Superboy # 220 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Superboy # 220 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes " The Super Soldiers of the Slave Maker"
Cover Dated Oct 1976, Cover Price .30 cents. Art: Mike Grell & Bob Wiacek Story: Jim Shooter.
 The Legion is called to the Planet Murgador whose inhabitants are slaves of the planet Tharrg. Coming to free them the Legion are attacked by the people of Murgador, who tell the Legion to leave. The leader of the slave group tells the team that there is bomb at the core of the planet that will go off if they rebel. The heroes go back to the ship and talk about what to do, but Phantom Girl takes matter into her own hands and slips through the ship and into the planet. The rest of the team blasts towards Tharrg. The whole planet is one big Military installation. They are attacked and fight their way to the Citadel's throne room. While the Tharrg leader talks the team see Phantom Girl on the screen approaching the bomb. The Slave master tells the team that they will have to obey him or he will blow up Murgador. Dinda the leader of the slaves calls one of the underlings on Tharrg to warn them that the Legion is trying to free Murgador. The underling goes to tell his master and is hit into silence by Superboy. At the same time Phantom Girl is trying to disarm the bomb, see makes her hand immaterial and goes into the bomb but activates an alarm. She grabs wires and pulls. Back on Tharrg the alarm goes off and Superboy ties to reach the switch but the Slaver pushes it and the screen goes off. Ultra Boy loses his cools and attacks the Leader but Mon-El and Superboy pull him off. As they try to calm Ultra Boy down Superboy's belt alarm goes off and he takes off to Murgador. He returns moments later with Phantom Girl in his arm. Superboy explains that when Phantom Girl pulled the wire she turned off the monitor as well as the bomb. After they dismantled Thargg's military they return to Murgador and tell Dinda they are free, She apologies for trying to ruin their plan and the team head back to the ship and go off into space.
Roll Call:

• Superboy
• Mon-El
• Wildfire
• Lightning Lad
• Ultra Boy
• Phantom Girl
• Element Lad

Page 3:

• Wildfire is hit with a brick.

Page 4:

• Cool Thunder clap from Lightning Lad.

Page 6:

• Phantom Girl slips through the ship.

Page 8

• The Legion kick ass.

Page 10:

• Superboy slaps a Lizard bitch.

Page 11:

• Ultra Boy loses his shit.

Page 12:

• Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy reunite and go looking for some soft light and Barry White.

Good issue not much happens but they all can't be a 12 page fight, but next issue we get the debut of an awesome villain.

Next time the 2nd story from this issue.

Superboy # 215 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Superboy # 215 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes Cover dated March 1976, Cover Price .25 Cents.
" The Final Eclipse of Sun Boy" Story: Cary Bates Art: Mike Grell

Superboy, Sun Boy and Element Lad are returning to earth from a mission in space, as they approach the planet they activate the Intra-Warp adapter that allows them to shift to a different dimensional plane, so they can land their Cruiser on Bgztl. Bgztl the home of Phantom Girl Tinya Wazzo where every one has the same phantom like powers. Bgztl occupies the same space as earth but it is in a different dimension. Phantom Girl and her brother Gmya were leaving the court complex where she was just named the star witness in a case against assassin Ron-Vizl. She was witness him killing a man with a gun designed to kill phantoms, she moved in to stop him in her phantom form but as he fired the gun she changed to solid and the beam went right through her and she knocked the guy out. Gmya is worried that the assassin's friends will come after her but Tinya tells him she has nothing to worry about, there is no safer place for her than Legion HQ. As she says that the Legion Cruiser lands. Tinya introduces Gmya to Sun Boy and Element Lad but he blows them off and walks away. Crowds of people watch as the Legion members board their ship but know one notices that their are fewer people in the crowd than a moment ago. Back on Earth Brainiac-5 and Saturn Girl as the Cruiser lowers to the ground but just before it can touch down safely it crashes. The hull of the ship turn red-hot  and Superboy, Phantom Girl and Element lad run from the ship. Sun Boy who powers are running wild is whole body surround by flame but his form is all black. Superboy flies in to stop him before Sun Boy accidentally destroys the citadel. He punches the flaming teen but it has no effect. Superboy keeps punching but it only serves to make Sun Boy burn even brighter. Brainiac tells Superboy to stop that he is feeding Sun Boy's power with his super energy. Element Lad steps forward and says he has a plan to stop him. First he uses his element altering powers to change is uniform into Super insulated asbestos and when he get close enough he changes the air around Sun Boy to Nitrogen, knowing that flames can not burn in it. Getting closer he does what Superboy cannot and knocks Sun Boy out.   


