(See the previous threads on Archives #6, Archives #5, Archives #4, Archives #3, Archives #2 and Archives #1 and feel free to add in your two cents on those stories. It's NEVER too late! )


For the next few weeks we'll be reading the stories from LSH Archives #7, with a discussion of a single new story every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.



Archives #7 covers Adventure #359-361, Jimmy Olsen #106 and Adventure #362-367 in consecutive order, ten stories in all.

We'll see 9 Shooter stories in this edition, the most so far! And plenty of iconic, groundbreaking stories and character debuts and returns!

Are ya ready for some Legion?

First up: "The Outlawed Legionnaires!" from Adventure #359:



And here's Cobalt Kid's first review, posted earlier today to the Archives 6 thread:

Man! Adventure #359 was AWESOME! I'd read it once in this Archive many years ago, but I barely remembered it (as is the case with many of the specifics of the other once-read stories). Little did I know what a fun re-read this would be!

Why did I love it so much? I think, in a nutshell, it's because for the first time, it felt like the Legion was far outside its comfort zone. I mean, suddenly, they're outlawed, kicked out of their clubhouse, forbidden to use their powers, baited into a street fight (!), forced to wear civilian clothes (), mining jewels, washing laundry with old-fashioned scrubbing boards and hiding out in the sewers! Never before has the Legion been so oppressed and non-worshipped by those whose safety they've assured on countless occasions! LOVED IT!!!

It was just terrific and even had a (admittedly, somewhat heavy-handed, but still cool) bit of subtext about the generation gap and how teens and adults often share a mutual distrust and alienation. As unsubtle as this approach might seem, it's still a lot more clever and well-done than the whole "Eat it, grandpa!" premise to the Threeboot.

And Shooter really made a concerted effort to show more of the Legion's family life and of them in unfamiliar situations. The aforementioned street fight was like nothing we'd ever seen in a Legion comic, for instance. It was cool to see them succeed overall with nothing but their wits and hand-to-hand skills. That said, it was a little disappointing to see the women relying on the men to pull them out. Yes, they got their licks in--go VI!--but of course, it was one of the women--Projectra--who gets socked over the head and falls into a coma. Of course, it's very likely that she was specifically targeted for her political influence, but it was disappointing. It was nice to see her take down one of them with a throw before she was taken out, though.

All this and the story ends without the villain being revealed yet! I found this very innovative for a story like this, particularly a Legion story. In a way the story has about as downbeat an ending as any continued story could have with Legionnaires serving in jail at hard labor, one in a coma, several injured and in captivity and just a few of them left hiding out in the sewers after being ratted out by their parents and their benefactor. It's practically the Legion's "Empire Strikes Back!"--and we all know what high regard that particular movie has in the hearts of Star Wars fans!

Great, GREAT story on so many levels--and already one of the best and most offbeat tales of the Legion to date! Can't WAIT to read the conclusion Monday--and I sure hope this story will heat up the Archives discussion over the weekend as others have!

I thought Swan really knocked it out of the park here, by the way. I loved his designs (or were the Shooter's? ) for the Legionnaires' 'covert' clothing and just thought he nailed all the crucial scenes. It just solidifies for me that I'm justified in naming Swan as one of my two very favorite Silver Age artists (the other one being John Romita).

Yeah, he killed it. One of the things I'm noticing is that Swan has just gotten better and better in the 60's, and he was a veteran already by the start of the the decade. The street fight felt raw and real, like a scene from West Side Story (the film).

All right, I'll contribute a post to keep the discussion moving.

Like Lardy, I adore Curt Swan (and John Romita Senior) and feel his art is what really makes Shooter's stories pop, especially when Swan was inked by George Klein.

Unlike Cobie, I like The Universo Project far more than The Outlawed Legionnaires, even though the former is admittedly derivative of the latter; after all, Levitz's specialty was taking elements created by earlier writers and turbo-charging them with what was, at the time, a state-of-the-art approach.

This is, I've had to admit to myself, part of the reason my interest in the Silver Age/Bronze Age re-read has waned. Even though Lardy is of my generation and Cobie is one generation younger than me, I don't completely share their appreciation for the storytelling techniques of the time. Compared to Levitz's 80s approach, it just seems too old-fashioned and lukewarm.

Sorry if this post turned out too negative. That wasn't my intention. I just find that, as I get older, I get equally impatient with both the traditional approach to comics and the modern approach to comics, kinda like Goldilocks trying the bowls of porridge -- this one's too hot, this one's too cold, this one (roughly, the mid-80s through the early-90s) is just right.

Hmmm...I've already done the re-read thread where I reviewed what I thought was Levitz's most consistent string of issues, and I've already done the L.E.G.I.O.N. re-read thread. And I don't really have the time to re-read Levitz's entire 80s run.

Maybe I should do an in-depth re-read thread devoted solely to The Universo Project.

And, having said that, there are still a few Silver Age/Bronze Age stories that I have strong feelings about (both good and ill) so I'll chime in these threads from time to time to review them.

I might have to re-read "Universo Project" after I read #360, so I can compare/contrast the two. I only remember the broad strokes of Levitz's 4-parter, so I can't make a reasonable comparison between the two at this point. In fact, I'd encourage anyone interested in comparing the two stories to go ahead and read/re-read both and report back on this thread. Cobie, I'd encourage you to do same as well, just so you can make a totally fair comparison (assuming you haven't re-read the Levitz story within, say, the last year). Fickles, will you?

I'm gonna do it! Any other takers?

That sounds great, Lardy. Count me in. I should have a window of time around the second half of next week.

Good! This kind of cross-reviewing is a natural outgrowth of this re-reading process, particularly when the comparisons are natural and worth examining more closely!

And 359:

ADV 358-359 Universo Project: The Original Movie

“Oops I Tripped.” Cham's exclamation isn't a bad description of the plot devices used to move this story along. With the exception of the little brain storming session to determine the water supply was the problem, things just happened or became known without any support. Comparing two issues to four probably isn't fair but I do think Shooter could have done a little of Levitz' “hiding facts in plain sight” way of leaving clues. This was the least of Shooter's efforts so far, particularly the second issue.

The good part, we got to see nearly everyone and the art is more and more dynamic and expressive.

With several issues in, we start to see the hooks Shooter uses, a few that I think are unnecessary and annoying. Referring to the bad in the abstract “it” worked in the Sun Eater story. This was a threat of myth and mythical proportions. Man on the street would understand “it.” In this story, “the influence” seemed awkward and unnecessary. Another trait that annoys is the inclusion of odd “explanations” that I've determined in my head to be efforts to forestall fan-boy gotchas. Same goes for the Outpost. Instead of an insulting reference to some untold, off-panel tale that would account for why the error, wasn't an error, I'd always rathered they just say “congrats, maybe we can work in a fix in a future story.”
[u][/u]

World's Finest: Composite Superman
So, through no fault of your own you become a “bad guy.” You still save the two greatest heroes ever and your reward is a statue inscribed, “Lived his life as a criminal.” Sheesh. Some bitter water in Manhattan in the 60s.

I've never been a fan of “composite” villains. Maybe this story was the source of that? Anyhow, not a bad story but I'm glad I was a Legion reader, not a Batman reader. This type dialogue was all fun and games in the tv series but lays flat on the panel.

Jimmy Olsen
A fun little tale with a nice twist.

ADV 361 Dominators!

And Colossal Jimmy! (coloring error making Gim look like Jimmy O.

Is this Shooter? The series continues to show great Sci-Fi instinct IMO. Is this the first time we hear of “inertron?” And the fan-bases long held belief that the ADV era was a time of promise and peace is put to bed with the retroactive creation of a two decade war.

Like Fanfie, I liked the Universo Project more because of the in-depth focus it gave to four very interesting Legionnaires. While the Outlaw Legionnaires was also very enjoyable, it didn't dig quite as deep. It DID give pretty much every Legionnaire a chance to shine though, and I loved the camaraderie between all of them (breaking their pals out of prison). Plus, I cheered when the Legionnaires broke curfew/the no-powers rule to save those people in the train. Shows how heroic they are, even when the whole world is against them.

Adventure #360

After speaking more generally about the 2-parter on my last review, I can focus on #360 particularly by saying it does something important: it fulfills the promise of #359. We get a plethora of things happening and characters doing things, as the tension continues to mount and a final showdown takes place. Making sure a great part 1 has a great part 2 is a strength the young Shooter has in spades.

We get a ton right away: Lex Luthor's old lair! The Espionage Squad in action at long last! Rond Vidar returns!

Something else else else I noticed: during the brilliant break out (which is great btw), Star Boy calls Phantom Girl "P.G." Here, Shooter starts using the nicknames we've come to know and love, and I look forward to seeing "Brainy", "Cos", "Dreamy" and the rest soon.

As the Legion moves from one victory to the next battle, we get to see how well the Legion Leader and Legion Espionage Squad Leader interact. We know (and suspect we only ever saw the tip of the iceberg) that this wouldn't always be the case.

Part 2 opens with some fantastic espionage squad action, setting the tempo for all of Legion history to come. Really well done.

Lyle and Brainy apply some logic and figure out the population is being controlled by the water--much like modern day America is controlled by the chemicals on our food and by pharmaceutical drugs. Er, I mean, maybe I'll get back to the topic at hand. (Ps - I'm not really joking?).

The finale has several things happening at once, and again, the action is done quite well. With the fun and excitement going full blast, we also at last learn Rond Vidar's name and then get to see at issue's end his induction as an honorary member, something I've always loved.

Things get tied up quickly--perhaps a little too quickly--but I appreciate a firm conclusion. As I said, I think this is a fantastic story and one of Shooter's best.

Bonus Lettercol Review: Liz Kane fires back at Dave Olsen! (At least I think it was this one. It may have been #358 as I read them all together).

Fanfie, your thoughts are much appreciated. Obviously we disagree but it's interesting to see a different opinion. For me, what stands out in Universo Project is the to die for art, which IMO makes a slow and boring (at times) story much better than it deserves to be. I'd be interested to reread when we get there.

Thanks, Cobie. I'm glad we at least agree that the art is great, and I look forward to the re-read.

I have to disagree on Universo Project being boring. Personally, I enjoyed the pacing and felt it was appropriate given the mystery of who had kidnapped the Legionnaires, what their purpose was, and who the heck all these other super-powered beings were and what connected them with each other.

Granted, the Outlaw Legionnaires had faster pacing, which was appropriate for the setting/situation as the Legionnaires were on the run at the time.

I always felt the Universo Project was a composite of the Super Stalag of Space and the Outlawed Legion.

btw, I posted the letter column to Adv. 359 on the last thread. Didn't realize we'd moved on to a new archive since I only have the original issues.

You'll notice that my gals Duo Damsel and Supergirl were among the first to wade into the fight! But yes, it was disappointing that the other 3 girls stood around doing nothing until they were directly assaulted. At least Vi and PP got their licks in and had some great lines, "Legionnaires are nobody's passports, Mister." and "You have a lot to learn about respecting a lady, and a Legionnaire is just the one to teach you." LOVED it. Only PG was fairly useless, resigning herself to "Keeping you busy until the fellows mop up your playmates."

Adv. 360's letters:

Hey look! They finally got the colors right!

Adventure #361

Following the strong Adv #359-360, we get another strong story and also another political one. This one is much more so, and the complex politics involved are very mature. Again, it sure impresses me that a 15 year old wrote it!

This also introduces the Dominators as Shooter is just on freaking fire! Even though their look is nowhere the extreme cool factor that Giffen & McFarlane established, there is quite a huge amount of canon established here in their first appearance: origin, history, societal differences, what their disks signify, etc.

The art in this issue never feels quite right. Swan is iconic and Mooney is fantastic (one of my favorites). But Mooney inking Swan just isn't doing it for me.

What's more notable is the coloring is slightly darkening a bit as the 60's march on. It's a dramatic effect, and was taking place industry wide.

The story is a great political / spy thriller, with tight, tension-filled pacing. The tension between the first attack and the second is particularly well done as the Unkillables purposely make the weary Legionnaires tire themselves out by being on high alert.

The continued inclusion of Kandro Boltax is well done and makes the Legion's continuity tighter and more real.

Just like Shooter remembered Jo's weakness to radiation, he also remembers inertron blocks his penetra-vision. The truth is it was probably continuity buff Bridwell who remembered.

Page 21 has an art mistake where Tinya is depicted when it clearly should be Luornu.

The final reveal is well done an is a mystery that could have been solved. The historical assassins bit I can do without though. Especially since Oswald is an innocent patsy, Brutus and Cassius killed a tyrant and Booth was part of a larger plot and not a lone nut killer. But historical assassinations are a topic I have spent quite a lot of time reading about.

I do like though that the whole trip was a decoy while the real ambassadors made it to Earth. Now that's a proper spy story twist and its nicely pulled off (though as usual things end so abruptly).

To me, we're in the real "meat" of Shooter's run. All the famous stories have kicked it off and now we see a series of just flat out fantastic Legion tales.

I've always felt the "under-dimensions" introduced in Adv. 361 to be a concept worthy of revival.

But I reiterate: it is no longer a time of hope and peace. Shooter in one sentence, retroactively instituted a two decade's long war. This is no small thing and it amazes me that fandom has stuck with this perception of the ADV era as a time of political hunky-doriness. Now I'm not complaining because this turn adds a lot of realistic color to the setting and is an approach that not even Star Trek ventured.

Many new and interesting characters every issue. I also like his Morrison before Morrison work with higher-dimensional travel. How to depict that had to be a bit of a conversation. I have to say that I like that they kept it simple and comprehensible.

I'm currently re-reading "The Universo Project" from the Baxter series/Vol. 3 because of the comparisons to the "Outlawed Legionnaires" story. I'll report on that tomorrow or the next day. Then, I'll catch up on 361-362! I recommend to anyone else who hasn't re-read "Universo Project" recently to do so!

I'll have my report on "The Universo Project" ready this weekend.

I've re-read three-fourths of it, Fickles! In fact there was something about seeing Greg Laroque's art again that will inspire a new thread shortly...

Oh, that is awesome news, Lardy! Can't wait for the new thread. The world needs more Greg LaRocque love.

The thread won't be Laroque-centric, but he'll play a part as I intro it. You'll see...

Ah, okay.

Even a brief positive mention of LaRocque is enough to make me ecstatic.

I'd like to see it attempted. Understanding it might involve a certain amount of drug taking.

Adv. 361's letter column:

LaRocque is cool.

I just read through this thread, and I'm envious that I no longer have the time to read the issues and write reviews.

From what I remember, 359-360 were indeed a powerful story, very different from what we had come to expect. Here the Legionnaires had to struggle, and they might lose. The optimistic future no longer seems so optimistic when your own parents turn against you.

Shooter, at 15, tapped into the youthful fears in a big way!

I've always had mixed feelings about 361. I love the political undertones, which were quite serious for comics of the time. But the whole idea of the Unkillables being the descendents of famous murderers strikes me as wonky. It assumes too many things about genetics, for example (e.g., the murderers must have had bad genes, which they passed on to their descendents, who, miraculously, look just like them! See also Mxyzptlk and Luthor.)

