A profile in mediocrity: Mwindaji

This my companion post to Otaki. Mwindaji was a character from the Retroboot, appearing in a handful of issues from volume 7.  Presumably, he was part of a new class at the Academy along with Otaki after Comet Queen and the others moved up.  I feel like Otaki and Mwindaji

Before I begin, I want to point out on his costume that the Pi symbol is actually an Interlac M.  I'm not sure Steve Lightle ever gave this guy below a name but the jpg has the name Marvel Lad attached.  Note the Interlac M as well.

*Edit - Steve Lightle, the artist here, is not balking at the idea that this could be retconned as Mwindaji's first appearance.  He actually posted this image in the LSH: Legion of Superheroes group on Facebook.

Gahiji was from the planet Kirinyaga.  He was another throwaway character created, presumably, because Dawnstar was in the 21st century Legion Lost title at the time and Levitz had a role he needed to fill. (Sidenote: Duplicate Boy and the other Lallorians would have worked just fine).  We don't find out much about Mwindaji's background however he notes that he may have run into Dawnstar along the way. 

Mwindaji was a tracker but we were given little indication how his power worked.  He notes that the captive Brainy and Dreamy are "upwind" and Comet Queen's fumes confuse.  When he tries to find Brainy's belt, he notes his scent.  Seriously?  He has enhanced sense of smell?  God, that is utterly terrible because he has no other powers.  At least Dawnstar could fly really fast.  And what if they were not on the surface of the planet and he couldn't smell them? *sigh* 

Now while Mwindaji appears to be Black, we actually get more of an African origin.  Mwindaji is a Swahili word for hunter.  Gahiji appears to be a Rwandan name meaning seeker or hunter.  Kirinyaga is a county in Kenya.  I've seen elsewhere suggested that perhaps this character's basis comes from the novel Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick.  I've never read it so I don't know but it's starting to sound like Tyroc's revised origin of his people leaving Earth for the stars and colonizing a new world.

I enjoy diversity characters unless they suck which is definitely the case with this guy.  It would not be worth bringing back Mwindaji because his powers seem limited, more so than Dawnstar. Why is he so poorly designed? There really is no place for him in the Legion.