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The Legion appeared in an eleven-page story in “DC Special” #28 which had a cover date of June-July 1977. It’s an easy story for Legion collectors to miss, but it is significant because it features the return of Chemical King to action after several years in limbo. It is also the final story he appears in before his death in “Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes” #228 which carries a cover date of June 1977. I’m not sure which issue was actually released first. They may have been released at the same time. I was thirteen at the time and recall purchasing the two issues on the same day. I read the S/LSH issue first, and did a little bit of a double take when I got to the final story in the DC Special.
I had been reading the Legion for a little over three years, at the time, and had never read a story with Chemical King in it. I was vaguely aware that there was a Legionnaire named Chemical King, but knew nothing about him until I read the story of his death.
DC Special was an odd series. You never really knew quite what to expect. Sometimes it was Green Lantern reprints. Sometimes it was the Three Musketeers and Robin Hood. Sometimes it was several stories with a similar theme like Super Gorillas or heroes battling monsters. Issue #28 was “Earth Shattering Disasters”. Batman fought a villain called the Quakemaster who created earthquakes all over Gotham. Aquaman battled a giant city eating, pollution created amoeba. The Legion deals with the city of Metropolis being hit with a series of catastrophes that result from a blackout when the city’s sole fusion power sphere suddenly shuts down. Most of the team is off planet so the rescue and clean up falls to five Legionnaires: Chemical King, Phantom Girl, Timber Wolf, Brainiac 5, and Ultra Boy. The story is scripted by Paul Levitz with art by Arvell Jones and Bob Layton.
Brainiac 5 indicates that he, Chemical King, and Phantom Girl will check out the sphere and directs Ultra Boy and Timber Wolf to help as many people as they can. The boys go into action. Ultra Boy stops an out of control monorail as Timber Wolf saves a man being hit by falling debris. The disaster expands and the heroes become overwhelmed. Ultra Boy worries that they couldn’t hope to succeed even if more of the team was there. Timber Wolf tells him that he is right but that he is betting on Brainy – if anyone can get the power sphere started again, he’s the man. I like this comment. Brainiac 5 has gone through so many personality changes in interpretations over the years. My favorite has always been the original original. a kid who was a hero because he was smart and had the respect of his teammates because of it.
Meanwhile, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl and Chemical King confront a costumed villain who is tampering with the power sphere. Chemical King jumps into action and lands the first punch. He says, “Leave him to me, Brainy. You two just got back from a mission but I’ve been on the sidelines for months. He’s all mine!” The villain identifies himself as Fenton Pike and says that he is sorry that Tyroc isn’t there to die with the rest of them. Pike had previously appeared in Suberboy/Legion #222. He was a janitor at the science police headquarters who was threatening Metropolis with a mega bomb. Tyroc pretended to have turned against the Legion in order to track him down and locate the bomb. The reference to Tyroc while Pike is locked in battle with Chemical King is sadly ironic. The story referred to was Tyroc’s last one before being shifted off into limbo for several years, just as Chemical King had been.
Pike manages to slip away. Brainiac 5 deduces that he has jammed the reactor into an overload pattern that can’t be corrected from the outside. If allowed to continue, it will result in a reaction that will fuse the city of 30 million into a sheet of glass. Chemical King tells Brainy and Tinya that they can’t give up. There is too much at stake. Brainiac 5 instructs Chemical King to slow down the amount of radiation that the reaction gives off. He says that the lower level of radiation will allow Phantom Girl to slip into power sphere and try to attempt to repair the damage that Pike has done to it. Phantom Girl agrees saying that she will rely on her Legion training but it is a big bet on her small knowledge of nucleonics. The scene raises some interesting questions about Tinya’s vulnerability to radiation while in phantom form. It implies that she is vulnerable to high levels of radiation but can survive lower levels. Once inside the reactor, she is shown connecting unplugged cables. How does that work? Does she just solidify her hands? Can she have parts of her body in phantom form and others not? Wouldn’t her hands be burned by the radiation? The story raises a lot of questions about the nature of her powers that it doesn’t answer.
Ultra Boy and Timber Wolf track Pike to Legion headquarters where he had hoped to be able to survive the meltdown. They capture him.