They Take Sun Boy inside to examine him and after many exhaustive test Brainiac still does not have a clue to cause of Sun Boy's problem. Superboy comes up with an answer. He brings in his sketch pad and shows a drawing of an eclipse and then a drawing of what causes an eclipse, the moon when it's orbit brings it across the sun's path. So the only logical reason that Sun Boy would become an Human eclipse would be another body is blocking his. Superboy shows his drawing or and eclipse Sun Boy. They determine that a Phantom from Phantom Girl's world stowed away in Sun Boy's body not knowing that the nuclear accident that gave Sun Boy his powers changed his molecular structure fusing the two together. They believe that the stowaway is an assassin out to kill Phantom Girl but have know idea how to free him from Sun Boy. Saturn Girl comes in, her Telepathy has just picked up that someone in the room is about to murder Phantom Girl. At the same instance Sun Boy returns to normal. It is noticed that someone is stealing Brainiac-5's Mega Blaster. But before the Phantom can fire the blaster another Phantom stops him. Phantom Girl recognizes her brother  Gmya as her savior. After they lock up the assassin Gmya explains that he Stowed away in Sun Boy's body and that he did not think he would get out until he saw the assassin reaching for Brainiac's gun from Element Lad's body. That spurred him on will extra will power to break free of Sun Boy 's Molecules. The team praise Gmya saying that he is as brave as his sister. Know all that is left to be down is to explain every thing to Sun Boy.

Bits of Legionnaire Business.
Roll Call:

• Phantom Girl (Tinya Wazzo)
• Superboy
• Sun Boy
• Element Lad
• Brainiac-5
• Saturn Girl

Planets Visited

• Bgztl

Legion Equipment:

• Cruiser
• Flight Ring
• Medical Equipment
• Mega Blaster

Rooms in the headquarters

• Landing dock
• Medical bay

First Appearance:

• Gmya Wazzo (only appearance pre crisis)

Notes:
Page 2:

• The Legion cruiser on it's way to earth shifts dimensions and heads to Bgztl the home planet of Phantom Girl

Page 3:

• We see an assassin kill a fat guy while Phantom Girl watches.

Page 4:

• After the previously mentioned fat guy is dead, Phantom Girl goes after the killer.
• Killer shoots PG right in the chest. (that is where I would aim.)
• Phantom Girl is unharmed and takes care of the assassin.
• Gmya is a dick to the other Legion Members.

Page 5:

• Saturn Girl has own the wrong boots.
• Not sure who is driving but remind me not to lend him my car.

Page 6:

• Sun Boy turns all dark and burns every thing.

Page 7:

• Superboy can not stop him but Element Lad can?

Page 8:

• Superboy is an artist and he draws like Mike Grell.
• I know this was written in the 70's but couldn't Superboy use something a little bit more high tech that a sketch book to show off his theory?

Page 9:

• Saturn Girl, now in the correct boots does what all telepath's do, state the obvious.
• The assassin takes Brainy's gun? Since when does Brainiac carry a gun, this issue is the first and last that we see a holster attached to his belt.

Page 10:

• With all of the heroes around to save the day, who takes out the villain, the brother that we will never ever see again.

Okay, I had some problems with this story but lets talk about what I liked.

• Show Phantom Girl's home planet was nice, especially how they got there.
• The introduction of another Legion sibling, one that we will never use again.
• That Bates is able to do what other DC writers can not, have Superboy in the story and not have him save the day. Superboy was not able to stop crazed Sun Boy, Element Lad did. Superboy did not stop the assassin, Phantom Brother did. The old Justice league stories had a problem with having Superman in a story and not have his save the day, the Legion writers do a lot better job at that.
• Element Lad's changing the colors of his costume.

Now to what I did not like.

• Another story where we do not get a good villain, the Legion has an exceptional Rouge gallery (Universo, Fatal Five, Mordru, Dr. Regulas.) but we hardly ever see them, thank fully the 2nd story in this issue has good villain.
• A Phantom hiding in a body, this something that we have not seen before and will not again.
• Bates needed a gun in the story so he added one to the costume of Brainiac-5 and there was no reason for this. Wish he did a added a little exposition and had Brainiac say he was wearing it because of the assassin that was out for Phantom Girl.
• A non Legionnaire stopping the villain.

Next time the 2nd story of this issue where we have an old villain, two new costumes (one that does not last and the other the worst Legion costume of all time) and a Hero smacking a woman.
I will leave you with another hostess ad this time starring the worlds mightiest mortal.

