ADVENTURE COMICS 359 (1967)
by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
The Legion has significantly more trouble with the authorities than the rest of the DC heroes of the time.
We begin with a few panels showing what the Legionnaires are doing. Pretty routine stuff, like stopping a star from exploding by dousing it with Anti-Atomic Fluid ™.
As well as stopping some random aliens that might have been designed by John Forte.
Once they return to Earth, however, they are not exactly welcome.
That’s because the Legion has been declared unconstitutional!
And also Earth is under curfew. I hope we’re not dealing with a Covid-3019 outbreak.
Some of the Legionnaires are bailed out by their family, including an extremely rare appearance of Duo Damsel’s parents.
How did this happen, anyway? The President of Earth died, and the Vice President turned out to be a a-hole.
He petitioned the United Planets to outlaw the Legion. AND IT WORKED.
Eventually the arrested Legionnaires are released, they regroup to discuss what to do, and in the occasion they save a bunch of people from a disaster.
For once it’s nice looking the team cooperating like, you know, a team!
That gets the Legionnaires arrested AGAIN, and this time the judge isn’t going to treat them lightly.
The Legionnaires that didn’t openly use their powers are let go, but they won’t be allowed to use their powers or even their costumes.
Having a princess in the team will probably help.
Or not, because people in the street randomly attack them. Did everyone forget those are superheroes?
And for once the girls aren’t useless! As a reminder: Jim Shooter was 14 when he was writing these, and he was STILL more mature than the rest of the writing staff!!!
Except Princess Projectra, who gets hit in the head by a club.
A club that hit her so hard she’s in a coma. (!!!)
Some 1967 fanservice for the ladies, but we also discover that something’s not right with the parents of the Legionnaires.
However this isn’t the Hamilton era anymore, so the Legionnaires aren’t idiots.
We then catch up with the Legionnaires who have been sent to prison. Specifically to the prison planet Takron-Galtos, which will become a mainstay of the Legion books.
This is a very weird version of Takron-Galtos, though. This time it’s not just a super-jail: the boys get slave labour…
…and the girls wash clothes.
Saturn Girl has figured out what’s going on, but she can’t warn the team because of the planet’s Anti-Spoiler Field.
There’s only one person who can help the Legion: the guy who pays their bills, interstellar tycoon R.J.Brande!
Or not.
Brande calls the Science Police on them, and the team is split into a THIRD sub-group because some of the Legionnaires stay behind.
It’s kind of funny that the comic has to spell out the names of each Legionnaire because once they are out of costume they’re not all easily recognizable.
And that’s our cliffhanger: the Legion is on the run from the entire planet.
Legion significance: 1/10
First Takron-Galtos. It’s almost unrecognizable except from the name.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
That random Princess Projectra coma and Supergirl having to go back to the 20th century for no real reason. It would be much higher if it turned out that the United Planets really did destroy the Legion for the stated reason, but it will be explained in the finale.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
This was actually pretty good! A little too fast-paced here and there, and more than a couple of minor contrivances, but this is EASILY adaptable.
We are legion
23 Legionnaires
2 reserve member: Kid Psycho, Insect Queen
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 30.
Interesting letters: I guess there is ONE good thing coming out of the stupid story about Ferro Lad’s twin: it ensured that Ferro Lad would stay dead for good.
I first came across this story as some kind of reprint about 25 years ago and enjoyed it. Rereading it again fairly recently, I still enjoyed it. As you say, it’s funny about the washboards on Takron G – so the galaxy sent its laundry here? But still a good issue!