Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives #6

Hmmm...when you put it that way, it does seem like sloppiness on the part of Shooter and Weisinger.

I don't believe there is a code against killing. I seem to recall there was some loophole wording there that left open no other option, self defense... Star Boy was expelled because it was "proven" he had options he should have considered. In his case, there was room to claim ulterior motives on his part.

Every step you take you "kill" something, even something sentient. While not totally out of the realm, they can't take three panels to discuss this in every book. If ANYTHING, I think the controversy was the attempt to "divert." This thing WAS going to kill and kill and kill until killed.

It's no "Joker." There was no hope of rehabilitation. It was going to feed. There was no need for a morals debate, no God discussion. It was a Darwin discussion.

Re the Code, here is a transcript of the Legion Constituti...308-310 and the Who's Who of the Legion.. Section 4.3, clause vii states that one ground for expulsion is "viii) knowingly taking the life of a sentient being in other than a provable situation of self-defense or as a provable only available alternative to the death of sentient beings. ".

I would say that even if the Sun-Eater had been alive, it would have been fairly easy to prove that the they had to kill it, otherwise it would have killed everyone in the Solar System.

Granted, this was published after the Adventure Era, but from Star Boy's trial we can infer that this clause was already active then - as BB said, Star Boy was only expelled because Brainy was able to prove Thom had alternatives other than killing Kenz Nuhor.



Probably one reason for freely handing out the ability to fly is that its becpome such a common power in comics that the heroes/villains who can fly almost outnumber those who can't. Okay, maybe not outnumber, but even in comics set in the 21st century of the DC universe almost everybody can.

This whole discussion about killing the sun eater reminds me of the letter column in Adventure #348 in which a reader calls Cosmic Boy to task for wishing for a fly swatter in the Super-Stalag of Space story, pointing out that using such a device would be in violation of the Legion code against killing. Even the editor couldn't take it seriously enough to give a straight answer.

Okay, so maybe the suneater was alive, but there's nothing to indicate it was sentient. Besides, as noted in this letter column from Adv. 316, "it is not against the Legion code to destroy life in self defense" or in defense of one's planet/solar system presumably. And Ferro Lad died in the process so it's not like they could expel him for it.

Well, if nothing else, this sub-discussion has brought out a better understanding of the Legion's Code about killing. I think it's fair to say that the stories themselves made the topic seem more black and white than "transcripts" of the Code did. The Kenz Nuhor case was far from the only example where it was a major or minor plot point. If it confused me somewhat, I'm sure it may have the young readers of the time.

Obviously, Ferro Lad wouldn't have been expelled posthumously had his actions violated the Code, but the remaining four could have been court-martialed for their part. Luckily, it turns out the Code allows for this kind of extreme situation. A throwaway line stating that in-story couldn't have hurt, though. It was far from uncommon, after all, for Legionnaires to spout exposition constantly for less important plot points.

I don't have a copy handy, but I believe the Postboot Legion's Constitution firmed up the language somewhat. The code IIRC reads, "expulsion for knowingly taking sentient life other than as a provable only alternative to the deaths of himself/herself or to other sentient beings". If I'm right, killing someone by accident would also be excused (though other penalties could apply, and probably should depending on the circumstances).

Not only young readers I think. I seem to recall myself at one time believing Legion had a "Superman" code against killing.

This "Legion Code" to me was very clear on our re-read of the Star Boy story, there was no prohibition to killing. Comments in the Outpost I think might be responsible for the distortion or maybe the Superman code. I don't recall anything in-story that actually supported a Legion version of a "no-killing" code.

Adventure #354: The Adult Legionnaires

This is the first time I observed that they killed off Power Boy in this story.

As has been noted before, there are an awful lot of receding hairlines for the men in this story. The women have aged far less. Artist's discretion, I guess.

It's easy to work around this story by saying it was imaginary, or from another timeline, but it did provide quite a bit of fodder for future tales.

Tenzil in politics, Chuck and Lu married, Brainy claiming that things would be better if he were leader, Gim suffering a severe injury (although he didn't lose his powers when his legs were injured). Some of the relationships had already been established or hinted at: Garth & Imra, Jo & Tinya, Rokk & Lydda, Thom & Nura, Ayla & Brin, Vi & Ord.

Mon-el became an explorer and colonizer, perhaps the basis for Valor as seeder of worlds.

The Cosmic Directorate presaged Weber's World.

We know they worked around Shady dying on the Science Asteroid - and having white skin.

A good surprise villain with Ferro Lad's brother - and a bigger surprise that he was controlled by the LSV.

This story is a lot more fun to read in retrospect, I suspect, than it would have been originally.

Adventure #354

From the iconic 2-part Death of Ferro Lad story, we get the almost equally iconic Adult Legionnaires 2-part story (really 1.5 parts). The Adult Legion had been an almost equally important part of the mythos in the beginning but by 1966 they had grown increasingly rare like so many other parts of the early 60's Superman family. Yet, fans obviously kept them firmly in mind, since they kept writing in about Garth having to come back, having to fall in love with Imra and having to get his arm eventually fixed. Thus, this story gives the definitive Adult Legion future, and hits on just about every character and topic--so much so that anyone not shown is conspicuous by their absence (Re: Lyle).

It's also fascinating that this story is basically the final Adult Legion story. They'd have perhaps one last appearance in Superman at the beginning of the Bronze Age (with Mordru) but that's it. Yet fans would remember them and discuss them so often in fanzines that Levitz would feel obligated to address them, and the idea of the Legion's predestined figure in Legion #300, 15 years later.

Which ties into what makes this story so exciting: the big reveals of the future and introductions of new characters. Shadow Woman, Chemical King, Reflecto, Quantum Queen, Power Boy...wow! Lone Wolf joined as Timberwolf, as did Polar Boy. Who got married. Who had kids. It's just really exciting! And the inclusion of the LOSV, Luthor elements and Mxy elements made it not only a Superman driven story but again feels like a coda on the pre-Shooter Silver Age Legion (much like the Bridwell Sir Prize / Miss Terious story). Of course, it's the follow through that came right after which heightened the sense of importance: in short order we'd get Shady, Condo, Brin as T-Wolf and a Legionnaire, QQ, etc.

I often wonder if Roy Thomas didn't feel so obligated to play continuity cop with Reflecto (his worst habit, and done terribly here) that Levitz wouldn't have felt the need to do LSH #300.

The cover of #354 is one of the best of the history of comics. It's also powerful because Ferro Lad had literally just died--and with that death hanging so heavy on the series, DC is showing that this type of tragedy will hit the Legion many times. Facing that death will not only make each and every story more tense, it will also underscore the immense heroism it takes to be a Legionnaire.

It's almost as if they felt that after Ferro Lad's death, they needed Superman to show up and say "it's okay kids. Yes, death is part of life and its something we will see more of. But look at the bigger picture. Look at the happy ending that is a lasting Legion of Super-Heroes". It was a wise move to have Superman hold the audiences hand. It made it more powerful yet reaffirmed the sense of optimism the series always had.

The story starts with a bang! The opening splash shows the romances of Night Girl & Cos, and Ayla and Lone Wolf (now Timberwolf) do indeed turn out okay! And the next page hits the ground running with Superman sees the bigger, more grandiose city block sized HQ.

And from there, the infamous Hall of Fallen Heroes. *choke*

After a follow up to the opening splash (also seeing Vi ended up with Dupe), we check in on some old members. First, we see Jo & Tinya in domestic bliss, and then even more interesting, we see Mon-El in a role I love, as an explorer / wanderer. I love the idea of Mon having a wanderlust, and having further adventures of his own, helping push forward civilization.

We also see Vi, who looks absolutely ravishing. There's still a current of old-fashioned "women retire once they're married with children" going...but of course Imra will smash that in pieces.

Tenz as a leader / politician is also introduced. It's always great seeing what job and careers the Legionnaires could have after they retire. This is one of the best. We also learn Gim (bearded!) was injured and lost his powers, but became head of the Inter-Galactic Guard. Meanwhile Thom (bald!) and Nura are married.

The biggest romantic surprise is Luornu and Chuck being married, of course. That must have thrown readers for a loop but its great to see Luornu won't always be broken hearted over Supes, and Chuck will end up happy too. This sets up one of the major subplots of Shooter's arc, how Luornu goes from a kid-like crush on Supes to true feelings for Chuck. Also, their kids have both their powers which makes them the best so far!

