# Lar Gand
**Lar Gand**, most often known by the superhero name **Mon-El**, is a [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) superhero from the planet Daxam, a Daxamite explorer whose powers under a yellow sun resemble Superman's but whose fatal weakness is the element lead. Created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp, he first appeared as Mon-El in *Superboy* #89 (June 1961) and later became a member of the [Legion of Super-Heroes](https://www.edgepedia.org/legion-of-super-heroes) in the 30th century.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Pre-Zero_Hour%29) • [2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *Superboy* #89, "Superboy's Big Brother!", June 1961, by Robert Bernstein and George Papp[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Pre-Zero_Hour%29) |
| Species and homeworld | Daxamite from the planet Daxam; powers like a Kryptonian's under a yellow sun[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites) |
| Fatal weakness | Lead, an element that does not exist on Daxam; exposure causes permanent, fatal poisoning, unlike the temporary effects of green Kryptonite on Kryptonians[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites) |
| Kryptonite | Immune to Kryptonite radiation, unlike Kryptonians[4](https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand) |
| Legion membership | Joined the Legion of Super-Heroes in *Adventure Comics* #300 (September 1962)[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/) |
| Other codenames | Valor (post-Crisis, 1989–2004) and M'onel (from *Legionnaires* #37, June 1996)[5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm) • [2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/) |
| Television | A primary character on The CW's *Supergirl*, played by Chris Wood from 2016 to 2021[5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm) |
## Origin story
In his debut story, an amnesiac alien with powers nearly identical to Superboy's crash-lands on Earth near [Smallville](https://www.edgepedia.org/smallville). Superboy concludes the stranger must be his older brother from Krypton and names him Mon-El because they met on a Monday. When Superboy exposes him to lead, which he had painted to look like [Kryptonite](https://www.edgepedia.org/kryptonite) as a test, Mon-El collapses and his memory returns: he is Lar Gand of the planet Daxam, having landed on Krypton shortly before its destruction and befriended Jor-El before departing. Lead is fatal to Daxamites, so Superboy projects him into the [Phantom Zone](https://www.edgepedia.org/phantom-zone) to keep him alive until a cure can be found.[6](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superboy_Vol_1_89) • [2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
No cure is discovered until a thousand years later, when [Brainiac 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/brainiac-5) invents an anti-lead serum. Upon his release, Mon-El joins the Legion of Super-Heroes, where he becomes one of its most powerful members.[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/) • [3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites)
## Precursor: Halk Kar
Mon-El was a retread of an earlier character. Halk Kar, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, appeared in "Superman's Big Brother" in *Superman* #80 (January 1953), in which Superman jumps to the conclusion that Halk Kar is his older brother. Mon-El's origin story and costume closely resemble Halk Kar's, with the character's name changed to Lar Gand, his homeworld changed to Daxam, and his age lowered to roughly match Superboy's.[7](https://superfriends.fandom.com/wiki/Mon-El) • [5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm)
## Powers and weaknesses
Like Kryptonians, Daxamites rely on solar radiation from a yellow sun as the source of their powers, which include superhuman strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, heat vision, and freeze breath; without yellow-sun radiation, or under red solar radiation like that of Krypton's sun Rao, their abilities and stamina fade until yellow sunlight reverses the effect.[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites) • [8](https://dcuguide.com/Mon-El_%28Lar_Gand%29)
**Lead vulnerability.** A Daxamite's defining weakness is lead, an element that does not exist on their planet. Even the smallest exposure instantly robs a superpowered Daxamite of their abilities and causes fatal, irreversible lead poisoning. The contrast with Kryptonians is explicit: green Kryptonite's effects on a [Kryptonian](https://www.edgepedia.org/kryptonian) are temporary and ease once exposure ends, while lead poisoning in Daxamites is always fatal.[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites) Mon-El's x-ray vision also cannot penetrate lead or lead-lined walls, and he is vulnerable to magic.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Pre-Zero_Hour%29)
## Revisions of the character's history
Lar Gand's history has been rewritten repeatedly as DC rebooted its continuity, and he has carried different codenames in different eras.[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
