I'm going to regret this...
Unlike the other major superhero teams (the Justice Society, the Justice League, the Avengers, etc.), the Legion of Super-Heroes developed gradually, appearing as guest stars throughout all the Superman titles until they go their own series in Adventure Comics #300. As a result their early adventures were uneven and sometimes contradictive. I'll be rereading them in order to put things in perspective and point out the highlights (hopefully).
I have a great love for the Legion as it was the first book that I bought regularly without noticing that I was doing so. I will be using the Legion Archives for this so there will be minor appearances being skipped over. I welcome additions.
I will also try not to comment on events yet to happen, publishing wise and chronologically and focus on each story individually.
Beyond FIRST APPEARANCES, REJECTED APPLICANTS and COSTUME CHANGES I will be pointing out
- FUTURE FORGOTTEN--concepts introduced yet dropped just as quickly
- "AS IF"--the Legion's rudeness factor which usually seques into...
- SOBS OF STEEL ---how many times the Legion makes Superboy and Supergirl cry!
- SUPER-ITIS--how often elements of the Superman mythos are seen in the series
- PERSONAL THEORY--my own theories about the whys and hows of the Legion chronicles
First, let me say that I do not plan to visit any Legion sites while I do this. I may remember some facts about the stories but I am hoping not to regurgitate the same stuff over and over again. If it gets too repetitive, please let me know.
Second, I will add when I can and hope that you will all bear with me.
Third, this is a thread for all Legion fans but please don't get ahead of me! I'm not as fast as some of you. However any input is more than welcome!
Long Live the Legion!
Next: Greetings From the Future or "In Smallville One Day, Clark Kent Receives a Sudden Shock!"
Replies
It's especially weird to have Cham change into a girl (and I wonder how often he did? And by request?) when the Legion had FOUR girls on the team already! The best option would have been Phantom Girl defensively or Saturn Girl as she was in every story!
ADVENTURE COMICS #304 (Ja'63): The Stolen Super-Powers! by Jerry Siegel and John Forte.
Commander Benson has already discussed this landmark issue from August 2012 though I can't link to it or my specific comments so I'll have to rehash them as I still feel the same way. I will try to give a brief description:
SATURN GIRL arrives ahead of the others and destroys a capsule that lands in front of her. Later she uses her telepathic powers to ensure that she wins the election for Legion leadership. She then uses a valuable spectrium bar to create medallions with her face on them and forces the others to wear them! At the same, the menace of Zaryan the Conqueror is brought up.
The Psychic Sentinel then goes all tyrannical on her friends, demanding that they prove that they can use their powers effectively and none of them can! They all get suspended from active duty one by one! But in reality, she is using the spectrium medallions to temporarily give herself all their powers!
Later that day (?), they are warned that Zaryan is coming! As they are all grounded, Saturn Girl flies off in a spacesuit to battle him alone. Which was her plan all along. However MON-EL from the Phantom Zone is finally able to reveal to LIGHTNING LAD her intentions. Using a faster suit, the Thundering Teen passes Saturn Girl and destroys Zaryan's ship (and presumably Zaryan) while getting struck by its freeze ray!
Dying, Lightning Lad explains how Mon-El told him that she "stole" their powers and suspended them because the capsule from the beginning was from "The Trylop Council of Mernl" who predicted that a Legionnaire would perish battling Zaryan. Saturn Girl meant to sacrifice herself but Lightning Lad gave his life for her.
It took Mon-El time to send a message to Lightning Lad due to rampant sun-spot activity which also prevented the Legion from putting him in the Phantom Zone. Shortly after tis, both SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL (with Lori Lemaris) arrive from the past to honor their fallen comrade in a specially made crypt with perpetual lightning flashing above him.
Thus Lightning Lad becomes the first Legionnaire to "perish in action", gone forever.....or is he?
Comments:
Next: A Lemon By Any Other Name or Just One More Mission and You're In!
Philip Portelli said:
Here you go, Phillip: https://captaincomics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/deck-log-entry-145-th...
Thanks, Commander! I don't know why I couldn't do it!
While my efforts pale against yours, I truly appreciate your support!
Some other tidbits:
Now where were we? Oh, yes...Lightning Lad was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The thunder of his crypt was witnessed by Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Bouncing Boy and Saturn Girl. Cosmic Boy presided over it: and Cosmic Boy's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to magnetize. Ol' Garth Ranzz was as dead as a door-nail.
