Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives #2

posted before reading the preceding reviews

Just read the Subs debut for the first time in quite awhile. Of course, I'd forgotten most of the details. I think the Silver Age Subs story I think of most is the slightly later one (in this Archive--too lazy to check!) where one of their number is offered membership in the LSH. But this one is actually really good, expecially in how the Subs end up contributing by defeating the greater threat without anyone ever knowing.

One thing I was surprised about is that Lydda's crush/obsession with Cos is not referenced in this story at all. I thought it was present from the start. Nt the case, though, suprisingly!

Also, it's apparent here that Brek is pretty darn short! In fact, in that opening splash panel, he looks very dwarfish in his proportions, especially compared to the other two subs in the picture. I wonder if Brek is younger than the other Subs or just shorter as originally envisioned? He never seemed terribly short as later drawn by Lightle and Laroque in the '80s. That would be interesting to cross-reference, though.....

Brek also got totally PUNKED by the Legion in his try-out, as far as I'm concerned! Sure looked like he was rejected just because he made them uncomfortable! Where'd the blankets come from?!?! Was Cham the blankets?!?! I can see why the others were rejected, but it seemed like Brek was because they didn't like what he did to them. Who knows...maybe they didn't think he was 'cool' enough for their club! Peer pressure's a bitch at that age is what I'm sayin'! Brek has always seemed competent enough with the control of his powers, so I've never understood why he was rejected and didn't get to join until so much later.

Stone Boy! I couldn't help but notice that his folks seemed to be able to talk and possibly move in their stony forms in the flashbacks, but Stone Boy never seemed to be able to until his TMK 'hypno-motion' upgrade. I'll be interested to see how he's portrayed in subsequent appearances.

Fire Lad and Chlorophyll Kid also seemed pretty competent, though it's hard to see their powers adding much to the Legion as presented. Still the LSH had a human beach ball and a guy who could eat anything so....

The selflessness of the Subs and their devotion to the heroes that rejected them was actually pretty touching. Can you imagine a modern story with rejects of the Titans or even the modern Legion being presented that way? They'd either go all crazy villain on everything or throw it in the faces of the team that rejected them, right? that's the Silver Age for you, and it's really kinda refreshing!

Anyhow, great story and unusual in how the Legion just have cameos in their own feature.

And, oh yeah, before you wonder how this could be a Lardy entry---nice rack on Lydda! But she's WAY out of any of the other Sub guys' leagues! No behind the scenes shenanigans in the Subs' cave, I'm afraid...

At some point, it was established that Polar Boy was indeed the youngest of the Subs.

Lightle and Laroque definitely drew Brek as short, though not nearly as short as in the debut.

I think it was later suggested that he was below the age limit for Legionnaires as a way of helping explain his rejection (though according to the reboot version he was just short for his age).

The Postboot had a nice compromise where some Legionnaires wore civilian clothes that were heavily based on their costumes.

I wonder how much more formidable Night Girl would have been if she'd had the full range of Kryptonian powers, or at least invulnerability and speed, to go along with her super strength.

Fire Lad's powers are also very similar to Sun Boy's. it's funny how lack of control was the main reason given for rejecting Fire Lad and Polar Boy, both of whom have powers fairly common on other super-teams (e.g. Fire when she was with the Global Guardians).

Another classic Legionnaire is introduced with Element Lad! Several things strike me at once when considering his earliest appearances. First, his button nose and generally youthful appearance. He just feels *younger* than a lot of other Legionnaires. And when I read about all those years fans in the 70's and 80's speculated he was gay, surely it was because of that costume!

Of course his immense power set makes him stick out. Though you can't help but feel no one quite realized how powerful he was until the Great Darkness Saga. But all of these things don't compare to the really unique thing about him: his brutal origin! It's perhaps the most tragic origin in Legion history, and one can't help but feel there is some inspiration from the Holocaust there.

So, Camera Eye makes the cover! Jeez. How pissed would Gim, Tenz and so many others be?

A remote city being looted by high tech pirates *is* a pretty scary thing. Roxxas is probably the best Legion villain thus far, and certainly the most ruthless. To think, he's had a relatively brief number of appearances and they're all pretty great stories.

