Superboy and the LSH #239 (1978)
by Jim Starlin, Paul Levitz & Joe Rubinstein
cover by Mike Grell
After an unimpressive issue with Walt Simonson pencils (and #238 was a reprint), we have a solid debut for Jim Starlin.
The credits a little more complex than usual: plot and layouts by Starlin, “plot assist” and dialogue by Levitz, finishes by Rubinstein.
We begin on Ultra Boy’s planet, Rimbor, which really stands out in the 30th century for being a seedy and crime-ridden place.
He’s here to see his (never before mentioned) first love, An Ryd.
There are not-so-subtle hints that she’s not exactly a saint.
She’s betrayed him for a good amount of money, something that gets Ultra Boy shot…
…and her killed.
Now THAT is a great way to start a mystery!!!
When Ultra Boy wakes up after the blast, he gets blamed for the murder of An Ryd.
I bet that NOBODY was expecting the return of Marla, all the way back from Ultra Boy’s first appearance. That’s a sixteen year gap between appearances!
It’s a good mystery: Ultra Boy has no alibi and the “murder weapon” is credible.
Thank goodness we’re no longer calling that power “Penetra-Vision”, that would’ve been awkward.
Much like in Adventure Comics #316, Phantom Girl is the only one to believe Ultra Boy is innocent.
Now… a reasonable person would wait for the investigation, maybe asking someone from Titan to read his mind… Saturn Girl isn’t on the team right now, but there’s a full planet of telepaths.
But this is Ultra Boy we’re talking about so OF COURSE he chooses the most reckless solution possible.
Despite his recklessness, Ultra Boy gets a great moment to shine. He doesn’t get those often: he’s one of the Legion powerhouses, but being in the same team of Superboy and Mon-El means being constantly upstaged.
Not THIS time though!
I do appreciate that Phantom Girl is not the ONLY one to have some faith in Ultra Boy.
If you absolutely need to have a member taken out of the story because her power threatens to break it, at least use the opportunity to help people who have been out of the spotlight lately.
This issue sure is full of references to old Legion stories… in this case Adventure Comics #359, which coincidentally was the reprint of the previous issue!
Dammit, we’re STILL calling some of it Penetra-Vision.
Ultra Boy crashes at a secret hideout, but SURPRISE COUCH!
We don’t get to see it often, but Chameleon Boy is VERY good at his job.
It might also be the first time where he actually gets a personality. Now THIS is the Chameleon Boy I recognize!
The fact that Marla hasn’t been seen for ages is worked into the story to make him look quite suspicious.
Yeah, something’s definitely not right with Marla. And with Superboy’s face.
The first thought in this kind of story, at least in superhero comics, is that there’s an impostor running around. So we take care of that idea quickly: everyone is clean.
Or is it?
If I’m not mistaken, this might be the first time Wildfire has had a good idea since he became leader.
Ultra Boy is spotted, and this leads to an opportunity to show that he’s powerful and skilled enough to face most of the Legion alone.
I said MOST.
So… yeah, Ultra Boy gets captured. Again.
However this is when Chameleon Boy reveals the results of his investigations. There IS an impostor in the Legion!!!
That’s not a long fight because Superboy.
The actual Wildfire is imprisoned inside a force field, but the case is not closed yet: the robot impostor was just the cover-up, not the real murderer.
As much as I’d like to joke about Chameleon Boy figuring out it wasn’t the real Wildfire because he was acting like a good leader… the explanation makes sense.
The identity of the murderer won’t be revealed for several issues, since Chameleon Boy is still gathering info on that.
All in all, still a happy ending!
Legion significance: 8/10
If Adventure Comics #316 was the first step to give Ultra Boy a personality, this is the rightful conclusion. It’s also THE story that solidifies Rimbor as the crime-ridden planet.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Even with that many Legion references, I can’t find Silver Age tropes here.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
Great writing, solid dialogues and fantastic artwork. Not only that but we have several bits of Legion lore integrated into the story, and it even works as a mystery since Wildfire being the impostor doesn’t come completely out of the blue. We eve have a couple of red herrings!
Ultra Boy might be the star, but the breakout character is Chameleon Boy for the absurdly well written characterization. More of this please!!!
We are legion
21 Legionnaires
8 reserve members
Bonus: instead of a letters page, we have a full detailed description (by Legion superfan Mike Flynn) of Chameleon Boy’s powers.
This includes a clarification on some previous mistakes:
I love this story; I’d say it’s even better than Shooter’s LSH in terms of action and characterization. For most of the story, Ultra Boy gets to shine; it shows that he has vast power but has to have a tactical brain in order to use it effectively. I also admire Chameleon Boy’s hypercompetence here. I only have one little nitpick, and that is that Ultra Boy gets handed the Idiot Ball at the beginning of the story. I mean, given how sleazy Rimbor is, wouldn’t it be a good precaution for him to have his invulnerability switched on in case of betrayal? (Ok, ok, it was necessary for the plot, and it was his old GF, so I’ll give it a pass.) I wonder if An Ryd is a reference to Objectivist author Ayn Rand?
I always loved this issue. The plot and art were great.