The Legion of Super-Stories, from Bridwell to Shooter

by Nigel Brown

[SuperStuff co-editor Nigel Brown takes a nostalgic look back at his first exposure to the Legion of Super-Heroes in 1966]

Although the first DC comic I read was Superman #190 (Oct. 1966) – see SuperStuff ‘What’s in a Name? Superman’s greatest enemy we don’t hear about’ 2020 – it was my second DC comic, Adventure Comics #351 (Dec. 1966) which really kicked things off. Why? Because it introduced the concept of a whole ‘secondary fantasy world’ to immerse oneself in, much like, nowadays, there’s the world of Star Trek, Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and others.

Superman #190, as exciting as it was, featured Superman defeating the space pirate Amalak mostly against a setting one could recognise: the day-to-day Metropolis, in other words the home soil of any big American city (A bonus was Wayne Boring’s evocative background skyscrapers).

 

©DC. SKYSCRAPERS FROM SUPERMAN # 190

 But reading Adventure #351 featuring ‘Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes’ was an entirely different experience.

©DC. Adventure Comics #351 

I still remember, although I was just seven at the time, that the attraction of that comic was the intriguing Curt Swan cover. Who were all these people? I recognised a younger Superman (a boy?), but that was it. The story happened to be a part two, but in those days the editors treated their public more gently, and enough material was provided to orientate the confused reader.

DC’s Superman titles editor, Mort Weisinger, always used the inner first page as a second teaser, known as the ‘splash page’, for the tempted newsstand buyer. This issue’s splash page featured not only the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, but the Legion of Super-Pets as well!

 

I won’t list every super-hero who appears in this story, but there are twenty-one of them, plus four super-pets. The story begins in the 30th century, at the Legion Clubhouse on Earth, then shifts into space, then to another planet, then back in time to (then contemporary) 1966 Earth, then to the 5th dimension to confront the imp Mxyzptlk… and so on.

A sense of wonder is palpable. This breathless charge through the DC universe in the company of so many characters, each with their distinctive super-powers, from so many different planets themselves… it’s a whole world to immerse oneself in. 

Crucially, you get the impression that this world carries on after the story has ended, and it’s fun to be part of that.

The discovery and experience of this new ‘secondary world’ was enough to get me hooked on American Comics.

I realised years later that I had the writer, E. Nelson Bridwell, to thank for that.

 

E. Nelson Bridwell, from Wikipedia

This two-part story in Adventure Comics #350 and #351 was the first Legion story he scripted. As I mentioned in 2020 (SuperStuff ‘It all began with Kryptonite…’), he was DC’s resident expert on the Superman mythos. He took this scripting opportunity to use his knowledge of DC’s stable of super-heroes and their previous adventures to full effect, weaving all these characters and worlds into one story, and I got the full dose!

E. Nelson Bridwell wasn’t above comic industry in-fighting, either. There was no love lost between DC and Marvel in those days, and he was a DC man through-and-through. In part one of the story, in Adventure Comics #350 (Nov. 1966), Chameleon Boy defeats a monster by changing into a spider-shape, then ‘breaks the fourth wall’.

 

©DC. Chameleon boy takes a swing at Spidey in Adventure #350

Alas, this dig at Marvel was wasted on me, as I hadn’t yet heard of Marvel’s Spider-Man!

 

But it was a quirk of timing that my first Legion of Super-Heroes comic was written by E.Nelson Bridwell and not Jim Shooter, who by then was the regular writer on the title, writing Adventure Comics #346 to #349, and #352 to #355, so I happened upon the gap filled by Bridwell.

Jim Shooter had begun his career in comics by writing Legion of Super-Hero stories, famously at age fourteen.

 

A young Jim Shooter, as seen on Pinterest.

Shooter’s intention was to write in the style of Stan Lee, whom he felt wrote far more interesting stories than the DC writers of the time. Shooter created Legion stalwarts Karate Kid, Ferro Lad and Princess Projectra in his first story in Adventure Comics #346 (July 1966).

 

©DC. Adventure Comics #346 

He honed his skill under the guiding – and brutal – hand of editor Mort Weisinger. I would recommend Alter Ego magazine #137 (Jan. 2016), available from Tomorrows Publishing, for Shooter’s account of those times.

 

Shooter’s Legion stories that appeared in 1968 must count as some of his best work. These were often two-parters, with Neal Adams covers.

Four stories are particularly memorable; the first is the two-parter Adventure Comics #365 (Feb. 1968) and #366 (March 1968), with Curt Swan art and inks by George Klein. 

 

©DC. Adventure Comics #365 - artwork by Neal Adams

©DC. Neal Adams' cover to Adventure Comics #366.

 

This story introduces a new Legionnaire, Shadow Lass, but its strength in #365 is how each Legionnaire in the team is put into a separate trap that they escape from (a plot device that Stan Lee often used with the Fantastic Four), plus I’m a sucker for maps:

 

©DC

 

In part two, the Legionnaires actually fail to defeat their enemies, who run away when the ‘mighty space armada’ of the U.P. (United Planets) arrive: “The ‘cavalry’ has come to the rescue!”. Certainly, the Legionnaires had heroically resisted the Fatal Five until then, but I think Shooter does well to rise above the temptation of allowing them to succeed completely, even at the end of a two-parter. He lets the Fatal Five escape to fight another day. The Legionnaires themselves are aware of their failure. Superboy apologises to the President of the United Planets: “We’re sorry we let them escape, sir!” but all is made good: each Legionnaire gets a medal!

The true reward is that their clubhouse has been so severely damaged that it needs to be completely rebuilt. Shooter never liked the clubhouse idea, so perhaps this was his way of updating such an iconic design without too many protestations from the readers, or the very conservative powers at DC!

