These three issues are the end of the Reflecto storyline, almost the end of the brief Roy Thomas run, and the last appearance of one honorary Legionnaire.
So strap in, this is going to be a long one.
Legion of Super-Heroes #280 (1981)
by Roy Thomas Jim Janes
cover by George Perez
This is a somewhat iconic cover celebrating the return of Superboy… but this being the Reflecto storyline, it’s far more complex than that.
Understandably, Phantom Girl is not thrilled by the revelation that Reflecto was actually Superboy, because it means Ultra Boy is still dead.
We also cover a minor point from the previous issue: the reason why Grimbor’s weapons were able to injure Superboy is that he was using Kryptonite just in case.
Still no explanation on how S&M Reed Richards managed to seriously hurt Mon-El, but hey, baby steps.
Adding to the confusion: Reflecto was just wearing a mask, which makes the fact that Bouncing Boy was sure he was older than the other Legionnaires even weirder.
And since this storyline will only get more confusing: Superboy thinks he’s Ultra Boy now!
Turns our Saturn Girl suspected that Ultra Boy was still alive, catching a glimpse of his thoughts (???), but didn’t tell Phantom Girl about it. Shades of Saturn Girl’s penchant for keeping secrets from her teammates, and it’s not like it’s the first time it happens.
There’s the problem if figuring out whether this is Superboy or Ultra Boy, which is quickly settled the superhero way: by punching each other.
The team returns to Metropolis to meet their loved ones (remember that last issue most of Earth thought the world was going to end).
And it’s the start of a beautiful bromance between Wildfire and Blok.
You might have forgotten that in the middle of all this Lightning Lad decided to resign from his leadership position. He has the good sense to wait until the crisis is over, but it’s a weird decision to have this subplot among everything else. Did Conway want him to resign earlier but couldn’t finish the story before leaving?
Yeah it’s a convoluted mess of a mystery. At least the characters also think it’s a convoluted mess of a mystery!
Saturn Girl confirms that she can’t sense Superboy’s mind, only Ultra Boy. To further prove this is a mind swap thing and not just Superboy going nuts, he knows what only Ultra Boy would know: the place where he used to team-up with Phantom Girl.
Lightning Lad decides it’s time to visit the 20th century again, and to bring Dawnstar and Blok because they’ve never been there. That’s not a great idea, considering they don’t exactly blend in, but at least he handles Phantom Girl well.
The team takes a Time Bubble ™ to Smallville… and almost materialize inside a nuclear explosion!!!
This makes me wonder in which decade the Superboy stories take place now.
He’s typically roughly 20 years before Superman’s present… so now Superboy’s time is in the 60s?
Superboy disperses the fallout into space, and I really have no idea what the next exchange is supposed to mean. No, seriously, what does “that’s what Ultra Boy’s mind can’t grasp” mean when he’s immediately following that by reminding everyone that Ultra Boy had knowledge of the 30th century thanks to Superboy #98 ?
And speaking of nonsensical: why exactly does the military want to arrest the Legion again?
Blok is just a national treasure, isn’t he?
The Legion investigates the Kent house, finding out they’re not in this issue. Ultra Boy’s “how should I know!?” legitimately made me laugh.
So it’s settled: the Legion will investigate the 20th century disguising themselves with Clark’s and Ma Kent’s clothes.
Also in case you had any doubts Roy Thomas was writing this… “They also serve who only stand and wait”.
Pretty much out of the blue, Superboy and the Legion are now hunted by the authorities for… reasons. Maybe this is supposed to place Superboy’s time during the Red Scare?
And then the Time Bubble™ explodes…
…because the Legion has been trapped in time by the Time Trapper!!!
Uh, with a name like that you’d expect this to be his main gimmick, but it’s basically the first time his name actually fits.
Legion of Super-Heroes #281 (1981)
by Paul Levitz & Steve Ditko
cover by George Perez
Ah, the great late George Perez: since the story doesn’t feature the entire Legion, he still gets to draw lots of character on the cover.
