Action 276 Page 1 - Two more Legionnaires right off the bat! [SNIP] And the fact, as others have mentioned above, that three other characters introduced should be female, for the time, is really progressive. No wonder this series was such a quick hit.
I like the idea that, for some unknown amount of time, the Legion may have consisted of Garth, Rokk, Imra, Lu and Tinya. Two guys and three (or five, depending on how you count your Carggites) girls! 'Too dangerous for a girl,' my butt!
Even better, the only one who was a hand to hand fighter, a traditionally male hero staple, was Luornu!
When the 'classic five man team' seems to be 'four dudes and the chick,' and more modern seven man hero teams seem to be four to six men and one to three women (such as the Justice League, six dudes and Wonder Woman), I love the idea of teams like Gen 13, or some iterations of the Legion or the X-Men going into the other direction.
Since "dating" multiple people until you decide to go steady was the norm in the 50's and 60's, I don't think Supergirl is doing anything too wrong. A teen has to keep their options open after all, until they know that person is the one.
This is something that actually kind of annoys me about contemporary culture. It seems like at some point we've moved to asking someone out being the same thing as asking someone to be in a relationship with you, with no kind of intermediary phase.
She likes to (time) travel around, She'll love you but she'll put you down. Now people let me put you wise, Su(pergirl) goes out with other guys.
Page 2 - Hmm... I took a quick look through some online references for the 1960-61 TV season, and nothing really leaps out that "Frankie Hudson" could be a homage of. More than likely, it's probably just a general nod to a "Dick Clark" type of TV personality.
Maybe it's a take on Frankie Avalon, who didn't have his own show, but was on a number of others at the time. (I only thought of his name because it was mentioned today with the death of Annette Funicello.)
I liked rereading these Supergirl stories so much, I think I'll get the two Showcase volumes of Supergirl stories.
As for Pluto, there's no reason that astronomers couldn't have defined a size limit and said that anything larger than a certain size is a planet. This would have made Eris a planet and nothing else. It would not lead to having 20 or 100 extra planets--all the other similar objects are smaller than Pluto.
Instead they basically said "we'll pick the characteristic which we want to use to exclude Pluto in the first place, and use that as part of the definition of 'planet'." Obviously, by that definition, Pluto isn't going to be a planet.
I wonder what's going to happen if someone finds an object outside Pluto's orbit which is bigger than Mercury. It's certainly possible, and if they ever find one they'll be stuck with a definition which says that it's bigger than a known planet but doesn't count as a planet.
Since "dating" multiple people until you decide to go steady was the norm in the 50's and 60's, I don't think Supergirl is doing anything too wrong. A teen has to keep their options open after all, until they know that person is the one.
This is something that actually kind of annoys me about contemporary culture. It seems like at some point we've moved to asking someone out being the same thing as asking someone to be in a relationship with you, with no kind of intermediary phase.
She likes to (time) travel around, She'll love you but she'll put you down. Now people let me put you wise, Su(pergirl) goes out with other guys.
As for Pluto, there's no reason that astronomers couldn't have defined a size limit and said that anything larger than a certain size is a planet. This would have made Eris a planet and nothing else. It would not lead to having 20 or 100 extra planets--all the other similar objects are smaller than Pluto.
Instead they basically said "we'll pick the characteristic which we want to use to exclude Pluto in the first place, and use that as part of the definition of 'planet'." Obviously, by that definition, Pluto isn't going to be a planet.
I wonder what's going to happen if someone finds an object outside Pluto's orbit which is bigger than Mercury. It's certainly possible, and if they ever find one they'll be stuck with a definition which says that it's bigger than a known planet but doesn't count as a planet.
There are moons bigger than known planets - Jupiter's moon Ganymede is bigger than Mercury. So is Titan, of Saturn [Girl] fame - it's the biggest moon in the solar system at 5550km if you include the atmosphere - and Callisto (Jupiter again) is only slightly smaller. Take a look at this 1999 chart - size, quite literally, isn't everything.
My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Action 276 I like the idea that, for some unknown amount of time, the Legion may have consisted of Garth, Rokk, Imra, Lu and Tinya...
I remember reading a book by Trina Robbins that said women were the predominant readers of comic books during World War II. The "boys club" of comic book fans didn't start to develop until the Marvel Age of the Silver Age. She praised New Mutants for having a team in which females outnumbered males, but if the Legion accomplished this twenty years earlier that is truly an accomplishment!
Last edited by Emily Sivana; 04/08/1308:58 PM.
Go with the good and you'll be like them; go with the evil and you'll be worse than them.- Portuguese Proverb
Reboot: I wasn't trying to be 100% literally exact. What I meant was that there's no reason astronomers couldn't have defined a size limit for things that might be considered planets at the time but whose size is questionable.
Obviously I wasn't trying to include things that would never have been called planets regardless of their size, such as moons.
Right. And now they've defined a "planet" as "not part of an asteroid belt" ("has cleared its' stellar neighbourhood" is how they phrased it, IIRC).
Personally, I disagree with the "dwarf planet" kludge - they should just have bit the bullet, given Pluto a number and called it a minor planet (i.e., asteroid), but that's what they decided.
My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wow, Pluto really is small compared to the other heavenly bodies.
I'm not bothered by Pluto being "demoted." It's a hunk of rock and ice, for Pol's sake! Its feelings did not get hurt.
As for Action 276:
The annoying thing that stands out to me is that Saturn Girl dons an iron mask but does not change her costume and Kara does not recognize her, as Cramer pointed out. Even for Silver Age silliness, that really stood out as a "Huh?!" moment.
I'm also glad subsequent stories didn't dwell on Brainy's "atone for my evil ancestor" motivation. Atoning for an evil parent or sibling is such a cliche, and probably was so even as early as 1961, but to atone for ancestor who died 1000 (or even 100) years ago seems really far-fetched. It's like Brainy needed a reason to feel bad about himself.
Besides, Brainy is such a rich and complex character he doesn't need that angst.
The EEK No Wonder Imra Is Not Afraid Of Darkseid issue!
or Imra The Iron ButtFace issue.
That is one scary mask. HOLY SHIJEEZUS!!!
And Supergirl is trying out for the name Ordinary Girl since she can't recognize Imra from the neck down in the same damn costume. We get it Kara. I woulda pissed myself seeing that mask.
whew. glad that's over. The BLACK EYES!!!! AHHHHH!
Also, Brainiac 5 is a playa! He threw down for Kara and he wasn't even a full member yet! I've never seen him so suave!
It is nice to have super girl friends!
Jerro smells like fish.
Janice and Lu look really similar ... it's ok they're both cute ... although strange they have the same hairstyle 1000 years apart ... Elaine however seems like she has self esteem issues.
Superboy #89 not only introduces a critical component of the Legion mythos, but a critical component to the Superman family in general, especially the Silver Age. Mon-El arrives in a classic story that is IMO excellent from start to finish. For the past decade, Superboy writers had done stories in which Superboy encounters a similarly powered boy, and with this story they have perfected it.
It also continues the long tradition of Superboy dealing with the innate loneliness of being Super. Here, we see him get one step closer to addressing it, which will culminate in the Pete Ross stories they are about to ensue.
Mon-El is magnificent. A classic costume--simply played with a reverse color scheme to Superboy--and by story's end he has a nice combination of power and pathos. What's amazing is how many times he shows up in Superman, Action, Jimmy Olsen and other places. I'm sure there are a few stories I haven't ever read and don't know about where he's shown up somewhere.
Evidently, Mon-El also has super-intelligence, explaining his quick learning of English and knowing what a riverboat is.
Btw, Papp is a really underrated artist. He does great facial expressions and very intricate backgrounds. His composition is actually reminiscent of Steve Ditko in that sense. You can see Superboy's eagerness to have a brother, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. At the end of part 1, when Krypto doesn't recognize Mon, Superboy's face is full of panic--you see he immediately knows he's been wrong but refuses to admit it to himself. One page later, he clearly is projecting his anger towards Mon after feeling so betrayed.
The Bob Cobb identity, and the Kent's commitment to the ruse, are pretty great. Mon looks exactly as you'd expect a traveling salesman to look in 30's.
Ah, the reason for the "Mon-El" moniker. Er, sounds good Clark.
Superboy's side trip to Ancient Egypt is pretty wild. I wish there were more of these. The history is a little funky--4,000 BC is a loooooong time ago. But hey, it's still awesome!
Btw, Miss Joyce is pretty hot!
Meanwhile, a gang of crooks is raining lead balls with a catapult down on Smallville. Which crooks do, from time to time, I guess.
But don't worry. That is downright plausible in comparison to the Jack in the Box Monster two pages later. Say what? Someone has to post that panel. It's batshit crazy in a way only the Metal Men and Wonder Woman usually achieved.
The final 4-5 pages hit the reader like a bucket of ice water. Superboy has made a tragic mistake and cost himself the chance for the brother he always wanted. Mon's story of meeting Jor-El and Lara is great, and adds yet another layer to the Superman mythos.
I wonder if the original plan was for Superman to cure Mon, and then it occurred to Uncle Mort that he would be a perfect fit in the Legion? Certainly seems that way.
I think this is also the first appearance of the Phantom Zone? It arrived as a throwaway concept yet is so rife with possibility that it immediately would be set to recurring use. It's a great idea too--the Superman writers should use it more often.
Robert Bernstein wrote this one, as he did a lot of Superboy and Adventure stories. He did a great job--while not a "true Legion" story, its the best written story yet (if you choose to ignore the catapulting lead balls and an alien weaponized jack in the box).
I think this is also the first appearance of the Phantom Zone? It arrived as a throwaway concept yet is so rife with possibility that it immediately would be set to recurring use. It's a great idea too--the Superman writers should use it more often.
Another story that's kind of a re-write of an old story, though while it borrows the origin and color scheme of Mon-El from "Superman's Big Brother" in Superman #80, the plot diverges almost completely from the original otherwise.
I suspect the more direct influence on this story was, however, was Superboy #80, in which Superboy meets Supergirl for the first time. The concept of Superboy having another super-powered youth that he could play with was probably too good to pass up the chance to introduce another possible playmate, and I'm betting that's the motivation for this story.
I also suspect the original plan was to have Mon be able to leave the Phantom Zone on occasion to show up for a story, thus explaining why they gave him the "Bob Cobb, Traveling Salesman" identity.
Anyway, I've written before about some of the bizarreness central to the plot of this story. Kal basically decides on rather flimsy evidence that the newcomer must be his never-before-heard-of older brother, even going so far as invent explanations that involve his rapidly aging on Krypton but being in suspended animation from Krypton's destruction until now in order to get it to work. And then, when the evidence starts coming in that suggest Mon isn't really a Kryptonian, Kal decides he must be an evil imposter for grudgingly going along with this crazy theory!
Anyway, tons of groovy bits in the tale. In case anyone is wondering, the Rhodopis bit it totally for real.
And dare I suggest that this giant jack-in-the-box-monster may mean that this story is actually the first appearance of the Puppet Planetoid?
Oh, and they really should've included the Superboy meets Supergirl story in the Archives as well! It's critical to the entire structure of the Superman family, including the LSH.
Yeah, the Dev-Em issues are definitely among the should-have-been-included stories.
I'm surprised they didn't try to fill up the first Archive with enough per-series Legion stuff so that they could begin the second Archive with Adventure #300, which would seem like the natural thing to do.
Action 276 I like the idea that, for some unknown amount of time, the Legion may have consisted of Garth, Rokk, Imra, Lu and Tinya...
I remember reading a book by Trina Robbins that said women were the predominant readers of comic books during World War II. The "boys club" of comic book fans didn't start to develop until the Marvel Age of the Silver Age. She praised New Mutants for having a team in which females outnumbered males, but if the Legion accomplished this twenty years earlier that is truly an accomplishment!
I like the idea too, since men usually outnumber women on teams, but ... did Colossal Boy, Cham, Invisible Kid, and Star Boy appear first in history or are the archives out of order?
Did the ordering of membership appear first in the Who's Who?
I believe the first five members were first established in the origin story in Superboy #147. It may have been mentioned in a lettercol previously, though. I know the fact that Rokk, Imra, and Garth were the founders was first established in the lettercol.
- Oh god, I giggled like a 13 year old when Mon-El was all "you broke my bat with your ball". I NEED TO GROW UP LIKE NOW.
- Why would Superboy need his x-ray vision to tell that Mon-El is unconscious? That seems...excessive to me. XD
- HOLY CRAP IS THAT METAL BIG! Mon has some serious bling-bling.
- Um...Superboy? Is it really a good idea to tell a man who has no memories and is a big woozy to GO STAND IN A FIRE?
- Tsk, tsk. Cheating on your paper by flying to the past! SHAAAAAMMMMEEE. I expect better.
- The Phantom Zone is a surprisingly terrible punishment for the "civilized" Krypton. I mean, sentencing someone to utter solitude and misery for 30 years (or however long they deemed acceptable) seems very cruel. I guess you might have some company in that there are other criminals there...but it seems really mean.
- POOR MON-EL. He spends so much time in the Phantom Zone throughout comic history. I guess DC views him as a character they can insert into any period in history between the 21st and the 31st centuries. Technically he's alive through it all.
- HOLY CRAP IS THAT METAL BIG! Mon has some serious bling-bling
I had the same thought, but then I realized it's actually drawn as enlarged because Supes is using his microscopic vision.
OOOOHHHHHH! I hadn't even thought of that! So Superboy can use more than one type of "vision" at the same time? He'd have to use x-ray and microscopic to see the metal under Mon's clothes, right?
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