What a rollercoaster. This era began pretty awful: the first backup stories are among the worst.
But once Cary Bates starts to get some confidence and Dave Cockrum injects some energy, it’s astounding how quickly the quality skyrockets!
Speaking of Cary Bates, he’s one of the most frustrating writers I’ve covered. He can be excellent or a disaster, and don’t even get me started on the enormous continuity problems he causes… but overall, he had a positive influence on the era.
Jim Shooter returns in full swing (even if a couple of stories are problematic to say the least), and Mike Grell accomplishes the impossible in giving us even better artwork than Cockrum.
Before the awards themselves, our classic categories when applied to the whole era:
Legion significance: 6/10
This is when the Legion gets its classic 70s look, most of which will extend well into the 80s. Despite that, there aren’t all that many significant events.
Silver Age-ness: 4/10
The Legion leaves the Silver Age SOMEWHERE during this run, but good luck figuring out when. Compared to the previous eras it’s quite tame, but there are some peaks that really increase the score.
Does it stand the test of time? 6/10
Once the Legion gets the spotlight and each issue is dedicated to the team (with multiple stories even!), several stories reach very high scores. Too bad the first half of the run really brings out the total score by being just awful. And in general, while this era does a far better job than the previous one at pacing short stories… towards the end the quality begins to fall.
And now, ladies and gentlemen: the Legion Awards!
BEST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Duo Damsel
She does a good job in Superboy 193, she’s the star of the wedding issue, saves the day in Superboy 209, and even does hero stuff in her civilian life in Superboy 216.
Runner-up: Phantom Girl
She was pretty much a non-entity and a romantic interest for Ultra Boy in the previous eras, but she finally gets something to do on her own rather than being the damsel in distress. Points for Superboy 215 for giving her a little background and especially Superboy 220 for her “screw this, I’m gonna be a hero” moment.
Third place: Invisible Kid
He doesn’t do much throughout the entire era, but his death was pretty memorable.
Honorable mention: Supergirl
She has ONE appearance in Superboy 204 where she basically shows up to quit the team, but she really goes out with a bang. Unfortunately by Brainiac 5, not by banging him.
WORST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Cosmic Boy
He’s almost single-handedly responsible for BOTH the only two Legion stories with a negative score!!! He’s either completely absent or doing something awful.
Runner-up: Chemical King
Did you even remember he was part of the team? He does get ONE good scene, in Superboy 211, but that’s far from enough to save the poor dolt from obscurity.
Third place: Lightning Lad
He gets multiple chances to get his own story, all of them involving his brother… and he does NOTHING interesting every single time!!!
Dishonorable mention: Karate Kid
He’s not bad, despite a lackluster origin story in Superboy 210 and a somewhat out of character moment in Superboy 206… but this is the era that coincides with his truly awful personal series.
If I took his series into consideration for the Legion Awards he would be on top, but that wouldn’t be fair: it crosses between two eras that I had to split somewhat arbitrarily.
OTHER LEGIONNAIRE TROPHIES
MOST IMPROVED LEGIONNAIRE: Shrinking Violet
It’s not even a contest! She’s barely recognizable, both from a complete change in her look and a new and improved personality. Instead of the old wallflower (pun intended), now she’s a grown and confident woman.
BEST NEW LEGIONNAIRE: Wildfire
He doesn’t do all that much in this era, but considering the competition I had no other choice.
WORST NEW LEGIONNAIRE: Tyroc
He doesn’t do all that much either, but come on.
WORST THING WE LEFT BEHIND: Proty II
The first era to show no sign of that blob!!!
PARTICIPATION TROPHIES
At this point there are so many Legionnaires that not everyone is guaranteed to get a trophy, so I’m only giving a trophy to the Legionnaires that were significant enough to merit something but not to the point of getting a real award.
Saturn Girl: continuing the trend of being the most impressive founder. Definitely a step down from previous eras, but she’s still as competent as always and she does get multiple moments on her own.
Bouncing Boy: he’s completely eclipsed by Duo Damsel, and unlike her he doesn’t have that many moments where he really stands out on his own. But he does deserve a trophy for being the most mature Legionnaire we’ve seen so far.
