ADVENTURE COMICS 347 (1966)
Written by Jim Shooter
Pencils by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
Cover by Curt Swan
Part 2 of Jim Shooter’s first story. He’s still the artist as well, aided by veteran Curt Swan.
Someone has been sabotaging the Legion’s efforts to stop a Khund invasion, as they discuss at one of facilities of Earth’s space defenses.
You can easily identify those by the giant “SPACE” poster.
Also: everyone is suspecting Karate Kid, but is it just me or Cosmic Boy seems to be really pissed off at Princess Projectra?
There’s a new attack, and Superboy decides to split his team. Chameleon Boy is right about the inexperienced new members being left behind, but did Superboy really pick “the cream of the Legion power”?
Also: Superboy is a dick to doors.
Continuing the revolution in how a Legion book is paced: page 6 is a splash page.
Even the girls are given something interesting to do!
This is also where Superboy’s tendency to draw enemy fire to protect his teammates gets established. Superman will do that frequently in the Justice League.
Thankfully, the Khund ships are firing with the stun setting. (???)
And OF COURSE they have Kryptonite.
The Legion manages to stop the Khund attack, but as they return to the base…
The Legionnaires at the base were knocked out, just like those in the first issue.
Since all soldiers are all accounted for and there is only one Legionnaire missing… it’s no surprise that there’s only one suspect.
At this point the Khund have taken out the 3 defense towers that were supposedly the only thing standing in the way of their conquest.
Except… there’s something else they fear.
So, uhm… I know the Legion has proven itself time and time again, but… apparently this team of teenagers has an arsenal powerful enough to be equal to ALL of Earth’s defenses!?
The Legion flies back to Metropolis, where they find Karate Kid talking to himself after the Legion’s arsenal has been destroyed.
And so Karate Kid is busted!
I mean, Nemesis Kid is busted!
Yep! The mastermind who almost destroyed the Legion just outed himself like an idiot!
Not like it matters, because the Khund are here!
Or not! This time, Superboy remembered to use his superpowers!
The Khund don’t have enough ships to conquer the planet now, but they have more than enough to destroy the Legion.
The Legionnaires respond with… their jet platforms? What happened to the Flight Ring!?
No, wait… they DO still have the rings. What’s the point of the platforms then!?
Princess Projectra and Ferro Lad, who have been utterly eclipsed by Karate Kid so far, get their chance to show off a little.
Karate Kid also gets his chance to redeem his reputation, by taking out the flagship.
As for why he was acting so suspiciously:
That just leaves the trouble of how to deal with Nemesis Kid. He can develop any superpower needed to defeat anyone, but what happens when he tries to use his ability to fight the entire Legion?
Simple: he develops the superpower of “let’s get the f#ck out of here NOW!!!”
You can bet your cape that you’ll see Nemesis Kid again, Superboy.
Legion significance: 7/10
While not quite as significant as the first part, this will also have serious repercussions thanks to Nemesis Kid. While he’s not a particularly frequent villain, Legion fans know just how much damage he’s going to cause!
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
While it’s a classic, Nemesis Kid outing himself like that is quite a silly scene.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
It’s still hard to describe how different this era feels. See the contrast with the Computo fight: the Legion is taking things seriously, doesn’t waste time goofing around, everyone is given something to do, and while there are many plot twists they all are set up previously, to some extent.
We are legion
11 Legionnaires active in this story
10 not shown but officially members
2 reserve members: Bouncing Boy and Kid Psycho
2 resigned members: Dream Girl, Command Kid
1 honorary member: Elastic Lad
2 expelled member: Star Boy, Nemesis Kid
1 deceased member: Dynamo Boy
How much Legion is too much?
Losing Nemesis Kid, the Legion currently has 21 active members and the total number of characters who have been members is now 29.
Interesting letters: “Color Kid has an awesome power”, said exactly 1 person ever.
Also “Many hero groups dress the same”. This is 1966 so I can only think about the Fantastic Four and X-Men falling into this category.
And it seems that the readers have a far better memory about the Legion lore than the writers. Also I was totally expecting a joke answer like “you don’t see them because they’re the Espionage Squad”.
If I’m not mistaken, Princess Projectra will also join the Espionage Squad.
This one makes an interesting point. It is indeed a bit awkward that the Legion only seems to run into super-powered heroes with their same age; we won’t see adult heroes until the Legionnaires themselves are adults!
