Creation
Calorie Queen was created by writer Jim Shooter and penciler Mike Grell. Her first apperance was in the pages of Superboy # 212; Last Fight for A Legionnaire.
History
From early childhood, Taryn Loy was pushed into becoming a chronic overachiever. She was always trying to outdo others, academically and physically. When her father, a brilliant Bismollian scientist discovered a way to alter Bismollian physiology so that caloric energy would be processed into super strength, his daughter became his first test subject. The experiment succeeded – in addition to the usual Bismollian matter-eating powers, she now possessed super strength. Confident in her new abilities, she tried out for an honour she had yet to achieve – membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Because of her similarity in power to already-member Matter-Eater Lad, however, she was rejected.
She would soon join up with other rejected potential candidates for membership as part of the Legion of Super Rejects. Returning with the others to the Legion Headquarters they threw down to battle and win membership once they had beaten their counterparts. While she proved to be a dangerous opponent, her counterpart managed to defeat her. Defeated Taryn would drop her title as Calorie Queen and return to Bismoll, disappearing into the Legion’s odd tryout history, or one would think.
Much later, Calorie Queen and Matter-Eater Lad would go on to work together, long ago putting their teenage issues behind them. Taryn never truly being evil, but more a truly ambitious young woman, set her eyes on Matter-Eater Lad’s political career in Bismoll.
Ironically, at the conclusion of their battle, Matter-Eater Lad received word that, according to Bismollian law and custom, he had been drafted to run for political office on his homeworld. Accordingly, he was forced to resign from the LSH. He gallantly recommended to the Legionnaires that they admit Calorie Queen as his replacement, stating that she was “quite a gal”. For unspecified reasons, the LSH declined to do so.
Three of the Rejects Esper Lass, Magno Lad, and Micro Lad would later go on to join the Legion of Super-Villains, taking their resentment of the LSH to very dangerous levels. Calorie Queen fared better. Tenzil Kem, formerly Matter-Eater Lad, was elected to the Bismollian Senate and eagerly hired Taryn as his top aide. She proved to be intelligent, hard-working, and effective. Over a period of several years, she became one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in Bismollian politics, responsible for most of Senator Kem’s accomplishments. Tenzil, who had no desire to be a politician, went out of his way to be irresponsible and irreverent, with the unintended side effect of making the public love him and continue to re-elect him. Taryn, who seemed to be amused by Tenzil’s antics, meanwhile made sure that good legislative work got done. At some point she married Fungul Loy, vice-chairman of the influential Igneous Bismollian Party.â
Taryn accompanied Tenzil back to Earth years later, after the Legion had disbanded and Earthgov had become despotic. As Tenzil’s aide, she assisted in winning the freedom of Ex-Legionnaire Polar Boy (Brek Bannin), who was a political prisoner. Tenzil, Taryn, and Brek quickly left Earth and were en route to Winath , where the LSH was slowly re-forming. There they were abducted by Prince Evillo of the planet Tartarus. Evillo’s intentions were mostly benign â he’d acted at the behest of his two daughters, who idolized Brek and simply wanted to meet him. Things began to escalate when Evillo, attracted to Taryn, attempted to force his suit on her. He was unprepared for her strength, and she easily repelled his advances. Tenzil nevertheless intervened, and Evillo blasted him into a hell dimension.
The opposition party on Bismoll took advantage of the situation to have Tenzil declared dead, vacating his Senate seat. Taryn ultimately became senator in his place. When Tenzil returned, both he and Taryn were satisfied with the turn of events. She finally got to be senator in her own right, and Tenzil had the opportunity to return to the LSH. Taryn is now one of the fastest rising stars in Bismollian politics, described as a whirlwind of activity and accomplishments.
Powers
Like all natives of Bismoll, Calorie Queen is able to eat and digest any substance. In normal Bismollians, most of that energy dissipates harmlessly. The treatment devised by Taryn’s father channels a bit of that excess energy into her muscles, making her super-strong. Taryn is also a very capable hand-to-hand combatant and a veteran politician with lots of contact. Additionally, because of her father’s experimentation, she gained super-strength whenever she ate. Presumably, she fed regularly to maintain her strength.
Appearance
Marital Status: Presumed Single
Known Relatives: Unnamed father
Group affiliation: The very loosely organized “Legion of Super-Rejects”
Base Of Operations: 30th Century Earth or Bismoll
Height: 5â9” Weight: 135 lbs
Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde