Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Vol. 8

This issue is easily in the top ten of favorite Legion issues for me.

Leaving aside the issues of Shady being dumb enough to attempt to open the vault or why they'd keep Mordru in an unsecured (from the outside) vault. Shady never opened it, she says on page 4 "I was trying to open it... ...when Mon-el stopped me". Maybe the act of starting to turn the wheel to open it let some air in. More likely if the vault was under the old Legion clubhouse a slow leak developed from the battering the clubhouse took during the Fatal Five's assault.

Could anyone other than a 13 or 14 year old kid invent a school-a-tron?

I don't have a problem with Jack Abel's inks & I wish he'd been around to ink Jimmy Janes. He's not as good as George Klein, Stan Kaye or Murphy Anderson but he's ok. The Archive credits Swan as the inker of the splash page.

I would love to see the story of Mordru's capture told in a 60s style comic.

If memory serves, googoomuck, you're right: Shady didn't actually open the safe. But she did turn the wheel enough to let air in.

I like the idea of the safe being damaged during the Fatal Five's assault; unfortunately, nobody at DC was thinking about such continuity in those days.

However, your post does bring up an interesting concern. Since Mordru was imprisoned when the Legion had its previous clubhouse, this means the safe had to be moved to its later location under their new headquarters. One wonders why they didn't leave it someplace that was less prone to assaults from super-villains. I suppose the basement of any Legion HQ is as secure as anywhere else.

Maybe secure from anything outside of Legion HQ but the Legion's janitor could have opened it.

Adventure Comics #369

I had read a lot of Legion comics, not to mention comics, before I bought this adventure. But it's one of those great reads that, even after all that time, provokes an emotional response. From the cover, through the splash page to the hurried, desperate escape from Legion HQ, the Legionnaires are terrified of something. And I'm scared for them. The guys who had taken down some of the centuries worst villains across the galaxy are wounded and scared. An enemy so powerful, the Legion have to flee across time to escape.

It's all very well having an impressive looking vault. But if you can't be bothered putting a simple "Keep Out! Danger of Galactic Annihilation!" sign on the door, then you can't really blame Tasmia for what happened. Clearly they put Brainy in charge of health and safety regulations.

In the flashback revealing Mordru's history we get a superb glimpse into the rise of despots and the political machinations of other nations that can keep them in power. Mordru isn't a cackling super villain. He's not just a sorcerer. He's a statesman capable of leading his world. Something else else that would be picked up in the TMK run.

His plan of selective conquest is very well done in fascinating stages, leading to one of the Legion's best hints of an untold tale. I think that Levitz was going to write this one at one point?

With the Dark Lord released, they are lucky to escape with their lives. Having Mon El and Superboy as vulnerable as anyone else to Mordru's powers just adds to the fear. As does knowing that time is something well within Mordru's capabilities. This is all within 7 pages!

The Legion barely have time to settle into their disguises in the lovely accepting Smallville, before the sky darkens. Mordru has the power to be a signs and portents kind of villain. His shadow self, creeping through the souls of the townsfolk is something from a children's nightmare. Shadow Lass protects her colleagues, but they are now fugitives in a town that could give pointers to an oppressive state.

As if all this wasn't good enough we then get one of the highlight pages of any Legion run. The four Legionnaires are willing to fade into a normal life in the town, hoping to one day find a way to defeat their foe. There's no doubt that this is long term thinking. They could be trapped in Smallville for years, if not the rest of their lives. The Legion's last meeting is an ominous one.

We then see the panel that will lead to Lar and Tasmia eventually becoming a couple. It's followed by the iconic panel of Luorni moving on with her life. Having seen Lar support Tasmia, she knows that her feelings for Superboy will never be reciprocated.