ADVENTURE COMICS #305 (F'63), "The Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!" by Jerry Siegel and John Forte begins with the Legion in deep mourning for their fallen comrade. Saturn Girl is so distraught that Cosmic Boy acts as leader in her stead while she recovers.
Some tactless youths ask since Lightning Lad is dead, there must be an opening and Cos gives them a tryout. The first, Antennae Boy cannot control the sounds he pulls from time, space and apparently alternate realities as JFK wins a second term! The second, the Dynamo Kid has his electric powers exposed as a fraud (the second time that happens!) as he is a reporter looking for a story.
The third is Marvel Lad aka the Legionnaire Lemon who possesses powers and abilities far beyond mortal men and is quite confident that he'll become the next new member! Cosmic Boy is wary, thinking that perhaps he's a robot or Superboy playing a prank on them (for a change!). But Marvel Lad proves to both organic and immune to kryptonite and lead, thus being neither Superboy or Mon-El.
Cosmic Boy gives Marvel Lad three initiation tests and they are doozies! First, he flies to another galaxy to get a rare element and returns minutes later! Then he must defeat a prototype Sun-Eater, something the Legionnaires are unable to do. And last, he must go to a distant planet and rid it of monsters so it can be colonized. He succeeds but almost gets disqualified for "killing" them which he doesn't. They weren't real in the first place!
Thinking he's won, Cosmic Boy states that other applicants have passed their tests (Who? And what did they do?) so he wants Marvel Lad to create a new element to get accepted! Yikes! But Lemon Boy does it very easily, creating an anti-matter element (more like an alloy) which would soon be the basis for their flight rings!
When he returns the next day for the ceremony, Marvel Lad says that he went to Daxam, revealing himself to be MON-EL testing Brainiac 5's new anti-lead serum and it works. He is now protected from lead poisoning (and red sun radiation for some reason) and can now join the Legion fulltime. He wants to take one last trip to the Phantom Zone to tell off the remaining Zone Prisoners who had tormented him for a millenium! And retll his origin readers, in case anyone came in late!
Now Mon-El is free but is sad because Lightning Lad is dead. Perhaps the science of Daxam can revive him. Perhaps!
Comments:
Next: How Many Characters Do We Need in This Book? or Are You Sure This Isn't Stalking?
ADVENTURE COMICS #306 (Ma'63), "The Legion of Substitute Heroes!" by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte gives the Legion something it's been missing: a supporting cast!
We are introduced to POLAR BOY, a young hopeful from the planet Tharr who can project waves of super cold. His dream is the join the Legion of Super-Heroes and they crush that dream in moments. The reason? His power may freeze them in battle as opposed to Sun Boy's burning them or Colossal Boy stomping on them!
Given a flight belt as compensation, he is devastated by his rejection! He then encounters NIGHT GIRL, another rejected applicant, who possesses great strength and durability but only when there is no sunlight which she didn't even know since her planet, Kathloon, has no sun! She introduces him to three other youths who were similarly rejected: STONE BOY who can petrify himself but cannot move, FIRE LAD who has flame breath and CHLOROPHYLL KID who can make plants grow super-fast and super-large. Polar Boy convinces them to form a team, a "Substitute Legion" to go into action when the Legion isn't available.
Dream High!
Building a secret base and a spaceship into a nearby mountain (and remarkably unobserved), the Cast Aside Crusaders attempt to go on missions, only for the real Legion to get there first. After this happens several times, the crestfallen youths call it quits, only to observes some strange seeds fall from the sky.
Chlorophyll Kid makes one grow and it becomes a hostile TREE-MAN and there are thousands of these seeds! It is an invasion! Tracking down their base, the Second-Rate Sentinels manage to defeat the invasion by causing a population explosion! They save the day but no one knows that their group exists!
Comments:
Next: Mystery Date! or I Have the Element of Surprise!
The rejection of Polar Boy still baffles me. He's the, ahem, polar opposite of Sun Boy, so if Dirk Morgna is useful, then so is Brek Bannin.
Over at Marvel, they've explored how Iceman's power works -- he slows molecular action -- which is so inherently powerful that he is now an "Omega Mutant." I'd think Polar Boy would be similarly blessed.
But no, those condescending twerps at the Legion kicked him out. Had those blankets ready the whole time! Probably writer's fiat, to give this Substitute Legion some legs (and some power). But it sure makes the LSH look bad. (Again.)
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