ADVENTURE COMICS 318 (1964)
by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte
The cover confuses me. Sun Boy says the other ship has no radio… but he’s holding up a microphone and talking to them?
We begin with Sun Boy and Cosmic Boy receiving an SOS from a planet about to explode.
Sorry, “the universe” receives the SOS. Or is it called an “SOS Universe”, as opposed to a regular SOS?
The SOS is coming from some creepy aliens who ask for the Legion’s help to find a suitable world where they can live.
If you don’t think they’re creepy… here’s a closeup.
Meanwhile, Mon-El and Superboy make another attempt to crack the Iron Curtain of Time, with no success.
First panel showing the Time Trapper!
He has nothing to do with the rest of the story. Cool design, though, really enhanced by the shadow effect around him.
Back to Legion headquarters, the “Science Council” nominates Sun Boy to be in charge of the rescue operation.
Sun Boy agrees, turning his hair blond for one panel.
I have no idea why they nominate him, or why it’s the scientists who decide.
Saturn Girl is the team’s leader at this point; they say she’s on an away mission… but even then, why doesn’t the Legion vote on this? Or does Sun Boy have some other qualifications?
Also: why is the Legion in charge of this? The United Planets haven’t been formally introduced yet, but still!
Cosmic Boy is worried that Sun Boy might be overworking, but apparently he’s just taking this mission extremely seriously.
Apparently, finding a planet with a suitable atmosphere is a big challenge.
I understand the need to find a permanent solution, but ELEMENT LAD is a member of the team! Why can’t he just create enough xenon to allow the aliens to move to Earth for a while, until they find a planet where they can rebuild their civilization?
In addition to the Legion, there are also a bunch of super-robots that will be helping.
What a disappointing design for the robots… I was expecting something crazy from John Forte!
Despite all the extra help, Sun Boy is not taking his leadership role very well.
Sun Boy’s real name is Dirk Morgna, but apparently they should’ve spelled it D-I-C-K instead of D-I-R-K.
I guess the ship must be bigger on the inside, considering there “a few thousand” aliens are supposed to fit in there.
Despite the extremely calm demeanor during the evacuation, a nice touch: the children are not freaking out thanks to Light Lass and Star Boy playing with them.
Oh the other hand, Sun Boy goes completely into dictator mode.
He even puts Cosmic Boy in jail when he points out that Sun Boy has put them on the wrong course, where they could’ve been eaten by yet another disappointing alien design.
Two things.
One, why does a space ark have a jail?
Two, did Cosmic Boy (who has magnetic powers!!!) really need Matter Eater Lad to break out of some iron bars!?
And it’s already full mutiny.
Behold! Triplicate Girl’s attempt to use her powers effectively for the first time in like thirty issues!
I said “attempt”.
I like how her character will eventually develop, but it’s reeeally hard to root for her in this period.
Not that the other Legionnaires are particularly impressive.
Come on! I know, Sun Boy’s powers are nothing to sneeze at, but it’s not like this lineup is lacking in useful superpowers!
But no, apparently the Legion just gives up.
We then have an interesting situation: the Legionnaires stranded in space. How will they solve this problem?
By hitching a ride on a meteorite! Now THAT’S using your powers creatively!!!
I especially love that it’s not Cosmic Boy saving them, but a team effort with Light Lass.
In another interesting touch, they manage to land on a planet with super-gravity, but again Light Lass saves the team.
But they’re still stranded on a planet without any source of food. Which means that Matter Eater Lad is the only one who won’t starve to death.
Unless…
With that idea, they combine their efforts (and a scientifically questionable use of electricity) to make the bait for the space monster.
And it works!
We then get a string of good and bad news.
Good news: they got off the planet that had no food.
Bad news: they end up on another planet that has no food.
Bad news: Matter Eater Lad finds something that only he can eat.
Good news: Matter Eater Lad something that the others can eat.
Bad news: they find a very old ship with dead people.
Good news: they can repair the ship.
And so the Legionnaires manage to finally return to civilization.
That was a nice little mini-arc, but it’s time to chase Sun Boy again.
And where did Sun Boy go? A space tornado.
At first I thought this was a black hole, but no, it’s a space tornado.
The difference? If this was a black hole, turning yourself heavier would be a TERRIBLE idea.
And once they find Sun Boy he’s just sitting there, staring blankly at nothing.
Well at least the aliens make it to their new planet. But what’s behind Sun Boy’s madness?
Was it some villainous scheme by one of the Legion’s enemies?
Nope! Sun Boy just snapped.
Ah yes, “space fatigue”. Sometimes also called “space madness”, it’s a stable of science fiction before the Moon landings.
You just go insane if you’re in space for too long. At least this time they specifically refer to Sun Boy having been worked himself to death, instead of saying it was because he spent too much time in space.
Still… this must be a horrific experience. He could’ve killed his friends and doomed an entire civilization! Clearly, the most logical and humane thing is to relieve him from active duty so that he can have therapy for at least a few months before he can do hero stuff again.
Or you could forget everything that happened. That’s fine too.
Although I do appreciate the idea of having mandatory vacations for the Legionnaires. It’s especially easy for a huge team like the Legion, but other superhero teams could use this kind of system.
Not that this rule will ever be enforced seriously, mind you.
Legion significance: 1/10
First sighting of the Time Trapper. Unfortunately Sun Boy’s mental breakdown won’t be referenced or used again, and that’s a shame. We will get similar plots with other Legionnaires having mental problems due to the stress of their job… most notably Lightning Lad and Brainiac 5… but they will go through significant character development because of that.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
Despite SOME effort to ground the story with something that at least resembles physics, we still have space tornadoes and space vultures. On the DC scale, though, this is almost nothing.
Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
A mixed bag. The mini-adventure with the team needing to use some ingenuity to get out of seemingly desperate situations is well paced. But despite some admirable plot ideas, Sun Boy seems to have a split personality rather than a mental breakdown.
We are legion
9 active in this story: Sun Boy, Cosmic Boy, Light Lass, Mon-El, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Star Boy, Matter Eater Lad, Triplicate Girl
11 not appearing but officially members
1 resigned member: Dream Girl
1 honorary member: Elastic Lad
How much Legion is too much?
The Legion currently includes 21 members. The total number of characters who have been members is 22.