Adventure Comics #307 April 1963

Space pirates are pillaging planets (which is exactly what I’d expect space pirates would do). They are looking for a very specific object which can either travel from planet to planet or the pirates have no idea where the hell it is. The Legion is on the case! The Legionnaires decide to have tryouts to make up for absent members. Many try out but only one stands out. Who is the mysterious Mystery Lad?

You know this “I’m keeping my super-power a secret” bullshit wouldn’t have cut the mustard if it wasn’t important to the plot.

Jan doesn’t explain why he decided to keep his super-power (and the fact that he was the object the pirates were looking for) a secret. Keeping it a secret didn’t help the Legion catch the pirates nor would it have put the Legion in danger to know. If he had thought the information would have been leaked then maybe it would make sense but that was not the case. If the Legion had know they could have used the information to capture the pirates faster (probably by using Jan as bait). How could they give Jan any responsibilities on missions if they don’t know what he can do?

On my Legion Jerk © scale this issue gets a:

For keeping secrets

Of all the villains they’ve fought so far fast transportation makes these pirates the “most powerful enemy we’ve ever confronted”?

Defeatist

Invisible Kid is not incompetent!

If I ever try out for the Legion I want my entrance exam administered to me by Saturn Girl (and only Saturn Girl) in a closed room.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *