Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 12

For the next couple of months, we'll be discussing the stories reprinted in the Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Volume 12.



This archive covers Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes issues 213-223 and also Karate Kid issue 1.

Mike Grell continues his run, adding artistic continuity to writing chores split between Jim Shooter and Cary Bates.

It’s a fairly mixed batch of stories, a number of which have a longer first feature with a shorter back up tale. We have the first appearances of Leland McCauley IV, Grimbor, Charma and Tyroc to look forward to, as well as the return of the Fatal Five and the Time Trapper.

We’ll be reviewing an issue every week, to keep things moving, with the first post for each issue going up on a Tuesday evening GMT.

But feel free to drop in with comments on any of the issues in the archive as we go. The more contributors we have, the more fun it is.

Don’t forget that you can also add in your comments on previous archive re-reads. It’s never too late when you have a time bubble!

Archives #11, Archives #10, Archives #9, Archives #8, Archives #7, Archives #6, Archives #5, Archives #4, Archives #3, Archives #2 and Archives #1)

Superboy 213



The cover shows us a space dragon attacking the shuttle. The splash page shows us Ultra Boy cracking up due to the attack. We only really need a third page to show us Jo relieved at getting over it and a fleeing dragon and we’d have an extra 15 pages for the back up.

This story introduces us to Ben Pares, the greatest burglar in the galaxy. He’s so good that there’s no trace of him in any file. It’s a shame he’s chosen to completely blow that anonymity by openly challenging Legion. His prize is the Miracle Machine, that Deus Ex Machina given to the Legion by the Controllers that conveniently ends stories.

Pares shows twice that he could easily have got into Legion HQ and taken the device. His behaviour is as baffling as Brainy reading every criminal file held in the Legion’s databases. Someone should tell Shooter that just because you have total recall doesn’t mean that you read everything.

Having the Legion sit around making “cosmic shaking decisions” while a plot turns up is never a good start. There’s a dialogue free panel showing them argue over such a decision. There’s definitely one in the issue, as they decide to destroy the Miracle Machine in case it falls into Pares’ hands.

When trying to undo the Controller’s work fails, they choose unsuccessfully to guard it. There’s a nice cameo from the espionage squad trying to infiltrate the room where the machine is held.

The Legion are faced with tracking down Pares. Fortunately, Pares sudden desire for publicity earlier allowed Saturn Girl to read his mind. This allows the plot to move on nicely, with the group tracking Pares to the Space Dragon (or Galactosaur here) of the cover and splash page.

Ultra Boy’s trauma when he was swallowed by a similar beast results in him trying to force the ship back, endangering his teammates. Jo’s fear of being swallowed by giant space creatures would stay with him for years, even being used to subdue him when the team rescued Mysa Nal from Mordru in the TMK run.

Meanwhile, Pares’ sits back and waits for the Legion to become dragon food. But all his planning comes to nothing. Once again, the miracle machine is used as a genie dispensing endless wishes. Superboy flies in to save the day by defeating Pares and saving Ultra Boy.

Jo had overcome his panic to help his colleagues. It’s all done off panel to supposedly increase our belief that the dragon had eaten them. So Jo’s struggle, which is central to the story, doesn’t get quite the spotlight it should have.

We never learn what Pares wants the machine for. He has just the right powers to evade the Legion HQ defences. Since he can just walk in and take the thing, there’s no real planning behind his actions. Therefore, there’s a lack of suspense.

I’m critical of characters who are powerful just because the story demands that they are, with no real cohesion behind them. Pares is definitely an example of this. He would get the occasional mention in years to come. His decision to reveal himself here certainly put him on the Science Police’s radar. He would end up involved in stealing an container that would result in Spider Girl joining the team in the TMK run.

“…we can’t allow it to make us lazy,” says Brainiac 5 of the Miracle Machine. Yet, it’s continually used as a lazy plot solution by Legion writers. It’ certainly made this a mediocre start to the archive. Grell’s art makes it visually interesting to get through to the end.

213/Jaws of Fear

True story: When this issue came out, I somehow missed it. I didn't even realize I had missed an issue until 2-3 months later when I received the Legion Handbook and saw the cover among the montage on the handbook's own cover. I scurried through my back issues before I realized I had skipped from 212 to 214 and never realized I'd missed an issue.

That's how episodic Legion stories were at the time, in sharp contrast to the Marvels.

Comic book shops were then unknown to me, so it would be another three or four years before I would find the elusive 213.

