Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Comic book stories you remember

If you are like me, you have read thousands to tens of thousands of comic book stories. But which ones do you really remember? Without re-reading it.

One book I really remember is my first exposure to the Legion. That being Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes #212, both the main story and the back up. The main story featured the Super-rejects. I can tell you how the fight went and even some lines of dialog. Ditto for the Night Girl/Shadow Lass back-up story.

Another story that sticks in my memory is a Mr. & Mrs. Superman story from Superman Family. Lois & Clark are moving to a new apartment. The movers are actually hired killers sent to kill Clark because of an expose he is writing. It looks like Lois folds under pressure and reveals Superman's secret id, but she had a trick up her sleeve.

There are a couple others I can remember without re-reading. I can remember bits and pieces from other stories. I can remember most of A Day in the Life issue of the new Teen Titans, mostly Cyborg meeting the kids with prosthetics and Wally with his parents (before they got messed up by the Manhunter crossover). I remember a scene with Power Girl and Huntress in a Justice Society story where Huntress challenges PG to a race down the stairs. And while PG runs down, Huntress leaps down to the ground floor.

So, tell us about the stories that you really remember.

New Mutants Annual #2, by Chris Claremont & Alan Davis. The New Mutants and Captain Britain must battle Mojo, who has already turned Psylocke into his latest entertainment attraction and wants to do the same to the New Mutants -- he almost succeeds, if not for the efforts of Cypher and Warlock. Claremont's recurring theme of innocence corrupted has rarely been better expressed than it has here, and with what has been revealed about the entertainment industry in recent decades, it seems more relevant than ever. Alan Davis' art is even more superlative than usual, because he does both pencils and inks. Truly a memorable story.

Was that the one with the three kids given super-powers, as Straight Arrow, Snitch and Jubilee? They were kind of neat. Straight Arrow, in particular, had a cool power we haven't seen much on an X-team (superhuman accuracy).

If it's the one I remember, I liked the Doug/Psylocke interactions as well, in the sense of being a non-romance that was obviously never going to happen, making it a little more poignant and 'real' feeling than some random super-hero hookup.

But the New Mutants Annual that takes all my cake is the one set in Asgard. I remember it in great detail (much more so than the, IMO, lesser X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover annual that year).

Sam and the dwarves, Xian in the desert, Ilyanna being corrupted by the Enchantress's books, Rahne meeting her wolf-prince, all great stuff.

Yes, that's the one.

I think that Claremont's portrayal of Psylocke went downhill almost immediately after this story -- the whole "Princess Di on the outside, a tiger on the inside" thing never appealed to me, and it just got worse from there, in my opinion.



I love that one, too. Art Adams reached some kind of insane artistic peak there which I think he's never quite equaled.

And the wolf-prince...

I cannot cite the individual issue, as I read this comic in a graphic novel I got from the library. Indeed, I have read most of my comics in graphic novel form. One of the stories I remember the most is the issue in Waid and Wieringo's run on Fantastic Four. It involved The Thing telling Franklin Richards that the world is not a safe place, but because there are risks life is worth living.

"Riot at Xaviers" by Morrison and Quitely might have been the first modern comic story I read. I've reread it so many times I have lost count. It deals with youth versus experience, rebellion versus cooperation, and in a very realistic manner. Things that Xavier told Quentin Quire such as, "Real change takes time" have resonated in me to this day.

I, personally, am not very fond of Morrison's X-Men, but I haven't re-read it before, so, Emily, you may have just inspired me to give "Riot at Xavier's" another chance. If I do, I'll tell you what I think.

July 1963, Superman #162
"The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!"
by Leo Dorffman

A bizarre utopian future is projected for Superman-- he marries both Lana and Lois, restores Kandor and Krypton, cures Luthor-- and, in fact, all evil and disease on Earth...

...and lives happily ever after.

An "imaginary story" later identified as "Earth-162".

I remember an Atom story from Action Comics (I think; The Atom was appearing as a backup feature at the time). In it, Ray Palmer performs a scientific experiment which results in an alien (which looks something like a preying mantis, IIRC) coming into our dimension. Ray immediately thinks the alien has hostile intent and attacks it. Somehow, he learns the alien isn't really bad and just wants to go home. He makes peace with the alien and sends it on its way.

It's one of those don't-judge-people-because-they-are-different stories and also one which shows the consequences of miscommunication. I was probably nine or ten when I first read it, and it left a powerful impression on me. I felt so sorry for the poor alien. I also felt Ray's guilt when he realized his error in judgment.