There's the lovely subtexts too. Luornu's barbed thoughts about Tasmia opened up a wealth of personal relationships in the team. Her knowledge of Superboy's future, and her inability to get over her feelings for him must have hit home to nearly every reader. Her later reaction to the others movie night was both sad and heartening. It's that change of attitude that ironically does get Superboy to open his eyes and appreciate her. That Lluornu never knows is also tinged with sadness.

We see the Legion lie low, yet still manage to deal with incidents around town. None more so than the armed gang that arrives to take over the town. It's a clear escalation in threat, but doesn't really work for me. It does show that the Smallville has a Superboy dependency that they have to shake themselves out of.

Still, it once again shows the confidence of plotter & writer not to rush Mordru into the action like nearly every other comic. Mordru waits. We see hints of his presence. The tension builds. It's very well done.

Realising that they can't hide from their troubles any more than Smallville could, the Legion resolve to fight Mordru. Which is the even that finally plays into the sorcerer's hands. It's Lana Lang's eyes, so often used for spying on Clark that betray the team. Having gone against the very reason they fled to Smallville, the team now face a deranged and very evil looking Mordru.

This is one of my favourite Legion issues mainly due to the opening half. Having read all the later issue first, I could see all of the stories that it had triggered down the years, and it was quite an eye opener. Just one example was James Sherman's take on Mordru in #300. It was terrifying, and now I could see where that horror came from.

I re-read Adventure #369 & 370 last week with much enjoyment. It truly is a fine story!

Other priorities have claimed my attention for the past several days, so I'm not able to offer any worthwhile comments right now. But somewhere among all the notes you've offered, you've covered everything I would have said...and then some. Great story, fine commentary on it...very good!

A lot of excellent commentary all around on this story (and I hope to read part 2 today of tomorrow).

Lardy, you have a ton of great insight into the issue. I think you've nicely identified some Kirby / Marvel Age influence in Swan's work here, which part of a much larger trend at DC. As DC began to seriously lose marketshare in the late 60's / early 70's, a lot of artists and younger writers believed it was because DC was much too stringent on the "house style" art they had in place for so long. Foremost among them was Carmen Infantino, who made his case so well that he soon went on to become Art Director and then EiC for the company. You can see a major change in his artwork in the late Silver Age, which he always claimed was how his art actually looked, without inkers being told to hone in the stylized nuance. This obviously spread to the Superman books, as we've seen Swan become much more explosive in his layouts. Abel's different inks and the darker coloring / shadowy are also part of this industry wide change, and lead to some exciting, different choices than what we were used to.

I also agree that #369 is probably the single best, most well-written issue of the Silver Age.

Regarding the explanation of how Mordru broke free, let's not forget that the major change to the HQ came from the Miracle Machine creating a new, second headquarters. I'd prefer the explanation that MM somehow couldn't totally imprison Mordru as even Controller tech is weaker than the Dark Lord. Somehow in that ruckus, he woke up and bided his time to escape.

One thing I'll mention about #369/370 is that I first read it in a treasury edition, and the art really, really worked in the oversized format. The Archive edition is nice on the high quality paper, but memories from my youth seem to recall the treasury being that much better.

Adventure #370...

The artwork is quite dynamic. The image of an enlarged Mordru standing over the four Legionnaires in the first page of the actual story is very exciting! Excellent line work by Abel and coloring.

Mordru’s opening attack, and the Legionnaires fleeing in terror, certainly fit in nicely with their terror last issue. The erasure of their memories is something I had totally forgotten and immediately reminds the reader of the terror they felt last issue. If it wasn’t only going to last an hour, it may be somewhat unnecessary given the personal journey (and victory) the Legionnaires had last issue where they decided it was time to confront Mordru. But by making it just an hour long, it works as an excellent tactic by Clark.

From there, we get a sequence where Mordru summons his army from the future and then another where he RIPS Smallville out of the Earth into space. As crazy as it sounds when written, it’s totally mesmerizing as rendered by Curt Swan and presents a true upping of the ante in the comic. The story takes on an epic, grand scale—the likes of which we have barely seen before.