I’m not entirely sure if Steve Ditko ever got the chance to draw Superman, but his Superboy leaves something to be desired.
After a recap of the previous events, Superboy tries to get back to the 30th century… and the Time Trapper proves that, while the Iron Curtain Of Time has not namedropped in a while, he can still prevent people from accessing certain eras.
Meanwhile the Legion is occupied with the important task of… getting groceries from the store without attracting attention.
Which is kind of a problem because Dawnstar has wings and Blok is Blok.
Not that the other Legionnaires are exactly inconspicuous. Especially if Smallville really is in the 60s, try walking around in Phantom Girl’s costume.
Or even Saturn Girl! We are few issues away from her returning to her classic costume… perhaps having a glimpse of 20th century teenage boys was the final push she needed to ditch the pink bathing suit?
If I’m not mistaken, this storyline is the last time Lana Lang interacts with the Legion. She might go out on a high note, showing off her deduction skills.
She mistakenly identifies herself as a honorary member, though, while as Insect Queen she’s supposed to be a reserve member. Ooops.
We interrupt the story for some fanservice. How big is the Kent shower if Dawnstar can fit her wings inside!?
The explosion she felt came courtesy of Molecule Master from Superboy #201, of all people.
He previously went by the name “Molecular Master”, but this sounds better.
You might remember from that story that he’s actually an android. We didn’t learn who sent him the first time, but the idea that it was the Time Trapper checks out.
Saturn Girl, maybe try using your telepathic powers without punching yourself in the face?
(seriously, WTF is that pose!?)
This is supposed to be a big fight, with Molecule Master being able to fight the whole team at once… too bad Ditko seems to be phoning it in.
I know teams books were not really his thing, but I refuse to believe he couldn’t draw a better scene!
Aaand the android implodes, knocking out most Legionnaires.
“Eeeeek” indeed, Saturn Girl.
Phantom Girl is the one to remain conscious, because Superboy shielded her from most of the blast… but she’s still shaken enough to temporarily lose her powers.
This leaves Phantom Girl as the only line of defense against the soldiers who want to capture the Legion (remember that plot thread?).
And she’s going to do it in a very cool way that ties into how her powers actually work.
While her power is treated as being able to become intangible, technically speaking it’s a bit more complicated: she can shift between her native dimension and Earth’s.
So she decides to take the Legionnaires to 20th century Bgztl!
Not everyone, though: in our cliffhanger, Blok gets left behind. With other Legionnaires, but only Blok gets a scene for now.
Legion of Super-Heroes #282 (1981)
by Paul Levitz (plot), Roy Thomas (script) & Jim Janes (pencils)
cover by Jim Aparo
At long, LONG last, the finale!!!
Like I said, Blok is not the only one to stay behind in Smallville. Saturn Girl is not in the same cell… sure these are believed to be time traveling terrorists or something, but you can’t have a girl share a cell with the boys!
Ah, so THERE’S the answer to when Superboy time takes place now!!!
Sooo… does the Time Trapper not have access to Phantom Girl’s dimension? Or he simply forgot to check there?
I bet it’s because he couldn’t remember how to spell Bgztl.
Now we move to 20th century Bgztl, and there’s some interesting trivia. Like the fact that the discovery of “phantom powers” is a recent thing (something I like, since it explains where there are no bgztlians running around in the present day).
I think it looks too much like modern day Earth, though.
And apparently the trip restored Superboy’s real memories!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Reflecto storyline in a nutshell:
Okay so at ground level Bgztl looks exactly like Earth… but its skies are a constant battle with the Dirigible Dictator????
Phantom Girl shifting between dimensions is pretty much never used as a plot point and it’s even rarely mentioned; a pity, because there’s lots of potential there.
Of course you don’t put Superboy next to anyone talking about dictators and master races without expecting him to act… except if you’re the Legion and you know he’s just going to mess up history.
Okay, time to tackle THE most absurd plot twist we have seen so far. Because Dawnstar can now track Ultra Boy in the space between dimensions!!!
It’s not the fact she can do that that’s baffling. It’s the fact that Ultra Boy really IS there… in the wrong dimension AND the wrong century!!!
