Creation

Crystal Kid was brought into print by Gerry Conway and Steve Ditko and first appeared in the series Legion of Super-Heroes #272-Vol 2(February, 1981). Crystal Kid was created by a Legion fan and appeared in Amazing World of DC Comics #14. Though he was originally called Rondo Kane, he was renamed Bobb Kohan after his creator, Robert Cohen of Calgary, Alberta.

History

Pre-Crisis

Bobb Kohan was a young boy on a family picnic on a glories summer day when puberty kicked in. Bobb's mutant power to create crystal or transmute other objects into crystal surfaced... turning his grandfather into a statue of crystal. When he became old enough he went straight to enjoy the camaraderie of other super-powered youths and have a shot at the Legion of Super-Heroes membership as the Crystal Kid.

During his tryouts he met Nightwind, Lamprey and Blok, other potential recruits at the event. When the Legion decided to have them wear their special flight rings and go out on a mission with them, it was to see their capacity on a field assignment. All including Bobb failed at both the proper use of their powers and their lack of team work. All but Blok, who not only stopped the criminal act but also won membership into the Legion.

Crystal Kid, along with Lamprey and Nightwind trained with Wildfire. After Wildfire trounced them in a sparring match, he confided in the three his true tragic past. A past he had not shared with other members of the Legion. Crystal Kid's confidence was boosted, and he, along with Nightwind and Lamprey decided not to give up trying to join the Legion.

Bobb was always willing to learn, but also too quick to action, a trait that has gotten him into more trouble than it ever got him out of. However this same thirst to learn drove him into the Legion Academy, here as a student he would hone all the skills needed to become a true hero.

5 Year Gap (Possible Alternate Earth)

When the Crystal kid was still a student at the Legion Academy when, due to the Legion's economic woes, it had to shut down. Upset that his home for almost seven years was no longer open to him, he drifted around for a while, not doing anything of importance. He was on Mars when then-deputy leader Polar Boy caught up with him, during leader Sun Boy's drive for new blood to help keep the Legion alive. Bobb was willing to join, but not overly enthusiastic and when Black Dawn resulted in the disappearance of Wildfire, his closest Legion friend, he quit and returned to wandering. He decided that fomenting dissatisfaction with Earthgov was a necessary service, and began publishing anti-Earthgov leaflets and newspapers.

However The Dominators were now running the Earth government, and were looking for super-powered subjects to experiment with. With his increasing behavior of outspoken commentary against the Dominators, Crystal Kid was taken and placed in their underground chambers. Fortunately for him, he was in one adjacent to Danielle Foccart, who was aware of the chambers' impending destruction and saved him, April Dumaka and Xao Jin from going up with them.

The foursome linked up with the Legionnaires who were on Earth at the time, including the members of Batch SW6, and stuck with them until the war to liberate Earth was over. He helped with the evacuation efforts when Earth was about to blow up, and hoped to join the re-formed Legion thereafter, but they were, for some reason, uninterested in his talents. He has since joined the former members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes as part of a United Planets security force, and was, with them, called to help transport the pocket universe's Earth to the real universe. He and all the other than members of the Legion disappeared into the continuity due to Zero Hour shortly after this was accomplished.

Powers and Abilities

While concentrating, Crystal Kid can create constructs made of crystal. He can use this in a variety of ways, offensively or defensively. However, these constructs quickly disappear if his concentration wavers. He could project crystal forms that could coat another object or form an independent mass. People trapped within the crystal could possibly suffocate if not freed in time, and the crystal was subject to shattering from great force or sound frequencies. He is training to overcome this liability in the Legion Academy. Bobb could create a spray of tiny, razor-sharp crystal fragments that she can project with great force. He was able to form a crystal slide and propel it through the skies for quick transportation.

He was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant taking studies over several years on Legion combat.

Equipment

As a student of the Legion Academy, Crystal Kid has access to a Legion Flight Ring. The ring gives its wearer the ability to fly, the speed and range of which is determined by the wearer's willpower. It also acts as a long-range communicator (enabling constant vocal contact with other Legionnaires, even across vast distances of space), a signal device, and a navigational compass, all powered by a micro-computer built inside the ring.