Adventure Comics 247

Adventure Comics #247 Preboot » Pre-Crisis Cover, by Curt Swan, Stan Kaye and Ira Schnapp Story title The Legion of Super-Heroes Previous story Flashback in Adventure Comics 290:The Secret of the Seventh Super-Hero Next story Adventure Comics 267:Prisoner of the Super-Heroes Cover date April 1958 Creators Writer(s) Otto Binder and Mort Weisinger Penciller(s) Al Plastino Inker(s) Al Plastino Letterer(s) Unknown Colourist(s) Unknown Editor(s) Mort Weisinger Cover artist(s) Curt Swan, Stan Kaye, Ira Schnapp

The Legion of Super-Heroes

One day in Smallville, Superboy encounters three super-youths from the future, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Boy (who later would be known as Lightning Lad), who invite him to join their super-hero club. Taking him to their own time in the 30th century, each of the three in turn takes him on in a test of super-skill. However, during each test, Superboy is sidetracked by other, more important missions. Consequently, he fails all three tests and is rejected for membership. When he takes his defeat like a good sport, the Legionnaires confess that they had engineered each diversion deliberately and lured the Boy of Steel from victory to see whether or not he could take defeat with a smile. In the end, the heroes from the future cheer him for passing his initiation and admit him into the Legion.

First appearances

This issue marks the first appearance of the following characters and recurring key Legion story elements:

• Cosmic Boy
• Saturn Girl
• Lightning Lad (as Lightning Boy)
• Legion of Super-Heroes
• Legion Time Bubble
• 30th century earth
• Legion jetpacks
• Super-Hero Clubhouse (inverted rocketship design)
• Legion tryouts
• Mission Monitor Board (called here the Television Trouble-Finder)

Inconsistencies?

Strangely, Cosmic Boy's power is depicted as radiating from what he calls his "magnetic eyes." These are explained as the result of "special serums" that he has taken. While this is a great departure from essentially every later explanation for Rokk's powers, it has been proposed by some readers that such serums were administered during his youth, resulting in further enhancement of his natural Braalian magnetic powers. In most cases, Cos uses his hands to direct magnetic flows, but there is nothing to indicate that he couldn't do so with another part of his body. Perhaps at this early stage in his career, he was more accustomed to focusing his power with his eyes, although there is no indication of this in other stories, including those which chronologically take place at an earlier time.

Lightning "Boy" also utilizes his powers in a different way. Here he must clap his hands together to generate lightning, rather than simply "throwing" or casting them from one or both hands. This might be an early way that he learned to use his abilities, graduating later to what would become his preferred style. Once again, no stories prior to these events or after support that theory.

Other stories in this issue

There are two additional stories that do not feature the Legion. The Green Arrow and Speedy must overcome bad luck in "The Thirteen Superstition Arrows." Then "Aquaman's Super Sea-Squad" must race against time to help disable a nuclear projectile.

Reprints

This landmark Legion story has been reprinted numerous times over the years in a variety of formats, including:

• Superman Annual 6
• Adventure Comics 491
• DC Silver Age Classics Adventure 247
• Millenium Edition: Adventure Comics 247