I wish I could say it was worth the wait.

I like both of the premises in the lead story: a brazen thief steals something from under the Legion's nose, and Ultra Boy has to come to grips with his own Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (another idea extrapolated from the times, perhaps). Unfortunately, the execution of both premises is childish, illogical, and unfulfilling.

In addition to the points thoth raised, what bothers me is that several Legionnaires are featured, but most don't do anything of significance. They are interchangeable, firing their powers at the Miracle Machine with no effect and uttering interchangeable lines. Only Brainy and Imra really have anything substantial to do. Even Jo is underplayed until his Big Moment and then, as thoth notes, the resolution is handled off-screen, ruining the suspense and pay-off.

(I hadn't noticed, though, that the Legionnaires who try to break into the Miracle Machine's chamber were the Espionage Squad. Good catch, thoth.)

It would have been nice if the story had ended with Jo learning something about himself or coming to grips with the terror he had kept hidden all these years. Think what a positive message it could have sent to young boys and soldiers everywhere: It's okay to admit you're afraid and that you're not perfect. Instead, we get Brainy's "lazy" speech which comes across as Dad telling the kids, "No, you've got to go out and earn your living rather than me giving you money. But the money is always here, just out of your reach."

A lot of wasted opportunities in this one.

213/Trapped to Live

Please, spare us the character development! Let's have more trick plots where the story rests on something as contrived or convenient as a piece of equipment. Saves the Legionnaires from having to think their way out of jams. Saves the reader from having to think at all.

The strange part about this story is that it's by Shooter, not Bates.

Timber Wolf has been a quiet presence since his dramatic star turn back in 197, so I was looking forward to reading this story, even though I didn't know it existed until three or fours after its publication. But, like the lead story, it just doesn't deliver the goods.

The premise is solid enough. Brin is lured to a barren world by a distress signal sent by one-time Legion enemy Blackmace (yep, it's spelled as one word). The villain overpowers him, takes his flight ring, and tries to take his ship. But Brin convinces the bad guy to take him along for the ride and the Legion cruiser's security device does the rest.

Of course, there's no set-up for the reader (we have no idea what a "security sentinel" does until it actually does something), so there's no way to play along or match wits with the writer. At least the flight ring is used to good effect in defeating Blackmace.

In the end, though, nothing of note really happens here.

The other significant aspect of this story is the art, which is credited to Grell and Bill Draut. I presume Draut inked the story. His lines give the art a sparse and washed out appearance, which provides an interesting contrast to Grell's bold lines on the lead feature. I can't recall if Draut did any more Legion stories, but I like his contribution. It provides a nice change of pace.

The back up seems at first to be a pretty standard throw away story. But as I'm typing this, it's actually starting to look a bit better.

I was going to say that it revolves around action rather than character. But there are a couple of exceptions. I was also going to say that you could have replaced Brin with pretty much anyone, with a few tweaks. But that's not quite so.

Brin's time in the Academy is mentioned. You could argue that it's his familiarity with all things Legion, that makes the story longer than Mace flying off with his shuttle right at the start. Seeing that continuity with the character is a nice touch. Brin Londo: android; animal; graduate; loner; team player. It's a pretty confusing list. I think this story leans more on his earlier stories. He's a stronger character here than he would be portrayed as for, many years later.

Mace also comes off well as a seasoned, super thug. it's a role he would fill in future appearances too, and Shooter does well to remember him and bring him back for just such a requirement here.

The plot is pretty simple. We learn that the Legion ships have auto defences and it's obvious that they're going to play a part in the story. In fact, the whole story seems to revolve around them.

Brin warns the readers of Black Mace's prowess throughout. But Mace stands there as Brin bursts through a security system and uses the edge of it to acrobatically leap across a small shuttle. Mace must have been napping through all that.

Fortunately, the conflict improves by showing that Brin is outclassed by Mace, who uses the confines of the shuttle to his advantage. It's not a standard comic battle, in that the characters are at least aware of their surroundings. That alone gets the tale lots of points. Simple but a step above most pointless super brawls.

Brin's super strength plays a decent part in the story. But his agility, resilience and >gasp for Brin< brains are also required too. He needs all of these to stand up to the villain.

HWW has already noted the good use of the flight ring. It was a technique used years later by Booster Gold in a JLI issue.

So it is a bit of a throw away back up filler. But you can see that there's a bit of thought going on in the background. When that detail also happens to have Grell art, then it gets better still.

