A later story shows that Mon-El has been hiding a possible solution to the problem. He knows that taking the body to a certain planet enshrouded in perpetual lightning storms and holding up a metal rod will transfer the life essence of the living person with the rod into the dead person, bringing them back. The Legionnaires all agree to participate in a sort of Russian Roulette/ Suicide Pact to bring back their dead friend. Ah, but Saturn Girl loves Lightning Lad and feels she MUST be the one to give her life for his. She schemes to hold aloft a rod made of a super-conductive material, thus ensuring she is the one struck first. 

All goes according to her plan. She is struck and killed by lightning. Lightning Lad returns, but wishes he hadn't if the cost was Saturn Girl's life.

We soon find out however, that Proty, Chameleon Boy's telepathic super-pet, who shared a rapport with Saturn Girl learned of her intent and ran off leading her away from the ceremony and into some dark caves where she was lost. He then impersonated her and gave his life in place of hers. So, she's alive. Lightning Lad's alive. And faster than you can say, "Gwen Stacy's a clone!" Chameleon Boy had replaced Proty with his new pet, Proty II. So, happy endings all around, right? 

As it turns out, no.

One of the most god-awful trains of thought to ever bubble up from the fetid puddles of fandom was the notion that the lightning strike didn't just transfer Proty's life into Lightning Lad. It transferred all of him, his entire identity. Lightning Lad is, and always has been dead. Dead dead dead.

Saturn Girl is a complete moron, you see, and even though she can read minds and Proty knows exactly what the score here is, she never, in all the years she's spent with "Lightning Lad" picked up on any of his thoughts about who he is or recognized the rapport she shared with Cham's little blobby buddy. She even married the little super-pet thinking he was really Lightning Lad. She's had kids with him. All the while, never suspecting...

This "life essence transfer" bit was a long-held "known secret" among certain pockets of fandom, all of them laughing up their sleeves at the hated "ice-queen" Saturn Girl and how dumb-de-dumb-dumb-dumb she is and how brave and how noble and how wonderful Proty is not to ever let on... It took two of their number joining the title to actually bring this garbage to the book itself and establish it as continuity. 

There was even a similar bit involving a Legion back-up story in Action Comics in which Mon-El's ancestor, Eltro Gand, did something similar to revive Mon-El. So guess what...? Yeah, fortunately, that one didn't even catch on when the fans were running the asylum, but we still had to put up with Moron Saturn Girl and Noble Proty for far too long.

Can't believe I'd ever say this, but in this case, it turns out there really is some stuff that just needs to be rebooted into the cornfield...