I love how the secret ID’s remain the top suspects for Mordru and his minions, even after Clark’s plan seemed so good. Shooter doesn’t stray from his theme—the only way out of his mess is to face it, head-on.

And early on we get to see one of the great parts of this issue: Lana Lang, rising to the occasion. She does so first, without any powers at all, and later as Insect Queen. This story is one of her finest Silver Age moment (and really, ever in her history) and she comes off as she always should have: brave, capable, intelligent.

On the flip side is one of my all-time favorite supporting characters, Pete Ross, having his great moment in the sun too. It’s one of the last great Pete Ross issues, and it’s a doozy, capping off all those great stories in the early 60’s, which by now had partially died out. Between Pete, Lana, the tunnels, Clark’s lab, the citizens of Smallville and so many other things, Shooter has basically taken all of the great Superboy tropes of the Silver Age and put them together for the last truly great Smallville story.

The sequence where Pete tells Lana that Clark is Superboy is one long panel on 2/3 page and it’s fantastic. Today’s comics would have it last one entire issue, which probably would be quite good in the right hands. But it’s just as effective here when the momentum is such a force to be reckoned with. They ultimately succeed and wake up Superboy, who restores the others, which brings an end to the first part of this issue, or part 3 in total. And so far, part 3 was just as awesome as parts 1 & 2, as Lardy pointed out.

Part 4 opens up with another good use of the Legionnaires being clever: we’ve seen others pretend to be Superboy before, so Pete doing so is a nice touch while not all that original. But Luornu pretending to be Shadow Lass and uses her powers to pull it off is just brilliant, and something we haven’t seen before (and never really see again). This right here justifies Triad’s place in the reboot Espionage Squad.

And then…when it looks like they’ve got him, Mordru turns the tables, foils their plan and captures them after all. Could he have destroyed them then and there? Probably. Does it bother me? Not really. Because so far Shooter has been telling us that in order to overcome adversity you have to face it, and now the message is, in order to win you also have to earn it. It’s not going to be easy and things will go wrong. They certainly do here, and Superboy not defeating Mordru justifies all that build up to him last issue.

I like the idea of the Devil’s Jury including past Legion foes—that would have been a cool little nod. The lack of recognizing any of the Devil’s Jury never bothered me before though, and we can pass off not knowing them by either (A) they are Mordru’s lieutenants and his claiming they are the greatest criminals of the 30th century is just boasting on his part, or (B) there were some truly terrible criminals in the first half of the 2900’s, before the Legion’s time, and these guys are them (therefore, the LSH would have known them like kids know Hitler).

The trial may be stretching credibility a bit too far, but I’ve enjoyed it too much to complain. Plus, Pete gets to be defense attorney for the Legion. I suspect if I were a lawyer, I would probably use the same strategy a bit too often: insult the jury. Unfortunately it probably has a very low success rate.

Anyway, while the trial is a bit of good fun, the sentence Mordru is about to hand down is now taking things too far. It should have simply been “death!” and then he vaporizes everyone. However, by Wraithor suggesting an alternative and helping them escape, Shooter is delivering on the idea of Pete’s defense strategy. He did get through to someone—instead of the jury though, it was the prosecutor! Well played, young Jim!

And so here we go again! Wraithor bites it to showcase Mordru is tired of fucking around, but not before quickly divulging background info on Zerox and Mordru’s origins which other writers will expand on substantially. And then just as he’s about to really destroy them this time…he overplays his hand, screws things up in his anger and causes his own downfall! And here, Shooter reveals another life lesson: usually bullies and bad people are their own worst enemies; but you need to go the distance, stand up for yourself and stick it out in order to make sure you see them cause their own demise in the long term.

With the issue running out of room, we quickly see Superboy make Lana forget, even though that sequence would probably take up a 6 issue miniseries in today’s comics! And then he turns to Pete, but Mon pulls the ol’ switcheroo and my boy Pete gets to live on with his knowledge as a thank you for what he’s done. Man, he’s the grooviest.