On the other hand, Shooter was tapping once again into ideas he and his audience would have studied in school. It's always nice when comics reinforce subjects learned elsewhere--it adds a sort of credibility to "boring" school lessons. And it's great that Shooter could bridge the gap between the real world and comic book fantasy, something his predecessors rarely attempted.

See also Eltro Gand. I, too, have not had time to reread the stories but being the Legion geek that I am, have most of them committed to memory anyway and have been posting based on my recollections. The head unkillable chose descendants of famous assassins based on their looks, then hypnotized them with some machine to turn them into killers. The "Dominators" described them as innocent victims. Why the renegade Dominator needed his assassins to look like their infamous ancestors, especially given that they all wore masks, is a mystery to me. This story was never one of my favorites, partially because I've never been a big Jim Mooney fan. Also, the whole story seemed like a pretext to toss in a history lesson about famous killers and to once again mix up the Legionnaires' powers for no particular purpose.

[fangirling]WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE[/fangirling]

Thanks, HWW.

A Look Back: The Universo Project (LSH Baxter #32-35)

I'll start out by freely admitting I'm biased in favor of the Baxter Legion, particuarly the majority of the stories contained in issues #14-45, most of which were drawn by Greg LaRocque, who is my favorite Legion artist.

The Universo Project is arguably the high point of the Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque era. As much as it owes to the Jim Shooter/Curt Swan "Outlawed Legionnaires" 2-parter -- which it freely acknowleges in a bit of dialogue -- this story up the stakes considerably (this time most of the Legionnaires are enslaved), and uses the luxuries of extra space (4 issues at 27 pages per issue) and more sophisticated artwork and coloring to their fullest potential. I have seen the pace criticized as slow, but I don't see it that way at all. I see Levitz deliberately building up smoothly to a spectacular and very satisfying climax. This kind of pacing was not possible in the Silver Age, with the need to cram everything into as little space as possible. There's also the characterization that the extra space allows. We get to know the four Legionnnaire outlaws (Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy, Brianiac 5, and Dream Girl) very well, and to understand how Universo knew that they were not to be underestimated...even though he ended up underestimating them anyway. Of course, Saturn Girl shines brightest, because it's she who ultimately saves the day with her super-telepathy. That's what makes it all the sadder that Levitz made sexist comments about women and comics not long ago; it makes one wonder just how much credit should go to Karen Berger and Jenette Kahn for female-friendly superhero books like the LSH of this era.

And, of course, there's also Greg LaRocque's artwork and Carl Gafford's coloring. The coloring on the Baxter format books generally gets criticized for being too garish, but I think it fit the Legion perfectly, and nowhere more so than on the issues drawn by LaRocque. His fluid, sensous imagery and his amazing command of composition, perspective, and spatial relations combine to make him one seriously underrated artist.

I'll grant that the Baxter Era was not as groundbreaking as the Silver Age. But it was, for a considerable stretch, a triumph of sheer impeccable craftsmanship, and The Universo Project is one of its highest points.

I'd say, having just read both, that comparing the "Outlawed Legionnaires" 2-parter to "The Universo Project" is like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, the latter story was clearly inspired by the former, but Levitz's story is no simple re-hash.

Shooter's story involved the whole Legion trying to figure out why Earth had turned against them. Many Legionnaires had moments to shine, and all were a part of the action. The story had many great scenes ad was so effective at spotlighting the entire Legion's ingenuity and determination, probably the best Legion story to do so since the great tale I call "Kitchen Sink" (Bridwell's epic Sir Prize/Miss Terious 2-parter which opened the previous Archive).

Levitz's story had a tighter focus on these four Legionnaires (with a couple of linked side-plots involving two other groups). I think his idea for this story probably started more from a desire to find some way to spotlight these four Legionnaires together more than it did to simply be a sequel to Shooter's story. I think as Levitz explored options for how to do something with them that the idea to involve Universo probably came secondary. How do you spotlight four characters that no one would list among the top-tier Legionnaires power-wise and show what was special about them? I think the rest fell into place in an attempt to answer that question.

So within similar trappings, you have two great stories that tell you different things about Legionnaires. Shooter's shows you how resilient the team is faced with a situation different from anything they've ever faced before. Levitz's shows you how four of the 'weak' Legionnaires are, in their own way, just as or more formidable than any in their large group that happens to count several Kryptonian-level powerhouses among them.

Both stories are remarkable in their own way. Levitz's is more cerebral and slightly decompressed. Shooter's is filled with action and intrigue. But I find it difficult to put one above the other, certainly not based on which one came first. they're apples and oranges--and two of the Legion's better stories, I'd say!

All good points, Lardy. I find your use of the term "decompressed" especially interesting, as I believe that one of Levitz's innovations as a writer was the very "decompressed" style that would come to dominate comics in the 21st Century. After all, what became The Universo Project started out as a subplot which Levitz had introduced almost two years earlier. The difference being that Levitz's better stories (such as the one we're discussing) actually went somewhere, and built to satisfying crescendos and resolutions. I personally prefer this style of pacing to the sometimes frantic, sometimes choppy pacing of the Silver Age. I'm not saying it's better, it's just a matter of personal taste.

bump bump sssshhhhh

Adv. 362

Is this the last Re-Reading the Legion: Archives thread? I could've swore their was an Archives #8 thread but I can't find it. In any event I might as well bump this one to find out if posters have the time to continue this series of of threads.

Just to have everything in order, this is the exact spot where we left off.

Thanks Fanfie! So Adv 362 would be the next story to reread. I'm wondering if as a test run we do just this one in the first week? Or if it's a 2-parter than the two issues?

And should that week be this one or next? I'd be ok for this week but don't know if anyone needs prep time.

I'll definitely need prep time, so I vote for next week.

Next please, as I already have toys to play with this week.

I vote next week.

Done. Let's all plan to take our time and post a review next week when we get the chance. Obviously, with a soft start and end time. This hopefully will be a lot of fun!

Thanks for getting the ball rolling again, Cobie.

Is it possible to um ... "reboot" this thread so the upcoming re-read starts with the first story in Archive 7 instead of picking up where this thread (that I missed out on at the time) stopped last year?

If not, I take this week to start re-reading to get caught up to where the thread stopped and comment here as I go.

CB, the others of us who are participating already read those and probably wouldn't want to re-read again already. HOWEVER, late-arriving participants are always encouraged to go back and read whatever they want to and chime in. We'll probably respond to your posts just as much as if it were the current story! :nod;

CB, I absolutely second what Lardy says: by all means review the earlier stories in the archive and we'll be glad to comment.

With us going on story per week to start, you could easily catch up in no time.

Also, FYI, #362 - 363 is a 2-parter, so we'll review both, correct? Everyone ok with that? Or is that too much at first?

It's okay with me.

Red three standing by.

Red Oktober shtanding by!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since we started this thread. I joined in commenting at the end of Archives #6, but I didn't manage to comment on any of Archives #7 when this thread started. So maybe this can be a brief "previously on Re-reading the Legion: Archives #7" as I highlight some of your comments and toss in a few of my own.

Here are some of Cobie's comments:



Nixon would be elected president a year later. He wasn't notorious yet.



I wonder why Supergirl was even mentioned in this story, unless it was to have the complete team appear. She only appeared in one scene after some of the Legionnaires, including Superboy, were sent to prison on Takron-Galtos, and she wasn't necessary for that scene. Then she up and heads home to the 20th century, leaving her Legion buddies imprisoned or on the run. That's a loyal teammate for you. It would have been better for her character if she weren't in the story at all.



I'm with you, Cobie, on all this. And with Lardy's comments too.

The things you don't notice on the first reading 47 years ago: On pages 2-3 the Legionnaires are shown working with trillions of gallons of "Anti-Atomic Fluid" and facing the SP's "Atomic Blasters". Then two pages later, when they return to their clubhouse, it's barricaded with "electric barb wire" and an "OFF LIMITS TO LEGIONNAIRES" sign. Yeah, that was an effective blocking strategy there, but perhaps it was intentional to demean the Legionnaires. Either way, it probably was a more visceral image for 1960s' teen readers.

The 3-D tele-news reader, Chet Bradley, was a nice nod to well-regarded news co-anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley of NBC's The Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Although I first read and loved these comics when they were brand new, re-reading them now 40+ years later I agree somewhat with Fanfie. These days I occasionally groan and wince at the plot devices, dialogue, and art. But I can still remember how the more innocent and less-sophisticated 12-year-old me felt when reading these stories. Now it's like two versions of me reading simultaneously. Quite fun, actually.

When most of modern superhero comics are unnecessarily dark, this stuff is great to read.

Keep the reviews coming!

Re Adventures 359, what I loved was that the last free Legionnaires weren't really the most powerful. Yet, they managed to pull through and save the day any way.

Also loved how each of the Legionnaires really showed their heroism AND camaraderie. They stuck to their heroic ideals and to each other even though the whole world was turning against them!

I'm not a Silver Age (or Golden Age) fan at all, especially not of DC's Silver Age output. Admittedly, I haven't read a huge enough sampling of DC's body of work from that era, but I've seen enough to know that I'm not going after any Omnibuses, Archives, etc. of any DC S.A. material. Marvel's Silver Age material is head and shoulders above DC's, imo, but I still prefer for the most part their output in the Bronze Age thru the eighties.

The storytelling and art overall just grew up during the Bronze Age and the eighties. The longer storylines, deeper emphasis on personal lives and the more detailed, less cookie-cutter art are the hallmarks. Plus, there was a sense that anything could happen--and usually did! Admittedly, it doesn't hurt at all that I grew up and fell in love with comics during that era.

But the Legion is and was special, whatever the era. And while I grew up and got hooked on the Legion just prior to the GDS, at the dawn of Levitz/Giffen, I also simultaneously read many of the Silver Age Legion classics concurrently, thanks to the healthy dose of Legion reprints in the Adventure Comics digests. So because of this, I also associate Silver Age Legion with my childhood, along with Bronze Age Legion!

But I stand by Silver Age Legion stories generally being better than much of their DC contemporaries. Legion was a little ahead of its time because there was more of a sense of change, continuity and drama to it than in the typical DC book. Many of those stories still hold up fairly well and are very memorable comparatively, even while many of the stories are indeed very much a product of their time and are as cliched as anything else published in the rest of the line. Even when the latter is the case, you still often got imaginiative sci-fi stories and a continuous injection of new Legionnaires.

So that's where I'm coming from. Other than the Legion, I sometimes wonder if the rest of DC would EVER have grown up if not primarily for the storytelling influences of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, particularly!

^And then there's THIS factor, as well!

That was such a strong theme in the story that it made Supergirl's departure that much more troubling. At age 12 I wasn't yet aware of literary techniques, so I blamed Supergirl rather than the writers. Poor Supergirl. But then, back then heroes often did dastardly things. Especially those crazy teenagers. Which, by contrast, is part of what made this particular story, and much of the greater Legion story, so unique and powerful.

I think reading DC Silver Age stories is similar to spending a lot of time watching 30's film noir, or reading gothic novels of the early 1800's, or watching film serials of the 40's & 50's. Or so many other things--hell, even reading classical plays or Shakespeare's works.

What you find is there often develops a series of tropes and literary mechanisms of the era that become incredibly pervasive. You also find that the limitations of the time--oft imposed by outside forces like the comics code or DC editorial telling creators to "tone down the soap opera"--force the stories to fit a pre-conceived structure.

The very best of these stories usually break those barriers, but for every one of those, you're going to get a hundred that don't. And that's okay--there is still a lot to like about those stories more likely to fit the mold. If you can prep yourself in advance you can even have fun picking up on these themes, and guessing who was making those choices. Obviously, a lot of these moments in time won't be everyone's cup of tea.

In terms of comic books, you all know I love the Silver Age. Specifically Marvel, but DC had some great things to offer--with Lardy being absolutely right that the Legion was foremost among them.

Clearly to me, who was 11 in 1992, the Bronze Age is equally as outdated as the Silver Age. And even now, it's clear the 1980's--which had so much good just like those other eras--is another outdated era that fits within this same topic here. All ages of comics books and other mediums will have those "things" that become clear in hindsight and feel jarring and corny. Some of them will appeal to you for reasons that are more about you and the art itself. Both those ages I mentioned, and all the "ages" before or since have some really fantastic high points. They also have some really shitty low points too.

I honestly think you simply can't pick up something printed in 1966 and look at it as just art or literature anymore. You have to view it with the eye of a historian--no matter how slight--in conjunction with the critical literary eye.

Yeah, I kept noticing that too. For such an involved plot in so little space it probably couldn't be helped, though. Nowadays it would take a year's worth of issues to tell this story.

It was ironic, I thought, that the renegade Legionnaires found Lex Luthor's lair from the 20th century, complete with food synthesizers and "a clothing machine that can instantly duplicate...Legion costumes...perfect in every detail" yet Invisible Kid, while standing in that lab of wonders, noted that they had no equipment to contact Supergirl in the 20th century. Darn the luck!



Yep!

In the past several years we've seen too many Legion stories end with a whimpering thud, even after months of plot "development". Bah! This is how you end a story!



Back in 1967 the water-control idea would have been both preposterous ("It's just a comic book. That could never happen!") and a symbol of Cold War fear. Now with Facebook, the NSA, media conglomerates--not to mention corporate efforts to buy up water supplies--Cobie is really not joking.



Agreed.

The next story is Mantis Morlo, right? I don't recall that being an, uh, favorite. I'm sure with my much more mature perspective I will better see all the deep hidden messages for a better universe. Or I'll get into quirky fun mode and just enjoy it for what it is.



From a perspective of someone that has never had to write "plots" on a deadline I wonder why write the story in the first place?

I can only imagine writing a story and it gets all the way to art before realizing, it doesn't work. Time is short, and then forcing the plot however to get it out the door. Or, maybe it was "bad" writing and the writer/editor never realized or cared that it was forced?

That's a very good point LT, and it bothered me as well. Although back when I was reading the original issue, it wasn't quite so egregious because the action was flowing really quickly. Still, when reading I was hoping Supergirl would pop in again at the end to help out. Yet... she never did.

These are all valid points, and in a way it was what I was trying to say in my earlier post. Basically, I grew up on Bronze Age comics and '80s comics. To me, superhero comics will just never get better than they did during those eras, even as I acknowledge that those times did have some incredibly low lows interspersed with all of the awesomeness. (I'd add, though, that none of those lows approached those of the '90s with those godawful gimmick covers and "hot" art styles being copied ad nauseum.) I'm a child of my time, and those sensibilities color what I like and don't like in my superhero books.

I currently collect and read (both are the same to me) zero DCU books and only a handful of Marvels. I love the wave of creator-owned comics of the modern era and especially all the diverse genres that come with it. But even with a few gems here and there, I can't help but feel that the best of the superhero genre is in the past.

When people refer to Golden, Silver... ages in comics they are talking about time frames more than styles?