Insect Queen: okay Superboy 205 isn’t exactly good, but she does come off as more competent than usual.
BEST STORY
Winner: “The Ultimate Revenge”, Superboy 211
Element Lad’s drive to avenge his people, the madness of Roxxas, a truly haunting finale, and even Chemical King does SOMETHING!!!
Runner-up: “Massacre by remote control”, Superboy 203
The final revelation is rather weak, but the rising tension about the unstoppable Validus and the sacrifice of Invisible Kid hold up very well.
Third place: “Soljer’s private war”, Superboy 210
While it could’ve benefitted from a little more space to breathe, an extremely solid story.
Honorable mention: “Who can save the princess?”, Superboy 209
Not exactly a masterpiece, but a timeless example of a good Legion story.
WORST STORY
Winner: “The Hero Who Wouldn’t Fight”, Superboy 215
The second time the Legion gets a negative score. A complete character assassination of Cosmic Boy.
Runner-up: “A Death Stroke at Dawn”, Superboy 212
The FIRST the Legion scored negative points. Yet another hit piece against Cosmic Boy, a truly awful way to treat poor Night Girl, and overall an unpleasant message.
Third place: “Curse of the blood-crystals”, Superboy 188
Murdru is defeated by Superboy alone, in the first page? Superboy escaping from a coffin shaped like Chameleon Boy by sucking and spitting Kryptonite? WHAT!?
Dishonorable mention: “Dream Girl’s Living Nightmare”, Superboy 220
I’m used to seeing a story having absolutely no impact on the following issues, but this might just be the first time the story becomes useless before it’s even done. If the Legion didn’t get involved in the situation NOTHING would have changed.
MOST INFLUENTIAL STORY
Winner: “The Legionnaire bride of Starfinger”, Superboy 200
The first Legion marriage, and even one of the most successful ones both in terms of the story itself and in-universe.
Runner-up: “Betrayer from Beyond”, Superboy 201
“The one-shot hero” from Superboy 195 might have been the introduction of Wildfire, but almost nothing from that story will last. This story, on the other hand, gives us 1) Wildfire struggling with his loss of humanity 2) the Miracle Machine being used in a new way 3) the return of auditions, including Infectious Lass 4) will have lasting impacts once we learn who is behind Molecular Master
Third place: “Brainiac 5’s secret weakness”, Superboy 204
Supergirl’s departure from the Legion and the first of many psychological breakdowns for Brainiac 5.
Honorable mention: “Hero for a Day”, Superboy 209
In-universe nothing really important happens… but it’s a homage to the reason behind Jim Shooter’s return to comics.
BEST VILLAIN
Winner: Validus
I openly admit my bias as he’s my second favorite Legion villain, but you have to admit that in this era he stands above the rest of the Fatal Five… pun intended.
He’s an unstoppable force in Superboy 190 and espectially in Superboy 203 where he kills Invisible Kid, and in Superboy 219 he’s the guy who steals half a planet by ripping it apart with his bare hands AND the giant baby who stops fighting after his toy gets broken!
Runner-up: the Fatal Five
Validus and Tharok steal the spotlight with a couple of stories where they act independently, but the whole team is very effective in Superboy 198 and they are phenomenal in Superboy 219. Too bad they really suck in Superboy 215.
Third place: Tyr from Superboy 197
He becomes cannon fodder pretty quickly, but that is one heck of an introduction!
Honorable mention: Benn Pares from Superboy 213
Ah, what could have been. The greatest thief in the universe was THIS close to becoming a fantastic threat for the whole Legion, but unexplicably he never shows up again.
WORST VILLAIN
Winner: Mordru
Talk about a letdown! From absolute powerhouse to being defeated almost off-screen in the truly horrible Superboy 173 and Superboy 188.
Runner-up: Renkil Kem from Superboy 184
The never before seen brother of Matter-Eater Lad who has a grudge against the Legion, confesses his crime almost without being questioned, is defeated in a questionable way and is never ever mentioned again.
Third place: Marshal Lorca from Superboy 217
Is it any wonder that he’s the only Khund warlord that was never brought back or even mentioned?
