Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Read – “The Insect Queen of Smallville” (Superboy #124, October, 1965)

I’ve already reviewed this story just recently, but that was before I started the Legion re-read. So, in addition to linking the original review of that issue of Superboy (which I had just happened to pick up at a dollar sale, if memory serves), here’s a few thoughts.

This is one of Legion co-creator Otto Binder’s few stories to be found in a Legion collection. In addition to this, he wrote only “The Sacrifice of Kid Psycho,” which I’ll be talking about in a few days, the first appearance of the Legion, “Lana Lang and the Legion of Super-Heroes” (which was really just the first appearance of Star Boy, and did not involve the Legion), and “The Six-Legged Legionaire,” again about Lana as Insect Queen. Clearly, Binder had a fondness for Lana, but he actually wrote no headline stories for the Legion. The closest he came was their first guest-shot in Superboy.

Firsts: Insect Queen

Back in the Day I Liked – More of Superboy #208

Yesterday I wrote a long piece about the “new” story in this issue. Now I’ll turn to the reprints.

To begin with, there’s an info page titled, “The Legion of Substitute Heroes.” This introduces six people who don’t appear anywhere else in the issue, but are part of a splinter group. It’s explained that they’re rejected Legion applicants who have since proved themselves. I always loved the collection of powers. Some are so lame that one wonders why these kids didn’t just become accountants—I’m looking at you Stone Boy and Color Kid!—while one wonders why an applicant like Polar Boy would ever have been rejected in the first place. Of course, he did eventually become a Legionnaire. But Stone Boy, the feature tells us, was offered a slot first.

Really? Stone Boy. Huh.

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