Tinya continues to repair damage. Chemical King pushes his powers to the max and collapses. Brainy yells to Phantom Girl to get out now. She slips out of the sphere and collapses into Brainiac 5’s arms. He holds her while waiting to see if her efforts succeeded. The lights of the Metropolis skyline flicker on signally that the power sphere is working properly and the reaction has ended. The story ends with the caption, “The proud city still stands”.
The story also raises questions about Chemical King's powers. I guess that could be said of just about every story he ever appeared in. His death scene in S/LSH #228 also has him slowing radiation from an energy sphere that is on the verge of exploding. In that case, he absorbs too much radiation and dies. So why does he collapse in one story but die in another? I suppose it has to do with the levels of radiation.
At any rate, it was nice to see the Legion in DC Special and nice to see Chemical King in action. As we watch the current version of the Legion collapse, and speculate on all that went wrong, I ask myself whatever happened to promotion. There were a number of series in the 1970’s, like DC Special, that gave DC an opportunity to promote their properties. The Legion got some exposure in a number of them. These were usually small stories of little consequence, but they did give people a chance to see the team in quick stories that gave you a good feel for Legion. I compare that Karate Kid’s and Una’s appearances in Countdown recently. I’m really not sure what the purpose of that mess was. It certainly wasn’t to promote the current version of book or help bring in new readers.
[ November 01, 2008, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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I remember that story well, Jerry, if for no other reason than that it featured Chemical King. Although I'd read most of his previous appearances--and this story did nothing to expand his character--it was good to see him in action. Even with his limited exposure, he'd already become one of my favorite characters.
You're right that titles such as DC Special gave the Legion and other characters some much needed promotion. One aspect of those titles that's missing from today's crossovers is that the earlier titles told complete stories. Although, as you note, the stories were of little consequence, they did not try readers' patience by dragging out for months or jumping from title to title.
There is nothing to compare with a satisfying short story, even if it does not result in a major event in the characters' lives. Sadly, this distinction is lost today, when every comic book story seems to be an earth-shattering event in the characters' lives.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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One of the Legion's strengths has always been that a so-called minor character can be the driving force in a story like this. I thought Condo showed a "take charge" attitude in this tale when the team leader (Ultra Boy) was unsure if the team could complete the mission at all. That's something I've always loved. A multi powered heroic super knockoff like U-Boy can't see the way through the problem but the "lesser" powered characters provide the plan and the path to safety and victory. Granted it takes their all and endangers their lives to do so but they show their willingness to make that sacrifice when called on to do so. Even though the story has it's weaknesses it really is a glorious moment for both Tinya and Condo.
Also I'd forgotten that the last two CK stories were, for all practical purposes, released simultaneously. It's sad that the most face time Chemical King got in Legion stories were in the last two stories he appeared in. (discounting the Dead Legionnaires issue of Secret Origins) Yes, we knew it was coming because he first appeared as a statue in the Hall of Dead Heroes but I'd always believed that he would have a long heroic career as a Legionnaire first.
From: Smallville Sector : Greater Metropolis | Registered: Jun 2004
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Yeah I also remember that issue. To me, it was an amazingly fun puzzle to track down all those obscure Legion appearances of the 70s and 80s in 1995 and later, when I really got into collecting. I got that issue pretty soon, which is amazing considering how long it took me to get many issues of the Baxter series. I especially loved it due to Chemical Kings appearance - the stories with him are very few, and it was always some kind of special of the day when you could track down one of them. Same goes for the other dead Legionnaires Invisible Kid and Ferro Lad as well. Those three were always dead statues when I was a kid. Seeing them in action was great.
I miss those days when a comic book death still hadc some relevance. Nowadays, the only question is: When will they come back? It wasn't that way with Lyle, Ferro and Condo. That was always a very faszinating element of Legion Lore for me, another one flushed down the toilet with Zero Hour.
From: Bamberg, Germany | Registered: Feb 2007
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I can distinctly remember reading this after the Chem's death issue and being annoyed.
Even then, I was fascinated by little-seen characters and I could remember Chem from S/LSH # 208 (standing around in a corrider, I believe) and a much better role in S/LSH # 211, preventing Element Lad from commiting murder and getting roughed-up by Superboy. I thought he was handsome as drawn by Grell and green was my favorite color.
I likely would have enjoyed this story more if it had appeared well in advance of Chem's death instead of at the same time or even after.
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