Superboy 213 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Cover Date December 1975, Cover Price .25 cents. " The Jaws of Fear" Art: Mike Grell, Story: Jim Shooter.
 In the Legion Council Chamber, Members of the Legion of Super-Heroes are discussing team issues, while out side the room a man is bypass the iron clad security of the Legion Headquarters in a variety of ways. He walks on air with anti grav shoes, he changes into a beam of light and even into a gas form to avoid the security devices. He appears in the Legion council Room, and introduces himself Benn Pares the greatest burglar in the galaxy. This does not sit well with the Legion and hot headed Wildfire tackles him to the ground but he vanishes out of his grasp, and reappears across the room. Brainiac-5 says he has never heard on him and that there is no Benn Pares in their Files Burglar of otherwise. Of course he was never heard of he is the best, and has never been caught or even left a clue. Benn tells them he has gotten bored and needed a new challenge so he has decided to steal the Legion;s Miracle Machine within 48 hours. The thief then walks out of the building with no one trying to stop him. Acting Leader Brainiac-5 sends Chameleon Boy and Superboy to check on the miracle machine to make sure it is still there. Saturn Girl had tried to use her telepathic powers or Pares, but all she learned is that he has a sixth sense which wars him of traps and alarms and some unique powers to over come them. She also caught a vague thought of huge jagged white gates, somewhere in space sector 14. Superboy and Chameleon boy return with the miracle machine still sealed in its cube on inertron, the other Legionnaires report that the security systems check out A-okay. They plan to guard it tonight, and Brainiac reminds them of how dangerous the machine is, if used by an untrained user.
  The Miracle Machine was entrusted to the Legion by the Controllers (think guardians of the universe, except Pink and tall instead of short and blue.) The machine converts thoughts into reality, any think the user thinks of happens, if used incorrectly it could enslave the whole galaxy or worse. Lightning Lad suggest that they just destroy it, the team spends time arguing about it until Brainy puts it to a vote. We do not see the vote but afterwards Superboy and Ultra Boy tear the inertron cube to unpack the Machine. The super strong teens then use there powers to smash the machine but nothing happened they could not even dent it. The energy based members of the team, Wildfire, Lightning Lad, Sunboy, Ultra Boy and Superboy used there powers on the machine to no effect. They talked about other options but they decide to guard the machine in the headquarters. Superboy packs it back up while Shrinking Violet, Phantom girl and Chameleon Boy, use their powers and try to pierce the additional defenses that Brainiac-5 devised and fail.The team spends the night in the vault with the machine, but in the morning they find that they have been robbed, not the Miracle Machine but of the clock that was on the vaults wall. Pares is toying with the Legion proving he can steal anything from under their noses. The team have another meeting and decide to follow up on the lead to Space Sector 14, leaving Superboy behind to guard the machine. Superboy monitors the team using his super vision, as the Legion cruiser flies through sector 14. They find a lot of nothing, until they come across a giant Galactosaur. The galactosaur has huge white jagged teeth, they must be the white gates that Saturn girl saw in Pares's mind. The Legion head for the beasts mouth, meanwhile inside the creatures moth a capsule is firmly anchored to its jawbone, inside Benn Pares plots to steal the miracle machine that very night. A buzzer goes off signaling that the Galactosaur is opening its mouth, but Pares had wired the nerves so that only he can open the jaws, he guesses Saturn girl is using her mental powers to have the creature open it's mouth. And he would be correct, inside the ship Saturn Girl is concentrating on the creature, while Cosmic boy flies the ship closer. At the same time Ultra boy is freaking out. Years ago  while joyriding in a space ship young Jo Nah was swallowed alive by a radioactive space dragon. A science police ship blasted him free but he never forgot the terror of those hungry fatal fangs closing behind him. The radiation form the beast made him ultra human , but now years later his eyes widen in fright at the duplication of that deadly drama. He yells at his team mates to turn around and accidentally knocked Saturn girl out. Pares is regaining control of the monster and is closing the massive jaws around the Legion's space craft. Back on earth Superboy is watching the whole thing and wishes that he had his hands on Pares. Just them Superboy is inside Pares hideout with the thief in his hands, thinking that he is too late to save his friends he punches Pares out. While Superboy thinks his friends crushed Ultra Boy is using his Super Strength to keep the jaws from closing, he had pulled himself together and left the ship at super-speed, to try and stop the creature from killing his teammates. Unfortunately Ultra boy can only use one of his powers at a time and while he is using his strength he can not use his invulnerability and he will die himself in the cold vacuum of space. Praying for a miracle they get one, a red and blue one, Superboy using super-speed grabs Ultra boy and the ship and makes it free of the monsters jaw. Back on earth out side the medical center Brainiac-5 tells Superboy and Shrinking Violet that Ultra boy will be fine in about a weeks time. Violet asks how he managed to pop up at the right time. As they fly back to headquarters Superboy tells her that when they were trying to destroy the machine they must of accidentally turned it on and while he was on guard duty in the vault he desperately wished that he could help and the machine picked up on his super-thoughts and reacted. Violet said that they should of used the machine to capture Pares in the first place, but Brainy reminds the minuscule maid that, that is the ultimate danger, they cannot allow it to make them lazy.

Bits of Legionnaire Business
Roll Call:

• Brainiac-5 (acting Leader)
• Saturn Girl
• Chameleon Boy
• Superboy
• Cosmic Boy
• Lightning Lad
• Wildfire
• Phantom Girl
• Shrinking Violet
• Ultra Boy
• Sunboy

Villain

• Benn Pares

Legion Equipment

• Miracle Machine
• Legion Cruiser
• Flight Ring

Rooms in the Headquarters

• Legion Council Chambers
• Vault

Notes:
Page 2:

• In the Legion Council chambers the team is arguing about something probably about where to order lunch from.
• We see an intruder using a vast array of abilities to sneak pass the Legion's defenses.

Page 3:

• Benn Pares the self proclaimed greatest burglar in the galaxy, boast that he is going to steal the Miracle Machine right under the Legion's noses. This is where he went wrong he should of just took the machine and be done with it, but we would not have an issue if the villain does not make a fool out of himself.

Page 5:

• We see the team using their powers on the miracle machine with Brainiac-5 directing traffic, why? Because he has no useful powers himself.

Page 6:

• We see the three least power full members (after Brainiac-5) try and fail to get by the defenses.

Page 7:

• Again Pares is an idiot, he sneaks back into the vault and does not take the machine but the Legion's fancy wall clock.

Page 8:

• We see the Galactosaur, a giant mineral eating space beast.

Page 9 and 10:

• Ultra Boy freaks out, he must of seen Jaws one to many times as a kid, I know that movie scared the hell out of me, to this day I am afraid to swim int he ocean. I wish Brainy said the line " I think we are going to need a bigger cruiser."

Page 10:

• We get a quick recap of Ultra Boy's origin, and then he knocks out the one member of the team that is needed for this mission.
• Superboy is a peeping Tom or is that Thom in the 30th century?

During this period of the Legion I enjoyed the Shooter stories more than the Bates, but this one not so much. It was one of Jim's weaker efforts, the Villain was poor and all this issue did was to show Ultra Boy's phobia of getting eaten.

Next time: I will get to the back up tale, "Trapped to live free to die!

Superboy# 212 starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

SUPERBOY # 212 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes Cover date Oct 1975, cover Price .25 cents.
"Last Fight for a Legionnaire" Art by Mike Grell, Story by Jim Shooter.
30th century Metropolis, Nolan Plaza the home of the Legion of Super-heroes, a hopeful young man enters the building. A little later the same man walks out rejected.  Rejected and angry, the man uses his powers to lift the Iron statue of Ferro Lad the deceased Legionnaire and fling int the sky. Just then in his head a voice tells him to put the statue down. He is unable to resist and returns it gently to its pedestal. He is commanded to turn around and he does seeing 5 young people. It turns out the other 5 were also rejected from the Legion. A scantly clad brunette woman tells him it was her esp powers that made him put the statue back. A very healthy Blond flirts with him, while the 3 males toss around compliments, the young man Magno lad agrees to join with them on their plan to get even with six legionnaires. Meanwhile on a distant planet a man called Tribune is giving a mission to an Agent Bek. Bek tells him that their target will not come willingly but Tribune reminds him that no one is above the law not even a Legionnaire. Bek will do every thing necessary to bring the chosen to the selection board, even if the entire Legion stands in his way.
 Shrinking Violet, Chameleon Boy, Matter Eater Lad, Cosmic Boy and Phantom Girl respond to a telepathic summons they thought was from Saturn Girl, but She did not send it, she received one herself. The Message was sent by Meta Ulnoor, Esper Lass. It turns out that the six young people from earlier are from the same Planets as the six Legionnaires, and they were rejected because they had the same power as the Legion Members. The rejects want to challenge the Legion to prove that they deserve a shot, but the Legion will not play along. But the Fight gets started when Magno Lad, Kort Grezz from Cosmic boy's home planet of Braal uses his magnetic powers to fling cosmic boy up against the wall. Quickly the other five rejects go up against their own counter parts. Esper Lass is blasting Saturn Girl with her Psychic powers. Solon Garga who is from Phantom girl's Dimensional world of Bgztl wants to be known as Phantom Lad is using his phantom powers against Phantom Girl. Smaller than what can normally be seen Shrinking Violet is losing to Micro Lad, Lalo Muldron. Chameleon Kid, Toog Lintens smacks Chameleon boy, telling him that he is stronger than him know matter what form they are in.  Calorie Queen, Tary Loy the daughter of Bismoll's most brilliant scientist. All bismollians can consume enormous quantities of any type of matter. Their bodies are like nuclear furnaces anything they eat is changed to energy. Excess energy usually escapes through their pores. Calorie Queen's Father discovered a way to divert some of that excess energy to her muscle to make her as strong as three men. She uses that strength to beat the crap out of Matter Eater Lad. Just as the rejects are wiping the floor with the Legionnaires, Superboy comes into the room and sees that his friends are getting punked,uses his super cape to wrap up the six intruders and deposit them outside. The beaten heroes are snippy at Superboy and go outside to the fallen rejects and tells them if that they are still game they will settle this tomorrow morning  alone. The rejects accept and the Legionnaires tell Superboy to mind his own business and that they will take care of it.
 At the Metropolis space port the President greets agent Bek and asks if they can bypass his mission. Bek tells him that by the laws of his planet there will be one less Legionnaire by this time tomorrow.
  The next Morning in Nolan plaza the 12 teens square off against each other with Superboy and Karate Kid watching. They start to approach each other when Matter Eater Lad runs away into the opposite direction. His teammates thinks he is running away but he runs to the flag pole and bites it down so it hits Calorie Queen and he ties her up with the Legion Flag. She cries for Magno-Boy's help but he is trying to hurl a monument at Cosmic Boy but it turns out that the monument is actually Chameleon Boy who punches him in the jaw. Phantom Lad  stays solid and runs at Phantom lady but a minuscule Shrinking Violet  grows and cold cocks him. Phantom girl phases behind Micro Lad an lets him have it. Cosmic boy has Esper Lass spinning magnetizing the iron in her amazing body. Saturn girl uses her telepathic powers to find Chameleon Kid hiding as a tree and directs Matter Eater Lad to use his powers but the kid gives up. The rejects surrender and the team gloats that they win using team work. The heroes are patting each other on the back when Agent Bek arrives and hands Matter Eater Lad a draft notice from his home planet of Bismoll. Bismoll does not have an Army but they draft thier candidates for polical office and he has been chosen to run for representative. Having no choice Matter Eater Lad leaves but his parting thought is that they should give Calorie Queen another shot.
Bits of Legionnaire Buisness
Roll Call:

