Credits | Characters | Plot Summary | Comments | Reprinted In Editor: Mort Weisinger Writer: Jerry Siegel Artists: John Forte, Al Plastino (page 4 plus some Luthor and Superboy faces) Roll Call: Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy Honorary Member: Mon-El (joins), Superboy Villains: Lex Luthor, Urthlo (Luthor's adult robot double) Other Characters: A robot cameraman, a guard at the Smallville Reformatory (20th c.), citizens of 30th c. Metropolis, three World-Wide Police officers "The Face Behind the Lead Mask" (12 pages)
Triplicate Girl, while on the cover of this issue, does not actually appear in story, not even as a statue in the Hall of Heroes. While the Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared in the Superboy story in Adventure Comics No. 247 (April 1958), and then subsequently made many appearances in the many titles in the "Superman Family" line of comics, this is the first issue to have a story feature titled "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes". Although it starts its life here as a backup feature to Superboy, it will soon take the lead and, eventually, the entire comic will be devoted to full length tales of the Legion. "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes" continues its run in Adventure Comics until issue No. 380. A caption at the start of this story states that the Legion is in the "21st century". The fact that Superboy says "21st century, here I come!" at one point in the story shows that another calendar is occasionally referenced in the Legion's era, which is usually referred to as the 30th century. In the Legion's Hall of Heroes, we can see statues of the following members: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Sun Boy, Chameleon Boy, Bouncing Boy, Shrinking Violet, Invisible Kid and Superboy. This is the first "in-story" appearance (albeit as a statue) of Shrinking Violet as a member. She was initially rejected in Action Comics No. 276. The first time it is mentioned that she is a member is in the "Origin and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes" featurette in Superman Annual No. 4. Cosmic Boy is shown presiding over the meeting, the first major indication that he is the Legion's first leader. Cosmic Boy uses his magnetic power through his eyes in this story (page 2, panel 3), and reveals that his powers were "inherited from his parents who came from Braal" (page 2, panel 4). Before this, he had said that "special serums" gave him "magnetic eyes of super-power" (Adventure Comics No. 247). How can something "inherited" also be a serum? Well, according to the "Origin of Cosmic Boy" text in Adventure Comics No. 352, the Braalians "evolved a method" of combatting the metallic monsters there. Notice it didn't say "evolved the ability". This indicates that Cosmic Boy inherited his parents' serum, as all Braalian children do, and that this serum gives them their magnetic power. Obviously, this serum need only be taken once in order to get the power (like Invisible Kid's invisibility serum), since Legionnaires are required by the Club's constitution to have a power that is not dependant upon any device or substance. Cosmic Boy says that "it is a supreme crime for Braalians to mis-use their super-magnetic powers" (page 2, panel 5). This is the first time we see Sun Boy use heat rays within a story. The first time we learn that he has the power to radiate heat as well as light is in the "The Origins and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes" featurette from Superman Annual No. 4. In his earlier appearances, Sun Boy only demonstrated the ability to radiate light. Sun Boy mentions the origin of his power for the first time within a story, thinking: "I acquired the power of super-radiance when an accident in my father's lab, where he was conducting solar experiments, bombarded me with solar rays! I absorbed so much solar energy that, at will, I could shine like a sun!" Later, in Adventure Comics No. 348, the details of his origin are expanded upon and we discover that his father was in charge of the atomic plant where Dirk worked after school as a stock boy. The accident Sun Boy mentioned was caused by Dr. Regulus, the plant's top scientist, who was working on a private project - producing multiplied sun-energy from radioactive gold. But this accident alone did not give Dirk his Sun Boy powers. After Regulus was fired by Mr. Morgna, Regulus returned and deliberately locked Dirk in the atomic reactor, leaving him there to die. Instead of killing him, the radiactive rays revitalized him and gave him sun-energy powers. When Lightning Lad loses control of his electrical powers, lightning bolts discharge from the core of his body and not his hands. The Legion's "code of good behavior" that Lightning Lad mentions is the clause in the Legion's constitution that says a member "must be of good character". Saturn Girl looks into the boys' minds only because she suspects them of being impostors because of their lack of power-control (something that had happened recently in Adventure Comics No. 287). As Saturn Girl states in a later story: "I took a vow not to use my E.S.P. power to pry into other members' affairs." (Adventure Comics No. 372) Saturn Girl says that "everyone from Saturn can perform amazing mental feats" (page 3, panel 5). In Adventure Comics No. 247, she said that "the scientists of Saturn, who are experts in telepathy" taught her how to read minds and cast her mental commands anywhere. This indicates that every Saturnian child is taught to use