ADVENTURE COMICS 340 (1966)
by Jerry Siegel & Curt Swan
This is arguably the most famous storyline from the Hamilton era… and it’s by Jerry Siegel.
Also from this point on Curt Swan is the regular artist.
Great job on spoiling the greatest surprise of the story on the freakin’ cover, guys!
We begin with Star Boy and Element Lad visiting Brainiac 5’s laboratory, where he’s working on a secret project for the United Planets.
I’m a very big fan of Brainy’s “insufferable genius” persona from later incarnations; this storyline is so famous that it’s probably its origin, and I love it.
Brainiac 5 has secretly been working on his greatest achievement: Computo.
You just have to love its design: it’s both cheesy as hell and terrifying, especially thanks to those metallic tentacles.
While John Forte might have given us a more wild design, its proportions would probably have been wildly inconsistent. With Curt Swan, you never forget that Computo is HUGE.
Computo is so unbelievably smart that he’s able to help in his own creation while Brainiac 5 still hasn’t finished his programming!
Also: the quote “Invert Ap-Trogs for increased frequency-waps” will even make the transition into the reboot during its adaptation of the Computo origin!
As a sign of the times, when Computo demands more knowledge, Brainiac 5 just feeds it physical books.
Computo then “eats” Brainiac 5…
…and puts him inside its lightbulb-shaped head!
Computo is nothing if not efficient: it absorbs enough knowledge from Brainiac 5 to manufacture an entire new army of new Computo!
Despite Computo’s weird look, I think that the attack of his “computer army” looks terrific.
I don’t think we ever saw Brainiac 5’s panic button again, but it’s surprisingly effective.
Although I question the Legion’s ability to respond to danger if Metropolis is under siege by the robot apocalypse and they need a distress call to notice it!
I wish we saw more of Phantom Girl’s mission, because it sounds incredibly interesting!
In a nice touch, Computo adapts fast enough to interrupt Brainiac 5’s message before he can finish it.
Then we move to an Android Factory, which already looks more credible than the one from Action Comics 287 …
…because Computo is kidnapping scientists, to absorb their knowledge just like he did with Brainiac 5.
The Legion shows up, with powerhouses Superboy and Ultra Boy on the front line.
Computo quickly figures out that it’s not powerful enough to harm them, so it threatens to kill the hostages (the scientists it captured).
Brainiac 5 volunteers to die if that’s what it takes to destroy Computo, while the other scientist believes it’s a bluff.
IT’S NOT.
Computo learns one lesson from this encounter: it needs to upgrade into a more ridiculous form!
I honestly preferred his first form. While equally ridiculous, the complete lack of a face made Computo theoretically scary. Thankfully its army maintains the old look, but unfortunately they talk like common henchmen now.
If you thought that Computo reading Superboy and Ultra Boy’s minds was just a throwaway scene: Computo actually did that to learn a secret code that would lead them back to Earth.
Wait, they STILL haven’t heard about the robot apocalypse!?
The Legion returns to its headquarters, where they are taken hostage by… their headquarters.
WHICH HAS LEGS NOW.
And it’s just the beginning: Computo also created a gizmo that cancels out the powers of all Legionnaires!
Except Superboy and Mon-El, who already have their own weaknesses. Thankfully for the Legion, Star Boy is quick to exploit the fact that Kryptonite and lead pretty much cancel out each other.
Superboy helps the Legion escape, but Computo’s army is ready to attack again.
Triplicate Girl to the rescue!
…by letting one of her three bodies get captured.
Also: GO AWAY PROTY, NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE.
And so Computo kills Triplicate Girl, in a moment that would be incredibly shocking for the time IF THEY DIDN’T SPOIL IT ON THE COVER!!!
And that’s our cliffhanger!
Next time bring more Kryptonite, Computo. If Silver Age comics taught me anything, there has to be an entire continent of that stuff on Earth.
Legion significance: 10/10
While most of the details won’t be discussed much, Computo’s attack has huge repercussions on the Legion. Most notably Triplicate Girl of course, but the whole incident will cast a long shadow on Brainiac 5.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
The way we think today about computers is widely different from the 60s, let alone if you consider that we have a Golden Age writer! But despite the old-fashioned ideas about the technical side, this is remarkably less insane than the norm.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
I admit it can be hard to take Computo seriously with the way it looks, but its inhuman drive to knowledge and conquest can be intimidating. There’s also a permanent sense of dread during the whole story, as Computo is easily capable of outsmarting the Legion at every turn.
We are legion
16 Legionnaires active in this story
3 not shown but officially members: Supergirl, Invisible Kid and Matter-Eater Lad. The latter is shown in the roll call, but he only appears on one panel that isn’t part of the story.
2 reserve members: Bouncing Boy and Kid Psycho
2 resigned members: Dream Girl, Command Kid
1 honorary member: Elastic Lad
1 deceased member: Dynamo Boy
How much Legion is too much?
The Legion has 19 active members. The total number of characters who have been members is 25.
Loved the review of Adventure 340. I had that one when i was a kid too. I don’t think I ever read the conclusion, so I’m looking forward to it!
I sense almost a Stan Lee writing style with this one. The background details also seem more developed.
The cackling fiend by Proty II seems so random. I guess it’s comic relief to keep readers from focusing on the Triplicate Girl thing? A sop to the Comics Code Authority to relieve the seriousness? Or could it be a prefiguring the idea that random behavior from something as seemingly insignificant as Proty II is a key to overcoming the computer menaces later on? Nah. Too stupid, right? Too Star Trek The Original Series. Nevermind