In the vast Headquarters of the Legion of Super-heroes, in 30th century metropolis a group of Legion members Look at a photo grid that Lightning Lad found in their official records vault. The photo was 4 members of the team sitting around the table. Lightning Lad, Cosmic boy, Saturn Girl, and Anti Lad. The photo had the 3 founders looking younger and in their older uniforms. They all asked Who is Anti Lad?
To answer that question we leave the team and jump 4500 years into the future into the 75th century. We meet a young man calling his father into his cubicle, something terrible had happen. The younger man told his father that he was time-peeping into the remote past using his time scanner, to watch how Superboy joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. Calling the screen up on the scanner the young man shows his father, Superboy being rejected by Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad. The three heroes where shocked that Superboy failed their initiation. Back in the 75th century The father says something is very wrong and that everyone knows that Superboy passed that test admirably and joined the Legion. After disassembling and examining the time scanner, they find it is defective and rays of the scanner have warped the time stream and altered the portion of the past, namely Superboy's Membership in the Legion. The father is concerned without Superboy in the Legion the entire course of history will be thrown out of control. He explains by using ancient dominoes to show that when one is knocked down the others follow, and now that Superboy never joined the team their will be a ripple effect and time from that point forward will be changed. The Father leaves to take this up with the Science Court, who will surely send an agent to Superboy's era and get him rightfully inducted into the Legion. But the kid thinks it is all his fault and wants to fix it himself. He puts together a gadget in the shape of a visor, that he admits is only a child's toy in his time but 4500 years in the the past it will be his secret weapon. He then enters the restricted chamber that house the timesmitter, his father like all members of the science court has one but the use is forbidden. The Lad steps into the timesmitter and sets the controls for his first stop, 5500 years ago to the 20th century.
In the 30th century in the early days of the Legion, inside their smaller original clubhouse, a group of Legionnaires are having a meeting. Cosmic boy tells of Superboy's disappointing failure, and opens the floor to other nominations for a new member. Out of nowhere the boy from the far future appears on top of the table. He introduces himself as Anti-Lad and he wants to be their new members. Cosmic boy is a little pissed off but tells Anti-Lad that he can show off what he can do outside. The first opponent in these combat trials is Lightning Lad. Lightning Lad fires his stun bolts at Anti lad who's uniform suddenly becomes insulated, he absorbs the electric charge and sends it back to Lightning Lad and it knocks him to the ground. Colossal Boy is next and picks up Anti-Lad and grows to giant size. All of a sudden colossal boy sinks into the ground, as Anti-Lad laughs at him and tells him how easy it was to take advantage of Colossal Boy's own weight. Next up is the current Leader of the team Cosmic boy himself. Standing face to face Cosmic boy magnetically draws a small meteor swarm from space on a direct course to Anti-Lad. But before the meteorites can stun Anti-Lad they boomerang back into space. Anti-Lad then uses Cosmic boy's own powers against him and Magnetically pins him to the metallic wall of the clubhouse. Anti-Lad lets him down and they go inside to talk about his membership. Around the table they take a Photo-grid, something they do to all applicants that pass the preliminary tests.
Later Cosmic boy and Brainiac-5, ask Anti-Lad more about himself. The boy from the far future tells them that he has always had the ability to change someones strength into a weakness by turning their own powers against them. Brainiac-5 asks him about the visor he is wearing. Anti-Lad explains that everything would be dark without it and that he comes from a faraway planet with a sun 1000 time brighter than earths. They call it a night and escort Anti-Lad to guest quarters and that they will resume the membership tests in the morning. In private Brainiac-5 cannot shake the feeling that Anti-Lad is not what he says he is and is lying. Late that night in the dark a hand takes Anti-Lad's visor and believes that soon he will learn the truth about him. Suddenly Anti-Lads peaceful sleep is interrupted as the lights come on, he Shields his eyes from the sudden brightness. Brainiac-5 asks him why a person who grew up under a super-bright sun would be shielding his eyes from a mere light like this? Soon the other members are alerted and Anti Lad is restrained. Brainiac-5 examines the visor and tells the team that it is a computer light years ahead of any technology he has seen. He tells them that Anti-Lad powers comes from the visor, the computer analyses the strength of each opponent and instantly creates the correct counter move to overcome him. He also says that if he reads the circuits correctly the computer recently analyzed and manufactured Kryptonite, Superboy;s only weakness. They have Anti-Lad remove his boots and Brainiac-5 finds 20th century minerals in his cleats. Anti-Lad confess that he followed Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Cosmic boy back to the 20th century and used his visor to mess up Superboy's test. Anti-Lad reflects that the stop he made in smallville to get earth particles paid off, toughing an hidden button he activates the timesmitter to transport himself back to the 75th century. Once Anti-Lad is gone the team has no memory's of the last 24 hours except that they should give Superboy another initiation test. Back in the 75 century the teen how called himself Anti-Lad explains that he programmed his visor to implant in each of the legion members a post hypnotic command ordering them to have no memory of Anti-Lad once he disappeared. The only evidence of his journey to the 30th century was the Photo-grid.
Bits of Legionnaire business.
Roll Call
- Mon-El (Leader)
- Lightning Lad
- Cosmic boy (Leader past)
- Saturn Girl
- Superboy
- Phantom Girl
- Colossal Boy
- Brainiac-5
- Record vaults
- Meeting Room (old headquarters)
- Guest Quarters (old headquarters)
- Brainiac-5 Lab (old headquarters)
Another Time travel story, I know I bitch about these, and for a book that takes place in the future I should just accept them but they still bug me. Maybe they will be better when Shooter takes over in a few issues. Again do not take this the wrong way I love this version of the Legion and I think Bates is a good writer, but looking back almost 40 years it is easy to find problem.
I thought it was interesting to start the story with a mystery of who was Anti-Lad.
So in the future people do not have hair? Or is just this family? we only see these 2 people so it is not clear.
It was nice that Dad had an old box of domino's to show his son. Most homes today do not have them,
I liked how Anti-Lad used the Legion's powers against them in his test.
So Anti-Lad planned to get caught, sounds like one of Hannibal Smith of the A-team plans. "I pity the fool".
Another good but kind of silly story.
Next time: the 2nd story of this issue: "Brainiac-5's Secret weakness!" Hint it has blond hair.
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