Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #320 (1985) – Part 1
plot by Paul Levitz
dialogue by Mindy Newell
pencils and cover by Dan Jurgens
I’m not the biggest fan of Dan Jurgens as an artist… he’s much better at writing… but this is a great cover! I could easily mistake this for a John Byrne one.
We begin with a bug-eyed thief calling himself Magpie infiltrating a tour of the Legion headquarters.
He manages to sneak inside during the night. Well at least THIS time it’s a professional and not just any random guy.
The way he gets in is VERY cool, a technological imitation of Phantom Girl’s powers.
Even that is not enough to completely fool Legion security, so he also has a device that convinces the system that he’s actually Chief Zendak from the Science Police.
I really have to wonder how the legend of The Ghost of Ferro Lad made it into public knowledge. I know it was an AWESOME story, but still!
Sorry Magpie, you have an interesting design but this will be your last appearance.
I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that the Legion has statues of EVERYBODY, since they’re such Superman fans and the Fortress of Solitude was always full of those.
Also: rare Tyroc reference!
Yeah, uhm, Lightning Lass might have returned as a badass but Timber Wolf has serious issues.
I like how Timber Wolf apparently has quite the reputation among criminals.
To study where he has to go to steal his target, Magpie studies the blueprint of the latest Legion HQ and it’s a gorgeous two-page spread.
To avoid breaking the story, I’ll go over the little details of the blueprint later.
Magpie’s REAL target is Brainiac 5’s laboratory.
Too bad Magpie didn’t return, he’s a fun character. His gimmick is a bit limited, but he has enough personality to work.
Unfortunately for him, Magpie didn’t realize his mistake in robbing the place when everyone is sleeping: someone might be dreaming.
This being a short story and him not being a fighter, Magpie goes out VERY easily.
His attempt to dematerialize himself is easily twarted by Star Boy.
Dream Girl, honey, you should probably see a doctor because I don’t think breaking a nail EVERY SINGLE ISSUE is healthy.
Not that she needs her hands to take down Magpie.
Unfortunately for them, Magpie has an ally that teleports him away.
Uhm, shouldn’t Star Boy be able to revert the stolen chip to its original weight? I guess maybe he’s too sleepy to remember.
The ally who teleported him, and the one providing his tech, is some guy named Monitor who I’m pretty sure is not going to be important later.
The Monitor has been popping up in several DC books lately, providing advanced weapons to all kinds of villains. And this time apparently he was working with Universo, of all people.
As promised, here’s the little details from the blueprints of the HQ.
Like the fact it’s not exactly typical 30th century technology.
Or the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to the running gag of Lightning Lad being a terrible cook.
The Legionnaires sure treat themselves well.
How detailed is this blueprint? It even points out there are restrooms! You NEVER see that in the blueprints of, say, the Baxter Building or the JLA satellite.
Interesting to see that Shadow Lass and Phantom Girl don’t share the same room of Mon-El and Ultra Boy respectively; they’re not even on the same floor as the guys.
I know they’re not married, but still.
Wildfire and Blok share the same floor of Dawnstar and White Witch though ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Brainiac 5 choosing the room that is farthest from anyone else AND closer to the lab is the most Brainiac 5 thing ever.
Legion significance: 0/10
Ultimately inconsequential.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
This Monitor guy has the craziest tech.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
Harmless fluff. In terms of quality it would be a far lower score, but you can basically place this kind of story in any period and change only minor references.
We are legion
20 active Legionnaires
8 reserve members
9 deceased members
3 resigned members
1 honorary member
41 people have been members
41 people have been rejected
Interesting letters: there is a VERY long one (taking over almost an entire page!) discussing Brainiac 5.
Pretty much all of his suggestions for how to handle Brainy’s forcefield will eventually be introduced.