In popular music, someone could do a send-up and I'd recognize almost immediately, what era, what style and I'm certainly no expert in music. If someone were to do the same in comics, I don't think I'd recognize it, if not for the art complimenting the fashion styles of the era. I wouldn't be able to recognize any change in writing style. Any send-up I can think of in movies or tv is of the "old" comics, the "golden" age I think. Are the other eras really studied and valued?

Would it be possible for a writer to take a theme and a plot and write the same story in the style of the Silver, the Bronze etc to where readers would be able to discern what era was bring imitated? Or are these just time frames, not styles?

Previously in "Re-Reading the Legion: Archives #7:" Adventure #361


We don't say "Not bad for a kid" when we review these stories. We critique just as though he were an adult professional comics writer of the day 'cause his work can stand up to it.



Historical assassins. When I re-read this story today I thought that was a cheesy plot point. Why would beings from "distant worlds" even know about, much less want to use, descendants of Earth assassins? But I don't remember wondering about that as a 12-year-old reader back in the day. I just thought it was a cool idea. That was one of the genius moves of DC with Shooter. What was on his radar as a student would have also been on the radar of DC's teen readers.



Superboy's "Quick! We have to get through the dimension-warp before it closes!" is a parallel of how Shooter ended the story. The revelations of (1) the historical assassins, (2) how they came to be, (3) the Dominators as holograms, and (4) the mission as a decoy all happened in one page--4 panels--and bam! done!

More from Adventure #361:



But we've read through 6 Archives of Legion stories before Shooter mentions this long war. (I'm assuming you're correct about this being the first mention of it.) And how long before it plays a factor in another Legion story?

While we're waiting to start Adventure #362...

Here's the really good stuff you could get if you bought the first edition of Adventure #361 off the spinner rack:

*** Mr. America's Imperial vinyl 110-pound barbell & dumbell set, only $19.95. Included is a free 6x8 photo of Mr. America (Val Vasilef), personally autographed and suitable for framing.

*** Tiger Paw bike tires. Just like the famous Tiger Paw tires the big guys have on their cars. When you put on Tiger Paws, all those bicycles with the plain black or whitewall tires will look old fashioned!

*** Meet Bat-Swami and Super-Seer in the next Superman-Batman 80 Page Giant!

*** See all the new SATURDAY'S SUPER HEROES on CBS:
8:00 -- Captain Kangaroo
9:00 -- Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles
9:30 -- The Herculoids
10:00 -- Shazzan! (along with Kaboobie the flying Camel)
10:30 -- Space Ghost
11:00 -- Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor
11:30 -- the Superman-Aquaman Hour of Adventure
12:30 -- Jonny Quest
1:00 -- The Lone Ranger
1:30 -- The Road Runner

*** The Novelty Parade with "lots of laughs and fun galore with this wonderful assortment of bargains." Get a Winkin Monster Eye. Insult cards ("Don't go away mad. Just go away."). Wolf siren ring. Instant cat (simply drop the capsule into a glass of water and wait 3-4 minutes). Paratrooper parachute (8" high). Atomic buzzer. Invisible ink powder. Rubber bat ("will cause nothing but grief to the poor victim who should just happen to walk in unexpectedly"). MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!

*** The World's Most Realistic Detailed, Full Scale Battle Games. Choose from "Gold Crown" (188 pieces for $2.50, including 80 Medieval fighting men, 2 goat head rams, 2 draw bridges, and 1 large regal king's crown) or "Tank Trap" ("tanks actually exploding, blowing apart right off the panoramic battle field").

*** 204-piece Revolutionary War Soldier set, only $1.98. (Includes 24 Mohawk Indians)

*** A coupon for free admission to Palisades Amusement Park, NJ. (Worth 85 cents.)

*** Personal Success Guides. Choose from "How to Bring Out Your 'Hidden' Beauty" ... "How to Make Your Hair Beautiful Whether It's Kinky, Oily, Dry or Straight" ... "Look Lighter, Feel Lighter, Be Lighter" ... "What Makes Men Tick?" ... "How to Make Friends and Influence the 'Right' People" ... "15 Ways to Act Sophisticated and Smooth with Men" ... "12 Startling Secrets to a More Beautiful Bust" ....

And finally, on the back cover:
*** The Thunderbike. If you don't already own a Model Motoring set, here's another great reason for getting one. It'll mean you're ready for the wild one. It's got it, so get it! $3.98

Ah, ads. Almost as fun as the comic itself.

Agh! I was all prepped tonight to read Adv 362 only to learn that...I don't have it! And I was wondering why I didn't remember part 1 all that well...

So, while this collection oversight will need to be addressed eventually, I'll try to check out an electronic copy tomorrow and review.

So here we go again! I’m hoping everyone gets a chance to weigh in and kick the Archives back off. But as we talked about, I definitely think a slow & steady approach is the way to go, so we can let everyone have some time to read the issue and post a review.

Adventure Comics #362
It’s good to be back—and right in the middle of the real “meat” of a young Jim Shooter’s run, where I feel he is really firing on all cylinders. So many of these stories that are sandwiched between the first Fatal Five story and the first Mordru story are often unmentioned in broad reviews, but for me, most of them have been fantastic. Picking things up where we left off, we see Shooter utilize a lot of his favorites: Invisible Kid as leader; Karate Kid & Projectra front & center; continued heavy use of Sun Boy and Cosmic Boy, etc. And actually, there are quite an array of Legionnaires in this story. In the first half, many are just doing something here or there, but the larger group in the latter half is pretty large in comparison to the “old days”.

Mantis Morlo is not exactly the greatest LSH villain of all time, but you have to hand it to Shooter for yet another creation. His “look” is very Dr. Sivana-ish to. What sets him apart is that he’s actually given more personality than one would think at first glance—the Legionnaires are disrupting his life’s work and that causes him to get on the defensive. He goes to extreme measures, yes, but how often have we seen people in real life become threatened, go on the defensive and suddenly play the role of the villain a bit? Later we find out about yet another untold tale of the Legion’s past documenting Morlo’s first run-in with the Legion. In a way, this lessens what I just said though, so I wish it hadn’t been included; it shows a pattern of villainy on Morlo’s part and makes him much less empathetic.

The Chemoids, and Gorn are pretty meh, except for Gorn having four arms.

Shooter pencils the issue with Mike Costanza, who also does the inks. Once again, Shooter shows his wunderkind nature with a wide array of skills. The art is actually pretty good too—not as good as Curt Swan and George Klein who I recall from our last archive reviews were producing work better than I had ever seen it in 1966-67; but still really good. Projectra has never looked more like Grace Kelly, which obviously inspired her creation.

(I swear on the bottom right panel of page 15, Projectra looks like she was drawn by Johnny Romita Sr., or at least 1970’s Jim Mooney)

There’s lots of nice little moments that reminds me why I missed doing these rereads. In the beginning Tinya & Luornu are being besties—like we’ve always theorized in the pre-Shady days. It’s cool to see Brainy & Lyle working together in multiple scenes. Page 6 shows Cos, Ayla, Thom and Dirk all using their powers as Shooter makes sure to utilize action sequences as much as possible. A few pages later he even remembers to have Dream Girl contribute—a rarity until around 1980!

We get our first glimpse of Orando! The dialogue is a bit clunky during this part but the fast action pace is appreciated. With a very middle-age feel to it, Orando stands out. That is nicely done, even if the best depictions of the planet are not for another 15 years. Shooter does make a great decision with his dialogue by having Jeckie lie to her father and call the Legionnaires ‘nobles’. Karate Kid picks up on it, and appears to be slightly offended or annoyed. A few panels later, KK is the only Legionnaire who doesn’t realize he’s supposed to bow to the king. All of this adds a great bit of depth to the sequence, and it sets up ongoing Jeckie / Val interactions. We don’t have to wait too long for the payoff either—at the end of the issue, after some great interaction with underpinnings of strong mutual respect, Jeckie gives Val a nice “in”, and Val plants a wonderfully depicted kiss on her. It’s a great little moment, and it’s heightened by Val admitting the way she handled herself earlier in the story impressed him so much that he couldn’t help thinking about doing it. Though still the two newest Legionnaires, their relationship already feels deeper and more full than a lot of others.

BB mentioned a few comments above that the Unkillables story did something few of us commented on: it established a 10 year war proceeding that story, which means a war was ongoing throughout all of the earlier LSH adventures. Shooter clearly had a different view of the future, and the classic “bright future” so many of us think of when we think of the Legion may not really apply all that much from here on. This story, with its focus on Orando, follows that story by showing very clearly a planet that still exists in the 30th century that has kings and nobles on one hand, and uneducated, superstitious peasants on another one. Clearly, the 30th century had a lot of depth to it, and couldn’t be colored so uniformly by the “bright & shiny” image.

Also noteworthy: Jeckie says “Because Orando never had small countries to compete against each other, scientific advancement stagnated!” That’s a pretty strong endorsement for capitalism right there!

The issue ends with not the most alarming of cliffhangers but I’ve enjoyed the story well enough to want to read #2. To be honest my expectations were absurdly low for this story since I’ve never cared much for Mantis Morlo, but I have to say I’m surprisingly delighted by how much I enjoyed it. And that’s all basically because of a young Jim Shooter.

Special Note – we get a “Meet the Legionnaires” page in the issue which gives the most up to date line-up. Add in Shady, Brin and Condo and you’ve got the classic Adv line-up complete.

Letter’s Page – the ongoing heated debate continue as yet another young boy calls out Liz Kane for her comments issues earlier. It’s the 1960’s message board but moderated by Uncle Mort!

Direct Currents – this may be the first “Direct Currents”…or at least, it says it is. Obviously stealing the idea from Stan Lee and Marvel, it’s nonetheless an awesome inclusion for many years hereafter.

Adventure #362

After the Legion chain gang, Otto Orion and the Legion of Super villains in recent previous issues, I always felt that this issue was a weaker offering. On the reread:-

The cover and splash page abound with alliteration as we see Superboy get smashed by the Plastic Men of Garguax moonlighting for the Legion’s Savana look-alike winner. Morlo’s maniacal cackling doesn’t win many points, as it was a tired cliché even when this saw print.

The story opens with some down time in Legion HQ. Karate Kid shows his Japanese upbringing and reminds the male readership that flower arranging and painting are as important as martial skills. Dirk reads a book on law; presumably the chapter on paternity suits ahead of avoiding them in later years.

In the lab, Lyle and Querl interrupt their techno-romance as they detect a toxic threat to the atmosphere.
Now here’s an interesting change of gear. Morlo’s plans for discovering the secrets of the universe are interrupted at the end of page 3. No lengthy hunt. No protracted conflict. There’s a threat. The Legion locates its source, and confronts it. It’s a plotting decision that makes a huge impact on the issue.

Morlo shows interesting depth by trying to convince the Legion he’s doing the right thing. If only he had been employed by a toxic dumping large corporation, the legion would never have got the authority to stop him.

But Morlo is stopped by the Legion, following a fun and successful fight against Morlo’s creation: Gorn. Forewarned and certainly four-armed, but still taken out in a very satisfactory way by the seasoned pros of the Legion. A mad scientist’s henchman should pose little threat, so it’s nice to see this efficiently shown.

Chameleon Boy absorbs information on Morlo’s form. It’s probably going to pay off later. Either for the legion or, since he does it so readily, for Cham’s secret plan to take over the galaxy by impersonating its leaders.

Unfortunately, the Legion trusts Brainy to tell them that Morlo’s threat has ended. Brainy, who can’t wait to get people out of his own labs and for whom highly dangerous experiments are tremendous fun. So it’s no surprise that he whisks his team mates away, leaving Morlo with most of his experiments intact. Brainy also tells his colleagues that Morlo’s last prison sentence was short because experimenting on the minds of his human guinea pigs didn’t damage them physically. So that’s all right then. It says a lot about Brainy’s outlook, even if the three human subjects did go on to star in Minority Report decades later.

The Legion then gets on with some other minor issues. In the hands of a Levitz, this story would be spread across a number of issues. The Legion would encounter Morlo across months in between other adventures. This is more focused. The legion takes part in some minor issues, before alerts come in from three of their home worlds, forcing the Legion to separate. The first team go to Orando and we get an early taste of a medieval world still existing in the 30th century.

The Legion are only worthy when introduced as nobles to her eager Teen Beat fan of a father. But graffiti isn’t the problem. There’s a toxic threat to the atmosphere. Must Mean Mad Maniacal Morlo.

Projectra knows her world is backward and prophecy led. But knowing this doesn’t mean she has any intention of changing it. The threat is terrible, not because it brings death, but because it blocks out the stars bringing bad omens. The deaths of the people of Palik Ramos mean less than the threat of the toxic cloud reaching her palace. The golden palace may be what Jeckie thinks is the pride of her world, but I wonder what the families of Palik Ramos would prefer.

With Superboy only able to affect the cloud briefly, the group agree to return to the palace. Jeckie says that there’s little else to be done. Superboy saving some of the vulnerable locals at super speed might have been a thought.

Unsurprisingly, the locals aren’t best pleased, but are put in their place by their princess. Projectra uses the sign of the Spirit King to subdue the mob, showing that the obscure Justice League villain lives onto be a major threat before the 30th century.

Back at the palace, Karate Kid uses his power of notebook & pencil creation to take some details about the planet. In the Princesses’ chambers, no less. A planet living in peace, yet strangely fearful of everything has turned Orando into a spiritualist version of Switzerland.

Karate Kid continues to be a writer’s favourite, wooing Princess Projectra and then causing nuclear fusion with his super karate in Briany’s experiment! Unfortunately I missed that week at my own club, and was unable to get anyone to teach me the following week from the smoking crater. It's a great Kid moment.

With Superboy present, we see the advantages of Karate Kid. It’s Val’s precision that sets him apart.
Brainy realises that their foe is Morlo. In a sensible reprise of the opening pages, the team have no difficulty in tracking the villain down. Since they can all fly, the use of the flying chariots is a little lost on me.

This time, Morlo has specially prepared Chemoids waiting for the Legion. Each is tailor made to offset their powers. Before any of the Legion can switch targets, they look almost defeated. There’s only time for Morlo’s Maniacal Monologue and it’s a cliffhanger until the next issue!

On first glance it could be a mixed issue. Morlo is an artefact from 1940s Captain Marvel comics. The use of the chemoids is also predictable. But that’s not the whole story. Morlo gets a fully fleshed out history as the issue progresses, and also a previous Legion encounter. He has a moment of sympathy too as the Legion fail to to be deterred by his incredible work.

The powers of the Chemoids are used consistently but have a completely different threat level at different points in the book. So, even simple ideas are used well and developed. Gorn is there to set up the readers into underestimating Morlo’s threat, and it works.

The plot structure is also excellent. The pace switch on page three is really well done, allowing for a different rise and fall of the tempo in the issue.

We see more on the charming fumbling relationships of Karate Kid and Projectra. We get into the mind of the Princess and also Brainy in his approach to science and villains like Morlo. The threat of smog is also useful as it’s something the Legion can’t attack directly. We also see Chuck as a creature of comfort, quite liking the idea of a life in a palace. It’s nice to see Chuck and Luornu together before she finally shakes off her Superboy crush.