We finally get down to the story at had / action, though the real fun was all the other info we were getting. That's why it's great when after a few pages we get back to it. First we get a glimpse of a traitor in the Legion, Jan Jor, forever causing fans to theorize he was indeed False Pretenses Lad. Then we see another memorial to a dead Legionnaire, Power Boy.

And from there we get more action, which like all the Shooter era action so far, is great. Also a cool science fact about intense heat decreasing spontaneous magnetism. I'll let the real geeky LMBers tell me if that's right.

There's then a surprise reveal, and Doug Nolan is introduced as we are led to believe its Ferro Lad, but quickly told otherwise. Thus the earlier theme I mentioned, of Superman and the Adult Legion helping readers deal with the death of Ferro Lad, is addressed head on.

But it doesn't end there! The LOSV are revealed in yet another surprise. And the showdown promised in the first appearance of the adult LSH and adult LOSV is about to happen, at long last! Can't wait!

Bonus Meet the Legionnaires: though most of it had been revealed before, the whole origin and history of Garth, Ayla and Mekt is recapped in one place.

Lettercol Bonus: Nelson explains the various applied sciences giving the Science Police their name, and confirms Jeckie is indeed real royalty.

Elsewhere in the DCU Alert! In this month, the Legion has a big guest starring stint in Jimmy Olsen #100. Interestingly, Jimmy Olsen was just about the only other place they were popping up frequently by now (with one more big exception--World's Finest--coming up).

DD's and BB's son wouldn't have inherited BB's power, as he gained it artificially and lost it again before marrying her. They were just using the expression "bouncing baby boy" to make a pun I think.


And yes, heat does indeed decrease magnetism. It's true, it's true.

Perhaps the real reason why so many tragedies were undone was because 350-351 marked an anniversary of sorts. Later comics would wrap up a story in the anniversary issue itself (350), but that apparently wasn't a consideration at the time. (Even a decade later, Avengers # 150 was the first half of a continued story that wrapped up in 151.)

Considering that every Legionnaire is featured in one capacity or another, including the Subs and the Super-Pets, this issue reeks of anniversary "special-ness," and part of that special feeling comes from all the happy turnarounds.

Adv. 351

A few catch-up thoughts . . .

E. Nelson Bridwell gets my vote for best writer the Legion has had yet and probably one of the top Legion writers of all time. It’s not that the happy endings here work—though they do—but because he accomplishes so much in so few pages yet none of it feels rushed. Adv. 351 shows how good a Legion story can be because it is one of the best.

Bridwell hits the ground running by picking up where we left off in 350: Ultra Boy is about to learn Sir Prize’s secret identity. But in a display of leadership, Invisible Kid stops Ultra Boy the only way he can, by punching him out. This action not only prolongs the mystery over Sir Prize’s identity, but it does so in a way that is wholly natural and fits the characters and situation. Furthermore, it drives home a point about right and wrong: When the leader makes a promise for the entire group, it’s the responsibility of everyone to keep it.

We’re then given the obligatory flashback of last issue’s high points. Some of this exposition works better than others, such as Mon-El mentioning that Sir P and Miss T replaced Superboy and Supergirl and the reminder that I-Kid slugged U-Boy because the latter can use only one power at a time. But after that, it feels like I-Kid is telling the Legionnaires what they already know—a necessary device in comics at the time but it still bogged the story down.

Not for long, though. Bridwell follows with a jab from Sir Prize about Ultra Boy having once pretended to be a criminal. Not only does this provide us with a nice emotional closure to the scene but it’s also another clue that Sir Prize knows quite a bit more about the Legion’s past than we might think. (One thing that might have made this scene even better: seeing Jo’s reaction to being reminded of his “criminal” past.)

Bridwell also makes effective use of narrative transitions. The next scene takes us to four Legionnaires as they respond to the emergency on Brande’s Estate. (I’m choosing to believe that Ferro Lad called the benefactor “Brandes” simply because he wasn’t familiar with the man, by the way.) In the caption, Bridwell says simply, “But all the action’s not at the clubhouse! Let’s see what’s happening on the latest Legion mission . . .”

