SUPERBOY 208 (1975)
by Cary Bates & Mike Grell
I really hate the covers of these giant issues… with all the reprints, the covers are just a mess.
We begin in 20th century Smallville, where this time Mon-El is visiting the Kents.
Yes these really are the Kents. They were rejuvenated in the Superboy book because of some Silver Age nonsense (just go with it).
Mon-El’s comments raise some interesting questions… where ARE his parents?
Was he an orphan when he reached Earth in Superboy 89? We know he had a brother because we met his descendant in the AWFUL Action Comics 384; why isn’t Mon-El visiting his brother?
Is he dead too? Considering Mon-El’s luck, I wouldn’t be surprised!
We also get a super-rare appearance of Ultra Boy’s parents.
Meanwhile Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl and Timber Wolf are waiting to receive the Universal Trophy.
The Universal Trophy, by the way, is this monstrosity:
I was expecting this trophy to be honoring the Legion, but no, they’re just safekeeping it before it can be delivered to an important diplomat. Apparently this thing is the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meanwhile in the past (???), Superboy and Mon-El warn the Kents that they’re going back to the future and that they can’t wait to stay longer (???).
The two super-aliens are hit with a ray that makes them fight each other, and the Kents are either brainwashed or they’re high as a kite.
The Kents are not the only ones acting weird.
And this was all a plan of the new Legion of Super-Villains! Starting with its leader Sun Emperor (more on him later).
But we also have some familiar faces, notably Lightning Lord and Nemesis Kid.
We also have the return of two Legion rejects: Spider Girl from Adventure Comics #323 and even Radiation Roy from Adventure Comics #320.
Just look at the way these people sit and take a guess on who is going to be the biggest threat in the future (hint: real supervillains simply cannot sit down like normal people).
Meanwhile Chemical King makes his only appearance in this comic… yawning and doing nothing.
That’s probably the reaction 99% of the readers have when Chemical King shows up… poor dolt.
Superboy, Mon-El and Ultra Boy are all prisoners of the indestructible energy bubbles created by Radiation Roy.
Radiation Roy is so profoundly uninteresting that even I don’t remember his audition! But surely I would remember if he had the power to create bubbles that can stop Superboy.
The way Superboy talks about him makes it sound like he wasn’t present during the audition, so… okay Cary Bates, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt before I check.
Oh come on Bates, can’t you EVER get a continuity reference right!?
First of all Superboy is right there, so what sense does it make for him to say “Even I have heard of Radiation Roy”?
Second, that’s the only panel of Roy’s audition! He doesn’t create any bubble!
*groan*
Anyway we have another member of the LSV… and another occasion for Bates to screw up: Chameleon Chief.
Both Sun Emperor and Chameleon Chief have already appeared, in a Jimmy Olsen story that I didn’t cover in my retrospective, as members of the ADULT Legion of Super-Villains.
Why did I say that Chameleon Chief is another opportunity to Bates to screw up? Because in that Jimmy Olsen story he was just a regular shapeshifter, he didn’t have the power to change the shape of OTHER things!!!
It makes no sense to give the younger Chameleon Chief this power since the older one from Jimmy Olsen didn’t have it. And it’s useless in general… he uses that power ONCE in the story.
Meanwhile the Kents, and Ultra Boy’s parents, free the Legionnaires for reasons we don’t learn yet.
Oh so NOW YOU GET HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS!?!?
Except this turns out to be a trap. A very, VERY weird trap.
Time has run out despite the time travel shenanigans (*sigh*), so there really isn’t any time left to save the diplomat from being blown up!
Except…
Surprise! Chameleon Boy has taken out and replaced Chameleon Chief!
Which of course means a big dumb fight.
Remember that we wasted half of last issue to the relationship between Lightning Lad and Lightning Lord? This is the payoff… a single panel.
The way other Legionnaires win is classis superhero fun.
However I take objection on how Nemesis Kid is defeated since this really, REALLY shouldn’t have worked!
HIS ENTIRE THING is that he can’t be defeated by any single opponent and THAT is how you deal with it!?
Well at least Chameleon Boy was used at his best. Just think about it: the Legion would’ve been utterly screwed if we left this to Chemical King.
And in case you’re wondering why the LSV went through all the trouble of taking out three specific Legionnaires… it was because X-Ray vision would’ve spotted Chameleon Chief.
So he doesn’t have a brain? Because Saturn Girl didn’t spot him either!
And that’s how we end!
They really didn’t miss all that much.
Historical significance: 2/10
We add some fodder to the ever-growing Legion of Super-Villains. It’s very weird to see Nemesis Kid is not the leader, and weirdly enough he’s given far less screen time than I expected.
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
It was a relatively low score until time itself attacked Superboy and Mon-El (WTF!?)
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
This SHOULD have been great. We have a nice mystery and cool villains… but this was just a mess, even if you don’t count the continuity errors. Once again Mike Grell is the saving grace, but this time it’s not enough.
We are legion
23 Legionnaires
4 reserve members: Kid Psycho, Insect Queen, Duo Damsel, Supergirl
3 honorary members: Elastic Lad, Pete Ross, Rond Vidar, Bouncing Boy
1 resigned member: Command Kid
1 expelled member: Nemesis Kid
3 deceased members: Dynamo Boy, Ferro Lad, Invisible Kid
How much Legion is too much?
The total number of characters who have been members is 36.
That’s a good point about Mon-El’s family. It raises the question of why someone who spent a thousand years helpless in the Phantom Zone would want to live in the 30th century when he could return to the 20th and, y’know, live with his family and contemporaries.