The bottom of page 2 has the three panels in one Forte panel, which will be a recurring thing. The Forte thread in the Creators Forum goes on at length about them. It's an odd, yet strangely captivating method; three separate things are going on, each with a clear border.

Green Boy and Camera Eye are two of the most lame applicants ever. Score one for civil liberties though to disallow Camera Eye in the courts. I bet he became a Dominator spy.

Once again, Imra shows leadership and authority. She just rawks.

Those little one man cruisers are kind of cool. Why did we never see them again?

Floating cities on the water world of Verunna--a classic Hamilton idea! Love the ongoing world building.

Nice to see Gim fighting something non-giant! And nice fisticuffs Jan! I didn't remember this badassery.

There's actually a lot of Legionnaires in this story! At least 8! And each one uses their power, even with Sun Boy spot-welding Verunna as Cos holds it up.

And we get one of my favorite Forte panels of all, the ancient weird monuments from a lost race that look like odd crocodile people. It's such an eerie background that truly adds to the tension.

Whoa! Roxxas wasn't in on the butchering of Trom! He doesn't seem too upset about it, but it clearly wasn't his order.

All in all, I think this is a great story. Readers could enjoy the "what is his superpower mystery?" or like me, just enjoy a strait forward great science fiction tale.

Interesting that Saturn Girl is chosen as the secret-keeper. Goes to show how well-regarded she is in terms of judgment, trustworthiness and reliability.

Adventure #306

It always cracks me up that Camera-Eye Kid makes the cover!

Still set in the 21st century, though I *believe* this is the last time.

We get challenged at the very beginning to guess Mystery Lad’s power.

Not sure I’m buying the superiority of those one man rocketships over Legion cruisers. Okay, so granted that they are somehow faster than the Legion ships, they can’t really carry much in the way of supplies, so they’re going to have to be stopping a lot at Space-McDonalds and stuff. Not to mention they’re not really going to be able carry much loot on these things (we later find out they have a “mother ship” to store it.) I definitely don’t think it makes them “the most powerful enemy we’ve ever confronted!”, as Cos says.

Cool planets this issue, from the dark world of Oranz, to the water world of Vuruna, to the unnamed world of alien statues.

I suspect poor Turns-Everything-Green Kid was really rejected for his habit of injecting random chemicals into himself! Not smart kids!

Camera-Eye Kid totally needed a better pitch! Okay, so his power might not be admissible in court, but still a living camera could come in handy on the Espionage Squad!

First appearance of Bizarro in the Legion!

This is the first story in which Invisible Kid plays a significant role. Two character traits displayed: his suspicious nature and his tendency to act behind the other Legionnaires’ backs.

Who needs Dawnstar when Saturn Girl can apparently track the pirates via telepathy!

Funny how Colossal Boy just seems to randomly show up in two panels of this story.

I wonder how often Lyle forgets to make himself visible?

Mystery Lad’s power isn’t invulnerability, as Bouncing Boy suspects!

Love “vanished civilization” planets!

Mystery Lad’s power isn’t super-strength, as Brainiac Five suspects!

Another trap by Roxxas! But Mystery Lad saves the day by vaporizing an asteroid!

But Mystery Lad’s power isn’t heat vision, as… er… Sun Boy (?) suspects!

So Mystery Lad is the one the pirates are looking for, and he’s decided to surrender to them!

And we get his origin, in a kind of oddly placed flashback. That toddler changing the lamp post to gold scene always creeps me out. Can you imagine what a toddler with that power would really be like? No wonder there’s only “a few” people on this planet! If the pirates' ships are so superior to all other ships, then how exactly did Jan get away from them? Or did he steal one of their ships? Maybe the pirates weren't using the one-man ships at that point, and adopted them after Jan escaped in one?

Anyway, note that Roxxas himself didn't murder the Trommites, and actually scolds his lackeys for doing so! And yet, it is Roxxas rather than Bob the Lackey who is later consumed with guilt for his deeds!

Poor Jan Arrah sacrifices himself so the pirates can’t use his might power! But wait… he’s still alive, thanks to Invisible Kid who has followed him and saved him!

