Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives #3

Molock later becomes Starfinger III!

He's also referenced again in an issue, which is a rarity for non-LOSV pre-Shooter villains!

Btw, Lardy, I bonus reviewed Dev's first appearance in the first Archive thread!

You're probably thinking of Adv. 328, in which a bust of Molock is included in the Legion's museum, alongside robots of Zaryan and Jungle King.

Surprising we never saw the ICC again, especially with respect to the Espionage Squad. Given what was/is known about spy agencies, it would have been easy to make Dev-Em a double agent. And with the multitude of space-viewers and even cross-time viewers in the prior Legion stories, it is odd that there wasn't a viewer focussed on Molock's lair.




I was surprised that Radiation Roy was such an understanding and amiable rejectee, given that he turned villain later. Also surprising was the question of Dev's parents, since I was expecting them to be held hostage by Molock, leading to Dev's ruse to betray the Legion.



Hamilton could have shown Dev-Em bashing young Kal on the head, or stealing his toys, or pulling Krypto's tail - something to fix a bad memory in Superboy's head, beyond the fact that Dev was a juvenile delinquent.

A minor point: it's not entirely clear in the Archives, because of the colouring, but I think the angry woman on Brainy's Character Analysis Monitor (which reveals her psyche as evil) is the same one whose headache is cured by the Tranquiliz-Globes n the Palace of Peace and Goodwill.

Also, we need backstories for the other noblest beings of all time beside Mrynah. One of them looks something like Dr. Light, another like Lex Luthor.

Hm. It isn't too great a stretch that following his saving the entire planet of Lexor from destruction, Lex would be remembered as a noblest being of all time a thousand years later! If history teaches is anything, its always highly selective.

Better late than never! And since its written on my ipad (which I hate doing), it's more abbreviated than normal.

Adventure #320

Another previously Superboy-only character becomes a Legion character as the Knave of Krypton himself, Dev Em, comes to the 31st Century. After just reviewing his first appearance as a bonus in the first Archives thread, I can see why Superboy is so apt to move against him! In his first appearance, Dev is one of the biggest jerks ever in comics! That changes here though; at first a ruse indicates otherwise but even then he's not as bad so readers are more grateful believing his turn.

This story reads as a Superboy story first and foremost, for the first time in awhile. It also showcases the Supes / Mon friendship quite a bit, which is fitting given Dev Is following Mon's path.

Poor Radiation Roy. Receding hairline, bad codename, bad costume, wasted a fortune. He never had a chance. Certainly doesn't seem like a villain though. Then again, once he realizes his bank accounts had to be closed.

I immediately want to know more about the evil tourist!

A major aspect of Dev is never really touched upon: he was able to save his parents while Jor-El and Lara are dead.

The ICC, which is the UP equivalent of the CIA, is also something we should see more of. Though, views of the latter have certainly changed in 50 years. The ICC may also have a few unnerving secrets.

Molock, like so many before and after him, takes a cue from the great Sidney Greenstreet.

Braino of Mynrah!

Proty II emerges as the real star here, which happens a few times over the course of the 3rd archive.

Dev is the 2nd hero to refuse membership. The best though is Superboy saying "well I'll be a three eyed kryptonian babootch!" 

Wasn't Dev-Em's first appearance a dream or an imaginary story or something?

Nope, it was shockingly a real story! With a major law enforement cover up by Chief Parker--no kidding!

SUPERBOY #128 was the dream sequence.

I like the Protys, but it sounds like we'll have more Proty as deus ex machina. It's Silver Agey-quaint but also lazy writing to keep doing that. (Kinda like all the instances of Superboy robots bailing him out of tough spots.) The appearances with the Super-Pets are better uses of Proty.

***I'm not sure if you refer to more Proty-as-plot-device or Proty-as-Super-Pet appearances for the balance of this Archive. I haven't really looked ahead much.

My fave Proty II story is coming up, where he hosts the Eight Impossible Super Missions!

Yeah, I can see where it may have inspired you somewhat!

I always hated Dev-Em. His pranks were unbelievably mean-spirited, and I don't think any justification was ever given for why he'd torment poor Superboy so.

Hey! I'm actually gonna be the first to review Adventure 321, "The Code of the Legion", unless someone sneaks in before I finish!

Anyhow, from a plot perspective, this one is a lot better than "Suicide Squad" and "Knave". I mean, there's still some deus ex machina here, but it's set up from the beginning, unlike "Suicide". Plus, there's not the needless misdirection and meandering of "Knave". We are shown the Time trapper again, and the Concentrator is no red herring as it ties clearly into the story.

Basically, we have a Silver Age version of what we consider torturous interrogations, like waterboarding. Some scenarios are more convincing than others, of course. I think the best one was Imra's as it showed her control of her own thoughts to keep from giving away the Legion's secret and it gave us peeks into untold (?) LSH adventures.

My least favorite was Violet's because it makes her look stereotypically weak. It's especially painful when I see how strong she'd become in Levitz's and TMK's eras. I suppose you could argue that this shows how far she eventually came.