Lastly, we get the Legionnaires finding out their teammates aren’t all space-pizza in a page that is really only there to tie up a loose end. The “three girls!” comment is a little cringe-worthy but the whole page isn’t really necessary. At least we get to see Mysa again.

All in all, pretty damn impressive! I’ve said repeatedly that I think #369 is the best single issue, but I have to say that #370 is pretty great as well. It’s not without its problems but as a whole it’s one of the best issues so far and definitely delivers on the promise of #369. The victory is earned and no one can deny that!

Yeah, given the discussion so far, I paid close attention to the artwork in #370 and found myself loving every page. I also read it electronically so it was vibrant and colorful, without any of the normal fade / wear & tear I usually get when I read the old issues.

This is all well and good, but I for one am chomping at the bit to get to the Colossal Boy/School for Super-Villains story, not only a great story IMO, but also a milestone, being as it is Curt Swan's farewell to the Adventure era.

Cobie, do you mind if I post the first review for this one tomorrow evening?

Certainly! I'll be reading the story myself tonight (not sure if I'm reviewing today or tomorrow).

But *choke*. So dismissive of my post!

Perhaps others might see something in there worth discussing further!

Thank you, Cobie.

And I didn't mean to be dismissive of your post -- I think I may be suffering from "Mordru Overload".

Gosh, I hope so Cobie! But I only read the other reviews when I've posted mine. Will I get my post in before Fickles' Colossal review of the next story? Find out in Deadline to Doomsday! Only on LW!

"What Do You Do the Day After the Deadline to Doomsday?" - an LMB story in the making!

Double LOL.

do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

Oh No! Our singing has attracted the Dark One! His shadow falls over Smallville! No one is safe!

It's Mor...oh no...the hair is too coiffured...it..it's Morrissey!

Hey, Moz, you don't scare me. And I want you to refund the money I spent five years ago on "Years of Refusal".

Gah! I should have listened to Dario Argento's warning! This lady won't blindly let you take over her mind like that Lana Lang! She has ...standards. Curse you Fickles!

LOL

In current comics this Mordru story would take a year to tell and cost at least $36 for all the issues. And in that format all the suspense and emotion would have dissipated between monthly installments. Grife, back in the day we got this great story with just a month's wait...and for just 24 cents!

When you agree with me, I can see that you are indeed very intelligent!



Reading this reminded me of one Superboy trope missing from the issue that I think could've made for an interesting scene or two: the Superboy robots. One or more of them could have been utilized to at least buy some time for our heroes. I don't think that their non-use was terrible or anything, but as the story pushed so many of my Superboy/Smallville nostalgia buttons, I wouldn't have minded that one being checked off as well!

Ooh, great point! A sequence where they conduct a counter search for Mordru--and subsequently get smashed--would have been very cool!

I also notice Krypto was also left out, which was IMO a good decision.

You'd also get at least 2 to 3 deaths if this story was told in current comics.

Adventure 371-372

This is another story that just mesmerized me when I first made an effort to discover the Legion. It combined a few things: the novelty of tightly connecting past continuity (with the LOSV, Brin, Condo, young Mekt, etc) and the novelty of a modern LOSV, while also being a damn good story spotlighting a rarely used Legionnaire in Colossal Boy--and in a high stakes, nerve wracking way!

All the while, it looks fantastic with Swan saying goodbye, officially creating the usage of the term Swan Song. Well, not really, but you have to be a real dork to know where that term really comes from.

The LOSV were a great part of Silver Age LSH and Superman lore, but the Dynamo Boy story did something interesting: it gave a cool, "because you demanded it" story, but also pretty much showed you can't go to the well a second time with a grown up LOSV. The answer? Show the current LOSV, and start at the very beginning, to let fans feel as if they're in the know already. That plot tool is also utilized by Shooter showing us how Brin and Condo join, which we already know about from #354. We know Uncle Mort loved that story telling strategy, and wunderkind Jim takes an old Superman tool and sharpens it up extra nice.

