ADVENTURE COMICS 353 (1967)
by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
Second part of the Sun Eater story, with a much better cover than the first part.
We’ve spent half of the previous issue introducing the Fatal Five, but this is technically the first time they meet each other. So it’s time for more power demonstrations.
The Fatal Five bicker among themselves more often than the Fantastic Four!
Please note that the giant freakin’ monster with an exposed brain is the most reliable one.
The Fatal Five are basically the protagonists for this portion of the story.
1) we don’t really have an idea of how old Emerald Empress is but I get bad vibes from her trying to seduce Superboy
2) the mission HASN’T EVEN STARTED and these guys are already sabotaging it!
Speaking of the mission… the plan actually makes sense, a true rarity in this period!!!
Even so, the Sun Eater is immensely powerful. So Tharok comes up with an invention that can power-up both the Legion and the Fatal Five… and let him control Validus.
See, this is why you should always keep Brainiac 5 around.
Also, no mention of this being a temporary thing. So canonically Superman could be stronger than other Kryptonians thanks to this scene!
Now that Tharok controls Validus, it’s rather easy to assume control of the Fatal Five.
It’s time for the big moment. The Sun Eater looks a little ridiculous, but the comic still does a good job making it a terrifying force of nature.
Sun Boy succeeds in attracting the Sun Eater’s attention and Persuader is able to split its body into smaller pieces, but it proves too much even for Validus.
And it even overpowers Superboy!
Emerald Empress has a good show, but even she can’t match the Sun Eater.
The biggest surprise is Princess Projectra: her illusions can be so realistic that even the Sun Eater falls for one of them!
To show that he’s not exactly a villain, Validus shows up to save Princess Projectra.
Mano also gives a hand (pun intended), but it turns out that the Sun Eater is more intelligent than it seems.
And lastly there’s Ferro Lad, who goes straight for the Sun Eater’s core.
We’ll eventually be told that the Sun Eater is artificially created, so it makes sense that inside it doesn’t look like a living creature.
So at this point the Legion and the Fatal Five have failed, the Sun Eater is reassembling itself… and it’s headed towards Earth.
Time for desperate measures: the Absorbatron Bomb.
Persuader naturally asks the same question I have: if you had the bomb all this time, why waste time with the rest of the plan?
Superboy volunteers to take the bomb to the Sun Eater’s core, but Ferro Lad stops him.
With Superboy knocked out, Ferro Lad flies to the core and activates the bomb, in a panel that every Legion fan remembers from countless references.
And so Ferro Lad dies saving the Galaxy.
The Fatal Five receive a pardon for their efforts. It sound silly, but there’s no question that the Legion wouldn’t have been able to save the Galaxy without them.
Except the Fatal Five are like “what if we conquer the Galaxy instead”?
Tharok orders Validus to kill the Legionnaires, but Princess Projectra pleads for mercy.
Validus rebels, and the combined powers of the Fatal Five cause the team to be teleported away… SOMEHOW.
The Legion holds a memorial to Ferro Lad, who will be honored in Shanghalla.
The Fatal Five will return soon, and Ferro Lad will stay dead for the entire run of this continuity.
Legion significance: 10/10
It’s hard to overstate the ENORMOUS impact of Ferro Lad’s death.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
Nothing particularly ridiculous for this time!
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
This is a fantastic story. Sure it’s a little forced that the Legion trusts the Fatal Five so much at the beginning and their constant bickering can get annoying, but there’s a legitimate sense of dread and not only the stakes are high, they FEEL high. Even the minor contradictions here and there are quickly explained through dialogue or footnotes.
Despite some pacing issues here and there, this could EASILY be adapted today.
We are legion
23 Legionnaires
1 reserve member: Kid Psycho
1 resigned member: Command Kid
1 honorary member: Elastic Lad
1 expelled member: Nemesis Kid
2 deceased members: Dynamo Boy and Ferro Lad
How much Legion is too much?
The total number of characters who have been members is 29.
Interesting letters: Chameleon Boy’s fourth-wall break didn’t go unnoticed, and the readers rightfully hated it!
You wrote: “no mention of this being a temporary thing. So canonically Superman could be stronger than other Kryptonians thanks to this scene!”
I think Tharok does mention it in the second panel that the effect is only temporary?
For me, the death in the issue didn’t feel that big a deal as the character hadn’t had that much development or history. Although I know it was still a big deal at the time considering characters almost never perished.
BTW, still really enjoying going through your reviews of the Shooter era!