That would seem to about sum it up.

I was going to say that virtually any Legionnaire could be used here, as well.

It's convenient that Brin ran afoul of a villain who could match him in terms of physical prowess, as opposed to, say, Quanto or Shagrek, so the story does have that sort of physical action appeal going for it.

You also make a great point about Blackmace using the claustrophobic setting to his advantage.

Superboy & LSH #213

Though a story often overlooked, I thought the lead feature of #213 was terrific from start to finish. Grell's art was on fire with dynamic line work and really explosive layouts. Wildlife, Jo and others looked as good as ever. Meanwhile, Shooter continues to show he is a master as providing a satisfying story with tight pacing and plotting while also filling it with nods to the LSH past and continuity, giving it that extra added pop. In this story he also provides the right amount of tension and drama without going over the top.

Ben Pares is somewhat obscure but totally awesome in this debut appearance. Clever and confident, he's more than capable of pestering the entire LSH even if he isn't trying to destroy the sun or wreck the UP. This makes him an effective and interesting threat. The fact that the Legion "cheated" for the win makes him more appealing.

The sequence with Jo and the space dragon is a good one IMO. It adds some additional peril and tension that was needed and is a great throwback to his origin and past Legion lore.

The Miracle Machine, usually a plot device I hate, is perhaps used best here out of all of its appearances. Shooter uses it judiciously and cleverly.

Meanwhile, the back-up is a fairly straight-forward Timberwolf story that is well paced and beautifully drawn. Usage of Black Mace is a good tie into old continuity and Shooter begins to explore the nature of the LSH flight ring in more detail, which will eventually lead to additional good stories.

All in all, #213 was a surprise winner for me.

Superboy 214



The clunky robots on the cover look about as dated as the kid’s fashion sense. The kid looks a bit more sympathetic on the splash page, seemingly a hostage of an old guy with a gun.

The Legion are on one of those quaint sci fi worlds where the entire surface area has become a giant factory. It’s a sort of industrial nation angst, where people see the growth of factories and wonder where it will stop. It’s the same sort of thing that turned consumerism into endless zombie films. In the Legionverse I imagine there’s no shortage of exploited colony worlds that compete to become factory slave worlds to the richer UP worlds.

The robots have run amok, as they do. But in a nice touch, there’s an all too human hand behind them. From such a sterile world comes a tale of personal loss. It’s another nod to that industrial angst that goes back to the start of the industrial revolution. What will become of a man who has lost his place in the world to machines? Our villain has lost his job, he has lost his pride and dignity when even begging didn’t work. So, he’s used his skills to take over the robotic world.

The kid from the cover turns out to be our first look at Leland McCauley IV. He’s the obnoxious ‘70s version of Lester Spiffany. At the end I was looking for a “you’re stupid” to be shouted from his departing rocket ship. McCauley is spoilt to the point of being oblivious and clearly sees his role in life as one where he gets to order everyone else around.

His attitude provides much of the dramatic tension in the story, as the Legion work to save him from death should the villain find out he’s the son of the man who fired him. The scenes are well constructed, and the kid works as a hostage on more than one level. But in the end, there’s no chance that the “bad guy” will outmanoeuvre the Legionnaires. It might be Spiffany or it might be knowing how he turned out, but I really wasn’t convinced that McCauley had learned his lesson at the end. Sure, it might affect him for a while, but it would soon turn to resentment due to his selfish nature.

Interestingly, Superboy is at odds with two of his colleagues regarding the boy. Superboy feels that the child has to be protected at all costs, while Wildfire and Karate Kid think otherwise. Although the child is not in direct danger having not revealed his identity to the villain, it’s a departure to hear two Legionnaires willing to abandon him. Of course, they probably wonder why Superboy doesn’t just break out and round up the crook in a second, then rescue the child.

Wildfire’s attitude is further embedded when he reacts to Superboy’s hand on him by blasting his colleague. “No one pushes Wildfire” he says in his best plea to join the X-men. “You’re a Legionnaire! Act like One!” retorts Superboy. It’s a sign of moral shift in the team, as they continue to become more distinctive personalities.


I’m reminded of Brainy’s trial years later where Polar Boy’s feelings towards the Legion Constitution were not shared by the founders of the team. I wonder if Wildfire atomically blasting his throat affected McCauley in later life.

