DC Super-Stars #17 (1977)
by Jack C. Harris & Juan Ortiz
cover by Joe Staton & Bob Layton
“DC Super-Stars” was a short-lived anthology series with a goofy name that only lasted 18 issues. This one is somewhat relevant for introducing the Earth-2 version of Huntress…
…which I’m going to completely ignore to focus on the Legion story.
It’s a short 10 page story to reveal the first case of the Legion, set before their first appearance.
After a recap of how the three founders met, something we’ve already seen…
…R.J.Brande sends them to recover a jewel that apparently powers most of Earth.
Despite appearances, the bad guy attempting to steal it is NOT the Time Trapper, or even a member of the Dark Circle. It’s just that purple hoods are popular among villains.
Little known fact, but the Legion almost got itself arrested on its first mission.
However the Legion stays on the case, and when the bad guy tries to sell the crystal…
…turns out that the buyers are actually the Legionnaires under disguise.
I’m not entirely sold on the fact that they don’t press charges. They caught the ambassador with the stolen crystal, surely it would help their case? It’s probably a politics thing.
Recovering the crystal averted a massive energy crisis, so the Legion gets deputized by the Science Police to save face.
And the whole reason why they were called to witness the crystal being changed (it’s depleted after years of use) is to talk to the guy who almost arrested them.
Well that was the definition of an unnecessary story.
Historical significance: 0/10
The origin of the Legion has been re-told countless time. This incident, not so much.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
The power sphere, which according to several stories powers a very significant portion of Earth, apparently runs on a single crystal.
Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
The basic idea is not bad, but this feels more like the summary of a story than an actual one. The artwork doesn’t help: not only it’s not very good, but do these guys really look their age? They’re supposed to be 15 years old at most!