I’m the de facto “Legion Boy” of the DC3Cast. Despite that moniker, I’ve got some major gaps in my Legion history. In an effort to rectify this, I’m going back to the start of Paul Levitz’s run on the Legion. This is one of the most defining eras, featuring the beloved “Great Darkness Saga.” However, I’ve got a few issues to read before we get to that seminal work, and it’s not quite the smoothest start to my journey.
Legion of Super Heroes
Written by Roy Thomas and Paul Levitz
Illustrated by Jim Janes, Steve Ditko, and Bruce Patterson
Colored by Gene D’Angelo
Lettered by Ben Oda
Some quick house-keeping; I’m not *technically* starting at the beginning of Levitz’s run. Levitz’s first credited issue on the series was “Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes” #225 and he did smattering issues between then and issue #251 (the series was re-titled to “Legion of Super-Heroes” with issue #259). I chose to skip this part in favor of what seems to be considered his proper run.
Complicating things further, the best way to begin a reading project for a particular creator’s run is to start with an issue written by a completely different writer. At least, that’s what I always say. That’s right, we’re kicking things off with “Legion of Super Heroes” #280, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Jim Janes. Credit to user LeonardoMyst on the DC Universe Infinite forums for the suggested reading order.
Issue #280, “O! Call Back Yesterday!,” sees the return of Superboy to the 30th century following a brief hiatus starting in issue #259. In this case, Superboy has been masquerading as the mysterious Reflecto, donning a yellow costume and rubber mask to boot. The kick is he actually thinks he’s Ultra Boy, another Legionnaire with a similar power set. Not to be confused with Mon-El, the other guy in the Legion with powers similar to Superman. Up to this point several Legionnaires have suspected that Reflecto is actually Ultra Boy, who is presumed dead at the moment. In order to investigate this mystery, current Legion chair Lightning Lad forms a team to travel back to Superboy’s time in the 1960’s. When they land, they find themselves caught within an atomic blast, which was detonated moments before Superboy was propelled into the future. On the run from the military, the gang hides out on the Kent farm before trying to flee to the future. They are foiled by the Time Trapper, a recurring Legion villain who has seemingly trapped the team in the present.
This was an extremely brief summary of an extremely dense and, quite frankly, bonkers issue. It’s a lot to take in, so thankfully, the next issue spends the first five pages recapping all the important bits.
Issue #281, “Madness Is The Molecule Master,” works off a plot by Roy Thomas, scripted by Paul Levitz (!) and is illustrated by Steve Ditko(!!!) and Bruce Patterson. It’s really something seeing Ditko doing art on a Legion title, particularly when we get panels like this:
After musing on his existential crisis, Superboy has a revelation. As Mark Waid has recently reminded us in the pages of “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest,” Superboy can break the time barrier by flying quickly. Or rather, he could, if he wasn’t trapped by the Time Trapper, oops!
In an effort to evade the Kent’s nosy neighbor,the Legion crew dons some of the Kent’s clothes and head into Smallville for a bite. Well, the male Legionnaires do, leading to some scenes such as this:
While in town, the Legionnaires run into both the military and the Molecule Master, an android created by the Time Trapper with the ability to manipulate matter. Superboy arrives on the scene and with a combined effort they destroy the Molecule man, but the explosion leaves most of the Legion unconscious. Phantom Girl rescues Superboy and Dawnstar by transporting to her home dimension of Bgztl. The rest of the Legion are captured by the military.
Issue #282, “If Answers There Be…,” features Levitz scripting over a Roy Thomas plot with art by Jimmy Janes and Bruce Patterson. This issue is perhaps the best and wackiest so far, featuring an alternate universe where dictators fly dirigibles, Lana Lang turning into an insect woman, and the return of Ultra Boy, whose spirit/psyche/soul is trapped between the fabric of two dimensions. Despite following a Steve Ditko issue, Janes and Patterson deliver the best looking chapter of the batch with the depiction of Ultra Boy’s intradimensional prison. The rather convoluted Superboy/Ultra Boy identity crisis gets sorted out, the Time Trapper is thwarted, and everyone returns to the 30th century.
Continued below
Overall, I don’t have a lot to say about this arc. It’s very much a product of its time, excessively convoluted and nonsensical at times, and generally somewhat forgettable. That said, it has an endearing charm and the quality of the art does go a long way. So far, I can’t say that I’m going to be winning over any Legion fans at this point.
Issue #283, “The Startling Secret Of Wildfire” is the last issue written by Roy Thomas and is illustrated by Howard Bender. This one off story recounts the origin of Wildfire, one of my favorite Legionnaires visually. Debuting back in issue #195, Wildfire has had a fair bit of retconning to his origin, as seen in this chapter. In an extremely problematic intro, Wildfire attempts to use his position of power in an unseemly manner but is quite literally triggered by the romantic advances of two Legion applicants. The prospect of a possible menage turns Wildfire green (this may just be a coloring error?) and causes him to lash out at the applicants.
In an effort to explain himself, Wildfire relays his origin to the female applicants, explaining how they reminded him of two important women in his life. Despite the cringe inducing opening, Wildfire, or Drake Burroughs as we come to know him, has a rather compelling arc. He’s essentially a schlub-ier Doctor Manhattan. The impact of the loss of his humanity after becoming an energy being trapped in a metal suit is fantastically captured in this sequence by Bender and colorist G. D’Angelo. Drake’s story is a tragic one, losing everyone in his life and eventually his own selfhood before clawing his way back, where he finds a sense of purpose and meaning in the Legion. His rivalry with Lightning Lad, seen in the proceeding chapters, is paid off on as LL listens in on Drake’s tale, gaining a new found sense of understanding for his comrade. It’s a good enough issue to warrant including in the read through, despite it falling outside the scope of the assignment.
I promise that all of the issues from now on will actually be written by Levitz, for better or worse. Thanks for reading, see you next time!