The conflict between Superboy and Wildfire continues beyond this I think, and it will be interesting to see their viewpoints clash as we go through the rereads. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the less we see of Superboy, the bigger pain Wildfire gets.

In the end, the Legion restore the world to working order. McCauley doesn’t change and there’s a broken old man left facing jail because he had given his working life to a system that discarded him.

Robotica and Computo must look at stories like this as proof of the Coluan agenda against robotic lifeforms as he leads his team onto the planet to stop robotic control. The smouldering corpse of the one Karate Kid punched his fist through is particularly moving.

Shadow Lass makes a useful appearance as she’s key to infiltrating the planet. It’s a shame that she played no real part beyond that save for being a shoulder to cry on for a tearful McCauley.

Superboy & LSH #214

As I was looking for something to like about #214, it was this: in this issue we start to get the Wildfire that I know and love. From his first sentence to his pushing Superboy and calling his speech corny, this issue starts to set the tone for Wildfire hereafter: brash, rude and uncaring about offending the others. I love it. And so did readers--since he's elected leader after about only 10 missions!

I also enjoy the line-up: it's almost the same as my beloved Shady intro / second Fatal Five story from the silver age but with another favorite, Wildfire, subbing in for Cos.

Those two things being said, the issue isn't exactly all that enjoyable. The plot is okay, but little McCauley is just too annoying and such a snot that I want the unnamed villain to just shoot him in the head. Most people can't stand self-centered rich kids, and I'm part of that. I have a hard time finding empathy for them when they're actually written well. This isn't even that. I'd rather rob them of their inheritances and force them into a life of pain and suffering most of the time, so I really have to be won over. Here, I'm not.

I find Superboy's wink at the end particularly groan worthy too. Bah! Now I want Lex to kryptonite punch him in the face!

(So much aggression here! Sheesh! I grew up in Connecticut though--I know kids like this).

The back-up is actually even worse though. We get Cary Bates giving us yet another story about a female Legionnaire doubting herself and fearing she doesn't belong on the team. Yeesh. We get Brainy at his most manipulative and patronizing, breaking all semblance of trust for his little experiment. We even get Gim hopped up on lotus fruit for thinking Brainy goes off on joyrides. This is one of the more forgettable LSH stories thus far.

The art in both stories is serviceable but feels a little flat and by the numbers. Layouts are dull and the inks are scarce and unexciting.

Overall, #214 is one of the weakest issues in a long while.

Thoth, I agree, I didn't believe McCauley either.

Also, I'm interested too in seeing Superboy and Wildfire continue to be at odds. Covers alone in the near future show them fighting several times.

214/No Price Too High

I have a slightly higher opinion of this story than Cobie does (though, granted, that's not saying much). It's a simple story that achieves its ends in a more-or-less believable fashion. Considering some recent stories, that's quite an achievement. There are significant flaws in the story (What? The Overseer is so out of touch with current event that he doesn't know he can't harm Superboy, Wildifire or Brainiac 5?), but it earns points for the tense emotional drama on two fronts.

First, the kid is certainly annoying--but that's the point. Here the Legionnaires are tasked with doing the right thing by saving the kid's life even though he is spoiled, selfish, and incredibly stupid. One sympathizes with Wildfire and KK for wanting to let the kid have it, but Legionnaires don't operate that way. Superboy doesn't operate that way, and it's refreshing to see him take a stand for what he believes to be right, even though doing so puts him in the minority. (Brainy and Shady are strangely silent as to the kid's fate.)

Second, the conflict between Superboy and Wildfire is also refreshing. It's great to see the Legionnaires have a difference of opinion and even come to blows over it. There hasn't been a serious disagreement that I recall since Matter-Eater Lad blamed Brainy for the creation of Computo back in Adventure 341. Unlike Tenz, Wildfire does not back down and remains defiant to the end. I loved his line that he helped the kid only so Superboy would shut up. A joke, perhaps, but it establishes that Drake isn't going to be a good little Legionnaire, and, yes, it defines his personality for years to come.

I also like the setup of the Legionnaires performing what should be a routine mission for them. Something else else has gone wrong on this automated factory world, and passing ships are threatened. They have to fix it. But this routine mission is jeopardized not by the Fatal Five or some other villain, but by a snotty kid.

If one accepts this premise (and the notion that the overseer knows shit about the Legionnaires), the rest of the story works quite nicely. Superboy appears to be less powerful here than in earlier stories (such as pulling off a ridiculous rescue of Jo and Lana back in 205): he apparently can't fly in to save the kid without risking the latter's life. But even this depowerment is put to refreshing good use.

