The Legion in the 1960's

[kybearfuzz]

Cross-Posted to comicbookbears



I was reading the Adventure Comics (Digest Version) that came out in the 1980's, where DC reprinted in color the Legion of Super-Heroes stories from Adventure Comics in the 1960's. Being a big fan of the Legion, it's fun to read these original stories and how they have evolved. I especially love the Legion "tryout" stories, where heroes with questionable powers tried to make it on the team.

This panel from Adventure Comics 309 struck me as funny. It's the issue where Bouncing Boy defeats the Earthquake Beast. When the team decides that only one of them will fight the beast and attack the Monster Master, Brainiac 5 is quick to exclude Saturn Girl because "it's too risky a mission for a girl."

While this story is from 1963, with 1960's mentality regarding women, it is still a bit ironic. Saturn Girl was the first female Legion leader (and the first female leader of a superhero team for DC), and was leader during this story. Yet, the boys on the team deem it too risky for her and she doesn't pull rank. I wonder if the writer of this story didn't think this would be weird, but it seems to stand out as odd to us present-day readers (or at least to me).

Comments

[notmypresident.livejournal.com]

This was, of course, the same Legion that used the Planetary Chance Machine to make choices for them, so it's not like they were thinking with their batteries fully charged...

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL.. isn't that the issue where the planet flies off the machine and strikes the chosen Legionnaire? Some of these are just odd and very funny.

I don't think the writers back then gave the stories too much thought sometimes. There are some pretty big plot holes here and there in them.

When Computo kills the third body of Triplicate Girl way back when, her other two bodies just show up later and deem themselves "Duo Damsel" and the story moves on without discussing it. In later Legion stories, DD is tramautized (as you would think she would be) by the event, but the original story sure didn't make it seem that way. :)

[dendren.livejournal.com]

well how else were they supposed to choose who'd go on the mission, not like they had a magic 8-ball to shake

;)

[dendren.livejournal.com]

I really do love the unintentional history in comics of the past. Legion is a great one for the history of life in America in decades past. For a comic that is supposed to be set so far in the future, it's pretty wild to see how the 60s shines so brightly through. From here it won't be long until we start seeing hippies, relevance and jive talking black folk show up :)

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

Wow. I have vague, very vague memories of reading those comics when I was a kid...

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Very true. Of course, several of lady Legionnaires in the 1970's and early 80's were sporting Farrah hair too. :)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I think they are fun to read. I should buy the hardcover versions to keep around :)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Although I'm surprised they didn't have something similar to it :)