I like Garth's ploy to expose the Trapper and how he deduced there were shenanigans going on. A lot dependent on the trapper verbally slipping up, but lots of modern cop shows still use that to break mysteries, so I can easily forgive that.

So the Concentrator itself is apparently REALLY easy to build, even though it looks big and cumbersome as all get-out! Interesting and plausible reason given as to why it's so dangerous, though. Probably one of those devices we'll never see again, though. I assume.

So the Trapper himself appears and looks as if he's wearing panty hose on his head! Look out, convenience stores, banks and liquor stores--Time Trapper's on a tear! i suppose it's supposed to look like his hood squished by his disguise, but it looks pretty silly. (Is this his first appearance on this side of the Iron Curtain of Time? Missed most of the readalongs in the first two Archive threads.)

So Chuck is written out of active duty in fairly "oh, by the way..." fashion. IIRC, this happened several times in the Silver Age. Is this the first, or did I miss some already in the first to Archive stories I missed? In any case that last panel sets the future back 1,000 years with body images still being a source of peer rudeness and judgement. Somebody should space-slap Superboy! Our Dean Lee later proved that Iresa was very sexy, and who says Chuck wasn't sexy in the first place?!? Shame on you, Hamilton!!!

Overall, not a bad issue at all. Best in this Archive to this point since "Mutiny", imo.

Adventure #321

Okay, this one I've either only read once or have never read--because I don't remember it at all!

The General Alarm! A Legion first! There's no doubt Levitz was inspired / stole from the silver age!

Star Boy has a prominent role yet again! He's on a roll!

Bouncing Boy loses his powers and active status just like that. Man, that's rough. What was the cause? Did Mort think he just wasn't cool enough? Considering he's a classic Siegel character, I could see Jerry being none too pleased.

More Time Trapper / Iron Curtain goodness. We actually see him for the first time, kind of, and its rather ominous! Nice tease!

Commissioner Wilson arrives in classic Scooby Doo fashion!

Sun Boy's ordeal would be a great time to follow up on Mutiny and its ramifications! It almost does actually, as you can easily connect the dots.

Saturn Girl's sequence is a great precursor for a host of X-Men telepathy sequences in the ensuing decades.

A great Element Lad / Invisible Kid panel that provides more evidence of the Mystery Lad theory of their secret romance!

There must be dozens of untold tales of Mon hanging out with Garl and Englen!

Tinya getting special food is a classic interrogation trick! Well played!

Garth's fake out, though easily seen coming, is well done!

Things get really cosmic with a plethora of dead suns being launched! And at last: the Concentrator unleashed!

And then we get a solemn vow...followed by the most random panel ever! And that's saying something when it comes to the LSH! Iresa and ol' doctor smooth Superboy almost stepping all over himself.

All in all, not the most momentous story and a bit formulaic, but pretty fun. It's weird that the Time Trapper can go from a simple "posing as the SP commissioner" to unleashing a cadre of dead suns, but hey, I'm not an evil genius and don't pretend to think like them.

Btw, I notice a young Bob Rozakis has a letter printed in this issue!

Oh, and I agree with Lardy that this is the best story since Mutiny so far!

The Concentrator had one more appearance in one of those random 70's Legion stories in the various DC anthologies.

Adv. 321

The best story since "Mutiny"? I dunno . . . though reading Palardy's and Cobie's reviews made me realize there was more to this story than I initially gave it credit for.

For one, the Legion faces an actual super-villain who is not easy to defeat. The Time Trapper mystery has been building since 314, and here he becomes a major threat. (Unfortunately, little is done with him--he does not appear again until 338, I believe, and then disappears entirely from the Silver Age.) He is crafty and ruthless--and he gets away!

Another positive aspect: we get to see a variety of Legionnaires doing different things to outwit the Time Trapper. Chameleon Boy at last gets use his shape-changing power to free himself from a trap (previously, it's been the Protys who hog all the shape-changing glory). Vi cleverly shrinks to a tiny size before she can utter the secret of the Concentrator. And Saturn Girl's way of distracting her mind from negative thoughts is something all kids should learn to do.

Other aspects don't work so well. Commissioner Wilson takes it on faith that the Legionnaires have a supremely powerful weapon he's known nothing about, yet the first thing he can think of to do is test the Legionnaires so they don't crack under the strain of torture. Of course, this isn't really the commissioner--it's the Time Trapper in disguise. One wonders why he didn't take the Legionnaires to the End of Time where he could spend all eternity torturing them for real.

But the manner in which Wilson orders the Legionnaires to accompany him and undergo tests seems rushed and unconvincing. One would think Wilson would insist on examining the Concentrator first or be angry that the Legionnaires kept such a weapon secret from him. But this is the Silver Age, and we don't question the police or heroes.

It's also unconvincing how Star Boy fails to recognize a now thin Bouncing Boy. While reading this story, I thought that if Thom had in fact been on detached service, he might very well not know Chuck well enough to recognize him. But Thom and Chuck are shown in the same company of Legionnaires in 317 and 319, so it seems highly unlikely that Thom would think he's an imposter.