The action scenes are also well done. After years of middling stories, it's good to see the Legionnaires kick some robot ass.

I also felt sorry for the overseer, who had lost everything due to corporate downsizing (an all too relevant topic). It's pathetic that he was willing to work for free, suggesting this poor soul had no life beyond his job--no family, no hobbies, no interest in current events, apparently: a rigid frame of mind in which nothing was more important to him than being Number One, even Number One among machines.

214/Stay Small--or Die

Yep, this is a bad'un: weak female Legionnaire . . . patronizing Brainy . . .stupid Brainy . . . convenient plot twist.

Yet there were two things I did like about this story. One is the premise of a Legionnaire being afraid to use his or her power. We've mentioned before that more of the Legionnaires should be suffering from PTSD. Violet is actually the most logical Legionnaire to experience this, given how vulnerable her power makes her. It's just a shame that her fear originated in one of the most innocuous of incidents: nearly getting crushed by Sun Boy's boot during a training exercise. After facing numerous villains during her career, Vi should be traumatized by something far worse than this, one would think. (Of course, an even worse trauma--the sens-tank--was still far in her future.)

The second thing I liked is that it is Violet who figures out what's going on--and even a bit of pseudo science is used to figure it out. I don't know if her smaller size would actually cause the air currents to slow down her fall--I seem to recall a famous scientific experiment in which two objects of unequal weight were dropped from the Eiffel Tower yet both hit the ground at the same time. But it's a nice idea. Credit it to Imskian physiology.

The only other thing of note about this story is that, if Bates had been as interested in continuity as Shooter was, he might have used Doll World from Adventure 313 instead of creating a brand new giant-sized world.

You bring up a lot of good points HWW about some of the good things in both stories. I also like when we see he Legionnaires doing routine missions that don't involve Suns exploding or super-villains going ballistic. So you're correct that it's a refreshing change of pace.

As is the action, which I agree is much appreciated. The Legion are finally catching up with the rest of comics about a decade plus late.

Also, a very good point about the Overseer likely having no life outside his work. That is more relevant today than ever and one of the sadder, more common things that happen in life.

On the Violet story, good point on Vi's PTSD thematically connecting it to numerous recent stories. A big portion of the country and the world had PTSD at this time and it's fascinating to see both Shooter and Bates bringing it back again and again, whether they can help it or not. One gets the sense that as numerous Legionnaires left the team during this era, many others had to do some soul searching to see if they were ready to leave too or ready to move on as stronger individuals despite the trauma they had faced during their already lengthy careers.

During one of the alternate timelines in LSH # 300, the former Dream Girl caustically remarks that all of the sane Legionnnaires got married and left the Legion. There may be something to that.

That's one thing about the Legion. Those who are vocal enough to write get to pick, and that helps shape the book and it's personalities.




There was a comfortable feeling with the team. A team with Superboy in it, doesn't always feel that way. Although he was holding back a bit here, it didn't feel quite as glaring as on Talok. Shady could always be utilised a bit more, and Brainy didn't have much to do. But it's a mission team with a lot of strengths, both in skill and personality.



Yup, I did exactly the same. More points for Wildfire personality fans, and I was worrying about the poor villain, so it seemed to be especially inappropriate.

It would have perhaps been interesting to have forced the Legion to make a choice. Plucking out of the air... the robot army works on a power plant that transmits energy that's vitally needed. Lives are at stake and then the snotty kid appears. Having Legionnaires with differing perspectives about personal responsibility would be nice. I suppose Drake and Val are a little like that here.






Good points HWW. Both points show a maturity in the writing. Personalities are not just for show. They are used consistently. Also, conflicts aren't just there to be edgy. They are an extension of those personalities. Better still, they are allowed to escalate. It's not just put in for effect. It's something we're going to see develop.



I think the villains lack of Legion knowledge is quite fitting and in line with his personality. His life his defined by his function. It's central to him. It will probably have become more so as more of his life went past. I can easily see broader interests falling away as things get harder for him. As you say HWW, he really doesn't have anything else, and I can easily see other things in life slipping. A larger work force slowly departs, taking the life of his world with them. He probably doesn't really see it going.

The nature of his position and it's location seem quite insulated from broader life too. So, when combined who cares about a group of teenagers helping out the UP? Our villain has other things to focus his mind on.

