Tyroc (real name Troy Stewart) was the only resident superhero of the island of Marzal, which usually existed in a different dimension. Like Brigadoon, Marzal Island would sometimes reappear on Earth. Unlike the legendary Scottish village, Marzal remained on Earth for several years at a time in a location near a coast of Africa. In the native language of Marzal, "Tyroc" means "Scream of the Devil". Tyroc and his people were descended from African slaves who revolted on a ship during middle passage in the 18th century. Once all the slavers were set adrift, the liberated Africans settled on their own island off the coast of Africa, and built a civilization. Much to their surprise, their island paradise had a "Brigadoon-like" existence and disappeared from this dimension on a regular schedule every 200 years. Left on their own, the islanders developed an advanced, highly technological civilization, with extreme isolationist tendencies. Marzalians believed that the people of Earth had ignored their island. As a result, outsiders were not welcome on Marzal. The Legion of Super-Heroes first met Tyroc when several Legionnaires responded to an emergency on Marzal Island. At first, Tyroc attempted to stop the Legion from assisting.
After patching up their differences and working together to save the island, Tyroc was offered Legion membership. He initially refused, although he had come to admire the tolerance and courage of the Legionnaires he had met. In later encounters, Tyroc accepted the Legion's offer to join the team and thus became the Legion's first black member. Tyroc and Black Lightning were created to help DC attract new readers and to provide more opportunities for socially relevant stories.Until Tyroc's addition to the Legion, almost every humanoid alien in Legion stories were drawn with Caucasian facial features[citation needed], including the orange-skinned Chameleon Boy, the blue-skinned Shadow Lass, and the green-skinned, blonde haired Brainiac 5. Later he returned to Marzal, but was almost trapped on the island when it shifted dimensions.
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