It's hard to read this story without thinking about our own poster Mystery Lad, who has suggested that this tale fits into the standard Adventure Era pattern of love stories in which a character is believed bad, but a single Legionnaire believes in them and a single Legionnaire defies the rest of the group by proving their innocence (see Phantom Girl/Ultra Boy; Vi/Duplicate Boy; Light Lass/Timber Wolf; Star Boy/Dream Girl). Of course, the difference here is that Lyle follows Jan not because he believe in him, but because he is suspicious of him, but still, it's an interesting take on the story.

Re-reading it, it's a decent story, but not really one of my faves. I can't really put my finger on anything that doesn't work, except maybe Cos's over-hyping the villains, but it still feels like a slight let down after last issue. Maybe the problem is that the point-of-view character isn't as well-established as it should be. Maybe more focus on Lyle from the beginning would've made it stronger? (Since obviously the story can't be told from Jan's point of view). I don't know.

I suspect following this story, Green Boy has an intense hatred for yellow and red fauna!

Eryk, good point about if this story was from Lyle's viewpoint at the start. That certainly would have made it stronger.

I also couldn't help think of the Lyle / Jan romance theory here. It's something to watch throughout the run! Especially as we determine when lovesick Jan, like poor Luornu, accepts he'll never get his dreamboat when Condo arrives!

Adv. 307 is what Adv. 305 could have been. It's odd that we've got two stories built upon the same premise so close together: A new hero mystifies the Legion with nature of his power and his secret intentions.

But the stakes here are much higher. The Legion must stop Roxxas, but they're shorthanded. So they have to rely on an untested applicant (a theme that will appear again, years later, with Timber Wolf, Chemical King, Dawnstar, and others). "Mystery Lad" keeps them guessing about his power, and even Saturn Girl, who's taken into his confidence, begins to doubt his motives.

This is, from a story telling point of view, the best tale so far. Hamilton weaves separate strands--the space pirates, the suspicions over Jan, Jan's conflict over leaving the Legion "forever"--into a seamless whole. It all comes together when we find the horrific truth about Jan's origin. Here we learn that Jan had perfectly logical reasons for keeping his power a secret--he was the "object" the pirates were after.

Having written a Young Adult novel, one of the things I struggled with was whether or not depicting certain events is inappropriate for young readers. In my story, a terrorist blows up a plane, but that's nothing compared to what poor Jan goes through. The slaughter of his race reflects the very real fears kids in 1963 had over the Cold War. (This story was published a few months after the Cuban Missile Crisis.) Kids know what's going on in the world, and they know there is much to be afraid of. Stories such as Adv. 307 help young readers deal with such fears by not ignoring them. They assure readers that, even when the unthinkable happens, good can still win.

(Years later, by the way, Jim Shooter would cite the relative lack of drama over the demise of Jan's world as a source behind the amped up depiction of Dark Phoenix's destruction of a planet in X-Men. Shooter's interpretation of this story, however, was incorrect. We don't *see* Jan's reaction to the murder of his parents and world, but we don't have to. He behaves in a very mature, very soldier-like manner as he "surrenders" to the pirates and then sacrifices himself to destroy their ship. This feels much more real than the angst heroes would later wallow in while facing other tragedies.)

This is the first time Invisible Kid really has anything to do in the series, and he is used well here.

Hamilton even throws in a science lesson by having objects change color as Jan transmutes them. (Unfortunately, the reprint I'm reading is in black and white.)

This story rocks on every front! It appeals to kids by featuring the cool one-man space vehicles and the mystery over Jan's power. It appeals to adults by featuring real villains--ruthless and cunning--as well as allusions to real world fears. And it introduces us all to a new hero we can sympathize with and root for.

She was also the leader at this point, though this isn't made clear in this or other recent stories.

Interesting tidbit from the lettercol to this issue:

In response to a reader happy about Mon-El being released from the Phantom Zone and requesting he be featured in more stories:

"MON-EL will be very active in future Legionnaire stories. As a clue, we'll reveal that he will shortly become romantically involved with one of the Legion's pretty girl members."

I wonder what the heck that is referring to?

Blok fans disagree.

Adventure #307

-Boy, they sure aren't drawn like teenagers! Look at Lyle! He looks like he's at least in his late 20's.

