SUPERBOY 207 (1975)
by Cary Bates & Mike Grell
cover by Mike Grell
We finally have Mike Grell on the cover as well… and it’s a pretty goofy one.
We begin with the President of Earth warning the Legion that Universo has escaped.
This is Universo’s first story not written by Jim Shooter, and he’s introduced as a pretty badass adversary.
This time we don’t waste a lot of time before we get to the cover scene: Colossal Boy picks up a spy lurking just outside Legion HQ.
This is Science Police officer Dvron, who will make a few minor appearances over the years. It’s also when the Science Police uniform gets pretty standardized, continuing their long tradition of silly headgear.
He’s here to ask for the Legion’s help to track down Universo. Interesting artistic choice by Mike Grell to show the beginning of the flashback on the helmet’s reflection.
The “mutated jungles of Africa” include a giant-sized man-eating plant. (!!!)
Specifically a mind-controlled giant-sized man-eating plant.
They agree to let Dvron join the search for Universo, who they track to a supposedly uninhabited world. And they immediately split for a better search.
I could make a joke about characters in a horror movie dying as soon as they separate, but… you tracked Universo to a specific planet and YOU HAVE SUPERBOY, do you really need to split into teams to pinpoint his exact location?
How hard could it possibly be to find him!?
Great idea having Dvron join you, guys.
Seems like a pretty easy situation, right? Universo has mind control powers, so he must’ve hypnotized the civilian into shooting Chameleon Boy in the back.
Nope!
The Legion leaves Light Lass to guard Dvron, separating AGAIN to hunt Universo.
Except, as soon as they leave…
I have no idea of what’s going on.
Okay, let’s try to understand. Apparently during the flashback Universo didn’t order the plant to eat Dvron’s partner, but he ordered a second murder plant to SAVE Dvron.
But why?
Oh come on, that’s a lame explanation! I can see Universo not wanting to kill indiscriminately (just because he once mind-controlled the entire planet doesn’t mean he’s a serial killer), but this is stretching credibility!
Next you’re going to tell me that the Legion is going to allow Dvron to continue the mission!
I WAS KIDDING!!!
No wonder Superboy wants to beat up the Legionnaires.
Nah, he’s under Universo’s spell. There is basically no fight, but at least Light Lass gets to do SOMETHING this time around.
Not sure how being weightless is a problem for a guy who can fly faster than time, but okay, at least she’s not being useless. It’s not like Dvron can make things worse again, right?
Actually, Dvron just saved the day!
I have to admit that was actually pretty clever.
Now please let this doofus go back to the Science Police before he shoots you in the back again.
Moving to the second story: it’s about Lightning Lad and his brother Lightning Lord.
The last time we saw a story focusing on them was Superboy 172, so let’s hope this doesn’t suck as much as that one.
We are not off to a great start. This is the ONLY time that they are ever depicted as twin brothers with Light Lass as the younger sister… every other time Lightning Lad and Light Lass are the twins and Lightning Lord is the older brother.
This is not the first time that Cary Bates makes a blatant and irreconcilable continuity error; I usually shrug when these things happen in the Silver Age, but I expect more from the 70s and the fact that Bates keeps making these huge mistakes is starting to piss me off.
Lightning Lad is very angry as well, to the point of almost electrocuting Element Lad when he tells him that he can’t use the Legion ship because it’s supposed to be used for a different mission.
Fortunately this isn’t the useless Element Lad of previous eras.
Lighting Lad is angry because his sister Light Lass is sick with “Rigil Fever”, presumably a misspelled Rigel Fever as a nod to Projectra’s sickness from last issue.
That’s the first good look we get of the new Shadow Lass costume, by the way. Get used to it because that’s what she will wear with minor variations for a loooooong time.
Then we get a pager where Mike Grell uses a very interesting panel composition.
It’s pretty cool and it works very well on paper, but unfortunately this kind of thing is a nightmare for my kind of review.
We learn that the reason Lightning Lad is angry is that his parents recently died in a space accident.
LL is here to mourn them, at a memorial that he and his sister carved from the same meteor that killed their parents.
He runs into his brother, who I suppose has just escaped from prison.
And it’s already the end because this was just a 7-page teaser for next issue’s big introduction of the new Legion of Super-Villains.
Well… I don’t want to be insensitive about LL’s parents, but that was a complete waste of time.
Historical significance
First story: 0/10
Dvron appears again but he’s basically a footnote. He’s just not that interesting.
Second story: 0/10
Lightning Lad’s parents dying has basically zero impact on anything since we never really met them, and it’s not like this contributes to the rivalry with his brother. And let’s just forget the whole continuity error about who is whose twin!
Silver Age-ness
First story: 4/10
Just in case you were wondering: no, there isn’t any explanation for the mutated jungle in Africa, you’re supposed to just go with it.
Second story: 2/10
Random space crash are pretty standard for the genre but it’s VERY random here.
Does it stand the test of time?
First story: 4/10
The art is fantastic as it’s to be expected, but the script is pretty clunky. The Legionnaires look like guest stars in their own book (Timber Wolf doesn’t get to do ANYTHING), and some of the twists seem really forced. Universo went from being a villain that could keep the entire team busy to being defeated by a Science Police rookie that he saved for no particular reason.
Second story: 0/10
This has no reason to exist. It doesn’t contribute anything to the characters and it has absolutely no impact on the next story.
We are legion
23 Legionnaires
4 reserve members: Kid Psycho, Insect Queen, Duo Damsel, Supergirl
3 honorary members: Elastic Lad, Pete Ross, Rond Vidar, Bouncing Boy
1 resigned member: Command Kid
1 expelled member: Nemesis Kid
3 deceased members: Dynamo Boy, Ferro Lad, Invisible Kid
How much Legion is too much?
The total number of characters who have been members is 36.
Interesting letters: the Legion is now popular enough to push the title beyond its bi-monthly status.
A mention of future Marvel writer Mary Jo Duffy.
This is interesting, since the Legion has typically more women than other teams, but technically speaking he’s right: we currently have 16 boys and 7 girls.
