Element Lad was always too sensitive for this future

All the girls in the Legion of Super-Heroes were cool as fuck, that went without saying. From Shrinking Violet to Shadow Lass, they were all fantastic. Rising up from the inherent sexism of the era they were created, they became strong, independent woman as the team grew and evolved over the years. Obviously, I had a crush on every single one of them.  

But when it came to all the dudes on the team, I also had an odd fondness for Element Lad - Jan Arrah, the last survivor of the planet Trom, after everyone he knew and loved were wiped out by the space pirate Roxxas. He had the ability to create elements out of thin air, which seemed like a simple enough power, but even in the silver age they knew that made him a god.

This poor kid, always putting  brave face on it, always a source of warmth and empathy towards a universe that had done him such harm.

Jan Arrah has really been fucked over a couple of times, in one spectacularly painful version he turned into a mad god who had lived through all of time and murdered the shit out of some his oldest fiends, but I haven't actually read those comics, so I'm going to keep pretending it hasn't happened.

I still just like him as sensitive kid, carrying the weight of his entire extinct race on his shoulders, with such incredible power, but no ability to bring them back. All he could do is create crystal monuments for every fallen soul, and live up to their legacy by being a decent person.