-Brainiac 5's uniform always looks like a sweatsuit to me in these old issues. I guess he wanted to be comfortable while saving the world.

-People were always being called "wily" back in the day. I want to be referred to as "wily" at least once in my life.

-Um...Cosmic Boy....is it really a good idea to announce WHERE Invisible Kid is going to BE? I mean, that sort of defeats the whole element of surprise thing.

-Boy, it sure was easy for people to "close their minds" to Imra back then! She's definitely gotten a power boost in the past few decades.

-Waitaminute. "Our suits are made of chemical compounds and not elements..." I'm no chemistry whiz, but that doesn't make much sense. Chemical compounds, by definition, are made of chemical elements. So...why wouldn't Jan be able to...*CONFUSED*

-Lyle was actually PRETTY CLEVER in this issue! And, as a self-proclaimed Lyle fangirl, I will now have a nice fangirl flail.

*FLAILS EVERYWHERE*

I'm thinking if was Luornu, but that got changed when her crush on Superboy was used instead?

Or I guess Tinya is a candidate before that got scrapped for Jo to fit the story where he's on the run. But that's a year off, at least.

I demand to see evidence such a group exists!

(J/k, I'm a Blok fan)

In some ways, though the very idea that she can just randomly pick up the thoughts of particular people in a far off region of space and use that to track them also seems like massively more powerful than she's usually portrayed.



Apparently this was the early attempt at limiting his power. He could only effect elements when they weren't bonded in compounds. Later writers pretty much ignored this limitation, until he could basically turn any substance into any other.

It's basically those two and Vi as potential partners, since I assume Saturn Girl and Supergirl are out. I thought there might be a Supergirl story in which Mon-El makes an appearance that it might be referring to, but I'm not familiar with any.

Hm. Neither am I. If it was a Phantom Zone appearance in the 20th century that would make sense but I can't see them giving her two romantic interests in the Legions time.

It sounds like there was a loose plan that got scrapped. So since nothing would throw a Vi plan, it seems it has to be Luornu or Tinya.

Very interesting. Nice catch Eryk!

I'm in favor of it being a Vi plan that got derailed when Ayla showed up

A Tinya-Lar romance might actually have been interesting, given Tinya's ability to enter the Phantom Zone.

They were also later the winners of the Legion Popularity Contest which was the predecessor of the Legion Elections!

I supposed we had to have Camera Eye Boy on the cover as an excuse to get Superboy on there, even though he doesn't even appear in the story. Super-buttinsky Lad.

Cosmic Boy is just suspicious of Mystery Lad because he doesn't like him muscling in on his pink territory.

Why couldn't Jan have just grabbed one of the handy space helmets that were hanging right there as the crooks were escaping?

It's a bit far-fetched that Lyle was able to slip away from the others, or approach the mother ship without being seen. After all, he couldn't make his suit or speedster invisible.

Convenient that the Legion suddenly has rayguns to shoot out the rockets on Roxxas's men's ships.

I wonder why they changed Jan's costume from this one? I do like his later one much better though.

Re Brainy's sweatsuit, certainly seems appropriate for him! Substance and practicality over style!

Saturn Girl's telepathy certainly seems like one of those powers whose applications can be tweaked to suit a story. Like creating realistic illusions (hello fake Tinya in Legion Lost).

I couldn't help thinking his trunks look like a diaper.

Yet another untold story: how did Camera Eye Boy see this battle between Superboy & Bizarro? Can he see wherever he wills, even into the past and possibly the future? I think the Legion may have been far too hasty in giving him the boot.




Tinya's Phantom Zone capability would make her an ideal candidate for understanding Lar. Maybe there will be future letter column hints as to what didn't happen with the Mon-el romance.




This does seem to be the most cohesive tale yet, with a minimum of goofy kid stuff. It strikes me as one of the few early stories that could be very contemporary, with minor adjustments to dialogue and art.



I hadn't thought of it before, but there could well have been more than a few disasters caused by inexperienced Trommian toddlers.

That scene reminded me of one of the Terry Pratchett novels in which there's a city whose inhabitants regard gold as entirely useless, since it's such a soft metal.

If the inhabitants of Trom had gone out into the galaxy, they could have messed up a lot of economies!