[u][/u]

re the Morlo two-parter... some impressions I (still) have from my most recent re-read some time in 2013...

1) Loved seeing Orando, Daxam and Naltor. All interesting planets,especially Orando (which I recall was the most fully fleshed-out).

2) I thought it was odd that Dream Girl did almost nothing on Naltor! Projectra and Mon-El were able leaders on their homeworlds, but Dreamy just kind of stood there. What gives?!

3) Most of the Legionnaires had something to do, but this issue felt much more crowded than some of the recent ones like Universo etc. Maybe it was the pacing? I didn't mind so much though, I enjoyed seeing so many Legionnaires in action

4) Shrinking Violet and Supergirl absent! Come on, Supergirl. Soon you won't be able to understand any of the inside jokes!

I found issue 362 very enjoyable, echoing Cobie in how it was surprisingly so. As Cobie said, people tend to remember the big, significant milestones in Shooter's run, but this re-read is proving that there were plenty of other gems he wrote, even if the foes and concepts weren't as memorable. It speaks to what a talented young writer he was, producing what I think was the best run on the LSH until Paul Levitz came around.

One thing that hasn't been touched on in the reviews of this issue so far is how Shooter was adding a subtext to many stories in his run that related to contemporary issues. What's even better is that it was subtext and not outright preaching.

The subtext of the Morlo storyline is about pollution and how mankind is endangering the environment with their industry. Shooter didn't make this aspect up for the story; he used what he could see out his window and what was starting to show up in headlines for inspiration. Hell, it may have even been subliminal for teenage Shooter and may not have been intended as subtext, per se, but the muse was apparent. I almost think it wasn't intentional because there's nothing preachy about the story's presentation (even when you consider that the Legion was actually fighting smog for a good portion of it!). But I almost think it WAS and that young Shooter was just THAT good at such a tender age and could pull it off. Either way, I'm happy to read an issue presented with such subtlety, whether intended or not.

There was subtext in Shooter's previous story also with the Dominator story. Without being preachy, he shows two cultures who had been at war, try to relate and become humanized to each other in a few key scenes. When you think that the Vietnam War was in its most violent point at the time of that story's publication, this was a pretty progressive and insightful point of view to take. And again, it isn't used to knock you over the head--it's truly subtext.

While O'Neil and Adams get a lot of credit for putting social issues front-and-center during their legendary Green Lantern/Green Arrow run, let's not forget that a teenager took a good stab at it a few years earlier and still told a darn good yarn in the process!

That's a great point, Lardy! And as you said - it's subtle but visible, and not all in-your-face too!

Lardy, really fantastic point. Also some great speculation on whether it was Shooter's intent to be so subtle, or whether this was something he was subconsciously doing as he found his voice as a writer. Whatever the case, it definitely works, as you say. It's progressive and true subtext. One of the problems with any sort of reread of the O'Neil GL / GA issues is that they are so overt with almost no subtlety; at times its a little difficult to read without groaning.

"Preachiness" has become an almost unforgivable sin for me as a reader, and I suspect many comic book fans like most of us, who have read literally thousands of comics, feel the same way. I don't even care about good intentions anymore--if you're too preachy, I start rooting for the dark side.

IB, good commentary on the story from the viewpiont of reading both at once. Since this is a two-parter, I want to confirm for everyone that anyone can review the single issue or both at once. I plan to eventually get around to reviewing part 2 (which I've now read) but am waiting for some more possible commentary.

Thoth, that was a pretty awesome--and hilarious!--review! Please keep them coming as we move forward with the archives! I agree totally about the plot structure. It's unusual and that immediately drew me right in. So many stories rise and fall because of the plot structure and pacing, regardless of whether it was a good idea, great characterization or a great villain.

About the pollution angle, while I was typing away I was thinking about...



which was preachier than the Legion issue.

To my mind, Brainy & Jeckie are among the most likely to work against the legion to follow other ideals. This issue probably has a lot to do with that perception. Well done Shooter for adding such nuanced characterisation. Even if unintentional, some characters are products of their heritage.

I recall that even though she knew about the Legion conspiracy, Jeckie did not stop it perhaps recognising it's need.

In Adventure #362, when the King of Orando ends his audience with the Legionnaires, they all bow. Except for Karate Kid; Superboy has to nudge him and tell him to bow. Now, Karate Kid has studied all kinds of Eastern martial arts, and in this story he mentions that he has studied in Japan. He surely knows the traditions of bowing in respect. So why do you think he had to be schooled by Superboy?

(a) He had just finished chopping a marble pillar into pieces and was walking back to the group. He hadn't heard what the king said.
(b) Princess Projectra's cape had swept to the side as she knelt and he was checking out her butt.
(c) He was looking around for a computer on which he could feed his mission report into the auto-log.
(d) Since the princess had introduced the Legionnaires as nobles, he thought bowing wasn't necessary by someone of their status.
(e) Since the Legionnaires had just carried off the queen's throne, tossed around some armor, broken some weapons, torn up the marble floor, and destroyed pillars, he thought the king probably would want to bow to them.
(f) Having discovered that the queen was a "Teen Beat" fan, he figured they were, like, groovy pals with the royal family.
(g) He was playing the naive newbie role to stay in good graces with the other Legionnaires.

Seriously, this was an interesting little moment which was unnecessary for the plot. Why do you think it was there?

Smog is the danger in the first half of the story, while in the second half Morlo uses weather disruptions and food contamination. In the 1960s smog was in the headlines; weather and food problems not so much. Now here in the early 21st century...well, we can say that if Shooter wasn't preachy, he was prescient. Legion World, Mantis Morlo is out there somewhere!

I think it was to re-enforce the cultural disparity between the royal Princess and the pauper street orphan, K Kid and show that their budding love transcends social morés.

^ This, plus (B), checking out her royal backside!

As we continue to review this story, I’ll add in some additional comments for…

Adventure Comics #363

As with most 2-part stories, comments on this one are briefer as we’ve already gotten a lot out of the way with the first issue. I enjoyed seeing the blurb on the title page: "All the legionnaires except Shrinking Violet and Supergirl". Oops. Sounds like someone forgot and then remembered at the last minute.

When I first got into the Legion, Karate Kid was one of my favorites. This issue, along with the next Fatal Five story and the issue where five Legionnaires have 24 hours to live, are the reason why. He's the ultimate badass for a kid to want to be (if that kid also wanted to be part of a group of cool teenagers with superpowers). I also like early on that Val inspires Brainy to get free which in turn gets Ayla to do the same, ensuring it's not just the boys. That progressive pacing makes Shooter's action sequences stand out.

As a second part of a two part story this issue needs to up the ante, which it does. We get to see the referenced other two squads on Daxam and Naltor, and thus get a megaload of Legionnaires--as I suspect the positive fan mail from the Universo story clued in Mort and the Shooter Kid that fans dug the big cast.

I love the idea for Naltor's problem. It's such a normal, almost mundane but clever problem for a population where everyone can see the future.

The choice to show one planet after another is interesting, and very in line with the earlier straight forward Legion writers. Shooter, who was more "Marvel" than any writer DC had yet, seems like he might choose the Kirby Marvel method of 6 different stories going on at once. You almost think Shooter hadn't written and done layouts, you might think the "days later" and other references to time passing were added in later to explain the narrative choice. I say almost though because we eventually see Shooter had a plan all along and was holding it from us--there really is 3 different Morlos! It’s amazing that he was such a clever storyteller at this age.

One might expect the whole crew of Legionnaires to gang up on Morlo but I don't mind the smaller, almost-espionage squad finish. I do wish however they used the perfect chance for Jeckie to trick Morlo into thinking he'd blown up the Earth rather the hard to swallow Jo / Supes / Mon explanation. Considering Jeckie’s earlier role, it would tie the story together nicely. Instead, I wonder if there was a little push to have Superboy doing more than just being one of the minor players.

Morlo gets progressively more and more vicious during the course of the story. By the end he is trying to destroy a whole planet! It almost feels unbelievable at that point, though Shooter carefully shows Morlo has upped the ante throughout the 2-part story. Still, it’s a long way from that opening sequence in the prior issue that gives the reader a reason to feel some sort of understanding or empathy for the character; sadly all of that is lost by now.

I admit I didn't enjoy part 2 as much as 1, though it's hard to pin down any reason why. I liked it well enough—it was solid action and fun. But I could have used more of the characterization that Shooter has been giving us. This definitely felt in the vein of the pre-Shooter issues.

As I reread this story, I couldn't remember how it ended. When the Legionnaires revealed that the Earth was not really destroyed, I immediately anticipated that it was one of Projectra's illusions. Maybe Shooter didn't go that way because it would be the expected solution...and the creation of a fake Earth was a more incredible feat. (But, like Cobie, I would have preferred that it was a Jeckie save, not the far-fetched thing we saw. Wasn't that an incredible waste of time and resources when you have an illusionist handy? But hey, it's a super-hero comic. Go big or go home.) By the way, it was Jan, not Jo, who helped Superboy and Mon build the fake planet.

Yeah, as we're now in 1968, the kind of oddball last minute saves will become increasingly rare. This one kind of jumped out at me since I thought we were kind of past that.

We're almost to AC#369, the first appearance of my favorite Legion villain, Mordru!

We're also almost at Adventure #365-366, the first appearance of my favorite Legionnaire, Shadow Lass. I'll definitely chime in on that story.

We’re almost at my review of Adventure 363. Why, here it is now…

Adventure #363

The United Planets is a big place. That’s why Mantis Morlo isn’t too worried about where he’s going to find an optician and a dry cleaners as he sets fire to Earth on the cover. Visi-Lad’s Optic Emporium is only a few systems away. Once again, Superboy is on the cover in a dual role. Firstly, to sell the book and secondly to show the level of threat posed by Morlo.

I wonder if the “Black Day” in the title inspired the later Black Dawn incident in the TMK run, with the Earth threatened with being set alight there too. The shadow of chemical warfare is as pertinent today as it was when this was released.

We pick up directly from last issue’s cliff-hanger in the splash page, but then get a summary of the previous issue before we can continue. There’s something to be said for a small previously box/inside cover. But the argument would be that is takes away an ad or isn’t as visual as a lovely splash page. Superboy states that Krytponite is his one weakness, forgetting red solar radiation and, much later, any emotional drama that would blind him with tears.

Karate Kid gets more excellent exposure, showing he’s the master of many fighting skills. His success inspires Brainy to defeat his foe, while Light Lass defeats hers in a clever way. The trio rescue the other Legionnaires and capture Morlo ending his plans on Orando. But the madman escapes into the forests of Orando, with Superboy having to explain why he can’t catch him.

We meet up with the Legionnaires as they save the other two worlds under threat. Superboy isn’t the only own who has to make an awkward explanation. Mon-El has to let the readers know why he can still use his powers under the red sun of Daxam.

Lovely Daxam, with weather control, science labs and oceans. Just remember to set your time bubble to before the great darkness saga. Or even before this issue, as the cities are being destroyed by some very violent weather. Shooter really shows how bad this can be with the Legionnaires attacked directly and the population forced underground. No tame red skies and lightning effects as seen in Crisis here.

Despite the emphasis Daxam places on science, it hasn’t taken much for society to fall apart and there is widespread rioting. It’s another nice touch from Shooter in an excellent segment. The Legionnaires are forced underwater to confront Morlo. It’s an environment that’s used sparingly outside an Aquaman comic and it makes perfect sense that Morlo would be based there. All of the group get their time in the spotlight and make more headway than the first team. Mon -El doesn’t have Superboy’s weaknesses, and is the more powerful. Shooter does not hold Element Lad back and Imra’s powers extend to a form of psychometry. Although beaten, Morla escapes again.

We then get to see what a planet would be like where everyone could predict the future: Naltor. The background here would set the standard for all future (or foretold if you’re Naltorian) issues. Again, Shooter shows both positive and negative sides of the society.

As everyone is precognitive, their society is strangely structured to prevent foreknowledge ruining everything. It seems quite desperate, caged world, with rules forcing society in to a pattern in spite of the powers available. Morlo has given the Naltorians visions of impending doom and they are terrified.

It’s interesting that there are no future Utopias in these Legion issues. Earth has recently been rescued from the fascistic Universo; Orando is superstitious mediaeval back water and both Daxam and Naltor are only ever days away from rioting and looting.

Morlo has infected the food chain of Naltor, causing the disruption. The fear of dogma & superstition; climate change and infected food chains are all issues we see in today’s news. Shooter uses them all effortlessly, decades ago, as solid preach-free plot devices.

Ultra Boy is the star in this segment, using his penetra powers to find Morlo in the depths of the planet. For the sake of future stories, Ultra Boy doesn’t use his power to this extent much following this issue. A Dawnstar/Ultra Boy team up would leave villains with nowhere to hide in the universe.

The others eventually get a chance to use their powers, even if Chameleon Boy looks a bit silly as an Air Conditioning Beast from Antares (Desk Fan). Chameleon holds his comrades back by becoming a Blockade Beast of Betelgeuse (brick wall) in another silly use of his powers.

We do get the pay off from his twitching antennae from last issue. Having absorbed information on Morla’s form, Reep knows that they have just fought an impostor. Reep confesses that he does this all the time, something that is conveniently forgotten about. When Batman finally joined the Legion, I imagine the first thing he did was come up with a contingency plan to stop Daggle.

In a lovely twist, the real Morlo has never left his orbital lab. I picture him having breakfast, watching a holo vid and creating a chemical death trap while the Legion chase their tails around the galaxy. As Gorn was a set up last issue, the duplicate Morlos are this issue’s decoys. As Morlo gets the detonator from a “finally” arriving Gorn, Morlo blows up the Earth.

Only he doesn’t. Such is Morlo’s self absorption, he failed to notice the Legion build an entire planet next to the Earth. It’s a duplicate Earth Slartybartfast would be proud of, whipped up at short notice by Mon-El, Super Boy and Element Lad. It’s presumably destroyed before its gravitational effects cause widespread catastrophe on Earth.

From the lovely weighted foreshadowing of “Gorn’s” reappearance, I had always thought that this ending was ridiculous. Three people have just created an entire planet out of space debris and spent time sculpting it into a decent duplicate of Earth. Instead of, you know, just capturing Morlo.

It makes no sense. Or, rather, it didn't hold up too well to scrutiny before this reread. The Legion have already beaten Morlo twice, before he sends his duplicates to their home worlds. They know another similar defeat will not make any difference. Morlo will be back. They have tried reasoning with him. They have tried simply shutting him down.

So they tackle Morlo in a different way, getting to the heart of the problem. They deal with his hubris. They openly tell him that he will get his fame, but as the man who blew up the wrong planet. Morlo will be a “standard joke on every planet in the universe before long.” Morlo’s arrogance, the conceit that he knew best, is gone and he will have to learn to work with everyone else, rather than laugh maniacally above them. The Legion could have stopped Morlo again, but they chose a more elegant solution, by giving Morlo hope of redemption.

