A later storyline in the Volume 4 "Legion Annual" #1 showed his acting skills. It was shown that for years Ultra Boy had played "dumber" than he was, to not give away any advantage to his foes. When the time sorceress Glorith began manipulating Legion history, she figured only the smarter legionnaires might notice her manipulations, and thus acted to neutralize ones like Brainiac 5. She never suspected Ultra Boy would figure out her plan, which involved provoking a battle between the Legion and Mordru at the zenith of his power, which would destroy or weaken both, allowing her to pick up the pieces. Realizing what this would mean, Ultra Boy first (in a fake diplomatic blunder) prevented the Legion from attacking Mordru, then, in disguise, visited Mordru and instead provoked him into attacking Glorith. This proved successful, leaving both Mordru and Glorith severely weakened. Years later Glorith finally figured out who was responsible and in revenge sent Phantom Girl into the past, leaving Ultra Boy believing her dead. Later still the Legion found themselves on the wrong side of the law and Ultra Boy adopted a new identity as Emerald Dragon.