ADVENTURE COMICS 367 (1968)
by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
cover by Neal Adams
The Legion sure gets cornered by people in shadows pretty often in this period.
The Legion’s original base of operations (the iconic upside-down rocket) was trashed last issue, so we spend a little time showing off the construction of the new one.
Bonus: the United Planets paid for it.
Did I say a little? I meant five pages.
For a supposedly non-military organization, the Legion sure has a lot of weapons.
Then again, they barely ever use them.
And I sure hope that no other Legionnaire ever dies in the line of duty, or they will need an even bigger base.
Among the many gifts, the Legion also received a mysterious package.
Last issue we discovered that all the weapons of the United Planets can be controlled with just three keys. The Legion still has one of them, but the Fatal Five left with the other two.
We are informed about this by a secret terrorist organization called the Dark Circle.
But enough about that. Time to check on Karate Kid who takes a leave of absence to visit his home country of Japan.
We get a little backstory about Karate Kid. Who could’ve guessed that “Val Armorr” isn’t actually Japanese?
Karate Kid is back home to catch up with Mr. Miyagi his unnamed master.
However he doesn’t get the chance to reveal more of his backstory because Japan is being invaded!
I’m disappointed that it isn’t invade by giant robots.
Look guys, I don’t know how much the Dark Circle pays you, but it can’t possibly be enough to convince you to fight a dude who just KARATE CHOPPED A F#ING TANK.
Unfortunately it’s not just Japan. The Dark Circle is everywhere.
The Legion does its best, but it’s not enough. The rest of the team is having a harder time than Karate Kid; it makes sense that the Dark Circle would send its best operatives to the Legion HQ.
Could this be the first time one of the Legion girls has been taken hostage? It’s incredible that it took this long!
Then again, the boys are also hostages.
When Brainiac 5 tries to recover a weapon from the crates that contained gifts, he’s saved by Karate Kid. Who has no idea how he got out of Japan.
The solution is in the crate with the undecipherable letter, and Brainiac 5 quickly figures out how to use the device it contains.
A device that throws EVERY single member of the Dark Circle back to their original planets!!!
It also restores all the damages done to the new headquarters, while also completing what was left of the incomplete construction.
In the second splash panel in a row, observe the awesomeness of the new Legion Headquarters!
The device was able to do all of this because it’s the Miracle Machine, which can literally do ANYTHING.
It turns out that the Miracle Machine is a gift from the Controllers, possibly as a reward for having stopped the rogue Controller in the classic Adventure Comics #357.
And so we end with the Legion sealing the Miracle Machine inside an Inertron cube, vowing to use it only in case of a “cosmos-shaking emergency”.
The Legion will understandably be VERY hesitant to use it, so it will make relatively few appearances. It will gain additional importance to the rest of the DC Universe during Final Crisis.
Legion significance: 7/10
New headquarters and introduction of the Miracle Machine, plus the Dark Circle will return.
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
The rest of the story balances it, but the Miracle Machine is as Silver Age as they come and the way the Dark Circle is able to almost defeat the Legion after what they survived last issue is pretty unbelievable.
Does it stand the test of time? 6/10
A missed opportunity. There are several good points… the introduction to the HQ (even if it goes on a little too much), some backstory to Karate Kid… but the Miracle Machine comes out of absolutely nowhere, and honestly it’s kind of a disappointed to see its first use wasted on a menace like the Dark Circle that frankly doesn’t seem menacing enough.
There’s also a lack of focus, which is odd for Shooter: we jump around from one plot point to the other, with things just left behind (whatever happened to Karate Kid’s reunion with his master?).
Still an enjoyable story, but the comparison to the last two blockbuster issues harms it a lot.
We are legion
24 Legionnaires
2 reserve members: Kid Psycho, Insect Queen
2 honorary members: Elastic Lad, Rond Vidar
1 resigned member: Command Kid
1 expelled member: Nemesis Kid
2 deceased members: Dynamo Boy, Ferro Lad
How much Legion is too much?
The total number of characters who have been members is 32.
Interesting letters: apparently Mon-El and Ultra Boy are currently tied for the position of Legion leader. I have no clue of where this guy got the idea that it’s standard practice to elect the rookie to be the leader, though.
Also: what will happen when Adventure Comics reaches issue 400 ?
Glad you asked! For starters it will be published in December 1970 and Supergirl will wear this hideous thing on its cover.
There won’t be any Legion story in December 1970, since they’ll be transitioning from Action Comics to Superboy in January 1971.
As for your other questions:
1) No, Curt Swan will only be the regular artist for another 5 issues, although he will still get the chance to draw the team many times
2) No, Jim Shooter won’t be writing issue 400 and by then he won’t be the regular writer, but he will also return to the team a few times
3) Yes, Timber Wolf will indeed join much earlier than 1970. Actually that’s the last regular issue drawn by Curt Swan!
4) Yes, Element Lad will get a girlfriend AND become leader
5) No, both Princess Projectra and Chameleon Boy will survive this entire continuity
6) No, Cosmic Boy’s kid brother won’t join “the teenage auxiliary of the Adult Legion” because it will never exist. He’ll join the Legion instead.