DC Comics Presents #13

DC Comics Presents #13 (1979)
by Paul Levitz & Dick Dillin

This is a rare team-up between the Legion and Superman, as opposed to Superboy.
And it’s of the utmost importance for the least expected Legionnaire.

We begin with Superman intercepting an alien probe orbiting Earth and trying to put some astronauts in suspended animation.
When he follows it back to its star systems, he finds himself in the middle of a war, where the bad guys kidnap people from all over the universe to use them as soldiers.

That’s when the Legion show up.

They are not here to stop the war. It’s exactly the opposite, in fact, because the fact that this war is destined to last for several centuries is vital to the very existence of the United Planets.

This is a very cool concept that combines the pre-Crisis idea that changing history is impossible and the fact that Superman’s present is the Legion’s history.

Superman agrees not to interfere with the war… for now.

It’s not like the Legion is happy about the situation either. While they’re making sure the war does continue, they’re making an effort to minimize the casualties.

And then we COMPLETELY change the scene with Pete Ross, of all people, getting the spotlight!

This is a huge, HUGE deal: Pete Ross was a regular Superboy supporting character but he’s almost completely absent in Superman comics. And after DECADES he finally reveals that he knows the secret identity!

Not only that, but his son Jon (who also knows Superman’s secret identity from another comic) is destined to grow up to be the hero of the alien planet.

Does this remind you of Terminator? That’s probably a coincidence since this is a 1979 story and that movie didn’t come out until 1984.

Needless to say Superman is not happy about learning the Legion has convinced him to help those who have turned the son of his best friend into a child soldier.
But once he flies back to them, Dawnstar accelerates him beyond the time barrier.
How the heck did she do THAT!? It’s established that she can fly faster than light, sure, but that’s quite a stretch!!!

This is so that Superman can witness the giant space battle that must happen in order for the Legion’s future to exist.

But AMAZINGLY, since he’s slowly evolving past being The Worst, Superman is not going to help keep the war going!!!

Of course since he’s not The Worst it means we’re past the Silver Age proper, which means he’s not utterly invincible, which means he gets his S handed to him.

This is how Superman SHOULD be written: if punching doesn’t solve the problem, he’s going to use his brains!!!

And so Superman ensures that the aliens will continue to develop their weapons for centuries by donating his Superman robots, which were phased out of his comics anyway.
Everybody wins!!!

Well… ALMOST everybody.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the last time Pete Ross (who is a Legion honorary member after all!) sort of interacts with the Legion: the second part doesn’t involve the Legion at all.
(luckily for them, because spoiler alert: the sequel sucks)

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Legion significance: 7/10
The fact that this story is basically never referenced hurts the score a lot, but it’s surprisingly important. Not only it gives us a better reason for giving Pete Ross the honorary membership, but it also has a cool piece of history for the United Planets.

Silver Age-ness: 5/10
I’m still trying to figure out how Dawnstar managed to push Superman beyond the time barrier.

 Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
This was a great story. Everybody’s actions make sense in context: of course the Legion isn’t going to worry TOO much about the war, since it’s been in their history books for a 1,000 years, but they’re still heroes so at least they try to limit the casualties. And Superman is no stranger to attempts to change history that completely fail, so it makes sense he’s deferring to the Legion until things get personal.

We are legion
22 Legionnaires
5 reserve members
2 on sick leave (Brainiac 5 and Matter-Eater Lad)