Considering the numerous threats we have created to kill ourselves in the real world, let’s hope we can manage to deal with our own hubris without a Legion. Just to give an example of preachiness that doesn't appear in shooter's story.

The other aspect of the Legion’s solution concerns the ability to even create a duplicate planet. But this is the pre crisis Superboy. Along with the equally powerful Mon El, there’s no real limit to the mass they can move. Element Lad has already been shown in this story transforming atmosphere if only temporarily. Readers who doubt their capabilities need only look to later issues where they terraform Daxam following the great darkness saga. Or look further ahead to the reboot and the powers of the Progenator.

I thought Adventure 363 made for a pretty good conclusion, although the ending definitely went for the obligatory Silver Age fake-out. But the journey getting there was pretty interesting, especially the ideas Shooter had about Naltor and the inventive attack Morlo devised for its natives. The ideas were probably flawed, but it was entertaining to hear of such things as pre-incident lawsuits, stock trading a month in advance and not bothering to vote in elections because the outcome is already known. The idea of all of this being thrown out of whack because all were poisoned to have only nightmares is pretty interesting! Unlike the physical danger to Orando and Daxam, Naltor's calamity was social upheaval because their confidence in their very way of life was unhinged.

Honestly, it seems very few modern writers come up with plots that interesting--and this bit only comprised about a third of the story! Plus, if you want to, I'm sure there's a bit of subtext again if you look at the time it was written and make a connection or two.

It's too bad that Daxam wasn't as interesting as Naltor and, to a lesser degree, Orando. I'm not sure when it was established, but I was hoping to see some allusions to that world's later(?)-established status as a preeminent medical innovator or perhaps some visual cues that show its relationship to Krypton with its origins as its colony. So it was pretty generic an uninteresting in comparison to the other two as presented here.

As I think about this story, I'm kind of surprised Mantis Morlo didn't become a prominent Legion villain. Lots of books had their "mad scientist" villains, and Morlo's debut here is actually impressive enough that I can see his potential. Kind of Brainiac-5's opposite number--or maybe writers had too much fun with Brainy himself occasionally filling that role? My DC Wiki search shows that he only ever appeared again in S/LSH 249. I suppose that's one more appearance than I thought he had, but I think he could have been about as big as other Shooter villains like the Fatal Five, Mordru and Universo. I suppose, maybe, it's that he looked so much like Sivana?

Anyhow, I'd have to say, overall, that this is another exceptional Shooter-era story and further evidence that he was clearly one of the better Legion writers.

I'm excited to get to "The School for Super-Villains" in Adventure 372!

Shooter does a great job showcasing the fear of perceived civilized societies digressing into chaos and rioting. It's interesting when you consider how different that notion is to the earlier Legion stories at the start of the Silver Age.

Of course, the date of this story explains a lot. It went on sale in October 1967. Just three months earlier in July 1967 there was the famous Detroit riot which left 40+ dead and over 2,000 buildings destroyed. It was one of the worst post-WWII riots; more importantly, while it was one of the worst, it certainly wasn't alone. There were many race riots around the country, with more civil disturbances (whether deemed "race" inspired or otherwise) to come.

There was a genuine fear among many Americans that the entire society could indeed collapse. That was certainly heightened in 1968 - 1971. And to many, that fear would encompass the entire youth culture of the USA.

Shooter, now 16, surely must have been wondering where his place in all of this would be.

Adventure Comics
As we start to get towards the end of the Silver Age, we start getting a lot of "last of" things. Adv #364 isn't the last Legion of Super-Pets story, but it's definitely the last prominent cover appearance; they appear twice more--just barely, and that's it. That says a lot about how serious comics started to take themselves.

That reminds me, we forgot another last--the last major Jimmy Olsen LSH story, in Jimmy Olsen #106. As Jimmy, the Super-Pets and other things became less involved with the LSH, it definitely marked the end of an era.

Anyway, this issue is special to me because for many years I didn't own it. It was next to impossible to find. When discussing that topic on LW back in the old days of 2004, a heroic poster decided to rectify that situation for me: Varalent, having a double of the issue, sent it to me as a gift! Knowing Vee well over the years, I can say that is only a small example of his generosity. He's definitely missed. And it's so cool I now am reading the copy he bought off the stands in 1968.

The story reads like a classic Hamilton or Siegel story but I don't mind it. 3 pages of origins in the beginning is a bit much, but I enjoy the personalities Shooter gives them, including the conflicting feelings about abandoning their post. Krypto, Proty and Streaky worrying about their "owners" is endearing. Ah, comics. You took yourself so seriously and laughed at these types of things. [disgusted] Now look at you. [/disgusted]

Admittingly it takes way too long to get to the confrontation but if the payoff is a Cham / Proty II battle of Rock, paper, scissors, HAMMER, then yes, I'll enjoy the prize.

The most memorable part, to me, is the identities they assume: Biron the Bowman and Blockade Boy. I wonder what the decision process was to reuse the Blockade Boy identity; yes, it was a good one the first time around but it's an interesting choice.

The ending is predicable. Which underscores the fact this is probably the weakest story in some time, considering the overall lack of depth to both plot and characters. However, I do think it has it's charms in places. It would take a long time after the Silver Age, but other creators would reclaim some of these sensibilities with a more modern twist, like Grant Morrison.

Elsewhere in DC
Lois Lane goes mod, ditches Supes and joins the feminist movement! The times are a'changin!

And I recall this being brought up during the Brainy trial in v3. Violet comments on it, and Tinya says her close friendship with Lu and Lu's 2nd body being killed by the Time Trapper are why she gave Brainy a guilty vote!



Thanks! You know, from these rereads I realized that the Adventure Era DEFINITELY lends itself well to commenting one issue at a time. Like with the Mantis Morlo story, each issue of the two-parter had so much content. I'm sure it's a bit of a "duh obvious" comment, but compared to v7 for example, the differences are stark.

I enjoyed this "last" Super-pets story, overall. It's a simpler and (ironically) more childish yarn than most of Shooter's others, but it's nice to have one last hurrah in the Super-pets series.

I found it especially interesting to see such a focus on Comet this go-round. I remember hearing bits of SA Comet's background, but this is the first time I recall seeing it all laid out for me, as I don't have those Supergirl stories. I've also heard people allude to the hindsight-creepiness about him having a human form and of there being some romantic attraction between Kara and Comet in that guise. But I find him fascinating in this Silver Age version and see some untapped potential. I don't know if she ever found about Comet's dual identity. If she didn't, it was a missed opportunity not to tell it before SA Kara died.

As a story that is just emblematic of the charms of the Silver Age in such a way that we don't see stories like it anymore, this one was very well done, albeit with a few problems. The main problem is that the Super-pets just don't come across very well in the end. In a bid to assert their equality, they are really shown up by the humanoid Legionnaires. They are chastised for failing to use better strategy against the machines, they are derided for actually being recognized by a society and ultimately, they are out-thinked and rescued by their humanoid superiors. Plus, in a kind of shocking panel, Cham manhandles Proty in order to force him to come along. In the end the story reinforces that these are pets and inferior to their humanoids.

I would've hoped for the Pets to come across a little better in a story in which they "revolt". But this was the Silver Age, and these characters were primarily intended to be adorable companions to the headlining heroes. So it was what it was. Kind of bad for Comet particularly, though, since he was half-humanoid and even full-humanoid in certain circumstances. They were all portrayed with human-level intellect, so maybe it's bad for them all.

So a couple of other questions arise: 1) Streaky gets his powers anytime he's exposed to X-K, as the story explains. For how long, or did he have some tucked in his cape or something? 2) Proty could talk as Blockade Boy. They've had him talk while in disguise before, but there was an explanation to get around it when it happened, iirc. How did he do it before, and would that fit in here to explain it?

By the way, I loved the one large panel (page 10, panel 2) artist Pete Costanza drew in which part of it shows Supergirl in an iconic pose giving one of the machines an uppercut. Garth dominates the foreground, but the detail in Kara's pose is very kick-ass! Overall, Pete does an excellent job drawing the animals accurately and especially giving them believable mannerisms. Not a fan of the multiple pages with arrows showing you which panels to read in order. Swan does it some, too, but it didn't seem as glaring and frequent as in Costanza's issue.

So, farewell, Super-pets. It wasn't your finest hour, but it was a worthwhile send-off. The Bronze Age and onward will mostly sweep you away or at least downplay your prominence, and part of me thinks that's a shame. (Kind of ridiculous, though, to footnote Superman's iconic origin with: "...and by the way, baby Kal-El had a monkey stowaway aboard his rocket...." :rolleyes: )

I remember buying this issue in a cellophane wrapped 3 pack of coverless comics for 19 cents around 6 months after the cover date. I know it was after I bought Adv 367 new. I liked it at the time but it hasn't aged as well as other issues from that time. I wonder if Supergirl got suspicious when she got sent away on a different mission after she recognised "Bronco Bill Starr".

Adventure #364

This was a late addition to my Legion comics years ago. The cover put me off, as I had no interest in the Super Pets. There was a little embarrassment around them . As I got older, I appreciated the fun and such stories that appeared before my childhood self could have appreciated them.

The splash page shows the super-heroes slinking out of town, beaten by the feted Super-Pets. It’s a common Legion theme. They not only have to defend themselves against villains, but prove themselves against rival groups such as the Wanderers; the Super-Rejects and the Super-Pets. Legion writers telling the reader that life is a competition and you can’t be complacent.

The villains on the splash page are a cross between Khunds and the overly smiley villain from Murra who infiltrated the Legion in #337. It must be hard being a new Legion member when there have been so many traitorous ones. They must have to prove themselves to ridiculous extremes. You wonder if it’s self fulfilling. That a member just goes bad because the villains aren’t as mean to them as their Legion team-mates.

The seriousness of the Legion isn’t apparent in the super pets, who get together to frolic through space in the opening panel. No hunting villains, no treason, disaster or angst. Just frolicking, setting them apart from every other super team.

Not being grim, or angst ridden enough gets them into trouble with the Legion when the super pets foil an invasion. Meanies Lyle and Querl, again having to take time out of their bromance, go off to track the source of the invasion with determined Salu & Jo.

Left to guard the clubhouse, the Super Pets commit an early act of sabotage, by boring the reader with flashbacks of their origins for over 3 pages. Looking at Super Monkey and Super Dog’s key contributions to Superman’s legacy possibly prompted the reboot in Crisis. Failing that, it was pressure from the animal liberation movement. They must have been opposed to Jor-Els fascination on experimenting on every species he could get his hands on, before launching his son into space. Krypton’s explosion clearly didn’t take anyone by surprise.

The super pets communicate telepathically with each other thanks to Imra. Because having them speak would be silly, as they are different species. Obviously. But their thoughts aren’t “cat” or “dog” but Interlac. That makes perfect sense. It’s a fudge, but I recall Imra creating a version of Tinya in the postboot and wonder if she isn’t really pulling the strings of all the super pets.

The super pets leaving on their own may well have inspired the Grant Morrison series We3 decades later.

Telepathy is all the rage, and the sulking super pets are invited by Rikkor Rost to his planet, where they are all heroes. No-one questions why Rost was lurking around Legion HQ trying to telepathically hack into events. Heck, you’re probably not even reading this. I’m sending it telepathically.

After some snappy patter, the Legion track the pets to Thanl. They have to go the old fashioned, faster than light spaceship way, and not the teleportation way Rost uses. Someone is confident that they’ll get the pets back “because we’re humans. We’re smarter than they are.” I’m betting its Brainy, reading the Jor-el guide to vivisection.

On Thanl, the Pets are honoured and are reluctant to leave. We get a lovely montage of Pets/ Legion adventures. I liked the Ghost Ship of Space and note that the Luck Lords wear the featureless face masks that Sensor Girl would later adopt. It’s those sort of throw away moments that add a lot of depth to books. In later years, books without the publication history of Legion would insert such moments to get that same feeling; from Supreme to Planetary.

Ironically, it’s Chameleon Boy who loses his temper and tries to force Proty to return. Cham, who is closest to animals by being able to assume their forms, obviously has no empathy for any of them. Another example of Durla’s nasty xenophobia revealed!

As intended by Shooter, the Pets have everyone’s sympathy and they kick the Legion’s butts off of the planet. Highlights are Super horse flying into Gim’s eye. An eye patch would have been an interesting costume change for him. Supercat Streaky takes down most of the Legion. They should count themselves lucky the claws were kept in. We would have seen a real Composite Legionnaire next issue as they try to find enough pieces to stitch anyone back together.

The war between Legions has started. Rost indicates that the Legion may be spying on the pets. So, the pets infiltrate the Legion. We get yet more members who will clog up the membership list forever by appearing for a single story; Biron and Blockade Boy.

The good news for any time travelling Green Arrows is that the Legion isn’t fussy about their “no mechanical devices” rule when it comes to archery. Welcome Biron! Despite being duplicated by Reep and Querl the Legion put aside their “don’t duplicate what we have” rules. Welcome Blockade Boy !That’s blockade Boy II , as is fully explained, along with yet another Super Horse ID, for readers who would grow up to produce continuity kids of later generations. They just clutter up the membership list! What were they thinking? …and breathe.

The superpet members solve the mystery and head of to confront the villains of Thanl. It’s a battle that goes badly for the pets as Thanl has access to some nifty keen gear. Universal Teleportors, Kryptonite traps and Eighth Dimensional neutralisers. That’s better than Mxyzptlk’s and you can spell it! None of which ever appears again, gets logically pinched by Brainy or stops the human Legion for a moment. Still, it’s nice that the Legion and Pets work together to stop the final ultimate trap, even if it is spring loaded.

It’s odd that the Legion would put their animal colleagues at such risk, just to prove a point.If nothing else, this issue made me trust and respect the Super Pets more than the human Legion.

The Legion tell Comet that they recognise Bronco Bill from their history books. There must be some massive pre crisis story we never saw. Bronco Bill lassos the Anti Monitor? Something else else that made him memorable.

They all have a little chuckle at the end, but I’m worried about the thinness of Salu’s legs. Could she have had an eating disorder, trying to force herself into a body image that's she feels is expected of her?

In summary, this issue's message is that it’s OK to be mean to someone if you can then drive them away into a situation from which they have to be rescued by you! A lesson we could all live b…oh, hang on, the divorce papers have just landed on the mat…

One thing I forgot to mention that I liked that Thothkins alluded to: The flashbacks to previous Super-pets adventures, including 2 out of 3 being non-published stories only referenced here. I've noticed references like these in various Adventure-era stories, and I, for one, enjoy that sense that what we've read only scratches the surface of the Legion's adventures. And it makes perfect sense that this would be the case in a group as large and galaxy-spanning as our cast.

Seems like the only time this ever happens in modern day comics is when writers have some colossal ret-conning to do. Nice to see references to past adventures that are just fun and hint at the potential of the concept!

It's like Depth-Plus when the Legion does it as they already have such a rich history. Dropping extras in along the way really added an extra layer to that.

