Credits | Characters | Plot Summary | Comments | Reprinted In Editor: Mort Weisinger Writer: Edmond Hamilton Artist: John Forte Roll Call: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy Applicants: Polar Boy, Night Girl, Chlorophyll Kid, Stone Boy and Fire Lad (all form the Legion of Substitute Heroes this issue) Villains: two unnamed criminal scientists and their crime-city, a world of invading "plant men" Other Characters: Citizens of Metropolis, the unnamed captain of a spaceship from Tharr, three unnamed people of Tharr (the fourth one being Brek Bannin, seen second from left in that panel; in flashback), Mr. Jath (Night Girl's father, in flashback), Mr. & Mrs. Wentim, a little boy and girl from Zwen (Stone Boy's family, in flashback), Mrs. Benem (Chlorophyll Kid's mother, in flashback), an unnamed hydroponic gardener, three giant, aritificially evolved sea-monsters, a television news anchorman, a Science Police officer "The Legion of Substitute Heroes" (14 pages)
The character of Polar Boy was suggested by reader Buddy LaVinge in the letters page of Adventure Comics No. 304 as the very first "Bit of Legionnaire Business". Polar Boy is incorrectly called "Polar Lad" in the cover caption. The Legion's era is referred to as the "21st century" in this story. Besides excusing it as being merely a typo, one can assume that by the Legion's time, different calendar systems can be referred to. Tharr is referred to as a "distant world" in relation to planet Earth. The Avenue of the Super-Heroes is shown for the first time in this story, featuring the series of Legion statues that started to be produced in Adventure Comics No. 302. Polar Boy is so short because he is the youngest person to try out for the Legion (Adventure Comics No. 324 "The Legion Outpost"):
Brek worked for his passage aboard the spaceship from Tharr, probably as a cabin boy, until he reached Earth. His captain has a great respect for the hard-working youth, saluting him upon his depature (page 1, panel 3). Although Saturn Girl is still technically leader in this story, due to the fact that she is in deep mourning over the loss of Lightning Lad, the other best friends of Garth - Cosmic Boy and Sun Boy - help Imra by pitching in to lead the team together. In this issue, Sun Boy oversees the screening of the new applicants in this story, something that Saturn Girl could not bear to do. The task of finding a new member to "fill" the vacant spot left by Lightning Lad continues in this issue. According to Polar Boy's story, only "a few people" on his world, those living in the hottest desert of the hot world of Tharr, developed the power of using mental force to neutralize heat-vibrations and create cold. The people who share this power all wear the same type of clothing; perhaps they are considered to be some kind of uniform. The Legionnaires are already seen shivering under blankets while Polar Boy demonstrates his power. The clubhouse rooms must have temperature sensors in them. When the temperature in the room plunged below freezing, thermal blankets could have been instantly deployed from hidden ceiling compartments for the comfort and survival of the room's occupants. Although Sun Boy was present, he couldn't have used his power to warm the other Legionnaires because Polar Boy's power is to neutralize heat vibrations, and thus Sun Boy's power was rendered useless. Sun Boy probably used his power after Polar Boy turned off his own in order to thaw out the room. As there are 17 active members at this time, 13 members are needed to form a voting quorum (according to the Legion Constitution, 3/4 of the entire membership with 2/3 of the vote positive for acceptance). Yes, it's true that only five members are at the clubhouse (Cosmic Boy came in for Night Girl's test according to Adventure Comics No. 311 and 315) but eight or more others may have been watching on monitors from other locations and electronically sent in their votes. That fact that Polar Boy's power is greater than Sun Boy's - able to cancel his power out - may have been the reason the Legionnaires voted to reject Brek. It may sound selfish on the surface but due to the fact that 1) Sun Boy recently lost his power, and 2) Lightning Lad was lost to them due to Zaryan's freeze-ray, it is understandable that they chose to pass on Polar Boy at this time. Perhaps if things had been different... Regardless, the Legionnaires obviously thought Brek was a worthy applicant and awarded him a flying-belt as consolation. With this issue the Legion begins a new practice, that of handing out a new type of anti-gravity flying-belt to those rejected applicants they deem worthy. In this story you only see the yellow belts being used by the Substitute Heroes, but they are worn by the Legionnaires themselves in the very next story (Adventure Comics No. 307), replacing the "discreet" anti-gravity belts used by the Legionnaires previously. The new belts must therefore be more powerful than their old ones, despite their bulky appearance. Polar Boy is the first applicant to be tested inside the clubhouse. Because of what happened the Legionnaires tested the next applicant, Night Girl, outside, which proved to be her downfall since it was the sunlight that robbed her of her power. (As seen in the flashback to her origin in Adventure Comics No. 315, Night Girl knew of her weakness before she came to Earth and tried out for Legion membership). Night Girl was probably also rejected for the simple fact that Sun Boy's power cancels out hers (as seen later in the story when he poses as a shooting star falling towards the crime-city) and so teamwork would be a difficult thing. Kathoon is a "dark planet" with no sun, most probably a "rogue" planet traveling between solar systems, yet people are able to live there. It must be internally heated by volcanic action, but it is highly unlikely that humanoid life could have evolved there. At some