferro Lad joined the Legion
at a time of crisis. The warlike Khund Empire had
just been discovered and Earth was preparing for
attack. Ferro Lad was assigned to Chameleon Boy's
team and sent to Tierra Del Fuego to defend one
of Earth's three electro-towers. Although his jet
platform was destroyed, he managed to destroy one
of the invading alien ships by rolling into a
ball and hurtling his nearly invulnerable self
into it by means of his flight-ring.
After receiving an emergency
call to Brande's planet estate, Ferro Lad, Cosmic
Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, and Miss Terious were sent
to help. Ferro Lad protected his team-mates from
a sentinel satellite by letting his iron body
intercept its deadly beam. While on the planet,
the evil Hag conjured up four portraits draped in
cloth, each picture a solid representation of her
Naltorian predictions for each Legionnaire. Ferro
Lad immediately leaped forth to reveal his fate:
being melted into slag. This prophecy was
destined to come true the following month.
Ferro Lad was one of the
five Legionnaires who battled the all-powerful
Sun-Eater. Ferro Lad "recruited" Mano
to help, saving the villain from execution at the
last minute.
The Renegade
Controller that sent the Sun-Eater to Earth's
galaxy returned to hoax the four Legionnaires
that survived the attack. Using a fake
"ghost of Ferro Lad" he managed to
convince the four that they were guilty for their
teammate's death. After disbanding the Legion,
Superboy was captured and Ferro Lad's spirit
returned to activate the Boy of Steel's
flight-ring's danger signal. When the others
arrived, the Controller was about to destroy them
all when Ferro Lad's spirit confronted the
renegade and caused the Controller the alien
equivalent of a heart attack, thus balancing the
scales of eternal justice. Even after death,
Ferro Lad proved to be a protector of his friends
in their hour of need.