Legion of Super-Heroes #301

Legion of Super-Heroes #301 (1983)
by Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen

Of all the homages to the classic cover of Adventure Comics #300, this is probably my favorite.

We begin on Chameleon Boy’s planet Durla, which gets a very interesting backstory.

He’s here with R.J.Brande in an effort to restore his shapeshifting powers, and they two have been stranded thanks to the planet’s very high radioactivity.

Durlan society has never been showed so far, so it’s a chance to know it a little.

Proty II was on the cover last time, and this issue does confirm he was the one taking the picture.
And as I’ve mentioned before… this is basically the only Proty II appearance that I like.
In fact, I REALLY like this!!!

Aside from cameos, I’m pretty sure this is the very last appearance of Proty II. And while I still hate the way he stole the spotlight from more interesting characters during the Silver Age… having him turn out okay and resenting of the Legion’s treatment is kind of a hilarious punchline.
Certainly FAR better than what will be eventually be done with the other Proteans.

Meanwhile, things are going great for the rest of the Legion: Supergirl is sticking around, plus Sun Boy and Star Boy are REALLY into D&D at this point.

Dream Girl interrupts the party to assign a mission to Daxam, and giving command to Brainiac 5.
Ultra Boy is quite upset at this, and I don’t get it. Is being deputy leader supposed to mean that he should be in charge of every mission when she’s not there?
It’s not like Dream Girl is sending the entire Legion in this mission… although to be fair, the way she words this is quite confusing.

Back to the Durla plot, we are introduced to one of my favorite bits of lore about Legion planets: the fact that the Durlans don’t even remember how the used to look before they got shapeshifting powers, since it’s been THAT long since they gained them.

This is also the introduction to what will eventually become the closest thing to the “true” form of a Durlan: a mass of tentacles under a cloak.
They’re not QUITE there yet, but this will definitely have an impact.

I love this rendition of Durla. It’s exquisitely alien, but at the same time the philosophy of the tribe does make sense: OF COURSE they would pride cooperation and trust if everything on their planet is either incredibly lethal, radioactive or could be a hostile shapeshifter!

Because they have betrayed the traditions of their people, Chameleon Boy and his father are condemned to death inside a lake of radiactive mud.

Turns our radioactivity is a shapeshifter’s Kryptonite. Who would’ve thought.

That’s apparently thanks to the dose of X-Rays that Chameleon Boy received from the Daxamite kid in issue #294… or at least that’s Cham’s theory.
It must’ve been a pretty powerful dose, since I’m pretty sure he’s been at the receiving hand of Superboy and Mon-El’s X-Ray vision many many many times (not to mention he’s handled Kryptonite more than once).

Still, nobody puts Brande in a bubble!

The two basically survive the ordeal thanks to Brande’s superhuman stubborness, because R.J.Brande is awesome.

Chameleon Boy does his part too, even without his powers.

I really wish we got more time to explore Durla, because this is a FASCINATING planet.

Father and son have reached their destination: The Temple, a very ancient place that dates back to before Durla’s nuclear holocaust that was originally supposed to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Brande decides he’s happy enough to keep his current body, so he’s not going through the procedure.

Well, at least that’s what he SAYS. I wouldn’t blame him if we wanted to skip THIS:

Whatever the heck The Temple was supposed to do in the first place, it does end up curing Chameleon Boy.

This does not please his fellow Durlans…

…so we get an AWESOME shapeshifting battle!!!

Chameleon Boy wins the battle, because unlike the Durlans he’s seen the rest of the Galaxy enough to turn into shapes they’re never seen.
This is a great scene that highlights what the Legion is about.

This issue also has the introduction of the OTHER Science Police lady that will get a romantic subplot with a Legionnaire: the akwkwardly named Gigi Cusimano.
I guess “Gigi” was supposed to be the abbreviation of something… but that is a man’s name in Italy, specifically a variation of Luigi. And while Gigi is a woman’s name in French… she does have an Italian last name, so I don’t know what to think.
Considering what will eventually be done with Shvaughn Erin, it’s amazing that HER FRIEND has a man’s name, isn’t it?

I never really GOT what was the point of Gigi. I constantly forget she’s around unless she’s directly in the scene… she’s a completely uninteresting blank slate for me.
She does have her fans, though. Inside the Legion itself, but it’s not like Sun Boy needs much.

You see, they have excellent chemistry: he’s a guy, she’s a girl, and… yeah that’s about as much as Sun Boy really needs.

Sun Boy is not the only one being distracted by the ladies.

This is the setup for next issue, with Ontiir returning to be his usual unnecessarily creepy self.

Ominousssssss.

But that’ll have to wait, because next time we have a new Legion wedding!

---

Legion significance: 8/10
Tons of Durlan lore, including most importantly their new look. They’re a little too similar to the Time Trapper at this point, but the cloak&tentacle thing with stick. Also, to a somewhat lesser extent, the introduction of Gigi Cusimano.

Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Between the new Durlan forms and the Proty II sendup, not at all.

Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
The Chameleon Boy plot is fantastic: Durla is simultaneously an impossible world and it’s a very believable place, plus he has great chemistry with Brande and it has a solid finale.
Possibly because it’s that solid, the other subplots really felt flat… the story would’ve really benefitted from dedicating more time to Chameleon Boy.
But when even I like a Proty II scene, the story must be doing something right!

We are legion
22 active Legionnaires
8 reserve members
1 honorary member (Rond Vidar)
41 people have been members