• Cosmic Boy
• Saturn Girl
• Phantom Girl
• Chameleon Boy
• Shrinking Violet
• Matter Eater Lad
• Superboy
• Karate Kid

Villains

• Magno Lad
• Calorie Queen
• Esper Lass
• Phantom Lad
• Micro Lad
• Chameleon Kid

Big event

• Matter Eater Lad leaves the team and goes into public office, as predictied in Adventure comics 354.

Notes
Cover:

• Great drawing of the rejects standing over the fallen heroes damanding to take thier place in the Legion. This is repeated on the Splash page but I perfer the cover image.

Page 2:

• How many statures of Ferro Lad are there? There is one inside the headquaters and another outside in Nolan plazza, which is named after him. I think there is also one in place where they have him burried.
• Magno Lad uses his powers but is mind control by his soon to be new partner, a great way to start a relation ship.

Page 3:

• Calorie Queen is hitting on Magno Boy.
• Agent Bek gets his assignment but does not like it.

Page 4:

• The rejects whine about not being accepted on the team because they have the same powers as the Legion members.
• While it is not said it seems that Legion Policy is first come first served.

Page 5 and 6

• The Rejects wipe the floor with the more experinced Legion members.

Page 7:

• Superboy buts in and saves the day and his ungreatful teammates tell him to mind his own business.

Page 8:

• The president makes a cameo greeting Agent Bek. You would thing that the head of a plantary government would have better things to do than to greet a process server.
• Matter Eater Lad runs away.

Page 9:

• We see a bad depiction of Matter Eater Lad's powers and some Bondage fun with Calorie Queen.
• This was suspose to be a one on one battle but the Legion cheats and double teams thier opponents.

Page 11:

• Matter Eater Lad is drafted, and asks that Calorie Queen be given a shot at taking his place, but that never happens.

Notes:
I might of said this before but this is one of my favorite storys from this time, it is just fun. We find out that other people with the same powers try to join and are not given a chance. I do not like spoiling upcoming events but it takes about 8 years to find out that 5 of the 6 rejects become villains, one of who is responsible for for having a Legion Member impersonated and mind probed. I like the costumes on Calorie Queen and Esper Lass, not sure how she fights in that get up. I do not like Phantom Lad's costome at all. The teams reaction to Superboy's interference is a little harsh but it makes the story fun to see that the all powerfull heroes a pissed off at being beaten up.
I own both the original issue and the Archive additon but until I was re reading them for this blog did I notice that there was an extra page in the Archive. Between pages 7 and eight there is a page of Karate kid giving a pep talk to Matter eater Lad. I belive it was cut for length, but glad they included in the archive. This was a good send off to Matter Eater Lad, a hero that was never used that much or well. Writer Jim Shooter dropped a hint on the last Panel that we might see Calorie Queen back as a member or a canadate but it is never pickup again. We do not see Calorie Queen again until the 5 year gap Legion by Keith Giffen. I think some interesting things could of been down with her. Being a former foe of the Legion and then joining the team and maybe having some of the members not trust her or just not get along. The do some of this with a future member down the road.

