Adventure Comics 500
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Background
Adventure Comics was the birthplace of the Legion and its longtime home. After almost 500 issues of publication, it became primarily a series of reprints. Featured each month was a chronological re-presentation of the Legion's earliest tales, two in each issue, beginning with their first appearance. While most issues of the series in this digest format also presented non-Legion material, as a way of celebrating this 500th issue, the page counted was extended from the normal 100 pages to 144, and ten Legion stories were presented instead of the usual two.
Reprinted material
The Legion of Super-Heroes appears in all of the following stories (original publication source is noted for each):
- "The Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!" - Adventure Comics #305 (February, 1963)
- "The Legion of Substitute Heroes!" - Adventure Comics #306 (March, 1963)
- "The Secret Power of the Mystery Super-Hero!" - Adventure Comics #307 (April, 1963)
- "The Return of Lightning Lad!" - Adventure Comics #308 (May, 1963)
- "The Legion of Super-Monsters!" - Adventure Comics #309 (June, 1963)
- "The Doom of the Super-Heroes!" - Adventure Comics #310 (July, 1963)
- "The War Between the Substitute Heroes and the Legionnaires!" - Adventure Comics #311 (August, 1963)
- "The Super-Sacrifice of the Legionnaires!" - Adventure Comics #312 (September, 1963)
- "The World of Doomed Olsens!" (co-starring with Jimmy Olsen) - Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #72 (October, 1963)
- "The Condemned Legionnaires!" - Adventure Comics #313 (October, 1963)
There is also a short text piece, "The First Five Hundred Issues," which briefly describes the history of the Adventure Comics magazine, and displays six examples of covers, including #300 and #403.
The Story Behind the Stories
The two Legion reprints included in each issue of the digest-sized Adventure Comics were the feature attraction. As an added bonus to Legion fans, a running commentary about that issue's reprinted Legion stories was provided each month by Paul Levitz, who was the writer of the Legion's current series while the Adventure digests were being produced. Years later, these commentaries are the primary point of interest (other than the reprinted stories themselves), so the full text is provided below:
- This issue the LSH takes over ADVENTURE, albeit briefly, as we take the occassion of the 500th issue of DC's oldest title to celebrate its most golden era with some of the best Legion stories. The first eight stories, taken together with the one from ADVENTURE #304 which was reprinted last issue, comprise a powerful cycle of death and rebirth central to the mythos of the Legion.
- Within that context are a variety of interesting developments. "The Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire" (#305), "The Secret Power of the Mystery Super-Hero" (#307) and "The Return of Lightning Lad" (#308) are all the sort of "puzzle" stories used to focus attention on one character to show the origin as a new member joined the Legion. #313's "The Condemned Legionnaires" comes out of the same style, because even though Supergirl was already a member, this was her first appearance in the LSH series (and one of only about seven substantial appearances while they were in ADVENTURE.
- "The Legion of Substitute Heroes" (#306) and "The War Between the Substitute Heroes and the Legionnaires" (#311) are two-thirds of the trilogy which established the Subs, the balance appearing in #315 and being reprinted next month. The second great LSH romance begins here, as Night Girl's love for Cosmic Boy is revealed.
- #309's "The Legion of Super-Monsters" is a true landmark - the first appearance of a true super-villain in the LSH series and their first lead feature. As of this issue they relegated Superboy to the back of ADVENTURE and took over the front (the humiliation was even worse because in that issue Brainiac Five made a brief cameo in Superboy's story).
- "The Doom of the Super-Heroes" (#310) stands as one of the strangest LSH sagas ever. At first Ultra Boy's death seems plausible, but then the reader is shaken over and over again. This was the first LSH story I read, and boy, was I confused!
- "The Super-Sacrifice of the Legionnaires" (#312), on the other hand, is the classic early Legion story. In it, the world set up by Jerry Siegel in #300-305 is taken to its natural conclusion by writer Edmond Hamilton, who took over the series with #306 and widened it to the galactic space operas he was so used to writing from his Captain Future pulp stories.
- As for Oddities, we have them aplenty: the first Sun Eater in #305, a pretty wimpy predecessor for the one the LSH destroyed at the cost of Ferro Lad's life years later; Element #152, created by Mon-El which Brainy later used to make the flight rings; the short life of the original Proty and the return of the Super-Pets; one of the silliest lines in LSH history, as Brainy says "excluding Saturn Girl, because it's too dangerous a mission for a girl!"
- Also of note is the mystery of the membership: Star Boy, who is off on detached duty through the whole first year and a half of the LSH series is listed a member in #310 and 311's rosters, but his absence is never explained. On the other hand, Supergirl and Matter Eater Lad disappear from both rosters (and M-E Lad from all the action...one suspects Hamilton didn't know he existed until he got around to reading printed copies of #303 months later), Phantom Girl, on the other hand, is cited as a member in #310 though not listed in the roster, and disappears from #311's roster too.
- "The World of Doomed Olsens" from JIMMY OLSEN #72, rounds out our issue, with another script by Siegel and art by Swan and Klein...who also made their debut as LSH series artists with #313, filling in for Forte from whom they would take over the series two years later.
- – Paul Levitz
