Adventure 354 – The Adult Legion

There have been many stories that show the future of various heroes.  As I write this, “Future’s End” is showing the entire New 52 line five years ahead.  But no story influenced later tales as much as the Adult Legion story in Adventure 354 (March 1967), another classic by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan.

Of the five dead heroes that appear on the cover, only Ferro Lad had even appeared.  Chemical King’s fate would match the cover exactly, while stories of Quantum Queen, Reflecto and Shadow “Woman” (Shadow Lass when she got introduced) would play with the dooms foretold here.

Superman’s visit to the 30th century to see his adult team mates was not just a list of dead members.  Marriages were shown for Cosmic Boy and Night Girl, Duplicate Boy and Shrinking Violet, even Light Lass and Timber Wolf, the former Lone Wolf, who had not appeared in any Legion tale since his introduction.

Aside from those shown as statues, the story let us see Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl with their children, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, and Star Boy and Dream Girl all in wedded bliss.  More surprising was Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel and their “triplicate” son.

Aside from the marriages and deaths, we discover that Matter-Eater Lad has become the president of his home planet, Bismoll, and Colossal Boy in retirement after an injury.  Polar Boy disbanded the Substitute Legion and became a member of the Legion.  All of these elements would come into play in later stories.

After all the revelations, the story gets into some action, as a masked figure starts destroying the Legion headquarters.

Unmasked, he is revealed to be Douglas Nolan, the brother of Ferro Lad, who had been mind controlled by Saturn Queen.  The story closes with her, Lightning Lord and Cosmic King preparing for the final battle between the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the Legion of Super-Villains.

Douglas Nolan would not appear again until Legion of Super-Heroes 300, which would cast this whole two-parter in a completely different light.

The story concludes next issue.

Adventure 324 – The Legion vs the Heroes of Lallor

Jungle King’s brother, Marden King, enacts a plan of revenge in this tale by Edmond Hamilton, using the mutant heroes of a distant world as pawns against the Legion, in Adventure 324 (Sept 64)

The Heroes of Lallor include Beast Boy, who can become any animal, Gas Girl, who can become a vapour, Evolvo Lad, who can transform into a caveman of a futuristic genius, Life Lass, who can animate any object, and Duplicate Boy.  He is the leader of the team, and in this story has the ability to duplicate any super power.  That’s kind of vague, but also sort of all-encompassing, as in he can do absolutely anything at all, really.

Later stories would modify his power, but not really clarify it, by stating that he can duplicate the powers of any member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.  That leaves one wondering whether he gains and loses abilities as members join and leave the team.

The teams are pitted against each other, each believing the other to be villainous.  Shrinking Violet goes up against Duplicate Boy, but his actions to save her life make her doubt that he is the evil person he is supposed to be.

The other heroes of Lallor are also getting suspicious of the situation, and discover records of the Legion’s deeds, realizing that they have been lied to and manipulated.

They capture Marden King, and the two teams reconcile, while Violet and Duplicate Boy begin a long-distance romance.

Considering the later developments with Shrinking Violet’s sexuality, one cannot but think there is a bit more going on here, and why she is content to have a boyfriend on a planet very far away.

To paraphrase Avenue Q

I wish you could meet my boyfriend

But you can’t because he is on Lallor

I love him, I miss him, I can’t wait to kiss him

My boyfriend who lives on Lallor