his or her mental abilities as part of their schooling. Saturn Girl also says that "only evil Saturnians use this power to harm others." The fact that she uses the plural means that there are more criminal Saturnians that Saturn Queen and, since the rings of Saturn negate criminal tendencies (Superman No. 147), all of them must be criminals currently operating away from the ringed planet. In this story, Lex Luthor is being released from Smallville Reformatory but in the very next issue he is in the State reformatory just outside Smallville and being refused parole because of the many escape-attempts he's made (Adventure Comics No. 301). Superboy must have used the hate tapes found in the Urthlo robot as evidence against Lex and had him put back into a prison with increased security. Superboy contemplates imprisoning Lex Luthor inside the Phantom Zone but hasn't yet. Obviously young Lex hasn't done anything on the level of the Kryptonian criminals to warrant that kind of punishment. On the other hand, Superboy put his friend Mon-El in there to save his life. Perhaps Superboy doesn't want to put any more villains in the Zone with Mon-El since they would only add to his friend's torment. Clark Kent's signal-lamp flashes a code message that means he is to contact the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future. In Adventure Comics No. 293, it is said to be Lightning Lad's mastery of electricity that performs this feat. In this story, however, the method has been transferred to a simple lever in the clubhouse that is labelled: "Pull down to summon Superboy". This lever is an improvement since 1) you can't always depend on Lightning Lad to be around, and 2) the signal works across the time-barrier. This is the second time that Superboy visits the Legion in the 30th century under his own power (the first being in Adventure Comics No. 290). Being an honorary member - and therefore part-time - at this point, Superboy naturally plays a less active role in the team's adventures and isn't required to attend Legion meetings regularly. This story marks the first time the Legion makes the switch from jets to anti-gravity belts. The belt is not obvious, but rather it is incorporated into the belt buckles of their costumes. On page 7, panel 1, Lightning Lad is miscolored to look like Sun Boy. This coloring error is the same in Legion Archives Vol. 1, but is corrected in the reprint of this story in Action Comics No. 377/2. The Phantom Zone projector seen in this story is not the original device invented by Jor-El and found on Earth back in Adventure Comics No. 283; that one was larger (about 2' in diameter) and was destroyed in Adventure Comics No. 298. A similar looking device to that one was later stolen from the Museum of Forbidden Weapons in the 30th century in Action Comics No. 287; the origin of that one is unknown but presumably it was built for the museum. The Phantom Zone projector that Clark uses in this story is a smaller, hand-held, ray-gun device that has the added feature of a viewer for peering into the Zone. Presumably he built it so he could keep in contact with his "big brother" Mon-El. The ray that Saturn Girl instructs Superboy to dig up in a chest that they buried is probably the same one that Clark Kent is seen using in this story back in the 20th century. The spot where the Legionnaires had buried the chest containing Superboy's Phantom Zone projector was marked by a triangular shape laid out in 11 hand-sized stones. The Legionnaires first learned of Mon-El in Adventure Comics No. 293 and this story is the first time they meet him in the flesh, although Saturn Girl had been in contact with him and working on a cure for his condition for a while now. It is interesting to note that Lightning Lad defends Saturn Girl's actions to Superboy. In previously published stories, it is established that Lightning Man will marry Saturn Woman and this is the first hint that this relationship could come about. In the "Metropolis Mailbag" letter column of Action Comics No. 290 (July 1962), a reader wrote in to ask why Mon-El wasn't mentioned as being in the Phantom Zone in Action Comics No. 287, when Supergirl and Whizzy are sent there in the 30th century. The editor replied: "If Mon-El wasn't in the Phantom Zone at that time, then obviously he had been released from that twilight world. In other words, we deliberately called attention to this fact by way of tipping off our readers that some day soon Mon-El will be freed from the Phantom Zone." More likely this reader's comment prompted the story to be written which freed Mon-El from the Zone, albeit temporarily at first. The fact of the matter is that Action Comics No. 287 takes place earlier than Adventure Comics No. 300 and Mon-El should still have been in the Zone at that time. A better explanation as to Supergirl not seeing Mon-El (or anyone, since criminals are still imprisoned there), is that the Zone is a vast, desolate place. Urthlo, and therefore young Lex Luthor, seem to know all about Mon-El - that he has super-powers and is weakened by lead. Lex probably knew about Mon-El from his first appearance in Superboy No. 89, where he was seen by most of Smallville while performing super-deeds with Superboy. Lex must have deduced that Mon-El's power came from the same general source as Superboy's. As for knowing of Mon-El's vulnerability to lead, the robot was flying overhead when Superboy was talking about it and must have overheard. Mon-El is free to deliver a "killing" blow to Urthlo because in the previous