It's something that very few books can do. Massive retcon, then adding more and more layers to the set up of their world. Most writing teams have left a book before they get anywhere near that. Heck, most books have been cancelled/rebooted/Evented-away before getting anywhere near that.

Adventure Comics #364. "The Revolt of the Super-Pets"

This is one of my least favorite Legion stories. Mainly because I think super-pets, like Bizarros, are just silly. And Paladin points to one reason why I think so:



Almost every hero character--human and non-human--in this story comes across as petty and selfish at some point. While the plotline is kind of cute in a what-if way, the characters themselves suffer in the telling.

I think thothkins had a good line:

Sure, we're rereading this 40+ years after the story was published, and I've just watched Rocket Raccoon and a tree be equal partners with some super bad/good human-ish dudes. But that aside, this characteristic, in my opinion, is not one of the charms of the Silver Age.

Other posters have covered everything else I would say. Except this: On pages 11-13 some of the Legionnaires were apparently channeling some mid-20th century teenagers:
Saturn Girl: "They blew their stacks and walked out on us!"
Superboy: "It's not April Fool! Cut the gags!"
Saturn Girl: "I'm telling it straight!"
Brainiac 5: "Chuck the chatter!"
Somebody: "Dig those cheers from the mob!"

Ah, that takes me back to the good old days.

Are we sure Shooter wrote this story? It always seemed to me to have more of a Bridwell feel to it.

Well if Mort told Jim Shooter to write Legion of Super-Pets It might be kind of hard to get a Shooter feel out of it. OTOH you have good point & unlike the question about whether Siegel or Hamilton wrote Adventure 340-41 some one could ask Jim Shooter.

Adventure Comics Featuring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes 365

This issue was even better than I remember. There's that nice touch of real-world darkness, with Talok VIII's conversion from pacifism to war-mongering and the danger that their bomb tests are putting their neighbor worlds in, and it's not heavy-handed or preachy at all. There's also three instances of Cosmic Boy acting like a dick -- mouthing off at Brainy twice and whining about how heavy his backpack is -- which supports my contention that he always was a dick. I laughed when the heroes and heroine are passing for mountain people, and a Talokian woman calls them simple-minded, much to Brainy's chagrin. Super-deathtraps are a familiar trope, but they're cleverly used here, and the Fatal Five are at their most menacing.

Finally, of course, there's my favorite Legionnaire, Shadow Lass, who is introduced in this issue. She was actually created by a couple of Legion fans, whose original concept was that she came from a world of black separatists (basically the same concept used later for Tyroc). In Weisinger and Shooter's tweaking of the concept, Talokians became blue-skinned, and Shadow Lass' features became racially ambiguous, so I really think she can be any exotic race that the individual reader wants her to be. Being a Latina myself, I personally consider her an honorary Latina. And from the very beginning, she was one of the most kick-ass of the female Legionnaires, as well as smart, regal, and poised. What's not to love?

^How could I forget to mention the Curt Swan/George Klein art (with help on the layouts by Shooter)?? It's exquisite, though it's also bittersweet in that Klein would not stick around much longer, as DC laid off many on its longtime writers and artists. Klein would land at Marvel, where he'd have a short but wonderful run on Avengers over John Buscema's pencils before dying in 1969.

Been out of the loop again, but if I may backtrack a few issues, I've been wondering just lately where were the Subs in issues 359 and 360 when the LSH was on the run? Were they brainwashed along with everyone else on Earth, or were they in jail, or off planet or what? It would've been nice if some reference to them had been made, but I suppose since young Shooter did manage to include every single Legionnaire in the story I guess he can be excused for omitting the Subs.

I'd guess a combination of off planet & brainwashed.

First off, sorry for the delays on this. Work, kids, travel, etc. Lately I don't know what's up and what's down.

Adventure Comics #365 - 366

The first Fatal Five story is a classic, forever a part of Legion lore--and rightly so. But for me, it's the second Fatal Five story that holds a place in my heart as the best Fatal Five story of not only the Silver Age, but of all time.

I think that comment holds up today, when we view all of the F5 stories in retrospect. But I also have to add that this story means a lot to me because it was probably the first Adventure story that just flat out blew me away as a kid when I finally went back and reread various stories.

The reasons are numerous:

- with their origin out of the way, the Fatal Five come across as a true threat--terrifying and immense. Yet, they aren't like Mordru or the Time Trapper in that they are unquantifiable. They are just a truly scary group of sadistic villains who are as powerful, clever and tough as the Legion.

Even at story's end they are not captured and that goes along with their intense depiction all story long. There's a gravity to their presence that isn't spoon fed to us or narrated to us-- we know it's there because we feel it all story.

- the camaraderie of the Legionnaires. Shooter presents the best scenes and dialogue of the Silver Age between Brainy, Cos, KK and Supes. I love Brainy responding to Cos's complaints of a heavy backpacks with "you'll be wishing for a heavier pack before long when the food starts running low!"

That "ball busting" (to use an official literary term) makes it feel believable and entertaining. And Cos's gallows humor at the end of the first part, claiming each one can take on a thousand soldiers is just great.

When the setting changes in the second issue, that doesn't change either. They're more focused on the issue at hand, but some gallows humor and friendly ribbing maintains that sense of the Legionnaires being confident in themselves and each other.

- the best introduction of a Legionnaire thus far, and perhaps ever. Shadow Lass is magnificent from day one and she instantly becomes a favorite of mind because of this intro. She's badass in a way only Imra is so far, but she is able to be more physically aggressive. She has a "warrior princess" vibe, but it's actually much better than that: she doesn't need to be a princess; she's a planetary champion.

Plus, her visual is fantastic. Whoever made the decision to give her the blue hue made the right call, despite contradicting the future LSH canon. Even better is that this story does not even give a nod to that story--other than the name and look, Shady stands totally on her own.

In part 2, the scene where Shady raises her hand and swears the Legion oath, knowing that all of them may--and probably will-- die, yet she'll do it as a Legionnaire, is one of THE great moments in Legion history.

We also see her feisty chemistry with Brainy, which I've often wished would be explored more.

And of course, it's Shady who turns the tide when all the boys are overpowered by their various sparring partners at the end of the story. It's a fitting, great way to end the story and give Shady a proper intro--other writers should take note.

- it's this story here that cemented my love of Brainy, KK and Cos too. All of them were among my potential favorites already but this out it over the top. For the boys, they remain my favorites, along with Ultra Boy.

- the overall plot is great. The concept of exploring a somewhat alien planet and having to "rough it" is great. The mystery of their assailants is also great--and the payoff of who is really behind things is fantastic!

Page 2 has Shooter giving an awesome one page introduction to the mystery of Talok VIII that is masterful. It says all you need to know to be curious and then dives right in.

I also like the reference to a mountain people who have their own language and customs. That, of course, will pay off later with Lady Memory. But in general it's more realistic and adds depth to the planet.

In the first half, Shooter also gives a wonderful 2-part plot structure that he further refines in the Mordru story: the first issue gives the Legionnaires a tremendous problem or series of problems to overcome, which they eventually do. But at the end, the real threat still exists and must be addressed, despite being much more horrifying that what they've already gone through. Mark Waid has often claimed that this plot structure (specifically the Mordru story but this one is an obvious precursor) has influenced every story he's ever written.

The second issue gives us a clear part 1 and 2 as well--the first allowing readers to get reacquainted with the F5. And the second brings it all home in a major way.

- also it has to be said that the art here is simply phenomenal. When we last left off in the archives I mentioned that the Swan art, with Klein inks, at the tail end of the Silver Age was the best art of his career and I was notably impressed by how dynamic it was. That comment stands as the art here is terrific. As DC loosened up at the end of the 60's, Swan as obviously enjoying experimenting like Infantino and Kane were. Also, the coloring is vivid and exciting.

In the second half, Swan opens the story up particularly strong. The army attacking the Legionnaires is explosive, and then a few pages later his depiction of Validus looming menacingly over the other four is awesome, especially with the diagonal viewpoint.

It's also noteworthy that Neal Adams takes over here as cover artist, as he did for all the Superman titles--another attempt by DC to stop declining sales and losing marketshare to Marvel. His cover for Adv #365 is okay, but the cover for #366 is awesome.

In Crisis of Infinite Earths, a big deal is made at how marquee a villain Validus is during an offhand conversation between Luthor and Brainiac. It's clear that this story and the first F5 story set that tempo.

This ranks for me among my absolute favorite LSH stories of all time.

Um...I thought we were only doing one issue at a time?

I think there was a post about doing am entire story somewhere if folks felt like it. Single issues fine too. Don't ask me where I read that, but that's what I thought.

Okay. Thanks, Thoth.

I'm feeling an Avengers/Legion disconnect doing these together. So if I go on about Kid Rage just humour me

Yeah, a few pages back it was decided that for two parters you could do the whole story at once or single issues, depending on how you felt at the time. Mainly to allow as much leeway as possible for potential reviewers.

I guess I'll be reviewing Adventure 366 sooner than I expected, then.

Here's my review from the previous page, just so nobody misses it:



And then I added:

Adventure Comics #365
I hadn't noticed how obvious Tharok's arm was on the cover before. Not that much was left to the imagination with "Escape of the Fatal Five!" on the cover. Skipping past Karate Kid's Ketsugo (not a board game I learn) ad and onto the story.

Where the splash page gives away even more than the cover. Grant Morrison would have just had this page and an Fatal Five escape panel and have done with it. It's usually a sign of a writer about to be shuffled off for a "rest" when they start having death taps that go along with their puns. Am I the only one who thinks Green Arrow should rescue Karate Kit after his JLA initiation issue?

My first look at Talok was way ahead in the 318-319 story, with a single fortified city and barbarians at the gates. A world trying to force itself to modernise. Yet here it's a 1950s utopia...for a while. It's a nice link to the later issues.
With the UP worried about Talok's stockpiling of weapons, they send the Legion on a spy mission. It's good to see the subterfuge used in the fugitive legion story being used again here for a different type of mission.

The UP are probably also hoping that a few weeks in the Talokian desert will cure the heroes of the hip lingo they've picked up like a space plague. We meet their guide Shadow Lass for the first time, except for the time we met her before, although I wouldn't see her for the first time until much later (readers may wish to use a time bubble to understand adult legion stories)

In the most recent Legion run, they used drop capsules to land on a planet. I thought it was odd at the time, but there's something much better here: Space Parachutes! But no explanation of why Superboy can't just fly in.

It's a long trek for our heroes across the desert. Annoyingly, the native Shadow Lass is the first one to collapse. The good news is that someone remembered to bring a giant notepad and pencil along in one of the backpacks. It was probably in Cosmic Boy's as he wines about the weight.

With these, our heroes find a way into the capital, unaware that their every move has been monitored and assisted. The rest of their backpacks must have been filled with the props of Frank Herbert's Dune novels as they manage to impersonate Fremen Hill People and get into the city.

Now we learn that Superboy can't attack the city as they have stockpiled Kryptonite. It seems that Krypton was the largest planet never to have formed into a sun since everyone has a piece of it.

But it does make sense for every government to have a Superboy deterrent. It says a lot about what really goes on behind the Legion's backs. In addition to Shadow Lass' casual mind wiping, another example would be the discrimination felt by the hill people at the hands of their city cousins. That's something Levitz would return to.

Why waste pages getting your heroes into death traps when you can just teleport them? The heroes use their ingenuity and willpower to escape their traps, most of which were fun to read. Superboy's looked pretty cool too. Even things made in red sun systems can affect him! In some sort of super-energy transfer, their exertions have given the Fatal Five a way of escaping.

Not a moment too soon. Poor Tharok has spent ages in another dimension without a monologue. So, that's the first thing he does for a page and a half to get it out of his system.

We do learn that whatever chance Validus had of breaking away from Tharok has now gone. All the more poignant when we later learn his origin & Legion connection.
The cliffhanger is a bit of a disappointment, as the Legion are facing an army of minions. The Legion do have Superboy on their side too.

Superboy's inclusion in the story can only be down to sales. He's not really suited for the spy mission or much else here. It needed a less powerful member to add some extra tension.

Why super energy isn't just energy has baffled me for as long as I've read comics, and does so again. A plus are the villains. There's something mature about the Fatal Five as villains. They all have strong personalities and all vie for internal control at this point. They handle themselves well, as do a lot of the Adventure Era villains.

The much later Talok story was one of my first Legion comics, and this story really laid the foundations of that tale.

I had never thought of that before, but I agree. There was no need to have Superboy in every story, even if the covers did read "Adventure Comics Featuring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes." They could have just given him cameos once in a while depending on whether his presence would suit the story or not.

Adventure Comics #365 -- "Escape of the Fatal Five"

Although the preceding issue contained one of my least favorite Legion stories ("Revolt of the Super-Pets"), this issue tells one of my favorites.

Almost a year before this issue appeared, the cover of the Adult Legion story (Adventure #354) introduced me to the Legion. It was the image of the fallen heroes' statues, with Shadow Woman's among them, that captured my interest. And now, here, Shadow Lass appears on a cover again, this time as a living person. Is this when she will become a Legionnaire? Will she die in this story? I couldn't wait to read it.



Yes, what Cobie said!

It might have worked if Shadow Lass hadn't been, as Brainy put it, "hip to the terrain."




There was a lot about Part 1 of this story that presented Shadow Lass not as a "girl hero" but as an adept and powerful colleague in the small, strong, otherwise-male team. The exception was when Superboy was carrying her through the desert. But then in Part 2 she not only gets bonked on the head by a guy two feet away (obligatory battle treatment for female Legionnaires, especially when Princess Projectra is not around to take the hit), she also falls and sprains her arm after an electric shock from Validus. The writers couldn't let a "girl" just plow through the punches throughout the story, I suppose. On the positive side, her injuries do heighten her heroism at the end when she goes into battle in spite of them.

Regarding Shady's "previous appearance" in the Adult Legion story, I wish that had been ignored. Much as I love a lot of things about Paul Levitz's 80s run, I always cringe at the scene in LSH issue 300 where she's wearing whiteface. That was pure fanwank, in my opinion.



This.



It was the times. I can accept that and still enjoy the story.



That's my girl.

I'm with you, Fanfie. Love the Shadow Lass!

Thanks, LT.

She was awesome from the very start, a ground-breaking character.

You're right, it was the times. I think one reason I remark about things like this is because I read these stories back in those times as a 12-year-old boy, and I never questioned those depictions. Frail females and protective males were depicted as "the real world" in all media, and to an extent people did live by those cultural "standards", or tried to appear to.

I, too, can accept that this story is of the times, but I find those elements more jarring now than I did back then. And I'm glad of that.

This is just one example by which I'm encouraged that a community/society can and does change when people are courageous and persistent in speaking their truth, and when enough others finally hear and understand and begin to change their own behavior to bring dignity and justice where it was lacking.

Sometimes comic books lead the way. Sometimes they follow.

Very well said.

Adventure Comics 366

I think the second half of this story is almost as good as the first half.

First the things I like:

- Shadow Lass kicking ass, especially against the Emerald Empress. Also Shadow Lass having a crush on Brainy (whom I like a lot more than Mon-El) and just generally being awesome.