Next time
Member Profile: Matter Eater Lad.

Superboy # 210 starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Cover date: August 1975, Cover price .25 cents. 
First Story: "Soljer's Private War" Art by Mike Grell and Story by Jim Shooter.
   We open to Phantom Girl watching Lighting Lad hit a flying figure with what he calls a death bolt.
That figure turns out to be Superboy, and the 3 members of the Legion of Super-heroes are in a area out side of Metropolis practicing using their powers. Lighting Lad shoots another lightning bolt at Superboy, but the teen of steel super-speeds out of the way and the bolts just blasts dirt. A weather controlled scheduled rain shower interrupts the training session and the 3 heroes fly off to Legion HQ. Just as the three are out of sight a body dressed in a military uniform crawls out of the still smoldering crater caused by the powerful lightning blast. The lightning bolt ignited a spark of life in what was once a soldier from 2783 who was fighting in world war VI. The soldier and his squad were ordered

Mike Essad
 

to take metropolis, when the enemy spotted them and launched a gamma grenade, with out thinking the soldier, named  Essad dived on the Grenade and absorbed the gamma charge while at the same time was struck by a lightning bolt. His squad buried the still glowing body right where he laid, the same spot that was struck 200 years later boy Lightning Lads bolt. His Sergeant called him a good soldier and that is what was once Private Mike Essad calls him self as he a wakens from the grave Soljer. Not much more than a zombie, Soljer walks stiffly uncertainly in a direction of a city, when he spots a sign that says metropolis one mile he remembers his mission of long ago.
 A little while later the rain has stopped and Lightning Lad and Superboy are all set to go back to practice when Brainiac-5 tells them that they are needed, and the 3 heroes join Chameleon Boy, Princess Projectra and Phantom Girl near the outskirts of metropolis, where Soljer is firing an unseen pistol and is destroying buildings. Brainiac-5's analymeter says that there is nothing in Soljer's hand and that he is firing an imaginary gun. Superboy runs out to stop him but Soljer pulls out an imaginary rifle and shoots the boy of steel. Lightning Lad blasts him with a bolt but it has no effect, Brainy tells him that he is already charged with pure energy so a little more will not faze him. Phantom Girl thinks maybe the physical approach will work and turns into a phantom to approach Soljer, but he sees her and pulls an imaginary knife out off an empty scabbard and stabs her. The team is shocked that Phantom girl was injured while immaterial. With Superboy down and Phantom Girl possibly dying Brainiac-5 orders the team back to headquarters to regroup. In the medical center Brainy diagnoses that Superboy will recover in a day or two but Phantom Girl is critical and does not know where to begin on helping her. She shows no wound but keeps moaning and clutching her stomach but there is nothing there that Brainiac-5 can detect. Chameleon Boy enters the room and updates Brainy on Soljer activities, he has reached the heart of the city and is blasting the buildings with his invisible weapons. That gives Brainiac-5 an idea he instructs Chameleon to use his powers to become a phantom and see if he can locate the source of Phantom Girls problems. He does as asked and feels a handle of a knife coming out of phantom girl's body. Cham very carefully removes it and Brainy puts the healing machines on Phantom Girl. The injured heroine starts breathing easier and they think she will pull through. Chameleon tells Brainy that this thing is like a WW VI knife that he has seen in a museum. Brainiac tells him that make sense the weapons and uniform that Soljer uses is of the same vintage. Chameleon does not believe him but Brainy tells him to get solid and hold on to the knife. He does but the knife vanishes. Brainiac comes to the conclusion that Soljer's body got charged with super energy and that he creates his own weapons and that is why they could hurt a phantom. Brainy tells Cham to check the history tapes about the invasion force that attack Metropolis back in 2783 while he will try to get a first hand look using the Time Scanner. Later Soljer is approaching the residence of the United Planets President leaving a trail of destruction behind him. He goes to fire his weapon but before he can fire he sees Metropolis destroyed, the whole city in ruins and a Sergeant appears and orders him to attention, Sergeant Richter asks him to look around, to see the ruins of Metropolis, he tells Soljer that his mission is complete and that he is a good soldier. Soljer snaps to attention for a moment, pride sweeps through the less than human being, a tear trickles down his cheek and a great weariness clouds his eyes. Suddenly, his legs buckle and he sags to the ground his duty done, welcoming finally the arms of death.
  Brainiac has Projectra drop her Illusion while he examines the dead body of private Essad, and Chameleon changes out of his Sergeant Richter disguise. The team then all meet up in Phantom Girl's hospital room to tell her the story and that Private Essad would be getting a monument to document his dedication and sacrifice by throwing himself on that Gamma Grenade to save his friends.

