"The Adult Legion" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in ''Adventure Comics'' #354-355 (March–April 1967). It was written by Jim Shooter, pencilled by

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

and inked by George Klein. The story arc features one of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

's encounters with the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...

as adults, and foreshadows several plot twists which occur in the years that follow. The story arc includes the first reference to Brin Londo as Timber Wolf, and the first references to Chemical King, Reflecto and Shadow Lass (who appears as Shadow Woman).

Plot

is contacted by the

, the 30th century team which he joined years earlier as Superboy. Upon reaching Legion Headquarters (now much larger than before), he walks through a hall of huge commemorative statues honoring deceased Legionnaires, including Ferro Lad, Chemical King, Reflecto and Shadow Woman. In another hall devoted to married Legionnaires, he observes statues of several wedded members: Shrinking Violet and Ord Qelu (the former Duplicate Boy), Saturn Woman and Lightning Man, Light Lady and Timber Wolf (once known as Lone Wolf), and Night Woman and

Cosmic Man In Jungian theory, the Cosmic Man is an archetypal figure that appears in creation myths of a wide variety of mythology. Generally, he is described as helpful or positive, and serves as a seed for the creation of the world. After death, parts of hi ...

. After Brainiac 5 gives Superman a tour of Legion HQ, the Man of Steel becomes reacquainted with Ultra Man, Phantom Woman, Polar Man, and Element Man, as well as the former Colossal Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Bouncing Boy, and Duo Damsel. The team is perplexed when their headquarters is breached, with everything in the lab, arsenal and spaceport hangar destroyed. After two more break-ins, the saboteur is captured and revealed as Douglas Nolan, Ferro Lad’s twin brother who shares his mutant power to transmute his body into iron. The Legion soon comes to realize that he was acting under the mental control of Saturn Queen, and that the Legion of Super-Villains has been attacking them from afar. Superman returns to the 20th century, after which the Super-Villains kidnap Brainiac 5. The Legionnaires seemingly avoid a series of traps, but are later captured by Echo, Saturn Queen, Lightning Lord, Beauty Blaze and

Cosmic King The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future. They first appeared as adults in ''Superman'' #147 (Aug 1961) and as teens ...

. Unexpectedly, two armored figures arrive, defeating the villains and freeing the Legionnaires. They soon reveal themselves to be descendants of Lex Luthor and

Mr. Mxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' ''Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he enj ...

, two of Superman’s greatest enemies. The grateful Legionnaires vote them onto the team unanimously.

Aftermath

For years, subsequent Legion storylines were consistent with the Adult Legion tale's vision of the future. Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel are married, soon followed by Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. Lone Wolf becomes Timber Wolf and joins the Legion, and Chemical King dies preventing World War VII. It is eventually revealed that the Adult Legion depicted in this story inhabits a parallel Earth,''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 2) #300 (June 1983) freeing writers to ignore the story.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adult Legion, The Legion of Super-Heroes storylines