©DC. Undamaged Legion clubhouse

                                                                                   

©DC. Damaged Legion clubhouse
 

The second memorable story is a solo issue, following on directly from the previous story in Adventure Comics #366. For the time, this was much more in keeping with Marvel than DC, whereby the consequences of events in previous issues would naturally follow on to new adventures.

 

©DC. Another great cover by Neal Adams. Adventure Comics #367
 

  Adventure Comics #367 (Apr. 1968), again with art by Curt Swan and inks by George Klein, begins quietly with the rebuilding of the Legion Clubhouse. This is renamed ‘Legion Headquarters’, a more grown-up term denoting Shooter’s awareness of the changing times and older readership he was aiming at. ‘Clubhouse’ was very 1940s. ‘Headquarters’ sounded much better to the youth of the late 1960s!

Shooter has the confidence to draw breath after the epic events of the last two issues, and takes the reader on a tour of 30th century Earth. He’s aware that familiarity can breed boredom when it comes to long-term readers of the Legion stories, so he reminds them that the setting of the stories is, in itself, of interest. Like all good science fiction writers, Shooter slips the wondrous background into the story itself. We follow Karate Kid as he takes a few weeks off, traveling to his home in Japan via a core-tube train that moves in a straight line between Metropolis and Tokyo, traveling through the Earth’s mantle.

 

©DC. Core-Tube train from Adventure Comics #367

The third story, another two-parter, is Adventure Comics #369 (June 1968) and #370 (July 1968). Art by Curt Swan, inks by Jack Abel. This is my overall favourite of these four stories. It raises the stakes from the beginning and doesn’t let go until almost the last page of part two. I’ve always felt that it would make an excellent Legion of Super-Heroes film, as it has everything.

 

©DC. Adventure Comics #369. Art - Neal Adams

©DC. Adventure Comics #370. Cover: Curt Swan and Jack Abel

 

How do you provide a credible threat to a team that includes members as powerful as Superboy and Mon-El (effectively ‘Superboy’ without the weakness to kryptonite)? Easy. As Shooter demonstrates, you use magic.

Mordru, of the Sorcerer’s planet, is a terrifying opponent for the Legion. They’ve held him captive but he escapes, vowing revenge. Four Legionnaires flee from his clutches via time travel, and hide in 20th century Smallville. Mordru and his army pursue them, putting the whole of Smallville, including Superboy’s foster-parents and friends, in terrible danger.

Shooter ramps up reader sympathy by placing the Legionnaires into fearful situations that readers can well identify with: pursuit by the authorities, disguises being revealed, the fear of harm to one’s loved-ones. This is very much from the Stan Lee playbook, and works extremely well. Shooter even has Lee’s trademark ‘unrequited love’ going on (between Duo Damsel and Superboy), a far cry from the – by-then – cliché of Lois Lane’s obsession with Superman.

Jack Abel’s atmospheric heavy inks add to the sense of menace, especially as most of the backdrop is the down-to-earth, identifiable Smallville of small-town America, and not the distant 30th century.

 

©DC. JACK ABEL INKING FROM ADVENTURE COMICS #369

The second part of this story is the only comic on my list that doesn’t boast a Neal Adams cover (perhaps he missed a deadline?). Nevertheless, Swan and Abel’s cover for Adventure #370 is very effective, with its mauve background contrasting with the ‘Devil’s Jury’ shadowed in green.

I won’t spoil the denouement of this story, but I must give a (dis-) honourable mention to the final panel. Acceptable in 1968, but not today!

 

©DC. 

The fourth story is the two-parter in Adventure Comics #371 (Aug.1968) and #372 (Sept. 1968). After the high drama of Mordru, magic and Smallville, we’re back in the 30th century. Shooter turns an interesting right-angle to focus on the agony of just one Legionnaire, Colossal Boy.

 

©DC. Adventure Comics #371. Art by Neal Adams

©DC. Adventure Comics #372. Art by Neal Adams

 

Shooter plays upon his readership’s deepest fears by using an identifiable threat – the loss of parents – to keep the reader’s attention. Again, the Swan/Abel team do an excellent job with artwork and inking, and a glimpse into a Legionnaire’s ordinary home and home-life is the kind of Stan Lee touch that enamoured so many fans to Spider-Man and many other Marvel characters.

A quirk of this particular comic is that this part one is only 11 pages, compared to the usual 22 or 24, and the bulk of the issue is taken up with a reprint Legion story from Superboy #101 (1962). Even odder, the Neal Adams cover is for the reprint, not the new story, which has no mention on the cover. So perhaps Shooter’s 11 pages – a half-story – wasn’t initially planned for this issue?

We’re back to the full 23 pages for a satisfying conclusion in Adventure #372.

 

In later years, the Legion of Super-Heroes feature received deserved acclaim with a run beginning in Superboy (sub-titled ‘Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes’) #197 (Sept. 1973), written by Cary Bates. Dave Cockrum’s clean artwork, with his Star Trek-like spacecraft designs, hit a chord with fans. Artist Mike Grell inked issue #202, and replaced Cockrum as artist afterwards, still maintaining Cockrum’s popular style and designs for the world of the 30th century. 

Jim Shooter took over the writing from #209 (June 1975). This story is a particular favourite of mine, as success for the hero depends upon will-power, not super-power.

 

©DC. Superboy #209.

 

But for me, Shooter’s run of stories in 1968 fulfills the promise of the Legion’s ‘secondary fantasy world’, with its core-tube trains, a glimpse of 30th century home-life, and epic adventures. All written when Jim Shooter was already a comics veteran, age seventeen.

 

copyright. Nigel Brown

[Update: Dec 5th 2022. SPOILER!!

For those of you interested in how the three girls of the Legion defeated the evil Mordru, here is the final page.

© DC. How the girls defeated Mordru