In fact, Bridwell’s caption transitions throughout remind us that we’re reading a story, but, as with certain other features of his writing, we don’t care. We’re so immersed in these characters and what they’re doing that we’re happy to be along for the ride. Uncle Nelson is telling us a story, so grab your blankie and your cup of hot cocoa and get ready.

Every scene in this issue rocks because of the economy of story telling. Each scene is practically a mini-story by itself. The first Brande’s Estate scene, for example, accomplishes a lot in two and a half pages: The four Legionnaires approach the planet, their ship is destroyed, they evade capture and finally land on the planet: beginning, middle and end.

Sure, some aspects of the story don’t make sense, such as Supergirl summoning the Super-Pets to attack a group of kids who were only asking for her help. But, even then, the Subs showcase their powers in inventive and humorous ways (Streaky on catnip!). Story logic? What’s that?

Furthermore, Bridwell’s story telling contains enviable level s of breadth and depth. The ultimate fanboy, he knows his Legionnaires. He knows their personalities and their powers (two things Hamilton and Siegel seldom bothered with) and uses both to demonstrate teamwork and resourcefulness, as when the Cos and Ferro Lad team up to fashion a cauldron and then Cos asks the Legionnaires back at the clubhouse to procure the necessary ingredients.

But Bridwell’s knowledge isn’t restricted to super-heroes. He brings in elements of magic, both in the Miss Terious/Hag sequence and the Mxyzptlk detour, that serve the needs of the plot while entertaining the reader and broadening the Legion’s universe. In these few sequences, he’s given us a sense that the Legion’s world is both larger and more believable than anything we’ve seen before. Yet all of these things keep the story moving forward. Nothing is wasted or extraneous.

A few bits could have been stronger. Ken repents a little too quickly when his effort to embarrass Miss Morrison fails. And Clark is such a stand-up guy, he spares both Ken and the teacher’s feelings. But a somewhat more realistic high school sequence might have been in order so these teenagers don't act like adults think they should act.

Also, Sir Prize and Miss Terious reveal their identities a little too quickly and anti-climactically, though Bridwell clearly has reasons for unmasking them in this manner. Once the White Witch is restored, there’s no need to continue the charade.

And then there’s that happy ending which makes one feel good to be a Legionnaire—or even a vicarious Legionnaire. I could have done without the “Wait’ll next issue” blurb, though. Why ruin the moment?

But these aspects are minor annoyances at best. “The Forgotten Legion” set the bar by showing how good Legion stories can be.

Grade: 98.0 percent (A+)

Legion, you had me at:




















I clearly remember seeing this cover on the spinner rack at our community drugstore. I was 11 years old and just starting to be interested in comic books. I was familiar with Superman, of course, so when I saw him standing among these memorial statues saying, "Most of them were friends of mine...", I knew these had to be some exceptional people. And that word "Legion" in the subtitle promised there would be even more amazing heroes inside. If five of them had died heroes' deaths, how many more must there be?

(And there was the shocking idea that there were comic book heroes who had actually died. I thought heroes always won!)

It was not Superman who had caught my eye, though. It was the stately Shadow Woman, the humble Ferro Lad, the angelic Reflecto. And Quantum Queen, who appeared as if she were about to ascend from her pedestal. She fascinated me the most. I had no idea what kind of powers a quantum person would have, but I really wanted to know. (I've always wished she had become a more prominent character in Legion lore.)

The first half of the book was the most interesting to me. Seeing the futuristic world and its technology. Wondering what the costumes and code names hinted about the Legionnaires' powers. Watching them relate to each other as long-time friends and as families. They were heroes and friends! I wanted to know more about this Legion. And with that, a 46-year (so far) relationship began.

It's interesting to see how the future was imagined at the height of the Space Age. It appears dated now, but it was very forward-thinking to my young imagination.

Brainiac 5's pipe-smoking characterized him as the wise head of the house. Didn't all TV dads smoke pipes back then? The guys' receding hairlines, the wives (no single female Legionnaires?) taking care of kids while the men carried on with Legion work, even Saturn Woman being the strong token female--all that fit with mid-century middle-class America's perceived social norms. With the social upheaval that was rising in the 1960s it was comforting to imagine that the future would still be "normal."

It strikes me now how much suspension of disbelief is required in plots like this one. Someone is able to totally wreck the Legion's lab, arsenal, and spaceport hangar without getting caught? And Legionnaires are just sitting around waiting for it to happen again? There's a hidden base directly beneath the Legion HQ? Really? How did it get there without the Legion knowing it? I just took all that as typical comic book storytelling. It was no fun if you asked too many questions.

On the other hand, there were some creative uses and countering of the Legionnaires' powers. And the clues to the mystery were well-done. Having never seen a previous Legion story, I was able to deduce that the clues were pointing at the dead(?) Ferro Lad as the intruder. How could that be? Of course, it was a red herring, but the mystery had an intriguing resolution. Had it been established earlier that Andrew Nolan had a twin, or did it come out of nowhere for everyone like it did for me?

And then to learn there's a Legion of Super-Villains too! Oh boy!

All that for 12 cents.

It is rather telling that all the other dead Legionnaires (Shadow Woman, Chemical King, Reflecto, Quantum Queen, Power Boy) were NOT among the current membership! Anniversary special alright?

That's an interesting theory. I've never thought that writing out the super-cousins was intended to be anything more than a plot device for a single story. If your theory is correct, Mort must have gotten cold feet early on the process since Superboy is so prominently featured on the cover of 351.

Note that when Superboy was finally written out the series (Action # 392 or thereabouts), it was only after the Legion was no longer cover featured and after they were appearing in a book which already featured Superman.

I think your reasoning is correct, Jim.

What amazes me about 351 is how many Legionnaires are featured in substantial roles. We've got two away team missions ( (a) Cosmic Boy, Ferro Lad, Matter-Eater Lad and Miss Terious, and (b) Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Princess Projectra, Colossal Boy and Element Lad), plus Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Lightning Lad, Sir Prize, Chuck Taine, Superboy, and Supergirl all having something significant to do, plus cameos from Phantom Girl, Karate Kid, and Brainiac 5. Utilizing so many Legionnaires in ways that serve the needs of the story is a remarkable feat and a welcome departure from the previous practice of having Legionnaires pop in and out of the story or appear without doing anything.

You made me realize that one of the weaknesses in some Fatal Five stories is that, since there are only five of them, an equal number of Legionnaires need to be present for them to be a credible threat. Both this story and 365-66 rely on the conceit of the Legion being short-handed to deal with the threat. If the Legionnaires outnumbered the Five, the latter wouldn't be so fatal.



Probably nothing. I suspect it was just a device to explain why the Emerald Empress didn't free herself from the witch hunters.

He Who, even with just five Legionnaires the Fatal Five can be fairly easy to take down. A lot depends on the pacing and quality of writing.

I cite the Postboot Legion's LSH 80, in which Element Lad, Leviathan, Kinetix, XS, Andromeda and Mon-El alone take out the Fatal Five. Granted, that's a pretty powerful team and we have the Empress without the Emerald Eye, and Mano turned on Tharok, but...

It's really just Validus and the Emerald Empress/Eye the Legionnaires have to worry about. Mano and Persuader are pretty easy to take out via ranged attacks (throw Element Lad or Kid Quantum II at 'em, for example). Tharok's tech can be fairly advanced, but a fully-powered Mon-El or Supergirl won't have much trouble either.

Which brings me to the Emerald Empress. Boy, has she gotten a lot more powerful after her initial appearances! Take late v3 for example, when she alone stalemated nearly a dozen Legionnaires, even causing Quislet to have to return home...

Adv. 352

It’s hard to write a review of this story because, as many have said, it’s iconic. Five of the Legion’s most famous adversaries are introduced, and a Legionnaire is slated to die. This story simply has to be great.

Except that it’s not.

Oh, it’s by no means a bad story. But it could have been a whole lot stronger. Reading this story after 351 provides an interesting if unfortunate contrast. I feel Bridwell could have economically woven everything that happens in “The Fatal Five” into half of a single issue. But this is a two-part story and, after finishing Part 1, my initial reaction was, “That’s it?”

Shooter gets off to a slow start by having the Legionnaires watch video tapes of the Fatal Five to introduce the latter. We’re given back stories for each, shown what they can do, and provided updates on their current status—an approach to story telling that’s as exciting as sifting through resumes. This is the sort of approach that many novice writers use: they need to introduce characters, so they introduce them: “Hey, readers, here’s Character X. He’s a bad ass. Here’s why he’s a bad ass.” A more effective—and harder—way of doing this is to show the characters doing what they do in a way that keeps the plot moving forward. Here Shooter simply stops the story to tell us what we need to know.

To be fair, he’s a savvy enough writer (or perhaps he has a savvy enough editor) to begin the story with a supernumerary worrying about a mysterious “it” approaching earth to create a sense of danger. And he has the Legionnaires sparring with each other while watching the vids (yes, Superboy does sound incredibly naïve in wondering how there could be so many super-villains around). This chatter creates the impression of kids watching movies with their friends on a Saturday night. Did someone bring popcorn?

After the movie—er, vid—the Legionnaires go home for the night only to be summoned back by Superboy. Although this scene is probably extraneous, it gives us a welcome sense of the Legionnaires having lives outside of the Legion. And Ferro Lad is starting to emerge as a character with a lot of personality (“Would I be losing my beauty sleep if he hadn’t?”). These character moments are one of young Shooter's strengths as a writer.

Then we launch into the story proper with the threat of “it”—the Sun-Eater—approaching earth. Why didn’t Shooter simply start the story here and fill us in on the back story as needed? Doing so would have moved the story along faster and gotten us out of the convenient trap of the Legionnaires having just watched a vid about the villains they are going to ask for help.

The rest of the story relies on the conceit I mentioned in a previous post, of the Legionnaires being short handed in an emergency. If one grants this conceit, the rest of the story follows logically from it—and I have no problem granting the conceit in this instance. When the Legionnaires’ pleas are turned down by heroes from other worlds, I found myself truly drawn in and caring about their situation. Most of us know what it’s like to feel desperate and to be turned down for something we need (a job, or example); the rejection of others seems cold, and Shooter conveys this perfectly.

My one problem with this scene is how the Legionnaires contact some of the distant heroes. Messages in bottles? Flame writing in space? Even for 1966, these methods seem woefully antiquated and ineffective.

In Part 2 of the issue, individual Legionnaires solicit individual members of the Fatal Five for help. As someone said in a previous post (Blockade Boy?), these episodes are formulaic. We know each member of the Fatal Five is going to accept the offer; otherwise there would be no story. Prolonging the conflict in this manner creates a lot of false tension.

Still, Shooter makes the most of each episode. In Cosmic Boy’s scene, for example, he has Cos abandon his spaceship so it isn’t destroyed by Tharok’s defenses and use his magnetism to burst into Tharok’s “citadel of evil”. It’s a very dramatic scene, though we have to grant Shooter some license in allowing Cos to take for granted that Tharok’s “machines” would “keep the air from rushing out”—which is what happens.

Here, also, Shooter displays another of his strengths by conveying a new character’s personality in few words. Tharok isn’t at all threatened by a lone Legionnaire bursting into his citadel. With arrogance, he says, “State your business . . . I’m very busy!” Then, after agreeing to help the Legion, Tharok shoots Cos in the back just to establish “which of us is master!”

The rest of the episodes play out in similar ways, but, again, Shooter is so good at treating each villain as an individual that the episodes don’t feel episodic. More, he gives new Legionnaires Projectra and Ferro Lad each a chance to show their mettle. Cos and Superboy fare less well, and Sun Boy proves, at least, that he can talk a good game.

Adv. 352 is indeed iconic, but it could have been a much tighter story. Few stories can live up the legend this one has accumulated over the decades, and, while we can fault Shooter for some of his story telling weaknesses, we can also praise him for giving us a sense of his strengths to come.

Grade: 85.7 (B)

That wasn't me but your comments did get me to thinking, how else would they have contacted the Five? Shooter's method did show them to be distinct personalities and provided one-on-one characterization as opposed to waiting until all were gathered to start the story.

I think it had some worth. Well, actually, I just can't imagine another way to gather up the five.

True. In addition to the stories you cite, the ones I remember most either treat the F5 as individual threats or have them attack smaller groups of Legionnaires.

