The Legion of Super-Heroes! is a Superboy story published in Adventure Comics #247 (April, 1958). Written by Otto Binder and illustrated by Al Plastino, marks the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which would go on to become one of the most beloved titles published by DC Comics. The cover drawn by Curt Swan is one of the most referenced in comic-book history.
One day, Clark Kent runs into three unfamiliar teenagers who somehow know his secret identity. Clark is wondering whether everybody in Smallville know his secret and are just humoring him until the three mysterious teenagers introduce themselves: they are Garth "Lightning Boy" Ranzz, Rokk "Cosmic Boy" Krinn and Imra "Saturn Girl" Ardeen, three young super-heroes of the future who have founded a new super-team. And they would love nothing more than inducting their hero into their club in gratitude for inspiring them.
Superboy agrees to travel to the future with them. However, he must undertake three tests before joining the Legion. The Teen of Steel feels confident that he can beat anybody, but he is about to learn his trial is not as easy as he expects.
The Legion of Tropes!:
- Actually Pretty Funny: At the end, Superboy solves a crisis by mimicking Garth and Rokk's powers, and then he uses a mind-reading trick when he talks to Imra. Saturn Girl smiles, realizing that he is paying them back for their "initiation".
- Alliterative Name: The Legionnaires own a device called "Television Trouble-finder".
- Art Imitates Art: The cover of issue #247, portraying the three founders of the team behind a desk with name tags judging Superboy as unworthy of their "super-hero club" gets homaged occasionally:
- The cover of Superman (1939) #147 revisits the theme with the Legion characters replaced by their evil counterparts.
- The cover of Legion of Super-Heroes Vol 4 #88 sees the trio—Lighting Lad replaced by his sister—trying to reject Impulse but finding their buttons aren't working while Imp holds sparking wires behind his back.
- The cover of Legion of Super-Heroes Vol 5 #48 depicts most of the Legion behind tiered desks with name tags watching tryouts for the club.
- The cover of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #29 painted by Alex Ross features the same characters as the original but in a more realistic style with more dramatic lighting.
- The cover of Simpsons Comics #68 has the classic set up, poses and props with Homer being rejected by other Simpsons characters all dressed as superheroes.
- The cover of Dark Horse Presents #115 has odd characters dressed somewhat like the Legion trio rejecting Dr. Spin's application to their superhero club.
- The cover of Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special replaces Superboy and the Legion's founding trio with Bugs Bunny, Lightning Lass, Ultra Boy and Brainiac 5 (who states that "[they're] not THAT desperate!").
- One of the back-up strips in the LEGION Elseworlds Annual was a Retraux story featuing a Silver Age version of L.E.G.I.O.N. The opening panel showed them on an intergalactic quiz show where the host was wearing a Superman costume (without the Chest Insignia), and they relayed their answers with the same Yes/No buttons.
- Behind the Black: When the Legion trio ask Superboy to follow them back to the 30th century, the panel shows one corner of the Time Bubble, and Superboy suddenly notices the ten-meter diameter sphere which was lying two steps from him all along.
- Broken Pedestal: Subverted. After failing his three tests, the Legionnaires laugh and mock Superboy's reputation as the greatest hero ever. Before Superboy leaves, though, they confess they were pranking him, and he has more than lived up to their expectations.
- Chekhov's Gag: Upon arriving in the future, Superboy and his new friends fly past a rocket-liner which apparently only exists to provide a one-panel literary shout-out/gag. Several pages later, that rocket-liner crashes into a forest and starts a great fire.
- Complexity Addiction: Cosmic Boy must use his magnetic powers to put off a forest fire, and the best method he can come up with is causing a nearby lake to overflow by tossing meteors into it.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- In their first appearance, the Legionnaires wear their names written on their uniforms, and Cosmic Boy has a "Super Hero Club" yellow emblem sewn on his shoulder. They fly around by using jet packs, no Flight Belts or Rings. And they will wear completely different suits in their next appearance (Adventure Comics #267).
- Cosmic Boy's eyes shoot magnetic beams, and his powers were given by a super serum. Later it would be retconned that magnetism control is his race's innate power.
- Garth Ranzz's codename is Lightning Boy. Right afterwards "Boy" would be changed to "Lad". He also needs to clap his hands together to hurl lightning bolts.
- Saturn Girl is a redhead.
- The Legion HQ is located in Smallville. The next stories will quietly move it to Metropolis.
- The Legion hails from the 25th century. Later, it would be retconned the team was formed in the 30th century.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Legion's Television Trouble-finder is a broadcasting device which finds trouble.
- Expo Label: Garth, Imra and Rokk's desk have labels which helpfully inform what their powers are.
- Fantastically Indifferent: Upon arriving at the 30th century, the Legion shows Superboy one class where one professor is using a Superboy Robot to explain how his Kryptonians powers worked. Unfortunately, the robot malfunctions, but Cosmic Boy steps forward and says they have brought the real Superboy from the past, who is eager to help him. The professor takes the appearance of a long-gone legend in his classroom completely in stride, expressing nothing other than delight at being able to continue his lesson.
- Fishbowl Helmet: In his first appearance, Cosmic Boy was wearing a glass globe of a helmet. It was the '50s and he was from space and the future. Later incarnations of him and the Legion have invisible means of maintaining a breathable atmosphere for themselves when needed.
- Gendered Outfit: Unlike her male teammates, who wear pants, Saturn Girl wears a green skirt. Nonetheles, she will replace it with a full bodysuit after this story.
- Giant Flyer: The Neptunian invisible eagle is a man-sized bird of prey which Superboy must find and catch.
