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Absorbancy Boy, real name Kirt Niedrigh, took his rejection for the Legion of Super-Heroes hard. With several other Earth-born rejects, he started the anti-alien Justice League of Earth as Earth-Man and gained a large following after they found ancient texts saying Superman was born on Earth.

Absorbancy Boy

Kirt Niedrigh first appeared trying out for membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Calling himself Absorbancy Boy, and possessing the ability to absorb the energy residue of any super-powered being, gaining their powers himself, he was rejected on the grounds that his powers were too limited.[4]

Incensed at his rejection, Niedrigh found the costume of "Zoras", a fake villain used as a final test for new Legionnaires. Attacking the Legion and defeating them, Niedrigh revealed himself, believing that he had earned his place on the team. The Legion did not see things this way, and Superboy attempted to confiscate the suit. Niedrigh used the suit to project red sun radiation, and, absorbing Superboy's powers, was able to defeat the Kryptonian. Niedrigh was then defeated by the Legion's new member Tyroc, who used an ultrasonic scream to blister his newly-acquired superhearing.

Years later, after the Dominators had secretly taken over Earth and disbanded the Legion, Kirt's name appeared on a list of Dominator test subjects.[5]

Earth Man

However, during an archaeological expedition in the Arctic, a crystal tablet was found. The tablet said that Superman was not from the planet Krypton, but from Earth, and protected Earth from aliens. Absorbancy Boy, now called Earth-Man, spread the "true origin" of Superman further, and made Earth secede from the United Planets and ban all aliens. Earth-Man formed his own team of super-powered Earthlings called the Justice League of Earth to hunt down aliens and place them in camps.[6]

Earth-Man and the rest of the JLE appear as members of the new Legion of Super-Villains in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. He states that the alliance is only temporary, since the villains all want the same thing: death to the Legion.[7]

Joining The Legion

Following the defeat of the combined JLE-LSV, Earth-Man is again imprisoned, until the Earth Government, eager to mollify his pro-human supporters, forces the Legion to offer him membership in return for allowing the Legion to remain on Earth. While mulling over their offer, however, Earth-Man is also offered a Green Lantern ring by Dyogene, a creature from within the planet Oa.

Powers

  • Power Absorption: Earth-Man has the ability to absorb and duplicate the superpowers of Metahumans and aliens. However he is not able to copy the knowledge or skills, so it will normally take time for him to master a new power. He absorbs energies of people within a certain range of him; anywhere from several feet to a mile radius. He has shown the capacity to manifest numerous powers at the same time.

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Power Instability: Earth-Man occasionally shows difficulty in juggling multiple powers, and his body can be overloaded by absorbing too many at once.
  • Power Limitation: Usually the Earth-Man loses his duplicated abilities once out of range of the owner, but theoretically due to the length of time spent with them.

Equipment

Weapons


Bronze Age Legion of Super-Heroes
This character is exclusive to the continuity of the original Legion of Super-Heroes universe and its variations.
The original LSH universe and its variations are from between their first appearance to Zero Hour and from Lightning Saga and beyond. Any official designation for the home universe for this character has not been given, and thus this page may have to be moved in the future. In the meantime, it's designated as "Pre-Zero Hour".


Related

Footnotes


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Legion of Super-Heroes member
This character is or was a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 30th/31st Century, in any one of their various continuities. Including but not limited to, Original Legion, the Reboot Legion, Prime Legion and the Post-Rebirth Legion.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Legion of Super-Heroes members" category.

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Green Lantern Corps member
This character is or was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, chosen by the Guardians of the Universe to act as their sector's Green Lantern and to protect it from interstellar threats with a Power Ring.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Green Lantern Corps members category."

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Legion of Super-Heroes Villain(s)
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This character or group of characters is or was primarily an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 31st Century, and may have existed in any of the various Legion continuities, including but not limited to the Original Legion, Reboot Legion, and the Prime Legion. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Legion of Super-Heroes villains" category.

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Justice League member
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This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

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