The line-up is great too, btw: Mekt, past rejects, and the ultimate LSH traitor, Nemesis Kid! I'll admit I never thought all that much of Tarik the Mute and his Android...until Lash, Teeds and company made them totally awesome circa 2002-2004 on the DCMB's and early LW in more threads than they deserved.

It's great to see Colossal Boy spotlighted, though poor Gim is under the gun from page 1! Shooter taps into a fear every kid has: someone threatening their parents because of them. It's potent and we haven't seen it yet in the Legion.

Jo is the new Legion leader and he comes off well here too. He appears very much the go-getter in the vain of his awesome TMK personality, instead the hated ultra-jock nonsense.

Bouncing Boy shows up, and it stands out since as Lardy mentioned, we hardly ever see him. Also notable is Saturn Girl, who has been strangely absent since Shooter took over; noticeable since she was the lead actress of so many earlier stories. The panel where Chuck substitutes for Val at the Academy surely influenced Levitz decision to give Chuck that role later. (And as an aside, even though Val still feels new at this point, it had been over two years and Academy Instructor is a role that fits him.) Chuck comes off as a true friend, a role that always suits him.

As the issue goes on and Gim gets deeper and deeper into trouble, it's reminiscent of many great stories in various media where someone is compromised and forced to turn on their friends. While not as squirm-worthy as modern examples like the Shield (television show) and such, it's still a very intense presentation of that theme.

Yay, Condo! Seen at last--and we better enjoy it, because there aren't too many of these moments to come!

I've always felt Brainy being Gim's defense attorney is a result of his guilt over Thom's suspension, which resulted in a decision to never prosecute another Legionnaire again, just defend.

Part 1 ends with a wonderful panel by Swan showing Gim exit the Legion in disgrace and it's full of mood and gravity. Well done by a master.

Interlude - Back-up of #371
This story is, of course, an old Superboy story that has a few panels to make it an LSH story. Typically, I just look at the Legion panels. Ain't got time for that when I gots to gets to part duex!

372 opens up with noticeably different art. Something else else is off for the first few pages but that all changes quickly. By the time Violet goes on her perilous journey, Swan is killing it as usual, and the art is stellar.

As Gim is geared up to meet the LOSV as mentioned above, I'll revel in the appearance of another Legion World favorite, nosy neighbor Elza Perkins! I can remember when that thread actually was posted and the hilarity that ensued. Crazily, reading Legion comics have become even more rewarding thanks to 15 years with you wonderful people.

Violet gets her second great Silver Age moment with a perilous journey, which is great to see. Gim may be the star here but Chuck, Brainy and others all get great scenes. Cham also does something for the first time in forever, showcasing his awesome powerset.

At last we finally get the LOSV but unfortunately there isn't much story left! I'd have loved for a much lengthier showcase for them, but I guess that'll have to wait for later stories.

The plan to infiltrate the LOSV is a great one and part of why I moved the story when I was younger. Of course I was devastated by Gim's second betrayal--but Shooter wisely prolongs his (and our misery), like many great blackmail stories do. Ultimately, his turning point needs to be more visceral and emotional, so when it happens it feels like a volcano is erupting.

I wish later writers followed up on this story with Gim and how he must have felt after being readmitted to the team. Perhaps that's why he was always training harder, being a stalwart member and never quitting the team until the very? His personality is such that this would always bother him, but he is sadly so under-utilized.

The story wraps up way too fast, which is one complaint. On the last page we get the cavalry arriving, Luornu logically beating Nemesis Kid, the battle ending, Gim's parents being saved, Gim readmitted to the Legion and then Brin and Condo joining. Whoa. What did Mort promise two extra pages and then reneg?

