ADVENTURE COMICS 321 (1964)
by Edmond Hamilton & John Forte
The cover has the distinction of being a scene that happens in the comic, but it’s also one of the least interesting scenes in the story.
We begin with Saturn Girl sounding the General Alarm, something we’ve never heard of but is apparently very bad news.
Also: Bouncing Boy is skinny now!
How did this happen? He was accidentally hit by a shrinking ray. (!!!)
What the… Bouncing Boy’s power shouldn’t have anything to do with him being fat… sure he balloons when he uses his powers, but come on!
At least he’s not technically expelled.
This is technically the foundation of the Legion Reserve, a position where Bouncing Boy will eventually shine.
Note Superboy not giving a crap about one of his teammates losing his powers.
He’s still bummed by the Legion’s inability to trespass the Iron Curtain of Time to catch the Time Trapper.
That has to be one of the most awkward John Forte panels ever. Even for his standards, THAT’S how you show three Superman-level guys crashing into an unbreakable barrier!?
Also of note: the Time Trapper is described as a criminal that escaped to the future, and not as someone originating from the Legion’s future.
Star Boy mentions using a device called the Concentrator ™ to break the barrier.
Which is a BIG mistake since the Concentrator ™ is apparently the Legion’s biggest secret.
And immediately someone sets a trap for Chameleon Boy, in order to learn the secret of the Concentrator ™.
Chameleon Boy escapes with the bare minimum use of his powers, which is actually the first time he uses them to any effect after many, many, many issues.
Triplicate Girl also manages to escape with the bare minimum use of her powers, which is actually the first time she uses them to any effect after many, many, many issues.
This is troubling news: either there’s a spy in the Legion, or someone has managed to uncover its most important secret.
Considering that even a commissioner of the Science Police has heard of it, I think it’s safe to assume that this is no longer a perfectly kept secret.
Commissioner Wilson is the first Science Police officer not dressed like an idiot.
Sorry, a space idiot.
Also, he’s got a point: if the Concentrator ™ is indeed a danger to the entire universe like the Legion says, maybe it shouldn’t be left entirely in the hands of teenagers.
So the Legionnaires agree to go through a series of tests designed to make sure they won’t reveal the secret of the Concentrator ™ to anyone.
The tests are personalized: Sun Boy is “tortured” by mirrors, which he overcomes by shattering them.
Shrinking Violet is attacked by the illusion of John Forte aliens.
It looks like she’s too terrified to resist revealing the truth…
…but she manages by shrinking so much that her voice is too low to be heard.
Good thing nobody will invent a device that amplifies sounds in the next 1000 years.
Interestingly, Superboy is more concerned for Saturn Girl than for any other Legionnaires, because her telepathy makes her more susceptible to reveal the secret.
Which is kind of weird… I would think that a telepath would have better self-control about her thoughts than non-telepaths.
Superboy’s test involves Kryptonite, because of course it does.
I can’t decide if his response is really dumb or really clever. Does Superboy understand that Kryptonite can be used as a death threat if he doesn’t give away the secret? Or he realizes it and also thought that the Commissioner wouldn’t risk it?
Next is Saturn Girl, who is tested with a device that can read thoughts. Why are they using this ONLY with her and not with everybody!? Does it work only on telepaths?
She resists by thinking about the heroic missions of other Legionnaires (so suck it, Superboy).
That’s quite admirable, but I wish she would think of better Legion missions. I mean, Matter Eater Lad’s is… something.
But Element Lad’s is just embarrassing.
“I have the power to change anything into anything else!”
“Great, now change colors of some balls that you’re pretending to juggle”
Next is Mon-El, who is an interesting case: he’s harder than Superboy to injure, so the Commissioner threatens some of his alien friends.
He gets out of it by remembering he has other super-powers.
Phantom Girl is also presumably tested, but we don’t get to see it. The trick to make it seem like she’s betrayed the team is a little clumsy, but it IS a legitimate trick in interrogations.
We reach the last of the Legionnaires to be tested, Lightning Lad.
He fails.
And he has to enact the cover as punishment, since he has betrayed the Legion.
OR DID HE?
Yep! Turns out that the Commissioner has actually been replaced by the Time Trapper!
And he’s pretty angry when he learns that Lightning Lad has tricked him.
How angry? Enough to THROW DOZENS OF STARS AT THE LEGION.
Holy crap! How did we jump from a Scooby Doo villain to throwing entire stars!?
And not just any star: since we will eventually learn that the Time Trapper is from the veeeeeery distant future, these are probably black dwarf stars… the future evolution of stars that won’t happen for at least a few trillion years.
Anyway: dozens of flying stars! How do you stop them? With the Concentrator ™, of course!
Which concentrates ALL THE POWER IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.
That is an AWESOME weapon with a literally astronomical drawback.
Don’t think too much about how little sense this makes.
And that’s the end of the story! We just have enough time to remember that Superboy sucks.
Want further proof? The issue also includes a reprint of an older Superboy story, where Clark Kent applies for a position at the Daily Planet and lands the job exclusively because he mentions Superboy.
He even gets the job instead of Lois Lane. It takes a lot to make me side with Silver Age Lois, but this is immensely unfair.
He gets fired at the end of the story, so at least there’s SOME justice.
Legion significance: 3/10
This had the potential to become a true classic, but I’m extremely disappointed by the fact that we never see this device again! It’s also the first time the Time Trapper gets personally involved, but it’s not that significant since they don’t face him in person. Bouncing Boy’s loss of powers won’t last long, but the Legion Reserve will be an important part of the lore.
Silver Age-ness: 9/10
The story is just a 5/10 until we get to the volley of black stars and especially the Concentrator, then everything turns awesome.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
Some of the interrogations are kind of lame, but the mystery of the Concentrator is compelling enough to carry the story. The treatment of poor Bouncing Boy loses a few points.
We are legion
16 Legionnaires active in this story: Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Mon-El, Superboy, Sun Boy, Element Lad, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Triplicate Girl, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy, Matter Eater Lad, Invisible Kid, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad
3 not shown but officially members: Cosmic Boy, Supergirl, Light Lass
1 reserve member: Bouncing Boy
1 resigned member: Dream Girl
1 honorary member: Elastic Lad
How much Legion is too much?
With Bouncing Boy becoming a reserve, the Legion goes down to 19 members. The total number of characters who have been members is 22.
Interesting letters: apparently there were both people wanting more Legion members and people complaining that the team was just too large.
