ACTION COMICS 383 (1969)
by E. Nelson Bridwell & Win Mortimer
This time we don’t even get a proper teaser page!
Chamelon Boy is still sad because he the chance to stay with Princess Elwinda in Adventure Comics #376. Luckily for him, Princess Projectra has a friend that looks exactly like her!
I was hoping this was because “Janice” was either a shapeshifter herself or an illusion by Projectra, but… no, she just randomly looks exactly like the princess from another dimension.
Also she’s insanely rich…
…and kind of clueless.
Janice goes to her aviary to have some girl talk with Projectra, and Chameleon Boy eavesdrops.
So naturally he uses his powers to fake being a human and hit on her.
He takes her swimming, showing off an interesting 30th century idea…
…and she shows off that she’s too rich for stairs.
Chameleon Boy feels kind of bad about the whole situation.
Unfortunately it turns out that somebody has just stolen Janice’s jewel, and since Chameleon Boy’s disguise doesn’t have any proper identification he’s the main suspect.
Chameleon Boy discovers that someone has been using one of the robot guards to discover the combination to the vault. And he does this by turning into… whatever THIS is… and slither inside the robot’s head!
Since the police is looking for Chamelon Boy’s disguise (and he doesn’t want Janice to find out who he is), he escapes thanks to Projectra’s powers.
Together they discover that the man running the building’s security is behind everything.
As love interest, Janice is contractually obligated to be taken as hostage.
Also HOLY CRAP that weapon!!!
Chameleon Boy’s solution? Turn into another Janice!
And save her by turning into this thing:
And that’s how Chameleon Boy gets the girl!
I wonder if it’s because he can turn into a girl or because he can grow extra hands.
Legion significance: 0/10
As you might have guessed, Janice will never show up again.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
All things considered, there isn’t really that much Silver Age this time around.
Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
The base plot is as generic as they come… and we never move beyond the most basic stuff. Once again this is more of a summary of a story than a complete one, and it’s even that memorable. Janice in particular is incredibly dull. Chameleon Boy gets SO close to getting a characterization, but he doesn’t really deliver.
We are legion
26 Legionnaires
2 reserve members: Kid Psycho, Insect Queen
3 honorary members: Elastic Lad, Pete Ross, 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 35.