Dishonorable mention: Anti-Lad from Superboy 204
Is he a villain? I would need to understand what the heck is going on in that issue to answer that, but since the story refuses to make ANY sense I’ll settle for a dishonorable mention.
BEST REJECTED MEMBER: Calorie Queen
She doesn’t have the best power, but she’s a shoo-in as a replacement for Matter-Eater Lad… and instead she just disappears!
WORST REJECTED MEMBER: Porcupine Pete
Where do they find these people!?
BEST ALMOST LEGIONNAIRE: Devil-Fish, Superboy 202
He has pretty much all he needs to join the team and then he just doesn’t.
WORST ALMOST LEGIONNAIRE: Anti-Lad from Superboy 204
I still have no idea of what the heck he was doing.
MOST SILVER AGE PANEL
MOST MEME-WORTHY PANEL
Replace Clark’s thought balloons with something less innocent. You know you want to.
BEST ALIEN DESIGN
The Tharrg from Superboy 220 could’ve been an interesting evil race. Too bad we barely see them even in this story.
WORST ALIEN DESIGN
The aliens from Superboy 202
PANEL TROPHIES
BEST TECHNOBABBLE
Don’t even try to think how this could possibly make any sense.
BEST REACTION SHOT
Everybody trying to understand Superboy 204
WORST REACTION SHOT
Clark Kent being asked to be kissed by the girl he supposedly likes.
BEST PANEL
WORST PANEL
BEST SPLASH PAGE
MOST ADORABLE PANEL
MOST FANSERVICE PANEL
Any Dream Girl panel from Superboy 201, really.
COVER TROPHIES
BEST COVER
This was a very hard decision: there were many good ones! After much consideration, I settled on Superboy 209 because it’s kind of accurate to the story and it’s pretty dynamic.
WORST COVER
The covers including the reprints are all bad, but Superboy 208 is just awful.
BEST NEW COSTUME
This is was a very, VERY tough category! There are SO MANY great new costumes that I’ve decided to do the whole podium.
Winner: Timber Wolf
There is no denying that this is the costume with the greatest legacy. It completely redefined his look, it’s been copied in future incarnations, AND thanks to Cockrum’s work on X-Men even Wolverine sometimes wears a very close imitation of this costume!
Runner-up: Star Boy
This is actually my personal favorite, although the best Star Boy look will be when he grows a beard. As fantastic as this costume is, I just can’t deny that Timber Wolf’s had the biggest impact by a wide margin.
Third place: Karate Kid
I like his original costume, but this is among the very best.
Honorable mention: Supergirl
I’ve never been a fan of this costume, but if Mike Grell is drawing her (♥ ͜ʖ♥)
WORST NEW COSTUME
Winner: Princess Projectra from Superboy 183
Which part of this costume tells you this is the princess of a fantasy planet?
Runner-up: Karate Kid
Also from Superboy 183
Third place: Tyroc
Do I really have to say anything?
Dishonorable mention: Chlorophyll Kid
It’s not a terrible costume, but why would you make him lose weight? It’s the only thing in his design that makes him stand out!!!
MOST FANSERVICE COSTUME
Night Girl, a.k.a. “Wardrobe Malfunction Lass”.
LEAST FANSERVICE COSTUME
Phantom “why doesn’t this work on men?” Lad.
HALL OF FAME (combining all eras)
5 good trophies
Saturn Girl (2 times Best Legionnaire winner, 1 time Best New Costume, 2 participation trophies)
4 good trophies
-Duo Damsel (1 Best Legionnaire, 1 Best Legionnaire runner-up, 1 Most Improved, 1 participation trophy)
-Shrinking Violet (Best Legionnaire third place, Most Improved Legionnaire, 2 participation trophies)
-Invisible Kid (Best Legionnaire third place, 3 participation trophies)
-Bouncing Boy (4 participation trophies)
HALL OF INFAMY (combining all eras)
3 bad trophies
-Chemical King: 3 times Worst Legionnaire runner-up, no good or participation trophies
2 bad trophies
-Tyroc: Worst New Legionnaire and Worst New Costume Third Place, no good or participation trophies. And that’s with only 2 issues!!!
-Elastic Lad: 2 times Dishonorable Mention, no good or participation trophies