| Character Name: | Element Lad |
| Real Name: | Jan Arrah |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | Adventure Comics #307 (April 1963) |
| Creators: | Edmond Hamilton John Forte |
| Homeworld: | Trom |
| Species: | Tromite |
| Alliances: | Legion of Super-Heroes |
| Aliases: | Mystery Lad, Alchemist, Starfinger, Progenitor |
| Powers: | Element transmutation Flight and protection from vacuum of space and dangerous environments via ring |
Element Lad (Jan Arrah) is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. A native of the planet Trom, he has the power to transmute chemical elements.[1]
Element Lad first appeared in Adventure Comics #307, and was created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte.[2]
Element Lad, whose real name is Jan Arrah, first appears in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #307 (1963). In this first story, he is briefly known as "Mystery Lad" as the Legionnaires do not initially know his powers.[3] Jan is the last survivor of Trom, as he was in space while the space pirate Roxxas massacred the Trommites for refusing to transmute valuable elements for him.
With the aid of the Legion, Roxxas is brought to justice and Jan joins the Legion, using the codename Element Lad. He is a member of the Legion for many years, serving terms as leader and deputy leader. He is eventually linked romantically to Shvaughn Erin, the Science Police's Legion liaison, who herself first appeared in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #241 (July 1978).
In November 1989, the Legion continuity jumps ahead five years. During this "Five Year Gap" following the Magic Wars, Earth had fallen under the control of the Dominators and withdrew from the United Planets. In a storyline written by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, it is revealed in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #31 (July 1992) that Shvaughn had been born as a male named Sean, and had taken a drug called ProFem to change genders and thereby secure Element Lad's love.[4] With ProFem no longer available in the tough economical times, Shvaughn reverts to Sean. Jan is unfazed, and continues their romantic relationship.[4]
At the same time, the Dominators' classified "Batch SW6" - temporal clones of the Legionnaires - escape captivity.[5] After Earth is destroyed in a disaster reminiscent of the destruction of Krypton over a millennium earlier,[6] a few dozen surviving cities and their inhabitants reconstitute their world as New Earth. The SW6 Legionnaires remain, and their version of Element Lad assumes the code name Alchemist.
After Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #61 (September 1994), DC Comics rebooted the Legion continuity as part of the Zero Hour company-wide crossover storyline. In post-Zero Hour continuity, Jan is still the last survivor of Trom, however the Trommites had been killed by the heat vision of Daxamite White Triangle terrorists who had decimated Trom from space. After a brief period of the traumatized Jan being brainwashed into becoming the villainous Starfinger, this version of Element Lad serves with the Legion for some time.[1] Jan's previous history with Shvaughn Erin is erased in this continuity.
After an encounter with the sorcerer Mordru, Jan's powers change so that he can transmute himself into elements as well; he is subsequently often seen in metal or crystal forms, exploring the nature of his physical self.
In Legion Lost, Element Lad is lost in deep space for billions of years, driving him insane and leading him to become the villain Progenitor.[7] He is eventually killed by Live Wire (Garth Ranzz, the Legionnaire formerly known as Lightning Lad), who sacrifices his own life in the process.[8] However, Kid Quantum recovers several crystals from Progenitor's body which eventually grow into a new body housing Garth's consciousness.
In the miniseries (2008–2009), the post-Zero Hour Legion is brought to the pre-crisis Legion's timeline, to help battle Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains. During this time, the Pre-Crisis Brainiac 5 uses a specially charged lightning rod to increase the transmutation ability of Element Lad's body, allowing Garth to mutate the body itself into a match for his own.[9]
In the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson 'reimagining' Element Lad is the lone survivor of a lost planet.[10] This most recent version has to touch things to transmute them, and anything he transmutes reverts to its original chemical composition in a matter of minutes.
This Element Lad and the corresponding Legion also appear in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. He attempts to fight Superboy-Prime by transforming the ground around him into Kryptonite before being killed by him.[11]
The events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries restored a close analogue of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga" story arc in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc in Action Comics. This version of Element Lad is among a group of Legionnaires listed as missing.
In the Last Stand of New Krypton storyline, Element Lad is part of a secret team sent by the late R. J. Brande to the 21st century to save the future, posing as a chemistry teacher at Smallville High School.
In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Element Lad is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members who appear in the present after Doctor Manhattan undoes the experiment that erased the Legion and the Justice Society of America.[12]
Element Lad is able to transmute objects by touch and change one chemical element into any other, for instance, lead to gold or iron to aluminium. He can transmute an element even if it is part of a compound and can change solid objects into gaseous ones. Like all Trommites, Element Lad could sense the elemental composition of any substance, and could change one element into another by creating or breaking electron bonds. He also possesses extensive knowledge of chemistry and how to use his abilities effectively.
As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Element Lad is provided a Legion Flight Ring, which allows him to fly and protects him from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.