I don't think he even really wanted to be number one among the robots. I think he realised that that was all that was left for him to be, and saw the sadness in it too. He just wanted to matter, and to remain a part of the machine that regulated his life. He was as much an automaton as the robots in a lot of ways.

stay small--or die!

I get that old Adventure tingle when Brainy says “If Shrinking Violet doesn’t snap out of it soon, shell have no choice but to quit the Legion!” It’s completed with a lovely stern faced expression and a button press of grim authority. Excellent panel.

The dramatic tension established, it gets itself mixed up with that other standard Legion trope, the lack of self-confidence. Salu’s gym near miss with Dirk, seems to have had quite an extreme effect on her. Considering it’s a situation she’s been in on numerous occasions before as an Imskian.

It’s a backup that doesn’t waste time. The inciting incident is combined well with the set up for Brainy’s plan. That incident has supplied the tension on Salu’s career, and Brainy moves from informing the reader in that scene, straight into executing his solution. There’s a twist in his plan that allows the main character to prove herself in short order (ouch) as a finale. There’s decent amount of craft involved in pulling off what seems like a little back up tale.

But what I’m drawn to are all the little things that have sprung from tales like this one.

The most obvious is “her sanity is hanging by a thin thread.” Think about that and then about Salu’s time in a Senstank years later.

Incidentally, we got to see a size changing hero nearly get trampled on years later in JLI#24 when the Atom is nearly squished in a hero stampede.

Brainy and Imra stand out for a few reasons here. His scientific acumen and her mental abilities are clearly very strong here. Their skills are matched by their personalities. This pair are among the strongest Legionnaires. We would see that again in such places as the Baxter Universo saga, the Conspiracy and the fate of the team without them. Salu has placed herself in their care unquestioningly and even allows them to discuss the results before telling her anything.

Brainy implementing his plan, following his own mind, is one of his essential character traits. “The others may not approve…but there’s no time for debate.” That’s pretty much Querl in a quote. I also note the reappearance of more mind invasive technology in this story too, continuing that disturbing Legion trend. They use it all so casually.

By the book Gim’s indifference to Brainy flying off is also just like him. If the flight has been logged then there’s not an issue there for him.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that Salu didn’t simply overcome her fear here. She thought quickly on her feet in a deadly situation, and realised that her powers weren’t working the way that they should. Despite having been dumped in the situation she thought her way out of it. I like to think this story leads nicely into her TMK portrayal of someone who’s tactically very aware on a personal level, and works very hard (also Baxter era) to keep it that way.

Vi using her power to crawl into something’s head is a tactic that would be used in the future a lot. I’d need to look to see if it was something she was already using or if it’s something from the Atom. But Salu would certainly take down one of the Servants of Darkness later on, using the same approach.

So, a fair number of nice Legion related things in a tidy package here.

Great minds thinking alike. They are great aren't they? I mean, not Brain Globes of Rambat or anything like that, but modestly great



I was calling it the Puppet Planetoid as I was reading it. I fear that a schism may emerge between the Modest Brain Globes over which is the correct term to use

I've got the feeling from a number of recent issues that the rule was being run over a few of the team. No Imskian jokes about failing to measure up please!

I surprised Dream Girl and Star Boy made it through, while Lu, Chuck and Tenzil moved away.

In the new Legion of Drake, with Val and Brin getting plenty of panel time, that old proving your worth storyline has a new edge to it.

I think you're right about Puppet Planetoid. There was also a Doll World, but I may have misremembered the issue it was from.

I just checked my handy Legion Handbook, and, from the description, Doll World was probably the place Salu visited (and in which she was killed by Mask Man) back in Adventure 310.

If she remembered that encounter, perhaps her trauma at being nearly crushed by Dirk's boot would make more sense. Alas none of the Legionnaires, save Superboy, remembered that incident after they were restored to life.

Oh, was that the Mask Man story? I'm trying to think if the first time I read that was in the rereads thread. Chilling stuff.

When I typed my post I was actually thinking Doll World and Puppet Planetoid were the same thing.

So did I. Modest Brain Globes think alike, even when they're wrong.

Rah! Rambat!

Superboy 215



The three figures on the ground of the Grell cover bring out just the right levels of defeat and distress. The two central ones have an odd positioning and Sun Boy could have looked a lot more menacing. The splash page, unfortunately, repeats the story idea of the cover. Here though, Sun Boy looks very much in control of his power changes. Reminded of his stress issues in the past, I’m wondering if someone made him team leader and it’s gone to his head again.