- Brainy ALMOST listening to his heart.

- Cosmic Boy getting punched in the ribcage by the Persuader. I hope a couple of ribs cracked.

- Karate Kid being a doofus, not once but twice.

- Most of the Swan/Shooter/Klein art. Sarya looks especially lovely on Page 9, panel 2. Brainy and Shady look adorable throughout pages 14 and 15. And the radiation emitting from Mano's hand on page 4, panel 4 looks so cool.

- The whole climactic battle.

Now the things I didn't like so much:

- The cheesy cover and opening splash, with the wrestling ring.

- Swan and Shooter messed up the splash page of Validus attacking Metropolis. It's not terrible, but it's far from great.

- Tharok overestimating his own brilliance. But then, this was the Silver Age, when it was obligatory for villains to have lapses of intelligence.

- Mano pulling his radioactive punch against Karate Kid. Fry the guy, Mano. (Just kidding.)

- The "cavalry" arriving at just the right time. I can't think of a better alternate ending right now, but there must be one.

Overall, the second Legion/Fatal Five battle comes up just short of the iconic first battle. But the story introduces Shadow Lass, and the Legion will never be the same (and will someone please explain to me why the pre-Adventure 350 Legionnaires are supposed to be so much more important than the post-Adventure 350 ones, including Shadow Lass??)

Adventure Comics 366

Gosh, those soldiers packed more of a punch than expected last issue. Naturally, their weapons contained Kryptonite, showing once again that Superboy shouldn't be in this story. Shadow Lass, now "Shady", is also taken out far too easily. Beaten, the Legion win through sheer luck.

Deciding on what to do now they have been freed, Tharok exerts his control over the group. I don't think it was ever the same after this story, with the Persuader and Mano becoming less and less effective with each use as their role as lackeys became cemented. But for, now the bickering continues in that great way only top flight villains can manage. Even when they achieve their first goal, the Persuader is annoyed, not appreciating the deeper levels of Tharok's mind.

Still, they think big and proceed to try to take over the UP. Not only by capturing Metropolis, but because of a certain device held in the city that affects the United Planets. I'm reminded of Infinite Crisis, years later, where a mass of villains attacked Metropolis...just because. There, it was one of the climactic parts of the series. Here's, it's just another plot point popped into a two-parter.

There's a gap in Tharok's planning that results in a confrontation with the Legion. This is when Tharok was every bit as smart, if not more so, than Brainy. So, you know that he will be relentless, and clever in getting what he wants.

There's a genuine fear of Validus shared by everyone in the book. The Legionnaires have fairly serious, focused, personalities in the Adventure issues. It amplifies the threats that they face. So, when the Legion are worried, you know it must be something quite terrible indeed. There will be a prime example of this is upcoming issues.

The Legion clubhouse, symbolising the defeat of the UP/heroism to the might of the five takes a terrible beating. Inside, Shadow Lass is the only one who has fallen over hurt. It's Brainy's turn to carry her this time. Something else else he must have enjoyed as the lighting from Validus' head aren't the only sparks flying around.

All of this electricity must have affected Tharok's chips. Holding the legion over a barrel, he then allows them the option of a fight for the spoils. Perhaps the cover and the splash page were drawn first and Weisinger told Tharok he'd just have to go along with it. If he had any sense he would just have proceeded with his plan.

Shady's bravery in, if not exactly standing with the Legion, so much as falling over while they face great peril gets her membership to the team.

Still, if there was a villain group who had a reason to be convinced of their power, it's these guys. They are deadly and Shooter does well to show their power while keeping the Legion alive. It's a fine line to walk in places. Shooter even shows us additional depth to the villains powers for good measure. There's more to the Persuader than his axe and Tharok ingenuity in taking out Brainy shows the intellectual pecking order there.

This, for me, is where Shady proves her worth to the team. Empress and Shadow Lass have similar long range powers. But where the Empress depends on the Eye, Shadow Lass is more than capable of going in for a firm punch to the jaw. Faced with terrible odds, she then lends her power to assist the others. They all escape in well written ways from the deadly quintet who are only driven off by the arriving UP reinforcements.

It's a very well earned draw for the Legion against the Five and a victory for the UP. But it's also important that the Five have not been diminished by not achieving their aims. They can return just as strong for the next conflict.
As an epilogue, we see the signs that a new HQ is on the way. We also see Shady and Brainy arm in arm. I wonder how that turns out?

A very enjoyable story with an exotic desert locale; a genre shift to espionage; very well choreographed battles and a villainous group still in their prime with multi layered plans of conquest. Lovely Swan art pulls off every part of the plot too.

In regards to Superboy's presence in this story, I felt like this was one of the first (and only?) instances where he was truly portrayed as "a member of the Legion" rather than the star or the Legion's co-star in the story. From beginning to end, Superboy's unusual circumstances as a member are never even mentioned, and he's able to stand out based on his personality alone.

This underscores one of the things I mentioned I liked the most in the story, which is the camaraderie the Legionnaires show throughout. These heroes are warriors with a bond between them, and as that bond extends to Shadow Lass, its even more impressive. Superboy's toned down, yet important role is a big part of that.

And in regards to #300, I couldn't agree more with Fanfie. There was never any need for Levitz to so overtly address this continuity issue. The much better play would have been to let fans speculate about this for years and perhaps drop a hint in here or there without *ever* doing a story about continuity.

Making continuity an important piece of a story is one thing. It's a bit indulgent, but it can work brilliantly. Making continuity be *the* story reason for a story is fan-fiction nonsense 9/10ths of the time.

I read this story Saturday night when I was waiting for a sleeping pill to take effect on me. As I got further into it, I started feeling the effects and kind of labored through it to finish it. So it may be due to the circumstances of my reading it, but I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I would. This is not to say that I didn't like it overall, but it's fair to say it didn't meet my expectations.

I don't know......I think a part of it is all of the hoops that were jumped through (or ignored) to make Superboy less of a factor. I mean, during that entire desert sequence, I couldn't help but think that with his super-speed and abilities that he could at least have sped off to get them more supplies or even have transported them, one at a time, off to their destination making some of the hardships they experienced unnecessary. Superboy was so omnipotent back then that much of the struggle seems kind of silly. I think instead of forcing us to believe that Kal couldn't do his thing undetected by Talokian technology or even later introducing Kryptonite or "red sun tech" conveniently, Shooter could simply have had Talok VIII be positioned around a red sun! But this would have not allowed Supes to have and survive his particular trap--I know, I know.

As someone else said, this story would have worked better without Superboy's conclusion. But I suppose it was editorially driven at the time. Still, a cameo at the beginning and at the end with the calvalry's arrival might have filled the quota.

But, once again, I did like the allegory at the beginning in which Talok VIII has inexplicably turned into a rogue, warlike state. Shooter again puts a light touch of real world metaphor into his story without being at all preachy. He shows us once again that he's quite a gifted writer, even at so young an age.

Shady does have a great intro, despite often being the damsel in distress, as has been mentioned. In her first story, we meet not only her but also her home planet, albeit a mesmerized version of it. It's a really memorable, distinctive and noteworthy intro in comparison to previous members. Most previous ones appeared first in a try-out or amongst a group of inductees. Others appeared first as part of a mydtery about their intentions or identity as did Jan, Ayla and Nura off the top of my head. Nura appears as an ally for a specific mission and earns her way onto it, even though doing so seems to be a death sentence--either in the dire circumstances of the mission or in the future, given her statue in the Adult Legion story. In any case it shows the legion storytelling continuing to grow up and apart from specific tried-and-true formulas. Well done!

It's a shame, though, that so much effort seems to be put into obscuring the identities of our villains when the cover of 365 and its splash page clearly announce who they are. I was hoping that perhaps the identity of the 5's collaborator may have been a backdoor surprise, but he's just a mind-controlled Talokian.

Another nice touch is that the story doesn't end with the Fatal Five defeated. Certainly, this is another innovation in the Silver Age formula. It's a bit bothersome that super-intelligent Tharok wouldn't have planned for the calvalry arriving or that they wouldn't have arrived earlier. But it's interesting seeing the Clubhouse visibly extremely damaged, showing more consequences atypical of the time.

So after a throwback to the height of the Silver Age in the previous Super-Pets story, we have one that points directly forward. It's not a perfect story and could have benefited with not having Superboy, but it is certainly a pretty good one.

Thanks, Cobie. Yeah, it really spoiled what was otherwise a very good issue. And it wasn't the only time she donned whiteface. She did it in the first Mordru story (more on that when we get to that story in the next Archive) and in one of Paul Levitz's 1970s stories. It just feels so wrong.

Good point, Lardy. I'm surprised such a gaffe got by the notoriously micro-managing Mort Weisinger.



That's very true. And much later, during the 1980s, Levitz would address Talok VIII's difficulties in recovering from the events in this story. Talok VIII is an unexplored goldmine of stories.

So....we didn't do a story last week?!? Is it because we did a 2-parter the previous week?!?!

(I'm fully prepared to blame Cobie again! )

LOL

I had been planning to chime in tomorrow on Adventure 367 (the last story in this Archive, BTW), but since I don't have a lot to say about it, I can do it right now.

Basically, I think Shooter's portrayal of Karate Kid is at its Mary Sue-ing worst, with Val cleaving the front of a TANK with his BARE HAND! It also introduces the Miracle Machine, one of my least favorite parts of the Legion mythos, because it's just too damn powerful to suspend disbelief -- it's like being asked to believe in a wishing well.

On the plus side, the Swan/Shooter/Klein/Moldoff art is up to the high standards established in the issues immediately preceding this one, especially the first half, which was inked by Klein.

In my opinion, 367 and 368 (the Thora story) are the low points of Shooter's Adventure run, then he gets somewhat back on track with the Mordru story, and then gets really good again with the Colossal Boy/School for Super-Villains story.

Adventure Comics #367

This is another issue I've always loved ever since I first took the time to learn what exactly the preboot LSH was back in 1995 or so. While it has one or two things that aren't my favorite (re: miracle machine), it has a lot to enjoy.

First off, let me talk artwork. I've been saying again and again, like a broken record, that Swan's late 60's art, especially with Klein on inks, is a revelation. Swan has always been good but a little bland to me...and clearly I didn't give enough time to evaluate the man's work. His work in these years has been explosive and dynamic, and that continues here. The splash page where the miracle machine transports the Dark Circle off Earth is (to me) one of most magnificent looking pages in LSH history, and one that has always stands out. Seeing it again, I can't help but stare into it.

I've always liked the Dark Circle immensely. They arrive at a time when cults, foreign spies, terrorist groups and guerrillas were things Americans were concerned about in modern times, and you can see a lot of that in their threatening manner. But what sets them apart from dozens of other DC or Marvel organizations is they take place in the 31st century--and that makes them infinitely cooler with much more possibilities.

There is a throwaway "five worlds" comment, which likely inspired Levitz' clone story 15 or so years later. That was a good story but I never really loved that twist; I like the innate mystery of the DC.

This issue also gives one the iconic LSH headquarters, which I always associate as the historical favorite of LWers Lightning Lad, Omni Craig and others from a thread way back in 2004 or something.

The issue opens with three of my faves: Karate Kid, Sun Boy and Brainy, and I like how Shooter showcases the new HQ with fun, energetic dialogue.

I know Val gets more panel time once again, which may annoy some readers, but these are the issues that made him one of my favorites as a kid! The extended emphasis on him worked like a charm on 14 year old Cobie even if it was 26 years after they were originally published. And for me, his karate MUST allow him to smash a tank--and he needs to do something like that every time he appears, to justify his membership.

One thing I didn't like is how easily Luornu was captured, but I wonder of that was done to foreshadow her self doubt in the Mordru story.

The one part of the story I really dislike--and it's a big one since the whole last quarter of the issue revolves around it--is the miracle machine. The reason to not like it is self evident to me, but in short: in an era when Superboy could almost always already be a duex a machina if needed, this just takes it one step farther without Superboy's weaknesses. Now perhaps if there was one amazing story about the danger of the miracle machine, and a Legionnaire overstepping, it would pay off, but we never got that story. Here, when it is revealed it basically turns the story into a miracle machine story instead of a DC story; in turn we thus have villains with motivations we don't know with a fix they (and we) didn't earn. It derails a good start.

That being said, I still enjoyed it! There isn't much of a story there but it had action, Legionnaires doing cool things and great art.

Lettercol alert: Liz Kane still runs the show in LSH fandom and it makes me feel like she's the LMB's Red Tornado.

PS - the next review is Superboy #147, correct? I just want to be sure we're all on the same page...

This.

I think they came pretty close with Jim Starlin's Omega story, but even that one was only a qualified success.

I don't have Superboy #147, because even though I have Archives #6 and #7 and #10-13, I have the Showcase Presents trades instead of Archives #8 and #9.

I think then maybe we can review Superboy #147 at the end of the week, since it's just a quick 8 or so pages, and therefore move right into the next Adv early next week--this way there isn't a whole week delay for you Fanfie. I'd rather we accommodate any of the active posters in the thread right now, so if anyone else has similar things coming up, let me know!

That being said, if you want to read the issue, there is a free copy online that I can point you towards (PM me).

Thanks, Cobie, but if it's just a short recounting of the Legion's oft-told origin, I think I'll pass. I've got too much on my plate to read as it is.

Very nice of you to offer, though. I appreciate it.

And I think your plan is sound -- there's a LOT I have to say about the Thora story...very little of it good.

Adventure #367
The seed of public dissatisfaction of the Legion are first sown here, when the tax payers find out they are going to be paying for the new Legion HQ.

It was a bad moment for Brainy to walk past with plans for ludicrously dangerous experiments and Karate Kid to transport in blocks of expensive materials to break.
Not only is the headquarters built out of rare components (without Element Lad in sight it should be added) but the Legion have also billed the UP for a devastating arsenal. A dimensional blaster with infinite range that can pierce space and time. Why would you ever need to leave the HQ?

More ludicrous fixtures and fittings follow including a control room that can contact any planet in the universe and ejector seats to propel the team across the city in under a minute.

It's not just the Legion that's getting a technological make over. We are introduced to core tubes that can take people through the planet. I suspect the tunnels have been made from all the times Superboy and Supergirl drilled into the Earth's crust down the years.

The Legion get so many goodies, you'd think that they were actually the villainous overlords of the galaxy. I half expect the Fatal Five to turn up for try outs.
The Fatal Five also happen to have two of the vital UP defence keys. With the Legion scattered seven Dark Circle leaders agree the time is right to attack the UP. As insidious as the Circle are, they are more than just a group of super villains. They provide a counter point to the United Planets. The Circle represent five worlds. We can't see their faces, but their threat may not be alien, but based on human cultural differences.

There's a nice interlude with Karate Kid. Yes, he's Shooter's favourite, but we see something of Japan in this era. We learn about Val's upbringing and that he was brought up as a foundling in the city. We know that Karate Kid is working hard at every opportunity during his time with the Legion. There's a lot more to him than just having super powers. There's a bittersweet moment when his sensei casually mentions Val training another in the future. A future we know didn't come to pass.
Having already introduced us to the toughest material around, Shooter doesn't have to draw our attention to Val breaking a bar of it in two later on in the issue. An simple example of good writing.