Bits of Legionnaire Business
Roll Call

• Lightning Lad
• Superboy
• Phantom Girl
• Brainiac-5
• Chameleon Boy
• Princess Projectra

Legion equipment

• Analymeter
• Healing Machines
• Time Scanner
• Flight Rings

Rooms in the Headquarters

• Medical Center
• Tape Library

Page 1:

• Lightning Lad uses what he calls a death bolt, now does that go against the  Legion's code against killing? Yes he was firing at Superboy who it will not hurt, but what if he missed?
• I said this before but they seem to pair Lightning Lad up with Phantom girl a lot, am I reading to much into this?

Page 2:

• Nice to know that we will have control of the weather in about 1,000 years.

Page 3:

• So world war VI is directed by computers, so rivalry between Mirco soft and Apple finally became violent, way to go Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Page 4:

• 30th century has what looks to be wooden hand made road signs?

Page 7:

• Chameleon becomes a phantom... wtf, I know that he can change his appearance but how can he duplicate powers?

Nice use of Projectra's powers to show Essad what he wanted to see and to end the story with out a fight scene.
Next time: Member Profile on Lightning Lad

Superboy #204 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Superboy # 204 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes. "The Legionnaire nobody remembered. Cover dated Sept.-Oct. 1974, Cover Price .20 Cents. Story: Cary Bates, Art: Mike Grell.

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

Rooms in the Headquarters

• Record vaults
• Meeting Room (old headquarters)
• Guest Quarters (old headquarters)
• Brainiac-5 Lab (old headquarters)

Notes:
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.

Superboy 203 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Superboy # 203 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, "Massacre by Remote Control."
Cover date: July-Aug. 1974, Cover cost .20 Cents, Story: Cary Bates, Art: Mike Grell.
It is dark when 4 black clad individuals approach the wall of the Legion Citadel. Each member of the foursome dressed from head to toe in black spandex, the only identifying marking is a roman numeral on the chest of each of them. A man with the numeral "I" smashes through the wall. In a monitor room else where in the headquarters an alarm goes off. Mon-El tells Sun boy to alert the others.
Number I tells his group to split up and that they only need one of them to get through to accomplish their mission. Number one enters the building through a ventilation duct. A shapely woman with "III" on her chest comments to the man marked with "IV" that no one will expect an invasion from underground. IV touches the ground and an electrical burst digs a whole in the ground. Number II says he will make his own entrance using his special power to turn a section of the wall into sand.
Deep within the ventilation shaft number I is almost home free when a flash of light blinds him, he loses his grip and falls to the floor, and to the feet of Sun boy the legionnaire who generates awesome amounts of light and heat. In the lowermost level of the fortress another electrical burst clears the way for  III and IV. Mon-El who is as powerful as Superboy was patrolling the level , uses his super strong and elastic cape to to tie the couple up. The final intruder successfully penetrates the Legions Museum. He takes a small microscopic fuse from a hidden pocket and counts backwards from 5. When he reaches 0 and infra red glow encases the entire edifice. Superboy tells Sun Boy to search every chamber while he heads to the museum. The last man in black tells Superboy he is too late and that he knows what the infra-red effect meant. It meant that number II won and the legion lost. The man in black removes his mask to reveal that he is Element Lad the legionnaire who can transform one element into another by his sheer will power. Superboy congratulates Jan on winning the practice drill, and if this was for real an intruder could detonate a bomb instead of a harmless infra-red cocoon. The pair continues to talk when the other three members of Element Lad's squad enters sans their masks. Karate Kid aka I, Lightning Lad, II, and III the beautiful Phantom Girl. Mon-El enters the room mad as hell demanding to know where the member who was suppose to be on duty in the museum is. Invisible kids materializes in front of the group and collapses to the the ground.
   Mon-El rushes Lyle Norg the Invisible kid to the Legion's advanced medical Lab where Brainiac-5 gives a quick examine. The Legion's super genius finds that Lyle is suffering from shock, and states that something must of happened to him while he was invisible. Brainiac-5 uses the Mento-Scanner to probe the memory cells of his patient. On the screen it shows Lyle's recent memories, It shows an invisible world and Lyle meeting with a beautiful ghostly woman named Myla. Myla tells the invisible kid something but all of a sudden the screen explodes. At the same time the mento-screen violently shatters, Invisible kid wakes up with memory of what happens, he drops the subject and leaves the medical lab.Brainiac-5 deduces that what ever Myla told the kid was so startling it sent him into sudden shock, a shock so severe his brain jolted the scanner with an overload. Brainiac-5 diagnoses that the kid is suffering from hysterical amnesia and does not remember what Myla told him that sent him into shock. The next day Invisible kid is back in the museum talking to Phantom Girl. The kid shows Phantom girl how he sees the invisible world of Myla, and that soon he is going to ask her to marry him and come to our world. Throughout the last couple of days the separated parts of Tharoks electronic brain reassemble itself. That night A scream goes out through the headquarters. It is coming from Dream Girl's quarters, her powers gave her a dream of Validus attacking the legion. The only person that could order the mindless Validus is Tharok the Leader of the Fatal Five. Tharok is millions of miles away in a space prison. Saturn girl is picking up thought waves from Tharok summoning Validus. Superboy takes off to check out the space prison while Mon-El puts the headquarters on Red Alert.
 Soon on Space Prison complex x33, the warden tells the boy of steel that Tharok is not behind the attack on the legion, Tharok who had been injured in a recent battle with the Legion, (some of his brain components dislodged and are now in Legion custody,) is going through emergency surgery to keep his robot half from breaking down.
   Invisible Kids is back on duty in the museum and Brainiac-5, Sun boy and Phantom Girl are in the main control room. They noticed a large blip on the radar, and a smaller blip coming to intercept it. The large blip turns out to be Validus and the smaller blip is Superboy. As Superboy attacks the giant sized monsters he thinks to himself that he knows what is behind the attack. Superboy is stunned by an energy charge and is thrown earthward and crashes through the roof of the Legion's headquarters.
 Before the team can come to the aid of their fallen comrade Validus smashes through the wall. Karate Kid and Sun Boy try and hold off Validus while Phantom Girl and Brainiac-5 go and alert the others. Validus makes short work of Sun Boy and Karate Kid and continues on deeper into the headquarters. Phantom girl tries to warn Invisible Kid in the museum but he is no where around. Else where Mon-El tries to stop Validus but is stop by near lethal energy bolts. At the same time an invisible Invisible kid has figured out that Tharoks brain component are still active and is signaling Validus. Just before he can dismantle the brain  Validus bursts into the room and picks up invisible kid while the kids holds the glowing brain in his hand. As Validus squeezes the life out the Kid, Lyle cracks the brain in his hand. Moments later the mindless Validus no longer controlled by the brain components flees the citadel unaware of the havoc he had wrought. The team burst into the museum to see Lyle's lifeless body. Myla appears in her ghostly form and tells them that she is from a dimension of the dead and somehow Lyle could journey there while still alive. She told lLyle that she was dead and that what sent him into shock. But now that he his no longer living she will take good care of him in her world. The team is sad for losing a comrade but happy to know that Myla and Invisible Kid will be together for Eternity.