The Concentrator is a classic MacGuffin. It's important only as a device that sets the Trapper against the Legionnaires.

(By the way, if the Time Trapper really wanted to know the Concentrator's secret, why not kidnap Bouncing Boy? Even though he's no longer an active Legionnaire, he would still know the device's secret--and he has no power with which to resist torture.)

"The Code of the Legion" is built on solid idea, but one that feels rushed in its execution. Some parts need more development while others, such as Imra resisting mental torture, are needlessly drawn out. Like Cobie, I don't find it a memorable story. It is notable mainly for Bouncing Boy's departure, which, in typical Hamiltonian fashion, has nothing to do with the main story.

I was sure the Concentrator would end up being totally unimportant but was surprised and delighted when it was actually used. And Forte did a great job in those panels as well.



This is all speculation and only works on the premise of knowing already that the Time Trapper will be back, but one must assume in hindsight that the TT was using this as an opportunity to "get to know his enemies". He was by now aware they were determined on destroying the Iron Curtain of Time, and what better way to get to know someone that some good ol' fashioned CIA therapy?

What I find so enjoyable (and not just tongue in cheek, but I actually like it) is that the Trapper goes from a typical "pretending to be someone else" bit that basically anyone from Kranyak or the Riddler could do, to suddenly unleashing such fury with his powers that he clearly can out-power the entire Legion when needed.

This dichotomy--of a being so insanely powerful and yet so concerned with trivial everyday human matters--has remained in effect for the Time Trapper throughout his existence. No writer has ever been able to progress past this or explain it adequately. Only when TMK made Glorith his stand in, did the entire concept make more sense. But, again, I have to say I don't mind this in the least. Being only 11th Level Intelligence (I didn't tell you guys that?), I can't pretend to understand one as grandiose as the Time Trapper.

Well, put it in context, Huey: There are only three stories in the Archives between "Mutiny" and "Code"! So it's not that monumentous a statement!

True. Though I like 319's mad dash to defeat Throon better than this one.

Jimmy Olsen #76

--Jimmy has a date with Glorith... er... I mean Lucy Lane!

--Seriously, what kind of cheapass Sultan serves hummingbirds as a delicacy?

--If you Legionnaires really want to help Jimmy out, let him take her to the freakin' future!

--Jimmy is still keeping up on the latest Legion developments, as he apparently realizes that Lightning Lass has been changed to Light Lass!

--Hmm... so Star Boy, Mon-El, Lightning Lad, and Brainiac 5 are in the past hanging out with ancient Atlanteans... Must add this to the catalog of Legion encounters with Atlantis...

--Man, I hope they didn't make him listen to the entire Constitution!

--"Venusuian Idol" would make a great 30th century talent competition!

--That crook must be really out of shape to collapse in the finger maze so quickly!

--*Sigh* If only Luornu would hug me like that!

--Jimmy on the Monorail! Wasn't that a Buggles song?

--Again, if you wanted to be sure the hoax would work, you should've brought Lucy to the 30th century!

--"I refuse to be snowbound with a raving nut!" If only I had a space-nickel for every time a girl has said that to me...

Oh well, fun story if you ignore the creep factor of Jimmy being like 21 and the girls being like 16!

That would have taken up 2.5 of the five hours Jimmy was to spend in the future.

^^It might explain why Lucy fell asleep, though!

Adventure #319

So this definitely one of my favorite stories of the Adventure Era! It's not without its flaws, but much of that I blame on Hamilton's ambitions for an epic story pushing up against the boundaries of what could be told in a single issue.

--The whole idea of a single dying civilization threatening the rest of the cosmos is a classic Hamilton trope!

--The planetary chance machine is the evolution of the "drawing lots" idea that's been used several times before. The obvious intention is to make it seem more futuristic, but it does come off as rather silly!

--I love the Legionnaires consulting experts before the mission, even if they turn out to be pretty useless!

--Man, Superboy's fall sure looks like it hurts!

--A modern comic would devote at least five pages to the Legionnaires dealing with the vine-creatures in the jungle!

--Apparently, Mon-El gets back from space while the first team are being defeated!

--Love the panel of the famine-ravished world! It does a great job of heightening the tension of why the Legion's mission is important!

--It's nice to see the successive teams learning from the mistakes of their predecessors!

--Tenzil once again proves himself useful!

--So, apparently the Throonians don't care that a meteor is about to crash into their planet? That's what they get for being such an isolationist society and not importing a copy of Armageddon!

--I wonder if Lightning Lad would've been immune to the freeze ray as well, since he was already killed by one?

--Has it been established that Mon-El's serum gives him powers under a red sun yet? Because wouldn't that take him out?

--It seems like they would've tried to take advantage of the giant hole the last team knocked in the side of the citadel.

--I love the whole twist ending of the mighty foe who has taken down the entire Legion being just two zany old men operating the super-weapons!

--I'd totally surrender to Night Girl if she pointed her finger at me like that!

--Great to see the Subs honored in a parade!

Definitely a pretty satisfying story, imo!