Val continues to get a lot of space devoted to him as he tackles the start of the Circle invasion of Tokyo. We see him hold his own for as long as he can before wisely retreating for reinforcements.

But Karate Kid has to face overwhelming odds alone, as Shooter widens the scope of the invasion with sudden menace.

The Circle have attacked all over Earth. We see the Legion fight valiantly, but slowly lose momentum to the invading armies. Superboy gets trapped, is rescued only to fall again.

In the end only Brainiac 5 stands between the Circle and victory. He's almost cornered when the Legion's literal deus ex machina appears. As a suddenly materialising Karate Kid holds off the Circle, Brainy deduces, and who else could, that the power comes from a device Shooter introduced at the start of the issue.

One of the Legion's most iconic images leads into the Circle being swept off of Earth, back to their home worlds. Moments later, the Legion HQ is finished around the team.

We witness the sheer possibility of the Miracle Machine. Where Cosmic Boy immediately thinks of it's uses, Brainy urges caution. He always was more interested in the questions than getting instant solutions.

A Controller appears to add weight to Brainy's warning. "If you thoughtlessly wished you were dead, you would die!" Unfortunately Superboy and Karate Kid thought "Why, it'll be nearly 20 years, at least, before I have to worry about that sort of thing."
The Legion seal up their gift from the Controllers, intending it's use only in the direst of emergencies. But it's there, sitting in the basement not only of the HQ but in everyone's minds. Of all the ridiculous technology introduced in the issue, it had the most impact on Legion history (as cute as Violet's mini arsenal was).

My reaction when I first read this issue was of feeling cheated that the Dark Circle were defeated so easily. By a technological genie in a box. The over the top technology didn't endear the issue to me either. We know that the Legion now have a way of evading any threat when it is great enough. But then, there are a lot of things than can go very wrong as the Controller points out.

To the story's credit, we learn a great deal about Karate Kid. It's not often we get so much space devoted to a single character. He, and all of the Legion show a lot of heroism in facing the Circle armies. Phantom Girl, becoming material in a vain attempt to directly assist her friends; Superboy fighting on without super strength; two of the founders going all out against the enemy hordes and Brainy's calm under pressure. Duo Damsel seemed underpowered. If only she could become an army. If only...

Proof, along with his bad behavior in later Shooter stories, that Cosmic Boy should have been the one to mad instead of Brainy. Cos's version of Omega would probably have been much more phallic-looking.

Omega: I shall crush this world beneath my feet!
Rokk: There you go. It's always about you isn't it? What about me? I'm in the Legion, and when I need to relax, where are you? Off killing poeple. It's not on. I created you for me!
Omega: B..but Rokk!
Rokk: No! It's over! I'm going to have fun with people who only think about my needs, just like I do. >slap<
Omega: Oh, Rokk! How could you? >dissolves into sobbing puddle<

Tasmia: Well done Imra. Getting Rokk to use his powers of Cosmic Selfishness really paid off.
Imra: Right. Let's get him back in the straight jacket.

Cos's Omega = Time Trapper!!

I thought the same exact thing!

LOL

No, Cos himself IS the Time Trapper. Thanks again, Tom McCraw.

So, the LMB hereby summon Paladin to duty!!

Legionnaire, we implore you to post your review!

Thereafter please start the Archive #8 thread, as this ongoing duty has henceforth become your honor...and your burden!

We also urgently require Legion Tracker to chime in on Adventure 367.

I don't really have a whole helluvalot to add to what's already been said. Like everyone has said, the Miracle Machine was a huge cheat from what was an impressively-crafted threat (one which again had a touch of that brilliant subtext I've praised young Shooter for).

The only thing I can offer in Shooter's defense is that I think he was planning on revisiting the Miracle Machine in a later story and probably had an awesome idea for a story to pay it off. I say this because he'd already shown more sophisticated plotting and world-building than anything the strip had ever seen to date (with the lone exception of the death and return of Lightning Lad years earlier). But the strip's run as Adventure Comics' stars and Shooter's as scripter was only a year or less from concluding, so it's understandable that he wouldn't get to follow up on everything he might have wanted to. And years later, his short return on "Superboy starring...." didn't allow for too many follow-ups. Maybe by then, he'd either forgotten about the MM or dismissed it as silly.

I've never read the story in which Tenzil eats the MM, presumably also involving Omega if I'm reading various comments correctly. It sounds like Starlin didn't exactly make everyone glad he had picked up that old nugget. However, the continuity nut inside me IS happy that it WAS followed up in some way when so many throwaway concepts of the Silver Age and beyond (not just Legion-related) never show up again. In fact with all the Legion fans who would eventually write the book, Legion apocrypha has more often than most other comics' apocrypha shown up again in some way, shape or form--just one of the many things I love about Legion fandom!

There IS a lot of Val shown here. It's disappointing that his sensei appears to embody the stereotypes, but we learn that Val is an orphan and for some reason doesn't want to share that fact with his fellow Legionnaires. It makes me curious as to whether Val's solo series followed up on this at all. I've never heard great things about it, so I've always assumed it was poorly done.

That's all I have to say about that.



I shall do so today or tomorrow--for Paladin is a man of honor! (unlike certain "legendary" types... )

Sorry I'm late. I really enjoyed reading the excellent comments already offered and, like Lardy claimed, i don't have much more to contribute.

In this story I loved seeing the Legionnaires rewarded with so many toys! I bet Mr. Shooter had a blast imagining the architecture, weapons, and technology he wanted to give his happy heroes. I remember as a kid how much fun it was to read the first part of this issue.

While the Miracle Machine is problematic as a story device, it reflects an extrapolation-to-the-extreme of the scientific optimism of the era. We can go to the moon! A thousand years from now, anything is possible! It also is a metaphor for the nuclear mindset of the 1960s, when we were very aware that earth-shattering power could be released with not much more than a thought.

The art was very effective. For example, in two side-by-side panels we see the humor of Legionnaires looking up at Goliath-sized guns, and then the solemnity of an immense memorial statue of Ferro Lad looking down at the Legionnaires. While the ejector seats in the Control Room were kind of silly (but really, how could Shooter pass up that idea?), the panel of Brainy, Karate Kid, and Sun Boy being shot through the roof toward the reader was just fun to see. And then, as has already been noted, there's the great page of the "alien hordes" being hurled off the earth.

I always love seeing the personal lives of the Legionnaires, and Val's story within this story builds empathy for this character, both in his "family" story and through his heroic efforts to protect his teacher and his home.

Even as I wrote that bit of preface in my last post, I was thinking, "gee, I wonder if I'll actually say more than I think I will yet again?" And sure enough....

In the end I didn't feel like editing that line out--or ending it with another, "Garsh! I had more to say than I thought! Lollerblades!"--if only so someone might call me out on it!



It was all kinda fun and Silver Age-y! Kind of a reminder that the book WAS actually still in the SA (like the recent Super-Pets return), even as we had been seeing all kinds of evidence that the Legion was progressing beyond the SA box.



Hm. Another bit of young Shooter's trademark subtext that went over my head--love it!



I know the statue struck me here as being represented as much larger than I ever remember seeing it depicted. Could be because Andrew was the only Legionnaire to memorialize at the time. As the bodies later piled up, making them smaller became necessary. I'll be curious to see, though, if the statue reappears and the scale remains the same while his is the sole memorial.



Yeah, that was silly but also fun! Again, I'm curious to see if the ejector seats will ever be referenced again--and used to launch the Legion into action! (Not holding my breath! )

BTW, I forgot to mention earlier that I was surprised to see this iteration of Legion HQ (my favorite) debuted so early. Though I'd read this story before, I'd forgotten. In any case I'd subliminally associated the new HQ firmly with the Bronze Age. I think if someone had asked me out of the blue when the second HQ first appeared, I would've guessed during the Cockrum or Grell years.

I guess this is just further evidence that the Legion strip was in many ways ahead of its time among DC books not only as far as more sophisticated storytelling but for presenting real and lasting changes.

And then after calling you out, I wrote just about as much as you did.

Yep!

In #371, if you look closely at the background as Gim leaves the HQ you'll see two cleaners finish removing 4 legion applicants. Someone forgot to open the roof when showing off the ejector seats.

Good point, Lardy. That had never occured to me before. Maybe in some alternate universe, Adventure 400 had the spectacular payoff to the Miracle Machine subplot.

Well said. I chalk my own cynicism up to being brought up in times of the media and government conspiring to make us stop dreaming. (Paranoid, moi?)

Amen to that, Lardy.

Letter column for Adv. 363:

Adv. 364:

Adv. 365:

Adv. 366:

Adv. 367:

Reading this thread inspired me to set my local CBS hunting for Archives 7& 8. I first read those stories as a kid and they are the source of a lifetime love of the Legion
The store texted me today to say they'd found #7.
Thank you Legion World for the early Christmas present. Without you this would never have happened.
Hopefully they'll track down #8 too.

If I am remembering anywhere close to correctly, I seem to recall an interview Shooter gave long ago where he said Mort specifically wanted a Super Pets story for that issue. Shooter just wasn't feeling it, rushed for time due to school, or whatever and ended up basically "phoning it in" and ENB assisted in some fashion.

This was a clunker of a story for me and rather painful for me to read. The weak art did not help, but one bright spot was Shooter's layouts. My first exposure to the Super Pets was the Luck Lords reprint in SLSH #208 (also my first legion comic ever). I liked their portrayal in that story as pets who just happened to have super powers and not as "funny animal" types. Plus I liked Krypto.

Adv 364 reads more to me like a fight between the Legion and Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew or like something from the mind of Grant Morrison gone wild. The Pets thought balloons and the Legion/Pets all being connected telepathically was a bit much. And Proty II was so clearly not a pet. At least this gave material to Levitz/Giffen in the early 80's for the Protean sentient movement.

But was really really out there was the whole Comet/Biron thing. Back to the Luck Lords story, I thought it was cool that Supergirl had a horse as a (super) pet. But then to find out the horse was a centaur who had the hots for Kara and could sometimes turn human temporarily. Shaking head. But then to go even further and have Comet turn human and join up with the Legion as Biron. Way too out there. The bizarre levels to this story probably ended up inadvertently being the death-knell for more Super Pets appearances.

Also if you had someone not in the know read this issue and then the next story arc (Fatal Five / Shadow Lass) without seeing the creator credits, I bet few would say both issues were by the same writer.

Some people think that "Swanderson" was the best, but I personally prefer Swan when inked by Klein.Plus add in Shooter's layouts and it's perfection.

This is one beef I have with many of Shooter's big crisis stories, where he does hand waving to eliminate a number of Legionnaires from the story - either through a convoluted side bit (mission to dimension QK-51 for example) or no explanation at all and not even a bit of dialogue to explain why the Subs and/or allies are not available for the crisis of the moment.

I guess it can be challenging reading some of these Adventure stories and trying to picture what real world tech existed (or did not) back then. Plus between then and now have been tons of Star Trek, Star Wars, and other science-fiction shows/movies where traveling across space quickly, teleporting, etc was no big deal. Shooter's thing at the time of his Adventure stories seemed to be more so real world science than say being a futurist (one thing that Giffen was defintely very skilled in the early 80's) and apparently never watched the Jetsons.

I guess the alternative to Shooter's style here would be the ENB kitchen sink style, which can be a bit of overkill. Eventually Levitz would come along and get the character placement just right.

Shadow Lass is one of my favorite Legionnaires (btw does anyone know when they started to be referred to as Legionnaires in-story and not "the super heroes"?). I remember reading a reprint of this story (in a digest I think?) and like others have said loving how bad ass Tasmia was here.

In the nit pick category, it seems like the task of infiltrating Talok VIII would have been a perfect assignment for the Legion Espionage Squad. So it would have been nice to have had some brief dialogue explaining why they were unavailable to assist (some goes for part 2 on why the Subs were not around to help fight the F5 on Earth).

Speaking to the art, I just wanted to mention how horrible the color and art reproduction is in Legion Archives 7. The fine line Swan/Klein comes off as sketchy and the Neal Adams covers just look terrible compared to the real deal.

Was this issue the first instance in a Legion story of a non-splash full page panel? (the Validus attacking panel)

I didn't know there were pre-Adv350 / post Adv350 factions. I thought there was just a pro-Adventure-era faction that championed those characters over the ones added during Cockrum/Grell and forward (noticeably in 5YL)

Agreed.

I had always assumed that since Adv 350 is considered something of a turning point for the series, and since there was no SW6 Shadow Lass, that there was a kind of "Adventure peaked with The Devil's Dozen story" snobbery.

Now that you mnention SW6 , that informs my comment about the pro-Adventure faction - especially as the SW6 stuff ties directly into the 5YL poor treatment (or worse) of the characters that came after Adventure 250/SW6. So there was a pro-Adv350 faction - the question remain why though.

I've never been aware of any pre-Adventure 350 snobbery. And I'm a dyed-in-the-wool silver age Legion fan. I do kind of tend to ignore Chemical King and Timber Wolf though, just because they barely appeared in the silver age.

I don't recall anything along those lines being voiced in the DC or following on message boards. If it's there, I think it sub-conscious.

It's an interesting point. As a pre 250 reader, I don't recall thinking of Shadow Lass ( a Shooter creation ), Wildfire (Bates and Cockrum) or any of the other post ADV250 as interlopers of any sort but at the same time, wouldn't call them "core" either. Even though Shadow Lass is one of the few Legionnaires I consider could hold her own book, you may have a point. I just don't recall it ever being voiced. I certainly wouldn't associate it with the word "snobby."

As for whether some subtle bias resulted in no SW6 for SL, kind of makes me want to dig up the cloning issue, in which they had a splash of the genetic sample vaults to see if there was one for her.

Er... to point out the obvious, the reason that the SW6 lineup was chosen from when it was was to pull in Ferro Lad rather than to exclude anyone else. If there was a bias towards pre-Adventure 350 characters, one would think they would've actually set the lineup post-Adventure 351, after the three members who had resigned had rejoined. Especially since they had already incorporated some of the resets from 351 (Tenzil's weight loss, Garth's arm) anyway.

I think it's no secret that the Bierbaums weren't particularly fans of some of the post-Adventure characters, particularly Wildfire and Dawnstar, but others such as Jacques and Tyroc were really well-used by them.

Hmmm...the proverbial space-elephant in the room. Point taken, EDE.

As for the Bierbaums, I think what they and Giffen did to some (not all) of those characters was criminal, but that's a discussion for another thread.

I agree. My thinking is if a creator does not care for certain characters when taking over a book, then gently take those characters off the table so they are there for the next creator to use, etc. Or use them infrequently. But don't twist, torment and tear down the characters just because you can. of course this leads into Giffen's hatred for Karate Kid (among others) - a discussion for another day and time.

Very well said, Colossal Boy. Cheers.