- Graceful Loser: Despite being hindered and stalled during each test, Superboy refuses to protest or explain why he lost his trials since he does not want to sound like an excuse-making sore loser. Instead, he accepts his defeat calmly and tries to smile even though the Legionnaires' jeers and taunts are upsetting him. Meanwhile, the Legionnaires are greatly and secretly impressed at how well he is taking their hazing.
- The Great Fire: Cosmic Boy and Superboy must compete to put out a huge forest fire caused by a crashed aircraft.
- Humble Hero: When the Legion tell Superboy they admire him greatly and want the greatest hero ever to join their "club", a bemused Superboy mutters meekly that he just does his job.
- I Was Beaten by a Girl: Superboy's first task in order to join the team is to compete against Saturn Girl in retrieving a sunken statue from the ocean. However, Superboy is just barely on his way when he gets sidetracked by a crisis involving the local school's Superboy robot. By the time he resolves it, Saturn Girl has completed the task. When both returned to the clubhouse, Cosmic Boy takes the opportunity to rub it in his face (although this was part of a test to see how he would react to losing):Cosmic Boy: "You lost out on your first task... and to a girl! Is this the great Superboy we learned about in school? What's your excuse?"
- Initiation Ceremony: Superboy must undertake three tests -and endure a bit of hazing- in order to prove he is good enough to join the team.
- Jet Pack: Flight belts have not been invented yet, let alone flight rings, so the Legionnaires fly around using jetpacks.
- Medieval Morons: The 30th century teenagers consider the 20th century people to be obviously stupid and backwards.
- Meteor-Summoning Attack: In order to put off a forest fire, Cosmic Boy uses his magnetic power to pull a swarm of iron meteors down from space and fill a lake until it overflows and floods the forest. At the same time, he pulls down an old satellite to keep Superboy busy.
- No Endor Holocaust: When a tourist spaceship crashes into a forest, Cosmic Boy -and the artist- make immediately clear that the passengers managed to escape in time thanks to emergency jet packs.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: When Superboy expresses amazement at future Smallville becoming a big city after ten centuries, Cosmic Boy says it is still just a town, and he should wait to see the actual big cities.
- Obviously Not Fine: After being defeated three times and being apparently rejected, Superboy smiles and pretends he is not at all hurt, but he sheds tears as soon as he turns away.
- Publicly Discussing the Secret: Subverted. Garth, Rokk and Imra talk about Superboy's secret identity in public places as the streets or a park. When they reveal their identities, though, they reassure Superboy they took care that nobody was within earshot.
- Retcon: Reprints and trade collections will retcon one unidentified character in the Legion HQ into being Brainiac 5 by recoloring his hair and head blonde and green.
- Rule of Perception:
- Saturn Girl's telepathic messages do not get their own speech bubbles. Instead, they are depicted as letters floating in the air or water. Naturally, nobody can see them.
- As the Time bubble travels through a dark-blue limbo, an ascending number of years trail behind it to show the teenagers are moving through the timestream.
- Rule of Three: Superboy bumps into someone who knows his secret identity three times. He then meets three time-travelers, travels to the 30th century and undertakes three tests.
- Secret Test of Character: Superboy fails all three challenges the Legion put to him because he was otherwise occupied dealing with another, apparently genuine threat, but when he does not make excuses, they explain that their history clearly showed his powers were strong enough; they were testing his character by sabotaging the trials and seeing if he would accept their ruling or mention his real reasons to justify his failure.Superboy: "But— But I don't understand! I've been rejected..."
Saturn Girl: "No, you're a member, Superboy! We gave you a bad time only as your initiation! We deliberately decoyed you elsewhere during each contest![...]"
Cosmic Boy: "It was only your initiation, and it proved you're a super-good sport, taking it all with a smile!" - Shockwave Clap: In his first appearance, Lightning Lad's electrical powers work this way (it was later changed to just using lightning without any clapping):Lightning Lad: "My hands are like the positive and negative poles of a battery! Each time I clap them together, a super-lightning flash leaps forth!"
- Shout-Out:
- In future Smallville, a round ship named "The Jules Verne" offers a tour around the world in 80 minutes, a homage to Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.
- Superboy catches one of the satellites launched by USA Project Vanguard.
- Stock Ness Monster: The sea monster manipulated by Saturn Girl is a long-tailed, four-flapped, scaly green reptilian beast.
- Superdickery: The cover features Cosmic Boy, Lightning "Boy" and Saturn Girl refusing to admit a disheartened Superboy into their club on grounds of having low scores and being too ordinary. In the story, the trio worship Superboy and were putting him through a stealth test to ascertain that he is as good as the old legends stated.
- Surveillance as the Plot Demands: When Cosmic Boy turns of the Legion's Television Trouble-finder, the monitor automatically displays images of a scavenging ship. Cosmic Boy never explains how the Trouble-finder finds, records and broadcasts random catastrophes.
- Tempting Fate: When Cosmic Boy explains he must compete with three Legionnaires to earn admission, Superboy ponders it will be easy...unaware that he is about to be humiliated and pranked thrice.
- Time Machine: The Legion's Time Bubble shows up for the first time, and it is quite different from its later appearances: the shielding sphere is simply massive -around ten meters in diameter-, and houses a wide platform, a large control panel, and seats for at least four persons.
- Time Travel: The Legion travels to 1958 to meet Superboy, and the Boy of Steel goes back to the 30th century with them to see what the future is like.
- Underestimating Badassery: Superboy thinks he will best Saturn Girl in the contest because she cannot possibly haul a sunken statue out of ocean with mere telepathy. When he arrives at the place, he learns telepathy has many uses, including dominating large sea monsters into doing your bidding.
