Legion of Super-Heroes Story Listing

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The Early Stories

Who would have thought that a one-shot Superboy story would be the seed that spawned a team that would last over half a century (so far) and gain the devotion of thousands of fans?

These earliest Legion stories were produced by many different creative teams, without regard to continuity or any awareness of the team's future. Confusion reigned. Did the Legion operate in the current day, the 21st century, or the 30th century? Were they adults or teens? Did Supergirl meet the original Legionnaires, or their children? What powers, exactly, did Star Boy have? How could Supergirl and Superboy both be Legionnaires, even though Superboy didn't know that Supergirl existed or would exist?

Later creative teams and fans came up with workable solutions to all these confusions -- sometimes several different solutions, which led to confusions of their own. Some things just had to be ignored as chronicler's error, others were cleverly included into Legion continuity.

Most of the stories of this period are fluff, not even significant as historical pieces. But several do stand out, including "The Legion of Super-Heores" (Adventure #247), "Supergirl's Three Super-Girl Friends" (Action #276), "Superboy's Big Brother" (Superboy #89), "The Secret of the Seventh Super-Hero" (Adventure #290), and "The Boy With Ultra-Powers" (Superboy #98).

My personal evaluation of each story is given below: is superb and is awful.

Stories that are reprinted in graphic novels are indicated by appropriate cover images.

Info Issue Date Title Roll Call
ADVENTURE 247 1958/04

The Legion of Super-Heroes


Brainiac 5 (not named), Cosmic Boy, Lightning Boy, Phantom Girl (not named), Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet (not named), Superboy (joined), Triplicate Girl (not named)
Who Are the Mystery Legionnaires? by Mike Grabois
1958-1
LSH-related JIMMY OLSEN 31 1958/09

The E-L-A-S-T-I-C Lad


Elastic Lad (origin), Superman
1958-1a
LSH-related WONDER WOMAN 101 1958/10 Fun House of Time
Time Master (aka Time Trapper)
1958-1b

ADVENTURE 267 1959/12

Prisoner of the Super-Heroes


Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Superboy
1959-1

ACTION 267 1960/08

The Three Super-Heores


Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl
1960-1

SUPERBOY 86 1961/01

The Army of Living Kryptonite Men


Lightning Lad, Superboy
1960-2

ADVENTURE 282 1961/03

Lana Lang and the LSH


Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Star Boy (origin), Superboy, Fryd Kallor, Mira Kallor
1961-1

ACTION 276 1961/05

Supergirl's Three Super Girl Friends


Brainiac 5 (origin)(joined), Bouncing Boy, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Supergirl (joined), Triplicate Girl
1961-2

Commentary

SUPERBOY 89 1961/06

Superboy's Big Brother


Mon-El (origin), Superboy
1961-3
LSH-related JIMMY OLSEN 54 1961/07

Elastic Lad's Wrestling Match


Elastic Lad, Superman
1961-3a
LSH-related SUPERBOY 90 1961/07

Pete Ross's Super-Secret


Pete Ross, Superboy
1961-3b
LSH-related ADVENTURE 287 1961/08

War of the Superboys


Dev-Em (origin), Superboy
1961-3c

Adult Legion;
LSV

SUPERMAN 147 1961/08

The Legion of Super-Villains


Cosmic Man, Lightning Man, Saturn Woman, Superman; LSV: Cosmic King (origin), Lightning Lord (origin), Saturn Queen (origin)
1961-4
LSH-related ADVENTURE 288 1961/09

The Knave from Krypton


Dev-Em, Superboy
1961-4a
Cameo ADVENTURE 289 1961/10 Clark Kent's Super-Father
Cosmic Boy (statuette), Lightning Lad (statuette), Saturn Girl (statuette)
1961-4b

ADVENTURE 290 1961/11

The Secret of the 7th Super-Hero


Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy (origin)(joined), Superboy
1961-5
Cameo SUPERBOY 93 1961/11

Lana Lang's Superboy ID Detection Kit


Chameleon Boy, Superboy
1961-6

Cameo;
Imaginary Story

SUPERMAN 149 1961/11

The Death of Superman


Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl, Superman
1961-6a
LSH-related ACTION 283 1961/12

The Red Kryptonite Menace


Two Durlans from the 30th century
1961-6b

Reference

SUPERMAN ANNUAL 4 1961

The Origin and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes


Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid (Lyle), Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl
1961-6c
Cameo ACTION 284 1962/01 The Babe of Steel
Mon-El, Superman
1962-1a
Cameo ACTION 285 1962/02

The World's Greatest Heroine


Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl, Superman
1962-1b

LSP

ADVENTURE 293 1962/02

The Legion of Super-Traitors


Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Superboy, LSP (origin): Beppo, Comet, Krypto, Streaky, Brain Globes
1962-1
LSV ACTION 286 1962/03

Jury of Super-Enemies


Supergirl, Superman, LSV: Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen
1962-1c

ACTION 287 1962/04

Supergirl's Greatest Challenge


Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl
1962-2
SUPERMAN 152 1962/04

The Robot Master


Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Superman
1962-2a
Cameo ACTION 288 1962/05

Man Who Made Supergirl Cry


Mon-El, Supergirl
1962-2b
Cameo LOIS LANE 33 1962/05 The Phantom Lois Lane
Mon-El, Superman
1962-2c

Adult Legion

ACTION 289 1962/06

When Supergirl Played Cupid


Cosmic Man, Chameleon Man, Lightning Man, Phantom Woman, Saturn Woman, Sun Man, Supergirl, Superman, Triplicate Woman
1962-3
Cameo ACTION 290 1962/07

Supergirl's Super Boy-Friends



Phantom Girl, Supergirl, Cosmic Boy (statuette), Lightning Lad (statuette), Saturn Girl (statuette)
1962-3a

SUPERBOY 98 1962/07

The Boy with Ultra-Powers


Superboy, Ultra Boy (origin)(joined), Marla, Pete Ross
1962-4
Cameo JIMMY OLSEN 62 1962/08

Superman's Phantom Pal


Elastic Lad, Mon-El, Superman
1962-4a
Adult Legion SUPERMAN 155 1962/08

The Downfall of Superman


Cosmic Man, Lightning Man, Superman
1962-4b

Updated: 21 October 2011

Mini-FAQs

Who's Listed? I try to list all appearances of Legionnaires and major characters. This includes images, visions, flashbacks, statues and statuettes, disembodied heads, and any other visual represenations of the characters.

Who's a Major Character? Ultimately, it's a judgement call. I try to include all continuing characters: Legionnaires, friends, family members, professional associates, villains, and assorted others. For one-shot characters, I try to include those whose names are given, or who otherwise play a major role in a story.

What About Non-Legion Stories? When Legionnaires make appearances in other comics, I only list the characters with a direct Legion connection. For example, if the Legion guest-stars with the Justice League, I don't list all the Justice Leaguers.

In What Order Do You List Characters? First, Legionnaires in alphabetical order. (This includes Subs, Honorary Legionnaires, Legion Reserve, and some special cases like Duplicate Boy). Seconds, friendly (or neutral) characters in alphabetical order. Third, bad guys in alphabetical order. Finally, statuettes go on their own line to preserve the aesthetics. Occasionally I will list all the members of a groups together, like the Fatal Five or the Heroes of Lallor.

In What Order Do You List Comics? Yeah, I know it doesn't always seem right. Chronological by month, then alphabetical by title -- but mainstream Legion titles always get listed first in the month. Aren't you glad you asked?


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