Adventure 367 – The Legion vs the Dark Circle

A new headquarters, a new enemy and a mysterious machine in the Jim Shooter/Curt Swan tale in Adventure 367 (April 1968).

The Legion are constructing a new headquarters after their battle with the Fatal Five, and the story spends a lot of time showing us the new facilities.  They also receive many gifts from around the galaxy.

The Dark Circle are introduced, though who they are and what they want is kept a mystery – for many years, as it turns out.  But seeing the Legion busy with the reconstruction, they figure this is a good time to attack the Earth

They assault Tokyo while Karate Kid is there, meeting with his Sensei.  At this point, all we learn of the man is that he trained Karate Kid, but he will return in the 70s, and his story expanded.

When the Dark Circle’s forces attack the headquarters, Brainiac 5 wishes silently that Karate Kid was there to help defend them, and then abruptly, Val is there.  Brainiac 5 correctly theorizes a mysterious present is the cause, and uses the device, the Miracle Machine, to repel the invasion and complete the new headquarters.

Every Dark Circle operative on Earth is shot off into space, and Curt Swan creates a 60s sci-fi masterpiece in the new hq, which would last until the rebuild in the 80s.

One of the Controllers appears, explaining that the Miracle Machine was a present from them – although at the same time warning them that it can make any thought into reality, and a stray wish could obliterate the universe.  Christmas must be a riot with the Controllers.

The Legion seal the Miracle Machine in a cube of inertron, where it stays for many years, though even encased it appears again in the early 70s.  The Controllers do not appear again until the late 70s.

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Adventure 357 – The Ghost of Ferro Lad

Adventure 357 (June 1967) has a pretty decent mystery story by Jim Shooter, with Curt Swan art.  It manages to play both sides, with a phony ghost and a real one.

The Legionnaires are feeling guilty over Ferro Lad`s death, many of them having bad dreams.  And then deadly accidents begin to occur, with ghostly messages left behind.  They decide the Clubhouse must be haunted, and Princess Projectra holds a seance to try to contact his ghost.

Brainiac 5 is not at all impressed with her oracular background, the first tension between him and a magic user on the team.

She manages to contact Ferro Lad`s ghost, who insists that he wants vengeance against the four members who `let him die,`and demands that the Legion disband.

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Brainiac 5 orders this to happen, and they go their separate ways, but almost immediately after Superboy is snatched by a Controller.  This is the first time the Controllers appear in any DC book.  There is as yet no backstory linking them to the Guardians of the Universe, but we do learn that the one in the tale was responsible for the creation of the Sun-Eater, which he planned to use for conquest.  It is the Controller who created the ghost of Ferro Lad, and wants revenge on the Legion.

Superboy`s flight ring gets activated by a mysterious force, which summons the rest of the team, who free Superboy, while the same force, revealed as the true ghost of Ferro Lad, takes down the Controller.  Nicely done for a dead guy.

This story also features a brief appearance by Cosmic Boy`s younger brother and future Legionnaire, Pol Krinn.