The Legion of Superheroes Archives, Vol. 6 by E. Nelson Bridwell, Otto Binder, George Klein, George Papp, Jim Shooter and Curt Swan

More stories from the past exploits of the Legion of Superheroes, super-teens from the 30th Century.

"The Outcast Superheroes" has Superboy and Supergirl being summoned to the 30th century, only to find that the atmosphere has somehow been saturated with green Kryptonite. Unfortunately, the effects will dissipate, but it will take 2 years! So they must kick Superboy and Supergirl out of the Legion for their own good, and take back all the statuettes they gave the both of them so that they won't remember the Legion at all. Superboy and Supergirl are saddended, but take it remarkably well. They also nominate their own replacements: Sir Prize and Miss Terious, two figures covered in armor, one male, one female. Then they return to their own time, with kryptonite capsules implanted in their brains to make them forget the Legion completely.

Meanwhile, Prince Evillo summons a team of his own: the Hag, The Centaur, Sugyn and Apollo. Using Apollo's super-charisma and ability to charm beasts with music, they rob the Galactic Bank, and even the Legion isn't able to overcome them, and they kidnap Lightning Lad to boot, after destroying his mechanical arm. To free him, they travel to Evillo's planet, where Miss Terious says she knows how to overcome Evillo's bad magic. But to do that, they'll need the help of the rest of the Legion- including Superboy and Supergirl. But now that the two have forgotten the Legion, can they make them remember in time to get help?

In "The Fatal Five", the Legion must gather together the Galaxy's five greatest criminals to help the galaxy fight off the threat of the Sun Eater. But by bringing together these horrible people, will they create a threat even worse than that of the Sun-Eater itself?

"The Adult Legion" shows a possible future of the Legion when Superman travels forward in time. Many members of the Legion have married, and some have lost their powers or died. But someone is on a mission of revenge to destroy the Legion. The question is, who could it be? And who are the strange people in armor emblazoned with "L" and "M" who come to the assistance of the Legion in their most desperate hour?

In "The Six-Legged Legionnaire", Lana Lang, in her guide as Insect Queen, travels into the future with Superboy. She decides to apply for Legion Membership, but because her powers come from a ring and not herself, she is rejected by the Legion. But when she accompanies them on a mission, her powers are vital to the success of the mission. But when she loses her ring saving Superman, will Lana ever be human again?

"The Five Legion Orphans" has five of the Legionnaires being reduced to infants on a distant planet. But when they are adopted by couples from the planet, can Brainiac, who still retains his intelligence and his adult mind despite his childish body, find a way to undo the effects, and find out who turned them into super-infants as well?

"The Ghost of Ferro Lad" has the Legion remembering Ferro Lad, who lost his life destroying the Sun-Eater. But when they get back to Earth and the Legion Clubhouse, a series of effects causes them to believe that Ferro Lad's Ghost is angry at them and haunting them. But who is really behind the haunting? And is Ferro Lad's Ghost truly angry at the Legion?

"The Hunter" is a famous hunter who has tired of hunting all the usual game and decides to hunt the most dangerous prey of all- The Legion of Superheroes. Breaking into their HQ and kidnapping them back to his own planet, the Hunter gives them no choice: take part in his hunt or die! Who will win the race to the statue that can set them free?

I liked these stories as well, and the Legion's stories are slowly getting longer, especially the one about the Sun-Eater, which ran five issues- rather appropriate, as the Fatal Five would live and come back to plague the Legion again and again. Instead of one-off stories, the Legion is developing a sense of continuity, and the stories are linked to earlier ones, with more adventure and less fluff and silliness.

And the Adult Legion, while it never quite took off the way the young Legion did, did foretell the fate of some Legion characters. But it was also way off-base on others, which led to this being relegated to being an alternate world later on in Legion continuity. Ideas out of stories in this volume would continue to resonate in Legion Continuity further down the line, from Ferro Lad's brother to, of course, the Fatal Five, and Validus whose story would turn out to be the strangest of all!

I love the Legion, and reading the old stories is causing that Love to surge again to the forefront. I wish that more of these Archives had been published, but they stopped at #12. And they weren't exactly cheap, either, costing $50 per volume. But the amount of stories out there for the Legion is rather anemic compared to their longevity in the comics, and I wish that DC would get cracking and release the rest of the series. Hear that, DC? Highly recommended.