Get this: when he was blasted at the end of issue 275, SOMEHOW he got turned intangible!!!
Not absurd enough for you? He was also traveling backwards in time!!!
So he ended up in a time limbo, and his attempt to communicate with Superboy ended up swapping their minds.
The whole thing left him very confused (I CAN’T IMAGINE WHY), and the newly amnesiac Superboy ended up creating the Reflecto persona.
I have soooooo many questions, like… why the name Reflecto? Why change the costume? Why a rubber mask with a random face instead of an actual mask?
Still… now you know the real origin of Reflecto.
“Meanwhile”, Lana Lang changes into Insect Queen to free the Legionnaires who stayed behind.
Hey, you can’t call yourself Black Widow Woman… you’re Insect Queen, not Arthropod Queen!
She frees the prisoners, Ultra Boy returns with the rest of the team, and the entire Legion goes back to the 30th century because apparently Time Trapper’s powers really don’t work in Bgztl’s dimension.
If I’m not mistaken, this is the very last appearance of the original Lana Lang in a Legion comic.
I’m not even mad Time Trapper is defeated in a very stupid way. I just want this endless saga to end.
The important thing is that Saturn Girl mind-wipes Superboy to remove the knowledge of how his parents will die, allowing him to return to full membership status.
And we FINALLY end with the revelation for exactly WHY there was a Reflecto statue in the original Adult Legion story.
Glad we went through all this trouble to explain THAT.
Legion significance: 6/10
The resolution of a loooong storyline, plus Superboy returns, plus last Insect Queen story.
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
The entire plot about Reflecto is in the top three most convoluted plots in the entire history of the Legion, WHICH IS SAYING SOMETHING.
Does it stand the test of time? 6/10
What a mess. There ARE genuinely good moments here, for the most part the characterization is pretty strong, and the interaction between Legionnaires is great (especially the Levitz issue, but that’s to be expected).
However… and it’s a BIG however… the story is so all over the place that it’s hard to get attached to anything. It’s very entertaining, but it’s abundantly clear this wasn’t planned from the start and the writers were making it up as they went along.
We are legion
Both Superboy AND Ultra Boy return to full membership. This is the last appearance of Lana Lang as a member, but she’ll be removed from the count soon in a special story.
23 Legionnaires
5 reserve members
1 on sick leave (Matter-Eater Lad)
Interesting letters: the reaction to issue 276 is mixed. There’s some praise here and there, but…
And as promised in the comments, here’s Greg’s letter from issue 280.
Thomas (or possibly Conway) seemed to have the idea that Superboy was slightly more powerful than Mon-El, despite Mon-El being the older of the two. I don’t know. When Levitz took over the Legion, I think there was some indication that Krypton was a colony world of Daxam (or vice versa. No one was sure about it, but Jor-El had to build a prototype spaceship from scratch, so I doubt Krypton had an interstellar colony program.) Honestly, I’d have liked to see Ultra Boy’s powers being slightly superior to either of theirs, just as Penetra-Vision was superior to Superboy’s x-ray/heat vision.
The Great Darkness Saga is close now!
#282 is very special to me since it’s the very first Legion comic I ever read… I was about 4 years old when it came out and add about a year until it was published here… so it’s one of my earliest memories from reading comics (I learned to read when I was 3)…
#280 will always hold a special place in my heart because I have a letter published in it.
Neat! I’ve updated the review to add your letter 🙂
Thanks! I should note that “Gilliarde” was a pen name I was using at the time.
I believe that Lana at least made a crowd appearance as Insect Queen in LSH # 300 in that ceremony at the end. She was also in the Post-Crisis Superboy story in LSH (Levitz series) #37, but perhaps you don’t consider that the “original” Lana.
The shoehorned reflecto plot is a bit clunky. At the time I suspected that they were going to give ultraboy some new powers, as he demonstrated phantom girl like powers and the ability to travel back in time. Instead it was never explained how he became immaterial,shifted to where they found him , or went back in time .