Well, I might need to sit down after that, but one thing is for sure: the entire full blown Silver Age classic Legion roster is now 100% complete! 26 fir-eeking Legionnaires including Supergirl, and quite a force to be reckoned with. That's pretty cool that we've gotten to this point.

All in all, another terrific Shooter Silver Age story, as he is rocking and rolling. This may be his last major story, though I'm not prepared to make that statement until we review the rest of them.

Adventure Comics #370

The cover caught me by surprise. Mordru is singularly nasty, and is easily powerful enough to kill the Legion outright. Instead, he's put them on trial. Still, it's a trial so scary Mon-El has to remind himself who he is in his own thought bubble.

Inside, the Legionnaires manage to escape from Mordru with the old sand in the eye trick. They realise their only escape is to forget they were ever Legionnaires. It's a nice twist, but bettered almost immediately. Mordru scans everyone in the town, and picks out all of the identity lapses from the last issue. He recognises three of the Legionnaires as a result.

While someone as powerful as Mordru could simply kill anyone he even suspected of being a Legionnaire, his own evilness catches him out. He thinks the Legion may have set up four innocents as decoys.

Unable to find the minds of our heroes, Mordru isolates the area and summons an army to force the Legion out of hiding. You get the feeling it's going to be tougher on the Smallville residents than the mob attack in #369. He really wants the Legion to suffer, so he doesn't just kill everyone in the town.

Smallville in a force field reminds me of Byrne's pocket universe tale years later.
Mordru's army consists of soldiers who look as though they've been serving him for centuries, their wrinkled features showing that they have been kept alive with the help of some magic. While the legion may have forgotten who they are, Lana Lang & Pete Ross show their Legion credentials.

This is one of my favourite parts of this story. In the middle of a very tense Legion tale, Shooter's not afraid to move the spotlight away from them and Superboy. It just illustrates how important Lana and Pete were to he Superboy mythos. Smallville was rarely much of a feature by the time I started reading the Legion. Before I did read them, it had seemed a little hokey. But they are just full of good storytelling, executed with charm.

Despite Lana's covert and iconic use of her Insect Queen powers, Superboy thinks it's fine to fly around town in his pyjamas. Mordru must have been taking a toilet break when that happened. Superboy restores everyone's memories while Mordru is off making toast, wondering why even his magic can't get his 30th century travel adaptor to work. Superboy has a plan.

There have been a number of issues where one Legionnaire is disguised as another. It's a fairly common comics plot device. Shooter gives us a few panels of this, but essentially lets the reader in on the plan all along. It's confident writing.

Or perhaps it's just he know that it will fail anyway. Superboy gets a punch in, but Mordru defeats them easily.

Then Mordru seems to slip into becoming just another thug from the future. He summons various criminals from the future to judge the heroes and tells them that Fatal Five would have loved to have been there. I can only imagine how Mordru kept up with local villainy from within his big, metal tomb.

The whole trial part doesn't really work for me. It seems to be a contrivance to introduce the character who saves the team. I's a little irritating to see the submissive Legionnaire heroines in chains but Shadow Lass still stands.

The Legion escape, the Legion face Mordru and the Legion get beaten yet again. This time, Mordru looks to really be about to kill them. But his own awesome energy imprisons him, and conveniently all of his army and co-villains. Let's face it, the Legion weren't about to do it. Their only chance had been Wraithor, and Shooter killed him to raise the tension up a notch.

We get a lovely bit of memory wiping to get us back in line with continuity and then it's back to the future. Will we see a devastated Earth controlled by Mordru's minions? No, because he was tricked there by Jeckie, Mysa and Nura. Mon-El says "how ironic that he was foiled by three girls" How is it ironic Mon-El? Yet, Shadow Lass, utterly dismissed by that statement and aware that Mon El's sexism survived nicely in the Phantom Zone with him , still fancies him.

It's good to see the female Legionnaires shown as at least as capable as the others, following on from the Thora issue. I'm sure the transformed Frog-El who keeps seeing illusions thinks so too.