- **Pre-Crisis.** After the original Superboy #89 story, he joined the Legion in *Adventure Comics* #300 (September 1962), died and was resurrected in *Action Comics* #384 ([January 1970](https://www.edgepedia.org/january-1970)), and died again in *Legion of Super-Heroes* (1984) #61 (June 1989).[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
- **Post-Crisis Valor.** After *Crisis on Infinite Earths* removed Superboy from Superman's backstory, the Time Trapper moved Mon-El's history into the Pocket Universe, and Glorith later altered the timeline to remove Superboy entirely. Lar Gand instead became the 20th-century hero Valor, a name adopted from 1989 to 2004 to eliminate the association with the "El" family name. The Glorith-reality Valor first appeared in a computer simulation in *L.E.G.I.O.N. '90* #13 (March 1990), and the character joined the L.E.G.I.O.N. team.[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/) • [5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm) • [9](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/legion1-original/a1-full/pre-chron2.html) Valor was again poisoned by lead, spent a thousand years in the Stasis Zone, and joined the Legion as before.[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
- **Post-Zero Hour.** After the Zero Hour reboot, he was still known as Valor but later changed his codename to M'onel in *Legionnaires* #37 (June 1996).[2](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
- **Retroboot and later.** *Infinite Crisis* reestablished a multiverse and more or less restored the original Legion, reaffirming the Superboy #89 meeting while giving Lar Gand's 20th-century life a new turn; he has also been depicted as a [Green Lantern](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-lantern) in this era.[5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm)
- **Prime Earth.** Following the New 52 relaunch of 2011, Mon-El already existed in the post-Flashpoint universe, serving as Legion leader in *Legion of Super-Heroes* vol. 7 #1, and he also appeared in *Legion of Super-Heroes* #11 (2020); his appearance in *Action Comics* #1071 (December 2024), by [Mark Waid](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-waid), Clayton Henry, and Michael Shelfer, was not his first appearance in Prime Earth continuity.[5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm) • [12](https://www.dc.com/comics/legion-of-super-heroes-2019/legion-of-super-heroes-11) In this version he is a Daxamite explorer and friend of Superman who currently serves as the "Warden" of the Phantom Zone.[10](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Prime_Earth%29)
## Other media
On [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *Supergirl*, Mon-El was a primary character beginning with season 2 (2016), played by [Chris Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-wood-actor) through 2021. His television story differed from the comics: he was Supergirl's love interest and also became a member of the Legion.[5](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm) In the comics, Lar Gand has served as a fill-in for Superboy in the Legion's history, while a related character, Laurel Gand, filled the same role for [Supergirl](https://www.edgepedia.org/supergirl).[11](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/are-teri-hatcher-and-kevin-sorbo-playing-laurel-and-lar-gand/)
## References
1. [Lar Gand (Pre-Zero Hour), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Pre-Zero_Hour%29)
2. [Mon-El character page, Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/230/)
3. [Daxamites, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Daxamites)
4. [Lar Gand, Arrowverse Wiki](https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand)
5. [Mon-El, Legion of Super-Heroes profiles, Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/profiles/monel.htm)
6. [Superboy (1949) #89, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superboy_Vol_1_89)
7. [Mon-El, SuperFriends Wiki](https://superfriends.fandom.com/wiki/Mon-El)
8. [Mon-El (Lar Gand), DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Mon-El_%28Lar_Gand%29)
9. [Original Legion: Chronology, Part 2, Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/legion1-original/a1-full/pre-chron2.html)
10. [Lar Gand (Prime Earth), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lar_Gand_%28Prime_Earth%29)
11. [Are Teri Hatcher and Kevin Sorbo Playing Laurel and Lar Gand?, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/are-teri-hatcher-and-kevin-sorbo-playing-laurel-and-lar-gand/)
12. [LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #11, DC](https://www.dc.com/comics/legion-of-super-heroes-2019/legion-of-super-heroes-11)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › DC Comics characters › Superman characters and elements*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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