-- In Superboy # 190, for example, only Tharok and Validus go up against Mon-El and Saturn Girl (who, conveniently, pretends to be unconscious for most of the tale).

-- In Superboy # 198, the Emerald Empress and Persuader are quite effective in injuring and hiding Superboy, and the Persuader and Mano (actually Cham pretending to be Mano) ambush Braniac 5 and Element Lad.

-- In Superboy # 219, small teams of Legionnaires pursue individual members of the F5 to different worlds.

Each of these is a good story, in my opinion (which is why I remember them), but a knock-down drag-out fight between the entire Legion and the F5 seems unlikely to happen.

It's not the manner in which Shooter had them round up the Fatal Five. It's more in the telling of same. The linear progression from Legionnaire X meeting F5 member Y simply doesn't move the story forward.

Here are a couple of quick suggestions on how Shooter might have accomplished the same but approached telling the story differently:

1) Intersperse the episodes with reminders of the Sun-Eater and its progress. Perhaps the powerful scene of a star disappearing could be moved to a later part of the story.

2) Begin the story with Superboy rescuing the Emerald Empress from the bonfire. Then, as he's dying from kryptonite poisoning, he tells her in a series of flashbacks what the Legionnaires know and why they need her help. This approach could have taken up the entirety of Part 1 with Part 2 catching us up on what the other Legionnaires are doing.

I think maybe I put it into a different strokes category. I get that idea of finding a way to use the collecting of the Five to move the story (the Sun Eater) along but for such a short sequence, I don't think I'd see improvement in reordering the scenes or doing them in flashback.


Keeping "it" a mystery did a great job of keeping up MY tension and anticipation. The everyone else is gone we need help thing and the refusal of heroes from other worlds was a bit clunky. We're talking the GALAXY (eventually), solar system for now. I think everything else on the agenda pretty much gets dropped but like you said, let's but into that conceit.

Once the idea is proposed of going after the Five, I think the story should go full bore on that without distraction.

Here (I'm re-reading and typing with your comments in mind) I think I see what you're getting at. The story started with the Legionnaires just conveniently reviewing profiles of the villains they just happen to now need. After "it" was discovered and the Legion had tried and failed to get other heroes involved, would have been the perfect time to review profiles of villain, maybe even a few no chosen... then go fetch.

I was quite surprised to see that the Chuck/Lu marriage was foretold in the "Adult Legion" story! I'd read it once before many, many years ago but failed to remember that. It was a delightful surprise as were all those Legion marriages that never happened, like Ord/Vi and Brin/Ayla. (Thom and Nura weren't married during 5YL, were they?) It would be hilarious to go back in time, cut those two out and show Vi/Ayla instead! Mort, Shooter and the gang would've been fired!

I'd also forgotten that Douglas Nolan had appeared before LSH #300. It gives that story a little more juice, knowing that Paul didn't pull Douglas out of nowhere. If I'm right, though, he never appears between this story and that one? Of course, it makes sense, given the context of this story being set in the future and the implication they'd never met him before.

In hindsight Levitz and Giffen using Douglas to invalidate the Adult Legion story was a brilliant move, one that I may never have appreciated until I just re-read the story. When I originally read 300, it confused me a great deal. I had only been reading Legion for just over a year. I was unfamiliar with all of the alternate takes on events shown and couldn't grasp the significance. I certainly hadn't read the Adult Legion story and didn't realize how Shady's peril in the interlude sequences was playing with one of its predictions. I eventually grasped some of the significance from the lettercols, but it was a long, looooong time until I was able to appreciate it for what it was. With this re-read and making the Douglas Nolan connection, I may have finally come full-circle!

What's missing from the monuments to fallen members is any current member, other than the just-deceased Ferro Lad. I think that section would have been enhanced by showing Invisible Kid, Karate Kid or someone else we already knew. There are, of course, silhouetted monuments unrevealed, so there's room for speculation. Plus, several Legionnaires are unseen in the story, including Lyle and Val. Some others missing from the current roster are Sun Boy, Projectra and Cham. And very soon, fandom will gasp collectively as Condo and Shady are introduced...

Had to chuckle about two thing: adult Brainy shown smoking a pipe and bald Thom! LOVE it!!!