A super tough character appearing as a silhouette? Chris Claremont was unavailable to discuss the origins of Sunspot. A character that can absorb energy to make him stronger? Chris Claremont was unavailable to discuss the origins of Sebastian Shaw.

(My hypocrite alarm reminds me that one of my childhood characters was called Eclipse and wasn’t far off this one either. Odd the little memories reading old comics brings up.)

This issue starts with a spotlight on Phantom Girl, and we get to see the Legion shift into her home world Bgztl. I guess we don’t see much of it because it’s home to Tinya’s over protective pain in the @$$ sibling. Not only does she face more danger going for breakfast than he does in his whole life, she’s just taken out a top assassin while on vacation.

Tinya’s brother being a jerk gives us the back story to her now being targeted by the associates of the assassin who are out to silence her. We could have done with a couple of crowd scenes so we could have spitted that someone had snuck on board the Legion cruiser. Instead we’re told about it, with no way of checking. We’re not far along from the Black Mace story that kept telling us how advanced the legion cruiser security was. So a stowaway seems a bit improbable, despite needing it to push the story along quickly.

Although I groaned initially at Bates’ Intra Warp Adapter, as another in a line of future tech that’s not seen again, I quite like the visuals of the shift. How Bgztl survived the Crisis is a mystery as it’s clearly another Earth. Earth-P for Phantom or people with bladder issues. Earth-B for Bgztl or Bloomin’ lucky Levitz is the boss to keep it around.

Grell’s depiction of the Legion Cruiser burning up, and Element Lad’s escape from it, certainly ramps up the tension. Why have his powers run wild? Is he in control? Will he devastate the planet by going nova? I don’t know but Superboy has had time to make plenty of drawings to go through the rest of the plot with us. Clunk.

The finale has a few surprises but is slow off the mark after reading through Superboy’s lecture. In a longer story, I expect that the pacing would have been adjusted to change the rate of the reveal.

Having more than one Phantom certainly improves the ending. It’s as nice a surprise as having Dirk seem to be central only for it to be a Tinya tale. But the reader doesn’t get the chance to buy into the plot twist. The story is resolved quickly, which is at least keeping with the moment of action the characters had available.

While Tinya seems pleased that her brother “saved” her, it really just shows how little he trusts her and her friends to look out for themselves. Having that view win the day, validates it and diminishes the Legion. Even if Tinya suggests otherwise in the story.

We had commented on this being an era where some Legionnaires would move on. I thought Nura and Tom would be two. Here, Imra performs the same function as Nura, but in a more direct, and therefore less panel filling, way. Why wait for a dream to predict a threat, when Imra can telepathically detect it and run in? So, Dream Girl seems a bit superfluous.

Lost in the wars between our time and the Legion’s was health advice regarding asbestos. In other news, Trom opens its new lung disease clinic, run by the planet’s only resident and also a victim of the condition. I guess Jan’s head is also made up of fire resistant substances, which is why he chose not to cover it in the way he did his outfit.

Brainy carrying a side arm was convenient, and necessary for the plot to work. Looking back to the issue before he didn’t have one in either the main or back up stories.

Jan reveals that he’s close friends with Dirk. Their outlooks would seem to be quite different. But at the heart of both is a certain self-centeredness. A certain sense of self-assurance. Dirk’s confidence and ego is usually easy to pick out across the years. But Jan’s path of quieter contemplation is also an act of will. He is confident in that path and I think that it’s those similarities that would give the pair something in common, as well as being able to enjoy the other’s different outlook.

Particularly after Jan has confronted Roxxas (and isn’t contemplating in jail thanks to Condo) and Dirk’s previous victory over Regulus. Both have living reminders of their origins.

A final though about Dirk is the mention that his powers have changed him on a molecular level. From a character who could emit super brightness, he’s become something a lot more powerful. We’d see him unleash a lot more power in years to come, but this issue was perhaps among the first to harness that.

In summary, the issue’s stand out moments are the Legion cruiser shifting dimensions, the moment of story promise when Dirk’s powers (that have changed his molecular structure) went wild and the attempt at a surprise ending. But it’s only a fair story with nothing very memorable about it. It probably stands out more for giving Tinya some room from Jo, only for us to meet the brother who doesn’t give her space either. Perhaps Jo gives Tinya a connection to feelings from her time at home.