"The Adult Legion" is a

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...

that was published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, and presented in ''Adventure Comics'' #354-355 (March–April 1967). It was written by

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The story arc features one of Superman's encounters with the Legion of Super-Heroes 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 Chemical King is the name of two characters in the DC Comics universe. The first was Mr. Lambert, who was murdered under the direction of Alfred Stryker in "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", the feature story of ''Detective Comics'' #27. The se ...

, Reflecto and

Shadow Lass Shadow Lass is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by DC Comics. She first appeared as a statue in ''Adventure Comics'' #354 (March 1967), and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan. She was called Shadow Woman, was ...

(who appears as Shadow Woman).

Plot

Superman is contacted by the Legion of Super-Heroes, the 30th century team which he joined years earlier as

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

. Upon reaching Legion Headquarters (now much larger than before), he walks through a hall of huge commemorative statues honoring deceased Legionnaires, including

Ferro Lad Ferro Lad (Andrew Nolan) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero and member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century of the . He is Andrew Nolan of Earth and is known in Post-''Zero Hour'' continuity simply as Ferro. Publicatio ...

, 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. After

Brainiac 5 Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox) is a fictional superhero character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is from the planet Colu and is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The first live-action version of the c ...

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 Gim Allon, also known as Colossal Boy, Leviathan, and Micro Lad, is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Jim Mooney, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics' ...

Matter-Eater Lad Matter-Eater Lad (real name Tenzil Kem) is a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and possesses the power to eat matter in all forms, as do all natives of his home planet, Bismoll. He first appears in ''Advent ...

Star Boy Star singers also known as Epiphany singers, or Star boys' singing procession (England), are children and young people walking from house to house with a star on a rod and often wearing crowns and dressed in clothes to resemble the Three Magi ( ...

, Dream Girl,

Bouncing Boy Bouncing Boy is a superhero appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, usually as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Born on Earth as Chuck Taine, Bouncing Boy has the power to inflate like a giant ball and bounce around. This combinatio ...

, and

Duo Damsel Triplicate Girl (Luornu Durgo) is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th and 31st centuries of the and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She has also had the aliases Duo Damsel, Triad, Una, Duplicate Damsel and Duplicate Girl. P ...

. 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 Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

, and that the

Legion of Super-Villains 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 ...

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 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 ...

, Beauty Blaze and Cosmic King. Unexpectedly, two armored figures arrive, defeating the villains and freeing the Legionnaires. They soon reveal themselves to be descendants of

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

and Mr. Mxyzptlk, 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