I will do this at the end of every era of the Legion retrospective.
I’m quite a bit late for the first one, but in preparation for the end of the Hamilton era I’m starting with the very first era.
This is for what I define as the pre-history of the Legion, meaning issues before they got their regular series after Adventure Comics #300.
Before the awards themselves, our classic categories when applied to the whole era:
Legion significance: 6/10
This may be a surprisingly low score. It’s true that everything comes back to this era… but very, VERY little will be carried over to future stories.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
What else could it possibly be?
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
Unfortunately, unless you have an unhealthy interest in the Legion, most of these stories are terrible. There are a lot of good ideas here and there, but characterization is almost nonexistent.
And now, ladies and gentlemen: the Legion Awards!
BEST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Saturn Girl
There’s absolutely no contest here. Excluding Superboy and Supergirl who already had their ongoing series, she’s the only Legionnaire with any sort of personality. And she’s typically the one to get things done and take charge.
Runner-up: Superboy and Supergirl
A tie for the two Legionnaires who jump-start all the stories of this period. Not surprising, since in this era the Legion is collectively just a supporting character.
Third place: Brainiac 5
I may be biased on this, since he’ll be my favorite Legionnaire over the years. But he’s the one with the most original backstory and motivation, and aside from Saturn Girl he’s really the only one with a little characterization.
WORST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Star Boy
Poor guy. It’s not his fault that his origin story was completely forgotten for years. But he’s established as a Legionnaire in his first appearance, without even meeting any Legionnaire except Superboy… and he completely disappears from the team!
Runner-up and and third place: nobody
Everyone else is just so spectacularly bland that they all get participation trophies. Speaking of which…
PARTECIPATION TROPHIES
These Legionnaires are barely used at all, so they don’t fit into any category.
Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy: despite being founding members, they are severely eclipsed by Saturn Girl.
Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Invisible Kid and Bouncing Boy: they’re just “the boys”
Phantom Girl, Triplicate Girl and Shrinking Violet: they’re just “the girls”
Ultra Boy: the “technically he’s a member” guy.
BEST VILLAIN
Winner: the Brain-Globes of Rambat from Adventure Comics #293
Yes, their plan makes no sense. Yes, they look ridiculous. But tell me that they aren’t memorable!
Runner-up: Lex Luthor from Superboy #86
Lex rarely got this close to killing Superboy. It’s barely a Legion story at all, but he’s the only legitimately threatening villain in this era!
Third place: the Sun Boy impostor from in Adventure Comics #290.
The fact that the a guy who doesn’t even get a name gets to be third should tell you something about what we have to work with. But he was relatively effective and had a robot with a ray that could turn people evil, so that’s something.
Honorable mention: the Positive Man from Action Comics #287.
This planet-destroying cosmic beast is a very cool concept, but the execution wastes him.
WORST VILLAIN
Winner: the Legion of Super-Heroes from Adventure Comics #267
Yes, the Legion is the worst villain in its second-ever story. They’re the cause for the conflict of the entire story and nothing they do make sense!
Runner-up: the Chameleon-Men from Action Comics #287.
These shapeshifters are somewhat effective, but they completely botch their conquest even when they incapacitate almost the entire Legion!
Third place: the Xanthu criminals from Adventure Comics 282
You would think that stealing a time machine to fly to another planet would make them interesting, but they are barely mentioned at all!
MOST INFLUENTIAL STORY
Winner: Adventure Comics #247
Obviously it’s impossible to top the significance of the first story.
Runner-up: Action Comics #289
The original Adult Legion, with surprising repercussions. It’s also the first place where the relationship between Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad is established!
Third place: Adventure Comics #276
Supergirl and perhaps more importantly Brainiac 5 join, plus the 18-year-old rule is established.
BEST STORY
Winner: Adventure Comics #247
As predictable as it sounds, the origin story. It’s not aged perfectly, it’s very cliché, but dammit if it still doesn’t have a lot of charm!
Runner-up: Adventure Comics #293
Is this story stupid? Oh yes it is. Does it have giant floating brains and super-pets? Yes it does. Was it fun to read? Hell yes!
Third place: Action Comics #289
All the naïve charm of the Supergirl stories, all the idiocy of the Silver Age, plus lots of Legion lore and the most meme-worthy panel of them all!
WORST STORY
Winner: Adventure Comics #267
Even in an era where most stories make no sense… this one is arguably worse. From the crowd of superhumans that will never be mentioned again to the very questionable reason why the Legion thinks that Superboy is now a bad guy.
Runner-up: Superboy #93
It’s barely a Legion story, but Lana Lang’s weird obsessions come across as too crazy for her own good.
Third place: Adventure Comics 282
I still can’t get over the fact that Star Boy is worried about revealing his secret identity in another planet a thousand years in the past, when he never even uses his secret identity!!!
WORST REASON TO REJECT A LEGIONNAIRE
Action Comics #267
WORST USE OF TIME TRAVEL
Superboy #93
BEST REACTION SHOT
Adventure Comics #293
WORST REACTION SHOT
Superboy #86
BEST PANEL
Adventure Comics #293
There’s something great in a rare glimpse at the Kent’s humanity, worrying about their son while they are usually impossibly calm about everything.
WORST PANEL
Superboy #93
I’m… I’m just going to leave it there.
MOST MEME-WORTHY PANEL
Action Comics #289
The more you think about it, the worse it becomes.
MOST SILVER AGE PANEL
Adventure Comics #293
Could it be anything else?
BEST COVER
Adventure Comics #247
Sometimes you just can’t beat the original.
WORST COVER
Adventure Comics #290
Because when you need to show “a futuristic weapon split into multiple parts”, this is clearly the worst way to do it.