Bits of Legionnaire Business:
ROLL CALL:

• Mon-El (Leader)
• Superboy
• Phantom Girl
• Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg)
• Sun Boy
• Element Lad (Jan Arrah)
• Karate Kid
• Lightning Lad
• Brainiac-5
• Dream Girl
• Saturn Girl

 Places in the Headquarters

• Legion Museum
• Advanced Medical Lab
• Dream Girl's Quarters
• Main Control Room

Legion Equipment

• Mento-Scanner
• Radar

Planets visited:

• Space Prison x33

Inappropriate use to the word Space.

• Space Prison.

Notes:
This has to be the longest synopsis I have written yet, this is a full length 21 page story. The issue really gives Mike Grell a great start to his run as Legion penciller. Nice to see the Legion testing their readiness against an attack, but I wonder why they did not test any of their security devices? Except for Phantom Girl you can tell by the use of powers which of the Legion are in the black suits. As I mentioned a previous blog, Bates teams up Lightning lad and Phantom girl again, still not sure if he was planning to make them a romantic item. I question when Mon-El ties up the disguised Lightning Lad and Phantom girl why Phantom girl did not use her powers to escape, she was not shown using her powers at all in this issue. I liked seeing the statue of Ferro Lad in the museum. The Mindless Validus is a great foe to put against the team, he beats them easily. Validus is a foe that should only be able to be stopped by teamwork of some of the more powerful members. I like that they do not stop him, it shows how unstoppable he really is. Once a gain we get Dream girl in her night gown, not a complaint.

Dream girl's appearance is short and is only there to tell the team about Validus. she only is shown in two panels. Which is the same as Saturn girl.
    We see parts of Tharok's robotic brain that came loose in their last adventure against him. Huh? Last time we saw Tharok he was locked in the Legion's brig with out any of the team laying a hand on him. This might of happened in one of the many untold tales that pop up from time to time.
 Okay again we combined the word space with another to get a useless term: Space Prison. So far in our coverage we got Space prison and Space Passport.
   I do not feel bad about the death of Invisible Kid, this was the best he was used in years and he was not a well drawn out characters, but at this time who was?

Invisible Kid RIP.


Lyle Norg Born: ? Died: 2974

 



Next Time Member Profile: Invisible Kid