Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #257

It is happening! This is the penultimate issue in the Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes series. It is only fitting that we return to the two-story format, one of which features are favorite married couple Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel. And wow what a treat. Because this back up is illustrated by none other than comic book legend…STEVE DITKO! Welcome to Legion HQ Steve!

If you have been following this blog you know that I am not a fan of the two-story format. The stories always feel rushed and the conclusion especially rushed. Luckily we have Gerry Conway to help keep the ship steady because he does a fantastic job with such a short page count. But I will leave that for the commentary. 

I hope you know a good bail bondsman Legionnaires because after last issue’s events in commandeering the amusement park and going to battle against the Science Police, our favorite super-heroes are in a lot of trouble. And I think that may be an understatement. 

Sit back, relax, and watch the B-Plot move front and center as we wonder…

Who Stole The Legion?

Artists: Joe Staton & David Hunt

Chameleon Boy and Shrinking Violet, members of the Legion Espionage Squad, survey R.J. Brande’s Corporate Tower with their new recruits, Mon-El and Shadow Lass. Shrinking Violet shrinks down and sneaks past the Science Police guarding the tower. Mon-El and Shadow Lass express their doubts and worry for Shrinking Violet’s safety but Chameleon Boy reminds them this is what they signed up for. Besides, they have to access Brande’s corporate computers to learn the identity of the conspirator who is responsible for Brande’s bankruptcy. 

We zoom in on Shrinking Violet who successfully enters the tower. A Robot Mechanic-Vic detects her and mistakes her for a piece of litter. Violet quickly grabs a Pewter Sculpture by one of Brande’s proteges and hurls it at the machine taking it out of commission. She smiles at herself because she never could stand that kind of neo-abstract art. She makes her way further into the tower and finds the inner-mail vacuum tubes. There is only one way now but up.

And as the tiniest Legionnaire prepares for a pneumatically-swift journey upward, two thousand odd miles westward, five other Legionnaires prepare for an equally-swift journey downward. The Captain of the Science police expresses his shock to Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Brainiac Five. Not only commandeering the amusement park is against United Earth Law, but it is also against their own charter. The captain acknowledges their great sacrifice during the  Khund War and asks for an explanation. But before they can offer one, Brainy interjects and tells them to say not another word and asks his fellow Legionnaires to trust him. Which, if you have been reading the previous issues that detail his insanity, is a very big ask indeed! Saturn Girl reassures the group that Brainy knows what he is doing because she read his mind. They need to give Brainy a chance to redeem himself. Lightning Lad reluctantly agrees. They return their attention to the Captain and offer him their silence, much to his annoyance. 

Meanwhile, R.J. Brande calls the other Legionnaires who are still assessing the damage to their Legion HQ. Brande tells the Legionnaires that he is sorry he cannot help due to his current predicament. Light Lass responds that it is not so bad. The atomic generators, the arsenal, most of the dorms, and Mon-El’s Vault all survived the general destruction. And most important they still have their monitor room and most of their computer banks. R.J. Brande wishes them luck and signs off. Ultra Boy comments how depressed he sounded and Phantom Girl tells him that if he had lost everything, would he not be depressed? Does Ultra Boy not remember his own frustration before he found one of his pouches last issue? I guess not. Light Lass wishes the government could do something but they did ask the President for financial help who turned them away, and understandably so. It will cost a lot of money and resources to rebuild Earth. Brande’s only chance is with the Legion Espionage Squad.

And speaking of which, Shadow Lass provides cover for Mon-El, Chameleon Boy and herself and the trio successfully follow Shrinking Violet in the tower. 

Then we move to the other Legionnaires who find themselves about ready to board a prison transport ship. Suddenly the ground shakes and the owner of the amusement park knows it is the anti-gravity generators and something, or perhaps someone, knocked them off-center. The Legionnaires immediately go into action. Superboy quickly grabs Cosmic World, while Brainy tells them this earthquake is the result of years of ecological abuse by the owners. He instructs Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad to use their magnetic and lightning powers to strike at the base of the avalanche. For long minutes, the two Legionnaires do as their colleague commands, and for long minutes, there is no visible effect. Then, just as they are becoming convinced that Brainy’s recovery was pure sham, the vibrations in the canyon walls diminish and finally fade to a dying echo. 

