Credits | Characters | Plot Summary | Comments | Reprinted In Superboy Chronology | Legion Chronology Editor: Mort Weisinger Writer: Jerry Coleman Artist: George Papp Feature Character: Superboy Supporting Characters: Chief Parker, Pete Ross (joins the Legion as an honorary member shortly after this story), Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent Guest Legionnaires: Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Ultra Boy Other Characters: eight Superboy robots, clerk at the Metropolis Jewelry Exchange, a repair-man, president of the Metropolis Jewelry Exchange, two ship captains, citizens of Smallville, a paperboy "The Day Pete Ross Became A Robot" (11 pages)
Chief Parker's squad car's license plate is 2V-263 in this story. Pete Ross says he has a new tape recorder in this story. During the 1930s, wire recorders were the typical method of audio storage and the first commercial tape recorder didn't come out until 1948. The reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorder that Pete Ross uses in this story is way ahead of its time. While the first tape recording was done on November 19th, 1936 of a live concert that was in Berlin, the first U.S.-made, portable 2-head magnetic tape recorders didn't come along until 1951. On the other hand, Pete probably received the "futuristic" device from Superboy, who could have made it or had it given to him by a grateful scientist.
Although, Ultra Boy's was later said to be able to use his ultra-energy for a variety of powers, at this time, "penetra-vision" is the only one that has been shown, hence it is the only power written on his statuette. Ultra Boy is still spelled Ultra-Boy, with a hyphen, in this story. Superboy has eight Superboy robots in this story.
While many people naturally assume that Pete Ross joined the Legion at the end of Superboy No. 98, there is actually no reference to him being made an honorary member then (only that Marla gave him a "pass" and the invitation to attend meetings as an "honored guest"), nor does this issue indicate his honorary status. The Legionnaires may have taken this situation as an impromptu test of Pete's resourcefulness under emergency conditions and this may have led to them bestowing honorary status upon him. Ultra Boy acts as Pete's cheerleader in this issue, selling his teammates on the lad's ingeniousness and loyalty. Pete must have been sworn in as an honorary member shortly after this story because the first time Pete's membership is mentioned is by editor Mort Weisinger in the letter column of Superboy No. 102 (Jan. 1963). Also, in Superboy No. 112 (Apr. 1964), Mort mentions that Pete's omission in the Legionnaire listings in Superman Annual No. 8 (Winter 1964) was an oversight. The first time that Pete is seen as a member within a story is in Adventure Comics No. 323 (Aug. 1964), when he attends the first meeting of Term 3 and takes place in a leadership competition. Superboy is being kept busy by other members while the Legionnaires observe Pete on their time-scope. Superboy went to the future because the Legion wanted to study his robots. He brought seven robots with him, presumably so seven Legionnaires could study them at their own pace. We know that Brainiac 5 was present behind the scenes because we can see his nameplate on the table but he is not seated there. He would have been keeping Superboy occupied elsewhere. At least five of the six other Legionnaires available at the time - namely: Colossal Boy, Invisible Kid, Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, and Bouncing Boy - must have also been there behind the scenes, with each studying one of the five remaining Superboy robots. All six, if Brainiac 5 was acting as teacher. Furthermore, Ultra Boy must have already had his lesson since he knows how to fix and erase the memory tapes of the eighth Superboy robot by the end of the story. Smallville harbor appears in this story, showing that the town is located on the east coast, just as Metropolis is, and not very far from the big city either (within a hundred miles). Superman Family No. 167 (Oct.-Nov. 1974) |
One morning, Pete
Ross goes around Smallville recording various sounds for
his new hobby. Wanting to get the sound of Superboy
traveling at super-speed on tape, he waits by the secret
tunnel entrance to the Kent home. As Superboy and all but
one of his robots fly out of it and into the future, the
entrance is jammed. Pete can't resist the opportunity of
taking a peek at Superboy's trophy room. While trying an
anti-gravity belt from the Calor galaxy, Pete
accidentally damages the remaining Superboy robot. Using
his own Superboy costume and mask, combined with the
flying-belt and ingenuity with the tape recorder, Pete
doubles as Superboy's robot on a number of emergencies.
After he stays up all night unsuccessfully trying to
repair the robot, a fire breaks out in the Kents'
kitchen. They call for the Superboy robot but Pete
doesn't know what to do. Suddenly, a time-bubble appears
in the basement and Ultra Boy emerges to fix the robot in
time to put out the fire with its super-breath. Pete
thanks Ultra Boy, who explains that he and other members
of the Legion have been watching him use his ingenuity to
solve the problem and are impressed.
On page 3, panel 6, Pete
is looking at five Legion statuettes - the same Cosmic
Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Chameleon Boy ones
that George Papp has drawn on previous occasions - plus a
new Ultra Boy statuette. Pete says that he is the
Legion's newest member. Mon-El had joined since (in Adventure
Comics No. 300), but as this
issue's "Smallville Mailsack" reveals, it was
only in an honorary capacity so, technically, Pete is
still correct.