point in the past, a humanoid race (not necessarily from Earth) must have colonized Kathoon. While inhabitants probably possess some degree of night-vision, able to see into wavelengths outside of the normal range, they are not without artificial lighting. If they were, then Night Girl would not have been able to see in daylight without special goggles. However, to protect herself from the abundance of ultraviolet radiation on Earth, Lydda wears a dark costume that covers most of her body. Remember, too, that Night Girl only loses her super-strength under natural sunlight and not in artificial lighting conditions (Adventure Comics No. 337). Night Girl says that her father "was" a scientist. He is either retired or he was drummed out of the scientific community for his theories on muscular-vitalization. It is also a distinct possibility that he died shortly after fulfilling his long-time dream of giving his daughter super-powers. Chlorophyll Kid was the third applicant in line that day, behind Polar Boy and Night Girl. We do not see his rejection. Although Night Girl was in line at the clubhouse directly behind Polar Boy, he doesn't recognize her when she approaches him at the Avenue of Heroes. He was probably so intent on becoming a Legionnaire that he didn't notice too clearly the others in line behind him. Night Girl's crush on Cosmic Boy is perhaps subconsciously hinted at in this story when she lifts Cosmic Boy's statue up as she relates to Polar Boy how it was her dream to join the Legion of Super-Heroes. Her crush is confirmed in Adventure Comics No. 311. Although Sun Boy is shown rejecting Polar Boy, the next applicant, Night Girl, is actually rejected by Cosmic Boy (as stated in Adventure Comics No. 311) and he gives her a flying-belt. Conversely, Cosmic Boy must have had an initial attraction to Night Girl; in the last panel of Adventure Comics No. 306, as the Legionnaires parade past the citizens of Metropolis, Cosmic Boy can be seen leaning back to get a better look at Lydda while he passes by! Night Girl knew exactly where to find other rejectees so they could assemble and form the Subs. Not far from the Legion clubhouse is the Nine Delicious Flavors From Nine Planets ice-cream parlor, a regular Legion haunt from the beginning. The rejectees (except Polar Boy) were probably hanging around there all that day, drowing their sorrows in Martian ice-cream! When Stone Boy and Fire Lad first intoduce themselves to Polar Boy, their names are written as Stoneboy (one word) and Fire-Lad (hyphenated), although afterwards they are spelled in the usual way. Stone Boy's family all wears the same clothing as he does, with only the adult males wearing a stone insignia on their chests. In his flashback to his origin, Fire Lad is shown already wearing a fire-motif costume with a fiery hairdo. This is a common error during such remembrances. (Either that or, coincidentally, the lad was on his way to a costume ball when the accident occurred!) It is interesting that the home worlds of Polar Boy and Night Girl are named in the story but Stone Boy's isn't, even though it is part of the origin of his super-power and all his people have that ability. On page 6, panel 5, we can see the sun rising in the east behind the Subs' mountain clubhouse entrance. Yet on page 10, panel 2, we see the sun setting in almost exactly the same place. How is this possible? Well, aside from artistic liscense, the only logical answer is that the clubhouse has entrances on both the east and west sides of the mountain. This is the first Legion tale written by famed science fiction author Edmond Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton brings the Legion up to a whole new level of realism with this story. The world of the future seems more varied and lived in; the people have greater depth to their personalities and for the first time we get inside the heads of Legion applicants. There's also no shortage of alien invaders in his stories. The Legion becomes a kind of "space opera", to coin a phrase -- vast in scope, with an old-fashioned, sci-fi epic feel to it. Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 2 |
One day at Metropolis
Spaceport, a ship from the distant world of Tharr touches
down and an eager lad with a bright ambition steps off.
He is Brek Bannin, and he has worked his way aboard ship
so he could journey to Earth and try out for the Legion.
The next day, at the clubhouse, Polar Boy is the first
applicant in line (because he stood outside all night)
and inside, Brek demonstrates his ability to create
super-cold. He is rejected because, in his exuberance, he
nearly freezes the Legionnaires. As a consolation prize,
and because he is worthy, Brek is given an anti-gravity
flying belt. As he wanders aimlessly through the streets
all night, Night Girl, the second applicant in line that
day, meets up with him and shares her story and shattered
dreams of becoming a Legionnaire. She was rejected
because her power of super-strength fades in sunlight.
Polar Boy grows determined to live out their dreams by
creating their own super-hero club. Night Girl rounds up
three other rejected applicants: Chlorophyll Kid, Stone
Boy and Fire Lad, and just outside of Metropolis, the
five pledge to become the Legion of Substitute Heroes, a
team that can act as pinch-hitters should the Legion of
Super-Heroes ever need help. Their first task is to
create a mountain headquarters by hollowing out a rocky
pinnacle, then they build themselves a small space-ship.
After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to help the
Legion, the Subs are on the verge of breaking up when
Chlorophyll notices strange seeds fluttering to Earth.
The Subs soon discover that "plant men" are
planning to invade Earth and, tracing the rocket that
brought the seeds back to its home world, the Subs cause
a population explosion for the plant men and successfully
end their threat to Earth.