Later, Brainy tells the owner and the Science Police that due to the constant use of anti-gravity, generators disrupted the geostratum below the canyon. The owner then adds that is why they took over the park to save them. Awkwardly Lightning Lad agrees, while the Captain whispers to Superboy that he does not believe that for a minute, but is willing to let them go if he has their word that this will never happen again. Superboy agrees.

But as five legionnaires breathe a collective sigh of relief, four other Legionnaires in Brande’s penthouse gasp in disbelief because they just discovered who bankrupted R.J. Brande and stole his entire fortune. It was none other than…

The President of Earth!

Once A Legionnaire…

Artists: Steve Ditko & Dan Adkins 

Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel are now colonists on the newly-opened planet Wondil IX. They are on an expedition when Norsk, a member of their party, alerts them to a cargo sled that is out of control. The Cargo Sled periodically sends the expedition party supplies from the main base and it will be months before they receive replacements from Earth. Our two former Legionnaires activate their flight rings and save the falling cargo crates just in time. Bouncing Boy then turns on his bouncing power and also manages to save the sled just in time. Bouncing Boy slams against an icy wall that stops his bounce momentum. Because they used their powers, Norsk easily recognizes them as former Legionnaires. Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel beg Norsk to keep it a secret but he will not have it. Two Legionnaires will do wonders for their party and will allow them to easily find Crystalak Ore as the seismic reports claimed.

As night falls, Bouncing Boy tells Duo Damsel over dinner that he wishes Norsk would have kept their secret since they came all this way for some privacy. Duo Damsel tells him not to worry and tells him to snuff out the candle. Reminding us that Bouncing Boy is probably the luckiest Legionnaire of them all.

A new day, and beneath the glowering primary planet of the eight planet star-sytem, a swarm of cargo sleds moves swiftly up the gleaming ice-slopes, carrying in their lead two bemused ex-Legionnaires. Norsk points to a blip on their radar screen and identifies it as the Crystalak Deposit. Duo Damsel is about to correct him but Boucning Boy elbows her in the ribs. They cannot let the colonists become dependent on them and he tells her to follow his lead. She agrees but next time he should not jab her ribs so hard since she bruises easily.

Upward across the shining slopes, the Cargo Sleds fly, till at last they reach a yawning mouth of utter blackness. Norsk points to the ice-caves and the trio depart their vehicle and head into the mouth of the cave. Suddenly an Ice Dragon appears, completely startling the group. Norsk begs the Legionnaires to save him and the other colonists. But Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel exclaim the beast is too powerful, and the dragon knocks them away. Bouncing Boy announces his leg is twisted and Duo Damsel is also down. Now it is up to Norsk. He picks up the axe and with one mighty swing, hits the Ice Dragon and shatters it. He cannot believe his eyes and he is now the hero of the group. Which also means the group will no longer depend on Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel to save them every time they are in trouble.

As the group hoists Norsk on their shoulders Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel stand back, and exchange information. Of course they knew the blip on the radar was not the Crystalak Ore but the Ice Dragon. And since they read the report that Ice Dragons are simply pseudo-life and not dangerous, they were able to faint their injuries and allow Norsk to take the credit. 

They just hope this is one secret they will be able to keep for once. 

Creative Team

I was thrilled to read this issue because this is a return to form for Gerry Conway. In Who Stole the Legion, Conway gave us a very dense, heavily expositional previous issue, that was all filler. Here we move consistently between the A and B-Plots with the B-Plot smashing through and becoming the A-Plot. This is exceptional pacing and story telling in sequential art form. Also, Conway continues to excel at writing dialogue, even giving humorous moments to the Captain of the Science Police who on the one hand has to do his duty, and the other regrets it because he knows how much the Legion of Super-Heroes sacrificed. Again, if you just made every panel black and only had the word balloons with dialogue you could tell who is saying what, and that is the mark of an extraordinary comic book writer. 

Of course I do feel that the team trusted Brainy a little too quickly, but we needed to wrap this up. Plus it was a nice touch that Saturn Girl knew what Brainy was thinking and she was able to reassure the group. I am still not a fan of the whole amusement park angle so them abusing the geology of the flying meteor was quite a stretch. 

But how about that shocker of an ending when the B-Plot finally explodes front and center? Wildfire always had trouble with the President of Earth and there were seeds planted here and there. But to conspire against the richest man in the galaxy that also has influence on the most powerful team of the universe? I do not know what the President is up to but it cannot be good. Or perhaps it is just a big misunderstanding?

Joe Staton and David Hunt continue to impress. This was not a book big in action and they handled the quiet moments really well. Staton delivered the necessary facial expressions and acting needed to pull off the humorous moments and I especially enjoyed the character design of the Captain of the Science Police. It does help the joke punch through and Staton is really good at laying out the story in order to deliver those moments. 

Now for the second story. How much of a treat is it that we have a contribution from the legend Steve Ditko? And a Bouncing and Duo Damsel story nonetheless! I always love it when we see these two so to have Ditko at the helm makes it extra special. Conway does a good job of giving us a reason for them being there as well adding a slight complication of the couple needing to keep their Legionnaire history a secret. But truth be told I just wanted to study each panel and really revel in what Ditko produced here. He was just a solid storyteller and I always declare to whomever is willing to listen that his creation of Doctor Strange and the initial character run, all from Ditko, is probably one of my greatest runs of all times. Ditko instills in each panel only the necessary components to communicate the story. If you study Ditko you will notice he constantly uses a foreground to place his figures, and he puts the camera just in the right place. He made it look easy, which it is not. And I think a solid, seven page story incorporating two Legionnaires on an ice planet made his style of storytelling very effective. It was a beautiful issue and with Conway’s masterful pacing and dialogue, it is probably one of my favorites in the Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes so far. At least as far as back-up stories go.

All in all, a return to form for Gerry Conway as the B-Plot explodes front and center. Joe Staton and David Hunt continue to bring the goods, and Staton’s character designs really help the jokes land. And come on, a story drawn by Steve Ditko? How could this not be in your collection already? 

Legion Outpost

We have three letters in this issue’s Legion Outpost, which are not too terribly interesting. But we finally have what we have been waiting for! The official announcement that this book will indeed change and here I type it out in full!

“SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #258 is the LAST ISSUE of that title! But don’t start crying! The book’s not cancelled–it’s just changing its title to: THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES! Yes, after all these years the Legion is finally awarded their own book! SUPERBOY is leaving–and for a very exciting reason: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY is a brand new monthly title under the editorship of Julius Schwartz. It will be written by Cary Bates and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger! Your loyal support of both the BOY OF STEEL and the LEGION has led to this momentous decision–so our thanks to you!”

Look for THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY #1 on your newsstand in October!––JCH (Jack C. Harris).

There you have it! Not only do we have the announcement of the new title but also the reason why. Superboy is leaving the group to star in his own series. Now, I will admit that I have not read many issues of The New Adventures of Superboy, but I do know that it is a considered to be very good by a lot of the Superman/Superboy fandom. But is that surprising if you combine the likes of Cary Bates with Kurt Schaffenberger? I have a few random issues in my collection but this is enough to track down the rest of them and see if I agree with the overall sentiment.

Either way, it’s a really exciting announcement, and it does mean that next issue will be the last issue in the series. But will it be the last blog entry for this project? I guess you will have to read next week to find out!

Legion Medallion of Merit

When we have to analyze two stories it does make it a bit difficult to choose the Legionnaire who went above and beyond the call of duty and made a real difference in the story. But I think we need to give it to none other than Brainiac Five. This was his moment of reconciliation and he knew he needed to do something. And that something was not to say anything. And sure enough, it all worked out. Yes, he did have some help from Saturn Girl who quickly alleviated any doubts, but the team stepped back and let Brainy do what he does best. 

Congratulations Brainiac Five! We realize you went insane because we were not as appreciative of your work in saving the universe so many times as you would like. So I do hope this medallion can keep that sanity in place and thwart any future potential Omega’s that would collect all our hatred and destroy ourselves. If there, at any time, is any doubt, please, please, please, just look at the medallion and remember that we love you.

And that is it for this week’s installment fellow Legionnaires! I can barely type these words as next issue is the FINAL issue in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes before Superboy departs for his brand new series. But luckyily that is a future-us problem! For now, just remember, whenever you face an officer of the law who asks you why you decided to commandeer your local amusement park, always bring forth that one true answer to all the universe’s questions…

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!