panel the robot tells him that he is "made of lead". This indicates to the hero that Urthlo is not a living being and so destroying him does not violate his eligibility for membership in the Legion. Saturn Girl used mental abilities to diagnose the harm done to Mon-El's body and figure out what chemical elements would counteract his lead poisoning. She invented serum XY-4, which only provided temporary beneficial effects but which she intended to give to Superboy as a present so that he could free Mon-El from the Zone to help in certain emergencies. This would not be contrary to fate as Mon-El would still have to return to the Zone and Superman could still search for a permanent cure. When Superboy says: "At last there is a strong reason to believe that some day, when I grow up to be Superman, I can find an antidote which will cure Mon-El permanently" he means, of course, that one day he hopes to free his friend from the Phantom Zone on a visit to the 30th century. Superboy knows that he cannot alter history and free Mon-El in the 20th century as the events of this story must still occur. Lex Luthor first learned of the existence of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Superboy No. 86, when Lightning Lad travelled back in time to help save Superboy and Krypto from a kryptonite trap set up by the evil teen-aged genius. The Legionnaires admire Mon-El so greatly because of all the help he has given their friend Superboy (as Superman) from the Phantom Zone in the 20th century (Adventure Comics No. 293, Action Comics No. 284, Superman No. 156 and others), proving his dedication to the cause of good, resourcefulness and loyalty. Because of this, Mon-El wasn't given the usual "super-initiation test" that applicants usually undergo (most recently, Ultra Boy, in Superboy No. 98). In Superboy No. 89, Mon-El said that he must be "at least" 18 years old, yet the Legion still allowed him to join the Club. This can be explained by the fact that Mon-El had amnesia at the time he made that statement and so was only guessing as to his age based on his appearance (especially in comparison to Superboy). Evidentally, Mon-El was just under 18 in that story, a fact that could have easily been verified by Saturn Girl, who had mentally examined the hero after his memory had returned to him. It is also worth stating that elligibility for membership is based on an applicant's physical not chronological age and, in the timeless Phantom Zone, people do not age. Chronologically, Mon-El is almost 1,058 years old when he joins the Legion but physically he was just under 18. The age issue is a moot one at this point since, according to the editor in the "Smallville Mailsack" letter column of Superboy No. 100, Mon-El is an honorary member. Being in the Phantom Zone precluded the possibility of full time membership but once a long-lasting cure was found, and though the Legionnaires probably would have bestowed full membership upon him automatically, Mon-El chose to do things "by the book" and earn his official Legionnaire status by applying as "Marvel Lad" and successfully passing all the prescribed initiation tests (Adventure Comics No. 305). In the very last panel of the story, the person at the far right must be Lightning Lad, although he was drawn to have dark hair. In some reprints, he is made out to be Mon-El but the new Legionnaire was already projected back into the Zone two panels earlier. Perhaps Lightning Lad was wearing a Mon-El wig in honor of their admired friend? The phrase "Long live the Legion of Super-Heroes!" originates in this issue, and is uttered by Sun Boy in the last panel of this story. Action Comics No. 377 (June 1969) - references to the "21st century" are changed to "30th century". Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1 |
During a meeting of the Legion
of Super-Heroes, the powers of Cosmic Boy, Sun Boy,
Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl begin to run wild. They
summon Superboy from the past to help them. The
World-Wide Police declare the team a menace and unless
they regain control of their powers within one hour they
will be exiled from Earth. Suddenly, a flying lead-masked
man calling himself Urthlo arrives and boasts that his
power-nullifying gadget can turn the super-heroes' powers
on or off. He says that he will force the other members
who are on missions away from Earth to leave, too. After
Urthlo uses his green kryptonite vision on Superboy, the
Legionnaires must fly off with their weakened friend to
save him. Saturn Girl instructs Superboy to dig up a
chest containing a Phantom Zone projector and tells him
that only Mon-El can save them. Superboy argues that if
he releases his friend, lead poisoning will further
injure him. Saturn Girl insists and then gives the freed
Mon-El serum XY-4. With his vulnerability to lead gone,
Mon-El destroys the robot Urthlo with one punch. Saturn
Girl explains that the serum she gave Mon-El has only
temporary effects and he must return to the Phantom Zone,
but Mon-El now has hope that he will one day be freed
permanently. The Urthlo robot is revealed to be an adult
version of the teenaged Lex Luthor, who had sent the
automaton into the future using a time-ray projector to
break up the Legion. Because Mon-El saved them and is
admired so much, the Legionnaires vote him into their
Super-Hero Club without having to pass the usual
super-initiation test. Mon-El is returned to the Phantom
Zone and Superboy flies back to his own era confident
that he will one day find a permanent cure for his
friend.